Employment: East Midlands

Andy Sawford: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of people in (a) Corby and East Northamptonshire, (b) Northamptonshire and (c) the East Midlands who have jobs which primarily require working (i) during the day and (ii) at night. [189427]

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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, dated March 2014:

In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for the estimate of the number of people in (a) Corby and East Northamptonshire constituency, (b) Northamptonshire and (c) the East Midlands who have jobs which primarily require working (i) during the day and (ii) at night. 189427

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) provides estimates of people working particular shifts. For the period April-June 2013 it is estimated that 32,000 people in the East Midlands worked permanent night shifts. This does not include people who occasionally work night shifts. It is not possible to estimate the number who primarily work during the day as this is not asked on the survey.

Employment estimates for Corby and East Northamptonshire constituency and Northamptonshire are available from the Annual Population Survey (APS). However, estimates relating to shift working are not available from this source.

As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. It is estimated that the true value is likely to lie between 21,000 and 43,000.

Former Prime Ministers

Pete Wishart: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much in public duty costs allowance has been paid to each former Prime Minister in each year since 2010; what the limit is of the public duty costs allowance for former Prime Ministers; when that limit was last reviewed; whether the public duty costs allowance is payable in addition to their parliamentary allowances to former Prime Ministers who remain Members of Parliament; what audit is undertaken of claims made under the public duty costs allowance by former Prime Ministers; what checks are made to ensure that claims against the allowance meet the criteria for funding from the allowance; what guidance is provided to former Prime Ministers on claiming from the public duty costs allowance; and if he will place in the Library a copy of that guidance. [189655]

Mr Maude: The amounts paid in 2011-12 and 2012-13 are as follows:

The current limit for the PDCA is £115,000. The limit is reviewed on an annual basis.

Former Prime Ministers will continue to receive the PDCA if they are a sitting MP, provided they are not serving as Leader of the Opposition.

Claims are processed by the Cabinet Office and form part of the annual audit of Cabinet Office expenditure.

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All former Prime Ministers are provided with guidance on the PDCA. A copy of this has been placed in the Library of the House.

Government Departments: Procurement

Andy Sawford: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many Government contracts of what value have been awarded to companies or projects based in (a) Corby and East Northamptonshire and (b) Northamptonshire since May 2010. [189425]

Mr Hurd: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Livingston (Graeme Morrice) on 16 December 2013, Official Report, column 453W.

Information on government suppliers within a specific constituency or local authority area is not held centrally.

Manufacturing Industries: Females

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate the Office for National Statistics has made of the proportion of manufacturing jobs held by women in (a) each English region, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland. [189625]

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, dated March 2014:

In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate the Office for National Statistics has made of the proportion of manufacturing jobs held by women in (a) each English region, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland. [189625]

Figures for the proportion of manufacturing jobs held by women in (a) each English region, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland, for the most recent period, Q3 2013, can be found in the table below:

Pagers

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many pagers have been provided to staff by his Department since May 2010; and what the cost to the Department was of providing those pagers. [190044]

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Mr Hurd: As was the case prior to the last general election various officials are provided with pagers when there is a business case to do so. We do not hold details centrally of when pagers were purchased but currently spend £360 a month on the services.

Education

Child Minding

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what level of inspection fees for (a) individual childminders and (b) childminder agencies Ofsted are considering; and how much it costs Ofsted to carry out inspections of each type of childcare provision. [188901]

Elizabeth Truss: The costs of carrying out inspections are a matter for Ofsted and Her Majesty's chief inspector will be writing to the hon. Member about this. A copy of that letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

In relation to fees for Ofsted registered childminders, the registration fee is currently set at £35, and the annual fee for these childminders is also £35. We will announce the fees for childminder agencies in due course.

Faith Schools

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will review his Department's guidance on school uniform in religion-specific schools to exclude items of clothing of religious significance so that they remain the right of the child to wear or not to wear. [189590]

Mr Laws: There are no plans to review the school uniform guidance at this time.

In September 2013 we published clear guidance to all schools, including academies and free schools, on developing a school uniform policy. This advises schools of the need to have regard to their obligations under equalities legislation, and to act sensibly and fairly in the interests of their students.

We expect schools to take a flexible approach and be willing to consider reasonable requests to vary their uniform policy to accommodate individual pupils' beliefs. We would encourage any parents who have concerns about the uniform policy at their child's school to raise them first with the school, including through the school's published complaints procedure where appropriate.

The guidance can be found here:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform

Free School Meals

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when the decision to let a contract for a package of help and advice on universal free school meals was made; for how much this contract is estimated to amount; and when he expects to announce the provider. [189888]

Mr Laws: We issued an invitation to tender for the universal infant free school meals implementation support contract on 6 December 2013. On 25 February 2014 we confirmed that the successful bidder was the consortium jointly led by the Children's Food Trust and the Lead Association for Catering in Education. We are currently

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finalising the details of the contract, which will have a value of £9.6 million. We plan to launch the service shortly.

Free Schools

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what estimate his Department has made of the cost to it of the 18 free schools cancelled or withdrawn during the pre-opening process; [189323]

(2) what proportion of the 18 cancelled free school applications were in (a) Yorkshire and (b) London; [189396]

(3) what representations he has received from each of the providers of the 18 free schools which had a scheme cancelled or withdrawn; and if he will make a statement; [189395]

(4) how many of the 18 cancelled free school applications had a site purchased and assigned to the school. [189397]

Mr Timpson: As of 27 February 2014, 19 free school applications had been cancelled or withdrawn during the pre-opening process. Details on expenditure on cancelled or withdrawn free schools projects are published online and regularly updated:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/revenue-expenditure-for-free-schools

The 19 schools include one school that went on to open as a university technical college and another which opened as a sponsored academy instead. Of the remaining 17 schools, five were to be based in Yorkshire and Humber and four in London.

Whenever a free school project is to be cancelled or withdrawn, the Department for Education discusses this with the relevant free school trust. The Department also seeks to reclaim any project development grants that remain unspent.

There are no instances where a site has been purchased or assigned specifically to a single free school project that was then cancelled or withdrawn. However, there is one instance where a site was purchased which was to be shared by two free school projects. One of those has now been cancelled or withdrawn. The Education Funding Agency is working with the remaining free school trust and the local authority in order to determine the usage of this site.

Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 217W, on free schools, how many of the free schools that have a rental or leasehold agreement for the site of their school are owned by a (a) local authority and (b) company. [189901]

Mr Timpson: We do not hold the information requested centrally for all open free school sites and collating it would incur disproportionate cost.

Internet: Bullying

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department gives to schools in assisting parents and pupils to tackle social media bullying which occurs outside of school time. [189501]

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Elizabeth Truss: The Government recognise that educating pupils about e-safety is key to tackling cyberbullying and protecting children online.

From September 2014, e-safety will be taught at all four key stages. It covers responsible, respectful and secure use of technology, as well as ensuring that pupils are taught age-appropriate ways of reporting any concerns they may have about what they see or encounter online.

In addition the Department is providing over £4 million funding over two years from spring 2013 to four anti-bullying organisations. These include BeatBullying, the Diana Award, Kidscape and the National Children's Bureau. While this funding has been awarded to specific projects to reduce bullying in general this can, and does, include work to tackle cyberbullying.

More widely, the Government are working to protect children online through the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) which brings together representatives from government, industry, law enforcement, academia, charities and parenting groups.

The Government have also ensured that all internet customers will be given the opportunity to install free and easy to use filters which can be used by parents to prevent their children from accessing harmful content.

Kings Science Academy

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education on what basis he concluded that all the critical information regarding Kings Science Academy Bradford had been passed on to Action Fraud. [189348]

Mr Timpson: As I have stated previously, officials at the Department for Education reported the case by telephone to Action Fraud's national call centre on 25 April 2013. An additional telephone call was made to West Yorkshire Police's Economic Crime Unit, who confirmed that this was the correct way to report fraud and that no further action was required.

On 1 November 2013, a call was received from Action Fraud in which they apologised for their handling of the Department's report, stating that they had wrongly categorised the call as an information report when it should have been a crime report. There has never been any suggestion from the police or Action Fraud that the report lacked any critical information or was not reported correctly.

Languages: Education

Mr Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the differences in the teaching of modern languages in state-funded comprehensive schools and in mainstream independent secondary schools. [R] [189324]

Elizabeth Truss: No formal research has been conducted into this issue. However, informal analysis suggests that the key features of good practice in languages teaching in independent schools and in state schools with outstanding languages teaching are the same. Common features include high levels of teacher subject knowledge, teaching being supported by strong extra-curricular activities including school trips, and strong support from school leaders.

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The new curriculum for foreign languages at key stage 2 (ages 7-11) and the more demanding curriculum for modern foreign languages at key stage 3 (ages 11-14), which come into force from September 2014, will raise the quality of language teaching in state schools. The inclusion of a modern or ancient language in the English Baccalaureate is already encouraging more young people to take a language at GCSE level. The numbers sitting a language GCSE are now at a five-year-high.

Mandarin: Curriculum

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to expand the UK languages curriculum to encompass Mandarin. [189489]

Elizabeth Truss: The Prime Minister has pledged to increase the number of people learning Mandarin Chinese in the UK from 200,000 to 400,000 by 2020. Offering more young people the chance to learn Mandarin will help in our efforts to encourage mobility between the UK and China and help ensure the long-term success of our economy and society.

A number of organisations are carrying out activity to further these aims. The British Council is working with Hanban, the Office of Chinese Language Council International, to increase demand for Mandarin teaching in UK schools and to address accessibility, for example by increasing the provision of Chinese Language Assistants. The Institute of Education's Confucius Institute is working with HSBC to promote more teaching of Mandarin in primary schools; and the Confucius Institute is also running the ‘Accelerating Mandarin Chinese for London’ programme. The grant for this comes from the £24 million London Schools Excellence Fund, set up by the Mayor of London, with funding from the Department for Education. The Department is taking a close interest in this work and providing encouragement and support at a high level.

We have also introduced a foreign language at key stage 2 (ages seven to 11) as part of the new national curriculum which comes into force from September 2014; and the inclusion of a modern or ancient language in the English Baccalaureate is already encouraging more young people to take a language at GCSE level. The numbers sitting a language GCSE are now at a five-year-high, with entries for Chinese rising by around 20% in 2012-13.

Maternity Pay

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the standard level and duration is of contractual maternity pay paid to civil servants in his Department. [189080]

Elizabeth Truss: In 2007 the provision for employers to pay statutory maternity pay increased from 26 weeks to 39 weeks. As a result the Department for Education increased their maternity leave package, from 28 weeks at full pay to 28 weeks at full pay plus 11 weeks at statutory maternity pay, to ensure the policy remained compliant with the legislation change. This arrangement remains in place.

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Pagers

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pagers have been provided to staff by his Department since May 2010; and what the cost to the Department was of providing those pagers. [190048]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education does not hold the information requested centrally.

Pre-school Education: Greater London

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of additional early years education places in London resulting from the £8 million funding announced by his Department on 18 December 2013. [189343]

Elizabeth Truss: It is for individual London authorities to determine how best to use their allocation to expand the provision for two, three and four-year-olds. We are encouraging local authorities to support school nurseries to open from eight till six and offer more flexible hours for parents. This will enable more parents to take their free 15 hours of early education for two, three and four-year-olds at convenient times.

Individual local authority allocations to fund the extended early learning programme for two-year-olds for the 2014 to 2015 financial year were published on 18 December 2013 and they are available from gov.uk via this link:

http://bit.ly/1dm83fs

Pupil Exclusions: Autism

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many informal exclusions of students with autism there were in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in England in each of the last four years; [189852]

(2) what guidance his Department offers to schools about the exclusion of students with autism. [189853]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education does not collect data on the use of informal exclusions. The Department's statutory exclusion guidance makes clear that all exclusions from school must be lawful, reasonable and fair. There is no excuse for a school not to adhere to the correct process, and Ofsted takes seriously any evidence that a school has acted unlawfully in excluding a pupil.

The exclusion guidance emphasises to schools the importance of early intervention to address underlying causes of disruptive behaviour, including, where appropriate, an assessment of whether suitable provision is in place to support any special educational needs (SEN) a pupil may have. It also states that head teachers should, as far as possible, avoid excluding permanently any pupil with a statement of SEN.

In addition, the Department is currently providing, over a two-year period, £440,000 in funding to the National Autistic Society. Part of this funding is being used to employ an exclusions adviser who can give

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advice to parents and professionals to help prevent unlawful exclusion and reduce the need for formal exclusion from school.

The Department will continue to work with National Autistic Society, Ambitious about Autism and other groups to help improve provision for children and young people with autism.

Schools

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what analysis his Department has carried out of the comparable value for money of (a) community schools other than academies and (b) free schools. [189394]

Mr Laws: The Department for Education carried out a review of efficiency in the school system in 2013 and the final report was published in June 2013. The report can be found at:

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/b0069984/vfm

One of the proposals from the review was to develop a new indicator to provide a simple way for schools to compare their overall efficiency against other schools. The Department is currently in the process of developing such an indicator, which will be published as part of a benchmarking report card for each school or academy trust. The report card will show a school's key financial and performance data as compared with similar schools and we plan to send this out annually to all schools and academies.

Currently, spend data for both maintained schools and academy trusts is published annually alongside the performance tables at:

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/

The finance data are taken from the consistent financial reporting returns, submitted by all maintained schools, and the account returns data for academy trusts. The schools and academies whose data are published in the financial tables are grouped into three broad categories by free school meals bands (high, medium and low), so comparisons can be made between the spending patterns of similar institutions.

The National Audit Office reported in ‘Establishing Free Schools’ (December 2013) that new free schools have been established quickly and at relatively low cost. For example, free schools' average construction costs have been approximately 45% lower than costs in other school building programmes. The report can be found at:

http://www.nao.org.uk/report/establishing-free-schools

Schools: Admissions

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many school places in non-free schools have been provided in the UK between 2010 and 2014. [189377]

Mr Laws: The Department for Education collects information from each local authority on the number of available school places (school capacity) in state-funded primary and secondary schools (except special schools) through an annual survey. Local authorities are also required to provide estimates of future pupil numbers,

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which indicates the number of places that will be needed. The most recent data available relate to the position at May 2013:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-capacity-academic-year-2012-to-2013

The following table shows the number of non-free school places in state-funded primary and secondary schools that were available in England between 2010 and 2013:

Schools: Finance

Mr Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when the Government expect to publish its detailed consultation on the National Funding Formula for schools. [190025]

Mr Laws: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the right hon. Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), announced in June that we would consult on how best to introduce a national fair funding formula, which will mean that all areas receive a fair allocation of school funding. We will announce the next steps shortly.

Schools: Standards

Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the performance of schools sponsored by (a) AET and (b) Oasis; and if he will make a statement. [189444]

Mr Timpson: The Department for Education monitors the performance of all academies, including those that are part of Multi Academy Trusts such as AET and Oasis. Performance data for all AET and Oasis academies are published in the Department's performance tables, which can be found at

www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance

Where academies are seriously underperforming of not making sufficient progress, the Department will intervene by issuing a Pre-Warning Notice (PWN) and require that the Academy Trust provides an improvement action plan. All PWNs are published on the gov.uk.website. Where improvements are not being made quickly enough, Academy Trusts are prevented from taking on additional academies or alternative sponsors will be found.

Special Educational Needs

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what support and training exists in England for teachers to improve their ability to teach students with autism; [189854]

(2) what requirements there are for maintained schools to have access to a specialist autism teacher. [189855]

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Mr Timpson: The Department for Education is funding the Autism Education Trust £1.5 million over 2013-15 to provide autism training at three levels. This work builds on similar grant-funded support in 2011-13 by widening the training from schools to include early years providers and further education colleges and to cover the whole of England.

It is for schools and local authorities to decide how best to organise their support for autistic children. All schools are expected to ensure that teachers have a good understanding of special educational needs (SEN) and are able to adapt teaching accordingly. The draft SEN Code of Practice requires this to be reflected in a school's performance management and professional development for teachers and support staff. All new school SEN co-ordinators must have received training to take on the role and that training covers different types of SEN, including autism.

The Department is also supporting Nasen to develop a SEN gateway which will provide access to a range of free, quality-assured resources and training materials. This includes introductory and advanced materials on autism spectrum disorder.

Teachers: Surveys

Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Cardiff West, Official Report, column 360W, on teachers: surveys; on what date he plans to publish the findings of the Teacher Workload Diary Survey 2013. [190003]

Mr Laws: The Department for Education published the 2013 Teacher Workload Survey on 28 February. The report setting out the survey's findings can be seen at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-workload-diary-survey-2013

Business, Innovation and Skills

Adult Education: Northamptonshire

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many people in Corby and East Northamptonshire constituency are enrolled in adult skills sessions; [189419]

(2) what estimate he has made of the number of adults in (a) Corby and East Northamptonshire constituency, (b) Northamptonshire and (c) the East Midlands who are unable to (i) read and (ii) write; [189421]

(3) how many apprenticeships were started in the Corby and East Northamptonshire constituency in each industrial sector in each of the last five years; [189422]

(4) how many new apprenticeships were started in Corby and East Northamptonshire constituency in each of the last five years; and what the (a) age group and (b) gender of each such apprentice was. [189423]

Matthew Hancock: Final data for the 2012-13 academic year show that there were 6,000 adult (19+) learners participating in further education and skills in Corby parliamentary constituency.

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The 2011 Skills for Life survey Small Area modelled estimates¹ provide information on the proportion of adults aged 16-65 with above and below the ‘functional literacy’ threshold². The data do not separate reading and writing.

The following table shows estimates for the proportion of people with below Level 1 literacy for Corby parliamentary constituency, Northamptonshire Local Enterprise Partnership³ (based on an aggregation of Northamptonshire local authority estimates) and the East Midlands region⁴.

Apprenticeship data are not available by industrial sector. Learners may undertake a wide range of apprenticeship frameworks within one industry. Apprenticeship starts by geography (including parliamentary constituency) and sector subject area are published in a supplementary table to the SFR:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140107201041/http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/580C5BA0-9661-4224-A3D5-EE508DA6F5B4/0/Oct2013_Apprenticeships_SSA_Geography_Starts.xls

Apprenticeship starts by geography (including parliamentary constituency) and age are published in a supplementary table to the SFR:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140107201041/http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/3D49B725-2FD2-451E-9A5E-116D788E43F4/0/Nov2013_ApprenticeshipStartsbyGeographyLevelAge.xls

The following table shows apprenticeship starts in Corby parliamentary constituency by gender.

¹ Available online at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/2011-skills-for-life-survey-small-area-estimation-data

accessed on 26 February 2014.

² This is defined in the Leitch review as “the level needed to get by in life and work” (HM Treasury [December 2006] ‘Leitch Review of Skills. Prosperity for all in the global economy—world class skills. Final Report’, p. 43.) Level 1 is equivalent to GCSE grades D-G. Adults with skills below Level 1 can read or write, but their skills may be limited; for example, they may not be able to read bus or train timetables.

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³ Gibson, A. and P. Hewson (2012) 2011 Skills for Life Survey: Small Area Estimation Technical Report, BIS research report 81C: available online at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/36077/12-1318-2011-skills-for-life-small-area-estimation-technical.pdf

page 73.

⁴ The regional estimate is derived from the sample-based 2011 Skills for Life survey, rather than modelled estimates.

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to increase the participation of older people in further education in Corby and East Northamptonshire constituency. [189420]

Matthew Hancock: Our approach in Corby and East Northamptonshire is the same as across the country—apprenticeships are an all age programme. Outside of apprenticeships, we want to maintain access to learning for older people and to support this we have introduced advanced learning loans for those aged 24 and above studying at level 3 and 4, to help meet up-front course fees and remove one of the main barriers to learning for older people. Community Learning is also an important part of the wider learning and skills offer, engaging people who are most disadvantaged and furthest from learning such as older people. It is funded through an annual budget of £210 million managed by the Skills Funding Agency and most provision is delivered or commissioned by local authority providers, further education colleges, large voluntary organisations and other providers. As part of our plans for local growth, local enterprise partnerships consider how to drive growth in their local areas and Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership has been working on a number of initiatives designed to support skills development, including working with business, education providers and public services to develop a comprehensive skills plan for the county to meet the needs of employers and learners.

Business: Loans

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with banks and payday loan companies on measures to ensure that small and medium-sized businesses are not penalised for repaying loans early. [189266]

Sajid Javid: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Treasury.

Government Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of organisations as part of the usual policy making process.

Decisions about whether to lend to specific individuals or businesses including repayment terms and conditions remain commercial decisions for providers of credit.

Ceramics

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what advice and guidance his Department issues to UK Trade and Investment locations abroad on sourcing ceramic-based promotional material (a) generally and (b) on the Britain is GREAT promotional campaign. [189992]

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Michael Fallon: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not issue any specific guidance to UK Trade & Investment on sourcing ceramic-based promotional items. All procurement, including that for the GREAT Britain campaign, is guided by the Public Contracts Regulations and Cabinet Office guidance.

Disclosure of Information

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when the Government's response to the Whistleblowing framework: Call for Evidence will be published. [189651]

Jenny Willott: The Government aim to publish its response to the call for evidence before Easter recess.

EU External Trade: USA

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness and desirability of the investor-state dispute settlement clause in the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. [189255]

Michael Fallon: The UK has consistently pushed for an ambitious and broad agreement with all issues on the negotiating table. Negotiations are at an early stage and there is at yet no proposed text on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS).

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills commissioned academic research into the impact of investor-state dispute settlement within the context of wider investment protection treaties to inform the UK position with regard to the upcoming investment treaties being negotiated by the EU.

The research developed a framework for analysing the costs and benefits of investment protection treaties as a whole and applied the framework to assess the inclusion of investor-state dispute settlement provisions within proposed EU agreements with China and with the US (the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership). A copy of this research has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Clearly the exact conditions of any investment provisions included in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will be essential in assessing their effectiveness and desirability. The desirability of including an ISDS clause in this agreement would also depend on an assessment of the precedent it would create for agreements with other countries.

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of whether the investor-state dispute settlement clause in the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership would allow corporations to take legal action against EU governments which enact or abide by legislation aimed at protecting human or consumer rights or the environment. [189257]

Michael Fallon: To date the UK has concluded 94 bilateral investment treaties. Negotiations are at an early stage for including similar provisions to those in the treaties in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment

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Partnership. If an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clause is included in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the Government will seek to strike an appropriate balance between protection for UK investors in the US, while at the same time ensuring that the Government's ability to regulate in the public interest is safeguarded.

Exports: Government Assistance

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how his Department is helping small and medium-sized enterprises increase the number of countries to which they export. [189314]

Michael Fallon: Through UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), the Government provide a wide range of services to help companies export. Those services include bespoke reports on specific markets, introductions to potential customers or agents, help with language and cultural issues, events at British embassies and consulates and a business opportunities service. This support is available to companies throughout the UK.

UKTI also organises a wide range of events focused on market opportunities across the globe. For example, my noble Friend the Minister of State for Trade and Investment (Lord Livingston of Parkhead), is leading a delegation of over 60 businesses from across the UK on a trade mission to Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia from 3 to 7 March 2014. In each country, he will support small and medium-sized enterprises to engage in a wide range of business opportunities in this fast-developing region.

JD Wetherspoon

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many meetings there have been between (a) officials and (b) Ministers in his Department and representatives of JD Wetherspoon plc in the last two years. [189778]

Jenny Willott: Details of meetings held by Ministers and permanent secretaries with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found at: gov.uk

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-business-innovation-skills&publication_type=transparency-data

Information requested in respect of other officials' meetings is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.

Land Registry

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will contact Google management to ask them to remove from Google all unofficial websites asking for money for services provided by the Land Registry. [189560]

Michael Fallon: The unofficial websites referred to are not illegal while they are not infringing Land Registry trademarks and displaying that they are independent of Land Registry.

Land Registry closely monitors all websites which use their data to charge for services and that can result in the customer paying additional and unnecessary fees.

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Two websites have been closed down as a result of Land Registry's actions and many others forced to make changes. The only official website is:

www.landregistry.gov.uk

Overseas Trade: India

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress his Department has made on trade deals agreed between India and the UK since the visit by the Prime Minister in 2013. [189020]

Michael Fallon: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister visited India twice in 2013, in February and November, and was accompanied by a total of nearly 120 UK business people over the two trips. UK Trade and Investment has followed up with every company that accompanied the Prime Minister in order to help them expand their business links with India. In the period January—December 2013 the value of UK goods exports to India amounted to £5.05 billion, an increase of 11% over the same period in 2012.

Package Holidays: EU Law

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 168W, on telephone services, when his Department expects to implement the new Package Travel Directive Extending basic rate telephone provision. [189562]

Jenny Willott: The European Commission's proposal for a new package travel directive is currently being negotiated. Member states are usually required to implement directives within two years of adoption. Assuming agreement is reached and the new directive is adopted in early 2015, we would expect to implement it in the UK in 2017.

Pagers

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many pagers have been provided to staff by his Department since May 2010; and what the cost to the Department was of providing those pagers. [190042]

Jenny Willott: The Department has not provided any pagers to staff since May 2010.

Post Offices

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what research his Department has conducted into the social benefit of Post Office branches to local communities. [189529]

Jenny Willott: The Government fully understand and recognises the important role that post offices play in providing a wide range of vital services to the communities that they serve. The Government's policy statement, “Securing the Post Office network in the digital age”, published in November 2010, was clear on this point and made clear commitments that there would be no repeat of the closure programmes of the previous administration that saw nearly 5,000 communities lose

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their post offices. Since 2010 this Government has committed nearly £2 billion to maintain, modernise and protect the Post Office network.

Additionally, the Department funds Consumer Futures via a levy on the postal services sector, allowing it to undertake independent research into the services provided by the Post Office and their effectiveness in meeting customer need.

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support his Department has given to Post Office branches to diversify their services since May 2010. [189530]

Jenny Willott: As shareholder, the Government do not play a role in operational matters, such as providing advice or support to individual subpostmasters. However, the Government have committed nearly £2 billion since 2010 to maintain, modernise, and protect the Post Office network. This includes funding the Network Transformation programme that is seeing investment into thousands of branches, helping subpostmasters to modernise, introduce new operational practices (such as offering longer opening hours and making better use of their premises), and to become more sustainable. For branches where Network Transformation is not a viable option, the Government are providing a £20 million improvement fund to enable those subpostmasters to develop and secure their businesses.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how the £1.3 billion Government investment into the Post Office network will be spent over what time period. [190067]

Jenny Willott: In November 2010, the Government set out its commitments to the Post Office in its policy statement "Securing the Post Office network in the digital age", which include maintaining a network of at least 11,500 branches; complying with strict access criteria; and providing for the modernisation of thousands of post offices. This is being supported by £1.34 billion funding, provided over the following years:

Additionally, in November 2013, Jo Swinson MP announced to Parliament that the Government was committing a further £640 million covering the period April 2015 to March 2018 to ensure the Post Office network continues to be maintained, modernised and protected.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the Post Office network of withdrawing car tax discs administration and similar services. [190068]

Jenny Willott: In December 2013, the DVLA took a decision that car tax discs are to be phased out from October 2014, subject to legislation going through Parliament. DVLA's contract with Post Office Ltd for

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services relating to vehicles and motoring and the impact of any changes to arrangements is a commercial matter for the Post Office and DVLA. However I understand that DVLA customers who choose to pay for their car tax in post offices will continue to be able to do so.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effects of the Government's investment into the Post Office network. [190069]

Jenny Willott: The Government set out clear and ambitious objectives in its 2010 policy statement, “Securing the Post Office network in the digital age”, which are being met and made possible by the funding provided by this Government. This includes maintaining a network that is at its most stable for two decades; a modernisation programme that has seen nearly 2,000 branches improved, with thousands more subpostmasters signed up to modernise over the coming years; a strong Post Office that has negotiated a long term commercial agreement with the Royal Mail, and has won every Government contract that it has bid for over the last two and a half years; and is successfully operating as an independent business for the first time in its history.

Post Offices: West Lothian

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many post offices have been located in (a) Livingston constituency and (b) West Lothian in each of the last five years; [189524]

(2) how many Post Office branches have closed in (a) Livingston constituency and (b) West Lothian in each of the last five years; [189525]

(3) how many Post Office branches in (a) Livingston constituency and (b) West Lothian have reduced their opening hours in each of the last five years; [189526]

(4) how many Post Office branches in (a) Livingston constituency and (b) West Lothian have reduced the number of services on offer in each of the last five years; [189527]

(5) how many people were employed by the Post Office in (a) Livingston constituency and (b) West Lothian in each of the last five years. [189528]

Jenny Willott: The information requested is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, chief executive officer of Post Office Ltd, to reply to the hon. Member directly, and a copy will be placed in the Libraries of the House. However, I would note that the Government has committed nearly £2 billion since 2010, enabling the Post Office to maintain, modernise and protect a network of at least 11,500 branches that is compliant with the strict Government-set access criteria, and also that the network as a whole is at its most stable for two decades.

Skilled Workers

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will publish the most recent UK skills shortage by occupation list. [189989]

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Matthew Hancock: The UK Commission for Employment and Skills published its most recent Employer Skills Survey on 30 January 2013. The survey sets out skills shortages by occupation across the UK and can be accessed via the UK Commissions website

www.ukces.org.uk

Justice

Begging and Vagrancy

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many persons found guilty of begging appealed their conviction in each of the last three years; and how many attempted prosecutions resulted in acquittals in each of the last three years. [189557]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of appeals against conviction or the number of acquittals where appellants or defendants were charged with an offence or offences contrary to Section 3 of the Vagrancy Act 1824 and Section 70 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982 (begging). Such data could not be reasonably obtained locally or nationally other than by a manual exercise at disproportionate cost.

Complaints

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many complaints his Department has received from (a) members of the public and (b) staff in each year since 2010. [189990]

Mr Vara: The information requested in regard to complaints made against the Department by (a) members of the public and (b) staff, is not held centrally and would require every team within MOJ, its Agencies and arm’s length bodies to conduct a search of their files. This would result in disproportionate costs.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average length of time between application to initial award has been for awards issued by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority in each of the last five years. [188590]

Damian Green: The average (mean) time between application receipt and the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) initially deciding the case is as follows for each of the last five full financial years:

These figures are set out in CICA's annual reports. In recent years CICA has been focussing on the cases waiting the longest, which is why the current trend for the time to an initial decision is upwards. CICA expect that trend to continue this year before coming back down again.

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Domestic Violence

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the written answer of 5 February 2014, Official Report, column 287W, on Domestic Violence, what the cost to his Department is of the Building Better Relationships programme. [189335]

Jeremy Wright: The fully apportioned cost to the National Offender Management Service of delivering the Building Better Relationships programme in the community in 2012-13 was £223,000. The programme was introduced during 2012-13.

An equivalent breakdown of the cost of delivering individual accredited programmes in custody is not available from the prison costing system. For this reason it is not possible to derive the total cost to the Department.

Driving Offences

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many notifications of endorsement from a court or fixed penalty office of a driver who meets the criteria of the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995 were sent to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in each of the last five years. [189542]

Mr Vara: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I have given to questions 187575 and 187576 on 13 February 2014, Official Report, column 740W.

Driving Offences: Fines

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much he received from victim surcharges on motoring offences and motoring fixed penalty notices in each year between 2010 and 2013; and what estimate he has made of such receipts in 2014. [185092]

Damian Green: As set out in the Government's response to the consultation 'Getting it Right for Victims and Witnesses', we intend to raise an additional £30 million for victims services through increased motoring fixed penalty notices in 2014. The increases were implemented in August 2013 and there is no data yet available on how much has been raised in the financial year 2013-14. It is not possible to determine Victim Surcharge receipts attributable to motoring offences, as such data is not differentiated by offence type.

It is right that offenders, not taxpayers, foot the bill for the damage offenders cause so in October 2012 the Government increased and extended the Victim Surcharge to ensure criminals pay for victims' services, and that they pay more than they used to. These changes, along with increases to financial penalties including motoring fixed penalty notices, will help generate up to £50 million extra a year from offenders for victims’ services. This is in addition of the £66 million already spent by Government.

Electronic Tagging

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress his Department has made with the Information Commissioner on development of a code of practice for the electronic monitoring of offenders; and when such a code of practice will be published. [189204]

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Jeremy Wright: The Crime and Courts Act 2013 provides a power for the courts to impose location monitoring (GPS tracking) as a requirement of a community order or a suspended sentence order. We are currently completing the new electronic monitoring contracts. The Ministry of Justice will consult the Information Commissioner about the Code of Practice before commencing the electronic monitoring provisions in the Crime and Courts Act 2013, in accordance with the commitment given to Parliament during the passage of the Bill.

Government Procurement Card

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much has been spent by his Department using a Government Procurement Card on (a) temporary recruitment of staff, (b) catering and catering supplies, (c) clubs, associations and organisations, (d) office stationery equipment and supplies, (e) car rental, (f) hotels and accommodation, (g) restaurants and bars and (h) leisure activities in each of the last five years. [189744]

Mr Vara: To provide the data on MOJ departmental GPC spend in the format that the right hon. Member has requested would incur disproportionate costs.

Homicide: Victim Support Schemes

Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to help families bereaved through homicide after the Homicide Service has finished its work in their case. [188615]

Damian Green: The Ministry of Justice currently provides funding for a Homicide Service delivered by Victim Support, and is commissioning future service provision to families bereaved by homicide beyond the end of the current funding arrangements in October 2014. Our aim in funding a national Homicide Service is to provide support to families based on need and entitlement to, and provision of this support, is not therefore timebound.

Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what homicide services are being funded by his Department to help families bereaved through homicide committed before April 2010. [188616]

Damian Green: During 2013-14 the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has provided a total of £100,000 in funding to three specialist therapy organisations, ASSIST Trauma Care, Winston's Wish and Cruse Bereavement Care, to provide counselling and trauma care for those bereaved through homicide pre-2010. The. MOJ has also provided funding of £250,000 in total to 13 peer support groups, which provide help and advice to those bereaved through homicide at any time.

Hunting: Convictions

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions for illegal taking of game there have been in the UK in each of the last three years. [189271]

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Damian Green: The Government are committed to tackling wildlife crime, including through the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime. It works hard to support the police and other law enforcement agencies that have primary responsibility for enforcing wildlife controls.

The number of offenders found guilty of offences relating to the illegal taking of game in England and Wales, from 2008 to 2012 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.

England and Wales related court proceedings statistics for these offences for calendar year 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014 as part of the annual Criminal Justice Statistics publication.

Justice Statistics for Scotland and Northern Ireland are a matter for the relevant devolved administration.

Legal Aid Scheme

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average payment was; and how many payments were made to legal aid providers for judicial review cases that were refused at permission stage in each of the last five years. [188237]

Mr Vara: At a cost of around £2 billion a year we have one of the most expensive legal aid systems in the world. We have made changes and proposed further reforms to reduce the cost of legal aid and to ensure that the legal aid system commands the confidence of the public. The Government are committed to providing value for money for the taxpayer and making legal aid sustainable for the future.

Judicial review is an important way of challenging decisions by public authorities and will remain so. The following table shows the volume and mean legal aid costs claimed for all work on judicial review cases which ended after permission was refused by the court for each of the last five years.

Our recently announced changes to legal aid funding for judicial review cases aim to ensure that meritless cases no longer receive taxpayer funding by only paying legal aid providers for work carried out if permission is granted or where the LAA exercises its discretion to pay

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the provider in a case where proceedings are issued but the case concludes prior to a permission decision being made.

These figures include the legal aid costs on those cases where costs were met in full or in part by the other party in the case.

The LAA has used outcome data reported by providers to establish whether or not a case ended after permission was refused. Due to errors when outcomes are reported to the LAA, there may be additional cases where permission was refused that cannot be identified from LAA data. Furthermore, as the data are live they may be subject to further changes and will differ slightly from the data provided previously in our impact assessment on the recent legal aid changes.

The following data are correct as at 17 February 2014.

Members: Correspondence

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will direct the governor of HM Young Offender Institution Deerbolt to respond to the letter dated 24 January 2014 from the hon. Member for Hartlepool. [189704]

Jeremy Wright: The governor of HM Young Offender Institution Deerbolt has responded to the letter dated 24 January 2014 on 21 February 2014.

Ministers

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many complaints have been received against named Ministers of his Department from (a) his Department's staff and staff of its agencies and (b) members of the public since May 2010. [189945]

Mr Vara: The information requested is not held centrally and would require every team within MOJ, its agencies and arm’s-length bodies to conduct a search of their files. This would result in disproportionate costs.

Prison Sentences

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many people were convicted of (a) burglary, (b) sexual assault, (c) grievous bodily harm, (d) rape, (e) manslaughter, (f) attempted murder, (g) forgery, (h) fraud, (i) theft of a motor vehicle, (j) theft from a person, (k) robbery, (l) sexual activity with a child under 16, (m) sexual activity with a child under 13, (n) sexual assault of a female, (o) rape of a male, (p) rape of a female, (q) sexual assault of a male, (r) child abduction, (s) abandoning children aged under two years, (t) cruelty or neglect of children, (u) wounding or other acts endangering life, (v) causing death by aggravated vehicle-taking, (w) causing death by driving while unlicensed or uninsured, (x) causing death of a child or a vulnerable person, (y) causing

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death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs,

(z)

manslaughter due to diminished responsibility,

(aa)

causing death by reckless driving,

(bb)

threat or conspiracy to murder,

(cc)

perverting the course of justice,

(dd)

violent disorder,

(ee)

kidnapping,

(ff)

blackmail,

(gg)

intent to supply a controlled drug,

(hh)

possession of a controlled drug,

(ii)

criminal damage,

(jj)

arson,

(kk)

common assault,

(ll)

dangerous driving and

(mm)

firearms offences and received a custodial sentence of (i) less than six months, (ii) less than 12 months, (iii) less than two years and (iv) less than four years in each of the last 12 months; [182211]

(2) what the average length of custodial sentence was for all people convicted of a crime in each year from 2002 to 2013; [182562]

(3) what the average length was of custodial sentence given to those convicted of (a) burglary, (b) sexual assault, (c) grievous bodily harm, (d) rape, (e) manslaughter, (f) attempted murder, (g) forgery, (h) fraud, (i) theft of a motor vehicle, (j) theft from a person, (k) robbery, (l) sexual activity with a child under 16 years, (m) sexual activity with a child under 13 years, (n) sexual assault of a female, (o) rape of a male, (p) rape of a female, (q) sexual assault of a male, (r) child abduction, (s) abandoning children aged under two years, (t) cruelty or neglect of children, (u) wounding or other acts endangering life, (v) causing death by aggravated vehicle-taking, (w) causing death by driving while unlicensed or uninsured, (x) causing death of a child or a vulnerable person, (y) causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs, (z) manslaughter due to diminished responsibility, (aa) causing death by reckless driving, (bb) threat or conspiracy to murder, (cc) perverting the course of justice, (dd) violent disorder, (ee) kidnapping, (ff) blackmail, (gg) intent to supply a controlled drug, (hh) possession of a controlled drug, (ii) criminal damage, (jj) arson, (kk) common assault, (ll) dangerous driving and (mm) firearms offences in each year since 2002; [182717]

(4) what proportion of those convicted of (a) burglary, (b) sexual assault, (c) grievous bodily harm, (d) rape, (e) manslaughter, (f) attempted murder, (g) forgery, (h) fraud, (i) theft of a motor vehicle, (j) theft from a person, (k) robbery, (l) sexual activity with a child under 16 years, (m) sexual activity with a child under 13 years, (n) sexual assault of a female, (o) rape of a male, (p) rape of a female, (q) sexual assault of a male, (r) child abduction, (s) abandoning children aged under two years, (t) cruelty or neglect of children, (u) wounding or other acts endangering life, (v) causing death by aggravated vehicle-taking, (w) causing death by driving while unlicensed or uninsured, (x) causing death of a child or a vulnerable person, (y) causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs, (z) manslaughter due to diminished responsibility, (aa) causing death by reckless driving, (bb) threat or conspiracy to murder, (cc) perverting the course of justice, (dd) violent disorder, (ee) kidnapping, (ff) blackmail, (gg) intent to supply a controlled drug, (hh) possession of a controlled drug, (ii) criminal damage, (jj) arson, (kk) common assault, (ll) dangerous driving and (mm) firearms offences received a custodial sentence in each year since 2002; [182718]

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(5) in how many and what proportion of cases of (a) burglary, (b) sexual assault, (c) grievous bodily harm, (d) rape, (e) manslaughter, (f) attempted murder, (g) forgery, (h) fraud, (i) theft of a motor vehicle, (j) theft from a person, (k) robbery, (l) sexual activity with a child under 16 years, (m) sexual activity with a child under 13 years, (n) sexual assault of a female, (o) rape of a male, (p) rape of a female, (q) sexual assault of a male, (r) child abduction, (s) abandoning children aged under two years, (t) cruelty or neglect of children, (u) wounding or other acts endangering life, (v) causing death by aggravated vehicle-taking, (w) causing death by driving while unlicensed or uninsured, (x) causing death of a child or a vulnerable person, (y) causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs, (z) manslaughter due to diminished responsibility, (aa) causing death by reckless driving, (bb) threat or conspiracy to murder, (cc) perverting to course of justice, (dd) violent disorder, (ee) kidnapping, (ff) blackmail, (gg) intent to supply a controlled drug, (hh) possession of a controlled drug, (ii) criminal damage, (jj) arson, (kk) common assault, (ll) dangerous driving and (mm) firearms offences in 2012 which resulted in a non-custodial sentence a victim impact statement was read out in court; [182719]

(6) in how many and what proportion of cases of (a) burglary, (b) sexual assault, (c) grievous bodily harm, (d) rape, (e) manslaughter, (f) attempted murder, (g) forgery, (h) fraud, (i) theft of a motor vehicle, (j) theft from a person, (k) robbery, (l) sexual activity with a child under 16 years, (m) sexual activity with a child under 13 years, (n) sexual assault of a female, (o) rape of a male, (p) rape of a female, (q) sexual assault of a male, (r) child abduction, (s) abandoning children aged under two years, (t) cruelty or neglect of children, (u) wounding or other acts endangering life, (v) causing death by aggravated vehicle-taking, (w) causing death by driving while unlicensed or uninsured, (x) causing death of a child or a vulnerable person, (y) causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs, (z) manslaughter due to diminished responsibility, (aa) causing death by reckless driving, (bb) threat or conspiracy to murder, (cc) perverting the course of justice, (dd) violent disorder, (ee) kidnapping, (ff) blackmail, (gg) intent to supply a controlled drug, (hh) possession of a controlled drug, (ii) criminal damage, (jj) arson, (kk) common assault, (ll) dangerous driving and (mm) firearms offences in 2012 which resulted in a custodial sentence a victim impact statement was read out in court; [182720]

(7) what proportion of persons convicted were given custodial sentences in each year from 2002 to 2013. [182763]

Jeremy Wright: Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts, within the maximum penalty set by Parliament for the offence. Since 2010, those who break the law are now more likely to go to prison, and they go to prison for longer. In 2012, 26% of offenders convicted of an indictable offence were sentenced to immediate custody with an average sentence length of 17.0 months compared with 24% of offenders convicted of an indictable offence in 2010 with an average custodial sentence length of 16.2 months. This Government are creating a tough justice system with severe penalties

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available for serious offenders. We have already introduced automatic life sentences for a second serious sexual or violent offence, and we have announced plans to end automatic early release for child rapists, terrorists and all dangerous offenders. Our radical reforms to rehabilitation will mean for the first time every offender leaving prison spends at least 12 months under supervision, where currently around 50,000 are released each year with no statutory support. This will start to address the scandalous gap that allows our most chaotic offenders to leave prison with no support or supervision to turn their lives around.

The table shows for offences referred to in the questions above, and for total offences, the number of offenders convicted, sentenced and sentenced to immediate custody in England and Wales, 2002 to 2012 (latest available). The table includes the custody rate, a breakdown of sentence length and the average custodial sentence length. Data for 2013 will be published in May 2014.

The data requested are a sub-set of those sentenced for indictable offences in this period and exclude data on a range of other serious offences (particularly some sexual and drug offences). It is inadvisable to draw conclusions on sentencing practice based on figures for individual offences which may be misleading when small numbers are sentenced. The overall immediate custody rate and average custodial sentence length for indictable offences have both increased since 2002.

Custody rates are highest for the most serious offences.

Data are not centrally held that would allow us to separately identify whether, in all the cases for the offences listed which resulted in a custodial and non-custodial sentence, a victim impact statement was read out in court. As such, this information can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

The table will be placed in the Library of the House.

Prison Service

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the prison officer to prison ratio was in each prison in each month since May 2010. [181117]

Jeremy Wright: Staffing levels are being reviewed prison by prison as part of a ‘benchmarking approach’.

Benchmarking has been agreed with the unions and the NAO has commented that the wider strategy for the prison estate is the most coherent and comprehensive for many years. It delivers efficiencies while ensuring that public sector prisons operate safely, decently and securely.

Benchmarking optimises the skills of staff by introducing new ways of working and puts all prison officers in prisoner facing roles.

The information requested has been placed in the Library. Information is available for both public and private sector establishments up until 30 September 2013. Information on officer numbers in private sector prisons up until 31 December 2013, the latest available period, is not held by NOMS and needs to be requested from each provider. I will write to you again when the information covering both public and private sector establishments is available.

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Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions wing closures occurred due to shortfalls in staffing in each prison, in each month since May 2010. [189716]

Jeremy Wright: The information regarding the number of occasions on which wing closures have occurred due to shortfalls in staffing in each prison is not collated centrally and is collected in different formats in each prison. The processes required to collect this data would incur disproportionate costs.

Prison Service: North East

Mrs Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the cost to the public purse was of (a) transportation, (b) accommodation and (c) total expenditure for staff seconded on detached duty from each (i) prison and (ii) young offenders institute in the North East in the last year for which figures are available; [184295]

(2) how many staff of each (a) prison and (b) young offenders institution in the North East have taken detached duty in each year since 2010; and how many of those staff took detached duty on a (i) voluntary and (ii) compulsory basis. [184296]

Jeremy Wright: Information on the number of staff taking detached duty from prisons in the North East, and the associated cost, is not available centrally and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

It is possible to identify expenses paid in connection with long-term detached duty since the introduction of new systems in April 2012. The records indicate that no staff from the North East area were posted on long-term detached duty during 2012-13.

Prisoners

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether there is a difference in treatment of prisoners who maintain their innocence and those who admit their guilt; and if he will make a statement. [189336]

Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Service must accept the verdicts of the courts and it follows that convicted prisoners have to be treated as being guilty of their offence(s). However, some allowance is made in the Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) policy for those whose conviction is the subject of a review by a higher court (appellants). Contrary to the position for other convicted prisoners, a recognised appellant who does not take part in offending behaviour programmes will not have that held against them when considering their IEP level.

Prisoners’ Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners on an Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork programme have been placed on a basic level of the Incentives and Earned Privileges scheme in each prison in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013. [189820]

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Jeremy Wright: Information on the numbers of prisoners on the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork programme who were placed on the basic level of the Incentives and Earned Privileges scheme is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Re-employment

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2014, Official Report, column 226W, on re-employment, how much was paid to the staff referred to as part of their retirement package. [188060]

Jeremy Wright: The information for the combined amount of pension and lump sum awarded to the 14 members of staff concerned in their retirement package is set out in the following table.

Sexual Offences: Preston

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were convicted in Preston for breaching their sex offenders order in each of the last five years. [189486]

Norman Baker: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.

A Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) can be imposed where an offender has been convicted of a relevant sexual or violent offence and prohibitions are necessary to protect the public from serious sexual harm.

Data on the total number of registered sex offenders who were sent to custody for breach of their SOPO are published in the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) annual report. Data for Lancashire are set out in the table below.

A further breakdown of this data below MAPPA area is not collected centrally. The MAPPA reports for 2009-13 may be found on the GOV.uk website. Reports published prior to 2009 may be found on the national archives website.

Temporary Employment

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many temporary staff have been recruited by his Department and its agencies in each month since May 2010. [189838]

Mr Vara: The use of temporary staff enables the Department to respond flexibly to any changes in demand for our services. They can also provide a cost-effective

4 Mar 2014 : Column 808W

and flexible way of filling posts for a short time, when the necessary skills are not already available in-house. The numbers of both temporary and permanent staff have fallen since September 2010.

Temporary/casual employees are those that have a fixed term contract with a specific end date or are employed on a casual basis.

The following table provides the information on the number of temporary staff recruited by the Ministry of Justice for the period May 2010 to December 2013. The figures relate to anyone recruited to any temporary contract of any length.

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Violent and Sex Offender Register: Preston

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in Preston are on the sex offenders register. [189494]

Norman Baker: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.

Data on the total number of registered sexual offenders managed under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) is published in the MAPPA annual report. The most recent report was published on 31 October 2013 and shows that 1,542 registered sex offenders were managed under MAPPA in Lancashire in 2012-13. A more detailed breakdown below MAPPA area is not collected centrally.

The MAPPA report for 2012-13 may be found on the GOV.uk website.

Witnesses: Protection

Sir Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to provide courts with additional powers to prevent the media harassment of witnesses nominally granted anonymity; and if he will make a statement. [188134]

Damian Green: The Government currently have no plans to do so. While witnesses who are subject to reporting restrictions which prohibit the publication of their identity can be approached by representatives of the media, the Editors Code of Practice prohibits intimidation, harassment or persistent pursuit.

Furthermore the courts have the power to find anyone molesting, assaulting or threatening a witness who is going to or returning from court in contempt, and under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 harassing a person is a criminal offence.

Young Offenders: Suicide

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the independent review into the self-inflicted deaths of 18 to 24-year-olds in custody will take into account the specific risks for young women in custody. [189776]

Jeremy Wright: We are committed to the safety of prisoners and to preventing deaths in custody, including young adult women. The independent review into the

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self-inflicted deaths of 18 to 24-year-olds in custody will examine the learning from all deaths since 2007 in this age group, including of young women. The terms of reference of this review can be found at

http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/deaths-in-custody-independent-review

Youth Custody

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what budgetary savings have been delivered by each planned reduction in the size of the youth secure estate over the last 10 years. [189761]

Jeremy Wright: The youth custodial population has fallen significantly in recent years and this has allowed considerable excess capacity to be decommissioned.

The Youth Justice Board (YJB) is responsible for purchasing places in the youth custodial estate. Between 2004-05 and 2006-07 there was a small increase in the size of the youth estate. Capacity of the estate then remained constant until 2009-10 when the YJB began a programme of decommissioning in response to falls in demand for youth custody. The budgetary savings to the YJB delivered by each planned reduction in the youth secure estate since 2009-10 total £76 million.

Defence

Afghanistan

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK armed forces personnel are currently stationed at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy as mentors. [189296]

Mr Francois: Currently there are 105 UK armed forces personnel filling the role of mentors at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy.

Africa

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what material support the UK army is offering under the Defence and Security Cooperation Treaty to French troops deployed in Mali and the Central African Republic. [189487]

Mr Francois: The UK is not offering any British Army equipment or personnel support to French troops deployed in Mali and the Central African Republic under the Lancaster House Treaties of 2010.

However, other UK support has been provided to support both French and international military operations in Mali and the Central African Republic. I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 18 November 2013, Official Report, columns 699-700W, to the hon. Member for York Central (Hugh Bayley), on 16 December 2013, Official Report, column 476W, to the hon. Member for Moray (Angus Robertson) and on 6 January 2014, Official Report, column 14W, to the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh).

The UK is also providing one staff officer in Greece to assist with operational planning for an EU Mission in the Central African Republic.

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Aircraft Carriers

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what air assets can carry an entire F135 jet engine and deliver it to the Queen Elizabeth class carrier. [189468]

Mr Dunne: The F-35 jet engine, which is also known as the F135, as a whole unit cannot be transported by any of the Ministry of Defence's rotary wing assets. The F-35 engine is typically broken down into smaller modules for transportation. The heaviest module is the engine power module which a Chinook aircraft is capable of carrying as an underslung load to deliver it to the Queen Elizabeth class carrier.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) with reference to the National Audit Office's Major Project Report 2013 Appendices and project summary sheets, what steps he is taking to mitigate the risk posed by insufficient maritime intra-theatre lift assets to support the Joint Combat Aircraft operations aboard Queen Elizabeth class carriers identified in that report; [189471]

(2) what assessment he has made of the ability of the V-22 Osprey to conduct maritime intra-theatre lift to support (a) routine operations aboard Queen Elizabeth class carriers and (b) Joint Combat Aircraft operations aboard Queen Elizabeth class carriers; [189472]

(3) what assets are available for Maritime Intra-Theatre lift to support the Joint Combat Aircraft aboard Queen Elizabeth class carriers when those aircraft enter service. [189507]

Mr Dunne: Maritime intra-theatre lift (MITL) is the movement of passengers, mail and cargo between land and sea and within maritime platform groups; movements in support of the Joint Combat Aircraft will form an element of the total MITL requirement. The Response Force Task Group, of which the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers will form a part, includes a range of assets to achieve MITL, including: afloat support, ship's boats, embarked aircraft and other tactical and strategic lift capabilities.

We expect that the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers will remain in service for up to 50 years. Over this time, a number of complimentary programmes will deliver supporting capabilities, some of which will be related to, and able to deliver, MITL, and are in the Concept Phase of development.