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Written Answers to Questions

Thursday 16 January 2014

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Burma

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made any commitments not to support a UN General Assembly resolution on human rights in Burma in 2014. [182504]

Mr Swire: We welcomed the UN General Assembly 3rd Committee Country Resolution on the Situation of Human Rights in Burma, which was sponsored by the EU and adopted by consensus on 20 November 2013. While recognising areas where the Burmese Government have made genuine progress, the resolution, agreed by all member states including Burma, further emphasised our ongoing human rights concerns. The EU will decide later in the year whether to sponsor a country resolution at the UN General Assembly. This will depend on the situation and the views of member states at the time.

Iran

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to include Saudi Arabia in forthcoming P5+1 negotiations with Iran. [182964]

Hugh Robertson: Countries in the region, like Saudi Arabia, take a close interest in developments concerning Iran's nuclear programme, and we engage regularly with them on this issue. There is however no mechanism for including regional countries formally in the process.

Nuclear Weapons

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the UK will be represented at the conference on the humanitarian effects of nuclear weapons hosted by the Mexican Government at Nayarit on 13 and 14 February 2014. [182993]

Hugh Robertson: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 2 December 2013, Official Report, column 570W, to the hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn).

Sri Lanka

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of progress in establishing the independent international inquiry into events at the end of the conflict in Sri Lanka since the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2013; and if he will make a statement. [182835]

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Mr Swire: As the Prime Minister said in his statement to Parliament on 18 November 2013, Official Report, columns 959-61, we will continue to press the Sri Lankan Government for credible, transparent and independent investigations into alleged war crimes. We have made clear that if a credible domestic process has not begun properly by March we will use our seat on the UN Human Rights Council to call for an international investigation. We are regularly discussing Sri Lanka with a range of international partners in the run-up to the next session of the Human Rights Council in March. The High Commissioner for Human Rights' report ahead of the Human Rights Council will give an assessment of Sri Lanka's progress.

Syria

Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of progress on the removal of chemical weapons from Syria. [182810]

Hugh Robertson: It is the Syrian regime's responsibility to comply with the UN Security Council resolution by eliminating all of its chemical weapons material and equipment in the first half of 2014.

Syria has completed the functional destruction of critical equipment held at all declared chemical weapons production facilities and at mixing and filling plants, rendering them inoperable.

The removal of the Priority 1 chemical material from Syria has begun and the international plan for the destruction of the Syrian chemical stockpile is developing well with several countries ready to play their part.

The Syrian regime must ensure that the remaining material is transported to the port as quickly as possible to ensure that all chemicals can be eliminated by the end of June.

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department is providing to opposition forces in Syria to develop governmental structures. [183002]

Hugh Robertson: We are providing a range of support to the Syrian National Coalition who we recognize as the sole legitimate representatives of the Syrian people. This includes advisers and training to build the central organisational structures for the institutions of the National Coalition, and to improve its media functions. We have also provided advisers to build the capacity of the Coalition's Assistance Co-ordination Unit, the body which oversees the delivery of humanitarian aid to opposition held areas.

Communities and Local Government

Berkshire

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will publish details of all funds allocated by his Department and associated agencies to (a) Reading borough council and (b) West Berkshire council in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14 to date. [182165]

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Brandon Lewis: The Department already makes this information available. All payments from May 2010 to present in excess of £250 are published on my Department's transparency website which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dclg-spending-over-250

Payments to Reading borough council and West Berkshire council are all detailed here.

Betting Shops: Planning Permission

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) licence and (b) planning applications for betting shops were refused by local authorities in the last year. [182411]

Nick Boles [holding answer 13 January 2014]:The Gambling Commission publishes figures on the total number of licensed betting shops. Their figures show that as of March 2012, there were 9,128 licensed betting shops in Great Britain; 9,055 as of March 2013; and 9,031 as of September 2013. The figures are not substantively different from the level in the final year of the last Administration.

My Department does not collect specific statistics on planning applications for betting shops.

Computer Software

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many software licences his Department has (a) purchased and (b) used since May 2010. [174080]

Brandon Lewis [holding answer 5 November 2013]:In August 2013, the Department's outsourced IT service provider (Steria as part of its hand-over to our new provider Fujitsu) recorded that the Department had 57,739 software licences in use across 2,500 desktops. These licences included core desktops which had 27 different elements to the system including, for example, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, virus protection, SAP Enterprise Resource Planning software application, Personal Information Management System and remote access licences.

Our procurement records show that DCLG has purchased a total of 9,498 software licences for the period May 2010 to October 2013. This does not include software purchased by the Department's outsourced IT services providers.

The overwhelming bulk of these purchases have been made in the last year, as part of the Department's upgrading of its desktop IT systems; these systems were initially purchased in 2007 and are now are in need of upgrading, for productivity and security reasons. This includes migrating from Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003, which Microsoft are shortly ceasing to support (ie no longer publishing security patches). We are also seeking to rationalise the number of products in use, from the legacy systems inherited from the Department's predecessors, including the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions.

As my Department recommended in our document, “50 ways to save”, we are reducing our software costs through the use of Open Source software. There are a

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number of excellent examples in DCLG of this approach including our new intranet and the public facing 'opendatacommunities' web solution that relies on a very wide range of .open source software. The end point operating system on 50% of our new estate is now Linux based.

The new Desktop IT Services contract will cut yearly costs by 40%, compared to current contracts, delivering a significant saving for taxpayers.

Estate Agents: Newcastle Upon Tyne

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of Newcastle city council's application for the removal of deemed consent of To Let boards; and when he intends to announce a final decision on this matter. [182709]

Nick Boles: A number of representations were submitted to the Department for and against the application for removal of deemed consent of To Let boards made by Newcastle city council. Where representations are received against an application, a hearing takes place chaired by an independent inspector who will consider the representations made, any further representations made in support and against the application and hear oral evidence on the day of the hearing.

The Planning Inspectorate and Newcastle city council are currently in the process of arranging a suitable hearing date. A decision will then be given following a fair hearing and due process.

Fire Services: Floods

Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward legislative proposals to impose a statutory duty on Fire and Rescue Services in England to respond to flooding incidents. [182758]

Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Barnsley Central (Dan Jarvis) today, PQ 182786.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward legislative proposals to impose a statutory duty on the fire and rescue service to respond to flooding incidents. [182786]

Brandon Lewis: The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 detail the roles and powers of fire and rescue authorities in respect of both emergency response and rescue in a wide range of situations, including from flooding. Fire and rescue authorities are expected to produce Integrated Risk Management Plans which identify the full range of risks that an authority's service is expected to respond to and is subject to consultation. This approach is enshrined in The National Fire Framework which was given statutory effect in August 2012. When it comes to rescuing people from floods there are a number of agencies involved, particularly in coastal areas, where, as well as fire and rescue authorities, the Royal National Lifeboat Institute and Search and Rescue helicopters can become involved. In any area, individuals and agencies with boats may also volunteer to help. Usually

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the fire and rescue authorities take the lead in co-ordinating the flood rescue co-ordination as a leading category 1 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.

Fires: Domestic Appliances

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fires were caused by (a) dishwashers, (b) irons, (c) cookers, (d) washing machines, (e) tumble dryers, (f) refrigerators and (g) televisions in each year for which data are available. [183268]

Brandon Lewis: The numbers of fires attended by local authority fire and rescue services by source of ignition, including these types of domestic appliance, can be found in the publication ‘Fire Statistics Great Britain’. These are also split for each type of appliance according to the type of fault or misuse.

Data for years from 2009-10 are in a downloadable file entitled ‘Accidental Fires' which accompanies the latest edition of ‘Fire Statistics Great Britain’:

www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-statistics-great-britain

Data for the years of 2000 to 2008 can be found in table 21 of the relevant edition and can be downloaded from:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121108165934/http://www.communities.gov.uk/fire/researchandstatistics/firestatistics/firestatisticsuk/

Housing

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his most recent estimate is of the number of residential units with planning permission; and how many of those (a) have started on site and (b) are yet to start on site. [181540]

Nick Boles: In my answers of 9 July 2013, Official Report, column 189W; 7 November 2013, Official Report, column 345-347W and 10 December 2013, Official Report, column 158W, I gave comprehensive replies pointing out the inaccurate claims being propagated by HM Opposition that there were 400,000 (or more) homes with planning permission which were not being built because of 'land banking'. I explained how these suggestions were not backed up by the factual evidence or independent studies.

I note that the right hon. Member has tried to resurrect this dead canard, further to his comments in the debate of 8 January 2014, Official Report, column 334.

The latest figures from Glenigan estimate that the number of dwellings with planning permission that are classified as 'on hold or shelved' has fallen from 59,100 in October 2013, to 57,100 in December 2013 to 55,800 in January 2014. This reflects an ongoing trend, assisted by the comprehensive package of Government measures to get stalled sites moving (many of which have been opposed by HM Opposition).

As of January 2014, there were 265,000 units with planning permission which had started on site and a further 202,900 which were progressing towards a start.

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The total number of sites with planning permission is 538,100 dwellings; the remainder is for sites which had been sold, were due to be sold, or else the information was not available. All information is based on sites of 10 units or greater.

These figures reflect the fact that the number of planning approvals for new homes is rising and is now at its highest rate since 2007 (Home Builders Federation press release, ‘Big Jump in Housing Planning Permissions’, 2 December 2013) and the fact that housing construction is at its highest levels since 2007. More housing sites have planning permission and more housing sites are being built out.

As the Home Builders Federation noted in their December press release:

‘We have already seen evidence of a rise in new homes starts and these figures show the industry's intent to increase and sustain that over the next few years. Developers are building out current sites more quickly and are now looking to invest in new sites and begin development sooner than previously planned.’

One of the remaining practical obstacles to sites starting is the imposition of unreasonable and disproportionate planning conditions, on top of the substantive planning permission. We will be announcing further steps in due course to help tackle such unreasonable conditions to help reduce delays in the planning system and help build more homes. It will be insightful whether HM Opposition oppose this further reduction of excessive red tape.

Mobile Homes

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations he has received from the owners of caravan parks on planned changes to regulations affecting the security of contracts for their residents. [182599]

Stephen Williams: The Department has received no representation from owners of holiday caravan sites on changes to regulations affecting the security of contracts for their residents. Pitch agreements between holiday caravan owners and site owners are subject to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, which protects consumers from enforceability of unfair terms in contracts. There are no changes to the regulations planned.

Pay

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what the median gross pay is of staff in his Department and its Executive agencies in each pay band who are identified as (a) white British and (b) of black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups; [178170]

(2) what the median gross pay of (a) men and (b) women is in each pay band in his Department. [178188]

Brandon Lewis: The median gross pay of staff in my Department in each pay band and equivalents by ethnicity is as follows:

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The median gross pay of staff in the Planning Inspectorate in each pay band and equivalents by ethnicity is as follows:

As the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre has less than 50 staff, and do not operate standard civil service pay bands, it would not be appropriate to provide the level of detail requested. Given the small numbers involved by splitting the staffing as above, we could not disclose the results without infringing the rights of the individuals concerned.

The median gross pay of male and female staff in my Department by pay band is as follows:

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It is important to note that the notional pay disparities at certain levels stem from differences in how long individual staff have been in their grade, and therefore how far they have progressed up their pay scale at the relevant point in time. When a female member of staff has been in a particular grade for the same period as a male they will be at the same pay level—so they do have equal pay. The same principle applies to ethnicity. It would be incorrect to suggest that there is a systematic bias or discrimination based on gender or ethnicity from the correlation of these figures, rather it is a reflection of historic recruitment patterns.

Planning Permission

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) in how many cases he has (a) modified and (b) cancelled a local authority Article 4 direction since May 2010; [182939]

(2) in how many cases where local authorities have issued Article 4 directions have they been required to pay compensation to those who permitted development rights have been withdrawn or curtailed as a result of the direction since May 2010; [182940]

(3) how many Article 4 directions relating to betting shops issued by each local authority his Department has been notified of in each of the last two years; [182999]

(4) how many Article 4 directions relating to fast food shops issued by each local authority his Department has been notified of in each of the last two years; [183001]

(5) how many article 4 directions relating to payday lending shops issued by each local authority his Department has been notified of in each of the last two years. [183000]

Nick Boles: The information is as follows:

Modification or cancellation

Since May 2010, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has not modified or cancelled any article 4 direction made by a local authority. The power is there, but it is a reserve power. By contrast, under the last Administration, the permission of the then Secretary of State was required to confirm article 4 directions.

Compensation

Local authorities are not required to notify my Department when compensation proceedings are taken against them. However, I am unaware of any successful claims for compensation. I would note that it is possible in certain circumstances for councils to limit their liability to pay compensation if they issue a non-immediate direction. Ministers in this Administration have repeatedly pointed out that councils can issue such non-immediate directions since 2010: so there has been plenty of opportunity for councils to issue these powers in the meantime.

Hot food/takeaways

There are no permitted development rights that would allow the change of use of a premises to hot food/takeaways (A5 use).

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A2 use class (financial and professional services)

Payday lenders and betting shops both fall within the broader A2 use class. In the last two years the Department has been notified of the following article 4 directions which remove permitted development rights, including A2.

Public Expenditure

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what savings have been identified in his Department's latest set of accounts; and if he will make a statement. [164160]

Brandon Lewis: The Annual Report and Accounts includes savings of £75 million against our administration budget for 2012-13. These savings form part of the 40% reduction on administration which we will deliver over the current spending review period up to 2014-15, delivering real term savings in excess of £530 million.

We continue to strive to reduce our costs, push the efficiency agenda and ensure we deliver good financial management, delivering the largest savings in Whitehall.

The Department has reduced staff numbers by 60% on a like-for-like basis, with continued savings being sustained by strict controls over recruitment as well as pay structure reform meaning an end to automatic pay progression for all new entrants, and cutting back trade union ‘facility time' to private sector levels.

We are committed to maintaining a high level of control over all aspects of departmental spend, which is reflected in our savings of over 85% in consultancy, Government procurement cards, marketing and communications.

Our commitment to efficiency extends to our arm's length bodies. Therefore as reported in our Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13 we have closed or transferred 14 of our arm's length bodies, generating £173 million of savings (in addition to savings from the abolition of regional government).

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Looking ahead, our upcoming move to Marsham street in 2014 will save our Department £9 million per year, and save taxpayers a total of £220 million over the lifetime of the building's lease commitments.

The recently approved new IT contract will save the Department £3.4 million per annum, and provide DCLG with the best value for money and affordable IT in Government. Moving towards a shared service approach on the delivery of all our corporate services will further emphasise the Department’s commitment to efficiency and joint working in the public sector, and further save taxpayers' money.

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library the exchange of correspondence between his Department and the National Audit Office (NAO) with regard to his Department's unauthorised overdraft and fines imposed by the NAO. [178056]

Brandon Lewis: [holding answer 9 December 2013]: No such specific correspondence exists. No fine was imposed by the National Audit Office.

The Department has ongoing discussions with the National Audit Office on its day to day work; for example, an overview of the Department in 2012-13 can be found online at:

http://www.nao.org.uk/report/departmental-overview-the-performance-of-the-department-for-communities-and-local-government-2012-13/

Regulation

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what the title was of each set of regulations introduced by his Department in each month since May 2010; and which of those regulations have been (a) subject to the (i) one in one out and (ii) one in two out procedure and (b) (i) revoked and (ii) amended; [155810]

(2) if he will provide the estimated cost of each regulation introduced by his Department since May 2010; and what the estimated benefits of each regulation (a) amended and (b) revoked were. [155954]

Nick Boles: The Department for Communities and Local Government is committed to removing bureaucracy, red tape and unnecessary burdens.

Based on the ‘one in, one out'/'one in, two out' methodology, the table shows how we have removed five times as many regulations as introduced, although many of the ‘zero' measures are also beneficial to business in practice.

This table does not represent a comprehensive list of the red tape that my Department has removed, but I would be happy to work up a list of deregulatory achievements if my hon. Friend wishes to ask a supplementary question.

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Secondment

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many individuals employed by (a) major UK utility companies, (b) Energy UK and (c) any related energy utility organisation were seconded to his Department in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013. [182541]

Brandon Lewis: Between 2010 and 2013 there have been no staff seconded to the Department from either a major UK utility company, Energy UK or any related energy utility organisation.

Social Rented Housing: North West

Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment he has made of trends in rent arrears in social housing in the North West. [182292]

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Kris Hopkins: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 27 November 2013, Official Report, columns 340-41W.

Home Department

Asylum

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effects of a delay in making an initial decision on the mental health of an asylum seeker who stated that they were a victim of torture in their screening interview; and if she will make a statement. [181050]

Mr Harper [holding answer 6 January 2014]: We aim to take decisions as quickly as possible. In 2012-13, 78% of initial decisions were taken within six months. In fact we aim to take initial decisions more quickly than six months. In 2012-13, we took 54% within 30 days, up from 47% in 2011-12.

Sometimes cases will take longer than six months for an initial decision for reasons beyond our control, for example where we are asked to delay a decision for the benefit of the applicant to allow sufficient time to provide expert medical evidence relating to torture or where there are issues relating to national security.

Those who claim to have been victims of torture are signposted to Freedom from Torture or the Helen Bamber Foundation. However, it is for the applicant or their representative to decide whether to seek an appointment with one of these organisations.

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to apply key performance indicators to the COMPASS contract. [182743]

Mr Harper: The suppliers' performance against key performance indicators has been measured and monitored since the beginning of the transition of services to COMPASS contracts in June 2012.

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what clawback mechanisms are included in the COMPASS contracts; and whether she expects to exercise them. [182785]

Mr Harper: The COMPASS contracts contain a range of mechanisms for protecting public expenditure in delivery of asylum accommodation services. These are:

Application of service credits

Liquidated damages

Use of contract warranties and indemnities

We do not anticipate liquidating damages or clawing back contract warranties and indemnities unless the suppliers go into breach of contract.

Deportation

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2014, Official Report, column 25W, on removals, what the largest amount spent on a single unsuccessful removal attempt was in 2013. [182106]

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Mr Harper: This information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 6 January 2014, Official Report, column 25W, on removals, what guidance her Department issues on upper limits to spending on individual deportation cases. [182107]

Mr Harper: There is no specified upper limit to the cost of a removal. Each removal is considered on a case by case basis to ensure the most suitable and cost effective method of return is used.

Fraud

Mr Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many qualified personnel in each police force area in England are employed to undertake forensic audits of economic crimes. [183112]

Damian Green: The Home Office does not hold this information centrally.

Immigrants: Detainees

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many different prisons individuals who are detained solely under immigration powers are currently detained. [179793]

Mr Harper [holding answer 16 December 2013]: Individuals detained solely under immigration powers are currently detained in 83 different England and Wales prisons, nine in Scotland and none in Northern Ireland giving a total for the UK of 92.

Notes:

1. All figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.

2. The figures have been extracted from NOMS reports which are taken from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

3. Data generated on 9 December 2013.

Offences against Children

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions recommended by police forces using intelligence developed by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre were successful in each of the last five years. [182748]

Mrs May [holding answer 15 January 2014]: The above information is not held centrally.

The Child Exploitation and On-line Protection (CEOP) Command in the National Crime Agency (NCA) receives and develops intelligence which is then disseminated to police forces for intervention locally. The decision to progress a particular intelligence package and ultimately to recommend prosecution of an individual rests with the police force concerned.

Pay

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many bonuses have been awarded to staff of her Department since 1 September 2013; [182612]

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(2) what value of bonuses has been paid to staff of her Department since 1 September 2013. [182615]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 14 January 2014]:The total number of non-consolidated performance payments awarded to staff since 1 September 2013 is 1,570.

The total value of non-consolidated performance payments paid to staff since 1 September 2013 is £246,509 and the total end of year performance payments paid to staff since September 2013 is £57,602.

The figures for the non-consolidated performance payments paid to staff since 1 September 2013 will include non-consolidated performance payments awarded to staff prior to 1 September 2013, but were paid on or after 1 September 2013.

This is because some end of year performance payments were paid on or after 1 September 2013 but were awarded on 1 July 2013, due to late notification of these payments. Also, due to payroll cut off dates some payments would have been awarded since 1 September 2013, but will not yet have been paid to staff.

Attorney-General

Procurement

Chris Leslie: To ask the Attorney-General what weighting the Law Officers' Departments procurement procedures give to (a) the location of a company and its workforce, (b) the extent to which a company has a strong environmental record, (c) whether the company is a social enterprise and (d) other company history prior performance. [182631]

The Solicitor-General: In accordance with Government procurement policy the Law Officers' Departments use pre-tendered pan-government contracts wherever possible for the supply of services. Such contracts will have been awarded following an open competition process led by either the Crown Commercial Services or another Government Department or public sector body.

Where a requirement for services cannot be met through a pan-Government contract, services will be tendered for directly, usually following an open competition process. Where services are likely to be met by framework suppliers, the Law Officers' Departments have the opportunity to run further competitions from among framework suppliers to refine the requirement for services.

In both scenarios tenders are evaluated on total value for money and not price alone. It is usual for questions to be included in tenders that require potential suppliers to demonstrate their qualification and prior experience in delivering the specific requirements. Where it is relevant to service delivery, additional evaluation criteria will consider bidders' responses in terms of location, environmental credentials, and status such as social enterprise, sole trader, partnership etc.

Chris Leslie: To ask the Attorney-General how many and of what value of contracts procured by the Law Officers' Departments in the last five years was carried out below EU thresholds. [182648]

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The Solicitor-General: Information on the number and value of contracts procured by the Law Officers' Departments during the last five years which were carried out below EU thresholds is not held centrally and could be determined only at a disproportionate cost.

Chris Leslie: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of the Law Officers' Departments' contracts have been let to companies with (a) one to five, (b) six to 49, (c) 50 to 250 and (d) more than 250 staff. [182665]

The Solicitor-General: The Law Officers' Departments do not keep any central records of the number of employees each contracted company has and could provide the information requested only at a disproportionate cost.

Chris Leslie: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion and value of the Law Officers' Departments contracts have been let (a) under the restricted procedure, (b) by the open procedure, (c) via framework agreements and (d) via a tendering process involving the use of a pre-qualification questionnaire in each of the last three years. [182682]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has completed one Official Journal of the European Union procurement project between January 2011 and December 2013. The project established a framework for the supply of video translation services. The framework was let in 2013 for five years with an estimated total value of £5 million to £10 million over the term. Due to the sensitive and specialist nature of the work the procurement involved the use of a pre-qualification questionnaire and was run under the restricted procedure.

In accordance with Government procurement policy the CPS utilises pan-Government frameworks to procure the majority of its general goods and services. Between 2011 and 2013 the Department has awarded major contracts for stationery, facilities management and translation services via pan-Government frameworks. However, the CPS is a devolved organisation and has not kept central records of all contracts let and the procedure used to award that was used in each of the last three years. To provide this information would involve checking paper records across the CPS and would incur a disproportionate cost.

The remaining Law Officers' Departments could not provide the information requested without reviewing individual contract files and this research would incur a disproportionate cost.

Northern Ireland

Fuels: Tax Evasion

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what progress has been made on the introduction of further measures to tackle fuel laundering; [183005]

(2) what recent discussions she has had with the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Republic of Ireland on fuel laundering; and what the outcome was of such discussions. [183006]

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Mrs Villiers: The introduction of a new fuel marker for the United Kingdom is a matter for my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury.

Following a joint UK/Irish project, a more robust fuel marker has been identified for use in the UK and Ireland to tackle the laundering of rebated fuels. Further details regarding its implementation and details of the new marker will be announced by Treasury Ministers in due course.

Police Fund (Northern Ireland)

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans she has to ensure that financial support for the Northern Ireland Police Fund is increased; and if she will make a statement. [182546]

Mrs Villiers: As the hon. Lady is aware, since 2010 funding for policing and justice, including the Northern Ireland Police Fund, has been a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive.

Energy and Climate Change

Electricity Generation

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of proposed levels of investment in electricity generation. [901996]

Michael Fallon: The EMR Delivery Plan, published in December 2013, estimated that up to £110 billion worth of investment could be required in the electricity sector between 2013 and 2020 to replace our ageing infrastructure with a more diverse and low-carbon energy mix.

Of this around £70 billion is attributable to power generation capacity and around £40 billion to network investment.

Electronic Equipment: Waste Disposal

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department has taken to reduce electrical waste since 2010. [182926]

Gregory Barker: DECC have taken the following steps to reduce electrical waste: Any surplus but working electrical equipment is advertised via a Government portal for other Departments to take as required.

Waste electrical items are fully disposed of in accordance with WEEE regulations. As part of the Facilities Management contract waste electrical items are sent for recycling or reused where possible.

We have recently developed an ISO14001 complaint environmental management system across our London Estate that will further drive improvements in this area. Additionally specifically for IT electrical items DECC IT operate a sustainability plan that focuses on minimising the devices deployed, via virtualisation, lean provisioning, print reduction and information management. Selecting energy efficient devices (i.e. Energy Star, Spec Power) and looks to use and maintain assets for maximum operational life. Finally the resale or recycling of legacy/end of life devices.

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Energy: Billing

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to help consumers reduce their energy bills. [902000]

Mr Davey: We are very concerned about the rises in bills so we are helping consumers with their energy bills in three ways:

Direct help with money off their bills;

With stronger competition; and

Through energy efficiency programmes.

Last month, we secured an agreement with the energy companies for an average £50 cut off of this year’s bill, and I am pleased to tell the House that my Department’s own work for greater competition for consumers will be enhanced following the appointment of Clive Maxwell, the current chief executive of the Office of Fair Trading.

Energy: Company Accounts

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2013, Official Report, column 607W, on energy: company accounts, if he will place in the Library a copy of his instructions to Ofgem on the report on the transparency of financial accounts of the energy companies. [182536]

Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has asked Ofgem to deliver a full report on the transparency of financial accounts of the energy companies and ways this could be improved. This will report by spring 2014.

Energy: Competition

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to improve competition in the wholesale energy market. [902013]

Mr Davey: There are two main initiatives to increase competition in the wholesale energy market led by Ofgem, which we have underpinned with new powers in the Energy Act 2013.

First, Ofgem has worked with industry to increase the amount of electricity traded in the "day ahead" market, with very encouraging progress. Over the last 12 months over 50% of electricity has been sold on the day exchanges compared to just 6% in 2010.

Second, Ofgem's new reforms—most notably, the Market Maker Obligation—should be rolled out from 1 April this year, which will force the Big 6 to publish prices and require them to buy and sell electricity at these prices in the forward markets. This will increase liquidity, transparency and competition.

Energy: Prices

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to ensure that vulnerable customers do not pay disproportionately high unit costs for gas and electricity. [902008]

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Gregory Barker: This Government are determined to secure a fair deal for all consumers. That is why we provided legislative backing for Ofgem's retail market reforms that deliver our commitment that every consumer should be on the cheapest tariff that meets their needs.

Nuclear Power Stations: Japan

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of reported radiation levels on the boundary of the Fukushima Nuclear Plant in Japan; and if he will make a statement. [182843]

Michael Fallon: The UK Government have not made any specific assessments of reported radiation levels on the boundary of the Fukushima Nuclear Plant. This is a matter for the Japanese authorities.

The IAEA issues regular Status Reports to the public on the current status of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, including information on environmental radiation monitoring, the status of workers and current conditions on-site at the plant. This information can be found at:

http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/fukushima/status-reports.html

Power Failures

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with power companies on their preparedness to deal with bad weather events. [901994]

Mr Davey: I met the distribution network operators and key industry players on 8 January to discuss the power cuts over the Christmas period and have set up a review of what worked and what did not. This is due to report back to me before the end of March.

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While there are clearly lessons to be learnt, especially over communications with customers, I want to record, again, my thanks to the thousands of people who worked hard over their Christmases, mostly in difficult circumstances, to look after and reconnect those affected by severe storms and flooding.

Procurement

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much and what value of his Department's procurement was conducted using e-procurement tools in each of the last three financial years. [182936]

Gregory Barker: The information requested is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Secondment

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) how many individuals employed by (a) major UK utility companies, (b) Energy UK and (c) any related energy utility organisation were seconded to his Department in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013; [182547]

(2) how many people employed by (a) green organisations and (b) consumer groups were seconded to his Department in each of the last four years; and from which organisation each was seconded. [182788]

Gregory Barker: The number of people on secondment to the Department of Energy and Climate Change in each year from 2010 to 2013, the companies that they have been seconded from and the year their secondment started, is shown in the following table.

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Sellafield

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the review of the performance of Sellafield Nuclear Reprocessing Plant produced by KPMG Chartered Accountants Group for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; and if he will make a statement. [182870]

Michael Fallon: The KPMG report provided an independent review of performance at Sellafield Ltd in the first five year period under the ownership of Nuclear Management Partners. It was commissioned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to help inform its decision on whether to extend the contract.

Solar Power

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to ensure that solar PV is appropriately sited. [902017]

Gregory Barker: Inappropriately sited solar PV is something that the Government are determined to prevent.

Our planning guidance gives clear advice on the appropriate siting of renewable energy developments, including solar PV. I have personally written to local authorities to emphasise this, and am working with the industry to support the development of new best practice.

Furthermore, the solar strategy, to be published in the spring, will set out our policy on appropriate siting of solar PV in even greater detail.

Treasury

Minimum Wage

Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many members of staff in HM Revenue and Customs were involved in enforcement of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 and its associated delegated legislation in each of the last four years. [182343]

Mr Gauke: The Government take the enforcement of NMW very seriously. In addition to reviewing every complaint that is referred to them by the Pay and Work Rights Helpline, HMRC carry out targeted enforcement where it identifies a high risk of non-payment of NMW. The value of penalties charged has increased by 41% between 2012-13 and 2009-10.

The total number of HMRC staff who were involved in the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage Act in each of the last six financial years is shown in the following table. Please note that the number shown includes staff who have left in that year.

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Staff across HMRC contribute to enforcing the NMW, including people who work in legal advice, debt management, technical support and criminal investigation, but HMRC does not record the specific numbers of those staff involved, beyond those identified above.

Minimum Wage: North West

Paul Maynard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employees in Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency are paid below the national minimum wage rates for those 21 years old and under. [183146]

Mr Gauke: The Government take the enforcement of NMW very seriously and HMRC enforce the national minimum wage legislation on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and has done so since the introduction of NMW in April 1999. It does that by investigating all complaints made about employers suspected of not paying the minimum wage, in addition carrying out targeted enforcement where it identifies a high risk of non-payment of NMW.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave on 6 January 2014, Official Report, column 162W, and on 11 November 2013, Official Report, column 465W, to the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd (Chris Ruane). HMRC does not capture complaints or the outcomes of its investigations by reference to Government regions or country. Its management information relates to the work of teams who are multi-located. Because HMRC resources to risk, work relating to a specific geographical area is not always done by the NMW team based in that area.

National Insurance Contributions: West Midlands

Karen Lumley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment his Department has made of how the employment allowance will benefit businesses in the West Midlands. [182626]

Mr Gauke: From April 2014 every business and charity will be entitled to a £2,000 employment allowance to reduce their employer NICs bill each year. The allowance will reduce the costs of employment, supporting small businesses aspiring to grow by hiring their first employee or expanding their workforce.

In the West Midlands, up to 101,000 employers will be able to benefit from the allowance in 2014-15, with 35,000 employers lifted out of NICs completely.

Tax Avoidance

Mr Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an assessment of the extent of the use of engineered corporate insolvency to avoid paying tax liabilities in the UK. [182270]

Mr Gauke: HMRC does not at this time have an estimate of the losses suffered to the Exchequer from the use of engineered corporate insolvency which is commonly understood to include phoenixism through a liquidation or administration process.

In estimating the Tax Gap HMRC have established that non-payment of debt amounts to 12% (£4.4 billion) of that gap and that a large proportion of this is

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attributable to insolvency. HMRC are currently looking at ways to identify how much of the tax gap relates to engineered or contrived insolvency.

To combat engineered insolvency we have invested additional funding of £2.1 million in HMRC under the spending review 2010 to provide additional legal resources and training for 80 staff in the use of civil recovery processes which includes identifying and lodging claims (in conjunction with the liquidator) against directors who have breached their fiduciary duties to their companies. HMRC aims to deliver additional benefits to the Exchequer of £177 million from this investment over the three year spending review period to 2015.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Air Pollution

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information his Department has collected on air quality in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) each region of the UK. [182971]

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA operates approximately 300 monitoring sites across the UK. 130 of these are part of the Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN) and each collects and reports hourly information on some or all of the following pollutants: ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter of up to 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5) and particulate matter of up to 10 microns in diameter (PM10). In addition, there are 11 non-automatic networks that collect data for a range of other pollutants including hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals, black carbon, acid deposition and ammonia.

There are 16 DEFRA-operated monitoring sites in the West Midlands. Nine of these gather information as part of the AURN; four monitor hydrocarbons, two monitor black carbon, two monitor metals, one monitors PAHs, one monitors acid deposition, one monitors acid gas and aerosol and four monitor ammonia.

Coventry has one DEFRA monitoring site operated under the AURN.

Details and monitoring information for all these sites and pollutants is available on the UK-air website at:

http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/

Data from UK-wide modelling of air quality are also available on this site.

In addition to information on air quality collected from the above networks, local authorities in the UK have a responsibility to review and assess local air quality and to prepare reports of local air quality. DEFRA is provided with this information.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to receive the report by the Independent Expert Panel assessing the badger cull pilots. [182970]

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George Eustice: The Independent Expert Panel continues to consider the results of the pilots and prepare its report. As an independent body the timing of its report's completion and submission to Ministers is ultimately a matter for them.

Procurement

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what weighting his Department's procurement procedures give to (a) the location of a company and its workforce, (b) the extent to which a company has a strong environmental record, (c) whether the company is a social enterprise and (d) other company history prior performance. [182638]

Dan Rogerson: Core DEFRA's procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of value for money, which means the optimum combination of cost and quality over the lifetime of the project. Public sector procurers are required to assess value for money from the perspective of the contracting authority, using criteria linked to the subject matter of the contract, including compliance with the published specification. Such criteria cannot include supplier type or location.

Wider socio-economic criteria can be taken into account at tender evaluation stage if they relate directly to the subject matter of a contract from the point of view of the contracting authority.

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what value of contracts procured by his Department in the last five years was carried out below EU thresholds. [182655]

Dan Rogerson: Core DEFRA does not hold consistent contract information for contracts awarded by core DEFRA prior to 1 April 2009. The data for later years are shown in the following table.

The information provided above excludes (a) research spending, which is not subject to the EU thresholds, and (b) any procurement through frameworks with a value above the EU thresholds.

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of his Department's contracts have been let to companies with (a) one to five, (b) six to 49, (c) 50 to 250 and (d) more than 250 staff. [182672]

Dan Rogerson: Core DEFRA is committed to increasing its direct and indirect spend with SMEs. However, we do not hold information on supplier staff numbers.

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Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of his Department's overall procurement spend for each of the previous three financial years was (a) spent on joint procurement exercises with other Departments and (b) shared between different organisations within the same department group. [182771]

Dan Rogerson [holding answer 15 January 2014]: The data requested are shown in the following table:

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much and what value of his Department's procurement was conducted using e-procurement tools in each of the last three financial years. [182941]

Dan Rogerson: The information requested for core DEFRA is in the following table.

These figures exclude direct awards under framework agreements and single tender actions. Also excluded are research contracts due to inconsistencies in the recording of contracts in the earlier years.

Work and Pensions

Assets

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list each item valued at more than £500 of assets impaired as a result of his decision to discontinue the Enquiry Service facilities as set out in his Department's recent annual report and accounts. [182927]

Esther McVey: The list of asset items valued at £500 or more, impaired as a result of the decision to discontinue the Enquiry Service is as follows:

Asset

IT Upgrades

Inquiry Service R11.3 (software upgrade)

Bereavement (IT development)

Inquiry (IT development)

Process Management (IT development)

Update (IT development)

Update Software Environments

JSA deductions (IT development)

Seagull (Legasuite IT Development)

Update (IT Development)

DWP Enquiry Service (Telephony)

BT Proposal Work TCC (Telephony)

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T-IDV

Appointment booking (IT development)

BT milestone (Telephony)

Inquiry (IT development)

Inquiry Service (IT development)

Environments BT TIE (Telephony)

Software environments update

Enhanced Transmission Service

Elements 2.1 (IT development)

Assets in Course of Construction

Software licenses

CAMlite (IT development)

Child Support Agency

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure members of the public receive a better service from the Child Support Agency. [182708]

Steve Webb: Ongoing efforts to address inefficiencies have seen the performance of the 1993 and 2003 schemes run by the Child Support Agency (CSA) significantly improve in recent years. The number of children benefiting, maintenance outcomes and the amount of maintenance collected have all increased, while the number of complaints received has decreased. For example, four out of five parents who use the CSA are now paying some child maintenance for their children, where five years ago it was just two out of three.

The latest Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics documents these changes:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/259738/csa_qtr_summ_stats_sep13.pdf

Employment and Support Allowance

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total spend on employment and support allowance has been in each month of the last five years in (a) Birmingham, Hall Green constituency, (b) Birmingham and (c) England. [182729]

Esther McVey: Monthly benefit expenditure is not available below Great Britain level. However estimates of annual expenditure at parliamentary constituency, local authority and England level can be found in our published benefit expenditure tables via the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2013