Official Hospitality

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department spent on hospitality for visitors to Richmond House in each year since 2010. [181909]

Dr Poulter: The cost of provision of hospitality for visitors to Richmond House in each year since 2009 is:

The expenditure in 2013 represents a 60.5% reduction in costs compared to 2009.

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Pancreatic Cancer

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will consider the recommendations of the APPG for pancreatic cancer’s report, Time to Change the Story: A plan of action for pancreatic cancer. [181638]

Jane Ellison: The Department welcomes the all-party parliamentary group for pancreatic cancer’s report, Time to Change the Story: A plan of action for pancreatic cancer. The 12 recommendations set out in the report cover a wide range of organisations in the new national health service structures. The Department will consider any relevant aspects of the recommendations it has direct responsibility for and encourages the appropriate organisations to consider pertinent recommendations in detail.

Parkinson's Disease

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many continuing health care funding applications were received for patients with a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease in each year since 2009; and how many such applications were successful in each year since 2009. [182397]

Norman Lamb: The Department does not collect information on the numbers of applications for NHS continuing health care relating to individuals who have a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

Pharmacy

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department gives NHS trusts and bodies regarding the opening hours of pharmacies, with particular regard to (a) 24 hour and (b) Sunday opening; and if he will make statement. [181367]

Norman Lamb: National health service trusts determine the opening hours of their hospital pharmacies to meet the needs of patients and hospital services. The Department has not issued guidance on hospital pharmacy opening hours.

The Department issued guidance to primary care trusts in 2005 regarding the opening hours of community pharmacies, updated in 2009, “The NHS (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations: information for primary care trusts—revised September 2009”, a copy of which has been placed in the Library. NHS England is now responsible for commissioning community pharmacy services, including issuing any guidance on opening hours.

Plants

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on pot plants in each year since 2010. [181505]

Dr Poulter: The Department spent a total of £12,383.80 on plants and trees in the period May 2010 to March 2011 for its core headquarters estate. No specific expenditure on pot plants has been incurred in the period from April 2011 to date.

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Maintenance of existing departmental owned pot plants is undertaken as part of our wider facilities management contract. In renegotiating this contract in 2010, as a part of a wider clamp down on unnecessary administrative spend, the Department aimed to reduce spend on horticulture and returned all rented plants among other areas of expenditure.

Princess Royal Hospital NHS Trust

Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the value for money of the PFI contract at the Princess Royal Hospital Bromley. [181474]

Dr Poulter: The business case to proceed with the signing of the private finance initiative (PFI) contract for the Princess Royal Hospital, Bromley, was approved in 1998 under the previous Government, and a value for money appraisal was done at that point.

Under this Government the Department reviewed the affordability of PFI contracts of 22 national health service trusts in the context of their achieving NHS foundation trust status. This work concluded that six of these needed some additional financial support to enable them to be sustainable providers of high quality health care services. They are being given access to financial support of up to £1.5 billion in total over a period of 25 years. South London Healthcare NHS Trust, which held the PFI contract for Princess Royal Hospital, Bromley, before its dissolution on 1 October 2013, was one of these six trusts. Upon dissolution the contract has now transferred to King's College NHS Foundation Trust and for the next five years the level of support for this PFI contract has been agreed as follows:

Beyond this point payments will be indexed for the duration of the PFI contract on the same basis as the PFI contract.

Statistics

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent discussions his Department has had with the Office for National Statistics on retention of statistical health outputs relating to (a) winter-related deaths, (b) health inequalities, (c) cancer deaths and (d) alcohol-related deaths; [181432]

(2) if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department’s response to the Office for National Statistics’ Consultation on Statistical Products 2013. [181433]

Jane Ellison: The Department responded to this important consultation by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on possible reductions to its statistical products, including outputs relating to winter-related deaths, health inequalities, cancer deaths and alcohol-related deaths.

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This response included a strategic statement approved by chief medical officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, and a detailed assessment of the impact on our work if the outputs included in the consultation were stopped. A copy of the response has been placed in the Library.

Officials in the Department had discussions with ONS before the consultation and continue to have discussions now that the consultation has closed.

Stress

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 6 November 2013, Official Report, column 252W, on stress, what assessment he has made of the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust and Imperial College London research on whether stress-induced ischaemia can result in elevation of cardiac troponin; and in what ways that research has informed his Department’s policies. [181346]

Dr Poulter: The Department has updated its assessment of the current status of this research carried out by the National Institute for Health Research Cardiovascular biomedical research unit at the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust and Imperial College London. The trust has reported that a paper arising from the research is being finalised.

Surgery

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many surgeons are qualified to undertake L5 S1 anterior fusion surgery in (a) Merseyside, (b) the north-west and (c) the UK. [182231]

Dr Poulter: The number of surgeons qualified to undertake L5 S1 anterior fusion surgery in Merseyside, the north-west and the United Kingdom is not collected by the Department. L5 S1 anterior fusion surgery is not a recognised Certificate of Completion of Training qualification, but is based on a doctor’s interest and experience.

The content and standard of medical training is the responsibility of the General Medical Council informed by the relevant Medical Royal College.

Where additional training is required for individual posts, it is delivered by continuing professional development (CPD). CPD is the responsibility of individual practitioners and their employers.

Training

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what professional coaching he and other Ministers in his Department have received in the last 12 months; and what the cost was of that coaching. [181455]

Dr Poulter: The ministerial team have not received any professional coaching in the last 12 months.

Tuberculosis

Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department provides to ensure that individuals with TB but without recourse to public funds are provided with shelter and support for the duration of their treatment. [181472]

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Jane Ellison: The Department sets NHS England a Mandate and provides a total funding envelope. It is then for NHS England to decide how best to fulfil the Mandate objectives including how much funding is allocated to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) who commission health services on behalf of their local population. It is for local CCGs to decide how to best use the funding allocated to them, underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local health care needs.

All patients with TB are exempt from charge for the treatment of their TB until treatment is complete.

Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward legislation to amend public health law to permit the detention of individuals who have infectious TB and refuse to comply with prescribed treatment. [181473]

Jane Ellison: The Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 enables local authorities to apply to a justice of the peace (JP) for an order to detain an individual with an infectious disease that might pose a risk to human health (including tuberculosis) in hospital or another suitable establishment. In making such an order, the JP must be satisfied that the following criteria are met:

the individual is or may be infected;

the infection is one which presents or could present significant harm to human health;

there is a risk that the individual might infect others; and

it is necessary to make the order to remove or reduce that risk.

In 2010-11 and 2011-12, the periods for which information is currently available, there were 13 such orders made in relation to individuals with tuberculosis in England.

Vaccination

Sir Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will meet patients' families before taking a decision on a meningococcal B meningitis and septicaemia vaccination programme. [182113]

Jane Ellison: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), and my predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry), met the hon. Member and the national meningitis charities, which represent patients' interests, on 4 September 2013, to discuss meningococcal B (MenB) vaccination.

The charities also responded to the consultation on the interim position statement from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation about use of the MenB vaccine, Bexsero®.

We will consider any requests for meetings from patients' families affected by MenB carefully.

Attorney-General

Contempt of Court: Social Networking

Ian Paisley: To ask the Attorney-General what steps his Department has taken to raise awareness of misuse of social media in relation to contempt of court. [182321]

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The Solicitor-General: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Attorney-General, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Mr Grieve), on 7 January 2014, to an oral question from the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Robert Flello), Official Report, columns 171-2).

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many pre-charging decisions were taken by the Crown Prosecution Service in (a) rape-flagged cases, (b) domestic violence-flagged cases and (c) cases of child abuse in each financial year from 1999-2000 to 2008-09. [182435]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the number of suspects, by way of monitoring flags, referred to prosecutors for a pre-charge decision, in cases of rape, domestic violence and child abuse, since statutory charging was fully rolled out across England and Wales in April 2006.

The following table shows, during the three financial years from April 2006, the number of cases in which the CPS made a pre-charge decision in cases flagged as rape, domestic violence and child abuse.

Domestic Violence and Rape

Helen Jones: To ask the Attorney-General when he last met the Secretary of State for the Home Department to discuss changes in the number of domestic violence and rape cases being referred by the police to the Crown Prosecution Service; and what action followed those meetings. [181682]

The Solicitor-General: Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a key priority for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and, in 2012-13, the conviction rates for cases flagged as domestic violence and rape were at record highs for the second year running.

On 11 December 2013, the Director of Public Prosecutions and I attended the Inter-Ministerial Group meeting on VAWG, chaired by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), and the Minister of State for Crime Prevention, which discussed the falling numbers of referrals of domestic violence and rape from the police to the CPS.

The Inter-Ministerial Group on VAWG requested a further update in 2014 on progress against the six-point action plan outlined by me in a written parliamentary answer to the hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry) on 22 October 2013, Official Report, column 141W.

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Fraud: Convictions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 29 October 2013, Official Report, column 398W, on fraud: prosecutions, what assessment he has made of the likely causes of the 12 per cent reduction in the Crown Prosecution Service’s conviction rate in contested fraud cases between 2008-09 and 2012-13. [182185]

The Solicitor-General: During the five-year period in question, the number of prosecutions conducted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for offences of fraud and forgery increased significantly from 14,353 to 18,555. This increase of 29.3% was brought about as a result of the mergers with the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office and the Welfare, Rural and Health Prosecution Agencies. The mergers changed the nature and mixture of offending types prosecuted. Only 9.5% of prosecutions in 2012-13 resulted in a contest and overall the conviction rate at 86.5% is high for fraud and forgery cases, given the complex and challenging nature of such proceedings. The number of convictions in contested cases has increased although the conviction rate in contested cases has reduced.

Serious Fraud Office

Mr Spellar: To ask the Attorney-General what further steps he will take to recover payments made to former senior staff at the Serious Fraud Office that were not properly authorised. [181488]

The Attorney-General: I have explained the legal position regarding these payments before, including on 8 January 2013, Official Report, column 152.

However, following the hearing of the Public Accounts Committee in March last year, the Director of the Serious Fraud Office, David Green CB QC, did write to the individuals who had received ex gratia payments and asked them to pay back the money.

Treason Felony Act 1848

Dr Huppert: To ask the Attorney-General (1) how many people have been prosecuted under section 3 of the Treason Felony Act 1848 in the last 30 years; [181666]

(2) how many people have been charged with an offence under section 3 of the Treason Felony Act 1848 in the last 30 years. [181667]

The Solicitor-General: I am not aware of any individuals being charged or prosecuted under section 3 of the Treason Felony Act 1848 during the last 30 years.

Witnesses: Protection

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many complaints about standards of witness care the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) received in each of the last five years; and what proportion of all complaints received by the CPS these constituted. [182457]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) currently categorises complaints on the following basis: legal decision making, mixed (legal and non-legal

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decision making) and non-legal decision making. Information is not currently held on complaints made about the standards of witness care within the last five years and the proportion of complaints that this constitutes.

Prime Minister

Meetings

Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister when he last had discussions with (a) Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta and (b) Bulgarian Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski. [181669]

The Prime Minister: I attended the European Council on 19-20 December 2013 at which Prime Minister Ponta and Prime Minister Oresharski were present. Discussions were held on: defence issues; economic and monetary union issues; and EU enlargement and association agreements.

Home Department

Armed Forces: Foreign Nationals

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her policy that Commonwealth citizens serving in HM armed forces and their families can include within their five-year qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain the time when they have been deployed overseas. [182092]

Mr Harper: Foreign and Commonwealth members of HM Forces may qualify for indefinite leave to enter or remain on discharge if they have completed at least four years' service and meet the other requirements of the rules.

Under the new Armed Forces Rules, which came into force on 1 December 2013, partners of members of HM Forces can qualify for indefinite leave to enter or remain after they have completed a continuous period of five years with limited leave in this capacity.

In both cases, time spent deployed overseas or accompanying their sponsor on an overseas posting is treated as time spent in the UK.

Asylum: Deportation

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department’s policy on the removal of asylum seekers permits deportation to countries assessed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as being under a volatile threat from a number of terrorist organisations. [181427]

Mr Harper: Asylum applications are considered on their individual merits in the light of up-to-date country information, including evidence of any threat to the individual from terrorist organisations. No one will be required to return to a country where they would be at real risk of serious harm. Country information comes from a number of reliable sources, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

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For those whose asylum applications have been rejected and who have exhausted all avenues of appeal, the Home Office’s first and preferred option is for those who have no legal basis to remain in the UK to leave voluntarily and we offer assistance to those who choose to do so.

Generally, there are no countries to which as a matter of immigration policy, we cannot remove those who have no legal basis to remain in the UK.

Counter-terrorism

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the resources allocated to the Metropolitan Police is spent on tackling terrorism. [182273]

James Brokenshire: It is long-established policy that information on how counter-terrorism funding is allocated between police forces is not disclosed for national security reasons.

Domestic Violence

Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many incidents of domestic abuse were reported in England and Wales for the latest year for which figures are available; [181642]

(2) how many incidents of domestic abuse were found to have occurred in England and Wales in the latest year for which figures are available; [181643]

(3) how many allegations of domestic abuse in England and Wales (a) were investigated by the police and (b) resulted in an individual being charged in the latest year for which figures are available; [181644]

(4) what advice has been issued by her Department to police services in England and Wales in respect of how to investigate complaints of domestic abuse; [181628]

(5) how many call outs there were per police force in England and Wales following complaints of domestic abuse in the latest year for which figures are available; [181629]

(6) what estimate she has made of the number of repeat victims of domestic abuse in England and Wales by the same perpetrator; [181630]

(7) what was the number of (a) prosecutions for domestic abuse, (b) commencement of trials in matters relating to domestic abuse, (c) findings of guilty in matters relating to domestic abuse and (d) findings of not guilty in matters connected with domestic abuse in England and Wales in the latest year for which figures are available; [181645]

(8) what was the number of reported cases of domestic abuse that were discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales in the latest year for which figures are available. [181646]

Norman Baker: The College of Policing is working with police forces, partners, women's sector organisations, and academics to support the development of training to improve the police response to domestic violence and abuse. The College of Policing will also be launching a Public Protection Learning Programme exploring best practice in tackling domestic abuse.

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The Government is committed to ensuring that the police successfully tackle domestic violence and abuse, to bring offenders to justice and to ensure victims have the support they need to rebuild their lives. That is why a review by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary has been commissioned to look at the police response. The review will look at the performance of forces across England and Wales, identify where improvements need to be made and report back to the Home Office in April 2014.

The Home Office receives data from the police on the number of domestic abuse incidents they have recorded. The latest published data relating to 2011-12 are given in Table A.

For the given data, domestic abuse incidents are defined as

'any incidence of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults, aged 18 and over, who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality'.

This collection, which is wider than physical abuse, will therefore include incidents that are not subsequently recorded as crimes, in that no crime as defined in law has taken place.

The police record domestic abuse incidents in accordance with the National Standard for Incident Recording. While incidents are recorded in accordance with the same 'victim focused' approach that applies for recorded crime, these figures are not accredited National Statistics and are not subject to the same level of quality assurance as the main recorded crime collection. The Home Office does not collect data from police forces on how many domestic abuse incidents were reported to the police, how many 'call outs' there have been for domestic abuse or how many allegations of domestic abuse the police have investigated.

Additional information on domestic abuse is available from the Crime Survey for England and Wales. This provides an estimate of how many victims of domestic abuse there were in the last year but not the number of incidents. According to the 2010-11 survey, 30% of the victims of partner abuse were victimised more than once in the last year (22% were victimised three or more times). However, as around a half (51%) of victims either chose not to answer this question or did not know how many times they had been victimised, this should be treated with caution.

Information on domestic abuse as measured by the survey can be found in the Office for National Statistics publication ‘Focus on Violent Crime and Sexual Offences, 2011/12’

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/focus-on-violent-crime/stb-focus-on--violent-crime-and-sexual-offences-2011-12.html

Data for 2012-13 for both domestic abuse incidents recorded by the police and CSEW domestic abuse are due to be published in February 2014.

Information has been supplied to the Home Office from the Crown Prosecution Service relating to domestic abuse for the number of (a) prosecutions (b) contested commencement of trials (termed ‘contested proceedings’ in the Table), (c) total convictions and (d) those not convicted for England and Wales in 2012-13. Information has also been supplied on how many reported cases of domestic violence were discontinued (termed ‘prosecutions

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dropped’ in the Table) in 2012-13. These data are given in Table B and are based on the number of offenders rather than then number of offences.

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Drugs: Misuse

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2013, Official Report, column 596W, on drugs: misuse, what the outcome was of the discussions on control of new psychoactive substances at the Horizontal Drugs Group on 9 to 10 December 2013. [182481]

Norman Baker: Discussions on the European Union Commission's proposals to tackle the emergence of new psychoactive substances are still ongoing. Parliament will be updated on the outcomes in due course.

Extradition

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were extradited (a) to and (b) from the UK under a European arrest warrant in each of the last three years; and how many such people were accused of sexual offences. [181407]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 8 January 2014]: I have been informed by the National Crime Agency (NCA) that the following number of people were extradited to/from the UK under a European Arrest Warrant (EAW):

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Extradition: Republic of Ireland

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for extradition warrants from the Republic of Ireland have been made by her Department from 2005 to date. [182360]

James Brokenshire: The European arrest warrant (EAW) scheme is managed by the National Crime Agency (NCA); although policy oversight is the responsibility of Home Office Ministers. The NCA are responsible for transmitting EAWs to another member state, and I have been informed by them that as EAW requests are often sent to more than one EU member state simultaneously, it is not possible from current systems to provide totals for requests made to a single member state.

The NCA have advised, however, that the number of people arrested in the Republic of Ireland, and surrendered to the UK, pursuant to an EAW issued by the UK is:

Due to the way data were recorded prior to 1 April 2009, it is not possible to provide details of the number of applications for EAWs to the Republic of Ireland prior to this period.

Firearms

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with (a) the Countryside Alliance and (b) the British Association of Shooting and Conservation on proposed changes to legislation on firearms. [182238]

Norman Baker: There have not been any recent discussions between the Home Secretary and the Countryside Alliance or the British Association of Shooting and Conservation on proposed changes to legislation on firearms. However, Home Office officials routinely consult stakeholders, including both these organisations, on firearms related matters.

G4S

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total amount her Department has paid to date to G4S for services provided

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in relation to the Terrorism Prevention and Investigative Measures regime; and whether her Department's contract with G4S includes performance-related incentives. [182153]

James Brokenshire: Electronic monitoring of terrorism prevention and investigation measures (TPIM) subjects is provided and paid for through the Ministry of Justice's contract with G4S. However, the specific information requested relating to the amount that has been paid to G4S for services provided in relation to the TPIM regime, and details of the terms of the contract, are commercially confidential. The Government are obliged to treat this information as confidential and to disclose it would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of both the Government and the companies with whom they enters into contracts.

Human Trafficking

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many identified victims of human trafficking who did not participate in criminal proceedings were granted discretionary leave to remain in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012 on the grounds of personal circumstances; and if she will make a statement. [181067]

Mr Harper: In 2011, there were 28 identified victims of human trafficking who did not participate in criminal proceedings and were granted discretionary leave (DL) on the grounds of personal circumstances. In 2012 there were 18 cases.

The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), will not make a statement.

Human Trafficking Ministerial Group

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what dates since 2010 the Interdepartmental Ministerial Group on human trafficking has met. [182257]

James Brokenshire: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 28 November 2013, Official Report, column 393W.

Illegal Immigrants

Mr Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the role of (a) existing and (b) new airport infrastructure in combating illegal immigration by reducing the risk of landside transfers; and what recent representations she has made to the Airports Commission on this matter. [182053]

Mr Harper: The Home Office works closely with operators in the design of control arrangements at airports, including those for transfer passengers.

Immigration arrangements for transfer passengers are kept under review in light of changing risks. The Department has made no representations to the Airports Commission on this matter.

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Immigration

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff have been employed by her Department and its agencies for the purposes of immigration enforcement in each year since 2008. [181431]

Mr Harper: Before 1 April 2013 the UK Border Agency fulfilled a range of operational immigration functions including immigration enforcement. Individuals working in the Agency may have had multiple roles covering different operational functions therefore we are unable to identify the number of people employed to undertake immigration enforcement activities. Since 1 April 2013 the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), created the Immigration Enforcement Directorate with the primary aim of enforcing immigration laws, the size of this directorate as at 30 September 2013 was 4,320.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of Romanians and Bulgarians who have entered the UK since 1 January 2014. [181670]

Mr Harper: Statistics will be published in the normal way by the Office of National Statistics and the Department for Work and Pensions. The first statistics covering the period after the expiry of transitional controls will be published in May 2014.

The first national data release which will provide information on Romanian and Bulgarian nationals in employment in the UK after the lifting of transitional controls will be the quarterly Labour Force Survey. This is scheduled for publication on 14 May and released by the Office for National Statistics at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/index.html

This release will include employment numbers and rates by nationality and country of birth, covering the period January to March 2014.

On 22 May, the Department for Work and Pensions will publish statistics for national insurance number allocations to foreign nationals for the first quarter of 2014 available from:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions

The Office for National Statistics also publish their Migration Statistics Quarterly Report at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/migration1/migration-statistics-quarterly-report/index.html

The release on 28 August 2014 will include provisional estimates of long-term international migration for the year ending March 2014, including estimates for the European Union.

Interpol

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2013, Official Report, column 394-5W, on Interpol, what estimate she has made of the amount of police time spent implementing Interpol Red Notices in the UK in 2012 and 2013. [182156]

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James Brokenshire: I have been advised by the UK Interpol National Central Bureau, which is situated within the National Crime Agency, that they do not hold this information and that it can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to the Secretary of State for Transport dated 19 November 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Inspector Damian O'Reilly, transferred from the Secretary of State for Transport. [181602]

Norman Baker: I wrote to the Rt. Hon. Member on 13 January 2014. A response to Sir Gerald's letter has been sent today.

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 Thomas Kaplanidis. [181609]

Mr Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 9 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 16 December 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ather Mirza. [181847]

Mr Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 9 January 2014.

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letters to her dated 20 November and 10 December 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Ather Mirza. [182318]

Mr Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 9 January 2014.

Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department further to her ministerial correction of 6 November 2013, Official Report, column 2MC, on Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed, whether the authorities responsible for Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed had ever taken possession of his British passport. [181962]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 6 January 2014]: Mohamed was issued with a British passport on 28 April 2005. As explained during Charles Farr's evidence to the Home Affairs Committee on 12 November 2013, when Mohamed was deported to the UK from Somaliland in 2011, Mohamed did not have this passport with him.

Offenders: Deportation

Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements exist for the deportation of prisoners to Ukraine. [181476]

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Mr Harper: Foreign national offenders who are from Ukraine will be considered for deportation if they meet the following criteria:

A custodial sentence of 12 months or more either in one sentence or as an aggregate of two or three sentences over a period of five years, or a custodial sentence of any length for a drug offence (other than possession).

A court recommendation (only for those over 17 years of age).

Police and Crime Commissioners

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of full IT costs within the budget of Police and Crime Commissioners is being recovered from their budgets. [182139]

Damian Green: The total amount charged by the Home Office in respect of national police IT services in 2013-14 is £61.1 million. The police and crime commissioners now have financial control over police budgets and we are, therefore, unable to say what proportion of their individual IT budgets will be taken up by these charges. This will vary from force to force in accordance with local spending decisions.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost of IT services provided to Police and Crime Commissioners is; and what level of public subsidy is applied to such services. [182145]

Damian Green: The Home Office's total resource expenditure on police IT in 2013-14 is forecast at £94.79 million. The total charges levied on all recipients of these services is £79.1 million, of which £61.1 million will be charged to police and crime commissioners. The charges for these services will increase in 2014-15 as the next step in the move to full cost recovery.

Work Permits: Eastern Europe

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many UK work permits have been (a) issued and (b) refused since May 2010 to (a) Bulgarian and (b) Romanian nationals. [177577]

Mr Harper [holding answer 28 November 2013]: Under the Accession (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2006, which were in force up to 31 December 2013, Bulgarian and Romanian nationals requiring authorisation to work in the UK must apply for an accession worker card. The number of applications for accession worker cards, and the proportion of those applications which have not been approved, are published quarterly as part of the Control of Immigration statistics. The numbers for between April 2010 and June 2013 are as follows:

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For the majority of categories of employment set out in Schedule 1 of the Regulations, an employer first has to obtain Home Office approval to employ a Bulgarian or Romanian national. The number of applications from employers approved and refused, between May 2010 and June 2013, is as follows:

Defence

Armed Forces: Pensions

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces widows who receive a pension through the Armed Forces Scheme 1975 have voluntarily surrendered their pensions on remarriage or cohabitation in 2013. [181404]

Anna Soubry: The information for 2013 will take time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available.

Armed Forces: Vehicles

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the uncommitted budget for land vehicles in the Defence Equipment Plan 2012 was spent on incorporating the 2,000 land vehicles acquired under urgent operational requirements into the core equipment programme. [181885]

Mr Dunne: There was no allocation in the Defence Equipment Plan 2012 for incorporating Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) vehicles into the core equipment programme.

Army

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department has made towards Army 2020; and if he will make a statement. [182355]

Mr Francois: Since the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), announced the outcome of the study conducted into Army 2020 on 5 July 2012, Official Report, column 1085, significant progress has been made. The proposition as set out in the study report has been refined and units have now been assigned to the new Reaction Force, Adaptable Force or Force Troops and their roles, the equipment they will hold and the new training requirements have been determined. In addition, Regular and Reserve units have been paired, in line with the move to a fully integrated Army, and future unit locations have been confirmed, taking account of the return of units from Germany to the UK. All this information is set out in the document ‘Transforming the British Army—An Update', a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

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Transition to these new structures is now under way. Headquarters Force Troops Command has formed in its new role and Headquarters 1 (UK) Div and 3 (UK) Div will commence their new roles from autumn 2014; units will enter the new annual training cycle from 1 January 2015; and all major changes to structures are expected to be complete by mid-2015.

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department has made on re-basing; and if he will make a statement. [182356]

Dr Murrison: The Ministry of Defence continues to make good progress delivering the Regular Army Basing Plan.

Early unit moves which are not dependent upon infrastructure construction have now begun, with eight unit moves taking place in 2013 and a further 23 unit moves planned for 2014. Work is progressing well and the timelines announced by the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), in his statement on 5 March 2013, Official Report, columns 845-8) for the rebasing from Germany remain extant.

An update will be provided to the House later this year.

Burma

Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the risk of Burmese army soldiers who receive training from the UK using the skills and experience gained to undermine the human rights of civilians in Burma. [182459]

Mr Francois: Courses that we might currently offer to the Burmese military will address the core principles of democratic accountability. Such courses include an examination of the legal frameworks by which defence and security operations are legitimised and controlled in line with international human rights and humanitarian law.

Defence

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to deter threats overseas to UK interests. [182087]

Dr Murrison: I refer my right hon. Friend to the written evidence submitted by the Ministry of Defence to the House of Commons Defence Committee's ongoing inquiry into “Deterrence in the 21st Century” which is available at the following link:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmdfence/writev/deterrence/dic1.htm

The deterrence of threats to the UK's security, influence and prosperity is the primary peacetime role of the armed forces. On a routine basis, the armed forces work closely with other instruments of national power, and with allies and partners, to deter a wide range of threats to UK interests, at home and abroad.

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Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department has made on defence engagement; and if he will make a statement. [182354]

Dr Murrison: The Ministry of Defence has made good progress implementing the International Defence Engagement Strategy (IDES) published on 7 February 2013.

In Burma, Thailand and Vietnam we have established Defence Sections and have accredited Defence Attachés (DA). Our DA in Libya is now in place and with an expanded Defence Assistance and Training Team are providing significant support to developing their security. Our new defence section in Somalia is playing a key role in supporting the co-ordination of international efforts to enable African Union and Somali National Security Forces to maintain control and provide a safe and secure environment. Recently we saw the utility of Defence Engagement activities when we rapidly redeployed HMS Daring to the Philippines. We have also endorsed a number of regional Defence Engagement strategies which are being taken forward by our overseas posts. Additionally the statement highlighted an Army initiative to align Brigades regionally to deliver better effect. The proof of concept for this initiative is progressing well.

The IDES set out to enable better cross-Government co-ordination and we have made good progress. Defence engagement is now providing strong support to wider Government policy objectives including our Prosperity and Security agendas. The joint governance we put in place with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office demonstrated by the establishment of the Defence Engagement Board is working well and enables us to make better balanced decisions about where to engage and why.

Defence: Procurement

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the professional competence of CH2M Hill and Bechtel; and what experience those companies have in defence procurement. [182021]

Mr Dunne: As with all defence procurements, we followed a rigorous commercial process to determine the bidders that would be issued with the Invitation To Negotiate for the Materiel Strategy commercial competition. Both the CH2M Hill consortium and the Bechtel bid team successfully demonstrated that they had the professional competence required to undertake this work.

France

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made on the formation of a combined joint expeditionary force with the French; and if he will make a statement. [182086]

Mr Dunne: Good progress is being made to establish a combined joint expeditionary force (CJEF) capability that meets the level of ambition described in the Lancaster House treaty. Exercises over the past three years, in particular the annual flagship exercises, have led to significant levels of integration and interoperability. Both sides are now working on the development of

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command and control and logistic structures that will enable the UK and France to conduct Combined Joint Operations. A series of intensive exercises in 2015 and 2016 will test and validate these structures, which are on track to achieve, as planned, in 2016. The framework that is being developed will enable UK and French forces to deploy more rapidly in the event of a crisis, with greater capability than might be achieved individually.

Gosport

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) when the Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology last visited Gosport; and when he next plans to visit; [181387]

(2) when the Minister for International Security Strategy last visited Gosport; and when he next plans to visit. [181388]

Dr Murrison: Neither I nor my colleague the Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, my hon. Friend the Member for Ludlow (Mr Dunne), has visited Gosport since assuming our responsibilities.

My colleague and I have no firm plans to visit Gosport at this time. However, Defence Ministers routinely undertake regional visits in the course of their duties and are always happy to consider invitations from hon. Members.

ICT

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of small and medium-sized enterprises recommended by the Network Technical Authority for the G-cloud route to market have been granted access by his Department. [181424]

Mr Dunne: The G-Cloud framework is managed by the Cabinet Office Crown Commercial Services Information and Communications Technology Category Team which is responsible for the selection of suppliers included on the framework. As such, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Network Technical Authority does not approve contractors prior to their being placed on the G-Cloud framework. Therefore, this information is not held centrally by the MOD and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, under the Government Transparency agenda, the Cabinet Office publishes data online about G-Cloud sales on a monthly basis via the following link. Details of contracts placed by the MOD through the G-Cloud framework that fall within the Transparency Agenda are included in these data.

http://gcloud.civilservice.gov.uk/about/sales-information/

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the flight time and combat range is for a fully armed F35B. [181833]

Mr Dunne: The combat radius of the F-35B is 450 nautical miles with a representative weapon fit. Flight time and range will depend on the type of mission and munitions carried, but average sortie lengths are expected to be around two hours.

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Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how the F35B will be refuelled from the air when carrier-based and operating away from UK shore; and if he will make a statement. [181834]

Mr Dunne: The F-35B will be able to conduct air to air refuelling activity with in-service UK strategic air refuelling assets, whether embarked on the Queen Elizabeth Class Carrier or operating from land. Additionally, UK aircraft will be able to utilise Partner Nations' air refuelling assets which have been cleared by the F-35 Programme.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the fourth Joint Strike Fighter will be delivered. [182429]

Mr Dunne: The UK's fourth F-35B aircraft is scheduled to be delivered in 2015.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the four F-35 Joint Strike Fighters purchased thus far will form a part of the 48 ordered to date. [182430]

Mr Dunne: The UK has ordered four F-35B Joint Strike Fighter aircraft and taken delivery of three of these to date. These four aircraft will form a part of the final acquisition total.

Military Bases: Aldershot

Mr Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the value of the regimental site in Aldershot. [182284]

Dr Murrison: It is not clear from the hon. Member's question to which site he is referring. However, the market value of Ministry of Defence property is assessed only when it comes up for disposal.

Where pre-sale valuations have been obtained, these are regarded as commercially confidential and are thus not released ahead of the sale in case they influence the market.

Details of Ministry of Defence land holdings with asset valuation over £1 million can be found in chapter 7 of the National Asset Register, last published by HM Treasury in 2007, at the following link:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm70/7022/7022.pdf

Ministry of Defence Guard Service

Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what methodology his Department uses to calculate savings to the public purse from removing the MOD Guard Service personnel from some military sites. [181571]

Anna Soubry: The savings were calculated by assessing the capitation costs of the Ministry of Defence Guard Service (MGS) guards being removed and subtracting the cost of additional Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS) personnel needed to carry out the relevant security duties at a small number of the sites affected. At the remainder of the sites, existing MPGS posts or regular service personnel were able to cover the required duties at no extra capitation cost to Defence. The overall annual saving was calculated to be £36.7 million.

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NATO

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Government's agenda is for NATO reform; and if he will make a statement. [182357]

Dr Murrison: Our agenda for NATO reform is to ensure the Alliance, as the bedrock of UK defence, continues to adapt and change to be able to address the security challenges of the future. This is an issue in which the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has taken an active interest, raising the subject at NATO Defence Ministerials and in discussions with the Secretary General. The UK focus has been on delivering the reform programmes already agreed by allies (for example, the NATO military command and financial reform) and improving overall governance and accountability. The UK, working with like-minded allies, will continue to emphasise the importance of NATO reform as we seek to ensure the organisation remains effective. The Prime Minister's decision to host the NATO summit in the UK in September is clear evidence of this commitment.

Piracy

Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's plans are for continuing anti-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia and in the Indian Ocean. [181498]

Mr Francois: The UK participates in three international counter-piracy operations. The EU NAVFOR's Operation Atalanta, and NATO's Operation Ocean Shield both operate off the coast of Somalia, whilst the multinational Combined Maritime Task Force 151 operates both in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.

The Ministry of Defence provides the headquarters in Northwood for Operation Atalanta, along with an Operational Commander from the Royal Navy. There are also regular commitments of Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships to the operation, the last of which was RFA Lyme Bay in November 2013. The Royal Navy intends to provide further support during 2014. Currently the mandate for the operation expires in 2014.

Operational control of Ocean Shield is conducted by the NATO Maritime Component Command based at Northwood, and UK ships participate in the mission on an opportunity basis. The current mandate for the operation expires at the end of 2014.

The UK provides a one-star commander and a ship to the US-led Combined Maritime Force 151 based in Bahrain, on an enduring basis. The task force conducts counter-piracy operations as part of its maritime security role.

Procurement

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises can bid for procurement contracts without being subcontractors for larger companies. [181429]

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Mr Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) set out its commitment to improving engagement with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the 'National Security Through Technology' White Paper (CM 8278) published in February 2012, which details a range of measures aimed at increasing the value of defence business going to SMEs. In financial year 2012-13 at least 12,000 SMEs were direct suppliers to the MOD and many more were active as subcontractors within the supply chain.

The practical steps we are taking to facilitate access to MOD business by SMEs include standardising and simplifying our procurement systems. We have also increased the level of direct access that SMEs have to the MOD through, for example, the Defence Supplier SME Forum, which I chair. This gives SMEs an opportunity to raise issues and ask questions directly of Ministers and senior MOD officials.

Progress on these and our other SME initiatives is regularly monitored and published in the MOD SME Action plan, which can be accessed at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defence-business-plan-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises

Public Expenditure

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on (a) consultants and (b) agency staff in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and what estimate he has made of such spending in 2013-14. [178299]

Anna Soubry [holding answer 9 December 2013]: Information on expenditure on External Assistance by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the three Executive Defence Agencies is published in the 2013 Departmental Resources Report which is available at the following link:

http://www.dasa.mod.uk/publications/finance-and-economics/departmental-resources/2013/2013.pdf

The expenditure covers a range of contracted support, including management consultancy and other specialised services such as legal, accountancy, IT and estates advice and both military and civilian training.

Expenditure on agency staff by the MOD and the Executive Defence Agencies has been £36 million in 2010-11, £34 million in 2011-12 and £49 million in 2012-13. Expenditure to date in 2013-14 has totalled some £46 million.

Work and Pensions

Pensions

21. Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions at what level the Government plans to set the pensions price cap. [901914]

Steve Webb: We have consulted on whether to cap charges in the default funds of schemes used for automatic enrolment. As a part of this, we looked at three possibilities: a 1% cap, a 0.75% cap and a comply-or-explain cap that combined both of these levels.

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We received 166 written responses to this consultation and are now analysing this evidence. These findings will be used to inform the design for any future cap including it’s level, and a decision will be announced in due course.

Benefits

23. Mr Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the extent to which the benefit cap has helped people return to work. [901916]

Esther McVey: It is my strong belief that there is a connection between the benefit cap and getting people into work.

Poll findings show that of those notified or aware that they would be affected by the cap, three in 10 took action to find work.

To date, almost 36,000 have accepted help to move into work from Jobcentre Plus and around 19,000 potentially capped claimants have moved into work.

Attendance Allowance

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of new applications for attendance allowance were made online in (a) England, (b) Cumbria and (c) Barrow and Furness constituency in the last 12 months. [182247]

Mike Penning: The information is in the following table.

Data on the total number of attendance allowance new applications made are not available at geographies below national level. Therefore it is not possible to provide information on the proportions of applications made online.

Disability Living Allowance

Sir Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the refusal in the Court of Appeal on appeal from the upper tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) on 23 October 2013, of his appeal against the decision made by the Upper Tribunal in CDLA/0735/2009, when disabled claimants entitled to receive the care component of disability living allowance following moves to other EU countries may now expect to receive these payments. [181615]

Mike Penning: We are considering the judgment made by the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) in case CDLA/0735/2009 and its implications and have decided to apply for permission to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court. While this consideration is taking place

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we will not implement the Upper Tribunal's decision in accordance with section 21(2) (c) of the Social Security Act 1998.

That position has been communicated to the other party in the case and it has been explained that we have exercised our power to suspend payment of benefit.

Decisions on similar cases involving the application of Regulation (EC)1408/71 are currently deferred under statutory powers in section 25 (5) (c) of the Social Security Act 1998 and Regulation 21 (4) (a) of the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 1999.

Employment and Support Allowance

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many mandatory reconsiderations of employment and support allowance (ESA) have been carried out since the introduction of such reconsiderations; how many of those reconsiderations resulted in the reinstatement of the claimant's ESA; how many went to appeal; and how many appeals resulted in the reinstatement of the claimant's ESA. [181663]

Mike Penning: Individual level data on mandatory reconsiderations of ESA are not available, so it is not possible to provide the information requested.

Employment and Support Allowance: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answers of 19 December 2013, Official Report, column 758W, on jobseeker's allowance: Yorkshire and the Humber and 19 December 2013, Official Report, column 756W, on employment and support allowance: Yorkshire and the Humber, (1) how many people living in Yorkshire and the Humber receiving employment and support allowance were moved from the support group to the work-related group; and of those how many appealed that decision and of those appealing how many were (a) moved back to the support group as a consequence of the appeal, (b) not moved back to the support group as a consequence of the appeal and (c) still awaiting their appeal decision in October 2012 and each month since then; [182070]

(2) how many people living in Yorkshire and the Humber receiving employment and support allowance were moved from the support group to the work-related group; and of those how many sought a review of that decision and of those seeking a review how many were (a) moved back to the support group as a consequence of the review, (b) not moved back to the support group as a consequence of the review and (c) still awaiting the decision on their request for review in October 2012 and each month since then; [182071]

(3) how many people living in Yorkshire and the Humber receiving employment and support allowance were moved (a) from the support group to the work-related group and (b) from the work-related group to the support group in October 2012 and each month since then. [182072]

Esther McVey: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 9 January 2014, Official Report, columns 280-81W.

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Employment: Disability

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disabled people declared fit for work in the last year died in the following three months. [182427]

Mike Penning: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Employment: Parents

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what provisions are in place to support the parents of disabled children in finding access to work. [182182]

Mike Penning: Jobcentre Plus advisers offer a variety of support to all claimants, including parents of disabled children, which is tailored to individuals at the most appropriate point in their claim. This includes help with job search, careers advice, boosting literacy, numeracy and language skills, other skills training, work experience and setting up a business.

There is financial help through the flexible support fund for child care costs to enable parents to carry out work-related activities or to manage the transition to work.

Once in work, tax credits and universal credit can provide assistance for parents with child care costs. Parents with disabled children under 18 can also request flexible working; they can make an agreement with their employer to work in a way that best fits their other responsibilities while also ensuring that the job gets done.

Food Banks

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment his Department has made of figures recently released by the Trussell Trust on the use of food banks in the UK; [181451]

(2) pursuant to the answer of 2 September 2013, Official Report, column 235W, on food banks, whether his Department has seen any evidence linking welfare reforms to the increased use of food banks. [181511]

Esther McVey: The Government do not monitor the use of food banks and have no plans to do so. We have seen no robust evidence linking welfare reforms to the increased use of food banks.

Housing Benefit

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects his Department to announce its discretionary housing payment allocations for 2014-15. [182058]

Steve Webb: We are currently consulting with Local Authority Associations on the distribution of next year's DHP funding. Following this we intend to publish details of individual local authority allocations in February.

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Housing Benefit: Private Rented Housing

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in private rented accommodation currently claim housing support (a) below the maximum they would be entitled to according to their local housing allowance (LHA) entitlement, (b) at the maximum level of their LHA entitlement and (c) above the maximum they are entitled to according to their LHA entitlement. [182057]

Steve Webb: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the cost to his Department is of appeals against the under-occupancy penalty based on Schedule 3 to the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006; [182147]

(2) what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department in the next financial year of appeals against the under-occupancy penalty based on Schedule 3 to the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006; [182148]

(3) how many people currently do not pay the under-occupancy penalty because they meet the criteria of Schedule 3 to the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2006. [182149]

Esther McVey: This information is not available.

Jobcentre Plus: Wales

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the wage rates were of casual labour posts advertised by Jobcentre Plus for (a) the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, (b) Amazon and (c) the Royal Mail in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot in the last two years. [182042]

Esther McVey: All three employers have recruited for temporary staff.

Amazon recruits via four agencies—Tran line, AM to PM, Abacus and Assist Cymru and they all pay £6.50 per hour for day shifts and £8.25 per hour for nights.

Royal Mail pays their temporary sorters £6.75 per hour days and £8.30 per hour nights.

DVLA advertised their recent administrative officer vacancies on an incremental scale of £16,735 to £18,000 per annum.

Jobseeker's Allowance

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of new applications for jobseeker's allowance were made online in (a) England, (b) Cumbria and (c) Barrow and Furness constituency in the last 12 months. [182248]

Esther McVey: The official measure for JSA Online is calculated using data from MISP (Management Information System Programme), unfortunately these

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data are not available below national level so the information you requested is from the ADS (Atomic Data Store) data.

The figures for England are as follows, as requested; however ADS data are only available at district and jobcentre level so we have provided the data as close as possible to your request.

The data are not available by parliamentary constituency.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answers of 19 December 2013, Official Report, column 758W, on jobseeker's allowance: Yorkshire and the Humber and 19 December 2013, Official Report, column 756W, on employment and support allowance: Yorkshire and the Humber, how many people living in Yorkshire and the Humber receiving jobseeker's allowance (JSA) had their JSA withdrawn as a result of their alleged failure to comply with conditions laid down by his Department in October 2012 and each month since then. [182073]

Esther McVey: I refer the hon. Member to my previous answer given on 9 January 2014, Official Report, column 283W.

National Insurance

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many national insurance numbers were issued to foreign nationals from each country of birth in 2013. [181672]

Esther McVey: The available information on the number of national insurance numbers issued in 2013 to each nationality can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm

National Insurance Contributions

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with local authority associations in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland with respect to potential increased national insurance contributions resulting from the single tier pension. [182075]

Steve Webb: I have not met with the local authority associations as this is a matter for HM Treasury and the Department for Communities and Local Government.

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the right hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander), has had meetings with representatives

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from the Local Government Association where the impact of the abolition of contracting out has been discussed, and officials in DWP and HM Treasury have also recently met with Local Government Association officials.

Following a commitment made by Lord Freud in the other place, during Second Reading of the Pensions Bill 2013 - 14, officials in DWP and HM Treasury are holding a roundtable meeting on Tuesday 14 January 2014 with representatives from the Local Government Associations to discuss the impact of the abolition of contracting out.

The Government would expect further discussions to take place with relevant stakeholders when Departmental Budgets are set for 2016-17 onwards, when the abolition of contracting out will take effect.

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of increased national insurance contributions as a result of the Single Tier Pension for local authorities in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [182225]

Steve Webb: We do not have such an estimate. The Government have not set a fixed spending envelope, nor individual departmental budgets, beyond 2015-16. As contracting out will be abolished in 2016-17, the impact falls outside of the current settlements. Any spending review in the next Parliament will, of course, consider the impact of increased national insurance contributions in the round.

Table 6.1 of the impact assessment which accompanies the latest version of the Pensions Bill 2013 -14 includes estimates of increased costs for all employers as a result of the abolition of contracting out, which is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/254151/a-pensions-bill-single-tier-ia-oct-2013.pdf

Social Security Benefits

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been loaned to benefits claimants as short-term benefit advances in each month since April 2013; and how much was loaned under the crisis loan scheme in each of the 12 months up to April 2013. [181428]

Steve Webb: Crisis loans were made from a specific fund to meet immediate short-term needs in an emergency or as a consequence of a disaster when a person had insufficient resources to prevent a serious risk to the health or safety of themselves or their family.

Unlike crisis loans, short-term benefit advances are not loans from a separate fund,

but are advances against future benefit payment in certain specific circumstances. Where possible, benefit is put into payment rather than offering an advance. There has to be a likely benefit entitlement in order for an advance of benefit to be paid. Because of these factors, it is impossible to directly compare these advances to crisis loans for alignment to benefit.

Table 1 shows the monthly amounts advanced since they were introduced.

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Table 2 shows the monthly expenditure on all crisis loans in 2012-13.

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the target timeframe is for processing applications for (a) disability living allowance and (b) employment and support allowance; and whether his Department is currently meeting those targets (i) nationally, (ii) in each region and (iii) in each constituency. [181657]

Mike Penning: As at November year to date (YTD) the Department is achieving clearance times nationally for processing disability living allowance (DLA) child applications. The target timeframe for processing DLA child cases is 79% of claims cleared in 40 days.

Employment and support allowance (ESA) clearance times are also being achieved nationally and by five out of six Benefit Directorate groups. The target timeframe for processing ESA claims is 85% of claims cleared in 16 days.

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We are unable to provide the management information by constituency as our management information systems do not report this level of detail and to do so would be at disproportionate cost.

Due to the roll-out of personal independent payment (PIP) the DLA data refer to child cases only as there are no longer new DLA claims for ages 16 to 64 processed at the regional disability centres.

The following table summarises the latest performance available as at November 2013.

Social Security Benefits: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answers of 19 December 2013, Official Report, column 758W, on jobseeker’s allowance: Yorkshire and the Humber and 19 December 2013, Official Report, column 756W, on employment and support allowance: Yorkshire and the Humber, how many people living in Yorkshire and the Humber were receiving (a) jobseeker’s allowance, (b) employment and support allowance - support group and (c) employment and support allowance - work-related group in (i) October 2012 and (ii) each month since then. [182069]

Esther McVey: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 9 January 2014, Official Report, column 283W.

Universal Credit

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much he expects to spend on external consultants and temporary staff to deliver the Universal Credit programme in 2013-14. [182315]

Esther McVey: Forecast expenditure for 2013-14 on consultants and temporary staff to help deliver the Universal Credit programme is as follows:

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Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the latest date is by which his plans for the delivery of universal credit will get approval from (a) HM Treasury and (b) the Major Projects Authority. [182329]

Esther McVey: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I give her on 6 January 2014, Official Report column 65W.

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has excluded existing IT suppliers involved in the universal credit process from tendering for the digital solution part of the universal credit IT system. [182330]

Esther McVey: Capability and value for money are at the heart of our contracting process. Existing IT suppliers are not excluded from tendering for the digital solution part of the universal credit IT system. If they are entitled to bid, the Department is legally obliged to consider them. The precise requirements for this part of the UC programme are still being developed.

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to complete the tender process for the development and implementation of the digital solution part of the Universal Credit IT system. [182331]

Esther McVey: There is no single tender process for this programme. Additional resources required to deliver the digital solution, which will be a combination of departmental resource and suppliers will be brought in on an 'as required basis' and, as such, we anticipate that there will be a number of commercial arrangements.

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many IT specialists in his Department are working on the development of the digital solution for the universal credit IT system. [182359]

Esther McVey: There are currently three DWP IT officials working on the development of the digital solution.

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many officials from the Government Digital Service remain working on the digital solution for the universal credit IT system. [182361]

Esther McVey: There are currently five Government Digital Service officials working on the digital solution.

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect on the timetable for the development of the digital solution for the universal credit IT system of the withdrawal of the Government Digital Service team. [182362]

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Esther McVey: We have been very clear that DWP would take over the development of the new digital service following the initial GDS Work.

We are currently transitioning and a team within DWP will now take the digital solution forward.

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate has he made on the number of IT specialists his Department will need to recruit to (a) continue and (b) complete the digital solution for the universal credit IT system; and what the potential cost of recruiting such officials is. [182363]

Esther McVey: We estimate that the Department will need to recruit around 50 IT specialists. The recruiting of such officials has always been in the plan to complete the digital solution and therefore there are no additional costs of recruitment.

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13, HC20, whether the estimate of £32 million for the development of the digital solution for the Universal Credit IT system is intended to be an upper limit on the allocated budget. [182407]

Esther McVey: The estimate of £32 million for the development of the digital solution for universal credit IT, as set out in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13, is the upper limit on the current estimates for the period up to November 14. Costs remain subject to ongoing review as plans develop.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recipients of universal credit moved into work in 2013. [182412]

Esther McVey: We are following guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority, to ensure that the published statistics on universal credit achieve a satisfactory balance

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between timeliness and data quality. Our strategy for the release of statistics is available at: