Returning Officers

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how the performance of returning officers is monitored. [190154]

Greg Clark: The Electoral Commission publishes performance standards for Returning Officers as provided for in the Electoral Administration Act 2006. The Commission monitors and reports on the performance of Returning Officers. It also provides support and guidance to enable improvements in electoral practice.

In addition, the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 provides for a Returning Officer’s fee to be reduced by the Secretary of State following a recommendation by the Commission, in the event of inadequate performance at a UK parliamentary election.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was paid to returning officers in each of the last 10 years. [190155]

Greg Clark: The amount recoverable by Returning Officers in respect of services rendered at national polls in the last 10 years has been set out in successive Orders. Fees paid to Returning Officers in local polls are the responsibility of their local authorities.

 Total paid (£)

2004-05

1

2006

2

2007

2

2008

2

2009

2,386,069

2010

2,160,811

2011

2,468,766

2012

2,068,931

2013

2

1 No overall total is available. In 2004 and 2005, the calculations for Returning Officers’ fees were not listed by individual counting areas in the Orders. 2 No national elections were held.

Voting Behaviour: Young People

John Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number of people aged 18 to 24 years who vote in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK. [190283]

Greg Clark: The Government has made no such estimate.

6 Mar 2014 : Column 968W

Work and Pensions

Benefits

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what proportion of those making a new claim for jobseeker's allowance immediately before their claim was made were (a) in employment, (b) in receipt of employment support allowance, incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance or income support and (c) neither in employment nor claiming another out of work benefit; [190217]

(2) how many individuals made a claim for any of jobseeker's allowance, incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance, employment support allowance or income support (a) once, (b) twice and (c) three or more times in each of the last five years; [190218]

(3) what proportion of those making a new claim for employment and support allowance immediately before their claim was made were (a) in employment, (b) in receipt of jobseeker's allowance or income support or (c) neither in employment nor claiming another out of work benefit. [190219]

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

Disability

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Government's Disability Confident campaign in helping more people with disabilities (a) into work and (b) to fulfil their potential. [190009]

Esther McVey: The Government’s Disability Confident Campaign is about changing attitudes and consequently increasing opportunities for disabled people to get jobs, and we have not assessed the impact of the campaign and events in terms of numbers getting into jobs. The campaign is part of our overall Disability and Health Employment Strategy, and over time we will monitor the number of disabled people in work and the employment gap. Following the Disability Confident regional events, we will also support employers who have pledged to make changes to offer more opportunities for disabled people, and assess how attitudes have been changed.

Disability Employment Support Review

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to implement the report Getting in, staying in and getting on, published in June 2011. [190020]

Esther McVey: The Government confirmed in March 2012 that it accepted many of the recommendations in “Getting in, Staying in and Getting On”, focusing resources on tailored personalised support for individuals through services like Access to Work, rather than “one size fits all” institutions and programmes, so that more disabled people can work in mainstream employment.

Remploy's commercial process for the exit of its factory businesses is complete and has resulted in five business sales. The Government has also implemented a number of changes to the Access to Work programme,

6 Mar 2014 : Column 969W

including funding the physical transfer of specialist equipment paid for by Access to Work to a new employer and introducing a “fast-track” application process for customers who know what support they need. Access to Work has also been extended to include a number of opportunities that help people get ready for employment, including sector-based work academies, supported internships and traineeships.

The Government published “The disability and health employment strategy: the

discussion so far” in December 2013. It is the next important step in developing our approach and widening our focus, and sets out a range of proposals to further improve our employment support for disabled people and those with health conditions. We will continue discussion with a wide range of stakeholders, including disabled people and those with health conditions, as we develop our more detailed delivery proposals.

Disability Living Allowance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost of processing and managing claims for disability living allowance was in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11, (d) 2011-12 and (e) 2012-13. [190404]

Mike Penning: The total cost of processing and managing claims for disability living allowance was as follows:

2011-12—£62,317,000

2012-13—£68,960,000

We have not provided data for years prior to 2011-12 as the data was collated differently and is not comparable to 2011-12 and 2012-13.

The information supplied is at Level 1 Operating Costs. This is the staff and non-staff costs which a Benefit Centre Manager can influence. They do not include any staff or non-staff costs charged to Corporate areas e.g. Estates costs, HR, Finance, IT costs.

Employment and Support Allowance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2013, Official Report, column 669W, on employment and support allowance, how many people in the work-related activity group who have not been seen by an assessor have been in contact with the Work programme to date. [190128]

Esther McVey: I refer the right hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 583W.

Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which back-to-work schemes being delivered by local authorities he has visited since May 2010. [190312]

6 Mar 2014 : Column 970W

Esther McVey: Since May 2010, the Secretary of State has visited a large number of back-to-work schemes. Of those being delivered by local authorities, he has visited the following:

Worknet Employment and Skills Programme-Waltham Forest council

Kent Jobs for Kent Young people-Kent county council

Westminster Working-Westminster council

Equality

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 6W, on equality, what the figures are for 2013-14. [190187]

Mike Penning: The information requested is not available as it forms part of the current year's annual accounts which have not been audited.

Health and Safety Executive

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which sectors of the economy are excluded from the requirement for inspection by the Health and Safety Executive. [190351]

Mike Penning: No sectors of economic activity are excluded from the requirement for inspection by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

HSE, like all publicly funded bodies has to make decisions on relative priorities. Consistent with the Government's framework document 'Good Health and Safety, Good for Everyone', HSE's proactive inspections are focussed on higher risk sectors (eg construction, waste and recycling, and certain areas of manufacturing) and major hazard industries. HSE inspectors also visit premises to investigate accidents or concerns that might lead an inspection where intelligence suggests, that standards of health and safety management are inadequate and that significant risks exist.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of people who have stopped claiming jobseeker's allowance in each of the last six months have done so following the application of sanctions. [190215]

Esther McVey: Jobseekers with a sanction on their benefit still have a live claim in place as long as they continue to attend fortnightly signing. Should they choose to end their claim they are not required to give a reason. Therefore the information requested on the numbers of claims terminated that have had a sanction in place within the life of the claim is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received on errors in processing claims for jobseeker's allowance. [190320]

6 Mar 2014 : Column 971W

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available to the level of detail required, however processing of jobseekers allowance claims is continually improving with 92% of benefits being processed on time. This is an increase of six percentage points since 2009-10.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many times claimants for jobseeker's allowance were sanctioned inappropriately due to processing errors in the last year for which figures are available. [190348]

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will investigate the effect of sanctions on jobseeker's allowance claimants. [190349]

Esther McVey: We continue to monitor the current sanctions regime as a matter of course to ensure that it meets the intended outcomes. We have already committed to an independent review by Matthew Oakley which will look at communications and offer recommendations to improve the operations of the jobseeker’s allowance sanctions process.

We will be sharing further evidence on sanctions through forthcoming evaluations which will provide additional insight and help to inform our future strategy. This includes work programme and claimant commitment evaluations.

Pagers

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 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. [190062]

Mike Penning: DWP have provided no new pagers to staff since May 2010.

Remploy

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will provide additional funding to former workers in Remploy sites who have opened their own businesses; [189953]

(2) if he will take steps to provide former Remploy workers living in England a grant based on wage incentives; [189954]

(3) if he will extend the former Remploy worker's financial support scheme; [189961]

(4) for what purposes have grants given to former Remploy worker's individual funding grants been used; [189962]

(5) what proportion of former Remploy workers' individual funding grants remain to be distributed before the conclusion of this programme; and what estimate he has made of whether any such funding will go unclaimed; [189966]

(6) how much of the former Remploy workers' individual funding grants have been distributed to these workers. [190024]

6 Mar 2014 : Column 972W

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. After this, specialist support will continue to be available, usually providing continuation of support from the same specialist employment advisor.

The support package includes access to a Personal Budget, which can include support for people taking up self employment or forming part of a social enterprise. Personal Budget awards can pay for items such as training, tools and equipment.

Individuals have also been referred to Community Support Fund projects where, in areas affected by factory closures, local organisations support former Remploy workers to move into employment and take part in social activities. To date 827 former employees have taken part in a range of Community Support Fund activities which have helped support 217 into employment.

A three year wage subsidy totalling £6,400 for each former Remploy disabled employee who transferred to a new employer was made available to the businesses sold as part of Remploy's commercial process.

Up to the end of January 2014, DWP has spent £4.2 million on providing individual support. We do not expect any of the available funding to go unclaimed.

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 Disability Employment Adviser.

Former Remploy employees may also qualify for the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA). The NEA helps unemployed people who want to start their own business. It is available to people aged 18 and over who are claiming jobseeker's allowance (JSA), lone parents on income support and ESA claimants who are in the work related activity group but have not yet been mandated to the Work Programme.

The NEA provides access to business mentoring and offers financial support in the form of an allowance worth up to £1,274 paid over six months, to help with cash-flow in the early months of trading. It also provides access to a start-up loan, if additional finance is needed to help get a business off the ground.

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many former Remploy workers have found employment; [189959]

(2) what the proportion of former Remploy workers who are (a) unemployed, (b) in full-time employment and (c) in part-time employment is following the closure of the Remploy factory network. [189960]

Mike Penning: Of the disabled former Remploy employees who have given consent to be tracked, as at 21 February 2014 records show:

6 Mar 2014 : Column 973W

(a) 482 disabled former Remploy employees are unemployed and claiming jobseeker’s allowance and 353 are claiming employment and support allowance.

(b) 1,534 disabled former workers have engaged with a personal case worker, a total of 930 jobs have been found and 699 former Remploy disabled workers are currently in work of 16 hours or over. 435 Remploy workers' employment continued when they transferred with the businesses which were exited as part of Remploy's commercial process.

(c) We are not able to separately identify the number of individuals who are currently working part time (under 16 hours a week).

Social Security Benefits

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals have been in receipt of (a) job seeker's allowance, (b) incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance and employment support allowance and (c) income support for (i) up to one year, (ii) between one and two years, (iii) between two and five years and (iv) over five years over the last 10 years. [190212]

Esther McVey: The information requested can be found at:

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp

Guidance for users can be found at:

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people who have been refused benefit over the last 12 months; and what steps his Department has taken to ascertain whether those claimants are in receipt of any income. [190355]

Esther McVey: All claimants applying for benefit must fulfil conditions of entitlement criteria in order to be awarded benefit. All claimants are considered against these criteria in the claim process.

The information requested on the income of those who were unsuccessful in their claim is not available.

Social Security Benefits: Cannock Chase

Mr Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit sanctions were issued in Cannock Chase constituency in each of the last five years. [189968]

Esther McVey: The available information on how many benefit sanctions have been applied in Cannock Chase constituency, is shown in the following table.

Number of sanctions applied in Cannock Chase parliamentary constituency, in each of the last five years
 All benefit sanctions

October 2008 to September 2009

740

October 2009 to September 2010

1,000

October 2010 to September 2011

1,240

October 2011 to September 2012

1,110

6 Mar 2014 : Column 974W

October 2012 to September 2013

1,110

Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 2. The number of benefit sanctions applied is the number of sanction or disallowance referrals where the decision was found against the claimant. 3. Information on JSA and ESA sanctions is published and available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ Sources: JSA and ESA: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database. IS: Income Support Computer System

Work Capability Assessment

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of employment and support allowance claimants who allege they did not receive letters informing them of their next work capability assessment. [190319]

Mike Penning: The requested data is not held by the Department.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints he received about the Work programme in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013. [190352]

Esther McVey: A breakdown of the number of complaints received about the Work programme is not held and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Treasury

Autumn Statement

Ian Swales: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will publish the data and calculations used to produce chart 2.H of Impact on households: distributional analysis to accompany Autumn Statement 2013; and if he will make a statement; [183419]

(2) with reference to chart 2.H of his Department's publication Impact on households: distributional analysis to accompany Autumn Statement 2013, if he will publish the data on which that chart is based; and if he will make a statement; [185250]

(3) what the 10 items are that make up the change in public service spending for the top quintile of chart 2.H of Impact on households: distributional analysis to accompany Autumn Statement 2013; and if he will make a statement; [183420]

(4) with reference to chart 2.H of his Department's publication Impact on households: distributional analysis to accompany Autumn Statement 2013, what the 10 items are that make up the change in public service spending for the top quintile; and if he will make a statement. [185251]

6 Mar 2014 : Column 975W

Danny Alexander: Details on the scope and methodology of this analysis are published in Chapter 3 in “Impact on households: distributional analysis to accompany Autumn Statement 2013”.

Business: Government Assistance

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on extending the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme beyond UK Ltd companies. [190015]

Mr Gauke: The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) offers a range of generous tax reliefs to individual investors who purchase new shares in small, early-stage companies to help those companies raise equity finance.

SEIS is not limited to UK companies, but companies must have a permanent establishment in the UK in order to qualify. This is appropriate for a scheme that is aimed at supporting small, early-stage companies in the UK.

Equality

Mr Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2014, Official Report, column 284W, on equality, what the (a) total departmental expenditure, (b) number and (c) cost of people employed for the purpose of promoting equality and diversity was in 2013-14 to date. [190201]

Nicky Morgan: The total expenditure for promoting equality and diversity in 2013-14, for which information is available, is £41,099 (April 2013 to January 2014). The expenditure includes funding for reasonable adjustments for employees with disabilities as required by the disability section of the Equality Act.

Staff costs on promoting equality and diversity 2013-14 are (i) one full-time equivalent employee at HM Treasury Range D/D2 (in current pay range £31,000 to £45,000) and (ii) from April 2013, 20% of an HR Business Partner leading on diversity at HM Treasury Range E (in current pay range £45,283 to £64,498).

National Insurance Contributions

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 13 February 2014, Official Report, column 825W, on national insurance contributions, what the total value was of class 1 national insurance contribution paid by those earning less than the annualised primary threshold in each year since 2009-10. [189636]

Mr Gauke: The information requested is as follows:

Tax yearPrimary threshold (annualised) (£)NI contributions by people with annual earnings below annualised PT (£ million)

2009-101

5,715

323

2010-111

5,715

329

2011-122

7,225

420

6 Mar 2014 : Column 976W

2012-133

7,605

600

1 These estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes for the year concerned. 2 This estimate is based on a 1% sample of end of year tax returns in respect of the tax year ending 5 April 2012. 3 These estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes for the year 2011-12 projected using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's December 2013 economic and fiscal outlook.

This information is not available for years prior to 2009-10.

Nobody with income below £10,000 in 2014-15 pays income tax as a result of this Government's measures.

They pay national insurance contributions because employee national insurance contributions arise separately in each pay period; for example, weekly whenever earnings exceed the equivalent pay period employee threshold.

Pagers

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 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. [190060]

Nicky Morgan: No pagers have been issued to staff at HM Treasury since May 2010. Therefore the cost to the department is nil.

Taxation: EU Nationals

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what enforcement steps he is taking to ensure that EU migrants living and working in the UK are compliant with British tax laws. [189952]

Mr Gauke: HMRC takes very seriously the requirement for all those living and working in the UK to be compliant with UK tax law, and also plays its part in ensuring that the vulnerable are protected from exploitation by unscrupulous employers and landlords.

HMRC uses all of the enforcement and compliance tools at its disposal to ensure that those who bend and break the rules are caught, to protect the integrity of the tax system and ensure everyone pays their fair share.

Welfare Tax Credits

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the gender breakdown was of people in receipt of tax credits in each of the last five years. [180536]

Nicky Morgan: Table 3.1 of the Tax Credits Provisional Awards statistical publications produced in April 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 provides information about the number of single-adult recipient households by gender, and the number of couple recipient households.

The publications can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-tax-credits-provisional-statistics-2013-to-2009

6 Mar 2014 : Column 977W

Attorney-General

Equality

Mr Raab: To ask the Attorney-General what the (a) total departmental expenditure for the Law Officers Departments and (b) what the number and cost of people employed for the purpose of promoting equality and diversity was for each of the last five years. [187652]

The Solicitor-General: The Treasury Solicitor's Department, Attorney-General's Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate do not have a specific budget for promoting equality and diversity and do not employ individuals solely for that purpose.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is part of Stonewall's Diversity Champions programme and pays an annual membership fee. In 2012-13 the SFO paid £6,125 to

6 Mar 2014 : Column 978W

Stonewall, in 2011-12 £1,800, and in 2010-11 £225. The sum for 2012-13 includes annual membership for 2013-14 and 2014-15. Membership for 2010-11 was paid for in 2009-10.

The following table provides details on the total expenditure incurred by the Crown Prosecution Service, along with information on the number of employees and employee cost during the previous five financial years. These figures are an update on the information published in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Philip Davies), on 29 August 2013, Official Report, column 998W, and include some additional costs associated with equality and diversity community engagement managers who operate at a local CPS area level and work on a wide variety of other operational management functions alongside equality and diversity functions.

CPS: Equality and diversity
 2008-092009-102010-112011-122012-13

Total expenditure on equality and diversity (excluding staff) (£)

518,055

492,463

215,375

289,318

140,030

Number of staff

26.5

27.9

24.5

22.4

20.2

Cost of staff (£)

1,290,765

1,541,119

1,529,180

1,291,984

1,377,927

The majority of this expenditure is incurred by the CPS public accountability and inclusion directorate. Alongside its work to ensure the CPS meets its general and specific duties under equalities legislation, the directorate has strategic responsibility for the implementation of the Equality Act 2010, including policy around the Government priorities of preventing violence against women and girls and hate crime. The unit also has responsibilities for victims' right to review, complaints, public inquiries and parliamentary correspondence.

Food: Crime

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Attorney-General how many people were prosecuted for food crime offences in the UK in each of the last five years. [189843]

Jane Ellison: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Health.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is an Independent non-ministerial Government Department accountable to Parliament through Department of Health Ministers.

Based on official returns provided by local authorities to the FSA the number of United Kingdom establishments prosecuted for either food hygiene or food standards (composition and labelling) in each of the last five years was:

Financial yearFood HygieneFood Standards

2008-09

305

83

2009-10

349

118

2010-11

335

90

2011-12

347

66

2012-13

320

78

Data for 2013-14 are not yet available.

The data are provided by local authorities as part of their annual enforcement returns to the FSA and relates to the number of establishments subject to prosecution, not the total number of offences taken or the number of individuals subject to prosecution—this level of data is not provided to the FSA as part of the local authority returns.

Data for the number of individuals prosecuted are available in instances where the FSA is the enforcement authority, for example, in approved abattoirs and meat cutting establishments. For each of the last five years the number of individuals prosecuted by the FSA was:

Financial yearFSA prosecutions

2008-09

11

2009-10

17

2010-11

21

2011-12

15

2012-13

6

Horses: Exports

Mr Anderson: To ask the Attorney-General whether any successful prosecutions have been made in the last five years against those accused of exporting horses and ponies for slaughter; and if he will make a statement. [189861]

The Solicitor-General: There have not been any prosecutions for the export of horses or ponies for slaughter in the last five years.

European and national legislation permits the export of horses to be slaughtered for human consumption. National legislation currently prohibits the export of ponies for slaughter for human consumption.

6 Mar 2014 : Column 979W

Serious Fraud Office

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General (1) how much (a) wrongly-claimed VAT and (b) interest on such VAT the Serious Fraud Office has been required to pay to HM Revenue and Customs in 2014 to date; [190272]

(2) how much the Serious Fraud Office has been fined in respect of VAT claims in 2014 to date. [190273]

The Solicitor-General: The amount paid in relation to VAT (including interest and penalties) has not been published because provision for this liability was part of a Supplementary Estimate and details of this have been withheld from publication for operational reasons.

Financial details for the SFO will be reported in their 2013-14 accounts later this year.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animal Welfare: Circuses

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to prohibit the possession and use of wild animals by circuses by the end of the present Parliament. [190384]

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban the use of wild animals in circuses. [190195]

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress he has made in preparing a Bill to outlaw the use of wild animals in circuses. [190388]

George Eustice: Last April, DEFRA published the draft Wild Animals in Circuses Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny. Under the proposed Bill, travelling circuses in England must stop using all wild animal acts by December 2015. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Select Committee has scrutinised the draft Bill and the Government's response to the EFRA Select Committee's report was published last October.

We cannot comment on whether any particular Bill will be in the Queen's Speech ahead of the speech itself.

6 Mar 2014 : Column 980W

Biodiversity

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if he will make it his policy that the new biodiversity offsetting scheme is mandatory; [188926]

(2) what his policy is on the inclusion of special habitats in the biodiversity offsetting scheme. [188927]

George Eustice: Following last autumn's policy consultation, the Government intends to make a further statement on its offsetting policy in due course. This will include whether it sees any need to move away from its stated preference for a fully permissive system.

Offsetting is an adjunct to existing planning policy, not a replacement for it. All the protections given to special habitats in the National Planning Policy Framework will remain in place.

Environment Protection

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 574W, on biodiversity offsetting, what assessment he has made of (a) the findings on offsetting of the report from the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability on Victoria's environment and (b) reports from Canberra that conservation activities that would have happened anyway are being claimed as offsets in contravention of the principle of additionality; and if he will make a statement. [190023]

Dan Rogerson: We have not yet made an assessment of this particular report which was published in November 2013 after the consultation on offsetting had closed. In the consultation we made it clear that offsets should not reward activity that would have happened anyway and sought views on how additionality should be ensured in the English context.

Flood Control

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of gross domestic product was spent on flood defences in each year since 2009. [189784]

Dan Rogerson: The following table details the proportion of GDP spent on flood defences from 2009 to 2012. As 2013-14 spend figures are not yet available, 2013 is excluded. In order to provide spend figures by calendar year, it has been assumed that spend accrued evenly across each financial year.

Calendar yearEstimated spending on flood risk management England during calendar year (£ million)Spending as a proportion (percentage) of England’s GDPEstimated nominal England GDP (£ trillion)

2009

617

0.051

1.2

2010

661

0.052

1.3

2011

597

0.045

1.3

2012

575

0.043

1.3

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress he has made on ensuring all relevant organisations have a duty to share information and cooperate with local authorities and the Environment Agency to facilitate the management of flood risk. [189799]

Dan Rogerson: Progress on this issue was reported in the Government's final progress report on implementing

6 Mar 2014 : Column 981W

the recommendations made by the Pitt Review, published in January 2012. Action on the issue was completed.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps he has taken to ensure that local authorities tackle local problems of flooding by working with all relevant parties, establishing ownership and legal responsibility. [189975]

Dan Rogerson: Progress on this issue was reported in the Government's Final Progress Report on implementing the recommendations made in the Pitt Review, published in January 2012. Action on the issue was completed.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps he has taken to ensure that local surface water management plans, as set out under PPS25 and co-ordinated by local authorities provide the basis for managing all local flood risk. [189976]

Dan Rogerson: Progress on this issue was reported in the Government's Final Progress Report on implementing the recommendations made in the Pitt Review, published in January 2012. Action on the issue was completed.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps he has taken to ensure that local authorities lead on the management of local flood risk. [189978]

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.

Some Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) are still developing their local strategies while others have consulted and published them.

Floods

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) the Met Office and (b) the Environment Agency on the (i) costs, (ii) benefits and (iii) feasibility of a sliding scale of options for greater personalisation of public warning information. [186941]

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency has undertaken an investment review for its flood warning and information service which it has shared with DEFRA. It is currently producing a five-year plan of priorities for developing its service.

For the plan it analysed the costs and benefits of different service developments. Greater personalisation was one of its key priorities, though such developments can be expensive. To enable more personalised services to be developed at low or no cost to the Environment Agency, it shares its flood data with third party developers for them to develop flood warning services. Examples include the Shoothill Flood Alert map for Facebook and the Halcrow Flood Alert App for iPhone. This approach will be extended under the Environment Agency's five-year plan.

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The Environment Agency's flood warning service already provides a good level of personalisation of flood warnings. Each flood warning includes information and advice specific to the area. Flood warnings are sent through a range of channels that customers can choose from including landline telephone, fax, mobile phone, text messages, over the internet and by email. Over 1.1 million properties at risk of flooding can receive direct flood warnings in this way.

The Environment Agency also uses social media such as Twitter and Facebook to share information about flooding. River and sea level information is available on its website, allowing people to monitor water levels in their area. Its Floodline service allows customers to speak to someone and get advice about flooding in their area.

The Secretary of State visited the Met Office in June 2013 and I visited in January 2014. We were briefed on the weather forecasting services the Met Office provides to the public. The visits also included an overview of the Met Office National Severe Weather Warning Service and developments in forecasting capability, in particular around the prediction of heavy rainfall.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the accuracy of the one in (a) 100, (b) 75 and (c) 30 years chance predictors of flooding. [189676]

Dan Rogerson: In December 2013 the Environment Agency published new maps of risk of flooding from rivers and the sea. Preparation of this map included the most extensive evidence-based review of results by local experts ever undertaken. Accuracy will vary by location depending on available information.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the progress by the Environment Agency towards achieving a national overview of all flood risk, including surface water and groundwater flood risk. [189790]

Dan Rogerson: In fulfilling its strategic overview role and to provide a national overview, the Environment Agency published the national flood and coastal erosion risk management strategy for England in July 2011.

The Environment Agency reports to the Minister every year about the application of the strategy and on the activities of Risk Management Authorities to manage all sources of flood and coastal erosion risk. The last report was published in July 2013.

As part of this overview role the Environment Agency publishes national flood and coastal erosion risk maps on rivers, sea, reservoirs, surface water and coastal erosion using its own and local authority data.

The Environment Agency is working with lead local flood authorities and others to prepare flood risk management plans for all sources of flooding covering all river basin districts in England. The plans set out the risks and management actions for the period 2015-21. This work helps the Environment Agency to deliver its overview role for flood risk in England, working in partnership with other risk management authorities.

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Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to allow (a) social housing providers and (b) local authorities to claim for flood relief funding provided to freehold owners of flood affected properties. [189884]

Dan Rogerson [holding answer 4 March 2014]: The Repair and Renew Grant will make a grant of up to £5,000 available to all homeowners and businesses that have been flooded to contribute towards improvements to their properties that would help reduce the impact and cost of any subsequent flooding. Details of the scheme are still being finalised but we expect social housing providers, including local authorities, to be eligible.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government has published an action plan to implement the recommendations of the Review released after the 2007 floods, with a director in his Department overseeing the programme of delivery and issuing regular updates. [190454]

Dan Rogerson: The Government's Response to Sir Michael Pitt's Review of the Summer 2007 Floods, published in December 2008, constituted the action plan to implement the recommendations of the Pitt Review. That document explained that the DEFRA director of floods and water would oversee delivery of the programme of works and ensure that regular progress reports were issued.

Three progress reports were published, in June 2009, December 2009, and January 2012. The latter made clear that it was to be the final progress report.

Floods: Housing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Association of British Insurers on the replacement of old air bricks in flooded properties with new water-proof air bricks. [190115]

Dan Rogerson: We are working with local authorities, insurers and other relevant professionals to agree the arrangements for the roll out of the Repair and Renew grant scheme, before it is launched on 1 April. In this context, general discussions have taken place with representatives of the insurance industry on the subject of measures that may meet the criteria of making homes and businesses better equipped to withstand the impact of future flooding. No discussions have been held on the specific topic of air bricks.

Floods: Isle of Wight

Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times (a) sea flooding and (b) land flooding has taken place in (i) the Medina, (ii) the Eastern Yar, (iii) the Western Yar and (iv) other brooks on the Isle of Wight in each of the last five years. [189564]

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Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency holds information on the number of flooding reports it receives. However, it is highly likely that some flooding has also occurred at other times but has not been reported to the Environment Agency. In terms of flood reports received:

For the Medina catchment; the Environment Agency has had six reports of sea flooding in total; twice in each of 2012, 2013 and 2014. Flooding from the rivers in the Medina catchment was reported once in 2013. Surface water flooding was reported twice in 2010.

The Environment Agency has had no reports of sea flooding on the Eastern Yar catchment over the last five years. Flooding from the Eastern Yar River has been reported twice in each of 2013 and 2014. The Environment Agency has had one report of surface water flooding in 2012.

For the Western Yar catchment; the Environment Agency has had four reports of sea flooding; once in 2012 and 2013, and twice in 2014. The Environment Agency has had no reports of river flooding over the last five years. It has had one report of surface water flooding in 2012.

For other locations on the Isle of Wight; the Environment Agency has had reports of sea flooding in Ryde once in 2012. It has also had reports of flooding from the Monkton Mead Brook once in 2013, and flooding once from the Shorwell Stream in 2013, It has also had reports of surface water flooding in Ryde (twice in 2010, once in 2013, once in 2014), in Lake (once in 2010), in Seaview (once in 2010), in Wootton Bridge (once in 2010) and in Binstead (twice in 2011).

Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been (a) sought for and (b) spent on (i) the Medina, (ii) the Eastern Yar, (iii) the Western Yar and (iv) other brooks on the Isle of Wight by (A) the Environment Agency and (B) his Department in each of the last five years. [189568]

Dan Rogerson: Over the past five years (2009-14) the Environment Agency has sought, received and spent over £1.1 million of DEFRA grant in aid managing flood risk on the Isle of Wight, this includes:

£661,000 for river maintenance and incident response (£143,000 in 2009-10, £147,000 in 2010-11, £95,000 in 2011-12, £161,000 in 2012-13, £115,000 in 2013-14).

£430,000 for mechanical and electrical asset maintenance, mapping and modelling improvements and capital investment in projects and studies.

The above expenditure does not include Environment Agency salary costs relating to all other flood risk activities, e.g. strategic planning and development control.

In addition to this, the Isle of Wight council receive new burdens funding, which is not ring fenced, for its role as a Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) and for the management of local sources of flooding. The amounts are as follows:

2011-12: £120,000 as Local Services Support Grant (LSSG) from DEFRA

2012-13: £155,000 as LSSG from DEFRA

2013-14: £35,000 as LSSG from DEFRA and £120,000 rolled into the Business Rates Retention and Revenue Support Grant funding from DCLG.

Floods: South East Flood Control

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the expansion of Heathrow on the ability of local authorities in Berkshire, Surrey and the surrounding areas to manage high levels of rainfall. [190107]

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Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency has provided advice to the Airports Commission on the Appraisal Framework for the proposed options of expansion at Heathrow. The Environment Agency has recommended that flood risk should be considered in the Appraisal Framework.

Under the National Planning Framework any new airport infrastructure, and associated surface access, needs to ensure it does not increase flood risk to the surrounding areas. It is a statutory requirement that developers of such infrastructure undertake an appropriate Flood Risk Assessment. At the moment there are no detailed proposals to assess.

The Environment Agency is engaging with the operators of Heathrow to ensure the appropriate assessments are carried out in due course.

Floods: Warrington

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Environment Agency is taking to protect houses in Chester Road, Warrington next to the River Mersey from flooding. [189858]

Dan Rogerson: Between 2007 and 2009, the Environment Agency undertook a strategy to assess flood risk in Warrington.

The area of Wilderspool, which includes Chester Road, was investigated as part of this strategy and the flood risk in this area was found to be low. As such, the Environment Agency does not intend to undertake any flood risk management work in Wilderspool at this time.

The areas with the highest risk of flooding in Warrington include Latchford, Howley and Westy. In partnership with Warrington borough council, the Environment Agency is building a £23 million flood alleviation scheme that will reduce the risk of flooding to over 2,000 homes and businesses in these areas.

Food Poverty

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he plans to take to implement the findings of Household food security in the UK: a review of food aid. [190225]

George Eustice: The research was commissioned as part of the Department's general work on food in the UK, to see what information was available on the issue. The report is a useful summary of currently available evidence.

Through Healthy Start the Government provides a nutritional safety net, in a way that encourages healthy eating, to more than half a million pregnant women and children under four years old in very low income and disadvantaged families throughout the UK.

Food Supply

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he agrees with Professor Chris Elliott that there has been a culture of casual dishonesty in the food industry; and what measures his Department is considering to encourage strict adherence to the law and regulations in that industry. [189866]

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George Eustice: It is the responsibility of food businesses to ensure that food they are supplying is safe and accurately described. Professor Elliott has said that UK consumers have access to perhaps the safest food in the world. However, the horsemeat fraud of 2013 has shown the real risk of the food industry being targeted by criminals. The Government has made it clear that all food businesses need to review their own systems and test their products to continue to demonstrate to consumers that they are in control of their supply chains following the EU-wide horsemeat fraud. The Government has been working with the food industry to encourage reporting of test results to the Food Standards Agency and to encourage the better sharing of intelligence to improve our ability to identify and prevent threats to the integrity of the food chain.

The Government is currently considering all Professor Elliott's interim recommendations but is already acting to improve our ability to combat fraud and will respond fully to his final report to be published in spring 2014.

Forests

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much ancient woodland in England consists of areas of trees (a) larger and (b) smaller than two hectares; how many hectares of ancient woodland have been damaged or destroyed in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [189818]

Dan Rogerson: Natural England's Ancient Woodland Inventory records the distribution of ancient woodland. Its records show that there are 364,308 ha of ancient woodland in England. The inventory splits ancient woodlands into two distinct types: ancient semi-natural woodland and plantations on ancient woodland sites. These are:

Total number of distinct ancient woodland areas—34,669

Total number over 2ha in size—22,247

Total number of 2ha and less in size—12,422.

The information on damaged and destroyed ancient woodland is not available and to attempt to gather this data would incur a disproportionate cost for the Department. However, the Woodland Trust estimates that, since 1998, 275 ha of ancient woodland has been lost to development. Figures suggest that less than 0.25% of ancient woodland has been built on since 1998.

Fracking

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what risk assessments he has made of the effect of fracking on water tables in Lancashire and East Sussex. [189495]

Dan Rogerson: Our regulatory regime is robust and will ensure that fracking will take place safely and that our environment, including the quality of our water, is properly protected. The Environment Agency will make an assessment of any chemicals an operator proposes to use in fracking and will not authorise the use of hazardous substances where there is an unacceptable risk they would enter groundwater.

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Heathrow Airport

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential effect of expansion of Heathrow airport on flood reservoir capacity in (a) Berkshire, (b) Surrey and (c) the surrounding areas. [189708]

Dan Rogerson: No assessment has been made as yet of the potential effects of any of the proposals set out in the Davies commission's interim report. However, DEFRA, the Environment Agency and Natural England have been represented on the commission's Sustainability Reference Group, which has supported the commission's work on the development of the appraisal methodology to be applied to the shortlisted options. This includes the need to assess key impacts, including on noise, air quality, biodiversity, water supply and flood risk, and is underpinned by an ecosystems services appraisal approach. The commission published the draft methodology for consultation and the final methodology will be published later in the year. The final assessment of the shortlisted options will be undertaken by the commission, independent of Government.

Internet

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what services his Department provides that are (a) available online only and (b) planned to move to online only. [190365]

Dan Rogerson: None of the services provided by core DEFRA for its external customers are made available online only.

Where resources allow and business needs dictate, DEFRA’s services will be redeveloped in line with the cross-government “Digital by Default” Service Standard. Offering appropriate support to those who are genuinely unable to use online services is a key requirement of this standard.

Land Drainage

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to adopt sustainable drainage systems for the building of new developments and the renovation of existing landscapes. [190136]

Dan Rogerson: Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 introduces a Sustainable Drainage Systems Approving Body (SAB) in each English county or unitary authority to adopt and maintain approved Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) serving more than one property. We intend to lay the implementing secondary legislation in April.

The Water White Paper signals our intent to continue to encourage the uptake and retrofitting of SuDS in existing properties. Also, a new clause in the Water Bill aims to increase the options open to sewerage undertakers in how they may exercise their duty to effectually drain an area. The clause makes clear that they can construct and use SuDS to exercise this duty.

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Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the new national standards for sustainable drainage systems will be published. [190233]

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA will consult on the revised national standards for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) shortly. Finalised standards will be published after notification to the European Commission and before implementation of Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

Pagers

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 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. [190050]

Dan Rogerson: Core DEFRA has not provided any pagers to staff since May 2010.

Public Expenditure

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how much (a) resource and (b) capital funding was received by his Department, excluding non-departmental public bodies, to achieve its core responsibility of improving the environment in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14; [190221]

(2) how much (a) resource and (b) capital funding was received by his Department, excluding non-departmental public bodies, to achieve its core responsibility of safeguarding plant health in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14; [190222]

(3) how much (a) resource and (b) capital funding was received by his Department, excluding non-departmental public bodies, to achieve its core responsibility of growing the rural economy in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14; [190223]

(4) how much (a) resource and (b) capital funding was received by his Department, excluding non-departmental public bodies, to achieve its core responsibility of safeguarding animal health in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14. [190224]

Dan Rogerson: The Department's four priorities are cross-cutting, and consequently a number of its activities contribute to more than one priority. Detail of funding is held at activity level rather than priority level.

The Department's Supplementary Estimates for 2012-13 and 2013-14 show the final funding the Department received in each year, broken down into a level of detail agreed as appropriate for the Department to report against. These can be found at the following links:

2012-13—(Page 460)

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/220680/supplementary_estimates _1213_defra.pdf

2013-14—(Page 503)

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/279575/supplementary_estimates_and_new_ estimates_2013_14_120214_correction.pdf

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Reptiles: Imports

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many reptiles were imported into the EU according to Eurostat in each year from 2001 to 2013. [189906]

George Eustice: Information on the number of reptiles imported into the EU has been extracted from the Eurostat trade database (ec.europa.eu/eurostat/). Data for 2001 is not included as a product code specifically covering live reptiles only became available on the database from 2002 onwards.

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 Number

2002

1,123,108

2003

1,502,249

2004

1,796,257

2005

1,634,660

2006

2,252,465

2007

2,903,626

2008

2,488,852

2009

1,815,919

2010

1,557,024

2011

1,647,107

2012

1,650,987

2013

1,329,037