NATO

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects NATO's Computer Incident Response Capability to reach full operating capacity. [189682]

Dr Murrison: NATO's Computer Incident Response Capability (NCIRC) delivers centralised protection for many NATO sites. The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) has recently undertaken a major upgrade of NCIRC's capability with enhancements delivered in monitoring of core networks on NATO sites on a 24/7 basis. NCIA will continue to manage the upgrade of NCIRC's capability to best protect NATO owned systems from the evolving threat.

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with (a) the NATO Secretary-General and (b) his NATO counterparts on bringing cyber-attacks against a member state under the article 5 framework; and if he will make a statement. [189683]

Dr Murrison: The NATO Defence Ministerial on 26-27 February 2014 discussed a number of capability related issues including cyber defence. While cyber defence remains primarily a national responsibility, we want to improve NATO's ability to address cyber threats by focusing on the Alliance's ability to protect its own networks, share information and best practices, and conduct cyber defence training and exercises. Any decision to invoke article 5 of the Washington treaty is taken by NATO's North Atlantic Council.

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy on the use of cloud computing by NATO is; and if he will make a statement. [189687]

Dr Murrison: Cloud computing by NATO is under active consideration by Allies. We will be careful to ensure that the technical, security and financial aspects are rigorously examined.

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many NATO cyber exercises took place in each year from 2010; and how many such exercises are planned for 2014. [189696]

Dr Murrison: In 2010 there was one cyber exercise at NATO. In 2011 there were two exercises with a significant cyber dimension. In 2012 and 2013 there were five such exercises. There are seven NATO wide cyber exercises planned for 2014.

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Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress he has made on improving NATO's cyber defence governance; and if he will make a statement. [189823]

Dr Murrison: We have made good progress on improving cyber defence governance in NATO. We have focused on NATO's ability to protect its own information to ensure the Alliance is better able to respond effectively across the phases of a crisis.

NATO Response Force

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what UK assets are currently assigned to NATO's Immediate Response Force. [190346]

Dr Murrison: The UK routinely assigns maritime, air and land assets to NATO's Immediate Response Force.

The specific detail of those assets assigned is classified and cannot be released.

Pagers

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 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. [190047]

Mr Dunne: In May 2010, there were 3,497 pagers in use by Ministry of Defence staff at a cost of around £14,000 per month. In December 2013, there were 2,463 pagers in use at a cost of around £9.600 per month across Defence. The number of pagers in December 2013 is 1,034 fewer than in May 2010. Information on the number of pagers issued since May 2010 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Work and Pensions

Access to Work Programme

Mike Thornton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to promote Remploy's Access to Work Mental Health Support Service to small and medium-sized enterprises. [190109]

Mike Penning: Information about Access to Work's Mental Health Support Service (MHSS), delivered by Remploy, was included in the Access to Work marketing campaign that took place during 2013. This campaign targeted under-represented groups such as small and medium enterprises.

We are including messages about the MHSS in the Disability Confident campaign, launched in July 2013, which aims to support employers to recruit, retain and develop more disabled people. We are working closely with the Federation of Small Businesses, who are supporting the campaign.

In addition to this, Remploy are promoting the MHSS through a variety of communication channels.

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Health and Safety Executive

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Health and Safety Executive (HSE) officials were appointed to the Steering Group which considered the recommendations of the Maitland Review of the regulatory regime in the offshore oil and gas industry; how many HSE officials have worked on that Steering Group to date; and for how long in each such case. [190074]

Mike Penning: The Health and Safety Executive was represented by one official on the Maitland Steering Group throughout 2012. Two other HSE officials also attended meetings depending on the issues under discussion.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many inspectors have been recruited to the Health and Safety Executive's Energy Division since October 2013. [190075]

Mike Penning: Since October 2013, four full-time and one part-time (0.3) inspectors have been externally recruited to the Health and Safety Executive's Energy Division. One inspector has been recruited internally from HSE's Field Operations Directorate.

Housing Benefit: Cannock Chase

Mr Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Cannock Chase under the age of 25 years old are in receipt of housing benefit. [189969]

Steve Webb: The number of people under the age of 25 in receipt of housing benefit in the Cannock Chase constituency is shown in the following table:

Incapacity Benefit

Dame Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit claimants have still to be migrated to employment and support allowance. [189693]

Mike Penning: This information is published and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool

Guidance for users is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-tabulation-tool-guidance

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Independent Living Fund

Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for the future of the Independent Living Fund; and if he will make a statement. [189615]

Mike Penning: An announcement on the future of the Independent Living Fund will be made shortly.

Motability

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people were leasing a car through the Motability scheme on 1 January 2013; and what proportion of all those eligible to lease a car through that scheme they represent; [189859]

(2) how many people who used the Motability Scheme to lease a car from 1 January 2013 have had the car taken away from them as they no longer receive the higher rate of the mobility component of disability living allowance; [189862]

(3) how many people who were receiving the higher rate of the mobility component of disability living allowance at 1 January 2013 have had this payment stopped; and what proportion of all such recipients of disability living allowance this represents. [189880]

Mike Penning: The information is not available in the format requested or is not held by the Department for Work and Pensions. The Department does not hold information on the numbers of disability living allowance (DLA) higher rate mobility component recipients at the 1 January 2013 or the numbers who have their payment stopped.

This information can be obtained only at disproportionate costs.

As an independent charitable organisation, Motability is responsible for collecting its own management information including the number the number of people who had their cars withdrawn because they no longer received the higher rate mobility component of DLA. Questions about Motability can be sent to: Declan O'Mahony, Director, Motability, Warwick House, Roydon Road, Harlow, Essex CM19 5PX.

Personal Independence Payment

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he publish data by age range on new claims for personal independence payment made between 8 April and 31 December 2013; [190104]

(2) how many 16 to 24-year-olds have been reassessed for personal independence payments to date. [190105]

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who have indicated they are living with HIV (a) applied for personal independence payment and (b) received a decision about their claim between April and December 2013. [190249]

Mike Penning: Personal independence payment (PIP) started from April 2013 and although limited data

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have started to feed through, we need to wait until the Department has quality assured, meaningful figures for publication. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity. We intend to publish official statistics on PIP from spring 2014 in line with our publication strategy

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284330/pip_stats_release_ strategy_feb14.pdf

An ad-hoc release of PIP information was published on Tuesday 11 February 2014.

Radiation Exposure

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff at nuclear facilities in the UK have tested positive for radiation poisoning in each of the last five years. [190117]

Mike Penning: Radiation poisoning is not defined in UK legislation. A whole body dose, which could result in clinical symptoms of acute radiation exposure, is approximately 1,000 milliSieverts (mSv).

No workers at UK nuclear facilities received doses in excess of 1,000 mSv in the last five-year period for which data are available (2008 to 2012).

Remploy

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will extend the support given to former Remploy workers beyond May 2014. [190266]

Mike Penning: The Government recognised that former Remploy disabled employees may need extra support to find alternative employment. That is why we put in place an £8 million guaranteed People Help and Support Package, specifically to help disabled former Remploy workers made redundant as a result of factory closures. Latest figures show that, as at 21 February 2014, a total of 930 jobs have been found and 699 former Remploy disabled workers are currently in work.

The support package can provide help to each affected disabled former employee for up to 18 months from the date they left Remploy. Access to support from the People Help and Support Package will continue to be available up to August 2015, when the last 18 months People Help and Support Package period will be completed.

Following the end of the 18 months support, former Remploy employees that need it will continue to receive the specialist employment support that is available to all disabled people looking for a job. In most cases this will mean continuation of support from the same adviser.

Self-employed: Industrial Health and Safety

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many self-employed people were fined by the Health and Safety Executive in each year since May 2010. [189983]

Mike Penning: The number of self-employed people fined following prosecution action initiated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is provided in the following table.

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The classification of self-employed includes individuals and self-employed persons, either as sole traders or employers.

Social Security Benefits

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many appeals were made by recipients of welfare benefits against decisions made by his Department in each of the last five years for which data are available; how many such appeals were successful; and what proportion of total appeals they represent; [189876]

(2) what steps he has taken to improve the quality of welfare benefit decisions; [189877]

(3) what assessment he has made in the trends in successful welfare benefit appeals over the last six years. [189878]

Mike Penning: The available information is in the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223548/tribunals-stats-q4-2013.xls

As can be seen the success rates across the benefits has been relatively consistent in recent years.

However, for all welfare benefits we want to reduce the number of appeals that are successful by making sure the Department makes better decisions right the way through the process. In order to do this we have made changes to legislation, with the introduction of mandatory reconsideration, so that there is opportunity to reconsider decisions and for claimants to provide relevant additional evidence sooner in the process, avoiding unnecessary and costly appeals. There has also been considerable progress in the feedback mechanisms from the Tribunal to the Department. These changes are helping to inform continuous improvement work, including new training packages and guidance for decision-makers, concerning the quality of the Department's approach to decision-making throughout the customer journey.

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people who have died within six weeks of their benefits being stopped in each month of (a) 2011, (b) 2012, (c) 2013 and (d) 2014 to date. [190039]

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to section 1c of the Report a benefit thief online form on the DWP website, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of asking whether suspected benefit thieves (a) are of a

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broad, heavy, medium, overweight, proportionate, short, slim, small, stocky, tall or thin build,

(b)

wear glasses or contact lenses,

(c)

have hair type of afro, bouffant, bald curly, dirty, dreadlocks, greasy, long, Mohican, permed, plaited, ponytailed, punk, quiffed, shaven, short, skinhead, spikey, spiked, straight, thinning, tidy, untidy, wavy or wig,

(d)

have distinguishing features such as facial hair, tattoos, scars or piercings and

(e)

always wears jeans or have distinctive jewellery to achieve the goal of tackling benefit fraud; and if he will make a statement. [189824]

Esther McVey: Information about physical characteristics can be useful in progressing fraud investigations, particularly in cases where surveillance is required to corroborate or disprove the allegations made.

Work Capability Assessment

Dame Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many face-to-face work capability assessments have been carried out in each week of the last three months. [189692]

Mike Penning: On average, there were 7,518 face-to-face work capability assessments carried out each week in the period 4 November 2013 to 2 February 2014. This represents either new or existing claimants of employment and support allowance and incapacity benefit reassessments.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to Freedom of Information request 2014-19, answered by his Department on 13 February 2014, regarding work capability assessments carried out by Atos, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the difference in the proportion of cases in which Atos recommended an outcome of fit for work where claimants were found eligible for employment and support allowance by decision makers compared with the proportion of cases in which Atos recommended an outcome of not fit for work where claimants were refused employment and support allowance by decision makers. [189774]

Mike Penning: The work capability assessment process has a number of checks and balances built in to ensure the right decision is reached. DWP Decision Makers make the final decision on claimants' benefit entitlement. They can reach different decisions to those recommended to them by the assessments when all the supporting information is taken into account. Claimants who disagree with the decision can ask the DWP to reconsider the decision. If they disagree with the reconsideration they can appeal to an independent tribunal.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to monitor the quality, reliability and accuracy of work capability assessments carried out by Atos. [189780]

Mike Penning: Atos Healthcare is required to undertake a comprehensive audit of the work of their Healthcare Professionals. This audit includes a randomly selected monthly national sample which is used to report against their contractual quality target. A random sample of those cases are then subject to further quality assurance checking by the Department.

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Mr Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people who have undergone a work capability assessment and have been declared (a) fit and (b) unfit to work who have died in each quarter since the first quarter of 2011. [189825]

Mike Penning: The Department does monitor requests we receive for new statistics and consider whether we can produce and release analysis that will helpfully inform public debate. The Department is therefore looking at this issue with a view to seeing what statistics could be produced on a regular basis.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what account is taken of medical assessments by (a) GPs and (b) consultants of their patients' ability to work by Atos when examining the (i) physical and (ii) mental capabilities of those undertaking a fit for work test. [190173]

Mike Penning: Atos Healthcare professionals take account of all available evidence, including evidence from GPs and/or consultants, when carrying out work capability assessments on behalf of DWP.

However, it is important to remember that DWP decision makers make the final decision on a claimant's eligibility for employment and support allowance. Decisions are taken after careful consideration of all the available evidence, including the ESA50, the health care professional's report and any further medical evidence from GPs or consultants.

Processes for considering further medical evidence are the same whether claimants have a physical health condition, a mental health condition or both.

Work Capability Assessment: Isle of Wight

Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answers of 24 February, Official Report, column 16W, on Work Capability Assessment: Isle of Wight, if he will provide the requested information for the smallest relevant geographical unit for which information is available. [189714]

Mike Penning: It is not possible to provide the face-to-face work capability assessments data for benefit claimants on the Isle of Wight. Information on this specific geographical area is not routinely reported by Atos Healthcare to DWP.

Business, Innovation and Skills

Business: Cannock Chase

Mr Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to support small and medium-sized businesses in Cannock Chase constituency. [190086]

Matthew Hancock: Small businesses are vital to the economy and this Government are supporting them in many ways.

Of course, economic stability, lower taxes, deregulation, and a culture of enterprise are vital to business growth.

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www.gov.uk is the home for Government services and information online. One of the tools available is the 'Finance Finder;' a searchable database of publicly-backed sources of finance.

The BIS guide "SME access to finance schemes: measures to support small and medium-sized enterprise growth" is available on the same website by searching for the title and provides details on the main forms of public support available to businesses. The website

www.greatbusiness.gov.uk

also provides support and advice for businesses trying to grow as well as for entrepreneurs starting out.

In addition to online support, the Business Support Helpline is available to provide a quick response on queries about starting a business, or a personalised and in-depth advice service for more complex needs.

For those looking for start up finance and advice there are Start-Up Loans: 10 loans worth £65,424 have been drawn down in Cannock Chase since the scheme began in 2012.

For businesses ready to go further there is ‘GrowthAccelerator’—a £200 million programme for up to 26,000 high growth potential small and medium-sized enterprises, providing them with expertise and networks to achieve sustainable growth.

On 7 December 2013 the Government published 'Small Business: GREAT Ambition' which sets out the Government's commitment to supporting small businesses. It responds to feedback from small businesses about how Government can help at different points in their growth journey by making it easier to:

Finance business growth by creating the right banking and investment environment and the most supportive tax regime in the world;

Hire people by making employment processes more straightforward and promoting a more skilled workforce;

Develop new ideas and products by helping businesses get access to the expertise, equipment and funding they need to turn great ideas into reality;

Expand into new markets by removing barriers to certain sectors and providing advice and support for businesses trying to export;

Get the right support at the right time by making support schemes easier to find and more relevant; and

Get on with doing business by making sure regulation and the way it is enforced is proportionate and pro-growth.

Business: Schools

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will implement the recommendations of the British Chambers of Commerce Skills and Employment Manifesto that schools should work with local businesses to ensure all young people benefit from quality contact with employers. [189872]

Matthew Hancock: I welcome the publication of the British Chamber of Commerce's Skills and Employment Manifesto and agree with its underlying principles. Young people can benefit greatly from contact with employers, not least to inspire them about the opportunities available in the world of work, including in different sectors and occupations.

I strongly encourage schools to seek opportunities to work with employers. Good quality contacts such as

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inspirational presentations, well planned visits and longer-term mentoring can inspire young people and give them the support needed to succeed.

To encourage this further, as set out in the Inspiration Vision Statement we published in September, we are planning to strengthen the statutory guidance that underpins the duty to secure independent careers guidance, to focus schools more clearly on the importance of career-focused contacts with employers. We are also developing the role of the National Careers Service to act as a facilitator, bringing schools and employers closer together.

EU External Trade: USA

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress is being made on negotiations with the US on the establishment of an EU-US free trade agreement. [189491]

Michael Fallon: Negotiations for an EU-US free trade agreement, also known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), are progressing well with three rounds completed and remain on track to meet the ambition of conclusion in 2015. As the EU-US stocktake noted on 18 February 2014, we now need to start tackling the difficult issues in earnest, such as services and public procurement, to ensure we maintain the momentum.

National Apprenticeship Service and Skills Funding Agency

Mrs Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his future plans are for the (a) National Apprenticeship Service and (b) Skills Funding Agency office in Princes Parade, Liverpool. [189535]

Matthew Hancock: The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) currently holds a Memorandum of Terms of Occupation (MOTO) for our office space at 12 Princes Dock, Princes Parade, Liverpool. The leaseholder of this space is the Charity Commission.

The MOTO permits the SFA to use and occupy this space from 1 December 2011 to 17 May 2015, or until ended by either party by giving notice of one year.

As the lease expires, or opportunities present themselves, the SFA may review alternative options.

Mrs Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the work of the (a) National Apprenticeship Service and (b) Skills Funding Agency office in Princes Parade, Liverpool. [189536]

Matthew Hancock: I have regular meetings with the Chief Executive of Skills Funding to review the performance of both the National Apprenticeship Service and the Skills Funding Agency.

Space Technology: Apprentices

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprentices the space industry supported in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13. [189695]

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Matthew Hancock: Apprenticeship data are not available by industrial sector. Learners may undertake a wide range of apprenticeship frameworks within one industry.

Space Engineering Higher Apprenticeships were launched on 28 February 2014.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bees

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding his Department received from the European Commission for projects relating to bees in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12 and (d) 2012-13. [189699]

Dan Rogerson: Funding received from the European Commission for research projects relating to bees:

Climate Change

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times he has been briefed by the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser on the effects of climate change since coming to office. [189678]

Dan Rogerson: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), has met the Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) on a number of occasions when issues relating to climate change have been discussed. This includes a briefing given to Cabinet by the GCSA on the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report ‘The Climate Change 2013: Physical Science Basis’, published last autumn.

The Secretary of State has also received regular written and oral briefings on the effects of climate change from DEFRA's own chief scientific adviser.

Flood Control

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he will next report on progress on implementing the Pitt review on flooding. [189674]

Dan Rogerson: We have no plans to publish any further progress reports on the implementation of Sir Michael Pitt's review of the summer 2007 floods. A final progress report was published in January 2012, which made clear that the vast majority of recommendations have been implemented. As I informed the House on 26 February 2014, Official Report, columns 375-76, we will continue to update the House on anything that still needs to be dealt with.

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Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress he has made on ensuring that local authorities assess and enhance their technical capabilities to deliver a wide range of responsibilities in relation to local flood risk management. [189798]

Dan Rogerson: Progress on this issue was reported in the Government's final progress report on implementing the recommendations made by the Pitt review, published in January 2012.

Recent progress is covered in a post-project appraisal report, which was published on the Local Government Association Knowledge Hub website in June 2013.

The main findings from the report are:

There is a year on year increase in the skill levels of lead local flood authorities (LLFAs) to deliver their role.

For the first time since the beginning of the capacity building programme, more than 50% of LLFAs rate themselves as capable or better in all the 12 topic areas assessed and associated with their role. This shows that LLFAs now have a good basic knowledge in the important areas relating to their role, but there is still room for improvement.

91% of LLFAs feel more confident in delivering their role than a year ago and, of these, 98% confirmed the capacity building programme contributed to the increased confidence, with 58% saying its impact was significant.

At least 76% of the 2012 foundation degree graduates placed within LLFAs secured employment with a local authority or in another part of the environment sector. 48% of the graduates were retained by their host LLFA.

The future of the programme beyond March 2014 is being developed to be more led by LLFAs themselves to ensure the capacity of LLFAs continues in the long term and is user-led.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress has been made on ensuring local authorities collate and map the main flood risk management and drainage assets including a record of their ownership and condition. [189800]

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department has taken to develop a scheme which allows and encourages local communities to invest in flood risk management measures. [189805]

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to develop a strategic long-term approach to investment in flood risk management. [189809]

Dan Rogerson: Progress on this issue was reported in the Government's final progress report on implementing the recommendations made by the Pitt review, published in January 2012.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress his Department has made with the Environment Agency and Natural England to establish a programme through catchment flood management plans and shoreline management plans to achieve greater working with natural processes. [189803]

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Dan Rogerson: The National Flood and Coastal Risk Management (FCRM) Strategy for England embeds recommendation 27 of the Pitt review, on achieving greater working with natural processes, into the DEFRA network's statutory objectives.

Since 2012, a full suite of strategic FCRM plans has been completed. The plans have been assessed for compliance with environmental legislation and set the direction of travel towards a more sustainable portfolio of risk management measures that increasingly work with natural processes over time.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance he has issued to local authorities and the public on the use and usefulness of sandbags and other alternatives in the event of flooding. [189804]

Dan Rogerson: As reported in the Government's final progress report on implementing the recommendations made by the Pitt review, the Environment Agency has published information on the use of sandbags for flood protection on its website at:

www.environment-agency.gov.uk

The Environment Agency has also provided advice to local authorities on how to manage and dispose of used sandbags. This guidance contains information on the safety of reusing sandbags and how to dispose of contaminated or damaged sandbags.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to allow homeowners to pool Government funding provided for flood resilience measures in order to enable communities to take collective action against flood risk. [190101]

Dan Rogerson: The Repair and Renew Grant will be delivered by local authorities in flood affected areas through locally-specific schemes. Guidance to local authorities encourages the pooling of grants if individuals and businesses would like to carry out community level flood protection and resilience work, where appropriate.

DEFRA is currently engaging local authorities to develop the grant scheme, which is due to be launched on 1 April.

Floods

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding the Government allocated to (a) help those affected by recent flooding to make their homes habitable and (b) dredge and drain rivers to prevent future flooding. [189275]

Dan Rogerson: Following the Prime Minister's announcement on 20 February of the Repair and Renew Grant, help will be available for people whose properties have suffered internal damage from flooding since the beginning of December 2013. The grant of up to £5,000 will contribute towards improvements to the fabric of their premises that would help reduce the impact and cost of any subsequent flooding.

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We have committed an additional £15 million for the Environment Agency's flood maintenance work in 2014-15. This will fund a range of activities, including the dredging and draining of rivers where it is cost-effective in managing flood risk. We are also providing £10 million specifically for work, including dredging, to improve resilience to flooding in Somerset.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made by the Environment Agency and the Met Office to improve their technical capability to forecast, model and warn against all sources of flooding. [189781]

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency and the Met Office established the Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC) in April 2009. Since then it has become a trusted adviser, providing a 24/7 flood forecasting service to customers, stakeholders in national and local government and Civil Contingencies Act 2004 Category 1 and 2 responders.

The FFC has made a number of recent improvements to its services. These include the standardisation of forecast models with local Environment Agency teams and using the highest resolution and longest lead time tools available. This enables the production of multiple national hydrological forecasts to better inform flood risk assessments and the provision of information about uncertainties in the forecast.

Working with partners, the FFC has also produced training materials for responders to improve consistency in the understanding of flood warning, flood forecasting and severe weather warning products. The latest customer survey shows that 94% of customers are satisfied or highly satisfied with the FFC service and 93% satisfied or highly satisfied with the Flood Guidance Statement.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when preparation for and management of risk from flood ceased to be a key priority of his Department. [189782]

Dan Rogerson: Preparation for and managing flood risk is a priority activity for DEFRA. It is covered under the ‘improving the environment' priority in DEFRA's Departmental Business Plan.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding for flood control measures has come from central Government in each of the last six years; and what such central Government funding will be in real terms in each of the next five years. [189783]

Dan Rogerson: Information on Government spending and budgets on flood and coastal erosion risk management are published on the www.gov.uk website.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in local government funding on local authorities' ability to deal effectively with flooding. [189785]

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Dan Rogerson: There has been no cut in funding for lead local flood authorities (LLFAs) to carry out their new duties under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

Funding requirements were set out under a new burdens agreement with the Department for Communities and Local Government. Since April 2013 the funding is provided to LLFAs through a combination of the Business Rates Retention Scheme (BRR), Revenue Support Grant (RSG) and Local Services Support Grant (LSSG).

DEFRA funding in 2013-14 and for 2014-15 is £15 million and is paid through LSSG. £21 million is made up through BRR and RSG, making the total £36 million committed to under the new burdens agreement.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress has been made by the Environment Agency in developing its tools and techniques for predicting and modelling river flooding, taking account of extreme and multiple events and depths and velocity of water. [189787]

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency has continued to take forward ongoing activity identified in the final progress report of the Government's response to Sir Michael Pitt's review of the summer 2007 floods.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the cost of future flooding to the UK economy in each of the next five years. [189810]

Dan Rogerson: Severe flooding causes significant economic damage, but cannot be predicted with any reliability over relatively short periods or on a year by year basis. By way of example, widespread flooding in 2007 caused about £3.2 billion of economic damage. The 2012 flooding cost the economy nearly £600 million and very early estimates indicate that flooding since last November is expected to have caused at least £300 million of damage.

We are reviewing our assessment of annual risk and will report this alongside investment options for the future when we refresh our long-term investment strategy in autumn 2014.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether there is a limit on business support, excluding rate relief, which can be provided to a single business to cover costs related to floods. [189883]

Dan Rogerson [holding answer 4 March 2014]:Businesses will be able to apply for support under all the schemes for which they are eligible and there is no limit to the amount they may claim. However, support provided to individual businesses will need to comply with state aid

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regulations. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is currently leading engagement with the European Commission to ensure affected businesses can fully benefit from all of the available assistance.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether leasehold tenants will be eligible for (a) Government assistance if they have been flooded or (b) flood insurance under the Flood Re scheme to cover household contents. [189885]

Dan Rogerson [holding answer 4 March 2014]: Renew and repair fund grants will be available to the person responsible for the fabric of the building, which is normally the property owner. This is because the grants are intended to pay for measures that would make properties more resilient to flooding, over and above repairs that would normally be covered by insurance. Contents insurance for leasehold tenants will be eligible for the Flood Re scheme.

Floods: Cumbria

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what additional funds have been made available to each local authority in Cumbria since 1 January 2014 for flood defence enhancement, maintenance and post-flood clean-up. [189736]

Dan Rogerson: Funds currently allocated across Cumbria by local authority are shown in the following table. The figures shown are the funding the Environment Agency and/or the local authority have already secured to date for repair works.

It is recognised that further funding may be required as these assessments progress and further flood defence repair costs are identified.

Longer term flood defence grant in aid (GiA) funding investment in Cumbria is as follows:

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Floods: Housing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many homes have been in danger of flood risk in each of the last 10 years; and what estimate he has made of the number that will be in danger of flood risk in each of the next five years. [189786]

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency's National Flood Risk Assessment has provided estimates of the number of properties in areas at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea since 2004.

The Environment Agency has also estimated numbers of properties in areas at risk of flooding from surface water. In 2009 the ‘Flooding in England' report stated that 3.8 million properties were in areas susceptible to surface water flooding. Of these, around one million were also at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea.

In 2013, a new map of areas of risk of flooding from surface water was published. This estimated that three million properties are in areas at risk of flooding from surface water. Of these, 2.4 million are residential properties.

We do not hold information on how many will be at risk over the next five years, however, the level of risk for each property may change as a result of capital investment.

Floods: Insurance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what account the Flood Re scheme takes of increased risk of flooding as a result of climate change. [189772]

Dan Rogerson: Climate change was considered alongside other risk factors within the impact assessment for the Flood Re scheme.

Floods: Property Development

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on removing the automatic right to connect surface water drainage of new developments to the sewerage system. [189794]

Dan Rogerson: Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 contains proposals to amend the automatic right to connect surface water drainage

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to the public sewer in England, making it conditional on the Sustainable Drainage Systems approving body (SAB) approving the drainage plans.

We are making progress and will be laying the secondary legislation shortly.

Floods: Scotland

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment on (a) the risk of flooding in Scotland and (b) the sharing of best practice in flood prevention. [189702]

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA Ministers hold regular discussions with their Scottish counterparts about a range of issues, including flooding. For example, there were discussions with the Scottish Government regarding the coastal flooding which occurred down the UK's east coast in early December.

Food: Crime

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2013, Official Report, column 395W, on organised crime, what recent assessment his Department and the Food Standards Agency have made of the annual cost to the economy of organised food crime. [189842]

George Eustice: DEFRA and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) do not currently have an estimated figure for the cost of food fraud in the UK. The value of fraud is notoriously difficult to estimate because fraud is criminal activity which in some cases will go undetected.

Land Drainage

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which organisations are responsible for the ownership and maintenance of sustainable drainage systems. [189797]

Dan Rogerson: A sustainable drainage system (SuDS) may be owned by a variety of organisations. Maintenance responsibility is determined by the ownership and the specific circumstances of the individual SuDS.

Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 introduces a SuDS approving body (SAB) in each English county or unitary authority to maintain approved SuDS serving more than one property. The necessary secondary legislation will be laid shortly.

Water Charges

Mr Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if his Department will make an estimate of (a) the proportion of households in the UK that would see a decrease in their annual water bills if their bills were calculated by water meters as opposed to rateable value and (b) what the average saving would be. [189864]

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Dan Rogerson: The bills of metered customers are based on use; this varies depending on a range of factors, including household composition and consumer behaviour. Many households would see bills fall with the installation of a meter. Others, notably large households in properties with low rateable values, may see their bills increase to reflect their actual water consumption.

Any customer can opt to get a meter fitted free of charge from their water company. The Consumer Council for Water's website provides a tool to calculate a household's metered bill. Currently 41% of customers in England pay for water by a meter. In Wales this figure is 34%.

In an area where a company is rolling out metering due to serious water stress, Southern Water has assessed that 57% of customers would see a reduction in their bill with 43% seeing an increase. Across its customer base the typical range is between a £100 increase or a £100 decrease in the annual household bill, although there will be outliers.

Justice

Begging and Vagrancy

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many persons prosecuted following cases brought by British Transport police for begging (a) were convicted and (b) appealed their conviction in the last three years; [189553]

(2) how many people were (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted following cases brought by the British Transport police for the offence of begging in each of the last three years; [189555]

(3) how many persons have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted following arrests by the British Transport police under the Vagrancy Act 1824 in each of the last 10 years for which information is available; [189556]

(4) how many prosecutions the British Transport police brought for the offence of begging in each month since January 2012. [189558]

Stephen Hammond: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Transport.

This data are not readily available, and I have therefore asked the chief constable of the British Transport police to write to my hon. Friend once it has been assembled.

Coroners

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Rule 43 notices issued by the coroner's office have not received a response from the affected organisation in each of the last five years. [189647]

Simon Hughes: The Ministry of Justice does not hold this information. It could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what proportion of initial award decisions by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority are (a) appealed and (b) successfully appealed; [188589]

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(2) what proportion of initial award decisions by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority where the claimant has legal representation are (a) appealed and (b) successfully appealed. [188603]

Damian Green: Those applying for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (the Scheme) have safeguards to ensure their claim is assessed fairly. If someone does not think the Scheme was applied correctly in their case they can ask the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) to review it. If they remain unhappy after the review decision they can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal who will reach their own, independent decision.

In answering this question we have taken ‘appeal’ to mean appeal to the First-tier Tribunal and ‘successfully’ to mean receiving a full or reduced award at appeal after CICA decided the case was ineligible at review.

The figures are taken from 2012-13, the last full financial year for which figures are available. On that basis the figures requested are as follows:

Percentages are rounded to the nearest full percentage point. Represented cases include all kinds of representatives, including charitable ones such as Victim Support.

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many bereaved families the EU Compensation Assistance team has helped since that body's formation. [188944]

Damian Green: The EU Compensation Assistance Team, part of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), help people from the UK apply for compensation when they are injured in another EU member state. They help UK residents find out about the system of compensation in the country where they were injured. They assist them to complete the appropriate application form and forward completed applications to the relevant authority in the EU country where the injury occurred.

The CICA does not hold a breakdown of victims assisted by the type or extent of the injury. Therefore, I cannot say definitively how many bereaved families the EU Compensation Assistance Team has helped. Since it was established on 1 July 2005, the EU Compensation Assistance Team has received 448 completed applications from victims of violent crime.

Judiciary: Pensions

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on judicial pensions in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14; and what estimate he has made of such spending in each of the next five financial years. [188768]

Mr Vara: In answer to (a), (b) and (c) the totals spent on judicial pensions and lump sums (including

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dependants' benefits) for each of the years requested are: 2010-11 £79,929,000; 2011-12 £89,693,000; and 2012-13 £102,225,000.

These figures reflect the fact that the number of judicial pensioners and their dependants is increasing year on year; life expectancy is lengthening; and pension payments increase each year in line with the Consumer Price Index.

Since 2012 the judiciary have paid pension contributions for personal benefits and, following the recommendations of Lord Hutton's Independent Public Service Pensions Commission (IPSPC) final report, we are reforming the Judicial Pension Scheme in line with reform to other public service pension schemes.

In answer to (d) the accounts for 2013-14 have not been finalised as yet and are due before summer recess. An estimate for the next five years has been provided to the Office for Budgetary Responsibility. The information provided to them becomes public on Budget day i.e. 19 March.

Prisoners: Females

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what data his Department collect on the number of women in prison who have been subject to domestic violence or sexual abuse prior to conviction. [187787]

Simon Hughes: An estimate of the number of women in prison who have been victims of domestic violence can be made using the Offender Assessment System (OASys). This system asks whether there is ‘Evidence of domestic violence/partner abuse (including threats and psychological abuse)’ and whether this is as victim or perpetrator.

Of the 2,192 women under sentence in custody at 31 March 2013 who had an OASys assessment of sufficient detail, 1,323 (60%) were recorded as having been victims of domestic abuse.

However, there is no equivalent item in OASys for sexual abuse and this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent estimate he has made of the number of women in prison. [902276]

Simon Hughes: On 24 January there were 3,892 women in prisons and Young Offender Institutions in England and Wales.

This information is published weekly on the MOJ website via the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/275010/population-bulletin-24-jan-2014.xls

These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners: Gender Recognition

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many transgender prisoners there were on 1 February (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014. [189946]

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Jeremy Wright: Information on the number of transgender prisoners is not held centrally and could not be obtained without conducting a survey of all prisoners requesting them to provide their status on the basis of voluntary self-declaration.

As part of its duties under the Equality Act 2010, the National Offender Management Service takes due regard to eliminating discrimination, harassment and victimisation of transgender prisoners and to advance equality of opportunity between transgender people and non-transgender people.

Prisoners: Self-harm

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 603W, on prisoners: self-harm, how many and what proportion of (a) self-harm incidents and (b) suicides occur when an Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork document is open; and if he will make a statement. [188842]

Simon Hughes: All prisons are required to have procedures to identify, manage and support people who are at risk of harm to themselves and to reduce that risk. These procedures include the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) process which is a prisoner-centred, flexible care planning system for those identified as at risk of suicide or self-harm. An ACCT plan will be put in place following a prisoner’s episode of self-harm or where a risk has been identified.

Incidence of self-harm by female prisoners has fallen by over 50% over the last three years. In the 12 months to September 2010 there were 12,407 incidents of self-harm by female prisoners, falling to 5,977 incidents in the 12 months to September 2013. Around 75% of the self-harm incidents by females are committed by around 20% of female prisoners who self-harm.

The number and proportion of female (a) self-harm incidents and (b) self-inflicted deaths in prison custody that occurred when an ACCT document was open is provided in Table 1 for the 12 months to the end of September 2013, the latest available data for self-harm incidents and deaths in prison custody.

Prisons: Feltham

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much has been spent on preliminary work associated with plans for a new prison at Feltham to date. [188745]

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Jeremy Wright: The Department has spent £7,700 in terms of external costs on work associated with the feasibility study.

Internal costs, such as staff time, associated with the feasibility study and preliminary investigative work, are not recorded separately from other new construction programmes. This information could, therefore, be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Mother and Baby Units

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect of reducing the number of Mother and Baby Units from three to one on the ability of women in prison to maintain family contact. [187493]

Simon Hughes: The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, the right hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), commissioned a review of the women's custodial estate in January 2013. There were seven Mother and Baby Units at that time. The Mother and Baby Unit at HMP/YOI Holloway was closed at the end of October 2013 as recommended in the review. There are now six Mother and Baby Units nationally.

The rationale to close HMP/YOI Holloway's Mother and Baby Unit was to reduce excess capacity within the Mother and Baby Unit system without adversely affecting distance from home for imprisoned mothers with babies and their ability to maintain family contact. The closure of the unit at Holloway will not lead to any woman being refused a place in a MBU for capacity reasons.

Probation

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of trainee probation officers that the National Probation Service will need to recruit for financial years 2014-15 and 2015-16. [187388]

Jeremy Wright: The National Probation Service (NPS) will make a fundamental contribution to protecting the public from the most dangerous offenders in the community and it is essential that it employs staff with the skills to do this effectively. The probation service currently employs around 300 trainee probation officers a year and this figure will be reviewed as we transition to the new system, and will form part of a work force planning exercise which the NPS will undertake.

Sexuality: Prosecutions

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on issuing apologies to those historically prosecuted for their sexuality who have not yet been pardoned. [185612]

Simon Hughes: Alan Turing received an apology from the then Prime Minister in 2009, as did others who were convicted of the same offence. Others convicted of the same offence have now died. Mr Turing received a Royal Pardon from Her Majesty the Queen on Christmas Eve 2013 on the recommendations of the Secretary of State for Justice.

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The many thousands of men convicted as a result of homophobic laws were treated terribly. It is a matter of the greatest regret when anyone has been punished as a result of archaic laws. I share the sentiments of the then Prime Minister who said that we are glad those days have long gone.

Under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, any living person who has been convicted of, or received a caution for, an offence under section 13 or section 22 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956, can apply to have that conviction of caution disregarded.

Television: Licensing

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in the UK have a criminal record for offences relating to non-payment of the television licence. [189697]

Damian Green: The Ministry of Justice does not hold details of all offenders with a criminal record for offences related to non-payment of a television licence. Non-payment of a television licence is not a ‘recordable’ offence as it does not attract a custodial sentence and is not in the list of offences defined as ‘recordable’ in legislation. For these reasons, this offence is not routinely recorded on the Ministry of Justice's extract of the police national computer.

The Ministry of Justice's extract of the police national computer (PNC), which is used for analyses of offenders' criminal histories, only holds full information on those ‘recordable’ offences committed since 2000. These are defined as offences that can attract a custodial sentence plus some additional offences defined in legislation.

Offences which are not defined as recordable, such as ‘non-payment of television licence’, are included on the PNC only when they accompany a recordable offence in the same case. Any statistics calculated on the basis of these offences would therefore represent an undercount of the actual figures.

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were sent to prison in each year between 2007 and 2012 for offences relating to the non-payment of a television licence. [189720]

Jeremy Wright: Failure to pay a TV licence is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to £1,000. Offenders can be committed to custody for wilful or culpable failure to pay a fine, where the court has considered or tried all other methods of enforcement.

The following table provides information on the number of fine defaulters received into prison for defaulting on a fine received for the offence of non-payment of a TV licence in England and Wales between 2007 and 2012.

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Deputy Prime Minister

Constituencies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the (a) fairness, (b) accuracy and (c) completeness of using the (i) census and mid-term census and (ii) electoral register to determine the size of constituencies when drawing boundaries. [190096]

Greg Clark: The electoral register has been the basis for parliamentary boundary reviews since the creation of the independent Boundary Commissions. The Government do not believe that using population figures derived from census data would provide a better basis for a boundary review than using the electoral register. Importantly, the electoral register is updated annually, and census figures will include persons who are not eligible to register to vote, for example on grounds of citizenship or age.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2013, Official Report, column 392W on electoral register, when he will decide on the level of fine for not returning an electoral registration form; and when such fines will be able to be levied. [189413]

Greg Clark: The Government announced in 2013 that electoral registration officers will be able to impose a civil penalty on individuals who fail to make an application to register to vote when required to do so, in line with the provisions of the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013, and the subordinate legislation made under that Act.

In particular, electoral registration officers will be required to take specific steps to encourage a registration before they can issue a notice of requirement to register; they will then have discretion to impose the penalty for failing to comply with the requirement.

The level of the civil penalty has been set by the regulations at £80.

Cabinet Office

Unemployment

Kate Green: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what proportion of people who moved from employment to unemployment or inactivity had (a) no qualifications, (b) a highest qualification below Level 2, (c) a highest qualification at Level 2, (d) a highest qualification at Level 3 and (e) a highest qualification at Level 4 or above; [190029]

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(2) if he will estimate how many people moved at least once from (a) employment to unemployment, (b) employment to inactivity, (c) unemployment to employment, (d) unemployment to inactivity, (e) inactivity to employment and (f) inactivity to unemployment in each of the last five years; [190030]

(3) what proportion of the people who moved from employment to unemployment or inactivity in the last year had a partner in (a) full-time work and (b) part-time work at the point before they left employment; [190031]

(4) what proportion of the people who moved from employment to unemployment or inactivity in the last year had a household income (a) below £15,000, (b) below £25,000, (c) below £50,000 and (d) £50,000 or above at the point before they left employment; [190032]

(5) how many individuals moved (a) twice and (b) three or more times from (i) employment to unemployment or inactivity and (ii) unemployment or inactivity to employment in each of the last five years. [190033]

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

Letter from Caron Walker, 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 Parliamentary Questions asking the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions:

a) what proportion of people who moved from employment to unemployment or inactivity had (a) no qualifications, (b) a highest qualification below Level 2, (c) a highest qualification at Level 2, (d) a highest qualification at Level 3 and (e) a highest qualification at Level 4 or above (190029);

b) how many people moved at least once from (a) employment to unemployment, (b) employment to inactivity, (c) unemployment to employment, (d) unemployment to inactivity, (e) inactivity to employment and (f) inactivity to unemployment in each of the last five years (190030);

c) what proportion of the people who moved from employment to unemployment or inactivity in the last year had a partner in (a) full-time work and (b) part-time work at the point before they left employment (190031);

d) how many individuals moved (a) twice and (b) three or more times from (i) employment to unemployment or inactivity and (ii) unemployment or inactivity to employment in each of the last five years (190033);

e) what proportion of the people who moved from employment to unemployment or inactivity in the last year had a household income (a) below £15,000, (b) below £25,000, (c) below £50,000 and (d) £50,000 or above at the point before they left employment (190032).

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) provides estimates of employment, unemployment and economic inactivity. In the LFS respondents are interviewed for five consecutive quarters, with 20 per cent of the sample being replaced at each quarter. This allows for a longitudinal dataset to be created over a limited time interval, where respondents' characteristics can be tracked over their time in the survey. This enables the production of estimates of the quarterly flows between employment, unemployment and inactivity.

In November 2013, the ONS published a report titled: 'Moving between Unemployment and Employment' that utilised the LFS longitudinal datasets. This report found that individuals with a lower educational attainment were more likely to lose their job and move from employment into unemployment. Between April-June 2012 and April-June 2013, it was estimated that someone with no qualifications was 1.6 times more likely than someone with a degree to lose their job and become unemployed.

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The report acknowledges that this finding partly relates to the skills required for the job the individual was doing. People with lower levels of qualification tend to be in lower skilled jobs which tend to have more people entering and leaving them than higher skilled jobs.

The full report can be found on the ONS website, from the following URL:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_335141.pdf

Provided in the table are statistics relating to the ‘flow' of people moving between employment, unemployment and economic inactivity each quarter. These are averages for each year from 2009 to 2013. Estimates by household income or partner status are not available. In general, detailed breakdowns of the flows by particular characteristics are not sufficiently reliable for publication.

These estimates of labour market flows are experimental statistics and do not have National Statistics status. They are published quarterly as part of the Labour Market Statistical bulletin as an aid to understanding the movements in the published Labour Force Survey estimates. These can be found in the following URL:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/february-2014/index.html

Health

Cancer

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what dates all technology appraisals relating to a treatment for cancer conducted by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) were concluded in the last 10 years; in each case, whether the

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technology appraisal

(a)

recommended in full,

(b)

recommended in part and

(c)

rejected the routine use of the treatment on the NHS; what the eligible annual patient population estimated by NICE was in each case; and if he will make a statement. [189600]

Norman Lamb: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cancer treatments the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has (a) recommended, (b) recommended on an optimised basis and (c) not recommended in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14 to date; and if he will make a statement. [189902]

Norman Lamb: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) out-patient and (b) in-patient admission episodes with a (i) primary and (ii) secondary diagnosis of cancer, for which Welsh commissioners were responsible, there were in England in each of the last ten years. [189904]

Jane Ellison: The following table shows how many out-patient and in-patient admission episodes with a primary and secondary diagnosis of cancer, for which Welsh commissioners were responsible, there were in England in each of the last 10 years:

Mr Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the one-year cancer survival rate data contained within the Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set will be released; and what the reasons are for the time taken for their release. [190100]

Jane Ellison: NHS England has developed the Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set (CCG OIS) for CCGs to use as a tool to understand trends in outcomes and to help them identify potential priorities for improvement.

The one-year cancer survival figures at CCG level are developed from data produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Due to delays in the availability of the ONS data at a local level, it has not been possible to

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publish data on one-year survival rates for all cancers, but NHS England advises that the Health and Social Care Information Centre has scheduled the data for publication in June 2014.

Cancer: Drugs

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Cancer Drugs Fund. [189905]

Norman Lamb: The Cancer Drugs Fund has so far helped more than 44,000 patients in England to access the additional cancer drugs their clinicians recommend.

The Government announced on 28 September 2013 that a further £400 million will be made available to extend the fund to the end of March 2016.

Depressive Illnesses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of any potential financial savings to the NHS of an increased take-up of mindfulness-based therapy for the treatment of repeat depression. [189622]

Norman Lamb: Mindfulness cognitive behavioural therapy is the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved treatment of recurrent depression and is available through a number of Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services.

No assessment has been made of the potential financial savings to the national health service as result of mindfulness therapy in England.

Health Services

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent discussions his Department has had with NHS England on the Commissioning through Evaluation programme; [189811]

(2) what progress has been made on NHS England's Commissioning through Evaluation programme; [189812]

(3) whether NHS England will start the Commissioning through Evaluation programme in April 2014; [189813]

(4) which NHS trusts are taking part in the Commissioning through Evaluation programme for each identified technology and service. [189821]

Jane Ellison: The Department is aware of one discussion with NHS England on the Commissioning through Evaluation (CtE) programme. This took place with the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), on 7 January 2014.

In 2013, NHS England established the CtE programme. The first scheme, providing selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT), was rolled out at the end of 2013. NHS England plans to launch a further four schemes covering specialised interventional cardiology procedures and surgery for children with cerebral patsy. The provider selection process to identify participating centres for these schemes is due to start shortly.

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NHS England has developed the scheme proposals in collaboration with clinicians, patients and industry representatives to ensure there is clarity on the key questions that each evaluation programme is trying to answer. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is assisting NHS England in the objective evaluation of each scheme.

The following table lists the participating centres for the SIRT CtE scheme:

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with NHS England on the specialised services budget; what the content of those discussions was; and if he will make a statement. [189903]

Jane Ellison: NHS England and the Department have discussed the specialised services budget as part of the regular monitoring of the overall departmental financial position for 2013-14 and as part of their regular accountability meetings.

In April 2013, NHS England became the direct commissioner of specialised services, and is now responsible for the specialised services budget. In order to achieve a nationally consistent approach to commissioning, NHS England brought together differing regional and local approaches to contracting with providers, different sets of standards, and varying levels of access to services around the country.

Health: Climate Change

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions his Department has had with the General Medical Council on the inclusion of climate change effects on health in the next revision of the “Tomorrow's Doctors” publication on standards for teaching, learning and assessment of medical students; when the next edition of this document will be published; and if he will make a statement. [189987]

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Dr Poulter: The General Medical Council (GMC) has statutory responsibility for determining the extent and knowledge and skills required for the granting of primary medical qualifications in the United Kingdom. Their recommendations on undergraduate medical education are contained in “Tomorrow's Doctors”, which was most recently updated in 2009.

The Department has had no recent discussion with the GMC on the content of “Tomorrows Doctors” and has not been informed of any planned revision date.

JD Wetherspoon

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 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. [189819]

Dr Poulter: Details of meetings held by Ministers and Permanent Secretaries with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found at: GOV.UK

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

Medical Records

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was charged for the sale of NHS patient records to the Staple Inn Actuarial Society; what this money was used for; and what the cost to the NHS was of providing this information. [189521]

Dr Poulter: Pseudonymised data were provided to the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, and a charge of £2,220 was made for this extract service provided by the NHS Information Centre. The charge was made on a full cost recovery basis, and therefore the income obtained contributed to covering the overall costs of providing the extract service.

Mental Health Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's conditions for treatment with mindfulness-based therapies; and which such treatments have been taken up by the NHS. [189874]

Norman Lamb: Mindfulness cognitive behavioural therapy is the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approved treatment of recurrent depression and is available through a number of Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services in England.

To meet the conditions for inclusion as a NICE recommended therapy, it would have been subject to rigorous assessment and evaluation as part of NICE approval process.

The Department does not make an additional assessment of this process.

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NHS: Procurement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what change there has been in the time taken to pay NHS suppliers since May 2010; [189984]

(2) what guidance his Department issues on the proportion of NHS spend which should be spent with small businesses; [189985]

(3) what targets he has set for the time taken by the NHS to pay its suppliers. [189986]

Dr Poulter: Prompt payment to suppliers is a key issue and the Department has previously written to national health service trusts stating:

“The Trust shall pay each undisputed invoice within thirty (30) days of receipt of such invoice at the latest. The Trust shall use its reasonable endeavours to pay such undisputed invoices sooner in accordance with prompt payment targets. We are not aware of any wide scale problems but the Department of Health would encourage suppliers who are having any specific issues with individual NHS trusts, to follow up via the cabinet office mystery shopper scheme and the department has already successfully handled a number of such instances”.

Prompt payment and support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME's) is a key area of focus in ‘opening up public procurement’. The Cabinet Office is leading on this work but the Department is ensuring that the reforms are shared and implemented across the NHS.

In terms of the scope of these reforms, for years, small firms have found it difficult to do business with the public sector because they have been pushed out by larger companies or deterred by the excessive burdens imposed through the procurement process. Improvements have been made in central government but we want these improvements to be rolled out across the whole public sector.

The Government have accepted Lord Young's proposed procurement reforms which will provide simpler and more direct access for small businesses to the £230 billion of annual public sector spending in England. We will use legislation in 2014 to:

cut down on process by abolishing Pre-Qualification Questionnaires (PQQs) for low-value contracts;

mandate the use of a standard core PQQ for high-value contracts and ensure small business needs are taken into account in the design of procurement processes;

make contract opportunities easier to find by making them all accessible on a single online portal; and

make sure small firms get treated fairly by mandating prompt payment terms all the way down a public procurement supply chain.

To make sure that small businesses see the benefit of these reforms, we will:

require all public bodies to report their procurement spend and prompt payment performance with small businesses/Voluntary and Community Social Enterprises.

Furthermore, “Better Procurement, Better Value, Better Care”, launched on 5 August 2013, is an ambitious NHS Procurement Development programme to help NHS trusts to meet the financial challenges and make efficiencies now, whilst building a procurement capability that is fit for the future. This publication further reiterates

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the Lord Young reforms but also provides a requirement for trusts to be transparent about their expenditure with SMEs and their payment terms with all suppliers.

Finally the recently revised NHS standard terms and conditions for the Supply of Goods and for the Provision of Services, as well as terms and conditions in the new NHS Framework Agreements for the Supply of Goods and for the Provision of Services all have payment clauses which require payment of correct invoices within 30 days. Furthermore, the terms and conditions also state that in line with Government prompt payment targets, invoices can be paid sooner.

Nurses

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of (a) clinical and (b) urological clinical nurse specialists working in the NHS in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [189596]

Dr Poulter: The current number of specialist clinical and urological clinical nurses employed by the national health service in England is not included in the annual NHS work force census and they are not identified separately.

The Government have supported the development of a range of specialist roles within nursing. It is for local NHS organisations with their knowledge of the health care needs of their local population to invest in training for specialist skills and to deploy specialist nurses. In this context, the Government recognise that more could be done by some local health care organisations to prioritise preventative care and better support for people in their own homes and communities. Specialist nurses can play an important role in this which can both save the NHS money and, more importantly, provide better care for patients.

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the provision of clinical nurse specialists in the NHS in the last year; what the content of those representations was; and if he will make a statement. [189602]

Dr Poulter: A search of the Department's ministerial correspondence database has identified eight items of correspondence and seven parliamentary questions received since 1 February 2013 about the provision of specialist nurses in the national health service. This figure represents correspondence and parliamentary questions received by the Department's ministerial correspondence unit only.

The Government recognise specialist nurses provide invaluable support for people with specific conditions and their families. They are able to provide specialist treatment and advice and act as a gateway to other members of the multidisciplinary team, which improves care and outcomes.

Through the Mandate, we have asked NHS England to deliver continued improvements in relation to the experience of care, including cancer care. Local health care organisations, with their knowledge of the people they serve, are best placed to plan and employ a work force based on clinical need and sound evidence.

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Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Care Quality Commission is taking to ensure that adequate provision of clinical nurse specialists is covered in its inspections of NHS services; and if he will make a statement. [189603]

Norman Lamb: On 23 January 2014, the Department published a consultation document “Introducing Fundamental Standards: Consultation on proposals to change Care Quality Commission (CQC) registration regulations”, a copy of which has been placed in the Library. This sets out draft regulations relating to staff requirements which state that the person registered with the CQC must deploy sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, skilled and experienced persons. The regulation will also require people to receive appropriate support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisal.

The CQC, through its chief inspector of hospitals, assesses performance and will take action where non-compliance puts patient at risk of harm. Appropriate staffing levels is a core element of the CQC's registration regime.

The CQC will take swift action where staffing levels, or skills, are insufficient to provide safe, effective, caring or responsive services. Currently the CQC does not specifically ask how many specialist nurses each hospital employs as part of its inspection model. The CQC is encouraging NHS trusts to look at staffing provision.

In addition, NHS England now requires Trust Boards to sign off and publish information on staffing levels at least every six months to demonstrate that they are using evidence based tools to calculate their staffing and provide assurance regarding the impact on quality of care and patient experience.

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to conduct an audit of the number of (a) clinical and (b) urological clinical nurse specialists working in the NHS. [189610]

Dr Poulter: The Department has no plans to conduct an audit of the number of specialist clinical and urological nurses working in the national health service in England.

The Department set up Health Education England (HEE) to deliver a better health and healthcare work force for England. HEE is responsible for ensuring a secure work force supply with the right skills and training for the future, taking into account factors such as the age profile of the existing work force, the impact of technology, and new drugs.