27 Jan 2014 : Column 371W

Written Answers to Questions

Monday 27 January 2014

Culture, Media and Sport

Broadcasting Programmes: Suicide

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions Ofcom had with ITV on the suitability of a suicide scene in the 20 January edition of Coronation Street which appeared before the watershed; and if she will make a statement. [184219]

Mr Vaizey [holding answer 24 January 2014]: I am informed by Ofcom that the regulator had no discussions with ITV in advance of the programme being broadcast. Ofcom is a post-transmission regulator and it is the responsibility of broadcasters to ensure that programmes comply with the provisions in Ofcom's broadcasting code regarding content shown pre-watershed. The code includes specific rules stating that methods of suicide and self-harm must not be included in programmes, except where they are editorially justified and are also justified by the context.

Social Networking: Young People

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to ensure social networking sites take more responsibility for protecting young people when they are online. [184259]

Mr Vaizey [holding answer 24 January 2014]: The Government take the issue of child safety online very seriously and have engaged intensively with industry; as a result we have set out a series of measures to help parents keep children safe online. The four main ISPs have committed to giving their customers an easy way to install family friendly filters that will protect all devices in the home. These allow parents to prevent their children from accessing potentially harmful content.

In addition, the new national curriculum will see children aged five to 16 taught about internet safety in a sensible, age-appropriate way, a really important step to help children and young people understand some of the issues.

However, there is no silver bullet and social media sites and users also need to take responsibility. If individuals are having conversations about harming themselves, then both social media sites and other users should point them to places where they can get help.

We have been clear that we expect social media companies to respond quickly to incidents of abusive behaviour on their networks. This includes having easy to use reporting tools, robust processes in place to respond promptly when abuse is reported and where appropriate, suspending

27 Jan 2014 : Column 372W

or terminating the accounts of those who do not comply with the acceptable use policies. We will shortly be inviting a number of social media companies to come and discuss with us what more might be done to protect young people when they are online.

Television: Licensing

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people were fined for not holding a television licence in (a) Portsmouth South constituency and (b) Hampshire in each of the last three years. [183391]

Mr Vara: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

The number of offenders fined for installing or using a television receiver without the appropriate licence, in the Hampshire police force area, from 2008 to 2012 (the latest available), can be viewed in the following table.

Data cannot be separately identified at parliamentary constituency level.

Court proceedings data for 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014.

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had to bring forward a local television licence on the freeview platform for Leicester and Leicestershire. [183928]

Mr Vaizey: DCMS officials have had discussions with Ofcom about this. Unfortunately, Ofcom is not able to advertise a local TV service licence for the Leicester area because there are no available frequencies that a local TV service could use to broadcast from that would satisfactorily serve viewers in the city, despite there being local interest.

Ofcom published details of areas identified as suitable for local TV services in May 2012.

27 Jan 2014 : Column 373W

Home Department

Violence Against Women

11. Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps she has taken to tackle violence against women. [902175]

Mrs May: The Government have taken decisive action to tackle violence against women and girls.

We ring-fenced £40 million of funding for specialist services. We are criminalising forced marriage and have re-launched our national “This is Abuse” prevention campaign, and on 25 November I announced the roll-out of Domestic Violence Protection Orders and Clare's Law.

Legal Highs

16. Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department How many temporary banning orders for the control of legal highs are in force. [902180]

Norman Baker: The Coalition Government has already banned hundreds of new psychoactive substances. There is currently one temporary class drug order in place, covering ten drugs from the NBOMe and Benzofuran groups, which came into force on 10 June 2013. The Government announced on the 12 December 2013 that these drugs will be brought under permanent control. On the same day, I asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to review the generic definitions that we use to ban families of drugs.

Online Child Abuse

18. Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to tackle child abuse online. [902182]

Damian Green: We have made real progress in tackling child abuse online. Internet search engines have made changes to their search mechanisms, and these new measures have been effective in making it harder to access child abuse images. Britain and the US have also created a new taskforce to work with industry to counter online child sexual exploitation.

Ending Gangs Programme

20. Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department's Ending Gangs programme. [902184]

Norman Baker: The Coalition Government published a review of the Ending Gang and Youth Violence programme in December. This showed that the approach has been welcomed by local areas and has made a positive difference.

Rape, Domestic Violence and Child Abuse

21. Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the Director of Public Prosecutions on the reduction in the number of referrals from the police to the Crown Prosecution Service in cases of rape, domestic violence and child abuse. [902186]

27 Jan 2014 : Column 374W

Norman Baker: The Coalition Government is concerned at the fail in referrals. We have developed a six-point plan to improve the position. Progress will be monitored by the Violence Against Women and Girls Inter-Ministerial Group chaired by the Secretary of State for the Home Department and attended by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Asylum

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional costs her Department incurred in 2013 in the development of the COMPASS programme above those initially planned for; and what the estimated cost of the programme is over the next seven years. [182740]

Mr Harper: In 2013, the Home Department incurred an additional cost of £170,000 in the development of the COMPASS programme. This represents 0.025 % of the estimated cost of COMPASS over the seven-year contract term based on current volumes.

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on (a) support and (b) administration for asylum seekers in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13. [184341]

Mr Harper: Expenditure on asylum support for the years specified is disclosed by way of a note to the annual Resource Accounts of the UK Border Agency:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/annual-reports-accounts/annual-report-10-11.pdf?view=Binary

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/annual-reports-accounts/annual-report-11-12.pdf?view=Binary

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/annual-reports-accounts/annual-report-12-13.pdf?view=Binary

Copies of the accounts have also been placed in the Library of the House.

Information on administration costs relating to asylum support is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on Section 95 support for asylum seekers in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13. [184342]

Mr Harper: Expenditure on support under section 95 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 1999 was as follows:

Customs: Ports

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated value was of goods seized by the Border Force at the ports of (a)

27 Jan 2014 : Column 375W

Ayr,

(b)

Barrow in Furness,

(c)

Barry,

(d)

Belfast,

(e)

Birkenhead,

(f)

Bristol,

(g)

Burntisland,

(h)

Cardiff,

(i)

Clydeport,

(j)

Dundee,

(k)

Felixstowe,

(l)

Fleetwood,

(m)

Garston,

(n)

Goole,

(o)

Grangemouth,

(p)

Grimsby,

(q)

Hartlepool,

(r)

Harwich,

(s)

Heysham,

(t)

Hull,

(u)

Immingham,

(v)

Ipswich,

(w)

King's Lynn,

(x)

Leith,

(y)

Liverpool,

(z)

London,

(aa)

London Gateway,

(bb)

Lowestoft,

(cc)

Medway Ports,

(dd)

Methill,

(ee)

Newport,

(ff)

Plymouth,

(gg)

Port Talbot,

(hh)

Rosyth,

(ii)

Silloth,

(jj)

Southampton,

(kk)

Swansea,

(ll)

Tees,

(mm)

Teignmouth,

(nn)

Tilbury and

(oo)

Troon in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13. [183083]

Mr Harper: To ensure the integrity and security of the UK border Her Majesty's Government cannot comment on port specific statistics.

Deportation

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been subject to removal directions in each of the last three years. [180786]

Mr Harper [holding answer 19 December 2013]: The following table provides information on the number of enforced removal directions set within the last three years (2011-13).

EU Law

Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many EU directives her Department has transposed into UK law since 2010; and how many directly acting EU regulations have come into effect in her Department's area of responsibility in the same period. [183868]

James Brokenshire: Since 2010 the Home Office has transposed into UK law three EU directives:

Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA. This measure establishes common EU standards for criminal offences, penalties, victim support and cooperation to tackle human trafficking. The Government opted in post-adoption once we were content that measures did not conflict with our domestic arrangements, and to further reinforce the UK's position at the forefront of the fight against trafficking.

Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purpose. This replaced a previous directive in order to strengthen the protection of animals used in scientific procedures and promote strategies to replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in scientific procedures. It provides a practical framework for the regulation of animal research and testing in Europe and

27 Jan 2014 : Column 376W

sets a benchmark for the rest of the world. We believe that this directive allows us to maintain high standards of welfare and animal protection without the imposition of unnecessary bureaucracy.

Directive 2008/51/EC amending Council Directive 91/477/EEC on control of the acquisition and possession of and possession of weapons. We have not yet transposed Article 4 since we are not required to do so until December 2014.

The Commission brought forward the weapons directive to be amended to incorporate provisions of the UN Firearms Protocol. This took place under the previous Government.

One directly acting Regulation has come into effect in the same period. That was Council Regulation (EC) No 380/2008 of 18 April 2008 amending Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002 laying down a uniform format for residence permits for third-country nationals. We opted in to this measure as it supports the strengthening of immigration documentation within the EU by introducing the use of biometric identifiers comprising facial image and fingerprints.

Hillsborough Stadium

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she has taken to ensure that all relevant documents will be released ahead of the inquest into the Hillsborough disaster. [184293]

Damian Green: We are satisfied that the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and Operation Resolve (Jon Stoddart's investigation) have sufficient powers at their disposal to access any relevant information which is related to the Hillsborough disaster.

The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has committed to ensuring that these investigations have the powers and resources necessary to carry out their important work. New powers and additional resources have been made available to the IPCC.

ICT

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are employed within centralised IT departments or teams in her Department; and if she will make a statement. [179170]

James Brokenshire: The number of people employed in Home Office IT is 532.

Within the Department, there are also a number of other staff who work on IT projects.

Illegal Immigrants

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal entrants have been detained at ports of entry to the UK through the use of sniffer dogs in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [180950]

Mr Harper: These data are not held centrally.

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many named illegal migrants are currently listed on the e-Borders database. [182842]

27 Jan 2014 : Column 377W

Mr Harper [holding answer 16 January 2014]: The Semaphore system, which is delivered by the Border Systems Programme, does not hold a list of names of illegal migrants; it checks passenger information against Home Office databases. Advance passenger information provided by carriers is processed by Semaphore to identify known persons of interest.

Immigrants: Detainees

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the (a) average and (b) maximum length of time is that an individual who has been defined as an age dispute case has been held in an immigration removal centre pending release to local authority care in the last 12 months for which figures are available; [183008]

(2) what the (a) average and (b) maximum length of time is that an individual who has been held in an immigration removal centre pending an age assessment in the last 12 months for which figures are available; [183009]

(3) how many individuals have been detained in immigration removal centres for the purpose of age assessment in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and how many of those individuals were found to be (a) adults and (b) children. [183010]

Mr Harper [holding answer 20 January 2014]: The specific data requested in the hon. Member's first two questions is not routinely recorded.

Home Office policy requires that individuals will be treated as adults, and detained, only in the following circumstances:

if there is credible and clear documentary evidence that they are 18 years of age or over; or

if a full "Merton-compliant" age assessment by a local authority is available stating that they are 18 years of age or over; or

if their physical appearance / demeanour very strongly suggests that they are significantly over 18 years of age and no other credible evidence exists to the contrary; or

if the individual:

prior to detention, gave a date of birth that would make them an adult and/or stated they were an adult; and

only claimed to be a child after a decision had been taken on their asylum claim; and

only claimed to be a child after they had been detained; and

has not provided credible and clear documentary evidence proving their claimed age; and

does not have a Merton-compliant age assessment stating they are a child; and

does not have an unchallenged court finding indicating that they are a child; and

physical appearance / demeanour very strongly suggests that they are 18 years of age or over.

All seven of these latter criteria must apply.

In some circumstances one or more of these criteria will be met and the individual correctly detained as an adult only for, subsequently, new information to come to light which casts doubt on the original assessment of whether the individual is a child or an adult. In these circumstances, the individual will be released into the care of social services for a formal assessment of their age (this may be a reassessment if they were detained on the basis of a previous assessment) at the earliest opportunity and the individual will be treated as a child

27 Jan 2014 : Column 378W

pending the outcome of this assessment. Delays can occur if the relevant local authority is unable to attend immediately to take custody of the individual and if the decision is taken that it is in the best interests of the individual, from a safeguarding perspective, for them to stay in the immigration removal centre until social services are able to attend.

Immigration Controls: Aviation

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many private international flights which arrived at public airports in (a) Scotland, (b) Northern Ireland and (c) Wales in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13 were (A) checked and (B) not checked by immigration officials. [183084]

Mr Harper: The requested data is only available for 2012-13.

In that period, Border Force officials risk assessed 100% of notified flights, including:

2,161 international flights arriving at public airports in Scotland

243 international flights arriving at public airports in Northern Ireland

218 international flights arriving at public airports in Wales

Immigration Controls: Ports

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants were intercepted at the ports of (a) Ayr, (b) Barrow in Furness, (c) Barry, (d) Belfast, (e) Birkenhead, (f) Bristol, (g) Burntisland, (h) Cardiff, (i) Clydeport, (j) Dundee, (k) Felixstowe, (l) Fleetwood, (m) Garston, (n) Goole, (o) Grangemouth, (p) Grimsby, (q) Hartlepool, (r) Harwich, (s) Heysham, (t) Hull, (u) Immingham, (v) Ipswich, (w) King's Lynn, (x) Leith, (y) Liverpool, (z) London, (aa) London Gateway, (bb) Lowestoft, (cc) Medway Ports, (dd) Methill, (ee) Newport, (ff) Plymouth, (gg) Port Talbot, (hh) Rosyth, (ii) Silloth, (jj) Southampton, (kk) Swansea, (ll) Tees, (mm) Teignmouth, (nn) Tilbury and (oo) Troon in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13. [183080]

Mr Harper: To ensure the integrity and security of the UK border Her Majesty's Government cannot comment on port specific statistics.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the number of citizens of other EU member states who entered the UK in 2013. [184511]

Mr Hurd: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

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 (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of the number of citizens of other EU member states who entered the UK in 2013 [184511].

27 Jan 2014 : Column 379W

ONS produces estimates of Long-Term International Migration (LTIM), primarily based on the International Passenger Survey (IPS). The IPS is a continuous voluntary sample survey conducted by ONS. These estimates are based on the United Nations definition of a long-term international migrant, that is, someone who changes their country of usual residence for a period of at least one year.

LTIM estimates are published on a rolling quarterly basis and the latest available figures are for the year ending June 2013. The estimate of the number of EU citizens who entered the UK during this period was 183,000, with a corresponding margin of error of +/-21,000.

The margin of error refers to the 95 per cent confidence interval and is a measure of the uncertainty associated with making inferences from a sample.

LTIM estimates for calendar year 2013 will become available on 22 May 2014.

ONS also produces estimates of Travel and Tourism, based on the IPS, which include estimates of the number of EU citizens entering the UK for periods of less than one year. The latest available estimates are for November 2013 and can be found on the ONS website:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ott/overseas-travel-and-tourism---monthly-release/november-2013/rft--november-2013.xls

Lasers

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police helicopter pilots have been relieved from duty after a laser pen attack in the last three years. [184716]

Damian Green: This information is not collected by the Home Office.

Mark Duggan

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who ordered the vehicle in which Mark Duggan had been travelling to be removed from the crime scene without forensic examination. [183750]

Damian Green: The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC ) is continuing its investigation. While that is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further on the case. I understand the IPCC will write to the hon. Member and I will ensure a copy of the letter is placed in the House Library.

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if she will order an inquiry into the police handling of the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan; [183788]

(2) what steps she has taken to identify and discipline (a) Metropolitan Police officers and (b) members of the Independent Police Complaints Commission who claimed after his death that Mark Duggan had exchanged gunfire with officers. [183753]

Damian Green: The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating this case. While this process is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further on the case.

27 Jan 2014 : Column 380W

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 2 December 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Sir Gerald Kaufman) with regard to Mr Muhammad Asif. [183747]

Mr Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 21 January 2014.

Police: Body Searches

Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the ethnicity of detainees strip searched by (a) the Metropolitan Police Service and (b) other police forces was in (i) 2011, (ii) 2012 and (iii) 2013. [183168]

Damian Green: This information is not held centrally, and to obtain the information would incur disproportionate costs.

Police: Finance

Mr Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total Home Office direct funding was for the police in each of the last four years; and what the projected funding is for 2014-15. [184408]

Damian Green: The aggregate amount of grant funding the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), provided to the police was £4.7 billion in 2010-11, £4.8 billion in 2011-12, £4.4 billion in 2012-13 and £7.8 billion in 2013-14.

The amount in 2013-14 includes £3.1 billion formula grant funding which in previous years had been paid to the police by the Department for Communities and Local Government, but from 2013-14 onwards is being paid by the Home Office.

The Provisional Police Grant Report 2014/15 was laid in the House on 18 December. The aggregate amount of funding the Home Secretary will pay to the police in 2014-15 will be £8.0 billion. This comprises £4.6 billion in Home Office police core settlement and £2.9 billion in formula funding, which in previous years has been paid by the Department for Communities and Local Government. It also includes £0.5 billion in legacy council tax freeze grants, which in previous years had been paid by the Department for Communities and Local Government, but from 2014-15 onwards is being paid by the Home Office. The Final Police Grant Report will be laid in the House in early February.

Mr Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the percentage change has been in central grant funding to each police force in England and Wales has changed between 2012-13 and 2013-14. [184417]

Damian Green: Core central Government funding provided to every local policing body (defined as police and crime commissioners, the Mayor's Office of Policing and Crime, and the Common Council of the City of London) reduced by 1.6% between 2012-13 and 2013-14.

27 Jan 2014 : Column 381W

Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of expenditure on her Department's procurement contracts was placed with small and medium-sized enterprises based in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland, (e) the North East, (f) the North West, (g) Yorkshire and the Humber, (h) the East Midlands, (i) the West Midlands, (j) the East of England, (k) London, (l) the South East and (m) the South West in the last three years for which figures are available. [184283]

James Brokenshire: The Home Department's direct and indirect spend with SMEs from 2009-10 to 20012-13 has been reported on GOV.UK:

https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/buying-and-managing-government-goods-and-services-more-efficiently-and-effectively/supporting-pages/making-sure-government-gets-full-value-from-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises

We do not hold this information on a regional basis or broken down between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Telecommunications: Databases

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government stores telephone communications data on British citizens against whom no evidence of criminal activity is held. [184176]

James Brokenshire: Public authorities granted powers to acquire either the content of communications under an interception warrant, or communications data may retain these data once acquired, under relevant stringent safeguards.

Telephone communications data are held by the relevant communications service providers for their business purposes and where required under data retention legislation. The police and other public authorities approved by Parliament can only acquire those data where necessary and proportionate to do so.

A small number of public authorities (such as the intelligence agencies and National Crime Agency) may also seek interception warrants under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, which may authorise the collection of related communications data.

Communications data acquired by public authorities are subject to stringent safeguards in accordance with RIPA and the Data Protection Act. Independent oversight is provided by one or more of the Interception of Communications Commissioner, the Intelligence Services Commissioner, and the Information Commissioner who check the acquisition, storage and use of such data is lawful.

27 Jan 2014 : Column 382W

Church Commissioners

Fracking

Miss McIntosh: To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, whether any applications for licences for fracking been made on land owned by the Church of England. [184344]

Sir Tony Baldry: The Church Commissioners believe that the Government have awarded a number of Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences (PEDL) which cover wide geographical areas and these include some interests held by the Commissioners. To date no approaches have been made to the Commissioners and no applications have been received from any potential Licensors.

Justice

Driving Offences

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make it his policy that victim of crime statistics should include data on those killed as a result of the actions of vehicle drivers who are breaking the law. [184401]

Mr Hurd: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

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

Letter from Glen Watson:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking if the Secretary of State for Justice will make it his policy that victim of crime statistics should include data on those killed as a result of the actions of vehicle drivers who are breaking the law (184401).

Victims killed as a result of the actions of vehicle drivers who are breaking the law should already be covered by the main recorded crime collection. The Police Recorded Crime statistics include the following offences: causing death by dangerous driving; causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs; causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving; causing death by aggravated vehicle taking; and causing death by driving: unlicensed or disqualified or uninsured drivers. This covers all Road Traffic Act offences which result in the death of a victim.

The latest statistics, published by ONS on 23 January, on the above offences can be found within Table A4 within the link below. An extract of this table is included below for reference:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/period-ending-september-2013/rft-appendix-tables.xls

27 Jan 2014 : Column 383W

27 Jan 2014 : Column 384W

However, there may be a small number of homicides that are the result of the offender driving unlawfully which will be recorded as homicides rather than under the above offences. This is because Road Traffic Act offences only apply on the public road or in public areas. Therefore, if an individual is killed by someone driving a car dangerously on private land it will be recorded as a homicide.

While the recent de-designation of police recorded crime has led to concerns about the accuracy and reliability of statistics based on police recorded crime, these offences are not ones that are likely to be under or mis-recorded.

Magistrates’ Courts

Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to section 8.2 of his Department's research paper, The strength and skills of the Judiciary in the Magistrates' Courts, Ministry of Justice Research Series 9/11, dated November 2011, for what reasons a volunteer cost of £10 per magistrate per hour is include within the costs directly associated with magistrates; and which other studies follow this approach. [180429]

Mr Vara: This research paper was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and was produced by Ipsos MORI. Their report explains that a ‘volunteer cost’ represents the economic value of a volunteer's unpaid time, in particular how much the volunteer might be paid if they were not volunteering. Ipsos MORI reflected the approach taken in Gaskin, K and Dobson, B (1997) ‘The economic equation of volunteering' available at:

http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/economic-equation-volunteering

The Government are currently looking at the role of magistrates to ensure that they remain the cornerstone of our justice system. We conducted an engagement exercise with magistrates earlier this year to ensure their views were at the core of this work.

Magistrates’ Courts: Prestatyn

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2014, Official Report, column 399W, on magistrates' courts: Prestatyn, if any planned improvement works to Prestatyn magistrates' courts have been cancelled in the last four years. [183298]

Mr Vara: No planned improvement work has been cancelled in the last four years. HMCTS continues to keep its estate under review to ensure it meets operational requirements.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what proportion of appeals to the Tribunals Service from appellants in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England regarding (i) disability living allowance, (ii) employment and support allowance, (iii) income support, (iv) jobseeker's allowance and (v) tax credits were successful in (A) each quarter in 2013 and (B) the latest period for which figures are available; [182553]

(2) what the average length of time was for the Tribunals Service to administer a First-tier Tribunal-Social Security and Child Support appeal in respect of employment and support allowance in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in (i) each quarter in 2013 and (ii) the latest period for which figures are available. [182554]

Mr Vara: The First-tier Tribunal–Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits.

Table 1 shows the proportion of appeals which were decided in favour of the appellant in (a) Coventry (b) the West Midlands and (c) England and Wales regarding (i) disability living allowance, (ii) employment and support allowance (ESA), (iii) income support, (iv) jobseeker’s allowance, and (v) tax credits in the first three quarters of 2013, the latest period for which figures are available.

Table 2 shows the average length of time to administer appeals in respect of ESA in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England and Wales in the first three quarters of 2013, the latest period for which figures are available.

27 Jan 2014 : Column 385W

The increase in waiting times for appeals reflects the significant increase in ESA appeals received by the tribunal. To meet this increased demand, HMCTS has increased the capacity of the tribunal; for example, from June 2013 the number of hearing rooms in Coventry has doubled.

Training

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which Ministers in his Department have undertaken training courses; and in the case of each such course what the (a) name of the course provider was, (b) purpose of the course was and (c) cost of each session in the course was. [183229]

Mr Vara: I can confirm that neither I nor any of the other Ministers have attended any training courses in the time we have been in this Department.

Victim Support Schemes

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much is currently spent on victim support from all sources in each police force area in England and Wales. [181132]

Damian Green: Under the current model by which the Ministry of Justice provides funding for victims' services, funding is not directly or specifically given to, or allocated by police force area.

The majority of Ministry of Justice funding for provision of victims and witness services since 2009-10 has been provided via a grant to Victim Support (£38.25 million in 2013-14). Under this model, support for victims in local areas is provided based on numbers of police and self referrals received, and the number and types of positive needs identified with victims on an individual basis. This grant also funds provision of the national Homicide Service, and the court based witness service.

27 Jan 2014 : Column 386W

In addition, the Ministry of Justice provides funding for a number of other organisations which support victims across different localities. This funding has been allocated to organisations based on identified needs rather than allocations by police force area.

Written Questions

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the role of special advisers is in the process of sign-off of answers to parliamentary questions in his Department. [184053]

Jeremy Wright: Answers to parliamentary questions are signed off by senior civil servants and the relevant Minister. Special advisers are employed to provide additional advice and assistance to Ministers across a wide range of areas.

Deputy Prime Minister

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what meetings his Department has had with the National Union of Students on increasing electoral registration rates for students. [183565]

Greg Clark: The Government are committed to ensuring students are able to exercise their democratic rights and has established a student forum to promote and support the work of electoral registration officers in student registration.

The National Union of Students is a member of the forum and regularly attends national and regional meetings between electoral staff and universities to agree best practice to increase student electoral registration.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of levels of co-operation between (a) the Student Loans Company, (b) local authority student council tax exemption departments and (c) the national insurance card department in automatically sending out voter registration forms to all their clients. [183566]

Greg Clark: The Government work with a range of organisations to help both safeguard and improve the completeness and accuracy of the register. The Student Loans Company was involved in the Government's data matching pilots in 2011 and 2013. The results are publically available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/60723/FINAL-Data-Matching-Evaluation-Report-new.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223850/Data_Mining_Evaluation_ FULL_Report_FINAL.pdf

National insurance numbers are normally allocated at the age of 15 years and nine months, which is over two years before voting age.

Local authorities can inspect their own council tax records to find eligible electors and are strongly encouraged to do so.

27 Jan 2014 : Column 387W

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what proportion of attainers in (a) Great Britain and (b) each region of Great Britain were registered to vote in each of the last 10 years; [184561]

(2) what proportion of (a) young people aged 18 to 25 years old and (b) pensioners were registered to vote in each of the last 20 years; [184709]

(3) if he will estimate the proportion of UK citizens who were in receipt of benefits who were registered to vote in each of the last 10 years. [184708]

Greg Clark: This information is not held centrally.

Transport

Bus Services: Finance

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the ability of district councils to subsidise bus services in their district through the relevant county council. [184423]

Stephen Hammond: District councils have powers under the Transport Act 1985 that may be used to secure local bus services where they would not otherwise be provided.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Mr MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff and managers have left the Maritime and Coastguard Agency headquarters since 2013; and how many such staff are planning to leave by 2015. [184477]

Stephen Hammond: Some 38 staff, of whom 26 are of management grade, have left the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) headquarters since the start of 2013.

The MCA do not know how many staff are planning to leave before 2015, as the maximum period of notice that has to be given is three months.

Mr MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff, of what grade, of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency are expected to be at retirement age by 2015. [184541]

Stephen Hammond: There is no fixed retirement age. However the number of staff at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency that will reach the age of 65 before 2015 is shown below by grade:

27 Jan 2014 : Column 388W

Railway Stations: North West

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to upgrade railway stations on the South Fylde line. [183993]

Stephen Hammond: The Department's Community Rail Development Strategy supports the rail industry and local community partnerships in improving services and stations on local branch lines.

The South Fylde line is supported by the South Fylde Line Community Rail Partnership. Working with the rail industry and the local community they have helped develop a programme of improvements for stations along this route. Examples include artwork, branded boards and raised flower beds. There are plans to enhance the station environment at Blackpool South.

This route has also benefited from the Department's National Stations Improvement Programme (NSIP), which has provided a waiting shelter, a subway upgrade and platform upgrades.

Railways: Floods

Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to give final approval to the flood resilience plan for the West of England and Great Western lines. [184697]

Stephen Hammond: It is not for the Secretary of State to give approval for a Network Rail plan. This is an operational matter for the company, in which Ministers currently have no powers to intervene. Although Network Rail will be reclassified into the public sector from September 2014, our objective is to ensure that their operational independence is safeguarded.

However officials from the Department are liaising with Network Rail to ensure a multi-agency approach is adopted in this matter.

Taxis

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects (a) his Department's informal targeted consultation on taxis and private hire vehicles to be complete and (b) a draft bill on this matter to be published. [184760]

Stephen Hammond: Against the background of the Red Tape Challenge, the Department is considering the case for making some isolated changes to taxi and private hire vehicle legislation, ahead of the wider reforms being proposed by the Law Commission. As part of the consideration process we asked a small number of expert groups for their views. If we decide to take forward any of the proposals we will make an announcement.

Transport: Finance

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what publicly-funded transport projects to be delivered by (a) the Government, (b) local authorities and (c) business groups are being discussed with Chinese companies or organisations; and what the estimated value of such projects is. [184479]

27 Jan 2014 : Column 389W

Stephen Hammond: The Department holds no central record of any such discussions.

West Coast Railway Line

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are being taken to limit disruption for rail passengers on the West Coast mainline during periods of extreme weather. [183994]

Stephen Hammond: Train operators have a duty as part of their franchise agreements to deal with disruption and to work with Network Rail and neighbouring train companies to ensure services are adjusted to cover for all types of eventuality.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animal Welfare: Trapping

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department has any plans to consult on banning or restricting the use of animal snares. [183986]

George Eustice: This Government are genuinely concerned about animal welfare and my noble Friend, Lord de Mauley, recently met interested parties from both sides of the debate. He has invited them to work with DEFRA to ensure compliance with the DEFRA Code of Practice on the Use of Snares is improved and to drive up welfare standards. However, we currently have no plans to consult on banning or restricting the use of animal snares.

Coastal Areas: Flood Control

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the National Farmers' Union about measures to improve coastal defences. [184337]

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA Ministers and officials hold regular discussions with the National Farmers' Union (NFU); recognising the role of the NFU as an industry association representing the interest of farmers affected by past and current flooding, caused by coastal inundation of normally dry, low-lying coastal land.

Responsibilities for managing flood and coastal erosion risk on the coast are shared between local authorities and the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency is gathering and assessing evidence provided by other asset owners, including local authorities, to establish the impact of recent storms on coastal defences; prioritising the use of resources to minimise the threat or risk of further inundation where possible.

DEFRA is on course to invest more than £2.3 billion in flood and coastal erosion risk management over the current four-year spending period, which runs from April 2011 to March 2015.

Going forward, DEFRA is committed to investing £370 million capital in 2015-16 and then the same in real terms each year, rising to over£400 million in 2020-21. We will also be providing an above-inflation increase of £5 million for the Environment Agency's floods maintenance work in 2015-16.

I will be reporting to Parliament on floods funding in due course.

27 Jan 2014 : Column 390W

Floods

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if the Government will takes steps to protect Sites of Specific Scientific Interest and other wildlife sites from flooding. [184147]

Dan Rogerson [holding answer 23 January 2014]: Natural England and the Environment Agency will work together with local communities to decide the appropriate management of important wildlife sites where flooding is a potential issue. There is a programme of flood risk management work in place for our most important wildlife sites and this will be updated following the recent storm events. It is important to remember that many wildlife sites depend on periodic flooding to maintain their ecological interest, including some coastal sites. Most habitats and species are resilient to periodic inundation (including saline inundations) and will recover naturally.

Floods: Brigg and Goole

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on flood defences in Brigg and Goole constituency in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09, (c) 2009-10, (d) 2010-11, (e) 2011-12 and (f) 2012-13; and how much has been allocated by his Department for flood defences in Brigg and Goole constituency in (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16. [184688]

Dan Rogerson: The total DEFRA grant in aid spent or allocated on flood risk management in the Brigg and Goole constituency between 2007-08 and 2015-16 is as follows:

Each yearly figure includes both Environment Agency revenue spending (annual and intermittent maintenance) and DEFRA capital flood defence grant in aid spent by the Environment Agency, local authorities and internal drainage boards. Other funding streams, such as local levy, are not included.

Floods: Lytham St Annes

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funds his Department made available to protect homes, businesses and agricultural land to the east of Lytham St Annes from flooding. [183999]

27 Jan 2014 : Column 391W

Dan Rogerson: A £400,000 Environment Agency project to replace the penstock valves and other equipment at Dock Bridge pumping station was carried out in 2013. This project will help improve the transfer of water from Main Drain to the Ribble Estuary in the area east of Lytham, providing benefits to properties and agricultural land. In winter 2012, Birks Watercourse and Main Drain to the east of Lytham were de-silted by the Environment Agency at a cost of £110,000. Further de-silting along a stretch of Liggard Brook in Lytham, costing £25,000, will be taking place prior to April 2014. This will help improve channel capacity and divert water away from properties in the town of Lytham.

27 Jan 2014 : Column 392W

Floods: Yorkshire and the Humber

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on flood defences in the area covered by the River Don Catchment Flood Management Plan in each of the last five years. [184686]

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA flood and coastal erosion risk management grant in aid expenditure within the Don Catchment Flood Management Plan area in the last five years was as follow:

Genetically Modified Organisms: Rice

Mr Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what estimate he made of the total cost of the development of golden rice between 2000 and 2014; [183972]

(2) what (a) animal feeding and (b) toxicology trials have been undertaken on golden rice according to Codex Alimentarious guidelines; [183971]

(3) what human feeding trials there have been relating to golden rice; and what information has been obtained from those trials relating to the safety of that form of rice for long-term consumption; [183973]

(4) what assessment his Department has made of whether the genetically modified variety referred to as Golden Rice 3 is safe for human consumption; [183980]

(5) if he will make a comparative assessment of the merits of (a) golden rice and (b) green leafy vegetables in the diets of people with vitamin deficiency; [183983]

(6) what information he holds relating to the persistence and availability of beta-carotene in golden rice which has been harvested, stored and cooked in normal domestic situations; [183982]

(7) what information he holds concerning the uniformity, stability, yields and beta-carotene levels of the latest Indica varieties of golden rice. [183981]

Dan Rogerson: The Government are not directly responsible for the development of golden rice or its potential cultivation by farmers in rice-producing countries. We therefore do not hold information on golden rice beyond that which is already publicly available, and it would not be for DEFRA to undertake a detailed assessment of its safety, efficacy or development costs. Information on the golden rice project is provided on the website of the International Rice Research Institute:

http://irri.org/

If in future an application is made for EU approval of golden rice as a GM food product, it would be subject to a safety assessment carried out by the independent European Food Safety Authority.

Education

Apprentices: Yorkshire and the Humber

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of apprenticeships created in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber since 2008. [184182]

Matthew Hancock [holding answer 23 January 2014]: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Information on the number of apprenticeship starts by geography is published in a supplementary table to a statistical first release, available at:

http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/6D9AE2BF-CDB4-44C9-AB55-0EACF719BBBE/0/Nov2013_Apprenticeship_Starts.xls

http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/Statistics/fe_data_library/Apprenticeships/

Autism

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of progress made by his Department in implementing the Adult Autism Strategy. [184735]

Mr Timpson: The Department of Education is a member of the Autism Programme Board and works closely with the Department of Health in implementing the 2010 Adult Autism Strategy, with a particular focus on the transition from children's to adult services. The Department is engaged with the current work to refresh the strategy.

To support transition, the Children and Families Bill will create a single 0-25 system for children with special educational needs (SEN) in school and young people with learning difficulties and disabilities in further education. This will ensure better managed and co-ordinated support for children and young people with SEN to make a successful transition to adulthood, including those with autism who can find this transition particularly difficult.

27 Jan 2014 : Column 393W

Children: Day Care

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many registered childcare places there were in (a) Ashfield constituency and (b) Nottinghamshire in (i) 2009, (ii) 2010, (iii) 2011, (iv) 2012 and (v) 2013. [182903]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education's Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey collects data on all registered child care places at a national and regional level. However, information is not provided at a lower geographical level.

The following table provides data for 2009, 2010 and 2011. Data are not available for 2012. Data from the 2013 survey will be published in September 2014.

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) private, (b) voluntary and (c) independent childcare providers are currently providing childcare in school settings. [184701]

Elizabeth Truss: Information on how many private, voluntary and independent child care providers are currently providing child care in school settings is not held centrally.

The Department’s child care and early years providers survey does not collect information on whether a provider is based in a school setting or not.

Diabetes: Health Education

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to (a) raise awareness of diabetes in schools and (b) ensure that every school incorporates diabetes into its structured health education programme. [184217]

Elizabeth Truss: Schools may cover diabetes as part of personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE). We encourage schools to teach PSHE, and the PSHE Association has published draft programmes of study which schools can use if they wish. The association also offers links to specialist resources, including health education material for young people. These resources include information about diabetes.

School nurses also provide support to children with health needs including diabetes, including training and support to schools.

27 Jan 2014 : Column 394W

Further Education: Finance

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students over 18 years old in each region attending further education colleges received funding from the Education Funding Agency in the most recent academic year. [184014]

Matthew Hancock: The numbers of students aged 18 plus years old by region attending further education colleges who received funding from the Education Funding Agency (EFA) in the most recent academic year are as follows:

Data are based on the 2012-13 R14 Individualised Learner Record return, the latest available full year of data. A student's region is based on the postcode of the provider they attend, not the student's home postcode. Further education colleges include general FE, tertiary and sixth-form colleges. This will not include any students on apprenticeship provision. The results in this analysis are not the same as the recently published information on the impact on 18-year-olds of funding policy changes which are limited to those 18-year-olds without high needs who are studying on a full-time basis.

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect of reductions in funding for 18-year-olds in full-time education on the viability of further education courses and colleges. [184249]

Matthew Hancock: The average loss in funding per student for those institutions affected by this decision is just 2%. We do not expect this change to affect significantly the financial viability of colleges. We monitor the financial health of colleges on a regular basis.

Pre-school Education

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2014, Official Report, columns 375-78W, on pre-school education, how those 49 schools were chosen; from which strand of his Department's budget this support was funded; how many of those schools provide 8am-6pm child care; how those schools will share their learning and encourage more schools to provide places for two year olds; for how long he plans the project to run; whether he has set a date for an evaluation of the project; and how many of those schools (a) provide day care directly and (b) tender provision of day care to private, voluntary or independent providers. [184241]

27 Jan 2014 : Column 395W

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education established the two-year-old in schools demonstration project to generate practical learning about provision for two-year-olds in schools by working with schools that were already taking or planning to take two-year-olds. Schools participating in the project are expected to actively participate in the project evaluation and provide peer support.

All schools chosen already take or were planning to take two-year-olds. Recruitment was carried out through a variety of methods. A number of schools with “good” or “outstanding” Ofsted ratings, who had expressed an interest in working with two-year-olds, were invited to take part. In addition, recruitment during the late spring and summer of 2013 was carried out through local authority early years leads. Invitations were also issued to a number of schools with well-established two-year-old provision, identified by the Department's strategic partner 4Children and Achieving Two Year Olds, the Department's national support programme for local authorities and providers.

The grant paid to schools for participating in the two-year-old demonstration project was drawn from the budget available to support the programme of early learning for two-year-olds.

One of the criteria for participating in this project was that schools should engage in peer learning throughout the project, to share emerging good practice with other schools and contribute to national awareness and understanding. Schools know best how to engage in their local networks and the Department will not prescribe how schools do this.

Final dissemination of all written outputs are expected to be sent to participating schools by October 2014. The National Children's Bureau, together with Frontier Economics, is leading the evaluation of the project. Products from the evaluation will be published on the TES Connect website as they become available. We will encourage schools to continue their peer learning activity beyond the end of the project.

A snapshot of participating schools taken at an earlier stage of the project, November 2013, indicated that 38 schools provided care as an integrated part of the school and 11 provided care through an on-site children's centre, a private, voluntary or independent provider, or some combination thereof.

Private Education: Offences against Children

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) whether measures currently in place are sufficient to prevent the sexual abuse of children in independent schools; [184531]

(2) what plans he has for additional measures to protect children from sexual abuse in independent schools. [184532]

Mr Timpson: The current system is designed to minimise the likelihood of abuse taking place in independent schools. Such schools are obliged under the independent school standards to follow statutory guidance such as ‘Safeguarding Children and safer Recruitment in Education’ and guidance that relates to the way in which allegations of abuse are handled. There are also detailed requirements on vetting checks for staff prior to recruitment. In addition, the inspection and regulatory system is designed

27 Jan 2014 : Column 396W

to ensure that schools do follow the guidance; if a school is inspected and failures against the standards are found there is a process designed to bring it up to standard or be closed. We believe that in most cases these work well.

However, we want to continue to improve the system and are currently planning to do so in a number of ways. We intend to strengthen the independent school standards themselves, including introducing a new a leadership and governance standard which will ensure that governors and managers have proper oversight of safeguarding, and take very seriously matters such as referrals of staff to the relevant bodies where abuse takes place. We also intend to bring into operation existing legislative provision which enable a school to be closed immediately in an emergency situation.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many independent schools have reported to his Department in each of the last five years that a member of their staff has been convicted of a sexual offence. [184535][Official Report, 17 March 2014, Vol. 577, c. 7MC.]

Mr Timpson: The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) has received referrals from four independent schools, relating to convictions for sexual offences, since it commenced its regulatory role on 1 April 2012.

Under the previous Government, there was no requirement for teachers at independent schools to be registered. Under our new NCTL regulatory system, teachers in independent schools must be registered and are therefore regulated by the NCTL.

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether any of the 20 independent schools which have compensation claims lodged against them from adults found to have been abused there as children were given a pass inspection on their protection of children at the time. [184564]

Mr Timpson: A number of independent schools have recently been mentioned in the media as facing potential claims. For many of these schools, the claims are historic and the Department is unlikely to hold records of the inspection judgments which were contemporaneous with the cases in question. If the hon. Member wishes to have information about the records that we hold for particular named schools, and can let the Department have the details of the schools he is interested in, I should be happy to write to him with information that we have available.

School Leaving

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many local authorities have been unable to provide sufficient school placements to meet increased demand under Raising the Participation Age to those students who left year 11 in 2013. [184266]

Mr Laws: Local authorities are required to inform the Department by the end of October how many young people had not received an offer by the end of September; this may have been because they were undecided about what to do next, were awaiting the result of an application, or were not able to find a suitable place.

27 Jan 2014 : Column 397W

The Department plans to make information on the proportion of young people who did not receive an offer available on its website once it has completed quality assurance checks on the data.

Special Educational Needs

Mrs Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the availability in schools of training materials to support teachers to identify children with dyslexia and dyspraxia. [184229]

Mr Timpson: Schools are responsible for training their staff and ensuring they are able to meet pupils' special educational needs (SEN).

Our reforms to the SEN system will challenge schools to improve the quality of teaching and learning for all pupils. In support of the reforms, the Department is supporting Nasen, a leading SEN organisation working with schools, to develop an “SEN Gateway” to ensure training materials and information on SEN is freely available. This will include teacher training materials on dyslexia developed as part of the Government-funded Inclusion Development and the “interventions for literacy” site developed by Dyslexia-SpLD Trust, which gives teachers access to well-evidenced programmes to support literacy.

Through the National Scholarship Fund, we are enabling teachers to develop their practice by providing opportunities to apply for funding to undertake postgraduate qualifications and training in supporting children with SEN and disabilities, including specific impairments such as dyslexia.

University Technical Colleges

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many university technical colleges have opened in England to date; and how many such institutions are planned to open in the next five years. [183989]

Mr Timpson: Seventeen university technical colleges (UTCs) have opened in England to date. A further 33 UTCs are in development and planning to open between now and 2016. The Department for Education runs two application rounds a year for any group wanting to open a UTC. The next application round closes on 9 May.

Work Experience

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people aged (a) 16 and under and (b) over 16 years old undertook work experience in his Department in each of the last three years. [183657]

Matthew Hancock: Since 2010, 107 people have undertaken work experience in the Department.

The Department does not hold a central record identifying the exact age of each student undertaking a work experience placement.

In addition, the Department has recruited 44 apprentices across the three financial years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. This is compared to 19 apprentices in 2009-10.

27 Jan 2014 : Column 398W

In 2013-14, the Department also took 15 apprentices from the Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme Pilot. This pilot has now been rolled out and the Department will be taking a further 15 apprentices in September this year.

Since 2011, the Department has taken on 19 paid interns as part of the Cabinet Office Summer Diversity Internship programme and the Whitehall Internship Programme and three unpaid expenses-only interns as part of a pilot for the Cabinet Office's new Social Mobility Internship.

Treasury

Bitcoin

Karl McCartney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had on the use and classification of the Bitcoin digital currency. [184481]

Sajid Javid: Bitcoin can be used both as a medium of exchange and as a speculative investment. It is currently legal to acquire, hold and trade Bitcoins in the UK, provided this is for legitimate purposes.

Bitcoin is not legal tender. Only pound sterling coins and banknotes issued under the relevant UK legal regime (England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) are legal tender. Bitcoin is currently unregulated in the UK.

Karl McCartney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on digital currencies. [184482]

Sajid Javid: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), has had no recent discussions with EU counterparts on the subject of digital currencies.

Employee Ownership

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are currently registered as having employee shareholder status. [179012]

Mr Gauke: There is no requirement for someone using the employee shareholder status to register with any Government Department or agency.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department has taken to trace Equitable Life policyholders regarding compensation under the Equitable Life payments scheme. [183985]

Sajid Javid: The Government use a variety of approaches to trace over 1 million eligible Equitable Life policyholders, including:

Electronic verification of records against credit records, the electoral register and the phone book;

Writing to the last known address of policyholders;

Using data held by the Prudential and, for members of company pension schemes, data held by the Trustees of those schemes;

27 Jan 2014 : Column 399W

Checking records with the Department of Work and Pensions;

Advertising in national newspapers; and

Using data held by the Probate Office to trace the estates of deceased policyholders.

As a result, over 700,000 policyholders have been traced and paid so far. The Government will continue to trace policyholders for the lifetime of the Scheme, and has recently extended the deadline of the Scheme until 2015 to maximise the number of policyholders that can be traced and paid.

Excise Duties: Alcoholic Drinks

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what recent consultation his Department has undertaken with representatives of the Scotch whisky industry regarding alcohol duty; [183984]

(2) what assessment his Department has made of the effect of recent changes in alcohol duty on the (a) Scotch whisky industry and (b) international competitiveness of that industry. [183987]

Nicky Morgan: The Scotch whisky industry and its international competitiveness is unaffected by the recent changes to the UK duty system as over 90% of Scotch whisky is exported. However, the Government have provided support to the Scotch whisky industry by recently launching the Scotch whisky verification scheme. This will help protect the industry's highly deserved reputation.

HM Treasury engages with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with the previous Administration, it is not the Government's policy to disclose the details of these meetings.

Government Departments: Assets

Dr Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what Government assets have been sold in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and what the value of each such sale was. [178771]

Danny Alexander: HM Treasury does not routinely collect information on all individual asset sales. UK Government Departments with non-devolved functions covering Northern Ireland will be able to provide more detail on the management of their own assets. The Northern Ireland Executive should be able to provide more information for assets for which they are responsible.

Minimum Wage

Guy Opperman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the level of the national minimum wage. [184257]

Jenny Willott: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Our aim is to maximise the wages of the low-paid without damaging their employment prospects. We fully support the work of an independent Low Pay Commission (LPC) in framing the pay rate recommendations for 2014, and the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has also asked them to consider the conditions needed for faster, above inflation, increases in the national minimum wage (NMW).

27 Jan 2014 : Column 400W

On 15 January 2014 Government submitted their final evidence to the LPC including analysis of the latest economic data relevant to the remit which we issued to it in June 2013, and also submitted evidence for the additional assessment which sets out the conditions needed for faster increases in the NMW. The LPC will send its recommendations to Government for 2014 NMW rates by the end of February 2014 and we will announce the Government's decision on the rates shortly after that.

The final Government evidence for the LPC's 2014 report and Government evidence on the additional assessment can be found at the following links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-minimum-wage-final-government-evidence-for-the-low-pay-commission-2014-report

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-minimum-wage-government-evidence-for-the-low-pay-commission-additional-assessment

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Chris Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Help to Buy mortgage guarantee applications have been made in each region of the UK to date. [177588]

Sajid Javid: The Government are committed to making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible. The Government want current and future generations to experience the benefits of owning their own home, in the same way their parents were able to. Since the financial crisis, larger deposit requirements and falling equity values mean many credit-worthy households cannot get a mortgage, or are trapped in their existing homes unable to take the next steps.

Almost three months since the launch of the scheme, over 6,000 people have applied for new mortgages supported by the scheme, totalling close to £1 billion of new mortgage lending. The average household applying for the scheme has asked to borrow around £151,000 for houses worth roughly £159,000, which is below the UK average house price of £247,000. Further information about the take-up of the scheme in the first three months is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/help-to-buy-sees-1-billion-of-new-loans-and-supports-6000-applicants-in-3-months

The Government have not been routinely collecting application data on a regional basis. However, the Government will be collecting data on mortgages covered by the guarantee as they enter the scheme, and will report on this in due course.

National Insurance Contributions: Barrow in Furness

John Woodcock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many firms in Barrow and Furness constituency were subject to the national insurance holiday for new firms in each year it has been in operation. [175090]

Mr Gauke: Annual breakdown of the number of employers that applied for national insurance holiday throughout the scheme in Barrow and Furness constituency is as follows:

27 Jan 2014 : Column 401W

In order to help businesses in a more straightforward way, the Government are introducing the employment allowance.

From April 2014 businesses and charities 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 work force.

In the north-west, up to 137,000 employers will be able to benefit from the allowance in 2014-15, with £125 million of NICs relief delivered to the region and 53,000 employers lifted out of NICs completely.

Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of expenditure on his Department's procurement contracts was placed with small and medium-sized enterprises based in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland, (e) the North East, (f) the North West, (g) Yorkshire and the Humber, (h) the East Midlands, (i) the West Midlands, (j) the East of England, (k) London, (l) the South East and (m) the South West in the last three years for which figures are available. [184286]

Nicky Morgan: HM Treasury Group's direct and indirect spend with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from 2009-10 to 20012-13 has been reported on GOV.UK:

https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/buying-and-managing-government-goods-and-services-more-efficiently-and-effectively/supporting-pages/making-sure-government-gets-full-value-from-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises

The information is not held on a regional basis.

Remittances

Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an estimate of the levels of annual remittances to persons in other countries made by persons based in the UK through banking and financial services systems located in the UK in each of the last four years. [184103]

Sajid Javid: The Treasury does not hold data on the annual flow of remittances to persons in other countries. The Treasury relies on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for data on UK transfers. The ONS does not publish separate estimates for remittances as they are not considered to be of sufficient quality. Instead, estimates for remittances are combined with estimates for net transfers from UK charities, defined in the UK Balance of Payments (the Pink Book) as “other payments by households”.

27 Jan 2014 : Column 402W

Data for “other payments by households” are only available on an annual basis. The 2012 Edition of the Pink Book published in July estimated “other payments by households” at £5.74 billion in 2011:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/bop/united-kingdom-balance-of-payments/2012/index.html

Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he (a) has had and (b) plans to have with the financial services sector to ensure the continuation of facilities to permit remittances to persons in other countries made by persons based in the UK through banking and financial services systems located in the UK. [184104]

Sajid Javid: The Government have been and remain committed to constructive engagement with all relevant stakeholders to help find a comprehensive and durable solution to secure the future of the UK remittance market.

In September, officials met representatives of the financial services sector and other interested parties to discuss possible actions the Government could take to help facilitate a sustainable market-led solution to problems in the remittance market.

One of the agreed outcomes of the roundtable was the formation of an Action Group on Cross Border Remittances. Both banks and Money Service Businesses will be members of the group.

Remittances: Somalia

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that Somalis living in the UK can continue to be able to transfer remittances to family in Somalia. [184732]

Sajid Javid: The Government are committed to supporting a healthy and legitimate remittance sector, and ensuring that UK citizens are able to continue to remit funds safely to family abroad. A written ministerial statement was laid on 10 October 2013, Official Report, columns 29-30WS, outlining the range of actions we are taking to facilitate a market-led solution to solve the problems in the remittance market; this includes the establishment of an action group on cross border remittances.

The action group will incorporate a working group, tasked with developing a safe corridor pilot to help ensure the continued flow of remittances to Somalia through secure and accessible channels.