Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 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. [184285]

Simon Hughes: The Ministry of Justice'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.

In the 2012-13 financial year, £1751.05 million (34.81%) of procurement spend was spent with SMEs, which significantly exceeds the Government's aspiration of 25%.

Sexual Offences: Preston

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in Preston who were convicted of (a) sexual assault, (b) rape, (c) sexual activity with a child under 16, (d) sexual activity with a child under 13 and (e) sexual assault of a female in 2012 received a custodial sentence of less than (i) six months and (ii) four years. [183307]

Jeremy Wright: Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts, within the maximum penalty set by Parliament for the offence. Since 2010, those who

6 Feb 2014 : Column 329W

break the law are now more likely to go to prison, and they go to prison for longer. This Government are creating a tough justice system with severe penalties available for serious offenders. We have already introduced automatic life sentences for a second serious sexual or violent offence, and we have announced plans to end automatic early release for child rapists, terrorists and all dangerous offenders.

6 Feb 2014 : Column 330W

The number of persons found guilty, sentenced and sentenced to immediate custody at all courts in Preston, for selected offences, with sentence length, in 2012, can be viewed in the following table. In some cases, those convicted of sexual activity with a child will be children themselves and the court will take account of this when sentencing.

Women and Equalities

Cricket

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities whether it is her policy to support cricket teaching at secondary school level for girls and young women. [186313]

Mrs Grant: School sport is a matter for the Department for Education. However, I am keen for girls in secondary schools to be offered a wide variety of sport, including cricket. There are 135 cricket satellite clubs in England, offering young people the chance to play cricket, nine of which are exclusively for girls. Sport England has also invested £7.5 million in the Cricket Foundation's ‘Chance to Shine' programme which helps to keep young people playing cricket as they move from primary to secondary school. 191,500 girls were involved in Chance to Shine in 2013 and 27,000 of these were in the 11 to 16 age group.

Culture, Media and Sport

Criminal Investigation

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which organisation her Department and its subsidiary bodies use to tackle internal instances of crime, including corruption and fraud; and whether she has designated this organisation or any individual within it to grant authorisation for carrying out directed surveillance under section 28 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. [186706]

Mrs Grant: This Department contracts with the Department for Communities and Local Government to provide it with Internal Audit Services, including the investigation of reported frauds. No organisation or individual has been granted authorisation to carry out directed surveillance under section 28 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act.

Exercise

Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on encouraging people to be physically active. [185989]

Mrs Grant: Our ambition is to be the first host nation to increase the number of people getting active through playing sport off the back of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 15.5 million people aged 16 and over are playing sport at least once a week, which is 1.6 million more than when we won the bid in 2005.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to protect waterway assets, including listed buildings and conservation areas, from the effects of High Speed 2. [R] [185936]

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Mr Vaizey: Both the Department and its statutory adviser, English Heritage, are represented on the HS2 National Environment Forum. In addition, English Heritage is working with HS2 Ltd, local authorities and others to ensure that the impacts of the proposed line, including impacts on waterway heritage assets, have been assessed properly and that appropriate mitigation of those impacts has been identified. English Heritage has also advised on the Heritage Memorandum for Phase One of HS2, through which heritage assets, including waterway assets, will be protected during the construction stage where they are vulnerable.

HMS Victory

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations her Department has received from Lord Lingfield or his representatives on the future of HMS Victory. [186069]

Mr Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has received a number of representations regarding HMS Victory. Proposals from the Maritime Heritage Foundation are currently under consideration. The final decision is a matter for the Secretary of State for Defence.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what meetings Ministers and officials of her Department have had with representatives of Lord Lingfield regarding the future of HMS Victory. [186070]

Mr Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), has not met with Lord Lingfield's representatives nor have any officials from this Department. However I recently chaired a meeting with Lord Astor, the Advisory Group, Lord Lingfield and his representative to discuss the wreck of HMS Victory 1744.

Lilleshall National Sports and Conferencing Centre

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the future sporting and cultural expansion of Lilleshall National Sports Centre; and if she will make a statement. [186266]

Mrs Grant: Sport England has invested £11 million into Lilleshall National Sports Centre including £6.9 million for major refurbishment and improvement works which were completed in 2013. A five year sports development strategy has been produced to increase and maintain the number of people playing sport at Lilleshall as well as developing talent and coaches. Sport England has also worked with English Heritage to develop a 21 year conservation plan for the Grade II buildings and grounds.

National Media Museum

Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress her Department has made in securing the future of the National Media Museum in Bradford. [185873]

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Mr Vaizey: Following the outcome of the spending review in July 2013, the reduction in resource and capital grants for the national museums sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport was limited to 5% in 2015-16. In addition, a package of operational and financial freedoms has been granted to national museums and galleries which will help them act more strategically, increase revenues from their commercial operations and attract more philanthropic donations. In the light of this settlement, the Science Museum Group confirmed that all of its museums will remain open.

I held a round table meeting on 16 September 2013 at the National Media Museum in Bradford, to discuss plans for securing a sustainable future for that museum. In attendance were local MPs, representatives of the Science Museum Group, Bradford City Council, the University of Bradford, Bradford College, Bradford Academy, and the Chamber of Commerce.

Sports: Public Participation

Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in what sports there has been an increase in (a) adult and (b) child participation since the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. [185872]

Mrs Grant: The information requested is as follows:

(a) Based on figures from the Taking Part child release 2012-13, sports in which participation among children has increased since 2011-12 are:

Five to 10 years: swimming;

11 to 15 years: dodgeball, basketball, cricket, table tennis, badminton, athletics, rounder, walking or hiking, swimming, roller skating/blading or skate boarding, tennis, netball.

Full participation data for young people aged five to 15 can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sat--2

(b) Based on figures from the Active People survey release 12 December 2013, sports in which participation among adults has increased since 2011-12 are swimming, cycling, snowsport, athletics, weightlifting, boxing, bowls, basketball, sailing, volleyball, shooting, table tennis, archery, angling and canoeing.

Full participation data for people age 16+ years can be found at:

http://www.sportengland.org/research/who-plays-sport/by-sport/who-plays-sport/

World War I

Mr Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to make available online information from Government sources for young people researching the First World War. [185640]

Mrs Grant: Government are keen to encourage the widest possible interest and engagement in the first world war centenary, including that of young people. There is lots of material available online from the National Archives to the BBC. In addition, the dedicated centenary pages on GOV.UK website provide links to key partners—such as Imperial War Museums, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Institute of Education—who are delivering lots of WW1 educational resources for young people.

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Business, Innovation and Skills

Beer: Competition

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward proposals to increase access for local brewers to the number of pubs owned by big pubcos. [185958]

Jenny Willott: The Government value the brewing industry, and recognise the important contribution that local brewers and pubs make to the fabric of local communities, and to jobs and growth in the wider economy. Government measures to support brewers include the abolition of the beer duty escalator and the capping of business rate increases to 2% in 2014-15.

The access of local brewers to pubs depends on the outcome of commercial negotiations between brewers and pub landlords. Where landlords are subject to purchasing obligations, access is a matter of negotiation between pub owning companies and brewers.

The Government have consulted on proposals for a statutory Code of Practice to help tied pub landlords by addressing the imbalance in the relationship between pub companies and their tenants. A response to the consultation will be published soon.

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent representations he has received on extending the remit of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to cover additional sectors of the economy. [186442]

Jenny Willott: In January 2013 the Government published a consultation on reforming the regulatory framework for employment agencies and employment businesses. A small number of responses to the consultation expressed the view that the remit of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority should be extended to cover additional sectors of the economy.

Individual responses to the consultation have been published and can be accessed via the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-reforming-the-regulatory-framework-for-employment-agencies-and-employment-businesses

Pensions

Mr McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what effect changes in pension contributions have had on the take-home pay of officials of his Department at (a) AA, (b) AO and LO2, (c) EO and LO1, (d) HEO, (e) SEO, (f) 7 and (g) SCS grades and equivalents since May 2010. [186029]

Jenny Willott: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 4 February 2014, Official Report, columns 214-15W, by the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd).

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Royal Mail

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will publish a list of the illiquid assets that became available from the transfer of the Royal Mail pension fund in March 2012. [186229]

Michael Fallon: The illiquid assets transferred included around £3 billion of property, private equity and high yield bonds. Information on the specific assets transferred is not publicly available as this is commercially sensitive and publication could compromise the value achieved in future disposals.

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the illiquid assets acquired by the Government following the transfer of the Royal Mail pension fund in March 2012 have been; to which buyers; and at what price to date. [186276]

Michael Fallon: Due to commercial sensitivity it would not be appropriate to provide a breakdown of sales.

Student Opportunity Fund

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which institutions in each region have drawn from the Student Opportunity Fund since 2009-10. [184847]

Mr Willetts: The Student Opportunity Fund was introduced in academic year 2013/14 and is part of the overall teaching grant allocated to higher education institutions by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

Information on funding allocations by institution is available for England at HEFCE's website:

www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/year/2013/201305/#d.en.78962

The same information is available from HEFCE for predecessor allocations. Information is not published by region.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding was allocated to the Student Opportunity Fund in each year for which figures are available. [184848]

Mr Willetts: The Student Opportunity Fund was introduced in academic year 2013/14 and is part of the overall teaching grant allocated to higher education institutions by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). Its value for 2013/14 was £332 million.

The value of its predecessor allocations is available at HEFCE's website:

www.hefce.ac.uk

Home Department

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will take steps to ensure the preservation of religious liberty within the guidance on her planned Injunction to Prevent Nuisance or Annoyance orders. [186451]

6 Feb 2014 : Column 335W

Norman Baker: The statutory guidance to the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill will make clear that, in deciding whether to grant an injunction under clause 1, a court would be obliged to exercise its discretion in a way that is compatible with an individual's rights under the European convention on human rights, including their right to manifest their religious beliefs under article 9 of the convention.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations she has had from local and community bodies on her plans to replace anti-social behaviour orders with Injunction to Prevent Nuisance or Annoyance orders. [186452]

Norman Baker: The 2011 consultation sought views on the proposed replacements for a number of powers available to deal with antisocial behaviour. A total of 340 local and community bodies responded to the consultation. Overall, 42% thought the civil injunction would be more effective in tackling antisocial behaviour, with only 13% thinking it would be less effective. We are continuing to work with the professionals who will use the new powers, so that they can shape the proposals so that we get the reforms right first time.

Asylum

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will list by (a) local authority area and (b) numbers presented to each local authority details of received asylum seekers placed by direction of her Department or its contracted partners for the most recent period for which figures are available. [183524]

Mr Harper: The following table shows the numbers of asylum seekers in receipt of subsistence and Home Office-funded accommodation under section 95 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1999 by local authority at the end of quarter 3 2013.

All figures have been taken from volume 2 of the asylum data tables in ‘Immigration Statistics July to September 2013’:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tables-for-immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2013

Asylum: Children

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who were in the UK under discretionary leave had (i) applications heard, (ii) applications accepted and (iii) applications refused to extend their leave in each of the last five years for which records are available. [185486]

Mr Harper [holding answer 3 February 2014]: The information requested is shown in the following table:

6 Feb 2014 : Column 336W

Asylum: Syria

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with those working to support and resettle vulnerable and traumatised refugees on the psychological effects on (a) adult and (b) child refugees of being offered (i) temporary and (ii) permanent resettlement pursuant to her statement of 29 January 2014, Official Report, columns 863-77, on Syrian refugees, if she will make it her policy to offer Syrian refugees under that scheme the option of permanent residence in the UK: and if she will make a statement. [185988]

Mr Harper: The detail of the Government’s new Vulnerable Person Relocation scheme (VPR) for Syria is to be finalised but we are actively discussing a range of options with relevant partners in the field, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, local authorities who have experience of running similar schemes, and non-governmental organisations who work with asylum seekers and refugees.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what financial and practical support she will provide for Syrian refugees permitted to enter the UK; and if she will make a statement; [186118]

(2) what method of transport will be used to move those Syrian refugees granted permission to enter the UK; and if she will make a statement; [186119]

(3) what criteria will be used to determine which Syrian refugees are of sufficiently high need to receive permission to enter the UK; and if she will make a statement; [186120]

(4) how the Government will monitor the well-being of those Syrian refugees that enter the UK. [186121]

Mr Harper [holding answer 4 February 2014]: Under the new vulnerable person relocation (VPR) scheme, the level of financial and practical support offered will depend on the needs of those we are resettling and will be decided on a case-by-case basis. The precise details have yet to be confirmed but we expect to provide a package in line with that provided through the Gateway resettlement programme. This includes accommodation, access to health and education services and income support.

Those on the scheme will also be provided with help with integration and have access to the labour market.

Borders: Personal Records

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many known persons of interest have been processed by the Semaphore system in each of the last three years. [185456]

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Mr Harper [holding answer 3 February 2014]: In the interest of border and national security it is Home Office policy neither to discuss the specific information held on Home Office systems, nor details relating to the volumes of data.

Cannabis: South West

Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cannabis farms were identified in each local authority area in Devon and Cornwall in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [185636]

Norman Baker: The Home Office does not hold data on the identification of cannabis farms within each local authority area. However, 2012 National Policing Commercial Cannabis Cultivation Problem Profile shows that across Devon and Cornwall, the numbers of cannabis farms identified were as follows:

14 in 2008/9

11 in 2009/10

191 in 2010/11

The rise shown for 2010/11 is consistent with other intelligence which suggests that a significant proportion of cannabis consumed in the UK is now grown domestically rather than imported. The Government work closely with the police to support the policing of illegal cannabis production. The police response to tackle commercial cannabis cultivation includes proactive operations to identify and close down these factories and disrupt the organised crime groups behind them. The police also work to improve their knowledge and understanding of the trade through activity-led intelligence gathering.

Children in Care: Abuse

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make an assessment of the extent to which recommendation 14 in the Fourth Report of the Home Affairs Committee of Session 2001-02, The Conduct of Investigations into Past Cases of Abuse in Children's Homes, HC 836-I, that the use of similar allegations as evidence to corroborate a child sex abuse charge be tightened to include only allegations that bear a striking similarity, has been implemented. [185345]

Damian Green: The Committee's recommendation was rejected in the previous Government's response to the report in 2003. The Government's response is available at:

http://www.archive2.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm57/5799/5799.pdf

Under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 admissibility of bad character evidence depends on its relevance to the issues in the case, rather than on a particular degree of similarity. This enables juries and magistrates to hear the widest range of relevant evidence. There are safeguards; in particular it may be excluded due to its adverse effect on the fairness of the trial.

Crime: Retail Trade

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment her Department has made of the effect of retail crime on businesses in West Mercia. [185366]

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Norman Baker [holding answer 3 February 2014]: The Home Office has not undertaken an assessment of the effect of retail crime on businesses in West Mercia specifically. However, the coalition Government recognise the cost and disruption it causes to businesses across the country, as well as the damage it causes to communities and consumers. We are working to improve the response to retail crime through the National Retail Crime Steering Group, the national partnership that brings together business and trade associations, government and law enforcement.

Crime: Sussex

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of trends in the level of crime in (a) Mid Sussex constituency and (b) West Sussex in each of the last five years. [186183]

Norman Baker [holding answer 5 February 2014]: The Home Office holds data on crime for Police Force Areas and Community Safety Partnerships, but not for parliamentary constituencies or counties. The overall number of offences (excluding fraud) recorded in the Sussex Police Force Area and the Mid Sussex Community Safety Partnership area in each of the last five years are shown in the table provided.

The Office for National Statistics publishes quarterly statistics on crime. As part of this, a set of open data tables are published, showing crime at Police Force Area and Community Safety Partnership level. These contain the data requested, and can be found using this link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables

Criminal Investigation: International Cooperation

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the UK Central Authority has received requests for mutual legal assistance from (a) Iran, (b) Syria and (c) Libya during the last three years. [183543]

Mr Harper: The UK Central Authority has received requests for mutual legal assistance (MLA) from Iran, Syria and Libya in the last three years.

Electronic Commerce: Fraud

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many successful prosecutions by the National Fraud and Intelligence Office involving fraudulent activity on eBay there have been since 2010. [185998]

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James Brokenshire [holding answer 4 February 2014]: The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau does not itself prosecute offences; this is the responsibility of individual police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Harmondsworth Prison

Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Geo Group UK Ltd, contractors for HM Prison Harmondsworth, will be allowed to bid in the re-tendering process following HM Inspectorate of Prisons' report. [185458]

Mr Harper [holding answer 3 February 2014]: The Home Office has been undertaking a tendering procedure for the future service management of Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre. This tendering exercise is ongoing and I am therefore unable to respond at this time. I can confirm that the Home Office applies all relevant legislation and public policy with regards to such tendering exercises and we expect to make a formal announcement in the near future. The Home Office will consider past performance of all suppliers as part of tendering exercises for immigration removal centres.

Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether she plans to change the terms of the contract for HM Prison Harmondsworth in light of the HM Inspectorate of Prisons' Report; [185459]

(2) what plans she has to scrutinise the performance of Geo Group UK Ltd following the HM Inspectorate of Prisons' Report. [185460]

Mr Harper [holding answer 3 February 2014]: All immigration removal centres operated by the private sector, including Harmondsworth, have their contracts managed by a central commercial team. The Home Office has staff based in each immigration removal centre to monitor contract delivery and compliance.

Meetings take place with the contractor, at an operational level on a weekly basis and, on a commercial level on a quarterly basis.

The performance by GEO, the contractor running Harmondsworth, has been below the high standard expected and in response to the inspection report a Service Improvement Plan is being drawn up addressing each recommendation made and outlining what action will be taken.

Under the protocol with Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons this will be undertaken within two months of the report's publication. Thereafter, the Home Office has 18 months to effect the improvements.

However, the Home Office has already engaged with the contractor and put in place a range of actions to address the areas of immediate concern.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Richard Harrington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been denied entry to the UK since the introduction of regulations which bar entry to those visa applicants who owe more than £1,000 to the NHS; and how many people have started to make payments under such regulations. [185725]

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Mr Harper [holding answer 3 February 2014]: A refusal of an immigration application or application to enter the UK for a failure to pay outstanding NHS charges will be classed as a refusal on general grounds. It is not possible to distinguish cases where the outstanding charge has led to a refusal, from other general grounds for refusal.

It is not possible to establish how many people have made repayments to the NHS as a direct result of these immigration rules. However, some NHS hospitals have reported that this has resulted in the better payment of debts by chargeable visitor patients.

Human Trafficking

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many victims of trafficking for purposes of (a) labour exploitation and (b) domestic servitude received compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority in each year since 2010. [185637]

Damian Green: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) does not hold this information. There are several reasons for this. Before 2012 CICA did not record the specific crime of which their applicants had been a victim. This was because payments are based primarily on the injuries someone sustains rather than the crime of which they were a victim. While an applicant had to be the victim of a crime of violence, the specific crime generally had no bearing on the compensation claim. Since November 2012 CICA has recorded broad categories of crime but human trafficking is only currently recorded where it is for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

Illegal Immigrants

Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many residential raids for immigration purposes were carried out between midnight and 8 am in the last 12 months; in how many of those cases children were expected to be present; and in how many of those cases one or more parent or guardian was removed. [183730]

Mr Harper [holding answer 21 January 2014]: The number of residential visits for the period 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2013 was 4,958. The number of children expected at these visits was 166.

Residential visits data relate to the number of addresses targeted, not the number of individuals expected at these visits. Number of residential visits is where the time of the visit is recorded as being between 0.00 and 08.00. A child is defined as anyone under 18 at the time of the visit. Data on the number of parent or guardian of the children expected to be present that were subsequently removed cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.

Immigration Bill

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the time limit will be for requesting an administrative review under the provisions of Clause 11 of the Immigration Bill currently before Parliament; and if she will make a statement. [186364]

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Mr Harper: The time limits for requesting an administrative review for those in the UK will be the same as they currently are for appealing a decision. For those who are not detained this will be 10 days, for those in detention it will be five days and for anyone in the detained fast track it will be two days. I confirmed this during Committee stage of the Immigration Bill in the House of Commons, on 12 November 2013, Official Report, column 358.

Immigration: Appeals

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what targets she has established for timely payment of fees to junior barristers commissioned by her Department for representation at immigration and asylum tribunals; and if she will make a statement. [186011]

Mr Harper [holding answer 4 February 2014]: The Home Office complies with Government standards and targets for timely payment of all liabilities, including the payment of fees to junior barristers.

Immigration: Skilled Workers

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will list (a) the occupations which the Migration Advisory Committee has recently added to the shortage occupation list and (b) the estimated shortages by category. [186133]

Mr Harper [holding answer 4 February 2014]: The most recent changes to the shortage occupation list were made in response to the Migration Advisory Committee's report of February 2013. The occupations added to the list were:

Non-consultant, non-training medical staff posts in rehabilitation medicine and psychiatry

All mechanical engineers within the oil and gas industry

Nuclear safety case engineers

Mechanical design engineers (stress)

Piping design engineers

Thermofluid/process engineers

Electrical machine design engineers

Power electronics engineers

Signalling design managers

Signalling design engineers

Signalling principles designers

Senior signalling design checkers

Signalling design checkers

Signalling systems engineers

Product development engineers

Product design engineers

Integrated circuit design engineers

Integrated circuit test engineers

Driver developers

Embedded communications engineers

Specialist electronic engineers

Informaticians

Bio-informaticians

Games designers within the computer games industry.

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The Migration Advisory Committee's assessment of the shortages in each of these occupations is set out in its report, which can be found at:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/workingwithus/mac/34mac-sixth-review/

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to the Minister for Immigration dated 23 December 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs Elizabeth Adejoke Omitola. [186220]

Mr Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 3 February 2014.

Offenders: EU Nationals

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-British EU nationals were convicted of a serious crime in the UK in each of the last three years; and how many such people have been successfully deported. [184010]

Mr Harper: The first table shows the number of non-British EU nationals convicted of a serious crime between January 2010 and September 2013. A serious crime is taken as a custodial sentence of 12 months or more for an offence involving drugs, violent or sexual crimes or a custodial sentence of 24 months or more for other offences.

The second table shows the number of non-British EU nationals that were convicted of a serious crime and were deported between January 2010 and September 2013. The tables do not refer to the same cohort of cases as a number of those removed would have been convicted prior to 2010. The year of removal may also differ from the year of conviction.

Overseas Trade: Sanctions

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the composition of trade delegations from countries which trade sanctions are in place. [185860]

Mr Harper [holding answer 3 February 2014]: Prospective members of such trade delegations may require a visa to visit the United Kingdom. Their visa applications

6 Feb 2014 : Column 343W

would be dealt with in accordance with established visa and immigration procedures. If any of these individuals were themselves subject to sanctions, such as an EU travel ban, these applications would be refused. Equally, anyone subject to an exclusion or deportation order would generally be refused leave to enter the UK.

Passports

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints (a) her Department and (b) the Passport and Identity Service have received about websites that charge an additional processing fee for making a passport application in the past 12 months. [185780]

Mr Harper: The website:

www.gov.uk

is the only provider of the British passport and passport applicants should use the official Government website.

Between April and December 2013, Her Majesty's Passport Office received 590 written customer complaints relating to the issue of third party websites.

The Government Digital Service are leading a cross-Government exercise with organisations such as the Office of Fair Trading, the Advertising Standards Authority, search engine providers and various trading standard bodies to curtail the activity of websites that advertise their services in misleading ways.

Police: Training

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department’s plans for the National College of Policing's domestic violence training are; and if she will make a statement. [184849]

Damian Green: The College of Policing is currently developing new training for Domestic Violence Disclosure Procedures. This will be accessible from March 2014 and Domestic Violence Protection Orders will be rolled out across police forces from March 2014.

Security: Northern Ireland

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times she has met the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (a) in total and (b) specifically to discuss security in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months. [186457]

Damian Green: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of these meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Gov.uk website:

http://data.gov.uk/dataset/ministerial-data-home-office

Shipping: Republic of Ireland

Mr MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussion the Government have had with the Government of the Irish Republic regarding the movement of Filipino seamen with the Irish UK travel area. [185884]

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Mr Harper: The Government have regular discussions with the Irish Government concerning the movement of people within the Common Travel Area. However, the issue of the movement of Filipino seamen has not recently arisen in these discussions.

Written Questions

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many written parliamentary questions for a named day her Department has (a) received and (b) answered with a substantive reply by the named day in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement. [177652]

Mr Harper [holding answer 29 November 2014]: The Home Department has (a) received 1152 named day parliamentary questions and has (b) answered 447 with a substantive reply by the named day in the last 12 months.

Please note this answer is based on internal management information; it is provisional and subject to change.

Communities and Local Government

Housing: Construction

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) with reference to the five-year housing land supply requirements in the National Planning Policy Framework, what definition his Department uses of the terms persistent and under-delivery; [185623]

(2) if he will make it his policy that planning authorities which demonstrate progress on their local plan and delivery of new homes can be exempted from the requirement to have a 20 per cent buffer in housing land supply; [185624]

(3) if he will make it his policy that planning authorities which have adopted a local plan since the introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework are allowed to count all the allocated housing sites identified in that plan towards the 20 per cent buffer requirement, not just the deliverable yield from those sites in the first five years; [185625]

(4) what the evidential basis is for the adoption of a 20 per cent buffer for housing land allocation in local plans; [185633]

(5) what assessment he has made of the effect on planning authorities' ability to identify a 20 per cent buffer allocation of land for housing of decisions by the Planning Inspectorate to adopt the Sedgefield approach to calculating land supply when determining appeals against such plans. [185634]

Nick Boles: The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that where there has been a record of persistent under-delivery of housing, local planning authorities should increase the buffer to 20% (moved forward from later in the plan period) to provide a realistic prospect of achieving the planned supply and to ensure choice and competition in the market for land. The 20% buffer is intended to mitigate the greater risk that an authority which has previously under-delivered will continue to fail to deliver the housing their community needs.

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The Government have not set out a methodology for assessing persistent under delivery of housing as the factors behind persistent under delivery vary from place to place.

The framework sets out that sites for the five year supply should be deliverable. This can include sites with or without planning permission—it would be for the local planning authority to make a judgment as to whether any particular site is likely to be delivered in the five-year period.

The recently published draft planning guidance sets out that past under-supply should be dealt with in the first five years of the plan period where possible. The final version of the National Planning Policy Guidance will go live following consideration of comments received during the test phase. The comments received will help us consider the potential impact of this approach.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on local planning authorities making allowances in their five-year housing land supply calculations for an increase in housing supply arising from the introduction of new permitted development rights. [185626]

Nick Boles: The draft National Planning Practice Guidance sets out that when assessing land availability, local planning authorities should consider all available types of sites, and highlights that potential permitted development changes may be particularly relevant.

The final version of the National Planning Practice Guidance will go live following consideration of comments received during the test phase.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what his policy is on local planning authorities assuming in local plans that, where demand exists, sites of over 200 units will be developed by a number of developers concurrently, and therefore be delivered at an annual build rate two or three times that for a single developer; [185627]

(2) what assessment he has made of the effects of (a) changes made to affordable housing contribution rates, (b) reduction of infrastructure barriers and (c) other steps taken by local planning authorities to encourage development on the assumption that authorities can make in local plans about the annual build rate of developers; [185628]

Nick Boles: The National Planning Policy Framework encourages a proactive approach to plan-making and decision-taking. Sites that are chosen to go forward into development plans should not have constraints that prevent their delivery.

It is for individual local planning authorities to assess the delivery rate of development based on a range of factors that are influenced in part by local circumstances. It would not be appropriate for central Government to make assessments, or issue indicative build out rates which would restrict the freedom for local planning authorities to make the right decisions on build out rates locally.

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The assumptions made in local plans will be subject to scrutiny through independent examination and interested parties can make representations.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy that where local planning authorities have up-to-date local plans, under-delivery calculations are capped at three years after the introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework. [185631]

Nick Boles: An up-to-date adopted local plan would need to be based on an objective assessment of housing need, which can be informed by past under or over delivery.

We have allowed local planning authorities the flexibility to consider the most appropriate period over which to consider any past under-delivery based on their local circumstances and subject to the scrutiny of a planning inquiry and examination.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy that potential housing sites on which extensive consultation and public engagement has already taken place can be included in calculations of five-year housing supply in local plans. [185632]

Nick Boles: The National Planning Policy Framework sets out clearly the importance of public involvement in the planning system. Sites identified in the five-year supply need to be deliverable. To be considered deliverable, sites should be available now, offer a suitable location for development now, and be achievable with a realistic prospect that housing will be delivered on the site within five years and in particular that development of the site is viable.

Sites which have been consulted on as part of the local plan may meet this test. Sites with planning permission (which are likely to have been subject to consultation and engagement) should be considered deliverable until permission expires, unless there is clear evidence that schemes will not be implemented within five years, for example they will not be viable, there is no longer a demand for the type of units or sites have long term phasing plans.

Mr Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment he has made of progress on the (a) Build to Rent Fund, (b) Private Rented Sector Guarantee scheme and (c) Affordable Housing Guarantee scheme. [186141]

Kris Hopkins: The Homes and Communities Agency received approximately £1.4 billion worth of bids for the Build to Rent Fund under Round One. Two contracts have been exchanged and we expect all successful Round One bids to be in the contracting stage by the end of April 2014.

Round Two was significantly oversubscribed, which shows the strength of interest in this emerging market. 126 bids were received worth approximately £3 billion, which are currently being assessed for shortlisting. We hope to make an announcement of shortlisted bidders, who will progress to due diligence in March 2014.

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The Department for Communities and Local Government has been open for business for direct Private Rented Sector guarantees since 20 June and is in discussions with interested borrowers with large enough projects to raise their own finance. The Department has also been engaging with the market to explore the potential for market-led solutions for delivery of the Scheme.

On 20 June 2013 we announced the appointment of Affordable Housing Finance Plc to deliver the Affordable Housing Guarantees Scheme.

A £500 million European Investment Bank loan facility was announced on 7 January as well as the first eight borrowers receiving up to £400 million to build, own and manage up to 4,000 homes. Affordable Housing Finance has received a healthy level of interest and there are several other bidders in the pipeline.

Mr Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many schemes under the Build to Rent Fund have (a) cleared due diligence and (b) started construction. [186142]

Kris Hopkins: Under Round One, the first two contracts in Southampton and Manchester have been exchanged and will deliver just under 300 new homes specifically for the private rented sector. Construction has already begun on both sites.

A further three projects delivering 416 units have been approved following due diligence and are in the contracting stage. We expect to announce these projects in the near future.

The remaining 16 shortlisted bids under Round One are in the final stages of due diligence, pending final approval. We expect all successful Round One bids to be in the contracting stage by the end of April 2014.

Attorney-General

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General, pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2014, Official Report, column 452W, on Crown Prosecution Service, if he will place the preliminary CPS review of R v. Renate Andrews in the Library. [185974]

The Solicitor-General: The post-case review panel is yet to meet to fully consider and explore what happened in this case. As the Attorney-General said in his answer on 27 January 2014, Official Report, column 452W, when the review is completed he will write to you. I do not propose to place the preliminary CPS review in the Library of the House.

Prosecutions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General, pursuant to the answer of 29 October 2013, Official Report, column 399W, on prosecutions, whether the National Scrutiny Panel has met. [185975]

The Solicitor-General: To better understand the fall in referrals of rape cases, the joint National Scrutiny Panel of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the National Policing Lead for Rape are scheduled to convene

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in April. The findings from the panel will be published shortly thereafter. In preparation for the panel, a sample of police forces has been contacted to investigate the variation in the change in volumes of rape referrals and a meeting to analyse the results of work will be held this month.

Violence against women and girls is a key priority for the Crown Prosecution Service and in 2012-13 the conviction rates for cases flagged as rape were at record highs for the second year running.

Deputy Prime Minister

Business: Human Rights

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues on the UK Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. [186247]

The Deputy Prime Minister: Information relating to internal discussion and advice is not normally disclosed.

Colombia

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will meet trades unionists during his forthcoming visit to Colombia. [186248]

The Deputy Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 30 January 2014, Official Report, column 692W.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether all organisations and individuals accompanying him on his forthcoming visit to Colombia have been briefed on the UK Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. [186249]

The Deputy Prime Minister: Information relating to internal discussion and advice is not normally disclosed.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will be accompanied by (a) a human rights adviser and (b) an expert on the Government’s Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative on his forthcoming visit to Colombia. [186250]

The Deputy Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 30 January 2014, Official Report, column 692W.

Electoral Register

Mr Blunkett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister with which outside academic bodies the Democratic Engagement Project is now working. [186254]

Greg Clark: The Government are working with a range of national organisations that encourage people to register to vote.

Cabinet Office manages a student forum that brings together key people within the higher/further education sector, the National Union of Students and local authorities with the highest student populations. The forum shares

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best practice to reinforce the maximum registration of students and increases awareness of individual electoral registration across the higher/further education sector.

The Government have also announced that five national organisations and every local authority in Great Britain will be sharing £4.2 million funding aimed at ensuring everyone in the country has the opportunity to have their say at elections

Peru and Colombia

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had regarding the human rights and labour standards clauses in the EU Free Trade Agreement with Peru and Colombia ahead of his visit to South America. [186246]

The Deputy Prime Minister: Information relating to internal discussion and advice is not normally disclosed.

Defence

Air Force: Redundancy

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the specialist qualifications and responsibilities are of the 70 dental and medical staff who are part of the recently announced redundancy package in the RAF; how many dental and medical staff within the RAF hold those same qualifications; what financial savings are expected from the redundancies; and if he will make a statement. [186080]

Anna Soubry: The redundancies for the RAF in Tranche 4 are not driven by the need for financial savings; they flow from the Defence Medical Services 2020 project (DMS 20) which has been designed to comprehensively review the existing manpower requirement and ensure the armed forces have the medical operational capability to support the armed forces structures under Future Force 2020.

In order to meet the DMS 20 requirement by April 2018, the RAF has identified a total of up to 69 dental and medical personnel in this fourth, and final, tranche of the armed forces redundancy scheme. For details of these posts, including the maximum numbers to be drawn from each specialism, I refer the hon. Member to the document which was placed in the Library of the House on 23 January 2014 (DEP2014-0098).

The redundancy selection process in the RAF has yet to take place, and no further information on the qualifications and/or responsibilities of those who will be made redundant is therefore available. Neither would it be appropriate to release personal data relating to qualifications held. However, I am clear that we will retain the medical and dental skills necessary to support our service personnel. The upper limit of 69 personnel represents the maximum possible number of redundees from an overall eligible field of around 155 personnel.

More generally, we have made no estimate of the savings accruing specifically from the redundancy and early release programmes themselves, since they are part of broader work force reductions. We estimate, however, that by 2021-22 we will have achieved cumulative savings of some £23 billion as a result of reductions in service and civilian personnel, and greater efficiency in the conduct of non-front line activities.

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Armed Forces: Redundancy

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that any members of any of the armed forces medical and dental corps made redundant as a result of the announcement made on 23 January 2014, Official Report, column 461, will be transitioned into the NHS; [185942]

(2) if he will provide details of the redundancy packages to be received by members of the armed forces who will be made redundant as a result of the programme announced on 23 January 2014, Official Report, column 461; [185943]

(3) what estimate his Department has made of the number of service personnel included in the part of the armed forces redundancy programme announced on 23 January 2014, Official Report, column 461 will be made redundant within one year of accruing their immediate pension point; [185944]

(4) what estimate his Department has made of how many of the redundancies in the armed forces announced on 23 January 2014, Official Report, column 461, will be compulsory. [185946]

Anna Soubry: In keeping with the first three tranches of the armed forces redundancy scheme, the recently announced redundancies in this fourth, and final, tranche will be compulsory. However, eligible personnel (by rank, branch or trade) will be able to apply for selection for compulsory redundancy. Applicants formed 62% of those made redundant in Tranche 1, 72% in Tranche 2 and 84% in Tranche 3, although we anticipate that this percentage will be lower in Tranche 4 due to the historically low level of volunteers among Gurkhas, and the fact that a number of specialist fields will face 100% selection, meaning there is little or no incentive to volunteer.

The notification date for those selected in Tranche 4 (applicants and non-applicants) is 12 June 2014. Applicants will leave within six months and non-applicants within 12 months of that date. At this point we do not know which personnel will be selected, and it is therefore not possible to forecast with any certainty the numbers of personnel who may be made redundant within one year of reaching their Immediate Pension Point (IPP). However, given the nature of the fields (ranks and length of service) we are looking at in this tranche, we expect the number of people potentially at risk of redundancy who are within a year of IPP to be very small compared with previous tranches.

Redundancy packages for those selected will vary according to which redundancy scheme applies to those individuals, their salary and length of service. An updated redundancy calculator can provide service personnel with a forecast of their redundancy and pension benefits—available on line at:

http://www.mod-rc.co.uk/

All personnel who are subject to redundancy are entitled to the same comprehensive resettlement package they would have received had they completed the whole of their service commitment. In addition, specific arrangements will be made for medical personnel currently in training who wish to continue their training as a civilian. The Defence Deanery is currently engaging

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with the single services, NHS Deans and Health Education England in order to create the condition to transfer any trainee made redundant into an NHS training programme.

DA Notices

Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to amend the D-Notice system. [186415]

Anna Soubry: The scope and conduct of a review into the future of the Defence Advisory Notice System has not yet been determined.

France

Sir Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress was made at the recent Franco- British summit in relation to defence equipment collaboration; and if he will make a statement. [186324]

Mr Dunne: Significant progress was made on equipment co-operation at the Franco-British summit on 31 January 2014. We signed documents that will enable a two-year joint feasibility phase for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS). It will see British and French industries working together on vehicle design and characteristics, propulsion and systems. Additionally, the UK continues to support France with the best information possible to help inform their major decision points for acquiring a Tactical Unmanned Air System. Defence Ministers also signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the development and manufacture of a Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon that will arm the Wildcat naval helicopter against a range of predicted future threats in complex environments. In addition, we committed to the initial design stage for an unmanned underwater vehicle capable of finding and neutralising seabed mines. We expect to place a contract later this year. We also agreed to continue to work with industry to deliver a common value for money support plan for the A400M transport fleet. There are also ongoing discussions to explore opportunities in the land domain.

Military Aviation Authority

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether people who have signed non-disclosure orders relating to Military Aviation Authority reports can obtain legal and technical advice which would necessitate others having sight of the document. [186072]

Anna Soubry: Yes. Recipients of Military Aviation Authority Service Inquiry reports who have signed a non-disclosure agreement may show the report to others for the purposes of obtaining legal and technical advice. Such persons will be asked to acknowledge the requirement to protect the information, and advisers other than legal advisers will be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Military Bases: Drugs

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many incidents have been reported of (a) civilian staff and (b) military personnel using illegal drugs at UK nuclear bases in each of the last three years. [186243]

Anna Soubry: I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

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Pensions

Mr McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what effect changes in pension contributions have had on the take-home pay of officials of his Department at (a) AA, (b) AO and LO2, (c) EO and LO1, (d) HEO, (e) SEO, (f) 7 and (g) SCS grades and equivalents since May 2010. [186032]

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd), on 4 February 2014, Official Report, columns 214-5W.

Public Expenditure

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of likely cash spending levels for (a) Navy Command, (b) Land Forces, (c) Air Command, (d) Defence Infrastructure Organisation and (e) Defence Equipment and Support in each of the next four financial years. [186074]

Anna Soubry: Future budgets for the top level budgets requested are working numbers and subject to change. As such, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not publish this information. Details of former years' cash spending by top level budget can be found in the MOD Annual Report and Accounts, which is available on the gov.uk website at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mod-annual-report-and-accounts-201213

Radioactive Waste: Fife

Mr Gordon Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will set out a timetable for remedial action work to begin and be completed at Dalgety Bay; [186061]

(2) if he will discuss with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation detailed options for cleaning up the radiation contamination at Dalgety Bay; [186062]

(3) for what reasons his Department was not represented at the Dalgety Bay Forum on 30 January 2014; [186064]

(4) if he will instruct officials of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation to meet representatives of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Dalgety Bay community within the next week. [186066]

Dr Murrison: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to work closely with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), and the stakeholder group they have assembled, with a view to agreeing an appropriate long term solution for managing the radium contamination at Dalgety Bay.

I will write shortly to the right hon. Member with the detail of the timelines for the further scientific risk assessment and other work necessary to identify an appropriate long-term solution at Dalgety Bay. This timetable has been agreed between SEPA and the MOD and should result in identification of the preferred management option for the site by summer 2014.

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Having published the Outline Management Option Appraisal, MOD officials will be meeting with both SEPA and Public Health England on 6 February 2014 in order to establish the health protection criteria necessary to inform the development and definition of the management option.

Once work on identifying the most appropriate long- term management option has concluded, we expect to play an active part in supporting SEPA in their engagement with wider stakeholders (including the Dalgety Bay Forum) to discuss the practicalities of implementation.

With regard to the recent meeting of the Dalgety Bay Forum on 30 January 2014, no requirement was placed on the MOD to be present but we remain willing to participate in any future discussions with the Forum whenever this is necessary and as requested by SEPA as Chair of the Forum.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 598W, on drones, what definition he uses of contingent purposes. [186125]

Mr Dunne [holding answer 4 February 2014]: The definition of contingent purposes is to ensure that the UK is able to deal with a wide range of security challenges to UK interests. This requires a variety of capabilities.

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 598W, on drones, what possible options he is considering for future basing options of Reaper drones. [186126]

Mr Dunne [holding answer 4 February 2014]: I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave on 29 January 2014.

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 598W, on drones, when a final decision will be reached as to the future basing options for Reaper drones. [186127]

Mr Dunne [holding answer 4 February 2014]: A final decision is likely to be made by the end of 2014.

Veterans: Employment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of service leavers entered the Career Transition Partnership Programme in each year since 2010; and how many of those were successful in pursuing new careers. [186071]

Anna Soubry: The percentage of armed forces (AF) personnel who have left service and taken part in the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) programme for financial years (FY) 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and the first two quarters of 2012-13 (the period for which the information is readily available) is detailed in the following table. It should be noted that some service leavers decide not to take up support from the CTP.

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Figures show outflow, less deaths, from the trained UK regular forces, including personnel leaving the services and recalled reservists on release. These figures include Gurkhas, but do not include full-time reserve service personnel and mobilised reservists.

Over the periods detailed in the table, some 85% of former CTP participants found employment within six months of leaving service. Evidence provided by service leavers indicates that the resettlement provision is consistently to a high standard and that the services they provide do assist with a successful transition to civilian life.

The employment outcome statistics for armed forces personnel leaving the services who use the Career Transition Partnership services are published as Official Statistics by Defence Statistics at the following link:

http://www.dasa.mod.uk/index.php/publications/health/veterans/career-transition-partnership

World War I: Anniversaries

Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to ensure the participation in commemorations of the First World War of RAF squadrons whose formation can be traced to that war. [186271]

Dr Murrison: The Ministry of Defence will continue to work closely with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to ensure that single service units, both past and present, will be appropriately represented in world war one (WWI) commemorations. The Royal Air Force remains actively engaged with the planning for WWI commemorations.

International Development

Pensions

Mr McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what effect changes in pension contributions have had on the take-home pay of officials of her Department at (a) AA, (b) AO and LO2, (c) EO and LO1, (d) HEO, (e) SEO, (f) 7 and (g) SCS grades and equivalents since May 2010. [186037]

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Mr Duncan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for Civil Society, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd), on 4 February 2014, Official Report, columns 214-5W.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

International Atomic Energy Agency

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of resources possessed by the International Atomic Energy Agency and its ability to enforce the terms agreed with Iran in November 2013. [186296]

Hugh Robertson: The Joint Plan of Action (JPA) makes clear that the IAEA will be responsible for the verification of nuclear-related measures Iran has committed to, and it has already begun this important work. However it will not be responsible for enforcement. The JPA makes clear that a Joint Commission of E3+3 and Iran will be established to monitor the implementation of the near-term measures in the Geneva agreement and to address issues that may arise.

In its report of 17 January the IAEA made clear that it will require additional resources to carry out the verification of the JPA and that 5.5 million euros would be required from voluntary contributions from member states. A number of countries have offered to contribute to this effort and we are confident that the IAEA will have sufficient resources to carry out this important work. The United Kingdom has committed to contribute £400,000.

Interpal

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the US authorities on having the label ‘specially designated global terrorist entity’ lifted from the charity organisation Interpal. [186432]

Hugh Robertson: The question of Interpal’s status is a matter for Interpal to pursue directly with the US Government.

Iran

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on Iran's ballistic missile programme; and whether the Joint Plan of Action requires Iran to suspend research and development and production. [185882]

Hugh Robertson: We carefully monitor Iran's ballistic missile related activity, including activity which is in breach of UNSCR 1929. This states that Iran shall not undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. We continue to urge Iran to comply with these obligations. The Joint Plan of Action, however, does not address Iran's ballistic missile programme.

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Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to reach a comprehensive final settlement on Iran's nuclear programme. [186298]

Hugh Robertson: E3+3 talks with Iran on a comprehensive solution will begin on 18 February in Vienna. The Joint Plan of Action, agreed between the E3+3 and Iran on 24 November and implemented on 20 January, is a good first step but it does not address all of the international community's concerns. Iran must take further steps to ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear programme. The E3+3 and Iran aim to conclude negotiations on a comprehensive solution within the next 12 months.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the outcome of the negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme at the Geneva summit; and if he will make a statement. [186380]

Hugh Robertson: The Joint Plan of Action, agreed between the E3+3 and Iran in Geneva on 24 November, came into force on 20 January. It applies for six months, renewable by mutual consent. Under the agreement, Iran is required to halt its nuclear programme, and in some places roll it back. The IAEA has verified that Iran has taken the interim steps outlined in the Joint Plan of Action and will continue to verify this throughout the duration of the agreement. However, this is only the first step towards addressing international concerns about Iran's nuclear programme. The next phase of negotiations will focus on securing a long-term comprehensive solution to ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme.

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2014, Official Report, column 472W, on Iran, whether Iran has clarified how it would use plutonium produced at the Arak Heavy Water Research Reactor. [186434]

Hugh Robertson: Iran claims that the purpose of the Heavy Water Research Reactor it is building, in violation of UNSCRs, is to produce medical isotopes and conduct research. However, the design of this reactor is ideally suited to producing weapons grade plutonium and we remain concerned that Iran intends to develop the facility to provide a plutonium route to a nuclear weapon. Iran has not clarified how it would use the plutonium produced as a result of operating the reactor. Under the Joint Plan of Action Iran has agreed that, as part of a comprehensive solution, it will fully resolve concerns related to the reactor at Arak and will undertake no reprocessing or construction of a facility capable of reprocessing.

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2014, Official Report, column 472W, on Iran, whether the Joint Plan of Action requires Iran to provide detailed information to the International Atomic Energy Agency on all undeclared nuclear facilities. [186435]

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Hugh Robertson: Under Iran's Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA it is required to declare all facilities containing nuclear material. There should therefore be no undeclared facilities. Modified Code 3.1 in the subsidiary arrangements to its safeguards agreement requires Iran to inform the agency as soon as a decision is taken to construct a nuclear facility. Iran refuses to implement modified Code 3.1 which raises concerns it is seeking to hide something.

Under the Joint Plan of Action Iran has agreed that there will be no new locations for enrichment in the next six months, and also accepted enhanced monitoring by the IAEA. Under the Joint Statement on a Framework for Cooperation agreed between Iran and the IAEA, Iran has agreed to give the IAEA information on the 16 sites designated for the construction of new nuclear power plants, clarification about Iran's announcement about new enrichment facilities, and information about all new research reactors. This is information which would be required under modified Code 3.1.

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2014, Official Report, column 472W, on Iran, whether the Joint Plan of Action allows Iran to manufacture components off-site for the Arak Heavy Water Research Reactor. [186437]

Hugh Robertson: The Joint Plan of Action does not prohibit Iran from manufacturing components off-site for the Arak Heavy Water Research Reactor. All heavy water related activity is, however, prohibited under UNSCR 1737. Under the Joint Plan of Action, Iran agreed to freeze progress on the Arak Heavy Water Research Reactor, not to commission it, or transfer fuel or heavy water to the reactor site. Iran also agreed not to produce or test additional fuel or install remaining components. The final step of a comprehensive solution must fully resolve concerns related to the reactor at Arak.

Israel

Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what conditions the EU Commission has set for Israel's participation in Horizon 2020. [186046]

Hugh Robertson: We welcome the agreement reached between the EU and Israel to enable Israeli participation in Horizon 2020, the EU's Research and Innovation programme, in line with the EU guidelines on the eligibility of Israeli entities for EU funding. We are not aware of the conditions the European Commission has set for Israel's participation, which is a matter for the European Commission.

Occupied Territories

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the progress of negotiations on settlements in the West Bank; and if he will make a statement. [186381]

Hugh Robertson: When US Secretary of State John Kerry announced the resumption of peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians on 29 July, he confirmed both sides' agreement that the negotiations would cover all final status issues, and that they would keep the

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details of the ongoing negotiations confidential. Britain stands ready to do all we can to support the parties and the US in their efforts to achieve a lasting peace for the Israeli and Palestinian people.

Pensions

Mr McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what effect changes in pension contributions have had on the take- home pay of officials of his Department at (a) HEO, (b) SEO, (c) 7 and (d) SCS grades and equivalents since May 2010. [185947]

Hugh Robertson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for Civil Society, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd), on 4 February 2014, Official Report, column 214W.

This Cabinet Office answer to UIN 185222 provides information about how the take home pay of those with different levels of salaries is affected by the pension contribution increases.

Sri Lanka

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps his Department has taken to encourage reconciliation between the conflicting sides in Sri Lanka. [186379]

Mr Swire: We continue to consistently call for progress on human rights, reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka, both privately and publicly. During his visit to Sri Lanka to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November 2013, the Prime Minister raised our concerns directly with President Rajapaksa. The Prime Minister called for a credible and transparent independent investigation into allegations of violations of humanitarian and human rights law during the military conflict, a meaningful political settlement with the North, including demilitarisation and full implementation of Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) recommendations. We judge all of these to be important steps towards reconciliation and lasting peace between communities in Sri Lanka.

As a result of our continued concerns, the UK co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council resolution on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka in March 2013. We have made clear the ongoing importance that the international community attaches to lasting peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. The Prime Minister has been clear that if credible domestic accountability processes have not begun properly by March 2014, the UK will use our position on the United Nations Human Rights Council to call for an international investigation.

Ukraine

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will hold discussions with his EU partners on introducing (a) a visa ban and (b) steps to freeze assets held within the EU on individuals involved in human rights abuses in Ukraine. [186219]

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Mr Lidington: We remain concerned about the situation in Ukraine. We are monitoring developments closely and continue to co-ordinate our response with our international partners. We have not ruled out anything at this stage, but the immediate priority is restoring stability and helping Ukraine onto a path of political reform.

I refer my hon. Friend to my statement 30 January 2014, Official Report, columns 43-4WS where I said that:

“we will also continue to make it clear that to those concerned that any restrictions on fundamental rights or abuse of basic human rights by the authorities will have serious consequences for the relationship between Ukraine and the United Kingdom”.

Health

Abortion

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many human embryos have been discarded in each year since 1990. [185931]

Jane Ellison: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that the following table includes the number of embryos that were allowed to perish: in the course of treatment; after having reached the end of their storage period and those where the sperm and/or egg provider had withdrawn consent (thereby requiring that the embryos be allowed to perish). These are embryos up to 14 days old.

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Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many repeat abortions have been performed on women aged (a) under 20, (b) 20 to 24, (c) 25 to 29, (d) 30 to 34 and (e) 35 years and above in each year since 1984. [185933]

Jane Ellison: A repeat abortion is an abortion which is carried out on a woman who has had one or more previous abortions. Data are set out in the following tables. 2012 is the latest year for which data are available.

The breakdown for the years 1984 to 1993 for women aged 30 to 34, and 35 years over could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

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