24 Feb 2014 : Column 65W

Army: Bullying

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps have been taken by the Army in response to the Service Complaints Commissioner's report 2012 on cases of bullying; and if he will make a statement. [188151]

Anna Soubry: Bullying is not tolerated in the Ministry of Defence and when an allegation is made it is fully investigated.

Although there were no specific recommendations in the Service Complaints Commissioner's report of 2012 about bullying, the Army continues to develop and promote the measures it already has in place to reduce, and deal with complaints of, bullying. These measures include:

The Army Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination Helpline, which assists individuals in resolving their issues at the lowest level, or provides advice on how to make a formal complaint if required.

The Army Mediation Service, which is available to assist individuals in resolving bullying, harassment and diversity issues.

Climate Assessments which assist commanders in understanding the equality and diversity climate of their unit, and the lived experiences of soldiers in order to identify and resolve issues.

Bespoke training packages such as ‘Respect for Others Training', which has quadrupled in attendance by soldiers since its introduction in 2011.

Expansion of a customized Equality and Diversity training package, which has been included in all senior non-commissioned officer command, leadership and management courses, and will be introduced to junior non-commissioned officer command, leadership and management courses in the future.

The introduction of a cyber bullying policy on 26 January 2014.

Army: Complaints

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the causes of the four per cent rise in complaints of discrimination, harassment or bullying in the service environment by army other ranks in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [188148]

Anna Soubry: Although the level of formal complaints has remained largely unchanged from the findings of the 2012 armed forces continuous attitude survey, the 2013 survey showed an increase of 4% in army other ranks personnel reporting that they had experienced instances of bullying, harassment or discrimination in the previous 12 months.

The Ministry of Defence’s equality and diversity strategy is designed to raise awareness and encourage personnel to have the confidence to speak out whenever they have experienced or witness instances of bullying, harassment or discrimination. Since 2011, the number of soldiers receiving education in this area has quadrupled.

The Army takes all allegations of mistreatment seriously and all substantive allegations are investigated. Where there is evidence that unacceptable behaviour has been taking place, there are robust procedures in place to deal with this appropriately.

24 Feb 2014 : Column 66W

Army: Training

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answers of 10 February 2014, Official Report, columns 470-71W, on army: training, what assessment he has made of the effect on future capability of infantry and Parachute Regiment recruit training courses being run at less than full capacity. [188545]

Mr Francois: The Army is in the process of changing to its Army 2020 structure and size. The reduction in trained strength has been taken into account in our manpower planning and the Army remains confident that the infantry and Parachute Regiment will continue to meet their current commitments.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answers of 10 February 2014, Official Report, columns 470-71W, on army: training, what steps are being taken to ensure that the position will improve in 2014-15. [188546]

Anna Soubry: We are currently taking a number of steps to improve recruiting performance in order to increase the numbers of those entering training in 2014-15 and beyond. These include the major recruiting campaign currently under way for Regular Army and Army Reserve personnel, “More Than Meets The Eye”, designed to highlight the variety of roles and skills available in the Army, an improved offer to Reservists, and a more efficient application and medical assessment process for all candidates.

Ballistic Missile Defence

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for Royal Navy assets to take part in NATO European Missile defence. [187989]

Mr Francois: Ballistic Missile Defence capability options including those for the Royal Navy's Type 45 Destroyer will be considered as part of a future Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Caribbean

Mr Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to further improve the Royal Navy's anti-smuggling operations in the Caribbean. [188343]

Mr Francois: The Ministry of Defence routinely deploys a Royal Navy frigate or destroyer and a Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel to the Caribbean under the Atlantic Patrol Task (North). These vessels conduct anti-smuggling operations in close co-operation with international partners as part of their wider tasking in the region. These deployments are supplemented with other Royal Navy ships as they transit through the area en-route to, or from, other operational deployments. We will seek to continue these commitments where resources and availability of ships permit.

We are also working to improve our co-operation with regional partners. For example, we have recently concluded an agreement with the US Coast Guard to allow their helicopters to operate from a RFA vessel. On 22 January 2014 a US Coast Guard helicopter

24 Feb 2014 : Column 67W

operating from RFA Wave Knight participated in a counter-narcotics operation resulting in a seizure of 1.3 metric tonnes of cocaine with an estimated wholesale value of £60 million.

Conflict Resolution: Females

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2013, Official Report, columns 706-7W, on conflict resolution: females, what recent progress his Department has made on implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325. [186854]

Mr Francois [holding answer 13 February 2014]: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to work closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development and civil society on the implementation of UNSCR 1325, its associated resolutions and other women, peace and security programmes, including the Prevention of Sexual Violence Initiative. The MOD is currently working on the new National Action Plan that will be launched during spring 2014 and will cover out to 2017. It will look to build on the success of the previous National Action Plans to embed firmly the principles covering women, peace and security in operational planning and training.

DA Notices

Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2014, Official Report, column 351W, on Defence advisory notices, whether he intends to make the Defence advisory notice system compulsory. [188213]

Anna Soubry: The scope and conduct of a review into the future of the Defence advisory notice system has not yet been decided, but there is no predetermined intention to introduce a compulsory system.

Defence Academy

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the teaching materials used in the delivery of the Senior Responsible Owners Programme run by the Defence Academy. [185062]

Anna Soubry: The disclosure of the teaching materials used in the delivery of the Senior Responsible Owners Programme would prejudice the commercial interests of the Ministry of Defence and Cranfield University. I am unable to place a copy in the Library of the House; however, I have placed a summary of the course programme for your information.

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the teaching materials used in the delivery of the Defence Strategic Portfolio and Programme Management run by the Defence Academy. [185067]

Anna Soubry: Full disclosure of the teaching materials used in the delivery of the Defence Strategic Portfolio and Programme Management would prejudice the

24 Feb 2014 : Column 68W

commercial interests of Cranfield University. I am unable to place a copy of their documents in the Library of the House; however, I have placed a summary of the course programme owned by the Ministry of Defence for your information.

Defence Support Group

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will take a decision on the future of the Defence Support Group at Ashchurch and its facilities. [R] [187739]

Mr Dunne: A decision on reproviding facilities for the future support of Defence vehicles is planned for spring 2014.

Equality

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 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. [187636]

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Armed Forces, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois), on 17 July 2013, Official Report, columns 770-71W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Philip Davies).

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what military resources are currently available for immediate use by the British Government on the Falkland Islands. [187565]

Mr Francois: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my predecessor, my right hon. Friend, the Member for South Leicestershire (Mr Robathan), on 25 March 2013, Official Report, columns 930-1W to the right hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr Murphy). That information remains current except that the VC10K air to air refuelling tanker has been replaced by a Tri-Star aircraft of a similar capability.

The Ministry of Defence regularly reviews its force posture to ensure that it is appropriate to the level of threat faced. I am therefore satisfied that we have sufficient military assets in the region to ensure the Islands' territorial integrity and security.

Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether British military activity increased in Gibraltar and surrounding waters following border incursions by Spanish government vessels; and whether his Department has made increased military resources available in that area in the last six months. [187566]

Mr Francois: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given in the House of Lords by my noble Friend, the Under Secretary of State for Defence, Lord Astor of Hever on 29 January 2014, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA234, to the noble Lord, Lord West of Spithead.

24 Feb 2014 : Column 69W

HMS Victory

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with Odyssey Marine Exploration regarding the excavation of HMS Victory 1744; and what was discussed at each such meeting. [187721]

Anna Soubry: Following the notification by Odyssey Marine Exploration of the possible discovery of Victory 1744, meetings have been held at official level with regards to developing the heritage solution. There is no central record held of these meetings.

ICT

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on the development of the Automated Logistic Information System (ALIS); and if he will make a statement on what part ALIS plays in his Department's IT rationalisation programme. [188301]

Mr Dunne: The Automated Logistics Information System (ALIS) is a bespoke information system which is required to operate the Joint Strike Fighter as an integral part of the air system. The UK has been heavily involved in the development of ALIS to ensure it is fully compatible with current and future information systems used by the Ministry of Defence.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the in-service date for the first tranche of F-35 Joint Combat Aircraft will be. [188303]

Mr Dunne: The in service date for the UK's F-35 Lightning II Aircraft is scheduled for 2018.

Marchwood Military Port

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the successful bidder in the competition to purchase the lease for the site of his Department's Sea Mounting Centre at Marchwood, in New Forest East, will be required to make a full planning application for any change of use; and if he will make a statement. [185299]

Mr Dunne [holding answer 4 February 2014]: At this point in the bidding process, it is not yet known how the bidders will seek to develop the Marchwood site for commercial use. Consequently, any discussion or further statement on the scale of development would, at this stage, be speculative.

I can, however, confirm that the MOD has no intention to seek to remove from the successful bidder, any planning obligation which that bidder may expect to encounter. It is for the Local Planning Authority to consider the application of any Permitted Development rights under the 1995 Order or the removal thereof by means of an Article 4 Direction.

24 Feb 2014 : Column 70W

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what audible warning the Honeywell Traffic Collision Avoidance System II will give in an imminent collision scenario. [187988]

Mr Dunne: As two suitably-equipped aircraft approach one another, their crews will hear the words, ‘traffic, traffic'. If there is a risk of collision the Honeywell Traffic Collision Avoidance System II will direct the crews to manoeuvre to avoid a collision and they will subsequently hear either the instruction: ‘climb, climb now,' or alternatively, ‘descend, descend now.' Once the aircraft have achieved safe separation, the crews will hear the words ‘level off'.

Military Bases: USA

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) role, (b) training, (c) extent of duty to investigate compliance with UK law, (d) line of command and (e) reporting obligations are of the RAF commander and senior liaison officer at each US base in the UK. [R] [187453]

Mr Francois: The role of the RAF Commander is to provide advice to the United States Visiting Forces (USVF) through the US Base Commander, and to be Head of Establishment for Ministry of Defence employees working at USVF bases. The role of the Senior RAF Liaison Officer (SRAFLO) is to provide advice to the USVF, through the Director of the United States Air Force in the UK.

RAF Commanders and the SRAFLO are selected on the basis of their previous experience and display a broad skill set, and undertake specialist courses as required.

RAF Commanders and the SRAFLO continually monitor issues that may affect the interests of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and UK Government, and can seek advice from HQ Air Command or Central Legal staffs on any matters relating to UK law. RAF Commanders report directly to the SRAFLO, who in turn reports to RAF High Wycombe and upwards to HQ Air Command.

Reporting obligations on RAF Commanders and the SRAFLO include policy matters affecting the organisation and deployment of the USVF, potential changes to operations at a particular location and security issues that may impinge upon MOD and UK Government interests.

Military Bases: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the findings of the studies carried out in 2010 into moving the headquarters of 15 Brigade from Imphal Barracks, York to (a) Bourlon Barracks, Catterick and (b) Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Strensall were on the (i) feasibility and (ii) cost of moving the headquarters; what estimate he made of how many staff Catterick and Strensall could accommodate; for what reasons it was decided not to move the headquarters; and if he will place a copy of these studies in the Library [178945]

24 Feb 2014 : Column 71W

Dr Murrison: The work to examine and implement the rationalisation of the Army’s non-deployable regional brigade and divisional structure was undertaken as part of Project Avanti. The project reported in 2011 and the outcomes were included in the Defence transformation statement of 18 July 2011, Official Report, columns 66-70WS.

The option to relocate the headquarters of 15 Brigade to Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Strensall was ruled out at an early stage in the project on space and capacity grounds. The possibility of moving the headquarters to Bourlon Barracks, Catterick and merging with Catterick Garrison headquarters was explored in more detail to establish whether such a merger could result in efficiencies. However, it was determined that there was no existing suitable office accommodation available at that time and the cost of converting other accommodation was not commensurate with the savings we could achieve. This option was therefore not developed any further.

I am happy to consider placing a copy of the Avanti report in the Library of the House. A review of the information requested is being conducted with regard to its suitability for release. I will write to the hon. Member shortly, once this assessment is complete.

Substantive answer from Andrew Murrison to Hugh Bayley:

I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 16 December 2013 (Official Report, column 477W) about the relocation of the Headquarters of 15 Brigade from York to Catterick or Strensall.

The work to review the document is now complete and I have taken the decision not to release the report into the Library of the House. This is because the document contains information on both the original and future Army structures and the outputs and operations of the Divisions, London District and the Brigades. This information relates to the formulation of Government Policy, the outcome of which was announced as part of the Defence Transformation announcement on 18 July 2011 (Official Report, column 66WS).

Navy: Offenders

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the rehabilitation periods for individuals with criminal records who wish to apply to join the Royal Navy are; and what plans he has to review them. [186168]

Dr Murrison: All applicants to the Royal Navy are subject to the requirements of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The rehabilitation periods are published by the Ministry of Justice. This paper can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at the following link:

http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/offenders/rehabilitation/rehabilitation-offenders.pdf

Pay

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's employees are paid more than (a) £250,000, (b) £200,000, (c) £150,000 and (d) £100,000 a year. [184761]

Anna Soubry [holding answer 27 January 2014]: There are no civilian employees in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) who earn more than £250,000 a year. The following table details the numbers of employees who are paid more than £100,000, £150,000 and £200,000 a year.

24 Feb 2014 : Column 72W

The MOD employs 62,000 civilians overall. The number of people paid above £100,000 is 0.05% of the overall work force. On 31 March 2010, the number of civil servants earning over £100,000 was 61 compared to 31 now.

Public Appointments

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many public appointments his Department made in the last 12 months; how many such appointments are remunerated posts; what the level of such remuneration is; and how many people so appointed are (a) women and (b) men. [186394]

Dr Murrison: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 5 February 2014, Official Report, column 301W.

Redundancy

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 552W, on redundancy, what the job title and salary is of each post filled by individuals re-hired by his Department. [188332]

Anna Soubry: The requested information on the 44 permanent civilian staff that left the Ministry of Defence under the terms of the Voluntary Early Release Scheme (VERS) and who were subsequently re-employed by the Department is provided in the following table. 29 were re-employed on a permanent basis. The remaining 15 were re-employed on fixed-term or casual contracts. Those who have been re-employed on a permanent or fixed-term basis will have been required to compete in fair and open competition for their new posts. Job titles used internally in the Ministry of Defence have not been provided as these can be used to identify individuals.

It should be noted that those re-hired represents just 0.1 % of the civilian work force reduction of 33,000.

24 Feb 2014 : Column 73W

Royal Regiment of Scotland

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what equipment belonging to the Royal Regiment of Scotland is being stored at Stirling Castle. [187612]

Mr Dunne: No equipment belonging to the Royal Regiment of Scotland is currently being stored at Stirling Castle.

Sovereignty: Scotland

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what communications he and his Department

24 Feb 2014 : Column 74W

have had with defence companies regarding the Scottish Independence referendum. [187990]

Dr Murrison: The Ministry of Defence has engaged with a range of external stakeholders in the context of the UK Government's Scotland analysis programme and the Scottish independence referendum.

Staff

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of staff recruited to his Department since 5 May 2010 identified their ethnicity as (a) white British and (b) from a minority ethnic background. [188070]

Anna Soubry: As an equal opportunities employer, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to meeting its obligations under the relevant legislation.

Information held on the declared ethnicity of recruited civilian staff is presented by financial year (FY) in the following table. However, MOD staff are not compelled to declare their ethnicity, and therefore, accurate or complete figures are not held.

The MOD publishes a biannual breakdown of diversity statistics which contains a wide-ranging analysis across all diversity categories. The next publication is due on 29 May 2014, and a link to this series can be found at the following web address:

http://www.dasa.mod.uk/index.php/publications/personnel/combined/diversity-dashboard

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2014, Official Report, column 173W, on unmanned air vehicles, if he will place in the Library a copy of the recently declassified study on stress carried out by Dr Wayne Chappelle. [R] [187851]

Mr Francois: A copy of the publicly available study is available at the following link:

http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA577055

Vehicles

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on enabling small and medium-sized enterprises to tender for the Government Vehicle Lease framework. [187942]

Mr Dunne: Businesses of any size can register as potential suppliers for the Government Vehicle Lease Framework, which is operated and managed by the new Crown Commercial Service (CCS).

CCS has been created as a single Government organisation to improve the quality of commercial and procurement activity across the public sector in the provision of common goods and services. It is committed to ensuring that small organisations and businesses can compete fairly with bigger companies for Government contracts and aims to attract as much competition as possible from good suppliers of all sizes in the marketplace, including small and medium sized enterprises.

Further information about becoming a supplier for such arrangements can be found on the CCS website:

http://ccs.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/i-am-supplier

Veterans: Employment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2014, Official Report, column 350W, on veterans: employment, what steps he is taking to increase the number of armed forces service leavers who use the Career Transition Partnership. [187793]

24 Feb 2014 : Column 75W

Anna Soubry: Service personnel access the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) according to their transition needs, but it is not mandated. The CTP contractor is responsible for making personnel aware of the resettlement offer and works closely with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to achieve this.

The MOD has recently widened the CTP support to personnel who leave having served less than four years. This ensures that all of our Service leavers have access to our robust resettlement system.

In 2015 the contract with the CTP is due to be re-let. We are currently assessing whether any changes need to be made. While the support offered to Service personnel is extensive and largely effective, there may well be areas which could be improved. This work will take into account the recommendations recently made by Lord Ashcroft in his Veterans Transition Review which reported earlier this month.

Veterans: Redundancy Pay

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has paid out in redundancy and resettlement grants to former military personnel in each of the last five years. [177965]

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence has incurred expenditure on redundancy payments and resettlement grants for military personnel in each of the past five financial years as follows:

While reduced recruiting and fewer extensions of service will account for some of the reductions arising from the 2010 strategic defence and security review decision on the future size and shape of the regular armed forces, a redundancy programme is needed to ensure the right balance of skills for the future is maintained across the rank structures. We are providing as much support as possible to those personnel being made redundant.

We estimate that, by 2021-22, we will have achieved cumulative savings of some £23 billion as a result of reductions in military and civilian personnel and greater efficiency in the conduct of non-front line activities.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Agriculture: Environmental Protection

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that all agricultural environmental programmes include strict predator control on a condition. [187686]

24 Feb 2014 : Column 76W

George Eustice: Agri-environment schemes such as Environmental Stewardship do not currently provide funding for predator control. However, there is growing evidence that predation by foxes can adversely affect ground-nesting bird populations, particularly lowland breeding waders. As a result, as part of the work to develop a new environmental land management scheme we are currently considering new fencing options to help protect these species. This should be available from 2016. We are also funding novel research worth £200,000 on habitat manipulation to reduce fox predation on lapwings and redshank.

Angling

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to help angling clubs in (a) west Lancashire and (b) England tackle the decline in fish stocks. [188118]

George Eustice: The status of fish stocks varies by species and location. While some fish, such as salmon and eel, have declined to low levels across England, many other stocks are known to be good. Assessments undertaken to meet water framework directive requirements show that, of the water bodies classified for fish in England, just over 48% are at good status or better.

The Environment Agency regulates fishing to maintain and improve sustainable fisheries. It does this by protecting stocks from illegal fishing and other fisheries crime, responding to fish kills and rescuing fish in distress, monitoring fish stocks to identify where individual fisheries may be at risk, and improving habitats for fish. The Environment Agency works closely with local angling clubs, among others, to achieve this.

Boilers

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to support people who move from a liquid petroleum gas boiler to a conventional boiler. [187115]

Michael Fallon: Ofgem is responsible for regulating connections and extension of the gas grid. It is also generally responsible for agreeing the pricing mechanism that underpins the funding of the connection. The cost of connecting to a gas mains supply is dependent on the type of connection, the distance of the site from the existing network and site-specific issues e.g. difficulty of terrain, planning restrictions.

The Domestic Load Connection Allowance is available to customers within 23 metres of an existing gas distribution network (GDN). The first 10 metres of the connection on public land are free to the householder, with the cost recovered from all other customers through general network charges on bills.

The Assisted Gas Connection Scheme requires the operators of the four regional GDNs to connect around 77,000 fuel poor households to the gas grid over the current eight-year price control period (2013-21). There is a limit on the maximum funding available for each connection, with the householder or partner organisation (e.g. a local authority) asked to pay the remaining costs.

24 Feb 2014 : Column 77W

It is also important to support consumers, especially those on low incomes, where conversion to gas central heating is not possible. In this context we will be consulting on possible changes to the Energy Company Obligation, which sits alongside the Green Deal. In particular, we will consult on how best to create an incentive for measures under the Affordable Warmth part of the scheme—which includes boiler repair and replacement—to be delivered in non-gas fuelled homes. Further means of supporting low-income non-gas fuelled households will also be considered as part of our draft fuel poverty strategy later this year.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of whether a vaccination programme against TB would be cheaper per infected badger than culling. [187666]

George Eustice: We will publish an updated estimate of the economic costs and benefits of culling when we make a decision on wider roll-out.

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2014, Official Report, column 692W, on bovine tuberculosis, what assessment his Department has made of methods other than culling for tackling bovine tuberculosis; and what steps he plans to take to provide the farming industry with more information about those methods. [187919]

George Eustice: Badger culling is only one part of our programme for tackling bovine TB. We will use every tool available including tougher movement controls for cattle and better biosecurity on farms and we will continue working to develop effective and usable cattle and badger vaccines. We continue to make good progress on all aspects of our strategic aim of achieving TB-freedom for England by 2038. We will be publishing the final version of our strategy in due course.

Buildings

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 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. [186865]

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA offices are assessed as either being required to deliver departmental functions (forming the core estate) or surplus to this requirement (non-core).

DEFRA's priority for surplus holdings is to reduce property costs by exiting leasehold agreements, selling freeholds or by sub-letting to external tenants.

For more efficient marketing of surplus land and buildings, the Government Property Unit has created a portal—Find Me Some Government Space:

https://www.gov.uk/find-government-property

This is searchable by developers, community groups and the general public.

24 Feb 2014 : Column 78W

Cattle: Transport

Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of (a) cattle and (b) other livestock which have been moved as a result of recent floods; and what assessment he has made of the effect of such movement on the spread of bovine TB. [188228]

George Eustice: Initial analysis shows that approximately 1,500 to 1,600 cattle in the south-west were evacuated as a result of the recent flooding. All cattle in high risk areas that must be moved because of floodwater are required to be post-movement TB tested following isolation on the new holding, unless they recently underwent testing for the disease. This is normal practice in circumstances where pre-movement testing of cattle is unsafe for any reason or when the welfare of the animals dictates that the move needs to happen immediately.

Coastal Areas: Flood Control

Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funds are available for heightening of sea walls to protect against flooding. [187450]

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA flood defence capital Grant-in-Aid is available for flood defence improvement projects, including the heightening of sea walls. £344 million has been allocated to work on projects in 2014-15. From 2015-16 DEFRA will be making £370 million available for such capital improvement projects and then the same each year in real terms until 2020-21.

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps he has taken to ensure adequate flood defences are in place in coastal regions. [187882]

Dan Rogerson: On 6 February 2014 the Environment Agency published its flood and coastal defence improvements programme for 2014-15. An additional £130 million has been made available for the Environment Agency to support its response to the winter floods. This will help to ensure that critical defences are in the necessary condition as soon as possible. Urgent repairs on coastal defences began during the coastal surge on 5 December 2013 and are continuing.

Common Fisheries Policy

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the UK’s position was on permitting EU nations to purchase fishing rights from other EU nations; and which UK fishing rights have been sold under such provision to other countries. [188395]

George Eustice: During recent negotiations to reform the common fisheries policy (CFP), the UK successfully opposed the introduction of European Commission proposals that would have enabled the trading of fishing rights between EU member states. The UK was clear that the new CFP should respect the right of member

24 Feb 2014 : Column 79W

states to make arrangements to manage their quotas and fishing opportunities in a way that best fits their own circumstances.

No UK fishing rights have been sold to other countries.

Databases

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many healthy herds have been miscategorised as infected with bovine TB due to the AHVLA SAM IT failure. [185670]

George Eustice: The data classification problems identified by AHLVA only affected the reporting of bovine TB statistics, in particular the number of herds coming out of restriction. A full explanation was included in the monthly publication of National Statistics on the Incidence of Tuberculosis (TB) in Cattle to end November 2013 for Great Britain, released in 12 February. No restrictions have been placed on any herd as a result of the data classification problems.

Deer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with landowners and farmers about deer management groups. [187694]

George Eustice: Wildlife management is a devolved matter. In England, DEFRA has not held any recent discussions with landowners and farmers about deer management groups. Advice on deer management groups is provided by the Deer Initiative.

Environment Agency

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what cost-benefit ratio he requires the Environment Agency to meet when carrying out flood protection schemes; and if he will make a statement. [187715]

Dan Rogerson: Flood defences schemes with a benefit cost ratio greater than one are eligible to receive a contribution from DEFRA’s capital flood defence grant in aid.

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many planning applications have been given (a) standing advice and (b) bespoke advice by the Environment Agency in each local authority area; and what his estimate is in each of the years after 2014. [188489]

Dan Rogerson: This information is not held centrally and it would not be possible to collate it in the time available. In 2012-13, the Environment Agency responded to 24,984 planning applications in England using bespoke responses. No estimate has been made of how many applications the Environment Agency might be consulted on in future years.

24 Feb 2014 : Column 80W

Equality

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 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. [187639]

Dan Rogerson: The total expenditure, number and cost of people specifically employed to promote diversity and equality in the core Department for the last five years is as shown in the following table:

Flood Control

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been spent on flood defences in the UK in each of the last 10 years. [186929]

Dan Rogerson: Flood risk management is a devolved issue. DEFRA does not keep figures on the amount spent on flood defences for the whole of the UK.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the statement of 6 January 2014, Official Report, column 24, on flooding, what participation (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) officials of his Department have had. [188383]

Dan Rogerson: My ministerial colleagues, senior officials and I have maintained regular contact throughout the current flooding emergency with front-line services including the Environment Agency, fire and rescue services, utility companies and local authorities. We are also working with the Association of British Insurers and insurance companies to ensure people get the help they need as quickly as possible.

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will review the system of allocation of funding for flood defences and the current division of such funding between capital and revenue; and if he will make a statement. [188461]

Dan Rogerson: Separate overall departmental resource and capital budgets are agreed with HM Treasury at spending reviews. Departments may not switch provision from capital budgets to resource budgets; such switches would mean that money that had been earmarked for investment was used for current spending.

24 Feb 2014 : Column 81W

I recognise the importance of the Environment Agency's work on maintaining defences, which is why I have protected the Environment Agency's floods budget from the 1% savings DEFRA was asked to find; following the 2013 autumn statement and provided an additional £130 million for emergency repairs and maintenance. The extra funding will cover costs incurred during the current emergency response and recovery, as well as essential repairs to ensure that defences are maintained.

Floods

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with telecommunications companies on facilitating the roll-out of opt out telephone flood warning schemes to all homes and businesses liable to flooding, including those with ex-directory numbers; and what proportion of households in flood risk areas are now covered by telephone flood warning schemes. [186947]

Dan Rogerson: Progress against this recommendation was set out in “The Government's Response to Sir Michael Pitt's Review of the summer 2007 Floods-Final Progress Report”, which was published on 27 January 2012.

At the end of March 2013 62% of households and businesses in the highest risk flood risk areas in England and Wales are able to receive direct warnings from the Environment Agency.

Floods : Berkshire

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Environment Agency will take to investigate the extent to which the management of the Jubilee river contributed to recent water levels in the lower Thames region. [188293]

Dan Rogerson: Environment Agency staff regularly inspect flood defence structures, including the Jubilee river. The river protects 3,200 properties. It operates so that flood levels up or downstream of the protected area are not adversely affected. Three independent reports have confirmed that the Jubilee river does not increase flood risk elsewhere.

Floods: Bournemouth

Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department has made of likely increases in sea levels affecting Bournemouth East constituency in the next (a) 25, (b) 50 and (c) 100 years; and if he will make a statement. [187454]

Dan Rogerson: Sea level predictions relevant to this constituency were published in July 2011, in the Hurst Spit to Durlston Head Shoreline Management Plan. The Environment Agency will shortly be publishing the Poole Bay, Poole Harbour and Wareham Flood and Coastal Risk Management Strategy, which will provide a more refined view, taking into consideration national climate change guidance.

24 Feb 2014 : Column 82W

During public consultation on the new strategy sea level increases were expressed as follows:

Taking the UK climate projections 2009 data the predictions are for 25, 50 and 100 years from a baseline in 1990 are:

The sea walls on the Bournemouth sea front form part of an integrated system of coastal protection, primarily against erosion of the land by the sea, protecting nearly 3,000 cliff-top properties. The strategy proposal is to maintain the beach to protect the old sea wall, the promenade and the cliff. Funding for beach management is supported by the strategy and has an allocation in the published Medium Term Plan.

Floods: Copeland

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total value of the damage to flood and coastal defences in Copeland constituency caused by recent floods and storms is; and what funds his Department is providing for repairs. [187881]

Dan Rogerson: The total damage to flood and coastal defences caused by the floods and storms in the Copeland constituency is currently in the region of £600,000. The Environment Agency continues to work in partnership with Copeland Borough Council (CBC) to assess defence repair costs to all assets along the coast including Environment Agency and local authority owned and maintained assets.

CBC has received £324,000 in Flood Defence Grant-in-Aid funding to repair damage to the Whitehaven harbour wall, which provides protection to both people and property in the town centre. This work is ongoing. Additional Grant-in-Aid funding of £40,000 has been received to carry out repairs to defences maintained by the Environment Agency.

The local authority continues to assess damage to assets and the repair works are currently estimated to require a further £250,000. We are working closely with CBC in securing funding for these urgent works.

Floods: Insurance

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the new Flood Re scheme will cover the private rented sector; and if he will make a statement. [186907]

Dan Rogerson: The Association of British Industry advise that buildings cover for landlords in the private rented sector would not be eligible for the Flood Re scheme because these policies are classified as commercial policies by the insurance industry. However, contents insurance for tenants in the private rented sector, with the exception of those in Band H properties or those built after 2009, would be included.

24 Feb 2014 : Column 83W

Jonathan Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress he is making on the launch of the Flood Re scheme; when the launch of the scheme is expected; and if he will make a statement. [187943]

Dan Rogerson: The Government and insurance industry are working together with the aim of introducing Flood Re by summer 2015.

We are currently developing an implementation timetable and putting in place the necessary secondary legislation, on which we plan to consult over the summer. This timetable is challenging and includes the need for Prudential Regulation Authority approval and state aid approval from the European Commission. However, DEFRA and the Association of British Insurers continue to work together to ensure the delivery of the Flood Re scheme in 2015 as planned.

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) why small businesses are not included in the Flood Re scheme; [188296]

(2) what estimate he has made of the financial effect of the exclusion of small businesses from the Flood Re scheme; [188297]

(3) what discussions his Department has had with (a) other Departments and (b) external stakeholders on whether small businesses should be included in the Flood Re scheme. [188298]

Dan Rogerson: The Flood Re scheme has been specifically designed to provide affordable flood insurance to domestic policyholders who will also fund it. It would be inappropriate to ask domestic policyholders to subsidise insurance for small businesses.

The scheme is not suitable for commercial properties. In general, business insurance policies are often bespoke and already priced to risk, as opposed to the household insurance market where a cross-subsidy has historically been in place. A survey of over 9,000 businesses in England estimated that less than 1% of them had experienced difficulty getting property insurance in the last year due to the risk of flooding and that no businesses had been refused insurance cover due to the risk of flooding. This view was supported in the consultation on Flood Re and in discussions with other Departments.

We have held regular discussion with the ABI, representatives of small businesses and other Government Departments and will continue to work with them as we monitor the insurance market for small businesses and keep the issue under review.

Floods: River Thames

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the current timescale for extending the River Thames scheme to Teddington; and if he will make it his policy to fast-track such an extension. [188291]

Dan Rogerson: The timescale for approval of the proposed River Thames (Datchet to Teddington) scheme has not been set. DEFRA will consider this in liaison with HMT and the Cabinet Office Major Projects Authority

24 Feb 2014 : Column 84W

as part of its review of the Environment Agency's Strategic Business Case for the work, which we expect to receive in the spring.

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations he has received from the Environment Agency on the proposed extension of the River Thames scheme to Teddington. [188292]

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency presented its case for the River Thames scheme to a Cabinet Office Major Projects Authority-led project validation review on 10 December 2013, to which DEFRA contributed. DEFRA is represented on River Thames Scheme (Datchet to Teddington) Programme Board which last met on 23 January 2014.

Floods: Shrewsbury

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Environment Agency spent on flood defence measures in Shrewsbury in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013. [188433]

Dan Rogerson: £2,895,650 has been spent in Shrewsbury over the last four years. The total capital spend was £2,462,000.

In 2010-11, £2.4 million was spent on the Coleham Head flood risk management scheme and £62,000 on property level protection schemes.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much is forecast to be spent on flood defence measures in Shrewsbury in each of the next five years. [188434]

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency is working with partners to finalise future capital investments with a view to publishing a six-year pipeline of flood and coastal erosion risk management work later in the year.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what schemes the Environment Agency West Midlands has planned for flood defences in Shrewsbury over the next five years. [188435]

Dan Rogerson: A number of projects are planned in Shrewsbury over the next five years:

Bomere Heath—to improve the drainage network around Bomere Heath. Project programmed to begin in 2015.

The Grove, Minsterley—individual property level protection scheme and improvements to the highway drains. Project programmed to begin in 2014-15.

24 Feb 2014 : Column 85W

Battlefield Road, Shrewsbury and Hadnall—individual property level protection schemes. Project programmed to begin in 2014-15.

Longdon and Coleham areas—individual property protection for 30 properties that do not benefit from flood defences in Shrewsbury. Project programmed to begin in 2016-17.

Woodlands for Water—initiative to identify priority areas in the Severn catchment where woodland will reduce flood risk and slow water down for communities over the next five years. This scheme will take a number of years to implement and will be established using a wide range of partners and landowners that need to be involved.

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement on 24 May 2012, Official Report, column 83WS, on Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA), what steps have been taken to introduce repayment orders to the operations of the GLA; and if he make a statement. [188125]

George Eustice: The GLA has no plans to seek powers to issue restoration notices under the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 (RES Act 2008).

A statement to Parliament by the Minister of State, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon) in November 2012 clarified guidance on the use by regulators of civil sanctions under the RES Act 2008. Powers to impose restoration notices will, as a general rule, only be granted where their use is restricted to undertakings with more than 250 employees. The great majority of businesses regulated by the GLA have fewer than 250 employees and it is therefore inappropriate to introduce these powers.

Greyhound Racing

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the ability of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain independently to enforce the Greyhound Regulations 2010 at tracks. [187948]

George Eustice: It is planned that the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010 will be reviewed next year, including how effectively they are being enforced.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many greyhound tracks there are operating in England. [187950]

George Eustice: While we do not hold a central record of the number of greyhound tracks in England, there are understood to be approximately 30 operating. Detailed records will be held by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain and each local authority that has a greyhound track(s) in their area.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with the Greyhound Board of Great Britain on (i)

24 Feb 2014 : Column 86W

the welfare of racing greyhounds and (ii) the numbers of racing greyhounds destroyed for economic or welfare reasons over the last 10 years. [187999]

George Eustice: We do not hold records of meetings going back 10 years. DEFRA officials met representatives of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) several times during the drafting of the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010. More recently, DEFRA officials met with representatives of the GBGB in October 2013. DEFRA Ministers have not met with GBGB representatives since 2010.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions have been made under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 for failure to protect the needs of racing greyhounds. [188000]

George Eustice: Records of prosecutions made under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 do not include the animal or activity involved.

Greyhounds: Imports

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to enforce the Balai directive among the greyhound industry when importing greyhounds from the Republic of Ireland. [188166]

George Eustice: All dogs imported for commercial purposes into the UK from any European Union (EU) country must meet the requirements of the Balai directive, (92/65/EEC) which lays down rules for animals not covered by other EU legislation. The competent authorities in the Republic of Ireland are responsible for ensuring that greyhounds sent to the UK fully comply with the requirements of the directive.

We already take steps to check compliance with all EU legislation that establishes the health assurances needed for animals moving between EU member states. EU rules allow for random non-discriminatory checks to be made on animals that arrive from another member state; these checks are carried out at the premises of destination by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency.

Horses: Transport

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure that animal welfare legislation is enforced in the transportation of equine species from the UK to other countries. [188250]

George Eustice: As a member state of the European Union, the UK is obliged to respect laws governing the movement of animals throughout the Union. EU laws are intended to promote free movement between member states. In line with this legislation and in relation to exports, the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (an Executive agency of DEFRA) undertake risk based inspections at the place of departure. They will also undertake stringent checks at ports where

24 Feb 2014 : Column 87W

there are good grounds to believe that rules are being breached which may represent a risk to the health and welfare of equines.

Land: Contamination

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many contaminated land sites there are in England; and how much has been committed to each site under the Contaminated Land Capital Grants Scheme in each year since 2010-11. [187933]

George Eustice: The total number of sites in England where land is affected by contamination is not known. However, local authorities are required to maintain a record of all contaminated land sites that have been determined under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. A survey carried out by the Environment Agency in 2007 indicated that 659 sites had been formally determined as contaminated land under the Part 2A legislation in England.

DEFRA has commissioned a new survey of the progress that local authorities have made under Part 2A, including sites determined since the last survey in 2007. The results will be published later in 2014.

Since 2010, £18.8 million has been committed from the Contaminated Land Capital Grants Scheme to 275 potentially contaminated sites or sites determined as contaminated land under the Part 2A regime.

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under which criteria contaminated land is prioritised for assistance under the Contaminated Land Capital Grants Scheme. [187944]

George Eustice: The Environment Agency publishes eligibility and prioritisation criteria on its website. To be eligible for funding, bids must be for qualifying capital works that are technically appropriate, reasonable and provide value for money. For remediation, the site must

24 Feb 2014 : Column 88W

be determined as contaminated land under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and reasonable enquiries must have been completed to ensure that nobody else is liable to carry out, or pay for, the works required.

For those bids that are eligible, the Environment Agency uses a published prioritisation tool to score and rank each bid. Prioritisation takes into account the following factors: project history, project type, what is being affected by the contamination (e.g. human health, property or the water environment), seriousness of the risk, scale of the impact and value for money.

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on unremediated contaminated land which presents an ongoing source of pollution to inland waterways. [187951]

Dan Rogerson: The overarching objectives of the Government's policy on contaminated land, as set out in the accompanying statutory guidance to Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, are:

(a) To identify and remove unacceptable risks to human health and the environment (including where contamination has the potential to cause significant pollution of controlled waters).

(b) To seek to ensure that contaminated land is made suitable for its current use.

(c) To ensure that the burdens faced by individuals, companies and society as a whole are proportionate, manageable and compatible with the principles of sustainable development.

Ministers' Private Offices

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the size, in square metres, of the offices assigned to each of his Department's Ministers is; and how many officials, at what grade, work in the private offices of each of his Department's Ministers. [188316]

Dan Rogerson: The information is as follows:

24 Feb 2014 : Column 89W

Northern Ireland

Dr Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assets his Department has sold in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and what the value of each such sale was. [186571]

Dan Rogerson: Core DEFRA holds no property assets in Northern Ireland and none have been sold there over the last five years.

Processed Food

Mr McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to improve the accuracy of labelling of processed food products. [187817]

George Eustice: European food law is clear that information on food labels must be accurate and must not mislead the consumer. This is reinforced in the new Regulation on the Provision of Food Information to Consumers (1169/2011). The bulk of these regulations come into effect on 13 December 2014.

Enforcement of food law is undertaken by local authority trading standards and environmental health departments. In 2012 and 2013 local authority officers carried out 86,000 tests on food products to check their safety and authenticity. The Government have increased funding to support local authorities' delivery of the national coordinated sampling programme from £1.6 million to £2.2 million. This is in addition to the self-funded sampling by local authorities.

Procurement

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 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. [187591]

Dan Rogerson: The 10 largest contracts put in place by core DEFRA since April 2010 are:

24 Feb 2014 : Column 90W

Two contracts have ended. The Walter Lilly & Co Ltd contract had a value of £8,336,100 and spend was £7,679,366. The Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP had a value of £3,056,000 and spend of £1,197,863. All figures exclude VAT.

The estimated procurement savings on the South Western Business Process Outsourcing contract is just over £7 million over six years. The SSCL contract is expected to deliver savings of £19 million (in real terms) over seven years.

The approach to contract management varies according to the nature of the contract, its value and the nature of the service provided. It can include some or all of the following:

setting up of a specific contract management team;

close contract management through regular meetings with the supplier; and

the assessment of performance against key performance indicators and satisfaction indices.

Property

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 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. [187286]

Dan Rogerson: The requested data is available via the Government's DATA.GOV.UK website:

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

Public Appointments

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (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; [187079]

(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. [187018]

Dan Rogerson: I refer to the reply of the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General on 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 607W.

Public Bodies

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what the indicative budget is of each of his Department's executive agencies and executive non-departmental public bodies for 2015-16, broken down by (a) capital and (b) revenue; [188514]

(2) what the Government contribution to the indicative budget of each of his Department's executive agencies and executive non-departmental public bodies is expected to be for 2015-16, broken down by capital and revenue. [188516]

Dan Rogerson: Indicative budgets for 2015-16 are incomplete at this time. Discussions are ongoing and the Department's Network Bodies are likely to receive formal allocation letters in late-2014.

24 Feb 2014 : Column 91W

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how many (a) staff and (b) full-time equivalent staff were employed by each of his Department’s Executive agencies and Executive non-departmental public bodies in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14; [188517]

(2) what changes to the total number of (a) staff and (b) full-time equivalent staff employed by each of

24 Feb 2014 : Column 92W

his Department’s Executive agencies and Executive non-departmental public bodies are expected in 2014-15. [188518]

Dan Rogerson: The following table shows the number of staff (headcount) and the number of full-time equivalents employed in each of DEFRA’s Executive agencies and Executive non-departmental public bodies by financial year.

DEFRA’s Executive agencies and Executive non-departmental public bodies are currently reviewing and updating work force plans and forecasts as part of the annual business planning cycle. We are, therefore, unable to provide forecasts of the number of staff (headcount) and the number of full-time equivalents for 2014-15 with any degree of accuracy until this has been completed.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what income was received by each of his Department's expenditure agencies and executive non-departmental public bodies from non-government sources, broken down by source in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14 and (e) 2014-15. [188519]

Dan Rogerson: A breakdown of the income received by each of the Department's Executive Agencies and non-departmental public bodies is set out in the notes to the appropriate organisation's Annual Report and Accounts in respect of 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13, which can be found at the following links.

A breakdown of the income received in 2013-14 and 2014-15 will be set out in the organisations' Annual Report and Accounts for each year, which will be published in July 2014 and July 2015 respectively.

Executive agencies

Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency

2010-11:

The merged organisation did not exist in 2010-11; there are instead separate sets of accounts for Animal Health and the Veterinary Laboratories Agency:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1012/hc11/1144/1144.pdf

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1012/hc12/1210/1210.pdf

2011-12:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1213/hc04/0470/0470.pdf

2012-13:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1314/hc05/0504/0504.pdf

Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science

2010-11:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1012/hc10/1099/1099.pdf

2011-12:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1213/hc02/0216/0216.pdf

2012-13:

http://www.cefas.defra.gov.uk/media/607532/cefas_ara_2012-13_web.pdf

24 Feb 2014 : Column 93W

The Food and Environment Research Agency

2010-11:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1012/hc11/1154/1154.pdf

2011-12:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1213/hc01/0180/0180.pdf

2012-13:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246757/0210.pdf

Rural Payments Agency

2010-11:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1012/hc12/1231/1231.pdf

2011-12:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1213/hc02/0230/0230.pdf

2012-13:

http://rpa.defra.gov.uk/rpa/index.nsf/15f3e119d8abcb5480256ef20049b53a/f7f198fb7f2d6f9f80257b9d0053ec1a/$FILE/RPA%20Annual%20Report%20and%20Accounts%202012-13%20v1.0.pdf

Veterinary Medicines Directorate

2010-11:

http://www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/pdf/annualreport/vmdanrep10.pdf

2011-12:

http://www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/pdf/annualreport/vmdanrep11.pdf

2012-13:

http://www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/pdf/annualreport/vmdanrep12.pdf

Executive non-departmental public bodies

Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board

2010-11:

http://www.ahdb.org.uk/publications/documents/1093.pdf

2011-12:

http://www.ahdb.org.uk/publications/documents/AHDBAnnualReport2011-12-WEBMASTER-20June2012_000.pdf

2012-13:

http://www.ahdb.org.uk/publications/documents/AHDBAnnualReport2012-13WEBFINAL.pdf

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

2010-11:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1012/hc12/1285/1285.pdf

2011-12:

http://www.kew.org/ucm/groups/public/documents/document/kppcont_061620.pdf

2012-13:

http://www.kew.org/ucm/groups/public/documents/document/kppcont_080464.pdf

Commission for Rural Communities

2010-11:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1012/hc13/1333/1333.pdf

2011-12:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1213/hc02/0205/0205.pdf

24 Feb 2014 : Column 94W

2012-13:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1314/hc03/0350/0350.pdf

Consumer Council for Water

2010-11:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/247371/1187.pdf

2011-12:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/247054/0197.pdf

2012-13:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246743/0230.pdf

Environment Agency

2010-11:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1012/hc12/1269/1269.pdf

2011-12:

http://a0768b4a8a31e106d8b0-50dc802554eb38a24458b98ff72d550b.r19.cf3.rackcdn.com/geho0612bwpa-e-e.pdf

2012-13:

http://a0768b4a8a31e106d8b0-50dc802554eb38a24458b98ff72d550b.r19.cf3.rackcdn.com/LIT_8472_6b598a.pdf

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

2010-11:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1012/hc12/1221/1221.pdf

2011-12:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1213/hc01/0165/0165.pdf

2012-13:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1314/hc01/0101/0101.pdf

Joint Nature Conservation Committee

2010-11:

http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/pub11_annualreport2011.pdf

2011-12:

http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/ar_20120331.pdf

2012-13:

http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/JNCC_Annualreport_201213.pdf

Marine Management Organisation

2010-11:

http://www.marinemanagement.org.uk/about/documents/annual_report_accounts_1011.pdf

2011-12:

http://www.marinemanagement.org.uk/about/documents/annual_report_accounts_1112.pdf

2012-13:

http://www.marinemanagement.org.uk/about/documents/annualreportaccounts1213.pdf

National Forest Company

2010-11:

http://www.nationalforest.org/document/reports/ar2011.pdf

2011-12:

http://www.nationalforest.org/document/reports/ar2012.pdf

2012-13:

http://www.nationalforest.org/document/reports/ar2013.pdf

Natural England

2010-11:

http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/file/60018

24 Feb 2014 : Column 95W

2011-12:

http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/file/1746825

2012-13:

http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/file/6262867623936000

Sea Fish Industry Authority

2010-11:

http://www.seafish.org/media/599639/seafish%20ar%202010-2011%20final%20signed.pdf

2011-12:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246905/0624.pdf