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Written Answers to Questions

Thursday 30 January 2014

Transport

Curzon Institute

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent contact his Department has had with (a) Curzon Education and (b) the Curzon Institute; what contracts his Department holds with those bodies; and what the value of those contracts is. [185006]

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport has had no contact and holds no contracts with Curzon Education and Curzon Institute.

Land

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which sites owned by his Department are currently earmarked for disposal; what the current class use is of each site; what the expected planning use is for each site; whether each site already has planning permission for the expected planning use; what the market value of the site is; and whether the site will be sold for the full market value. [184988]

Stephen Hammond: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 28 January 2014, Official Report, column 514W, by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General.

Railways: Fares

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the likely effect on household budgets of rail price increases coming into effect in January 2014 will be. [184866]

Stephen Hammond: Any increase in fares will impact upon household budgets, for this reason we took the decision to reduce the average regulated fare rises to RPI plus 0% for 2014, and for the first time in a decade regulated fares have not risen on average by more than inflation. Across all rail fares, the increases that came into effect from January 2014 have gone up by an average of 2.8%, which is the lowest fare rise in four years, according to the Rail Delivery Group.

Roads

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what the funding allocation is for Highways Agency route based strategies in Oxfordshire; [185194]

(2) what total funding is allocated to Highways Agency route based strategies; [185195]

(3) what the funding allocation is for Highways Agency route based strategies in the South East. [185196]

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Mr Goodwill: The Government have set out a new vision for England's strategic road network in ‘Investing in Britain's Future' and ‘Action for Roads', committing £10.7 billion to new major projects, and £6 billion for maintenance, over the course of the next Parliament. ‘Action for Roads' sets out the national roads projects that will be delivered after 2015, as part of a long-term funding settlement to 2020-21.

The Highways Agency's route-based strategies will be the primary means by which the investment priorities for the strategic road network will be identified beyond those to which the Government is already committed. The investment opportunities identified by the strategies, and the funding required to deliver them up to 2020-21 at a national and sub-national level, will be determined following their completion in March 2015.

Wales

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Library all assessments of new policy and legislation from his Department since January 2013 which give due consideration to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. [185204]

Mr David Jones: In a written ministerial statement to Parliament in December 2010, the Government confirmed its commitment to give due consideration to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) Articles when making new policy and legislation.

As such, the Wales Office is content that all policy and legislation from this Department since April 2010 does not engage with the Articles of the UNCRC.

Attorney-General

European Commission

Mr Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General if he will set out the Law Officers' Departments' priorities for discussions with the European Commission over their 2014 Work programme; and if he will make a statement. [185302]

The Solicitor-General: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe on 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 625W.

Prime Minister

European Commission

Mr Thomas: To ask the Prime Minister if he will set out No. 10 Downing Street's priorities for discussions with the European Commission over their 2014 Work Programme; and if he will make a statement. [185318]

The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe on 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 625W.

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Defence

Publications

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's new Finance and Military Capability Operating Model. [184237]

Mr Francois: A copy of the Financial Military Capability Target Operating Model (FMC TOM) version 3 will be placed in the Library of the House. The right hon. Member should be aware that the TOM is a live document and will be updated and developed as the FMC construct matures and the Levene Delegated Model becomes a fully operational reality on 1 April 2014.

Radar: Hebrides

Mr MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) on what date his Department allocated funding to permit the contract process to begin for the North Uist air defence radar upgrade; [185276]

(2) on what date his Department decided that money would need to be allocated to fund the upgrade of the air defence radar on North Uist. [185277]

Mr Dunne: The Ministry of Defence allocated funding for the Remote Radar Head (RRH) Benbecula (North Uist) upgrade at the time the contract was signed in November 2013.

The Department has known for many years that RRH Benbecula would need to be upgraded as it approaches the end of its expected life. The receipt of a formal proposal to upgrade RRH Buchan in summer 2013 presented an opportunity to preserve fleet commonality, and therefore the Department decided to upgrade RRH Benbecula also.

Radio Frequencies

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department paid in radio spectrum fees in each year between 2009-10 and 2012-13. [185097]

Mr Dunne: The Ministry of Defence paid the following amounts in radio spectrum fees:

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department expects to pay in radio spectrum fees in each financial year between 2013-14 and 2015-16. [185100]

Mr Dunne: The Ministry of Defence will be paying the following amounts in radio spectrum fees:

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The radio spectrum fees for financial year 2015-16 have yet to be agreed and are subject to on-going negotiations with HM Treasury.

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department is making with the sale of (a) 2.3GHz and (b) 3.4GHz electromagnetic spectrum bands; and if he will make a statement. [185102]

Mr Dunne: As I announced on 13 September 2013, the communications regulator, Ofcom, is conducting the release process of the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) radio spectrum in the 2.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz bands. Ofcom has already conducted a six-week "Call for Inputs" consultation seeking the views of interested parties and will shortly be publishing its technical coexistence proposals. Ofcom has indicated that the earliest the spectrum could be awarded would be in financial year 2015-16. In the meantime, the MOD is progressing with its work to clear existing military/Government users from the 2.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz bands.

Business, Innovation and Skills

Environment Protection: Taxation

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make representations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to suspend any planned increase in the carbon price floor until the EU Commission approves the UK's application for state aid approval for support to energy intensive industries. [184875]

Michael Fallon: Ensuring UK industry remains globally competitive is a priority for this Government. I am concerned about the impact of the carbon price floor on energy intensive industries and I met with Vice- President Almunia and his Commission officials on 29 January to press the Commission for a quick decision on state aid approval.

EU External Trade

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on EU free trade agreements. [184513]

Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills regularly meets with his EU counterparts to discuss a range of issues including EU free trade agreements.

European Commission

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will set out his Department's priorities for discussions with the European Commission over their 2014 Work Programme; and if he will make a statement. [185301]

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Michael Fallon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe on 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 625W.

Mailing Preference Service

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who have chosen to use (a) Royal Mail's opt-out scheme and (b) the mailing preference service. [185118]

Jenny Willott: BIS has not made any estimates on the number of people who have chosen to use Royal Mail's opt-out scheme or the Mailing Preference Service.

Government have made sure that UK consumers can at any time choose to stop receiving unwanted mail.

Preference services have been put in place for any one who does not want to receive unsolicited mail—addressed and unaddressed. Registering with such services is free and simple.

More information about these services can be found on the Mailing Preference Service website

www.mpsonline.org.uk

Postal Services: Competition

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with (a) Ofcom and (b) Consumer Futures on the effect of end-to-end competition in the postal market on the universal postal service. [185187]

Jenny Willott: BIS Ministers and officials meet with representatives from Ofcom and Consumer Futures on an intermittent basis to discuss a wide range of issues, including developments within the postal services market.

It is Ofcom's responsibility as the independent regulator for postal services in the UK to monitor any impacts of market competition on the provision of the universal service in the UK. Parliament has given Ofcom the powers to intervene if the provision of the universal service is ever at serious risk from the effects of postal competition.

Ofcom has an effective and ongoing monitoring regime to track the financial sustainability of the universal postal service. In March 2013 Ofcom published guidance on its approach to assessing the impact of end-to-end competition in the postal sector. In its November 2013 annual monitoring report Ofcom considered “it is not necessary to impose any additional regulatory conditions on end-to-end operators to secure the ongoing provision of a universal postal service at this point in time”.

If Ofcom's ongoing monitoring regime does not prompt the need for any earlier assessment, it will carry out a full review of the impact of market competition towards the end of 2015 as a matter of course. This will ensure that the regulator has made a detailed assessment of the actual and potential impact of emerging end-to-end competition based on a better understanding of how the postal market is developing. More information about Ofcom's regulatory regime can be found on its website:

www.ofcom.org.uk

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Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effects on the universal postal service of the extension of end-to-end delivery services by companies other than the universal service provider. [185263]

Jenny Willott: Under the Postal Services Act 2011, Parliament transferred regulatory responsibility for the postal services sector from Postcomm to Ofcom as an independent regulator and gave Ofcom the primary duty of securing the universal postal service in the United Kingdom.

It is Ofcom's responsibility to monitor any impacts of market competition on the provision of the universal service in the UK. Parliament has given Ofcom the powers to intervene if the provision of the universal service is ever at serious risk from the effects of postal competition.

Ofcom has an effective and ongoing monitoring regime to track the financial sustainability of the universal postal service. In March 2013 Ofcom published guidance on its approach to assessing the impact of end-to-end competition in the postal sector.

In its November 2013 annual monitoring report Ofcom considered

“it is not necessary to impose any additional regulatory conditions on end-to-end operators to secure the ongoing provision of a universal postal service at this point in time”.

If Ofcom's ongoing monitoring regime does not prompt the need for any earlier assessment, it will carry out a full review of the impact of market competition towards the end of 2015 as a matter of course. This will ensure that the regulator has made a detailed assessment of the actual and potential impact of emerging end-to-end competition based on a better understanding of how the postal market is developing. More information about Ofcom's regulatory regime can be found on its website

www.ofcom.org.uk

Research: West Midlands

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what publicly-funded research budgets are ongoing at universities in the West Midlands. [185186]

Mr Willetts: Universities in the West Midlands receive public research funding through the dual support system. These are the Quality Research (QR) allocation from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and research grant funds from the seven UK research councils. Information on QR allocations is publicly available on the HEFCE website:

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/whatwedo/invest/institns/annallocns

Information on historic research grant funding is publicly available on the Higher Education Statistics Agency website:

http://www.hesa.ac.uk/content/view/1897/239

The Research Councils collectively spent £101 million¹ within the West Midlands in financial year 2012/13, within the following institutions:

¹ Data cover expenditure on standard grants, Studentships, Fellowships and Training Grants.

Aston University

Birmingham City University

Coventry University

Harper Adams University College

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Keele University

Staffordshire University

University of Birmingham

University of Warwick

University of Wolverhampton

Science: Finance

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his forecast outturn for science spending is in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15. [185184]

Mr Willetts: The Department published allocations for the periods concerned in the booklet “The Allocation of Science and Research Funding 2011-12 to 2014-15” (20 December 2010):

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/allocation-of-science-and-research-funding-2011-12-to-2014-15

The Department has also announced additional allocations since the spending review through fiscal events totalling £514 million in 2013-14 and £609 million in 2014-15. This figure includes resource for projects announced at the autumn statement, 5 December 2013, Official Report, columns 1101-1113.

The outturn for each financial year is published in the Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper and the BIS annual accounts, available on:

www.gov.uk

after the end of each financial year.

Students: Loans

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will place a copy of the model used to forecast revenue from student loan payments in the Library. [185133]

Mr Willetts: We have published a simplified version of the student loan repayments model on our website which demonstrates how we forecast repayments from student loans. This was updated in December 2013 to take account of the new macro-economic forecasts published by the Office for Budgetary Responsibility.

Here is a link to the published model:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/simplified-student-loan-repayment-model

TNT

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with TNT on extending end-to-end postal services in (a) Liverpool, (b) Manchester, (c) Glasgow, (d) Birmingham, (e) Edinburgh and (f) other areas of the UK. [185185]

Jenny Willott: Ministers in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills have not had any discussions with TNT Post on its plans to extend its end-to-end operations in the UK. BIS officials meet with representatives from TNT on an intermittent basis to discuss a wide range of issues, including developments in the postal market.

It is Ofcom's responsibility as the independent regulator for postal services to monitor any impacts of market competition on the provision of the universal service in

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the UK. Parliament has given Ofcom the powers to intervene if the provision of the universal service is ever at serious risk from the effects of postal competition.

Vetting: Scotland

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he or Ministers in his Department have had with Ministers in the Scottish Government on the blacklisting of Scottish workers. [185128]

Jenny Willott: There have not been any such discussions between Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Scottish Government on the blacklisting of Scottish workers.

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent meetings his Department has had where the blacklisting of Scottish workers has been discussed. [185129]

Jenny Willott: The Department has not had any meetings to discuss the blacklisting of Scottish workers.

Justice

Bail

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many and what proportion of people aged 21 and over and suspected of burglary on non-residential premises received police bail in the last two years by (a) police force and (b) region; and if she will make a statement; [180914]

(2) how many and what proportion of people aged under 21 years who were suspected of street robbery received police bail in the latest two years for which figures are available (a) by region, (b) by police force and (c) in total; and if she will make a statement. [180915]

Damian Green: Data concerning the number of individuals placed on police bail in England and Wales is not held centrally.

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many appellants in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England are waiting for the Tribunals Service to list their first-tier tribunal social security and child support appeal in respect of employment and support allowance. [183520]

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 including employment and support allowance (ESA).

There are always a number of ‘live’ appeals at the various stages of processing before being listed for a tribunal hearing. The live load also includes appeals which may not require a final hearing or have had an initial hearing but have not had a final decision.

Appeals to the SSCS tribunal are registered in the processing centre in the region where the appellant lives, and the data on the load broken down by benefit can be provided at the level of these processing centres.

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At September 2013 (the most recent period for which statistics have been published) there were a total of 2,286 ESA appeals waiting to be heard in the Coventry venues. For the West Midlands this figure is 15,817¹ and for England 130,252.

In 2011-12, ESA appeal receipts at Coventry were 1,896; West Midlands 18,957; and England 145,625. In 2012-13 these rose to 3,025, 33,958 and 200,850 respectively. To meet this increased demand, HMCTS has increased the capacity of the tribunal. For example, the number of hearing rooms in Coventry has doubled.

¹ West Midlands includes appeals heard at Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Kidderminster, Leamington Spa, Nuneaton, Shrewsbury, Solihull, Stoke, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Worcester venues.

Note:

The above data arc taken from management information in line with published statistics. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale reporting system and are the best data available.

Hewell Prison

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment his Department has made of the number of deaths at HM Prison Hewell in the last 10 years. [184865]

Jeremy Wright: The number of deaths at HMP Hewell are published annually in Table 3.18 of the National Statistics Safety in Custody series. These statistics currently cover the period up to 2012 and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics

Internet: Bullying

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice under what legislation cyber-bullying offences are currently prosecuted; and how many prosecutions for cyber-bullying have been undertaken in each year since 2010. [181618]

Damian Green: The Government is determined to deal robustly with cyber-bullying, which can have appalling effects on its victims' lives. Offences can be prosecuted under a wide range of legislation, including the Malicious Communications Act 1988, the Communications Act 2003, the Protection from Harassment Act 2007 and the Public Order Act 1986. Each of these offences is used for a variety of purposes, and it is not possible to distinguish the figures for cyber-bullying from other circumstances in which the legislation might be used.

Judges: Housing

Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost of providing judge's lodgings was in the latest period for which figures are available. [181469]

Mr Vara: The total cost of accommodating High Court judges in lodgings for 2012-13, the latest period for which figures are available, was £5,232,600. The Justice Secretary and Lord Chief Justice are reviewing the spend on judges' lodgings. The review will look at suitable and appropriate accommodation for High Court judges sitting on cases away from their base in the Royal Courts of Justice; satisfactory working conditions and privacy; appropriate levels of security; and value for money for the Ministry of Justice and the taxpayer.

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All 2012-13 costs except capital depreciation and payroll are taken directly from the finance system. Capital depreciation is taken from a separate fixed assets database and payroll costs have been provided by the central judges' lodgings team.

The most serious and complex cases, both criminal and civil, are heard by High Court judges in courts near to where the events took place and in a place most convenient to parties and witnesses. High Court judges are based in London and need accommodation, often for long periods of time, when they hear cases outside London.

Legal Aid Scheme: Sexual Offences

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the potential effect of changes to legal aid on the sentencing of those convicted of sexual offences. [183301]

Mr Vara: The Government's reforms of the legal aid scheme will not have an impact on sentencing for any type of offence.

Magistrates

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he is monitoring the number of lay magistrates who choose to leave the magistracy. [184492]

Mr Vara: Magistrates in England and Wales play a vital role in our judiciary. They deal with around 19 out of every 20 defendants in criminal cases. Crime is falling and the number of magistrates should reflect the level of work available and we ensure a sufficient number of magistrates are recruited to meet this demand.

The Judicial Office routinely collates data on the number of magistrates who resign.

Written Questions

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many named day parliamentary questions sent to his Department were answered after the day named without a holding letter being sent in each session of Parliament since 2010. [183119]

Mr Vara: It would incur disproportionate costs to provide this information, since this would require a manual trawl of each individual parliamentary question response from the beginning of the last two Sessions to date.

Health

Abortion

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in how many cases in which an abortion was certified under ground C the woman seeking the abortion had met the authorising medical practitioner in each year since 2001; and what proportion of the total such cases were in each year. [184412]

Jane Ellison [holding answer 27 January 2014]:During the process of answering this parliamentary question the Department of Health has identified an issue with extracting data from the HSA4 form. This means that it is not possible to specify in how many cases the authorising doctor met and/or examined the woman seeking the abortion. Officials are now reviewing the data collection processes.

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This also corrects the information given to the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh) on 13 January 2014, Official Report, column 403W.

Curzon Institute

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent contact his Department has had with (a) Curzon Education and (b) the Curzon Institute; what contracts his Department holds with those bodies; and what the value of those contracts is. [185000]

Dr Poulter: We do not hold any contracts with either Curzon Education or the Curzon Institute.

There is no recorded correspondence between the Department and these two companies. We are unaware of the existence of any dialogue with these companies. To conduct a full search across the Department would incur disproportionate costs.

Dementia

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the cost of caring for patients in the acute care setting who suffer from dementia; and what number of acute care beds are occupied by patients with dementia. [185040]

Norman Lamb: We have made no estimate of the cost of caring for patients with dementia in acute hospitals. It is estimated that around a quarter of hospital beds are occupied by people with dementia.

Dialysis Machines

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dialysis units in England provide the full range of treatments for end stage renal failure. [185188]

Jane Ellison: There are currently 52 renal referral centres in England that have an integral haemodialysis unit.

NHS England is responsible for commissioning specialised services and treatment for people with end stage renal failure. NHS England’s “Renai dialysis: hospital and satellite (adult)” service specification sets out that in-centre haemodialysis should be offered to any patient with end stage renal failure if it is deemed that the patient will benefit from treatment.

NHS England’s service specification makes it clear that one of the aims of the service is to deliver access to high quality services and appropriate treatment for patients with end stage renal failure, across England. The specification can be found at the following link:

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/a06-renal-dia-hosp-sat-ad.pdf

Driving under Influence: Drugs

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of drug driving legislation on patients; and if he will make a statement. [184856]

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Jane Ellison: The measures in the Crime and Courts Act 2013 which increase police powers to tackle drug driving are designed to improve road safety. Officials from the Department are working closely with those in the Department for Transport to ensure that there are no unintended consequences for either patients taking medication or for those prescribing specified drugs.

Fast Food

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2014, Official Report, column 347W, on fast food, which Ministers attended the meetings on (a) 7 March 2013 and (b) 5 July 2013; and what was discussed at each such meeting. [185287]

Jane Ellison: The then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry), attended the meetings with McDonald's on 7 March, 2013 and Burger King on 5 July 2013. Discussion focussed on the two companies' contributions to the Public Health Responsibility Deal Food Network pledges.

McDonald's is signed up to three Food Network pledges—out of home calorie labelling, non-use of artificial trans fats and salt reduction in catering: procurement.

Burger King is signed up to two Food Network pledges—out of home calorie labelling and non-use of artificial trans fats.

Fats

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effects of trans fats on public health. [185284]

Jane Ellison: The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), a committee of independent experts who advises the Government on nutrition issues, examined the evidence on trans fats and health in 2007. The SACN concluded that trans fats from partially hydrogenated oils has a moderate impact on increasing the risk of coronary heart disease and, for this reason, recommended that trans fats should contribute no more than 2% of food energy. The Government has kept abreast of emerging evidence including evaluations by international bodies such as the World Health Organisation and the European Food Safety Authority which are broadly consistent with SACN's conclusions. The average intakes are currently well within current public health guidelines.

General Practitioners

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average time waiting to be seen is for GP appointments in (a) Birmingham South Central clinical commissioning group and (b) clinical commissioning groups in England. [185240]

Jane Ellison: The requested information is not collected centrally.

Infectious Diseases

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what comparative assessment his Department has made of the likelihood of a (a) homeless person and (b) member of the general population being infected with (i) active pulmonary tuberculosis, (ii) HIV, (iii) chronic hepatitis B infection and (iv) chronic HCV infection. [184783]

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Jane Ellison: The assessment of the likelihood of a homeless person and a member of the general public being infected with active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), HIV, chronic hepatitis B infection and chronic hepatitis C infection is as follows:

The incidence of pulmonary TB in the general population in 2012 was 7.2/100,000. 3.8% of the cases of active pulmonary TB notified in 2012 had a history of homelessness. As we do not have reliable figures for the size of the homeless population, we cannot calculate the incidence of pulmonary TB in the homeless population. However, a study in London in 2003 estimated that the prevalence of TB in the homeless population was nearly 30 times as high as in the general population¹.

In 2012, an estimated 98,400 people were living with HIV in the United Kingdom (diagnosed and undiagnosed), representing an overall prevalence of 1.5 per 1,000 population. The likelihood of being infected with HIV in the UK is therefore one in 667. No information is collected on homelessness in the HIV data systems.

Our estimates of the prevalence of chronic hepatitis B and C infection in the UK adult population are 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively. Homeless people are more vulnerable to a wide range of infections than the rest of the general population. Studies of chronic hepatitis B and C in the UK homeless population are limited, but a recent survey of people who inject drugs found that those who had ever been homeless were more likely to have a chronic hepatitis C infection (32%) than those that were in stable accommodation (26%)².

¹ Story A, Murad S, Roberts W, Verheyen M, Hayward AC. Tuberculosis in London: the importance of homelessness, problem drug use and prison. Thorax 2007;62:667-71.

² Health Protection Agency, Health Protection Scotland, National Public Health Service for Wales, CDSC Northern Ireland, CRDHB. Shooting Up: Infections among injecting drug users in the United Kingdom 2008. London: Health Protection Agency, October 2009.

Kidneys: Transplant Surgery

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to monitor the performance of renal units in managing kidney transplant recipients. [185189]

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Jane Ellison: Renal transplantation is now commissioned centrally by NHS England as a directly commissioned specialised service. The specification for renal transplantation published by NHS England outlines the outcomes required of the service. This specification now forms part of the service contracts with renal transplant providers. A copy of the specification is available on the NHS England website at:

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/a07-renal-transpl-ad.pdf

As with all of the service specifications for specialised services, compliance of the transplant unit to the expected outcomes of the specification will be monitored by the area team.

It is also a requirement that the transplant unit adheres to the standards and guidance listed in section 3 of the specification, which is a comprehensive list of applicable nationally agreed standards and guidelines for the service. There is a further requirement in the service specification that the transplant unit submits data to the Renal Registry and NHS Blood and Transplant. This data is reviewed and any outliers from the mean are highlighted. NHS England works in close partnership with both the Renal Registry and NHS Blood and Transplant. In the coming contract year, a quality dashboard will be added for transplant units to complete which will be an additional tool for monitoring performance of transplant units.

Land

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which sites owned by his Department are currently earmarked for disposal; what the current class use is of each site; what the expected planning use is for each site; whether each site already has planning permission for the expected planning use; what the market value of the site is; and whether the site will be sold for the full market value. [184984]

Dr Poulter: The Department owns the following larger sites which are currently earmarked for disposal.

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Medical Records: Databases

Mr Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people who have opted out of the NHS National database and the availability of their records to the Health and Social Care Information Centre. [184919]

Dr Poulter: An estimate of the number of objections is not currently available.

The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) will record the number of patient objections made at each general practitioner practice. Where there appears to be a high number of objections relative to the national average, NHS England and the HSCIC will work with the British Medical Association and the Royal College of General Practitioners to review the data.

Mr Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the ability of the Health and Social Care Information Centre to ensure the anonymity of NHS patients when sharing data with third parties. [184920]

Dr Poulter: The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) is committed and legally bound to the very highest standards of privacy, security and confidentiality to ensure that confidential information is protected at all times. There are very strict rules about what information the HSCIC can release to the national health service and outside organisations.

The HSCIC makes data available in three formats: personal confidential data, pseudonymous data, and anonymous data. Each format is protected by a different suite of privacy safeguards as described in the Information Commissioner's “Code of Practice on Anonymisation”. No personal confidential data are ever disclosed without a legal basis for doing so, such as the patient's explicit consent.

Mental Health Services: Cumbria

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions patients from other areas were admitted to inpatient psychiatric facilities run by NHS Cumbria due to a shortage of beds elsewhere in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and from which trust areas these patients were transferred. [185293]

Norman Lamb: The number of admissions to the Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust by primary care trust (PCT) of residence in 2012-13 is shown in the following table.

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Mesothelioma

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2014, Official Report, column 696, on mesothelioma, how many mesothelioma cases were treated by the NHS in each previous year for which information is available; and what estimate his Department has made of the likely number of mesothelioma cases diagnosed in each future year. [184795]

Jane Ellison: The following table provides information concerning the number of finished admission episodes (FAEs) with a primary diagnosis of mesothelioma for the years 1995-96 to 2012-13 and refers to the number of cases treated by the NHS. This could include episodes of multiple treatment for the same individual.

The Department has made no estimate of the likely number of mesothelioma cases diagnosed in each future year.

However, the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) latest projections of annual mesothelioma deaths in Great Britain over the 30-year period, 2012-41, based on statistical modelling of data from the HSE mesothelioma register, are shown in the following table.

Most people diagnosed with mesothelioma will die within three years of a diagnosis.

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NHS: Redundancy

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2013, Official Report, column 416W, on NHS: redundancy, for what reasons the information is not available from the date requested. [184794]

Dr Poulter: Parliamentary Question 177460 replied to on 28 November 2013, Official Report, column 416W, asked for information on redundancies and re-employment in the national health service from May 2013. Given that this request related to a very recent time, published data on NHS redundancies were only available for a small proportion of the time period. Furthermore, part of the question related to re-employment to other forms of health care contracted to the NHS and the Department holds no information on this.

Older People: Mental Capacity

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the report by the Care Quality Commission published on 20 January 2014, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in the number of applications for restrictions on the liberty of elderly patients under the Mental Capacity Act 2008. [185081]

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Norman Lamb: The recent report by the Care Quality Commission was about the Deprivation of Liberty safeguards. These are safeguards which ensure that any deprivation of liberty is carried out in a person's best interests. The report shows greater use of these safeguards, as care homes understand them better and use them more.

The safeguards result in increased scrutiny of care plans for elderly people with dementia. The Department welcomes greater awareness of when the safeguards should be used and welcomes a greater focus on promoting the liberty of older people with dementia.

Tuberculosis

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the prevalence of active pulmonary tuberculosis amongst (a) the homeless population and (b) the general population. [184784]

Jane Ellison: The incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in the general population in 2012 was 7.2/100,000. 3.8% of the cases of active pulmonary TB notified in 2012 had a history of homelessness. As we do not have reliable figures for the size of the homeless population, we cannot calculate the incidence of pulmonary TB in the homeless population. However, a study in London in 2003 estimated that the prevalence of TB in the homeless population was nearly 30 times as high as in the general population. In March 2014, Pubic Health England and NHS England will be launching a national TB strategy.

Communities and Local Government

EU Grants and Loans

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent meetings he has had with ministerial colleagues to discuss the European regional development fund. [184788]

Brandon Lewis: Ministers within the Department for Communities and Local Government regularly meet colleagues from other Departments to discuss a range of matters.

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what allocations in each local authority area of England have been made by the European regional development fund in each year since 2007. [184789]

Brandon Lewis: Allocations from the 2007-13 European regional development fund were made by the old Government regions. Allocations were made in 2006 in Euros and apply to the whole of the 2007-13 programme period. Allocations for each programme are shown in the following table.

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I refer the hon. member to the written ministerial statement given by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on 27 June 2013, Official Report, columns 9-10WS, where he announced the allocation of European structural and investment funds to local enterprise partnerships during the 2014-20 programme period.

Fire Services: Cumbria

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Government has given to fire and rescue services in Cumbria in each of the last five years. [184177]

Brandon Lewis [holding answer 23 January 2014]: Cumbria local authority chooses how much to spend on fire and rescue services, drawing on central Government grant and other items such as council tax. The following table shows their net current expenditure on fire and rescue services in each of the last five years:

These figures show that expenditure has remained broadly the same, while the number of fire incidents is on an ongoing downward trend nationally and specifically in Cumbria over the last 10 years.

There is real scope for fire and rescue authorities to make sensible savings and practical improvements without reducing the quality of life-saving services. To facilitate this, Sir Ken Knight has undertaken a detailed review into the operational efficiency of the services delivered by fire and rescue authorities in England; the Government will be responding formally in due course.

Housing: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many affordable homes have been built in each London borough in each of the last five years; [184629]

(2) how many local authority homes have been built in each London borough in each of the last five years. [184628]

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Kris Hopkins: From 1 April 2012, the Mayor of London has had strategic oversight of housing, regeneration and economic development in London.

Statistics on house building completions by tenure in each London borough are published in the Department’s live tables 253 (annual) and 253a (quarterly), which are available at the following link:

http://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building

Taken together, the housing association and local authority tenures provide estimates of total social housing completions, but these figures understate total affordable supply. This is because the house building figures are categorised by the type of developer rather than the intended final tenure, leading to under recording of affordable housing, and a corresponding over recording of private enterprise figures.

More comprehensive statistics on affordable housing completions funded by the Greater London authority since 2009-10 by London borough are available at the following link:

http://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/housing-land/increasing-housing-supply/gla-affordable-housing-statistics

These statistics include both newly built housing and acquisitions but exclude delivery of affordable housing not funded by Greater London authority programmes that are reported in local authority returns to the Department. A fuller picture of all affordable housing completions is published in the Department’s live tables 1006, 1006a, 1007 and 1008, which are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply

Land: Public Sector

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2013, Official Report, column 632W, on housing: construction, if he will place in the Library the location of the 385 sites of public land sold; [184924]

(2) pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2013, Official Report, column 632W, on housing: construction, how many of the 385 sites were sold under the Government's Build Now, Pay Later scheme; [184925]

(3) pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2013, Official Report, column 632W, on housing: construction, what conditions of development were placed on each of the 385 sites sold since 2010; [184926]

(4) pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2013, Official Report, column 632W, on housing: construction, whether the Government (a) collects data on and (b) monitors outcomes of the public sites following their disposal; [184927]

(5) how many jobs have been created from the sale of public sector land under the accelerated public sector land disposal scheme to date. [184928]

Kris Hopkins: Further to my answer of 3 December 2013, Official Report, column 632W, the Government disposed of an additional 54 public sector land sites between 1 October and 31 December; 439 sites have been sold under the public sector land programme as a whole. A list of these sites has been placed in the

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Library of the House. With regard to the terms of sale and conditions placed on sites when they are sold, such as build Now, Pay Later, the Department does not centrally hold this information. The Department does not collect data on the number of homes built once a site has been sold, or jobs created. Where sites are in private ownership, there is no requirement for the new owners to report starts or completions to central Government, and we do not intend to impose administrative reporting burdens which could hinder sale of the sites.

Local Government Finance

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure that grants paid under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 can be paid to local authorities promptly during the 2014-15 financial year. [185273]

Brandon Lewis: The Department is actively engaging with HM Treasury and other Government Departments to ensure that all section 31 grants are paid promptly to enable local authorities to plan their budgets and make decisions.

Non-domestic Rates

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government by what date he expects to have made full payments to local authorities in respect of small business rate relief for the 2013-14 financial year. [185295]

Brandon Lewis: The Government have committed to fund the full cost to authorities associated with tax changes under the new business rates retention scheme. The full cost in respect of the doubling of small business rate relief 2013-14 will not be known until we receive authorities’ NNDR3 out-turn returns in the summer. Authorities will receive interim payments on 31 January 2014 based on their estimates of costs.

Temporary Accommodation: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many families currently placed in temporary accommodation reside in one room in each London borough. [184630]

Kris Hopkins: The requested information is not collected by my Department.

This Government have retained a strong homelessness safety net protected in law, supported by £470 million in the current spending review period to prevent and tackle homelessness, rough sleeping and repossessions. We are seeing this investment making an impact with households now spending on average seven months less in temporary accommodation than at the start of 2010.

We have also made some changes to the rules under the Localism Act to enable local authorities to end the main homelessness duty by arranging an offer of suitable accommodation in the private rented sector. This means households are likely to spend less time in temporary accommodation waiting for social housing to become available.

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Universal Credit

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households will lose eligibility for the reimbursement for costs of servicing essential home adaptations under universal credit. [185292]

Kris Hopkins: My Department has made consequential amendments to the Housing Renewal Grant Regulations (1996) to ensure that following the introduction of universal credit anyone who would be entitled to home adaptations continues to remain eligible.

World War I: Anniversaries

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what grants and contracts of what value have been awarded by his Department in relation to the centenary of the First World War. [184851]

Stephen Williams [holding answer 28 January 2014]: My Department is supporting a series of projects to commemorate the centenary of the First World War and to help bring Britain's communities together.

The Last Post (£34,000) is a mass participation music project; 300 communities across the country will research their own local First World War heritage and hold musical recitals in schools, libraries, places of worship and community centres, where they will share stories, local memories and testimony.

Remember 100 (£125,000) will mobilise communities to reflect upon the service, sacrifice and impact on society of the First World War, and in so doing engage collectively on community volunteering, educational and participative activities.

Curzon Education (£120,000) will deliver lectures across the country on the contribution of Commonwealth nations to the First World War and provide educational material.

In collaboration with the Department for Education, we are funding battlefield visits on the Western Front for school children from 2014 to 2019. This is worth £5.3 million in total, over five years, split equally between DCLG and DfE, and is being delivered by the Institute of Education and STS school travel service.

Our Victoria Cross Commemorative Paving Stones project will see paving stones laid across the United Kingdom for each serviceman who was awarded a Victoria Cross during the First World War. A further announcement will be made in due course about funding for this work. I would add that all Victoria Cross heroes will be commemorated; for those born overseas, but who had a local connection in the United Kingdom, the relevant local council will be offered a paving stone. No hero will be forgotten.

Cabinet Office

Electronic Government

Jesse Norman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to ensure that people can continue to communicate with public services in writing after the Government's digital strategy has been fully implemented. [184702]

Mr Hurd: The Government Digital Service is working with colleagues across Government to help create digital services that are so straightforward and convenient that all those who can use them will choose to do so, while those who cannot are not excluded.

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The Government's approach to assisted digital will ensure people who may not want or be able to use digital services will be supported, for example by phone or face to face.

European Commission

Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will set out his Department's priorities for discussions with the European Commission over their 2014 Work programme; and if he will make a statement. [185303]

Mr Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe on 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 625W.

Treasury

Bank Services

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to require banks not to prevent customers taking out large sums of money in cash without proof of reason for withdrawal. [185245]

Sajid Javid: The Government have no plans to make a policy announcement on this issue.

The terms and conditions that a bank offers on a bank account, including cash withdrawal limits, is a commercial decision for individual banks and building societies.

Economic Policy

Mr Jenkin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the speech delivered to the Mile End Group by the permanent secretary to the Treasury on 15 January 2014 represents the policy of the Government. [185190]

Nicky Morgan: The views expressed by the permanent secretary were given in a personal capacity in his role as Visiting Professor in the School of Economics and Finance, Queen Mary University of London.

European Investment Bank

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the output of the European Investment Bank desalination plants at Ashdod, Sorek and Hadera goes to (a) Israel, (b) settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory and (c) Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory; and what reports the UK representative on the board of the European Investment Bank has made to him of such projects. [184879]

Mr Duncan: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for International Development.

The output from the Ashdod, Sorek and Hadera desalination plants is supplied across the water network to both Israel and the Palestinian territory. DFID does not hold information about the final destination of its output.

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Stephen Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Israeli entities and projects have received European Investment Bank loans since 2008; which such loans had UK support at board level; which such projects are pending for approval; and which such projects or entities operate, wholly or partially, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. [184881]

Mr Duncan: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for International Development.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved eight projects to Israeli entities since 2008. All projects are located in Israel. There are currently no projects pending approval. The UK supported all eight projects at board level.

Financial Services

Nic Dakin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses have been compensated for being mis-sold interest rate hedging agreements to date. [185158]

Sajid Javid: The Financial Conduct Authority publishes monthly progress reports on the redress scheme for the mis-selling of interest rate hedging products. These reports show the progress made by each of the largest banks.

On 6 December, the Financial Conduct Authority published each individual bank's projections for when they expect to finish the redress scheme. The projections show that the banks expect to finish reviewing all cases by June 2014, with some banks likely to complete the scheme before this date.

Housing Benefit: Young People

Mr Watts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the annual cost to the Exchequer of social housing benefits for people under 25 is. [184850]

Steve Webb: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

The following table shows housing benefit expenditure on claimants aged under 25 by tenure type for the financial year 2012-13, the latest available year of outturn.

HSBC

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will investigate the potential effect on business of HSBC's policy of limiting the amount customers can withdraw in cash. [185246]

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Sajid Javid: This is a commercial decision and the Government do not comment on individual cases.

The terms and conditions that a bank offers on a bank account, including cash withdrawal limits, is a commercial decision for individual banks and building societies.

Land

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which sites owned by his Department are currently earmarked for disposal; what the current class use is of each site; what the expected planning use is for each site; whether each site already has planning permission for the expected planning use; what the market value of the site is; and whether the site will be sold for the full market value. [184989]

Nicky Morgan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General on 28 January 2014, Official Report, column 514W.

Met Office

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect the transfer of the Met Office from the Ministry of Defence to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will have on the Ministry of Defence’s spending review 2010 settlement. [185140]

Danny Alexander: The Met Office transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in 2011, and the funding was transferred from the MOD budget to the BIS budget at the same time. The transfer of the Met Office to BIS has had no effect on MOD’s spending review 2010 settlement, other than the transfer of Met Office funding to BIS.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Mr Betts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the potential effect of the mortgage guarantee element of the help-to-buy scheme on (a) housing starts, (b) house completions, (c) house prices, (d) Government borrowing and (e) Government liabilities in the current and next two financial years. [184874]

Sajid Javid: The Government are committed to making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible. The Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme was set up to support households who cannot get a mortgage because of the very large deposits required by lenders following the financial crisis, but who can afford the mortgage repayments. The scheme also helps those trapped in their existing home who are unable to take the next step. On 8 October 2013, the Government announced that borrowers can start benefitting from the scheme.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is responsible for producing independent economic and fiscal forecasts, including house price forecasts. They published the latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook alongside the autumn statement on 5 December 2013.

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The total housing starts increased 16% year on year in the third quarter of 2013. The Help to Buy scheme will have a further positive effect on the housing market as there's a strong and persistent link between the volume of overall house transactions and the level of new house building. New build represents around 10-12% of overall housing transactions at most points in the last 25 years.

The commercial fee for the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme is designed to be self-financing and has been calculated in line with the European Commission's Notice on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid, which relates to fees for guarantee schemes. The Government have made £12 billion of guarantees available, which is sufficient to support £130 billion of high loan-to-value mortgages.

The Government will collect data on the mortgages covered by the scheme and will report in due course.

Work and Pensions

Council Tax Benefits

Mr Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK received council tax benefit in each of the last five years. [185149]

Steve Webb: Council tax benefit (CTB) was abolished in April 2013 and replaced by a system of localised support. In England, the Department for Communities and Local Government is now responsible for statistics. The Scottish and Welsh Governments have similar responsibility.

The statistics shown here provide the final numbers relating to council tax benefit and the specific statistics available by local authority, region and for Great Britain are shown in Table 10 at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-benefit-and-council-tax-benefit-caseload-statistics-published-from-november-2008-to-present

Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development: Northern Ireland statistics and can be found at:

http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats and research/benefit_ publications.htm

The information requested for Jarrow constituency is not currently available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

However a parliamentary constituency breakdown for council tax benefit has been produced as a one-off exercise for January 2011, and is published at:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130107093842/http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/hb_ctb/hb_ctb_parlc _jan11.xls

Curzon Institute

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent contact his Department has had with (a) Curzon Education and (b) the Curzon Institute; what contracts his Department holds with those bodies; and what the value of those contracts is. [185008]

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Mike Penning: From January 2012 to date I can confirm that there were no meetings between DWP Ministers or the Permanent Secretary with either Curzon Education or the Curzon Institute.

I can confirm that DWP does not hold any contracts with Curzon Education or the Curzon Institute.

Disability

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the cumulative effects of its policies on disabled people in (a) Birkenhead constituency, (b) the metropolitan borough of Wirral and (c) the UK since May 2010. [185289]

Mike Penning: The Government regularly produce thorough analysis of the cumulative impact of all coalition changes, on households across the income distribution. This information is produced by the Treasury and is published alongside every Budget and autumn statement, in the interests of transparency. The previous Government did not provide this type of analysis. The most recent update was published with the autumn statement on 5 December 2013, Official Report, columns 1101-13, and can be found using the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/263548/impact_on_households _autumn_statement_2013.pdf

Distributional analysis is provided for the whole population on the basis of household income and household expenditure. However, this is not disaggregated to the level of household characteristics such as disability status or lower level geographies.

The Government also carry out equality impact assessments on any policies that might have a disproportionate affect on disabled people.

Disability Living Allowance

Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) adults and (b) children whose main disabling condition was cystic fibrosis successfully appealed a negative benefit decision for disability living allowance in each year since 1992. [184878]

Mike Penning: The information requested is not available.

Employment Schemes: Disability

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the Workchoice programme in getting disabled people into work. [185157]

Esther McVey: The latest Work Choice statistics released in November 2013 show that Work Choice performance is continuing to improve, with 43% of those referred to Work Choice in Quarter 4 of 2012-13 having found employment as opposed to 34% in the same period in 2011-12. This shows that through this provision, more disabled people are now getting the support they need to get into and stay in work.

Our recently published Disability and Health Employment Strategy paper sets out our proposals to improve the support we currently provide to disabled people and people with health conditions. We will develop

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these proposals over the coming months and make plans for what we will do when our current contracts for employment support for disabled people and people with health conditions come to an end.

Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will mark the 40th anniversary of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. [185155]

Mike Penning: I will be working with the Health and Safety Executive to ensure that the anniversary of the Act receiving Royal Assent in July 1974 is appropriately acknowledged and recognised.

Workplace health and safety has made an important contribution to vastly reducing the numbers of people killed, injured or made unwell by their work in the last 40 years. As a result, Britain is one of the safest places in the world in which to work.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to enable local authorities to exempt patients on home dialysis from the under-occupancy penalty. [185242]

Esther McVey: There are no plans to provide disabled people with blanket exemptions to the removal of the spare room subsidy.

The Government has allocated £180 million to the discretionary housing payment budget for 2013-14 to help vulnerable people facing difficult situations. £25 million, of which, has been specifically included to help those living in significantly adapted properties.

This is treble the funding allocated in 2012-13.

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of social housing tenants in wheelchair-standard properties affected by the implementation of the under occupancy penalty also qualify for and receive disability living allowance. [185291]

Esther McVey: The information is not available.

Occupational Pensions

Mr Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of (a) the cost to the Exchequer of the Government's contribution to an auto-enrolment pension scheme, (b) the number of people enrolled and (c) the average contribution by employees and employers in each year to 2018-19. [185134]

Steve Webb: We expect the annual cost to the Exchequer of income tax relief on individuals' contributions to automatic enrolment schemes to be between £1.1 billion and £1.7 billion once the reforms are fully implemented.

We expect between 6 and 9 million individuals to be newly saving or saving more as a result of automatic enrolment. As of the end of December 2013, around 2.6 million people had already been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension.

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The legal minimum rates for contributions to an automatic enrolment pension scheme are set out in table 1. The contributions are based on earnings between the lower and upper limits of the qualifying earnings band (QEB) (£5,668 and £41,450 in 2013-14 respectively; reviewed annually). The individual contribution rate includes tax relief on individual contributions.

Many individuals and employers pay more than the legal minimum rate of contributions, and also contribute to pensions from the first pound of earnings. Table 2 illustrates the annual contributions to an auto-enrolment pension scheme for a median earner (annual earnings: £26,900) until and beyond October 2018.

Social Security Benefits: Internet

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) when he expects My Benefits Online to be completed; how much it will cost in total; and what proportion of the budget has been spent to date; [185241]

(2) what recent progress he has made on My Benefits Online; and if he will make a statement. [185243]

Esther McVey: The vast majority of the My Benefits Online service has been developed. We have taken time recently to review the changing needs of our customers and the standards proposed for all government online services, as determined by Government Digital Standards.

A total cost of the service is not yet available and we do not have a confirmed date for completion.

State Retirement Pensions

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy that pensioners receive their first payment of state pension as soon as possible after they reach pension age. [184774]

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Steve Webb: It is our policy to encourage people to claim their state pension in advance of their reaching state pension age. The Department has a number of arrangements in place to support this policy. This includes issuing invitations to encourage people to make their claim and offering a choice of how to claim—online, telephone and in writing.

State pension is paid in arrears and is currently paid either weekly or in multiples of a week. This is because, like most other long standing state benefits, payment is calculated on a weekly basis. It is awarded from the start of the person's first benefit week. This period is determined by the individual's national insurance number rather than the day on which they reach state pension age.

These arrangements are being considered as part of the implementation plans for our single-tier pension reforms.