Defence

Armed Forces: Hearing Impairment

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel have had their hearing classified as H3 or below as a result of their PULHEEMS assessment at the age of (a) 30, (b) 35, (c) 40, (d) 45 and (e) 50 since January 2009. [182509]

Anna Soubry: Since 1 January 2009 the following numbers of UK Service personnel have had a hearing grade H3 ‘impaired hearing’ or H4 ‘poor hearing’ recorded on their primary health care patient record:

It should be noted that this is a snapshot of information recorded on the primary care record at that specific age. If personnel had a H3 or H4 recorded at a different age, they have not been included in the numbers provided.

It should also be noted that in-service Joint Medical Employment Standard assessments are no longer routinely carried out when personnel reach certain ages.

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals with measured hearing loss on discharge at 35-50dB averaged over 1, 2 and 3 kHz frequencies have made application for hearing

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loss awards under

(a)

the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme,

(b)

the War Pension Scheme and

(c)

both schemes since April 2002. [182510]

Anna Soubry: Between 6 April 2005 and 30 September 2013 (the earliest and latest dates for which Armed Forces Compensation data are available) 295 claims have been made for deafness/hearing loss under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

The number of these individuals who have made claims for hearing loss under the War Pensions Scheme is not available and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many applications have been received by the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency for Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or War Pension awards for hearing loss since April 2002. [182512]

Anna Soubry: Between 6 April 2005 and 30 September 2013 (the earliest and latest date for which Armed Forces Compensation Scheme data are available) a minimum of 2,460 claims have been made for deafness and hearing loss.

It has not been possible to provide War Pension Scheme data for financial year 2002-03, as this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2013 (the latest date for which War Pension Scheme (WPS) data are available) a minimum of 2,285 first claims have been made for deafness and hearing loss.

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people have been awarded a zero per cent War Pension for hearing loss since April 2002. [182513]

Anna Soubry: It has not been possible to provide the figures for financial year 2002-03, as this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2013 (the latest date for which War Pension Scheme data are available) a minimum of 1,315 people have been awarded a 0% War Pension for deafness or hearing loss.

0% awards are recorded where the medical condition is accepted as being due to service, but has not led to any degree of disablement.

Armed Forces: Northern Ireland

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Northern Ireland service personnel are currently serving outside the UK. [182858]

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my predecessor the Minister for the Armed Forces, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois) gave on 1 July 2013, Official Report, column 398W, to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon). In the absence of a comprehensive picture of individuals recruited from Northern Ireland, it is not possible to specify where they are serving.

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Asia

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the US Department of Defense's plan to enlist the co-operation of allies to support increased use of armed and surveillance unmanned vehicles in Asia, as set out in the Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap FY2013-2036. [182417]

Mr Francois: We co-operate with the US on a number of issues, and are proactively engaged in seeking ways to further enhance our defence and security relationship, and to make best use of military assets, including unmanned systems, to fulfil our shared capability requirements.

Burma

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what outcomes are expected from training provided to the Burmese Army. [182506]

Mr Francois: Providing defence education to overseas armed forces personnel to the same high standards used by UK armed forces helps improve standards, accountability and among other things, raises awareness of the importance of human rights. It also helps build stability overseas as part of the Government's wider foreign policy goals.

Each participant of the Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context course that recently took place in Burma received education in the following objectives:

the structures and processes through which security can be legitimately governed and managed;

professionalism within the defence and security sectors as it pertains to civilian and security personnel;

the significance of leadership, governance and management in the attainment of higher professional standards;

the implications and benefits of enhanced professionalism for the civil-military relationship; and

the wider consequences of enhanced professionalism for international security.

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to ensure that Burmese Army soldiers receiving training by UK armed forces have not been involved in human rights abuses in the past. [182507]

Mr Francois: The course that we are currently providing was specifically tailored for Burmese officers at the rank of Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel and seeks to address the key issues of accountability, governance and respect for human rights. We have no information to suggest that course participants have been involved in human rights abuses.

We have a long tradition of providing defence education to overseas armed forces personnel and we do so in Burma in support of wider foreign policy objectives.

Defence Support Group

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the privatisation of the Defence Support Group; and if he will make a statement. [182965]

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Mr Dunne: The intention is to complete the sale of the Defence Support Group (DSG) Land Business in financial year 2014-15.

I see a sale as the best opportunity for the front line to retain access to a DSG with the capacity, capability, and access to the investment needed to support the armed forces of the future. It will enable DSG to diversify and grow, and reduce its dependence on the Ministry of Defence as its sole major customer.

The DSG is recognised as an important maintenance supplier to the British armed forces, particularly the Army. Our intention is that it remains so. However, this does not preclude sale. Private sector contractors already successfully provide maintenance and support repair services to the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force for their major equipment platforms and a sale would bring similar analogous arrangements into place for the British Army.

Mali

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the UK will provide any support to the deployment of French Reapers in Mali. [182710]

Mr Francois: There are currently no plans for the UK to provide any support to the deployment of remotely piloted air systems in Africa by France.

Procurement

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what value of contracts procured by his Department in the last five years was carried out below EU thresholds. [182652]

Mr Dunne: The number and value of Ministry of Defence (MOD) contracts awarded that fell below the applicable European Union thresholds during the last five calendar years are shown in the following table.

Contracts not included are those which may have been made on behalf of other Government Departments, by MOD Trading Funds or Executive Non Departmental Public Bodies, placed locally by the Department, through third parties or in relation to collaborative projects where the payments are made through international procurement agencies or overseas Governments. Also not included are pan-Government enabling contracts, Terms of Business Arrangements, Government Procurement Card payments or miscellaneous transactions.

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Also excluded are contracts that are exempt from EU regulations because, for example, they relate to sensitive military equipment.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2013, Official Report, columns 707-08W, on RAF Waddington, whether UK Reapers and the systems which control and support UK Reapers are interoperable with the capabilities and systems of any NATO allies. [182419]

Mr Francois: UK Reaper is interoperable with equivalent Reaper systems and other capabilities used by NATO allies.

Culture, Media and Sport

American Football

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the potential benefit to the UK economy of the NFL 2013 regular season games played at Wembley. [182487]

Mrs Grant: I welcome the National Football League's commitment to playing regular season games at Wembley. The move to host three games next season demonstrates the commitment of Commissioner Goodell and the NFL owners to the UK. This is a welcome opportunity for British fans of NFL to attend games, and has a benefit through tourism and associated economic activity. It also enhances the UK's reputation for hosting major international sports events, as we continue to cement our Olympic Legacy.

Cinemas: Alcoholic Drinks

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her policy is on the (a) drinking and (b) advertising of alcohol in cinemas. [180179]

Mr Vaizey [holding answer 17 December 2013]:The information is as follows:

(a) Licensing Policy does not fall within the remit of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, but is the responsibility of the Home Office.

(b) In non-broadcast media (including online and in the cinema) alcoholic drinks cannot be advertised if more than 25% of the audience is under 18 years of age.

The UK Advertising Codes cover advertising in all media, including on TV, online (including on websites and social media) and across non-broadcast media (eg in cinemas, on posters, billboards, in newspapers and magazines).

Gambling: Advertising

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will discuss with Ofcom the finding of its report Trends in Advertising Activity Gambling, published in November 2013; and if she will make a statement. [182711]

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Mr Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport regularly meets with Ofcom to discuss a range of matters, including a meeting in October 2013 with regulators-including Ofcom-specifically to obtain information about gambling advertising on television.

The Government keep the potential impact of the increase in gambling advertising on the licensing objectives defined in the Gambling Act 2005 under review and used this opportunity to discuss with the regulators concerned the effectiveness of the various codes, regulations and current initiatives supporting these licensing objectives.

Justice

Community Orders: Greater London

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what provision is made in the contract between his Department and Serco to provide Community PayBack in London for a health and safety policy; and what steps he has taken to ensure that that provision is satisfactory. [180963]

Jeremy Wright: The contract with Serco Group plc for delivery of Community Payback in London addresses Health and Safety in the following Schedules: Schedule A: Services—Special Conditions; Schedule C: Specification.

I will place an extract from Schedules A and C in the Library.

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many local offices have been closed as a result of the sub-contracting of Community Payback in London to Serco. [180964]

Jeremy Wright: Serco's delivery model includes the provision of a dedicated control centre to oversee operations on a day-to-day basis: this has allowed for the closure of four local offices and a storage unit. The new delivery model has also enabled London Probation Trust to carry out an estate rationalisation, with the closure of an additional three buildings.

We estimate there will be savings of 37% over the lifetime of the four-year contract, releasing cashable savings of £25 million in that period.

Electronic Tagging

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals in respect of electronic monitoring of offenders in order to reflect the announcement on preferred suppliers; and if he will make a statement. [180923]

Jeremy Wright: New legislation is not required in respect of the announcement of the preferred bidders. There is a range of existing legislative powers which enable offenders to be subject to electronic monitoring requirements and conditions: to monitor compliance with other conditions, such as curfew, and to monitor whereabouts as a condition in its own right. These powers are kept under review.

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Lewes Prison

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many sex offenders are held at HM Prison Lewes; and how many places on sex offender treatment programmes are available at that prison. [180559]

Jeremy Wright: As of 30 September 2013 there were 71 prisoners held at HMP Lewes with an index offence of a sexual nature, of whom 46 were sentenced and 25 were on remand. The prison has been proposed as a treatment support site for other prisons in Kent and Sussex, particularly HMP Isle of Wight. A treatment support site's role is to support offenders before they get to treatment. SOTP is long (six months plus); resource intensive in terms of specially trained staff resources (including psychologists) and often emotionally demanding of staff who run these programmes. For these reasons (as well as others such as the numbers of sex offenders who deny their offence) SOTP has never been offered in all prisons that hold sex offenders but instead a network of prisons offering SOTPs has developed, allowing expertise to be built.

The sex offenders at Lewes will be managed in a dedicated accommodation area and in accordance with the principles set out by the National Sex Offender Board. Lewes does run the Thinking Skills offender behaviour programme, and some places will be specifically allocated to sex offenders held in the prison.

National Offender Management Service

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department's policy is on (a) the rehiring of former employees of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) who took advantage of the voluntary early departure scheme and (b) repayment of any severance monies received as part of the voluntary early departure scheme if such former employees are subsequently rehired by the NOMS. [181139]

Jeremy Wright: The information is as follows:

(a) When NOMS recruits in the external labour market through open and fair competition, it would, necessarily, not treat applicants differently because they were former employees who had previously left through voluntary exit.

It might, on occasion, for particular purposes, choose to re-appoint former employees, outside of open and fair competition, if there were business reasons to do so. If such a need were to arise, the individuals to be considered and then selected would be determined at that time. NOMS does not have a predetermined policy regarding the treatment of former employees, who had previously left through voluntary exit, in relation to such appointments.

Any new recruits, including ones who were former employees, would join on the rates of pay, and other terms and conditions, which applied at that time.

(b) The provisions for the repayment of voluntary exit payments upon re-appointment are defined by the Civil Service Compensation Scheme. If an individual leaves through voluntary exit, and is re-employed in an organisation covered by the Civil Service pension and compensation arrangements within 28 days of leaving their current employer, their compensation will be cancelled and their service will treated as continuous. They will have to repay the full compensation amount.

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If they are re-employed in an organisation covered by the Civil Service pension and compensation arrangements outside the 28 day period, but within the lesser of six months, and the notional period of the compensation payment, they will have to pay back the compensation payment pro-rata.

The repayment will be reduced in cases where the new employment is at a lower salary level than before.

If the individual has taken their compensation in the form of pension, the repayment is based on the compensation payment that would otherwise have been paid.

In all cases, if they have taken their pension on leaving, it may be subject to abatement if they are re-employed.

Information on the Civil Service Compensation Scheme is available on the Civil Service website at:

http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/pensions

Oakwood Prison

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the disturbances at HM Prison Oakwood on 5 January 2014; and if he will make a statement. [181676]

Jeremy Wright: An incident at HMP Oakwood was resolved successfully in the early hours of 6 January. Police and internal investigations will now take place: it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff at HM Prison Oakwood have less than one year's service in the Prison Service. [181859]

Jeremy Wright: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to a previous question on 16 December 2013, Official Report, column 500W.

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking in response to the recent assessment of HM Prison Oakwood by HM Inspector of Prisons. [182065]

Jeremy Wright: HMP Oakwood has produced an action plan to implement the recommendations contained in the inspection report published on 8 October 2013. Progress on the implementation of the recommendations, which is now 80% complete, is regularly reviewed by the National Offender Management Service.

Prison Service

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many prison officers taking voluntary early departure since May 2010 have been subsequently re-employed by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS); how much severance pay those officers received in total; and how much severance pay was repaid to NOMS; [181135]

(2) what proportion of the severance pay received by prison officers for taking voluntary early departure has been paid back to his Department by those subsequently rehired by the Department. [181796]

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Jeremy Wright: None of the prison officers who took voluntary early departure between May 2010 and September 2013 have been reemployed by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) up until 1 October 2013. There has therefore been no repayment of severance pay made by these staff.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were repatriated in 2013 to (a) China, (b) Vietnam, (c) Pakistan, (d) India, (e) Nigeria and (f) Jamaica. [181481]

Jeremy Wright: The United Kingdom has in place prisoner transfer arrangements with Vietnam, India, Pakistan and Nigeria. These arrangements provide for the voluntary transfer of a prisoner only. Between 1 January and 31 December 2013, three prisoners were transferred to Vietnam and one prisoner was transferred to India. No prisoners were transferred to Pakistan or Nigeria in 2013.

On 9 January 2014 the United Kingdom and Nigeria signed a prisoner transfer agreement which no longer requires the consent of the prisoner. Once implemented this should lead to an increase in the number of prisoners transferred to Nigeria.

The United Kingdom does not have in place prisoner transfer arrangements with Jamaica or China. As a consequence no prisoners were transferred to these countries to continue serving their sentences there.

Prisons: Private Sector

Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of privately-run prisons in light of the recent disturbance in HMP Oakwood; and if she will make a statement. [182209]

Jeremy Wright: I am replying as Minister responsible for Prisons in England and Wales.

Privately-run prisons have been a key feature of the prison estate for over 20 years and will continue to play a crucial role in rehabilitating offenders.

The Ministry of Justice works closely with the management of privately-run prisons to ensure that the contractors deliver to their contractual requirements.

The incident at HMP Oakwood was resolved successfully in the early hours of 6 January. Police and internal investigations will now take place: it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.

Probation

Sir Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to have completed the handover of all offender supervision cases to (a) the National Probation Service and (b) community rehabilitation companies. [180961]

Jeremy Wright: Responsibility for the probation caseload transfers to the National Probation Service (NPS) and Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) on 1 April 2014. This will be done in a way which will not compromise public protection and risk management.

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During this first stage of the transition we are seeking to maintain as much continuity as possible. It is therefore anticipated that, in the majority of cases, the case will transfer into the new structure with the current case manager. Those cases that do need to be transferred to a different case manager will be transferred in a structured way which maintains continuity of supervision and ensures public protection is maintained. There is no requirement to complete case reallocation by 1 April where it is felt that to do so may compromise public protection and risk management.

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many mutuals have been approved for the purpose of the competitive tendering of probation services in England and Wales; and in which regions those mutuals are located; [180966]

(2) whether any probation trust will be permitted to participate in the competitive tendering for the supervision of prisoners serving less than 12 months upon their release. [181957]

Jeremy Wright: The competition process has been designed, as far as possible, to allow a range of different kinds of entities to be able to bid to deliver services. This includes mutuals designed by individuals within existing Probation Trusts. Such entities need to be capable of bearing financial risk.

On 19 December the Ministry of Justice announced the 30 bidders who have passed the first stage of the competition, the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire, and who will be invited to bid for regional rehabilitation contracts.

The bids are from a diverse mix of partnerships with more than 50 organisations represented. All of the bidders have experience working with offenders or across the wider criminal justice system. Mutuals formed by probation staff constitute around a third of shortlisted bidders.

The full list of bidders and their partner groups can be found on the Government website at:

www.gov.uk/government/news/best-in-the-business-bidding-to-rehabilitate-offenders

Probation: Private Sector

Sir Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many companies or other organisations have expressed interest in becoming or forming Community Rehabilitation Companies in each of the designated 21 areas specified by him. [181089]

Jeremy Wright: Following the announcement on 19 September that we would be running a competition to find the owners of the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) which will provide rehabilitation services to offenders, 35 companies expressed an interest in bidding, representing 50 organisations. On 19 December we announced that 30 bidders have passed the first stage of the competition, the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire, and will be invited to bid for regional rehabilitation contracts. All of the bidders have experience working with offenders or across the wider criminal justice system.

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The bids are from a diverse mix of partnerships representing a range of organisations including many from the voluntary sector. Mutuals formed by probation staff are also among those who will have the opportunity to bid to play a major role in the reforms, with around a third of shortlisted bidders including these groups. Bidders will need to select the contract package areas for which they want to bid during the next stage of the competition.

The full list of bidders and their partner groups can be found on the Government website at:

www.gov.uk/government/news/best-in-the-business-bidding-to-rehabilitate-offenders

Sir Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the judiciary and the Director of Public Prosecutions on the lack of common geographical boundaries between the 21 proposed community rehabilitation companies, the police areas and the Crown Prosecution Service areas. [181090]

Jeremy Wright: In May 2013, we published ‘Transforming Rehabilitation—a strategy for reform’, which set out our response to our earlier, wide consultation ‘Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage offenders’. The Home Office, judiciary and DPP were included in this process and both documents received cross-Government clearance through the Home Affairs Committee.

Effective joint working is crucial if we are to tackle persistent reoffending, and we have aligned the contract package areas (CPAs) with other agencies' areas of responsibility in order to support this, while maintaining the scale and efficiencies we need. Many of the CPAs map one-to-one on to PCCs' area of responsibility, and we have taken care to ensure that no contract package area cuts across either PCC or local authority boundaries.

My officials are engaging with PCCs and local authorities to ensure effective joint working continues at local level once the reforms are implemented. Our commissioning process will be informed by engagement with co-commissioning partners at a national, PCC and local authority level. PCCs will have the ability to commission rehabilitation providers to deliver additional services in line with their own priorities through co-commissioning. In addition there have been a number of meetings with the senior judiciary at both official and ministerial level to discuss the detail of the Offender Rehabilitation Bill as well as the broader reforms. Transforming Rehabilitation is also a standing agenda item at the National Sentencer Probation Forum.

Sentencing: Foreign Nationals

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national criminals received custodial sentences of two years or less between April 2013 and December 2013. [182458]

Jeremy Wright: There were 2,358 foreign national receptions sentenced to two years or less between April-June 2013 in England and Wales¹.

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We are working hard to reduce the flow of FNOs into our prison system and increase the number of FNOs removed from the UK through Prisoner Transfer Agreements (PTAs); the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) and Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS).

¹ We will publish July-September 2013 data later this month.

Serco

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) whether Serco has incurred any financial penalties due to performance targets being missed under the contract for the delivery of Community Payback in London to date; [177796]

(2) whether the contract with Serco for the delivery of Community Payback in London includes any option to extend the contract; [177797]

(3) how the savings claimed to be made under the contract with Serco for the delivery of Community Payback in London have been calculated; [177829]

(4) on which occasions service delivery failures have occurred since the beginning of the contract with Serco for the delivery of Community Payback in London; [177830]

(5) how many complaints to date have been received from (a) those undertaking Community Payback and (b) the London Probation Trust about the quality of the service being delivered by Serco under the contract for the delivery of Community Payback in London. [177831]

Jeremy Wright: The contract sets out in precise detail how the Community Payback service is to be delivered in London. Any service delivery issues are discussed at regular meetings between Serco and London Probation Trust.

Serco has not incurred any financial penalties to date on account of performance targets having been missed. Serco is meeting key targets and is out-performing the national average on a number of key measures.

The Ministry of Justice has not received any complaints about delivery of Community Payback in London by Serco. Data provided by Serco on complaints to the company itself indicate that during the period 31 October 2012 to 31 October 2013 the company received 69 complaints from offenders relating to Community Payback in London. No complaints have been received from London Probation Trust: any issues are addressed at the regular meetings between Serco and the Trust, as explained above.

Treason Felony Act 1848

Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of an offence under section 3 of the Treason Felony Act 1848 in the last 30 years. [181668]

Jeremy Wright: Records show no convictions under section 3 of the Treason Felony Act 1848 in the last 30 years.

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Written Questions: Government Responses

Sir Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he will answer the five written questions tabled by the hon. Member for Harborough on 17 December 2013 for answer on 19 December 2013. [182186]

Jeremy Wright: I understand that you have now received responses to your five written parliamentary questions and I apologise for the delay.

Health

Cancer

Mr Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the £2.3 million of funding set aside for strategic clinical networks to improve awareness of symptoms has been allocated to assist early diagnosis of cancer. [182995]

Jane Ellison: All of the £2.3 million funding made available to strategic clinical networks (SCNs) in 2013-14 is intended to promote the awareness and early diagnosis of cancer. SCNs made bids to NHS England for funding for projects with those dual and interlinked aims.

Of the £2.3 million, £10,000 was awarded to each SCN to support local engagement and raising awareness in the local area of the national Be Clear On Cancer campaigns and associated impact on the national health service. An additional £10,000 was awarded to the three SCNs who also had regional Be Clear On Cancer pilot campaigns running in their areas.

£2,100,000 was awarded in funding of various amounts to 12 SCNs for projects to increase awareness and early diagnosis of cancer. These projects predominantly focus on increasing knowledge and intelligence in primary care to improve earlier diagnosis.

£30,000 was additionally awarded to the Yorkshire and Humber SCN, who bid to support this programme of work and co-ordinate activity across SCNs.

Mr Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the recent publication of Eurocare 5 statistics on cancer survival rates, what steps his Department is taking to improve early diagnosis to ensure that cancer is identified early in patients. [182996]

Jane Ellison: Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer commits to saving an additional 5,000 lives each year by 2014-15. Over £750 million has been committed over four years to support early diagnosis and improve access to cancer treatment.

Over £450 million has been committed to achieve early diagnosis of cancer by improving public awareness of the symptoms of cancer and improving access to key diagnostic tests. We have run national Be Clear On Cancer (BCOC) campaigns on bowel cancer (“blood in poo”), lung cancer (“cough”) and bladder/kidney cancer (“blood in pee”). A new national BCOC campaign to raise awareness of breast cancer in women over 70 will run in February and March 2014, along with regional campaigns on ovarian and oesophago-gastric cancers. In addition a new local pilot campaign on skin cancer awareness will run in May 2014.

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We are investing £170 million over four years to expand and introduce new methods of cancer screening, including age extensions to breast and bowel screening and introducing the new Bowel Scope Screening programme. We are also funding major trials of lung, ovarian and prostate cancer screening, which are due to report around 2015. We increased funding of cancer research to £133 million in 2012-13, up from £101 million in 2010-11.

Children: Death

Sir Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the continuing publication by the Office of National Statistics of its annual statistical bulletin on (a) Childhood, Infant and Perinatal Mortality, (b) Unexpected Deaths in Infancy and (c) Gestation Specific Births and Infant Deaths in England and Wales. [182984]

Dr Poulter: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given to the hon. Member for Lewisham East (Heidi Alexander) on 13 January 2014, Official Report, columns 424-25W.

Clinical Commissioning Groups

Mr Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the 2014-15 NHS England Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set (CCG OIS) will be published; and when the consultation on the next iteration of the CCG OIS will open. [182998]

Jane Ellison: NHS England published the 2014-15 Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set (CCG OIS) on 20 December. A copy has been placed in the Library.

NHS England will begin development work on the next iteration of the CCG OIS shortly. As part of this work, NHS England will be considering arrangements for obtaining the views of interested parties.

Dental Health

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) adults and (b) children with tooth decay in each year since 2010. [182991]

Dr Poulter: This information is not available in the format requested. Data relating to tooth decay in children and adults are not collected annually in England. No information is available on tooth decay for adults for 2010 or later.

The most recent available information in relation to tooth decay in adults is taken from the Adult Dental Health Survey, which is a decennial survey, the most recent of which relates to 2009:

(a) In 2009, 30% of adults (aged 16 or over) had obvious tooth decay in either the crowns or roots of their teeth in England.

Data from the National Dental Epidemiology Programme for England show that:

(b) In 2009, in England, 17.5% of 12-year-old children had untreated tooth decay.

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Depressive Illnesses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2014, Official Report, column 410W, on depressive illnesses, what the 37 studies into depression, to which his Department's National Institute for Health Research is currently recruiting patients, are. [183299]

Dr Poulter: Details of these studies are available on the UK Clinical Research Network Portfolio Database at:

http://england.ukcrn.org.uk/Portfolio.aspx?Level1=5&Level2 =34486tatus=34

Diabetes

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of type 2 diabetes there have been (a) in total, (b) in each region and (c) in each parliamentary constituency in each year since 2010. [182989]

Jane Ellison: This information is not available in the format requested. The National Diabetes Audit (NDA) includes diabetes registrations in primary and secondary care. However, participation in the audit is not mandatory.

Information concerning the number of type 2 diabetes patients recorded in the NDA for the years 2009-10 to 2011-12, both nationally and at clinical commissioning group level, has been placed in the Library.

Doctors: Working Hours

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will investigate whether junior doctors are in compliance with working time regulations; [182972]

(2) what recent representations he has received raising concerns that junior doctors are put under pressure to work longer than permitted under working time regulations but not to declare it; [182973]

(3) if he will investigate whether junior doctors are working hours and shifts which could lead to fatigue. [182974]

Dr Poulter: We recognise that the decision to sign up to the European working time directive in 1998 has presented challenges for both NHS employers and doctors, and has also caused concerns over reduced continuity of care for patients.

It is the responsibility of individual NHS trusts to ensure that service rota for junior doctors are compliant with the working time directive.

The President of the Royal College of Surgeons, Professor Norman Williams, is chairing an independent taskforce that has been commissioned to consider the impact of the working time directive and its interaction with the junior doctor's contract in different parts of the medical profession and at different levels of training.

Food: Advertising

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the total amount spent by food and drink companies on advertising high fat, salt and sugar products in each year since 2010. [182992]

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Jane Ellison: The Department has made no estimates of the amount food companies have spent on advertising food high in salt, fat and sugar in any of the years from 2010 to date, but reviews the content of external estimates to inform policy in this area.

Hernias

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many inguinal hernia repair procedures were carried out in England (a) in total and (b) on people aged 65 and over in each of the last 10 years. [182844]

Jane Ellison: The following table provides information concerning the count of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) with a main or secondary procedure of repair of inguinal hernia carried out in England in the total population, and on people aged 65 and over for the years 2003-04 to 2012-13.

NHS

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to (a) measure and (b) improve the health and well-being of the NHS workforce and its supply chain. [182990]

Dr Poulter: It is the responsibility of the national health service and its supply chain to measure and improve the health and well-being of their staff.

We measure progress by monitoring monthly NHS staff sickness absence rates and health and well-being results from the annual NHS staff survey.

We support employers to improve the health and well-being of their staff through a structured programme of advice, guidance and best practice delivered by NHS Employers whose help is available to all employers across the NHS.

The current main focus of NHS Employers' programme includes: the identification, production, promotion and mobilisation of good practice; supporting more than 100 trusts with most to gain from reducing their sickness absence rates; developing performance in parts of the NHS with particular challenges, e.g. mental health trusts; supporting the effective use of occupational health services and developing good practice on staff engagement.

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In addition, in response to Robert Francis QC's recommendations following his enquiry into failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, the Department has also commissioned NHS Employers to support the NHS in: developing line managers to better manage staff mental well-being; improving emotional well-being within organisations; providing organisational interventions to improve staff engagement, helping line managers to promote staff engagement and supporting effective organisational development.

Nutrition

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government have to update the recommended guideline daily amounts of (a) sugar, (b) fat, (c) salt and (d) calorie intake. [182994]

Jane Ellison: Guideline daily amounts were introduced by the food industry. The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) reviewed the dietary reference values for energy intakes in 2011 but the Government decided not to revise energy intake recommendations for adults given the uncertainties in the evidence and the high prevalence of obesity and overweight in the United Kingdom.

The SACN is currently undertaking a review of the evidence on carbohydrates, including sugars and sources of sugar, and health. This includes assessing the literature on obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth decay. The draft report is expected to go out to public consultation in 2014. Once the responses have been considered, SACN will finalise its report and provide recommendations to the Government. On this basis, dietary advice and any recommendations on specific foods will be updated accordingly.

There are no current plans to review other dietary reference values.

Parkinson's Disease: Derbyshire

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of how clinical commissioning groups in Mid Derbyshire are planning for Parkinson's services in Mid Derbyshire. [182516]

Norman Lamb: We have made no such assessment.

The commissioning of national health service provision for diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's Disease is a matter for the NHS locally.

Procurement

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what value of contracts procured by his Department in the last five years was carried out below EU thresholds. [182657]

Dr Poulter: The following table sets out the values obtained from the Department's Business Management System of procurement activity that was carried out below the European Union threshold.

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The information available is sourced from purchase order data. The Department is unable to provide the numbers of contracts without further detailed analysis of the financial information, which would incur disproportionate cost.

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 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. [182674]

Dr Poulter: The Department does not hold information on supplier staff numbers to the levels of detail specified.

The Department is committed to increasing spend with small and medium enterprises both directly and through its supply chains.

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for each of the last three financial years how much and what proportion of the Department's procurement was conducted using e-procurement tools; and what the value of such contracts was. [182975]

Dr Poulter: The Department has carried out 100% of its procurement activities for the last three financial years using e-procurement. The vast majority of procurement spend the Department incurs is managed within its Business Management System (BMS) and the total value of contracts procured for the last three financial years using e-procurement is set out as follows based on figures derived from our BMS:

Business, Innovation and Skills

Cement

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the potential cost to the UK cement industry of carbon

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floor price compensation measures under the EU's draft guidelines on environmental and energy aid for 2014-2020, published on 18 December 2013. [182738]

Michael Fallon: It is unclear whether the European Commission's draft energy and environmental aid guidelines allow compensation for the indirect emission costs due to the carbon price support mechanism for the UK cement industry. The Mineral Products Association has made a case to me for inclusion, but the final decision rests with the Commission when they publish their guidelines. Meanwhile, BIS officials will continue to work closely with the cement industry over the forthcomings months.

Conditions of Employment

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when the cross-Government working party on statistics for zero-hours contracts has met to date; and when any final report from that body will be published. [182933]

Jenny Willott: The cross-Government working party on statistics for zero-hours contracts met on 13 September 2013 and 13 December 2013, and will be meeting on 17 January. The final report from that body is provisionally expected to be published in April.

Minimum Wage

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of recent trends in non-compliance with the national minimum wage. [183144]

Jenny Willott: Currently, our best estimate of non-compliance is from the Annual Survey of Household Earnings (ASHE). However, findings from the survey do not take into account the fact that some workers are not entitled to receive the national minimum wage, for example, students undertaking work experience as part of their UK higher or further education course. The ASHE figures may therefore overestimate the level of non-compliance with national minimum wage (NMW) law.

The Office for National Statistics low pay release in December 2013 suggests that in April 2013 non-compliance was not a growing problem. The trend is fairly stable for adults with a slight increase in non-compliance for younger workers over the last three years. The following table outlines the number and percentage of jobs below the NMW over the last three years.

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Motor Vehicles: Hire Services

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what steps he is taking to tackle mandatory fuel purchase charges in the UK vehicle rental sector; and if he will make a statement; [182821]

(2) what recent representations he has made to his European counterparts on the enforcement of domestic and EU regulations against mandatory fuel purchases in the vehicle rental sector. [182822]

Jenny Willott: We have made no recent representations to European counterparts on this issue.

Charges for fuel by vehicle rental firms and the conditions under which they charge are commercial matters for the vehicle rental industry. In advertising and presenting its services a vehicle rental firm must be clear about the total price for the consumer, including any non-optional charges covered by the contract. Failure to provide adequate and accurate information about price is likely to be an offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

The regulations implement an EU Directive and outlaw misleading and unfair commercial practices, including practices which are misleading by omitting important information. There are substantially the same rules in all other EU member states.

Procurement

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 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. [182630]

Jenny Willott: The Department for Business Innovation and Skill's procurement procedures do not provide any formal weighting for the location of a company and its workforce, the extent to which a company has a strong environmental record, whether the company is a social enterprise or other company history prior performance.

However, the Department is keen to promote procurement opportunities to all suppliers irrespective of size and regularly publishes tenders on the Government's “contracts finder” website.

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what value of contracts procured by his Department in the last five years was carried out below EU thresholds. [182647]

Jenny Willott: The Department for Business Innovation and Skills does not hold this information centrally and the answer cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 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. [182664]

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Jenny Willott: The Department for Business Innovation and Skills does not hold this information centrally and the answer cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. For information, the Department is responsible for developing business opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with up to 250 employees. We strongly encourage SMEs to bid for departmental contracts they believe they could fill.

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion and value of his Department's 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. [182681]

Jenny Willott: The Department for Business Innovation and Skills does not hold this information centrally and the answer cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

For information, the Department has recently transferred its strategic and non-strategic procurement operations to a specialist procurement team within UK Shared Business Services Ltd. In doing so, the Department has moved from a de-centralised procurement process to a centralised process. This will allow the application of best practice, better use of existing and new framework agreements and the delivery of procurement cost savings.

Public Transport: Industrial Disputes

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward legislative proposals to reform existing trades union legislation to prevent public transport unions undertaking excessive numbers of strikes and to provide independent binding arbitration of future disputes on the London Transport Network and other areas. [183041]

Jenny Willott: The Government believe that disputes are best handled through negotiation between the parties. Strikes and other forms of industrial action should be regarded as a last resort after attempts to resolve differences through dialogue have been exhausted. Nevertheless, the freedom for individuals to take industrial action is an essential feature of any democratic society. Where disputes cannot be resolved by negotiation, then workers must have other means to defend their interests.

In relation to binding arbitration, the independent Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) stands ready to assist all parties in reaching an agreement. Drawing on its long experience, ACAS understands that all parties must fully accept their involvement for arbitration to work. The Government do not however support the idea that the parties should be compelled to accept the involvement of an independent arbitrator or conciliator. That would undermine ACAS's effectiveness.

The Government monitor the application of the law in this important area, and will bear these suggestions in mind should it prove necessary in future to reassess the legal framework.

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Radioactive Waste

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he took to ensure involvement by independent non-institutional experts in the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council programme supporting radioactive waste research announced on 8 January 2014. [182567]

Mr Willetts: The DISTINCTIVE project, recently funded with a £4.9 million grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), was commissioned to maintain underpinning research capability and help address key challenges in the area of decommissioning and pre-treatment of nuclear waste prior to disposal or re-use.

A workshop was held to scope the research. Participants included representatives from academic research groups in the UK working in this area and from the main industry players. The university participants were from Leeds, Sheffield, UCL, Imperial, Manchester, Loughborough, the University of Central Lancashire, Strathclyde, Lancaster and Birmingham. The Government and industry participants were from EPSRC, Sellafield Ltd, the National Nuclear Laboratory, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, the Electronics Knowledge Transfer Network and the Office for Nuclear Regulation.

The proposal was assessed by an independent panel—half of whom were retired nuclear engineers with no current affiliation to organisations in the nuclear sector. The other panel members were nuclear industry experts, but from companies that were not involved in the scoping of the project; nor will they be involved in the subsequent operation of the programme.

International Development

Burma

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many women who have been victims of rapes and sexual violence by Burmese armed forces have received financial assistance from her Department in the last two years. [182505]

Mr Duncan: I refer the hon. Member to my previous answer to the right hon. Member for Leicester East (Keith Vaz) dated 21 November 2013, Official Report, column 957W.

Disclosure of Information

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will place in the Library a copy of the Report by the Parliamentary Ombudsman to the hon. member for Brighton, Pavilion of an investigation into a complaint made by Mr Oloko and her Department's response. [182838]

Mr Duncan: Decisions on the publication of parliamentary ombudsman's reports are the responsibility of the parliamentary ombudsman.

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Palestinians

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the answer of 6 January 2014, Official Report, column 11W, on Palestinians, for what reasons the reports she received concluded that emergency response systems were working adequately. [183013]

Mr Duncan: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed to DFID in December that national and international partners have responded to the emergency needs in a timely and coordinated fashion. OCHA appealed for donors to work through existing funding mechanisms and to ensure that Gaza is prepared for such events in the future.

Procurement

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what weighting her 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. [182642]

Justine Greening: Contracts are awarded to companies which offer the best procurement solution and value for money for the UK taxpayer.

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many and what value of contracts procured by her Department in the last five years was carried out below EU thresholds. [182659]

Justine Greening: The information is tabled as follows:

DFID only holds information on centrally-let contracts. Sourcing this data for 2009 and 2010 would incur disproportionate costs for the Department.

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of her 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. [182676]

Justine Greening: DFID does not hold information on supplier staffing that would answer the question to the level of detail specified.

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion and value of her Department's 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. [182693]

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Justine Greening: The information is tabled as follows:

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Both restricted and framework agreement contracts are subject to pre-qualification questionnaires.

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much and what value of her Department's procurement was conducted using e-procurement tools in each of the last three financial years. [182937]

Mr Duncan: The information requested is as follows:

All centrally-let contracts are managed via an e-procurement system.