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Motorways: Air Pollution

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the effect on air quality of the (a) managed motorway pilots on the M42 and M7 and (b) all-lanes- running aspects of the managed motorway pilots on the M42 and M7. [184220]

Mr Goodwill: A report which analysed 12 months worth of data completed under the M42 Active Traffic Management (ATM) monitoring and evaluation project was published by the Highways Agency in 2008 and included an assessment of the impact on air quality in Chapter 8.

The report is available online at:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/tpm/m42activetrafficmanagement/atm12mthsumrep.pdf

The M42 is not an all lanes running (ALR) section of managed motorways. ALR is where the hard shoulder is permanently converted to a full-time running lane.

The M7 is the responsibility of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport for Ireland.

Pedestrians: Accidents

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pedestrians under the age of 16 were killed in Greater London in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013. [184352]

Mr Goodwill: The number of pedestrians under the age of 16 killed in reported road traffic accidents in Greater London in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012, were as follows:

Data for the year 2013 will be available in June 2014.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pedestrians were (a) killed and (b) seriously injured in Greater London in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013. [184353]

Mr Goodwill: The number of pedestrians (a) killed and (b) seriously injured in reported road traffic accidents in Greater London in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012, were as follows:

Data for the year 2013 will be available June 2014.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of pedestrian fatalities in Greater London involved pedestrians on a pedestrian crossing in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013. [184354]

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Mr Goodwill: The proportion of pedestrian fatalities in reported road traffic accidents in Greater London, which involved pedestrians on a pedestrian crossing in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012, were as follows:

Data for the year 2013 will be available in June 2014.

Railways

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the proportion of passenger rail journeys requiring (a) no change of train, (b) one change of train and (c) more than one change of train (i) in the last year for which data is available and (ii) in 1994. [184013]

Stephen Hammond: The following table shows the proportion of passenger rail journeys in Great Britain involving no change, one change or two or more changes of train in 2012. Equivalent data from 1994 are not available.

Railways: Employment

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) temporary staff and (b) consultants (i) have worked and (ii) are projected to work on the (A) Thameslink Programme, (B) InterCity Express Programme and (C) a rail franchising programme in each year between 2010 and 2015. [184250]

Stephen Hammond: For the years 2010 and 2011 there were five individuals contracted to provide key skills to the Thameslink Programme team within the Department. This number was reduced to two for 2012 and is expected to remain at this level through to the end of 2015.

Since 2010, there has only been one individual contracted to provide key skills to the Intercity Express Procurement programme. That contract will end in summer 2014. Going forward it is expected that a temporary member of staff will be required later this year.

Since the re-launch of the franchising programme and following recommendations from the Brown Review, the Department has brought in a range of experienced individuals, with senior level experience in areas such as procurement and commercial negotiation, finance and programme management to strengthen and support the

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new franchising directorate. In 2013-14 DFT has employed a maximum of 41 interim managers as part of the Rail Franchising team; we have reduced these numbers to the current level of 37. We expect to reduce these to 32 as contracts start to expire in early 2014-15 and will continue this trend as we recruit permanent staff. Details of the number of temporary staff working on franchising prior to the restart of the programme are not available. However, the level was considerably lower than currently, with less than five temporary staff employed at any given time.

The Department has also contracted external advisors to provide a range of services to Thameslink, IEP and Rail Franchising including: legal, financial, technical, rolling stock, insurance, procurement, business case and cost management advice.

All teams within DFT keep staffing requirements under review as part of normal corporate planning.

Re-employment

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff have been made redundant or retired by his Department and subsequently re-employed since May 2010. [184297][Official Report, 6 February 2014, Vol. 575, c. 2MC.]

Stephen Hammond: In total 12 civil servants have been re-employed by either Department for Transport central or one of its Agencies having been made voluntarily redundant or retired by the same organisation since May 2010. This is a very small percentage (less than 1%) of external recruitment over that period.

Rescue Services: Belfast

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions the Coastguard station at Belfast was staffed at a level that was below safe risk in 2013; and what proportion of shifts this represented. [184319]

Stephen Hammond: During 2013 Belfast Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed below risk assessed levels on 414 occasions out of 730 shifts. This represents 56.7% of all shifts in 2013.

Her Majesty's Coastguard has recruited additional staff at Belfast MRCC during 2013 to address staffing levels; as a result Belfast MRCC is now staffed above complement.

Where there are specific issues at a MRCC, Her Majesty's Coastguard is using the current long established pairing arrangements between MRCCs. This enables each MRCC to be connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support.

Treasury

Energy Technologies Institute

Mr Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on extending existing financial guarantees to the Energy Technologies Institute; and what recent discussions he has had about extending such guarantees. [183779]

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Danny Alexander: The ETI is currently within the remit of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The Minister for Universities and Science, the right hon. Member for Havant (Mr Willetts), has many discussions on a variety of topics related to innovation funding.

Financial Services: Social Networking

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on updating guidance on the use of social media for financial promotions. [184374]

Mr George Osborne: Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss relevant regulatory issues.

As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury's practice to provide details of all such discussions.

Mortgages

David Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government are taking to reduce the number of foreclosures. [184326]

Sajid Javid: Two of the key factors that drive repossessions are mortgage interest rates and unemployment. Action by this Government to put the public finances on a sustainable footing has supported low and stable interest rates. Since the coalition came into power employment has increased by 1.3 million and unemployment has fallen by 173,000. Such strong labour market figures have helped keep repossessions down. There were 48,900 repossessions in 2009, compared with 33,900 in 2012.

The Government have also put in place specific measures aimed at reducing the number of repossessions. These include temporary extensions to Support for Mortgage Interest, which helps pensioners and those out of work to meet their mortgage payments, and protection in the courts through the pre-action protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders.

Work and Pensions

Atos Healthcare

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of Atos using computer equipment on his Department's premises owing to data protection issues with the use of their own networks; and what comparative assessment he has made of this cost and the original tender price. [183988]

Mike Penning: There have been no instances of Atos using computer equipment on the Department's premises resulting from data protection issues with the use of their own networks on either the Medical Services Assessments (MSA) or the Personal Independence Payment

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(PIP) contracts that they hold. As a result, there is no cost to the public purse, and no comparative assessment can be made.

Child Maintenance

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to publish regular statistics on outcomes achieved by the child maintenance options service following the introduction of a mandatory conversation with the Service for parents wishing to apply to the 2012 statutory Child Maintenance Service. [184320]

Steve Webb: We are continuing to monitor the outcomes for parents who are in contact with the child maintenance options service through the quarterly child maintenance options survey. This survey includes those who have been through the mandatory gateway. Currently, there are no plans to publish these statistics on a regular basis, but we will consider this as part of our wider publications strategy.

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to repeat the survey of child maintenance options outcomes. [184324]

Steve Webb: The survey of child maintenance options outcomes is carried out every quarter. It was published as an ad hoc statistical release on 23 November 2012, and is available on the GOV.UK website at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-maintenance-options-outcomes-survey-2012

The survey allows us to monitor the number of children benefiting from the child maintenance options service. Currently, there are no further plans to publish this data as an ad hoc release, but we will consider this as part of our wider publications strategy.

Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which local authorities have contracts with his Department to deliver back to work support; and which local authorities have Work Programme sub-contracts with prime providers. [184389]

Esther McVey: Nottingham city council delivers an Innovation Fund contract for DWP. This is aimed at supporting disadvantaged young people, and those at risk of disadvantage, aged 14 years and over.

The latest update from Work programme providers (30 November 2013) showed that the following local authorities have subcontracts with prime providers:

Neath Port Talbot county borough council

Vale of Glamorgan county borough council

Blaenau Gwent county borough council

Merthyr Tydfil county borough council

Pembrokeshire county council

Cardiff council

Newport city council

Brighton and Hove council

Kent county council

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Medway council

Stoke on Trent city council

Barnsley metropolitan borough council

Suffolk county council

City of Lincoln council

Greenwich council

London borough of Bexley

London borough of Lambeth

Southwark council

Gateshead county council

Northumberland county council

Halton borough council

Liverpool city council

Sefton council

Cheshire West and Chester council

Manchester city council

Bolton council

Argyle and Bute council

Renfrewshire council

Slough borough council

Wycombe district council

Southampton city council

Fracking

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that the Health and Safety Executive conduct regular inspections to ensure existing regulations are adhered to in the shale gas industry. [183996]

Mike Penning: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) uses a range of techniques to regulate shale gas work activities throughout the life cycle of a well to ensure that operators manage and control health and safety risks effectively. This includes engaging with well operators at the well design stage, assessing well notifications before operations start, reviewing operators' weekly reports to ensure work on the well is progressing safely to plan, and conducting targeted on-site inspections informed by these activities. HSE is also committed to visit jointly with the Environment Agency all shale gas sites during the current exploratory phase of shale gas development.

Jobcentre Plus

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what partnership agreements are in place between Jobcentre Plus and (a) individual local authorities and (b) the local government association. [184390]

Esther McVey: We make partnership agreements with those involved in the delivery of services. The local government association serves a different purpose so whilst we work with them on many issues there are no formal agreements. Districts work closely with local authorities and where they mutually consider it helpful they put in place informal or formal partnership arrangements.

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Redundancy Pay

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on redundancy payments in each year since 2010. [184391]

Mike Penning: Since 2010 the Department has made 262 employees redundant at a cost of £7.9 million. The redundancies were made as follows:

These redundancies have been made as a result of the transformation of departmental business. Redundancies followed selection exercises to ensure that the Department retained its business critical staff.

Separated People: Finance

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for the independent evaluation of the seven projects granted £6.5 million of funding in April 2013 under the Help and Support for Separated Families initiative; and if he will set out the criteria for that evaluation. [184318]

Steve Webb: Evaluation of these projects is critical and we have set aside funding to ensure this is carried out effectively. At present, most of the projects commissioned in the first round are still in the early stages of implementation. The projects have started to monitor outcomes and we have found some very positive case studies but evaluation results, including an overview of the criteria used, will not be published until later this year when sufficient evidence has been collected.

Social Security Benefits

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he takes to ensure that his Department's contracted providers do not charge for work capability assessments or work programme placements which people do not attend as they are no longer claiming benefit. [183956]

Esther McVey: DWP makes referrals to Atos Healthcare to arrange work capability assessments and withdraw those referrals when people are no longer claiming benefit. There is not a fixed fee for the provision of assessments. As the number of assessments required by the Department increases or decreases then the payment made to Atos Healthcare for these assessments varies accordingly.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) jobseeker's allowance and (b) employment and support allowance hardship claims have been made since July 2012. [183970]

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Esther McVey: The information requested about the number of claims for hardship is intended for future publication and will be released in due course in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what definition he uses for (a) expectations for sanctions referrals and (b) targets for Jobcentre Plus staff. [183945]

Esther McVey: The information is as follows:

(a) There are no sanction targets or expectations for number of referrals.

(b) Departmental Performance Agreements replaced top-down targets with planning assumptions, introducing a more flexible culture of continuous improvement to drive up individual and organisational performance and providing greater value for money to deliver high quality public services.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of correlation between increased sanctioning and (a) jobseeking success rates, (b) incidents of abuse and assaults committed against staff in jobcentres and (c) referrals of claimants to foodbanks. [183949]

Esther McVey: We have made no such assessment.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to his Department's statistics on sanctions published on 6 November 2013, if he will provide a breakdown of those statistics by (a) region and (b) equality groups as proportion of the claimant count. [183969]

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 22 October 2013, Official Report, column 112W, on universal credit, what progress his Department has made in ensuring that claimants who do not have a bank account have access to suitable financial products and money advice before migrating to universal credit. [184375]

Esther McVey: I refer the hon. Member to the previous reply I gave her on 22 October 2013, Official Report, column 112W.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to produce a paper application form for universal credit. [184388]

Esther McVey: There are no plans to produce a paper version of the application form.

The main route to access universal credit is through digital channels and evidence from universal credit live running shows that this is the preferred option for the majority of claimants.

Support arrangements are in place for those who cannot access or use the online service.

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Work Capability Assessment

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons Atos is classified as a data processor rather than a data controller when carrying out work capability assessments. [184015]

Mike Penning: As data processors Atos Healthcare gathers information when carrying out work capability assessments on behalf of DWP.

DWP is a data controller to process personal information and is registered with the Information Commissioner's office.

Cabinet Office

Long-term Unemployed People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people over 25 have been unemployed for over two years (a) at the most recent date for which figures are available and (b) in each year since 1992. [184387]

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

Letter from Glen Watson, dated January 2014:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question to ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people aged over 25 have been unemployed for over two years (a) at the most recent date for which figures are available and (b) in each year since 1992.(184387)

Estimates of unemployment by age are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The table provides estimates for the number of people aged 25 and over who have been unemployed for 2 years or more.

As with any sample survey, estimates from LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. These are indicated by the guide to quality in the table.

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Deputy Prime Minister

Ryan Coetzee

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister with reference to the Cabinet Office publication special advisers in post, published on 25 October 2013, in what capacity he employs Ryan Coetzee; what his job description is; and what the duration is of his contract. [184338]

The Deputy Prime Minister: Ryan Coetzee is appointed as a special adviser under terms and conditions set out in the Code of Conduct and Model Contract for Special Advisers, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.