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Written Answers to Questions

Thursday 13 February 2014

Scotland

Buildings

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of the office space owned or leased by his Department is not in regular use; what the total (a) rental and (b) retail value is of all such unused office space; and if he will place in the Library a copy of his most recent departmental real estate valuation. [186872]

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has no unused office space in its two buildings. Both are leasehold buildings. The Scotland Office does not have a real estate valuation.

Common Agricultural Policy

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the First Minister on common agricultural policy implications for Scotland post-2014; and if he will make a statement. [187219]

David Mundell: There have been no recent discussions with the First Minister on common agricultural policy implications for Scotland post-2014. I hold regular discussions with the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment in the Scottish Government who has lead portfolio responsibility for agricultural policy in Scotland.

Pay

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many civil servants are on each pay grade in his Department. [187251]

David Mundell: The Scotland Office pay grade breakdown as at 31 December 2013 was:

Property

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the (a) name, (b) location, (c) floor space, (d) tenure status and (e) value is of properties (i) owned and (ii) occupied by his Department. [187292]

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not own any property. It occupies and shares two buildings with other Government bodies. The Scotland Office occupies 519 square metres floor space in Dover House in London,

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and 589 square metres floor space in Melville Crescent in Edinburgh. Both buildings are leased. Their value is a matter for the owners of the buildings.

Public Appointments

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) which paid public appointment contracts he has (a) renewed and (b) not renewed since May 2010; and how many posts were held by (i) women and (ii) men; [187027]

(2) what the titles are of the individual public appointments that have been made by his Department since May 2010; and which of those appointees were women. [187087]

David Mundell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 607W, by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude).

Royal Family: Official Residences

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had about public access to Royal Residences in Scotland; and if he will make a statement. [187162]

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has had no recent discussions regarding public access to Royal Residences in Scotland.

Staff

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of staff of his Department work outside of London; and in which local authorities such staff are located. [187273]

David Mundell: As at 31 December 2013, 65% of Scotland Office staff work outside of London and are located in the city of Edinburgh local authority area.

Wales

Public Appointments

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what the titles are of the individual public appointments that have been made by his Department since May 2010; and which of those appointees were women; [187090]

(2) which paid public appointment contracts he has (a) renewed and (b) not renewed since May 2010; and how many posts were held by (i) women and (ii) men. [187030]

Stephen Crabb: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 607W, by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude).

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Northern Ireland

Public Appointments

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) which paid public appointment contracts she has (a) renewed and (b) not renewed since May 2010; and how many posts were held by (i) women and (ii) men; [187025]

(2) what the titles are of the individual public appointments that have been made by her Department since May 2010; and which of those appointees were women. [187086]

Mrs Villiers: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by on 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 607W, by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude).

Energy and Climate Change

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of Ofgem in regulating the energy market to protect the interests of consumers. [186720]

Michael Fallon: The Government reviewed the overall role of Ofgem after it took office. The “Ofgem Review: Final Report” (July 2011) can be found on gov.uk at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/48134/2151-ofgem-review-final-report.pdf

A copy of this document will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

The review identified a need for greater role clarity between Ofgem and the Government and recommended that the Government should establish a new statutory strategy and policy statement (SPS). The SPS will improve alignment between Government’s strategic priorities and the regulator, and define policy outcomes that Government considers Ofgem to have a particularly important role in delivering. It will also increase Ofgem’s accountability.

The Energy Act 2013 introduced the legal framework for the SPS. My Department intends to consult on the draft SPS by summer 2014. Ofgem, the Office for Fair Trading and the Competition and Markets Authority are currently undertaking the first annual competition assessment for the gas and electricity markets. They are planning on publishing their report in spring 2014.

Equality

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the (a) total departmental expenditure, (b) number and (c) cost of people employed for the purpose of promoting equality and diversity was for each of the last five years. [187638]

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Gregory Barker: The total departmental expenditure (excluding salary costs) by the Department of Energy and Climate Change on promoting equality and diversity was (using rounded up figures):

2008 to 2010—£0

2010 to 2011—£31,000

2011 to 2012—£55,000

2012 to 2013—£32,000

1 April 2013 to 31 December 2013—£5,000.

The number and cost of staff employed on promoting equality and diversity is:

2010 to 2011—1 HEO member of staff, salary band £29,261 to £34,424

2011 to 2012—1 HEO member of staff, salary band £29,261 to £34,424

2012 to 2013—0.5% HEO member of staff, salary band £29,554 to £34,424, plus 1 Grade 7, salary band £47,445 to £56,597

1 April 2013 to 31 December 2013—0.5 Grade 7, plus 1 Grade 7, salary band £47,445 to £56,597.

The Department currently has 0.5 full-time equivalents at Grade 7 (salary band £47,445 to £56,597) employed for the purpose of managing diversity and inclusion and the promotion of equality and diversity.

Due to the low numbers of staff involved it is not possible to give exact salary details under the Data Protection Act.

Procurement

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his Department's 10 largest contracts let since the financial year 2010-11 are; what savings have been made in such contracts; what the level of overspend or underspend was in each such contract; and what steps his Department has taken to monitor the performance of each supplier following the contract award. [187590]

Gregory Barker: The information requested is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost. The directorates of the Department of Energy and Climate Change carry out their own purchasing with professional support from a procurement team.

Contracts of the Department are published on the Cabinet Office website which can be found at:

www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk

The Department would be able to provide further information by narrowing the scope, if specific procurement projects were identified.

A contract management review project is currently under way in the Department to improve capability and contract management arrangements.

Renewable Energy

Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with which local authorities his Department has had discussions regarding taking part in the community energy scheme announced in December 2013. [187414]

Gregory Barker: On 27 January 2014, the Department of Energy and Climate Change published its community energy strategy, available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-energy-strategy

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In parallel with publication, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), wrote jointly with Councillor Mike Jones, housing and environment chairman of the Local Government Association, to the leaders of all local authorities in England, drawing their attention to the community energy strategy.

During the course of developing the strategy, DECC officials held discussions with various local authorities, including the London borough of Lambeth, Plymouth city council and Oxford city council.

Renewable Energy: Scotland

Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government about extending the community energy scheme to local authorities in Scotland. [187413]

Gregory Barker: On 27 January 2014, the Department of Energy and Climate Change published its community energy strategy, available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-energy-strategy

The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), wrote to Fergus Ewing MSP, Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism, on 13 January 2014, ahead of the publication of the community energy strategy. Many areas of energy and climate change policy are devolved in Scotland, but some sections of the strategy are of particular importance there, including electricity generation, some aspects of energy efficiency, roll-out of smart meters and smart grids.

Key announcements in the strategy which apply to Scotland are as follows:

A UK-wide competition to encourage innovative community approaches to saving money or energy.

A taskforce from the renewables industry which will work with the community energy sector and report to the Secretary of State with a robust framework and timetable for implementing a substantial increase in the shared ownership of renewables developments in the UK.

A working group on grid connections to examine existing processes, identifying the difficulties that they pose to community groups and proposing workable solutions to the Secretary of State. Policy on grid connections is Great Britain-wide, and will include representatives from distribution network operators across the whole of Great Britain as well as a representative of Community Energy Scotland.

Attorney-General

Domestic Violence: Prosecutions

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Attorney-General how many victimless prosecutions for domestic violence-related offences there have been in each year since 2009 for which figures are available. [186856]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service does not maintain a central record of victimless prosecutions, including domestic violence cases. To obtain details of the number of victimless prosecutions for

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domestic violence-related offences, would require a manual exercise of reviewing individual case files to be undertaken at a disproportionate cost.

Pay

Ian Austin: To ask the Attorney-General how many civil servants are on each pay grade in (a) the Law Officers’ Departments and (b) agencies and public bodies accountable to him. [187238]

The Solicitor-General: The information requested is shown in the following table.

Property

Ian Austin: To ask the Attorney-General what the (a) name, (b) location, (c) floor space, (d) tenure status and (e) value is of properties (i) owned and (ii) occupied by (A) the Law Officers’ Departments and (B) agencies and public bodies accountable to him. [187279]

The Solicitor-General: The Attorney-General’s Office (AGO) leases one property. The Attorney-General’s Office leases one site at 20 Victoria street, London, SW1H ONF and occupy a total of 784.6m². This has a rateable value of £500,000.

The Treasury Solicitor’s Department (TSol) lease the following buildings located in London, Croydon and Taunton. HMCPSI is a sub-lessee of accommodation in TSol’s London building and also part occupy Foss house in York. This building is owned by DEFRA. HMCPSI do not pay any rent to DEFRA.

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The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) occupies 3,196 square metres of property at 2-4 Cockspur street, London SW1 under a leasehold agreement. The property has a rateable value of £1.76 million.

The SFO has some additional flexible accommodation requirements for large ‘blockbuster’ investigations, such as that into the LIBOR matter, which have been met by using some incremental space that the landlord has made available in the same building. This space has the same rental value as the rest of the main office space the SFO uses.

The Grown Prosecution Service (CPS) currently occupies 49 premises, two of which are owned, 35 commercially leased, two on leases from local authorities, one on a lease from a police authority, six MOTO’s (memorandum of terms of occupation) from other Government Departments. CPS also has licences for occupation (by desk) at three National Crime Agency offices. Details of these properties are set out in a table which has been deposited in the Library of the House.

Staff

Ian Austin: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of staff of (a) the Law Officers’ Departments and (b) agencies and public bodies accountable to him work outside of London; and in which local authorities such staff are located. [187260]

The Solicitor-General: As at 31 December 2013, 78.5% of Crown Prosecution Service employees held posts that were based outside of London. The Department occupies premises nationwide and does not keep detailed central records as to which premises fall under each local authority, such information could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

The proportion of staff in the Treasury Solicitor’s Department, Attorney-General’s Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate who currently work outside of London is 2%.

The local authorities in which such staff are located are:

Warrington Borough Council

Newcastle-upon-Tyne City Council

Bristol City Council

Leeds City Council

City of York Council

Currently 1.3% of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) staff are contracted to work outside of London, they are based within the county councils of Lancashire, Derbyshire, Sheffield and Durham.

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Taxation: Fraud

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many cases of tax fraud were referred to the Crown Prosecution Service for a pre-charging decision in each of the last five years; and how many of those cases were (a) subject to a decision to take no further action, (b) disposed of out of court, (c) prosecuted, (d) prosecuted successfully and (e) prosecuted successfully where the defendant contested the charge. [182366]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of cases referred to it for a pre-charge decision (PCD). It is not possible to identify how many of these cases contained one or more charges relating to a tax fraud offence. Such information could be obtained only through a manual search of records which would incur disproportionate cost.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs records data on referrals to the CPS.

HMRC have made a commitment to ensure year on year increases in the number of cases they will refer to the CPS for prosecution from 2010 up to 2015. They are on target to meet that commitment.

The CPS collects data to assist in the effective management of its prosecution functions. The CPS does not collect data which constitutes official statistics as defined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many cases of tax fraud the Crown Prosecution Service (a) charged, (b) disposed of out of court, (c) prosecuted, (d) prosecuted successfully and (e) prosecuted successfully where the defendant contested the charge in each financial year since 2010-11. [184063]

The Solicitor-General: Tax fraud comprises a range of different offences covered by various pieces of legislation and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) do not maintain a central record of cases classified as ‘tax fraud’.

Work and Pensions

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claiming employment and support allowance and issued with a sanction did not keep their claim live in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013. [187528]

Esther McVey: The information requested on the number of employment and support allowance claimants issued with a sanction who did not keep their claim live is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the implications for the collection of the under-occupancy penalty of the decision of the Upper Tribunal

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(Administrative Appeals Chamber) on 10 January 2014, Appeal No. CH/140/2013, to dismiss the appeal against the decision of the appeal tribunal sitting at Bolton on 18 September 2012. [187515]

Steve Webb: Upper Tribunal decision (CH/140/2013) relates to the award of local housing allowance not the removal of the spare room subsidy.

The Department has considered the Tribunal's decision in depth, and whilst we do not agree with some aspects of it the outcome is correct. The Department has therefore decided not to appeal the decision further.

If this Upper Tribunal decision is relied upon in subsequent First-tier tribunal decisions on the removal of the spare room subsidy the Department will consider whether it is appropriate to intervene in individual cases.

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2014, Official Report, column 732W, on jobseeker’s allowance: York, how many individuals there were with an adverse jobseeker’s allowance sanction decision in (a) City of York, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) England in (i) October 2012 and (ii) each month since then. [187462]

Esther McVey: The information requested is shown in the following table:

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2014, Official Report, column 732W, on jobseeker's allowance, on which date in each of the months referred to in the answer his Department conducted its count of the number of individuals with an adverse jobseeker's allowance decision. [187463]

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Esther McVey: The figures are compiled by extracting the number of unique individuals that received an adverse sanction decision on any day during each calendar month shown, apart from October 2012 which covers the period from 22 October to 31 October 2012.

Jobseeker’s Allowance: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2014, Official Report, column 732W, on jobseeker's allowance: York, (1) how many people in York Central constituency who had their benefit suspended as a result of an adverse jobseeker's allowance (JSA) sanction decision had their JSA restored (a) at the end of and (b) earlier than the end of their sanction period in (i) October 2012 and (ii) each month since then; [187460]

(2) what the average period was for which jobseeker's allowance (JSA) was suspended for the 960 individuals from York Central constituency whose JSA was subjected to an adverse sanction decision between 22 October 2012 and 30 June 2013; and what the average period of suspension was for sanctioned JSA claimants in the UK over the same period. [187461]

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

It may be helpful to clarify that jobseeker's allowance is not suspended following an adverse decision, a sanction is applied and they retain their rights to passported benefits such as housing benefit. However for claimants that fail to be available for work or actively seek work, their claim is disallowed and they do not retain their right to passported benefits, but can reclaim JSA immediately followed by a sanction of up to four weeks.

Pay

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many civil servants are on each pay grade in (a) his Department and (b) agencies and public bodies accountable to him; [187255]

(2) what proportion of staff of (a) his Department and (b) agencies and public bodies accountable to him work outside of London; and in which local authorities such staff are located. [187277]

Mike Penning: The table shows the number of civil servants by pay grade as at 31 December 2013 in the Department and its associated public bodies, that employ civil servants.

DWP no longer has agencies.

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The proportion of staff working outside London in the Department and its associated public bodies as at 31 December 2013 is in the following table.

A table showing each local authority where the Department and public bodies listed have staff will be placed in the Library.

Property

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) name, (b) location, (c) floor space, (d) tenure status and (e) value is of properties (i) owned and (ii) occupied by (A) his Department and (B) agencies and public bodies accountable to him. [187296]

Mike Penning: The information requested in parts (a), (b), (c) and (d) in the question above are contained in the document DWP Properties which will be placed in the Library.

In respect of (e) the value of each of the properties that the Department occupies is commercially sensitive and any disclosure would adversely affect HMG's future ability to negotiate efficiencies and achieve value for money to the taxpayer.

The vast majority of the properties are under leasehold arrangements through a PFI arrangement with only a small number being owned by NDPBs.

Some of the DWP NDPBs occupy space within the wider DWP estate and are not shown separately as these are covered by the existing tenure of DWP.

The various tenures are identified as such in the listings. A number of properties are shown as tenure being under a MOTO (a Memorandum of Terms of Occupation—part of the Civil Estate Occupancy Agreement) where DWP occupies space owned/leased by another Government Department.

Social Security Benefits

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2014, Official Report, column 274W, on social security benefits, when his Department started making arrangements to carry out a review; how many staff are assigned to the review; and what the cost of the review has been to date. [186658]

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Steve Webb: We have been discussing the review with local authorities and their representative organisations, as part of our overall discussions about the reforms, since we announced our intention to review in January 2012.

There have been some minimal costs associated with this. I will be able to provide more detail when the review has been completed.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that the proportion of households in the UK receiving more in cash benefits than paying in total tax is reduced from 37.8%. [187318]

Esther McVey: Universal credit, which replaces six existing benefits with a simpler monthly payment, for claimants who are in or out of work began rolling out in April 2013. Universal credit will create a simpler, fairer benefits system and aims to make sure claimants are better off in work than on benefits. It will save the Government money and deliver significant wider economic benefits.

We estimate that 2.4 million working families will be better off as a result of universal credit, and that universal credit could lead to the equivalent of up to 300,000 additional people in work through improved financial incentives, increased simplicity of the system and increased conditionality.

From April 2013 we introduced a cap on the total amount of benefit that working-age people can receive so that no household can get more in out-of-work benefits than the average working family earns. The benefit cap has been set at £500 a week for couples (with or without children) and single parent households, with a lower cap of £350 a week for single adult households. The purpose of the benefit cap is to achieve long-term positive behavioural effects through changed attitudes to welfare, responsible life choices and strong work incentives.

In addition to this the removal of the spare room subsidy has ensured that housing benefit in the social rented sector only meets the cost of accommodation appropriate to a household's needs and introduces some parity of treatment between the private and social rented sectors, with claimants in the social sector having to make similar decisions to those in the private sector about affordability.

Unemployed People: Basic Skills

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2014, Official Report, column 421W, on unemployed people: basic skills, how many of the people referred who started on skills conditionality activities between August 2011 and August 2013 completed their course; [187466]

(2) what criteria his Department uses to evaluate mandatory skills conditionality interventions; [187582]

(3) what course content the skills conditionality interventions made between August 2011 and August 2013 consisted of. [187583]

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Esther McVey: Between August 2011 and August 2013 there were nearly 240,000 starts to training by benefit claimants referred under the skills conditionality policy. DWP does not collect figures for the number of claimants who complete the training following a referral under this policy.

The Skills Conditionality Pilot was evaluated in 2012 by a joint piece of research with the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, resulting in the Employment, Partnerships and Skills (DWP Research Report 830), published March 2013. This led to the national roll-out of the policy.

Following an interview with a Jobcentre adviser Skills Conditionality interventions can include any or all of a referral to a meeting with a National Careers Adviser in England, referral to an initial interview with a training provider in England, referral to training in England and Scotland and referral to Skills for Work (Wales) in Wales. The content of all of these interventions will depend on the needs of the individual.

Work Capability Assessment

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the number of people who have had their welfare benefits halted as a result of review and appeal of their work capability assessment; and what emergency provisions are available to such individuals. [186995]

Mike Penning: Information on Incapacity Benefits Reassessments—Outcomes of Work Capability Assessments adjusted to account for the outcome of appeal can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/274091/esa_wca_140122.xls

Individual level data on mandatory reconsiderations of ESA are not available; the Department is collecting process information, such as volumes and durations, to understand how the reforms are operating. It will, however, be some time until this information is available due to the time taken to go through the process from mandatory reconsideration to appeal outcome.

Once a person has appealed against a work capability assessment decision that they are fit for work, employment and support allowance will be paid at the assessment phase rate up to the date of the appeal hearing.

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of employment and support allowance claimants who appealed against a work capability assessment decision in 2012-13 were (a) eligible for and (b) received crisis loan payments. [187455]

Mike Penning: The information is not readily available and has not previously been published as official statistics. We will consider whether it is feasible to produce the statistics requested within the disproportionate cost limit, and if so, will issue them in an official statistics release in accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

However, throughout the period in question, claimants who appealed against a work capability assessment decision were automatically awarded ESA at the basic rate, as long as they provided continuous medical evidence,

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until the outcome of their appeal. Where appropriate, the payment could be backdated to start from the day after the day on which the earlier award of ESA terminated, so there was no gap between the two awards.

Work Capability Assessment: Essex

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are currently awaiting a work capability assessment in (a) Chelmsford constituency and (b) Essex. [187467]

Mike Penning: There are 928 people currently awaiting a face to face work capability assessment for the Chelmsford postcode area. This includes new claimants of employment and support allowance, who should be receiving the assessment rate of the benefit; existing recipients of employment and support allowance awaiting a review; and existing incapacity benefit recipients awaiting reassessment.

The information is not readily available at constituency and county level.

Transport

Abellio Greater Anglia

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what plans he has to ensure (a) refurbishment or (b) replacement of the rolling stock on (i) commuter and (ii) intercity services on the Greater Anglia franchise in the (A) short Greater Anglia franchise to October 2016 and (B) long Greater Anglia franchise after October 2016; [187400]

(2) if he will take steps to ensure any rolling stock refurbishment programmes in the short Greater Anglia franchise provide significant upgrades for customers. [187401]

Stephen Hammond: We are in discussions with Abellio Greater Anglia about the Direct Award which will operate from July this year and we are seeking modest improvements to rolling stock where it provides value for money and is affordable. Negotiations are ongoing, however, we hope to improve the Mark III coaches used on the Norwich-London route and this may include the installation of power sockets and modifications to the toilets so that waste does not fall onto the tracks.

The specification in the Invitation To Tender for the longer franchise, planned to be published in August 2015, will be informed by the output from the Norwich in Ninety task force. The task force will be engaging with all stakeholders later this year.

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish the invitation to tender document for the new long Greater Anglia franchise expected to commence in October 2016; and when he expects to award that new franchise. [187407]

Stephen Hammond: We expect to publish the invitation to tender document for the Greater Anglia franchise in August 2015 and to award this franchise in June 2016.

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Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what service improvements he plans to incorporate into the new short Greater Anglia franchise from July 2014 to October 2016. [187408]

Stephen Hammond: We are currently negotiating with Abellio Greater Anglia and hope to be able to provide service improvements where there is value for money in doing so.

Buildings

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the office space owned or leased by his Department is not in regular use; what the total (a) rental and (b) retail value is of all such unused office space; and if he will place in the Library a copy of his most recent departmental real estate valuation. [186873]

Stephen Hammond: As part of the Government's Transparency Agenda information about Department for Transport properties is published on the

www.data.gov.uk

website. Information on surplus properties owned and leased by the Department, as well as total property costs, is available via the following web link:

http://data.gov.uk/dataset/epims

Information on the valuation of land and property assets is available in the Department for Transport Annual Report and Accounts:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-transport-annual-report-and-accounts

East Anglia Railway Line

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will direct Network Rail to use national journey time improvement funding to ensure that infrastructure improvements to reduce journey times on the great eastern main line begin in Control Period 5 (2014-19). [187402]

Stephen Hammond: Funding for improving journey times may be available through the Passenger Journey Improvement Fund. This fund is available to the rail industry to improve passenger journey experiences. The use of this funding is managed by the rail industry, prioritised on the basis of a "best case" approach. We will also look to output from the Norwich in Ninety task force to consider other ways to improve journey times on this route.

Motor Vehicles: Registration

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2014, Official Report, column 319W, on motor vehicles:

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registration, what the changes in 2013 to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's vehicle registration processing system were; and what the purpose of those changes was. [187609]

Stephen Hammond: Following the closure of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) Local Offices the registration of previously foreign registered vehicles has been centralised at the DVLA headquarters in Swansea. As part of this process, the mechanism for recording information about imported vehicles has been simplified to increase efficiency.

Office for Low Emission Vehicles

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the likely level of underspend in respect of the Office for Low Emission Vehicles up to 2015. [197619]

Mr Goodwill: A provision of £400 million was made to support the early market for ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) between 2010-15. This figure was derived from manufacturers' forecast sales of ultra-low emission vehicles over the period, relying on early product launches and relatively fast consumer acceptance of new technologies. Sales of ULEVs have been increasing year on year, but at a slower rate than originally anticipated. We are currently projecting to spend c.£230 million over the period. Grant uptake in 2013 was 335% higher than in 2011, grants in January 2014 were at a record level and 679% higher than the equivalent month in 2013.

Parking: CCTV

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to his Department's Consultation on Local authority parking, published in December 2013, whether primary legislation would be needed to abolish the use of fixed or mobile closed circuit television cameras for parking enforcement. [187628]

Mr Goodwill: We will carefully consider the responses to the parking consultation (which ends on 14 February), and will make a statement on our proposed next steps in due course—including any proposed changes to the regulatory and legislative framework.

Pay

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many civil servants are on each pay grade in (a) his Department and (b) agencies and public bodies accountable to him. [187252]

Stephen Hammond: The following table provides the information requested on the number of civil servants in each pay grade in the Department and the agencies and public bodies:

13 Feb 2014 : Column 717W

Where numbers are five or less, we have withheld the precise number on grounds of confidentiality in line with the Data Protection Act.

The Department and its agencies are:

Department for Transport central (DfTc)

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)

Highways Agency (HA)

Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA)

Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA)

Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA)

Driving Standards Agency (DSA)

DfT Public Bodies are:

BTPA-British Transport Police Authority

DPTAC-Disabled Persons' Transport Advisory Committee

PF-Passenger Focus

HS2-High Speed 2 Ltd

THLS-Trinity House Lighthouse Service

13 Feb 2014 : Column 718W

TCs and DTCs-Traffic Commissioners and Deputies

DOR Ltd-Directly Operated Railways Ltd

LCR-London and Continental Railways

ORR-Office of Rail Regulation

NLB-Northern Lighthouse Board

Procurement

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's 10 largest contracts let since the financial year 2010-11 are; what savings have been made in such contracts; what the level of overspend or underspend was in each such contract; and what steps his Department has taken to monitor the performance of each supplier following the contract award. [187593]

Stephen Hammond: The Information requested is set out in the following table:

13 Feb 2014 : Column 719W

13 Feb 2014 : Column 720W

Property

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) name, (b) location, (c) floor space, (d) tenure status and (e) value is of properties (i) owned and (ii) occupied by (A) his Department and (B) agencies and public bodies accountable to him. [187293]

Stephen Hammond: As part of the Government's Transparency Agenda information about Department for Transport properties is published on the

www.data.gov.uk

website. Information on the properties owned and leased by the Department, as well as floor area and tenure status, is available via the following web link:

http://data.gov.uk/dataset/epims

Information on the valuation of land and property assets owned by the Department for Transport is available in the Annual Report and Accounts:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-transport-annual-report-and-accounts

Public Appointments

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) which paid public appointment contracts he has (a) renewed and (b) not renewed since May 2010; and how many posts were held by (i) women and (ii) men; [187028]

(2) what the titles are of the individual public appointments that have been made by his Department since May 2010; and which of those appointees were women. [187088]

Stephen Hammond: I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 607W, by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude).

Railways

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to bring forward the major upgrade of the Felixstowe to Nuneaton route including electrification into Control Period 5 for the purposes of supporting freight customers and passenger services in the east of England and on the great eastern main line. [187431]

Stephen Hammond: The programme of expenditure for the Rail Investment Strategy in Control Period 5 has now been agreed between the Department and Network Rail and is fully committed. A further £200 million specifically for the development of the Strategic rail Freight Network will be allocated according to the rail freight industry's priorities. A number of enhancements to the route between Felixstowe and Nuneaton, to enhance the network used by freight trains and reduce conflict between freight and passenger traffic, are expected

13 Feb 2014 : Column 721W

to be funded through this allocation. The scope of those enhancements has yet to be confirmed but electrification of that route is not thought to be a priority for the rail freight sector.

Shipping: Employment

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the contribution of long-term trends in (a) training and (b) employment in the shipping industry to the decline in the total number of UK seafarers between 2012 and 2013. [187384]

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport produces and publishes National Statistics on the number of UK certificated seafarers and ratings currently estimated to be active at sea and on the number of sea cadets in training. Data on the number of ratings in training are not held.

During the period 2006 to 2013, the total number of cadets in training has increased, as can be seen in Table 1.

The Department for Transport monitors the data on an annual basis (or when updates are available). The Support for Maritime Training programme (SMarT) budget was increased by 25% to £15 million in September 2013 to ensure the availability of a qualified workforce. Government also have a number of other policies in place to address the decline including Maritime apprenticeships and the tonnage tax regime with its mandatory training link. The Support for Maritime Training programme (SMarT) budget provided by Government extends to the provision of training for ratings.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the contribution of long-term trends in (a) training and (b) employment in the shipping industry to the decline in the total number of UK ratings between 2012 and 2013. [187385]

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport produces and publishes national statistics on the number of UK ratings currently estimated to be active at sea. Data on the number of ratings in training is not held.

The Department for Transport does not hold the appropriate data regarding the available ratings work force and those in training to assess any long terms trends or relationships.

13 Feb 2014 : Column 722W

The Support for Maritime Training programme (SMarT) budget provided by Government extends to the provision of training for ratings.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the contribution of long-term trends in (a) training and (b) employment in the shipping industry to the decline in the total number of UK certificated officers between 2006 and 2013. [187386]

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport produces and publishes national statistics on the number of UK certificated seafarers currently estimated to be active at sea and on the number of sea cadets in training.

During the period 2006-13, the total number of cadets in training has increased, as shown in the following table.

The Department for Transport monitors the data on an annual basis (or when updates are available). The Support for Maritime Training programme (SMarT) budget was increased by 25% to £15 million in September 2013 to ensure the availability of a qualified work force. Government also has a number of other policies in place to address the decline including Maritime apprenticeships and the tonnage tax regime with its mandatory training link. The Support for Maritime Training programme (SMarT) budget provided by Government extends to the provision of training for ratings.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of employment trends in the shipping industry. [187404]

Stephen Hammond: National statistics on employment in the shipping sector are published by the Office for National Statistics. Data is collected as part of the business register and employment survey.

The Department for Transport collects and produces a national statistics publication on seafarers which provides estimates for the number of UK seafarers active at sea, including demographic analysis.

Data from these two Government sources, alongside industry estimates, are monitored on an annual basis (or when updates are available). The Department for Transport monitors the data on an annual basis (or when updates are available). The Support for Maritime Training programme (SMarT) budget was increased by 25% to £15 million in September 2013 to ensure the availability of a qualified work force. Government also have a number of other policies in place to address the decline including Maritime apprenticeships and the tonnage

13 Feb 2014 : Column 723W

tax regime with its mandatory training link. The Support for Maritime Training programme (SMarT) budget provided by Government extends to the provision of training for ratings.

Staff

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of staff of (a) his Department and (b) agencies and public bodies accountable to him work outside of London; and in which local authorities such staff are located. [187274]

Stephen Hammond: The following table contains the information relating to the proportion of staff in the Department and agencies and public bodies that work outside of London:

The Department for Transport and agencies and its public bodies do not hold the information relating to staff location by local authorities centrally, and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The Department and its agencies are:

Department for Transport central (DfTc)

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)

Highways Agency (HA)

Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA)

Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA)

Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA)

Driving Standards Agency (DSA)

DfT Public Bodies are:

BTPA-British Transport Police Authority

DPTAC-Disabled Persons' Transport Advisory Committee

PF-Passenger Focus

HS2-High Speed 2 Ltd

THLS-Trinity House Lighthouse Service

TCs and DTCs-Traffic Commissioners and Deputies

DOR Ltd-Directly Operated Railways Ltd

LCR-London and Continental Railways

ORR-Office of Rail Regulation

NLB-Northern Lighthouse Board

Cabinet Office

Average Earnings: Houghton-le-Spring

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what change there has been in median gross weekly pay for (a) men and (b) women in Houghton and Sunderland South constituency in each year since 2010. [186264]

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

Letter from Joe Grice:

On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what change

13 Feb 2014 : Column 724W

there has been in median gross weekly pay for (a) men and (b) women in Houghton and Sunderland South constituency, in each year since 2010. (186264)

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. Weekly levels of earnings are estimated from ASHE, and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence. Figures relate to employee jobs, which are defined as those held by employees and not the self-employed.

The following table shows estimates of median gross weekly earnings, and the corresponding annual percentage changes, for male and female employees in Houghton and Sunderland South constituency from 2010 to 2013, the latest period for which results are available.

Charities: Pay

David Simpson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department is taking to stop excessive salary payments to executives of charities. [187480]

Mr Hurd: It is important that charities are transparent about their remuneration. Charity accounting rules require disclosure of charity employees in each £10,000 income band over £60,000. Specific concerns of disproportionate executive pay in a charity in England or Wales should be referred to the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

Charities: Political Impartiality

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to ensure that charities do not use Government aid for political purposes. [187692]

Mr Hurd: The terms and conditions of funding awarded by the Cabinet Office, in common with other Government Departments, precludes funding from being used for political purposes.

13 Feb 2014 : Column 725W

Civil Servants: Maternity Pay

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what average level of maternity pay is paid to civil servants. [188013]

Mr Maude: Maternity pay for civil servants is the responsibility of each individual Department.

Equality

Mr Raab: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the (a) total departmental expenditure, (b) number and (c) cost of people employed for the purpose of promoting equality and diversity was for each of the last five years. [187653]

Mr Maude: Responsibility for equality and diversity policy lies with the head of HR policy.

There is no central record of expenditure on equality and diversity.

Orders and Regulations

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many regulations made since May 2010 contain a sunset clause. [187103]

Michael Fallon: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills.

The information required to answer the hon. Member's question is currently being compiled. I will write with a full answer shortly, and place a copy of the response in the Library of the House.

Pay

Ian Austin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many civil servants are on each pay grade in (a) his Department and (b) agencies and public bodies accountable to him; [187239]

(2) what proportion of staff of (a) his Department and (b) agencies and public bodies accountable to him work outside of London; and in which local authorities such staff are located. [187261]

Mr Maude: As part of the Government's Transparency Agenda, all Government Departments, their agencies and public bodies now publish monthly statistics on their work force. For the Cabinet Office, this is published on the Cabinet Office website at

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/payroll-costs-and-non-consolidated-pay-data-2013-2014

and on data.gov.uk at

http://data.gov.uk/dataset/workforce-management-information-cabinet-office

Information on the local authorities that cover the locations where staff work in my Department and its agencies and public bodies is not held centrally.

At 31 December 2013: 5% of staff in my Department work outside of London in the following locations:

Basingstoke

Bristol

Easingwold, North Yorkshire

Leeds

13 Feb 2014 : Column 726W

Mansfield

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Norwich

Sheffield

York

91% of staff in Cabinet Office agencies and public bodies Government Procurement Service and Big Lottery Fund work outside of London in the following locations:

Belfast

Birmingham

Cambridge

Cardiff

Exeter

Glasgow

Guildford

Leeds

Liverpool

Manchester

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Norwich

Nottingham

Newport

Newtown, Powys

Proof of Identity

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office for access to which public services photo ID is required. [187411]

Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office does not hold this information.

Property

Ian Austin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what the (a) name, (b) location, (c) floor space, (d) tenure status and (e) value is of properties (i) owned and (ii) occupied by (A) his Department and (B) agencies and public bodies accountable to him; [187280]

(2) which central government office estate buildings are currently (a) unoccupied and (b) under-occupied; [187257]

(3) what progress has been made on relocating civil servants from expensive city centre locations since the publication of the Government's Estate Strategy in June 2013. [187258]

Mr Maude: Before the last general election too much of the Government's property estate was under-used and under-occupied. Since 2010 this Government have been working to rationalise its estate and dispose of unnecessary properties. We have got out of hundreds of properties and now publish more details than ever before on how Departments are using their buildings. The Government has exited over 1.8 million square metres between May 2010 and December 2013, reducing the size of its mandated estate by around 17%. Our work to rationalise the Government's property estate resulted in the disposal of 401 buildings in 2012-13, saving the taxpayer £620 million last year alone.

Information relating to Cabinet Office properties is available on line via

http://data.gov.uk/dataset/epims

13 Feb 2014 : Column 727W

Information about property valuations for the Cabinet Office's Land and Buildings, which have been audited by the National Audit Office, are contained in the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2012-2013, available at

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-2013

On 1 January 2014 2.5% (220,240 square metres) of our central Government mandated estate was vacant compared to a private and public sector average of 10.1%.

Unemployment: North East

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent assessment he has made of levels of unemployment amongst university graduates in the North East. [187707]

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

Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2014:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what recent assessment he has made of levels of unemployment amongst university graduates in the North East. (187707)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles graduate unemployment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.

The latest APS estimates available for graduate unemployment are from interviews held during the period January to December 2012. Based on this survey, the number to the nearest thousand, of unemployed people whose highest qualification was degree level or higher in the North East was 13,000 and 4.7% of the economically active graduate population.

As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.

National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:

http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Deputy Prime Minister

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the reasons for the differences in registration rates between (a) the black and Asian communities and (b) the white community. [187133]

Greg Clark: The Government have funded qualitative research which examined why some of the traditionally under-registered groups are less likely to register. This can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/62636/URG_Research_Report_25_07_12.pdf

The Government have also funded Electoral Commission research into the difference in attitudes to voting and registration between the UK general population and its black and minority ethnic population. This can be found here:

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/154474/Winter-tracker-2012-Topline-findings-BME-boost.pdf

13 Feb 2014 : Column 728W

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2014, Official Report, columns 386-87W on electoral register, (1) how his Department encourages local authorities to use their own council tax records to find eligible electors; [187227]

(2) how many local authorities inspect their own council tax records to find eligible electors. [187228]

Greg Clark: Regulation 35 of each of the English and Welsh, and Scottish, Representation of the People Regulations 2001, enables Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to inspect records which are held by their local authority to improve the completeness and accuracy of the register.

The Electoral Commission provides guidance for EROs on how to use other records, such as council tax records, to identify people who may be eligible to be registered. The Commission monitors the performance of EROs in using these information sources through its performance standards framework.

As part of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration, Government will also encourage local authorities to make use of local data to support the maintenance of a complete and accurate register by enabling local data to be used to automatically confirm existing electors who cannot be matched against the Department for Work and Pensions records.

Information on the amount of local authorities inspecting their own council tax records is not held centrally. In 2012 all EROs in Great Britain met performance standard 1: 'Using information sources to verify entries on the register of electors and identify potential new electors'. In March 2014, the Commission will make a final assessment of performance for 2013, and will report on its conclusions.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2014, Official Report, columns 181-2W, on electoral register, if he will make it his policy to collect data intended to improve efficiency in registration of electors. [187229]

Greg Clark: The Electoral Commission is responsible for the collection and evaluation of data about the cost of electoral registration, as well as data on the performance of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). The Government are already working with the Commission and EROs, and electoral administrators, to ensure that costs and efficiencies, including the potential impact of online registration, can be understood in the context of the transition to IER—individual electoral registration.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 5 December 2013, Official Report, columns 803-4W, on electoral register, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the reduction in the number of attainers registered to vote between 2009 and 2012; what steps he has taken to address that reduction; and how successful they have been. [187348]

Greg Clark: Figures from the Office for National Statistics indicate that falling attainer numbers between 2009 and 2012 are likely to have been at least partly caused by decreases in the population of the relevant age group.

13 Feb 2014 : Column 729W

To improve registration levels for young people, the Government have made the Rock Enrol! learning resource available, which promotes democratic engagement and encourages young people to register to vote.

The Government also manage a student forum that brings together the Higher/Further Education sector, the National Union of Students and local authorities with the highest student populations. The forum shares best practice to support the maximum registration of students.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2014, Official Report, column 386W, on electoral register, on what dates the student forums established by his Department for the purpose of promoting registration have met in each region; and what the main collective outcomes of these meetings were. [187350]

Greg Clark: The student forum was established on 18 July 2013, and following this, the Government have facilitated meetings across Great Britain. In all areas a meeting has either taken place, or is being scheduled.

The aim of these regional meetings is to discuss the practical steps that universities and their local Electoral Registration Officers can take to encourage students to register to vote, including publicising how to register, and improving the better use of data at a local level.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2014, Official Report, column 386W, on electoral register, if he will place a copy of the best practice to increase voter registration turnout in the Library. [187351]

Greg Clark: The Government, with contributions from the National Union of Students and the Academic Registrars Council, are producing a guide to student voter registration. When this is released a copy will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2014, Official Report, column 387W, on electoral register, if he will relay this information to hon. Members and local councillors on a regular basis. [187371]

Greg Clark: This information is not held centrally.

Electoral Register: Fraud

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will commission research on the effect of (a) media coverage of electoral registration fraud, (b) politicians’ comments on electoral registration fraud and (c) the Electoral Commission’s coverage of electoral registration fraud on the public’s perception of electoral fraud. [187129]

Greg Clark: Since 2008, the Electoral Commission and the Association of Chief Police Officers have produced an annual report into the issue of alleged electoral fraud. The Electoral Commission has also recently completed a review of electoral fraud in the UK, for which it commissioned research on public perceptions of electoral fraud. They published their final report on

13 Feb 2014 : Column 730W

8 January 2014. The Government are carefully considering the report and its three main recommendations and will respond in the coming months.

Public Appointments

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what the titles are of the individual public appointments that have been made by his Office since May 2010; and which of those appointees were women; [187076]

(2) which paid public appointment contracts his Office has (a) renewed and (b) not renewed since May 2010; and how many posts were held by (i) women and (ii) men. [187015]

The Deputy Prime Minister: The Deputy Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 607W.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

China

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to take steps to ensure that UK aircraft comply with China's air defence zone. [187557]

Mr Swire: We support the EU statement made by Baroness Ashton on 28 November expressing concern over the increase in regional tensions that have resulted from China's Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ). No UK airlines schedule flights that cross the Chinese ADIZ, and we have taken no actions to ensure compliance with it.

Colombia

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure the implementation of his Department's commitment to work with Colombia on the design of a business and human rights strategy; and how his Department is designing this strategy in consultation with a wide variety of civil society organisations. [187139]

Mr Swire: Last year, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office funded a project to assist Colombia in drafting its national policy and our British embassy continues to ensure that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and community groups participate actively in this process. The Colombian public policy on business and human rights has been formed as a result of the consultation process on all human rights issues in Colombia, undertaken in 33 regions and involving over 19,000 people. Our project has also carried out six workshops with civil society in regions most affected by business and human rights issues in Colombia.

A large business and human rights event in Cartagena on 14 May 2013, which was part-funded by our embassy in Bogota, confirmed that Colombia wants to continue working closely with the UK on its business and human rights policy.