Meningitis: Vaccination

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has received advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation following its meeting on 11 February 2014 regarding the introduction of a meningitis B vaccination programme on the NHS. [190797]

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has received advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation regarding the introduction of a meningitis B vaccination programme in the NHS since 11 February 2014. [190663]

Jane Ellison: We are awaiting final advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) about the use of the meningococcal B vaccine, Bexsero®.

The JCVI is due to report back by 26 March 2014 at the latest, having reviewed additional evidence at its meeting last month.

We will then respond to any JCVI recommendation as quickly as possible.

Mental Health

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment his Department has made of (a) the number of people in the UK suffering from (i) loneliness and (ii) chronic loneliness and (b) the cost to the NHS of such conditions; [190439]

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(2) what assessment his Department has made of the effect of loneliness on (a) life expectancy, (b) cardiovascular disease, (c) dementia and (d) recovery from illness. [190440]

Norman Lamb: The Department has not undertaken an assessment of the effect of loneliness. We do know that loneliness has a very negative impact on health—research identified by the Campaign to End Loneliness has demonstrated that social relationships have an effect on mortality that is similar in size to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

The Department is raising awareness of the issue and helping local health and wellbeing boards and commissioners to get better at measuring the issue in their local communities. This will help them come up with the right targeted solutions, and drive local improvements that really make a difference.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that a wide range of psychological therapies is accessible to people with multiple and complex needs; [190848]

(2) what plans his Department has to fund research into the effectiveness of psychological therapies for people with multiple and complex needs. [190850]

Norman Lamb: Over £400 million is being invested over the spending review period to make a choice of psychological therapies available for those who need them, including those with complex and multiple needs, in all parts of England.

The Department's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is funding a range of research relating to psychological therapies for people with multiple and complex needs. This includes a revision of the Cochrane review of psychosocial interventions for people with both severe mental illness and substance misuse. Research to evaluate individual psychological interventions for anxiety and substance misuse linked to bipolar disorder is included within a £2.1 million programme of NIHR-funded research on bipolar disorder led by Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust.

NHS England is running a series of pilot programmes to expand or improve Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services for people with severe mental illness, long-term conditions, black and minority ethnic (BME) groups and older people.

We are also investing in improving provision for children and young people, older people and carers, people from BME groups, people with long-term physical health problems and those with severe mental illness.

Mental Health: Females

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve the mental health of women. [190849]

Norman Lamb: Improving diagnosis and services for women with pregnancy-related mental health problems is one of the Department's objectives for maternity care. Our mental health action plan, ‘Closing the Gap’,

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published in January this year sets out a priority on maternal mental health during pregnancy and after birth including postnatal depression.

The priorities in ‘Closing the Gap’ and the wider programme of activity in support of delivery of the priorities are for women of all ages, where applicable, and includes a specific priority around tackling inequalities to mental health services. A copy of ‘Closing the Gap’ has been placed in the Library.

Muscular Dystrophy

Dr Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2014, Official Report, column 143W, on muscular dystrophy, what clinical definition of (a) muscular dystrophy and (b) mitochondrial myopathy he used to prepare his answer; and what the evidential basis is for consideration of mitochondrial myopathy to be a form of muscular dystrophy; [190143]

(2) regarding those cases of muscular dystrophy that he stated are new techniques, which of the genes or genetic loci associated with muscular dystrophy in the Mendelian Inheritance in Man database map to the mitochondrial genome; [190144]

(3) what proportion of cases of muscular dystrophy are caused by mitochondrial DNA abnormalities every year; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of cases of serious muscular dystrophy caused by mitochondrial DNA abnormalities that will be prevented each year by new techniques which aim to prevent mitochondrial disorders. [190145]

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2014, Official Report, column 145W, on muscular dystrophy, and in relation to the mitochondrial abnormalities that are alleged to cause muscular dystrophy, how muscular dystrophy is defined clinically; how mitochondrial myopathy is defined clinically; and on what basis mitochondrial myopathy is considered to be a form of muscular dystrophy; [190393]

(2) pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2014, Official Report, column 145W, on muscular dystrophy, and in relation to those cases of muscular dystrophy that are alleged to be caused by mitochondrial DNA abnormalities that could be prevented by new in-vitro fertilisation techniques, what proportion of cases of muscular dystrophy are caused by mitochondrial DNA abnormalities per year; and what proportion of cases of serious muscular dystrophy caused by mitochondrial DNA abnormalities are expected to be prevented each year by new techniques which aim to prevent mitochondrial disorders; [190394]

(3) pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2014, Official Report, column 145W, on muscular dystrophy, and in relation to those cases of muscular dystrophy that are alleged to be caused by mitochondrial DNA abnormalities that could be prevented by new in-vitro fertilisation techniques, which of the genes or genetic loci associated with muscular dystrophy in the Mendelian Inheritance in Man database map to the mitochondrial genome. [190395]

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Jane Ellison: In preparing written answers to questions on the use of mitochondrial donation techniques to prevent the transfer of a serious mitochondrial disease/ including conditions that result in loss of muscle co-ordination, muscle weakness and malfunction of the neuromuscular system, advice has been sought from The Wellcome Trust and the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. As my right hon. Friend and the hon. Member may be aware, the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign has expressed firm support for allowing the use of mitochondrial donation techniques in clinical practice.

Muscular dystrophies are a group of muscle diseases that weaken the musculoskeletal system and limit movement. There are a number of different causes including abnormalities of structural proteins, for example Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and mitochondrial abnormalities. Thus mitochondrial abnormalities can cause muscular dystrophy but there are many other causes.

With regard to the muscular conditions that result from mutations in the mitochondrial DNA, there are many different mitochondrial gene defects that are a cause of mitochondrial myopathy. Moreover, mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from the mother, therefore, mitochondrial diseases do not show simple types of inheritance.

Only those cases of muscular dystrophy caused by mitochondrial DNA abnormalities could be prevented by the new techniques.

The Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man database does not simply list syndromes that are due to mutations in mitochondrial DNA. Some entries contain both mitochondrial and nuclear-encoded phenotypes, complicating identification of relevant conditions, compounded by uncertainty as to what the term “muscular dystrophy-like syndromes” might encompass, given that many of the clinical symptoms include effects on other tissues, such as the brain or kidney, in addition to muscle.

The Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research at Newcastle university recently updated their estimate and now consider that, initially, 10 to 20 families per year might be assisted by the mitochondrial donation techniques. However, we are not able to estimate how many of these cases would involve conditions affecting the major muscle groups.

Naltrexone

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will take steps in partnership with pharmaceutical companies to fund clinical trials to assess the effectiveness of low dose naltrexone in providing relief to patients with autoimmune diseases and central nervous system disorders. [190731]

Dr Poulter: The Department's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) manages the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programme, which is funded by the Medical Research Council and the NIHR. University-based researchers can apply to this programme for funding for the evaluation of the clinical efficacy of treatments, including the use of low dose naltrexone. If evidence from such evaluations is promising, larger scale trials can follow.

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The NIHR Clinical Research Network provides a single point of contact for industry studies, offers centralised and co-ordinated study feasibility assessment, and support with patient recruitment.

NHS England

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what organisations outside NHS England provide administrative or research support to NHS England. [190182]

Jane Ellison: NHS England has advised that the information is not held in the form requested, due to the wide range of activities that could be considered administrative or research support.

It is not possible to provide a comprehensive list because there is not a single ‘administrative spend' category within NHS England's finance data. However, a list of the principal organisations that are contracted to provide outsourced administrative services to NHS England is shown in the following table:

NHS England has not contracted with any outside organisations for research. NHS England works closely with NHS Improving Quality, which is one of its hosted organisations and co-operates with the Academic Health Science Networks, but has issued no contracts for research with them.

NHS Property Services

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the chairman of NHS Property Services has not yet been appointed. [190512]

Dr Poulter: The campaign to appoint a chair to NHS Property Services has not yet been completed. As is consistent with the Commissioner for Public Appointments "Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies" Ministers have arranged to meet the candidates and a decision will be made in due course.

NHS: Freedom of Information

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which organisation is responsible for responding to requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 about issues which formerly fell under the remit of strategic health authorities. [190569]

Jane Ellison: The Health and Social Care Act (2012) transferred the functions previously performed by strategic health authorities (SHAs) to a number of organisations in the new health and care system.

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Where a function was transferred, all current and historic information relating to that function also transferred to the organisation now responsible for delivering it. There is no single organisation responsible for answering requests made under the Freedom of Information Act for information previously held by SHAs, as a number of different bodies now carry out these functions.

The Department is responsible for answering requests relating to corporate and historic matters of SHAs which have not transferred to another body in the system.

NHS: Technology

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to introduce SensiumVitals patches in NHS hospitals; [190376]

(2) what plans he has to make 3G implants for children with a heart condition available to NHS patients. [190383]

Norman Lamb: The SensiumVitals medical sensor patch and the Reveal LINQ 3G heart monitoring implant are new innovations in medical technology. The decision to procure such devices for use in the national health service would be a matter for local commissioners and providers, taking into account the evidence of their clinical and cost-effectiveness.

Pancreatic Cancer

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2014, Official Report, column 460W, on cancer: drugs, for what reasons NHS England did not place Abraxane for the treatment of advanced adenocarcinoma of the pancreas on the national list of Cancer Drugs Fund cohort policies. [190790]

Norman Lamb: NHS England's Cancer Drugs Fund panel considered including Abraxane on the national Cancer Drugs Fund cohort policies list for this indication in July 2013. We understand it rejected the application on the basis that the absolute clinical improvements were small and came with significantly increased toxicity.

NHS England's Cancer Drugs Fund clinical panel is reviewing its earlier decision not to add Abraxane to its national list of cohort policies in light of new evidence submitted by the manufacturer and will make its decision known shortly.

Full details of NHS England's decisions are available at:

www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/cdf/cdf-drug-sum/

Pharmacy

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy that pharmacies deliver a common ailments service. [190295]

Norman Lamb: NHS England is responsible for the commissioning of NHS pharmaceutical services. It is for NHS England to decide if a common ailments service should be included. Through their document ‘Community pharmacy—Helping with winter pressures’, a copy of which has been placed in the Library, NHS

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England has identified where community pharmacies can contribute during the winter period. This includes supporting self-care for common ailments. NHS England is conducting a review of Urgent and Emergency Care led by Sir Bruce Keogh. The contribution of a common ailments service will be considered as part of this review.

Clinical commissioning groups are able to commission common ailments services in their area, in order to meet the health needs of their local population.

Pharmacy: Crime

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to remove strict liability on single dispensing errors from pharmacists. [190296]

Norman Lamb: The Rebalancing Medicines Legislation and Pharmacy Regulation Programme Board has developed proposals to exempt registered pharmacists and registered pharmacy technicians from the criminal sanction for dispensing errors. We plan to consult on a draft section 60 order, to effect these changes, shortly. We are committed to seeking to complete the legislative process during this Parliament.

Prescription Drugs

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions for (a) methylphenidate, (b) benzodiazepines, (c) morphine sulphate and (d) oxycodone were issued in (i) the UK, (ii) England, (iii) Scotland, (iv) Wales, (v) Northern Ireland, (vi) each English local authority and (vii) each Welsh local authority area in each of the last five years. [190546]

Norman Lamb: Information has been placed in the Library.

The Department does not hold information on the number of prescriptions issued, only the number of prescription items dispensed. In addition, information is only held on prescribing activity for England. Dispensed prescription activity is usually apportioned to health bodies rather than local government, therefore information is provided by primary care trusts and now by clinical commissioning groups. The five-year period requested has been interpreted as the five most recent available full financial years, for which information is only available for the four years 2009-10 to 2012-13.

Procurement

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions officials in his Department have had with his Department's arm's length bodies since 1 January 2014 on raising new purchase orders in the current financial year; what the content of those discussions was; and if he will make a statement. [190063]

Dr Poulter: The Department operates a range of controls to ensure that commitments which are entered into deliver against departmental priorities and represent value for money. In order to deliver against a challenging budgetary position, in January the Department reaffirmed the need to look critically at all new commitments. No formal communications were issued to our arm's length bodies (ALBs) but their Directors of Finance were told of the steps being taken within the Department and

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asked to consider the consistency of their own arrangements. To note, none of the aforementioned involves front line national health service spending. The Department's Procurement Centre of Expertise (PCoE) has no direct involvement in the raising of purchase orders within ALBs. However, PCoE does review and comment on business cases for professional services as part of the Cabinet Office efficiency controls. No changes to that process have been made over recent months with any cases received being dealt with in the usual manner.

Respiratory Diseases

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are on (a) invasive and (b) non-invasive ventilation; and if he will make a statement. [190071]

Jane Ellison: The information is not available in the format requested.

In the following table, we have provided information concerning the number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) with a primary or secondary procedure of invasive or non-invasive ventilation for 2012-13.

Sexuality

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will publish its assessment of the UK Council for Psychotherapy's February 2014 report on Conversion therapy. [190443]

Norman Lamb: There are no plans to publish an assessment of the UK Council for Psychotherapy's Joint Statement on Conversion Therapy.

Being lesbian, gay or bisexual is not an illness to be treated or cured. We are therefore concerned about this issue of gay to straight conversion therapy.

The Department is pursuing a number of initiatives with the UK Council for Psychotherapy and other professional bodies.

On 28 February, following discussions with the Department, the UK Council for Psychotherapy produced a statement opposing gay conversion therapy with the support and assistance of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, the British Psychological Society, the British Psychoanalytic Council, Stonewall and Pink Therapy.

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Skin Cancer

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many patients with late-stage melanoma have received Ipilimumab as a second-line treatment following unsuccessful treatment with the first-line drug Dacarbazine in (a) St Austell and Newquay constituency, (b) Cornwall and (c) England in each of the last five years; [190793]

(2) how many people aged 15 to 34 have been diagnosed with advanced melanoma in (a) St Austell and Newquay constituency, (b) Cornwall and (c) England; and how many such people have received (i) Dacarbazine and (ii) Ipilimumab. [190794]

Norman Lamb: Information is not collected by the Department on the number of patients receiving particular medicines or details of the medical condition treated by the medicines.

The following table provides the number of newly diagnosed cases of malignant melanoma of skin for Cornwall local authority and England, for persons aged from 15 to 34 years. Figures for the most recent available year, 2011, have been provided.

Specialised Services Patient and Public Engagement Steering Group

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2014, Official Report, column 279W, on Specialised Services Patient and Public Engagement Steering Group, how many times NHS England's Patient and Public Engagement Steering Group has met since 1 April 2013; and for what reason the minutes of those meetings have not yet been agreed to be published; [190252]

(2) if he will publish a list of all the members of the Steering Group and the organisations they represent. [190254]

Dr Poulter: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave her on 25 February 2014, Official Report, column 279W, and provide the following further information.

The Patient and Public Engagement Steering Group (PPESG) for Specialised Services was set up by NHS England to bring patient voice into the organisation during its transition phase. Its core role has been to help ensure that the future model for involving patients and the public with regard to specialised services commissioned by NHS England is produced by co-design and co-production.

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The group has met six times since April 2013:

23 April 2013;

10 July 2013;

5 September 2013;

17 October 2013;

20 November 2013;

28 January 2014; and

due to meet 18 March 2014.

The PPESG includes a number of patient organisations including several focusing on specialised services. However it was always intended to be an interim arrangement pending formal establishment of an on-going mechanism for patient and public voice to be influential across Specialised Commissioning. The PPE Steering Group will cease to exist following its final meeting in March 2014.

After the last meeting of the PPESG in March 2014 the Patient and Public Voice Assurance Group (PPVAG) will formally commence and will continue the work started by the PPE Steering group. The PPESG has developed the terms of reference for this new PPVAG.

Open recruitment for PPVAG members has recently closed with over 70 applications. It is anticipated that the new membership will be in place for April 2014 and is expected to include patient groups, including invited representation, and individual patients and members of the public.

The PPAVG will be accountable to the NHS England Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group (previously known as the Specialised Services Portfolio Board).

Terms of reference for this new group, including details of group membership, will be available publically once they have been ratified. It is NHS England's intention to align openness and transparency arrangements for all directly commissioned services committees and sub-committees and would anticipate making minutes of the meetings publically available once the new group has been established.

Further, NHS England has now recruited over 300 patient and public voice members to the 74 national Clinical Reference groups that focus on the component areas of specialised services.

Business, Innovation and Skills

Business: Floods

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assistance is available to businesses affected by flooding. [190157]

Matthew Hancock: For specific support in Wales, businesses should contact the Business Wales Helpline (0300 060 3000). I am aware that the Welsh Government are working with Natural Resources Wales and local authorities on programmes for flood and coastal defence improvements.

Nationally, HMRC and Companies House have schemes in place to support businesses that due to these exceptional conditions are unable to file their papers or pay their taxes.

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Support from non-government sources is also available; the banks have announced £750 million of support for businesses affected and the Business Exchange website

www.greatbusinessexchange.co.uk/small-business-affected-uk-floods

has a page to enable businesses that wish to provide help to other businesses.

In England, the Government have announced a package of support for businesses. A £10 million Business Support Scheme has been established and local authorities have already been advised of an initial allocation of funds. A second tranche of funding, reflecting the latest information, will be allocated shortly.

Businesses that have been flooded since December 2013 will qualify for 100% business rate relief for 3 months, regardless of how long they were flooded.

In April 2014, businesses will be able to apply for a new Repair and Renewal Grants of up to £5,000 to contribute to work that improves a property's ability to withstand future flooding.

In addition, the Business Support Helpline (0303 456 3565) is able to direct businesses to support available to businesses in England and can receive one hour of free support with a business adviser.

Business: Human Rights

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on amendments to the EU proposal to update the accounting directives to include non-financial reporting for large companies that would require companies to report with regard to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. [190240]

Jenny Willott: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 151W.

Companies House

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many companies registered through the Companies House online registration service in each of the last four years were subject to anti-money laundering checks. [190602]

Michael Fallon: The Registrar of Companies registers companies in accordance with his statutory duty when an appropriate application is made, whether through electronic or paper channels. His statutory role does not fall within the scope of the anti-money laundering legislation.

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the benefits of the potential use of the Companies House online registration service for the purpose of money laundering. [190603]

Michael Fallon: No assessment of the benefits of the potential use of the Companies House online registration service for the purpose of money laundering has been made. The Registrar of Companies registers companies in accordance with his statutory duties. The law on

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money laundering is a matter for HM Treasury and is applied by HM Revenue and Customs and by law enforcement agencies.

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many new companies registered through the Companies House online registration service in each of the last four years. [190604]

Michael Fallon: Companies House registers companies electronically through both its own online service (web incorporations, which was implemented on 6 April 2011) and through various software packages used by third party providers (software filing). The number of new companies registered by both these means in each of the last four years is shown in the following table.

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Mr Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward legislative proposals to repeal paragraph 6 of schedule 1 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. [190269]

Mr Willetts: The Government currently have no such plans. The Government’s position will be laid out in the forthcoming consultation on transitional provisions for the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, planned for spring 2014.

EU External Trade: USA

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much added income his Department estimates an EU/US free trade agreement would bring to the UK. [189492]

Michael Fallon: Our research estimates that an ambitious, comprehensive EU/US free trade agreement could boost UK national income by up to £10 billion in the long term.

Fairtrade Initiative: Bananas

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on the Fairtrade Foundation's Make Bananas Fair campaign. [190535]

Jenny Willott: The UK Government are a committed Fairtrade partner and are providing £18 million over six years to help Fairtrade International have a greater impact in their work and make the global Fairtrade system stronger.

There is evidence that the grocery retail market is currently working well for UK consumers. As such the Government do not intend to intervene to regulate what

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businesses may or may not charge consumers for bananas. Pricing policies such as these are commercial decisions for the trader, and are best left to the market. However, if there is evidence that anti-competitive practices are having a negative impact on the supply chain, this should be reported to the Office of Fair Trading (or the Competition and Markets Authority from 1 April) for consideration.

Internet

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what services his Department provides that are (a) available online only and (b) planned to move to online only. [190357]

Jenny Willott: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has over 200 transactional services spread across a large number of partner organisations. We are currently undertaking a programme of transforming our digital services, in partnership with the Government Digital Service, Cabinet Office, with a keen focus on building five exemplar digital projects in five separate Partner Organisations. One of the key components of this programme is to ensure that the right level of support is put in place for those who need help to access our services.

Leasehold

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether consideration was given to including schemes to protect leaseholders within the Consumer Rights Bill. [190239]

Jenny Willott: Part 1 of the Consumer Rights Bill will, when enacted, apply where a trader contracts with a consumer to provide goods, digital content or services within scope. The Department for Communities and Local Government has oversight of a specific legislative regime to protect leaseholders.

The content of the Bill was consulted on in 2012 and a draft Bill was published and subject to pre-legislative scrutiny by the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee in 2013. These consultations were conducted openly and sought views from a large range of interested parties. However, there were no wide-ranging calls for specific provisions for the protection of leaseholders under the Bill.

Overseas Trade: Ukraine

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the value was of UK (a) exports to and (b) imports from Ukraine in each of the last five years. [190380]

Michael Fallon: Data covering trade in goods and services with Ukraine are published annually on a balance of payments basis by the Office for National Statistics. Data for 2008-2012 are shown in the following table.

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Equivalent data for 2013 will be published in October 2014.

Data on trade in goods only on a merchandised trade basis are published by HM Revenue and Customs and are available for 2013. Data for 2009-13 are shown in the following table.

Post Offices

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage Government departments to use the Post Office to provide additional services to replace ones being moved solely online or abolished. [190265]

Jenny Willott: The Government continue to support the Post Office's ambition to become a front office for Government services and the company has made significant progress towards this in recent years in highly competitive and challenging commercial environments.

Both the Post Office and this Department are working hard to identify and secure opportunities, including making use of the framework Front Office Counter Services (FOCS) contract that allows Government Departments and Agencies to use the Post Office network to deliver a range of counter services that complement online services, particularly where a customer’s identity needs to be verified, or for those who cannot or choose not to transact online.

However, it is important to note that the Government cannot simply give work to the Post Office, or any other company. Contracts must ensure fairness, innovation, and value-for-money for the taxpayer. By winning and retaining key contracts, such as the FOCS contract, the Post Office is demonstrating it can compete on these criteria.

Power Failures

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effects of power cuts on those areas without mobile phone coverage which are reliant on analogue services. [190241]

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Mr Willetts: The UK telecoms sector is set up to provide high levels of resilience, and has comprehensive plans for coping with emergencies. In the event of a widespread and sustained power failure, fixed line telephony is more likely to continue operating than mobile. We are not aware of any significant telecoms incidents in Wales during the recent periods of adverse weather although we are aware that localised incidents could have caused some inconvenience for customers.

Students: Loans

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2014, Official Report, column 499W, on further education: older people, if he will publish an analysis of the age groups accessing advanced learning loans; and if he will promote the scheme to enable younger workers to gain skills from older colleagues. [190250]

Matthew Hancock: Information on the number of 24+ Advanced Learning Loan applications received between 8 April 2013 and 31 January 2014 by age group is published online:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/24-advanced-learning-loans-application-information-february-2014

24+ Advanced Learning Loans are available to anyone who is 24+ on the first day of their Level 3 or Level 4 course, meeting the personal eligibility criteria and studying at an eligible and funded provider. The way the loan funded courses are delivered is the responsibility of the individual provider.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when his Department expects to implement a system of Islamic student loans. [190664]

Mr Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has been developing a model alternative finance product which would be Sharia-compliant and could potentially be offered alongside conventional loans to students wishing to attend higher education. This model finance product has been developed by experts in Sharia-compliant finance and has received preliminary approval from the Islamic Bank of Britain’s Sharia supervisory committee. As part of the development process, the Government will shortly seek opinions from the Muslim community, and the wider public, on the acceptability of the alternative finance product under consideration.

Any system for providing Sharia-compliant student loans is unlikely to be in operation before 2015 given the complexity associated with implementing a new model for offering loans.

Justice

Commercial Court

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in what proportion of cases heard in the Commercial Court in each of the last 10 years one or more of the parties was domiciled or registered outside the jurisdiction. [189932]

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Mr Vara: The Commercial Court started recording the number of cases involving foreign parties in 2008 so no data are available prior to that year.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what (a) the operating costs were and (b) income was generated by the commercial court in each of the last 10 years. [189936]

Mr Vara: The commercial court operates as part of the Queen's bench Division of the High Court, but Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service does not record separately the cost or income relating to specific types of work delivered in its civil courts. We therefore cannot separately identify the specific operating costs and income generated by the commercial court.

The operating costs for the civil courts in HMCTS are published in HMCTS annual report and accounts which can be found at:

http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/corporate-reports/hmcts

HMCTS records fee income for the commercial court together with that of the admiralty court. We therefore cannot separately identify the fee income for the commercial court. However, we can confirm the amount received in fees by the public purse through cases held in the admiralty and commercial court combined which are provided as follows:

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Commercial Court proceedings lasted (a) one day, (b) up to five days, (c) up to 10 days and (d) over 10 days in the latest period for which figures are available. [189941]

Mr Vara: The total number of commercial court trials heard in the Rolls Building during the calendar year 2013 was 58. These were made up of the following:

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Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what fees are charged for proceedings in the commercial court. [189967]

Mr Vara: Commercial court fees listed are contained in the Civil Proceedings Fees (Amendment No. 2) Order 2013 at the following link:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/1410/pdfs/uksi_20131410_en.pdf

Courts: Television

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which broadcasters have expressed an interest in televising courts; how much he expects to spend on televising courts in each of the next five years; and what proportion of the total cost will be paid by the broadcasters. [190214]

Mr Vara: The media organisations that are currently permitted to film in the Court of Appeal by permission of the Lord Chancellor are BBC, BSkyB, ITN and the Press Association. These represent the four largest news gathering organisations in England and Wales, and together provide the vast majority of news media.

These media organisations have met the costs for televising the Court of Appeal to date. They will continue to meet these costs for the duration of three years from the date that broadcasting commenced, as outlined in their agreement with the Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor.

At the present time it is not possible to outline the expectations for the cost of televising courts beyond the three-year agreement for televising the Court of Appeal.

Distress Warrants

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of distress warrants sent to approved enforcement agents are returned uncollected. [190142]

Mr Vara: Data on the numbers of distress warrants returned uncollected are not collected. Under the existing contract the national target is 20% of cases to be fully paid within 180 days. Distress warrants are used for offenders who wilfully do not engage with the court to pay their fines and as a result are harder to collect.

The performance for this financial year to December 2013 is 22.78%.

The approved enforcement agents return cases for several reasons; these include—out of time, no goods to levy, gone away no trace, vulnerable, in prison, deported/emigrated and bankrupt. Some of these returns will include part payments, where they have been successful in obtaining some of the money but not all.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) takes the issue of financial penalty enforcement very seriously and is working to ensure that clamping down on defaulters

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is a continued priority nationwide. HMCTS actively pursues all outstanding impositions until certain they cannot be collected. Collection reached an all time high at the end of 2012-13 and collection has continued to rise in this financial year.

HMCTS is actively seeking an external provider for the future delivery of compliance and enforcement services.

This will bring the necessary investment and innovation to significantly improve the collection of criminal financial penalties and reduce the cost of the service to the taxpayer.

Family Proceedings

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to tackle delays in the family justice system. [190005]

Simon Hughes: The Government are committed to reducing delays in the family justice system. Provisions in the Children and Families Bill will reform the family justice system by tackling delays and duplication and guarantee that children's best interests remain at the heart of decision-making. The Bill is in the final stages of its passage through Parliament and delivers on the commitments made by the Government in February 2012 in response to the independent Family Justice Review.

The Bill will put in place a maximum 26 week time limit for the completion of care and supervision proceedings (and other Part IV proceedings) to reduce delays in finding a permanent placement for children. It is intended to send a clear and unambiguous statement to all parts of the family justice system that delays are unacceptable. Where cases can be completed in less than 26 weeks, they should do so.

Provisions in the Bill will be supported by a revised Public Law Outline (PLO), due to be issued in March, which sets out the case management process for care and supervision proceedings. To assist key agencies, stakeholders and the judiciary in their preparations for the introduction of the time limit Local Family Justice Boards have been piloting a revised PLO since 1 July 2013.

In private law our overall assessment—based on the data currently available to us in relation to litigants in person in family cases—is that performance in terms of the average time to disposal for private law cases is being maintained. The average number of weeks to disposal in private law children's cases remains steady at around 16 weeks. We have no evidence that cases or hearings are taking longer and that children and families are suffering from delay. My Department continues to monitor the situation.

Homicide: Sentencing

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people convicted of manslaughter in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013 received (i) no custodial sentence, (ii) a custodial sentence of up to one year, (iii) a custodial sentence of one to two years, (iv) a custodial sentence of two to five years, (v) a custodial sentence of five to 10 years and (vi) a custodial sentence of more than 10 years. [190333]

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Jeremy Wright: Manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, which gives the courts full flexibility to deal with all the circumstances of the cases which come before them. This is particularly important as manslaughter covers a broad range of behaviour. The Court of Appeal issued an important guideline judgment in 2009 on sentencing for unlawful act manslaughter in which it stated that attention should be paid to the problem of gratuitous, unprovoked violence in our city centres and streets.

The number of persons convicted and sentenced at all courts for the offence of manslaughter by sentence outcome and the sentence length for those given an immediate custodial sentence from 2008 to 2012 (latest data available) can be viewed in the table.

The average custodial sentence length for manslaughter has increased from less than 60 months in 2008 to more than 88 months in 2012.

Court proceedings statistics for the year 2013 are planned to be published by the Ministry of Justice in May 2014.

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Human Rights: Care Homes

Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if the Government will bring forward amendments to the Human Rights Act 1998 to ensure that the Act applies in situations where people receive care arranged by a public body from a private provider. [186348]

Simon Hughes: The provision of care by a private provider arranged by a public body is already a public function, and the provider would be subject to section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998. The Government have no plans to amend the Human Rights Act.

ICT

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reason his Department's shared services will no longer be a stand-alone centre. [190181]

Mr Vara: The Cabinet Office published the Next Generation Shared Services Strategic Plan in December 2012. One of the key objectives of the strategic plan was to create two independent shared service centres (ISSCs). At the time, it was agreed that the MOJ would review the decision to retain a standalone shared service centre once their existing Shared Services Programme, which began in February 2010, was complete. Following a change of approach to this programme, the MOJ are now considering options for the future delivery of its back office administration services.

All options are being evaluated to ensure they provide value for money for taxpayers and continue to meet the needs of customers.

Judges: Housing

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many occasions judges' lodgings were used in each month since January 2010. [188767]

Mr Vara: The number of occasions which permanent judges' lodgings were used by High Court judges in each month since January 2010 is provided in the following table:

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The Justice Secretary and Lord Chief Justice are reviewing spending on judges' lodgings. The review will focus on ensuring value for the taxpayer while providing suitable and appropriate accommodation for High Court judges sitting on cases away from their base in the Royal Courts of Justice, satisfactory working conditions and privacy, and appropriate levels of security.

The most serious and complex cases, both criminal and civil, are heard by High Court judges in courts near to where the events took place and in a place most convenient to parties and witnesses. High Court judges are based in London and need accommodation, often for long periods of time, when they hear cases outside London.

High Court judges also use hired lodgings which are only used for the duration required. The number of occasions which hired lodgings were used by High Court judges could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.

Legal Aid Scheme

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment his Department has made of the effect of changes in the level of legal aid under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 on (a) migrant children and (b) unaccompanied children who have made Article 8 right to private life and family claims. [190138]

Mr Vara: The Government plan to undertake a post-implementation review of the legal aid provisions within the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 within three to five years of implementation. This review will include an assessment of the impact of the reforms.

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment his Department has made of the effect of changes in the level of legal aid under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 on trafficked children who are seeking leave to remain. [190139]

Mr Vara: Legal aid remains available to victims of trafficking seeking leave to remain in the United Kingdom under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO).

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Legal Representation

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to ensure that unrepresented defendants in very high cost cases are adequately supported in court. [190253]

Mr Vara: At around £2 billion, we have one of the most expensive legal aid systems in the world. Due to the current economic climate, we have had to make the legal aid system more cost-effective, including by reducing fees paid to advocates. We have been clear throughout consultation processes of our intention to reduce the fees of the highest earners. This is why we have implemented a 30% cut to fees to be paid to advocates for very high cost cases, which represent less than 1% of Crown court cases.

To ensure that defendants are adequately represented in court, the Public Defender Service are recruiting advocates who can be available to represent defendants as necessary. We are also keen to explore other options to mitigate the potential impact on defendants in such circumstances. We will be monitoring the impact of reforms and the sustainability of the scheme.

Pagers

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 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. [190056]

Mr Vara: The MOJ have provided 187 pagers to staff between May 2010 and December 2013 and the cost of providing such is £9,227 per annum.

NOMS require the use of pagers to maintain communications within Establishments, where other forms of communications are difficult due to the fabric of the buildings and other mobile devices are not permitted for security reasons.

Prison Governors

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what average length of time a prison governor has spent in post in England and Wales over the last five years. [189934]

Jeremy Wright: The average length of time that a governor spent in a particular post, in public sector prisons, between January 2008 and December 2013 was three years four months.

Prisoner Escapes

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners who have escaped prison have been re-captured and jailed at a different prison nearer to their home in each of the last 10 years. [189856]

Jeremy Wright: Following an escape from prison or prison escort, the police are informed immediately and will seek to recapture the offender. On recapture, the prisoner will normally be taken to the closest local prison. Once any outstanding court cases are resolved, he or she will be categorised in accordance with Prison

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Service instructions and moved to the most appropriate establishment to meet both security and rehabilitation needs.

To establish whether recaptured prisoners had been accommodated in prisons closer to their home address would require the interrogation of individual electronic incident files and prisoner records for each escaper and further work to establish closeness to home. This could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Figures for the number of escapes since 1995 are provided in the Prison Digest contained in the Prison and Probation Trusts Performance Statistics. This can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225234/prison-performance-digest-12-13.xls

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether any prisoners serving a sentence for murder are still unlawfully at large following an escape or abscond since 1 April 2004. [190098][Official Report, 19 March 2014, Vol. 577, c. 9MC.]

Jeremy Wright: Escapes have been falling for over a decade with the current low levels having been sustained for some years now. This is despite considerable increases in population over the same period. Despite a slight increase in 2012-13, absconds have been falling for nearly two decades.

The following table shows the number of absconders still unlawfully at large who have an index offence of murder. There are currently no prisoners unlawfully at large with an index offence of murder who have escaped from prison or prison escort. This information was correct as of 3 March 2014.

Figures for the number of escapes and absconds since 1995 are provided in the Prison Digest contained in the Prison and Probation Trusts Performance Statistics. This can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225234/prison-performance-digest-12-13.xls

Prisoners

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases of (a) chemical castration of prisoners and (b) assaults by prisoners on other prisoners resulting in castration there have been in each year since 2010. [190522]

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Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and NHS England do not provide for “chemical castration” of prisoners. However, support services for a small number of high-risk sex offenders are offered which provide anti-depressant and anti-libidinal medication. Figures are not collected centrally for treatment in all prisons. We are not aware of any castrations arising from assaults by prisoners since 2010.

Prisoners: Females

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate his Department has made of the likely level of the female prison population over the next five years. [187034]

Simon Hughes: The Ministry of Justice publishes prison population projections on an annual basis. Each publication looks at the projected populations of men’s and women’s prisons for the following six years. The latest publication was published on 7 November 2013. The following table has been extracted from the latest publication and shows the prison population projections for females aged 18 and over up to June 2019. The projecting scenarios track the impact of three different sentencing trends on custodial convictions, custodial sentence length and hence on the resulting prison population.

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many women with a registered home address in Wales were sentenced and remanded to prison in each year since 2006; and if he will make a statement; [189867]

(2) what the average length of custodial sentence for women with a registered home address in Wales was in each year since 2006; and if he will make a statement; [189869]

(3) what offences were committed by women with a registered home address in Wales sentenced to prison in each year since 2006; and if he will make a statement. [189871]

Simon Hughes: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants

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proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not the specific circumstances of each case. It is not possible to identify separately from this centrally held information the home address of offenders. Offenders may also have been found guilty at a court not necessarily local to their home address. This detailed information is held on the court record but due to the size and complexity is not reported centrally to the MOJ. As such, the information requested can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

The Women's Custodial Estate Review, published in October 2013, announced the Government's intention to keep more women from Wales as close to home as possible by giving priority to women from south Wales at HMP/YOI Eastwood Park (in Gloucestershire) and priority for women from north Wales at HMP/YOI Styal (in Cheshire).

The estate review also proposed the refurbishment of 77 mothballed places at HMP/YOI Eastwood Park to further improve capacity for women from Wales.

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in which prisons women with a registered home address in Wales were held in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013; how many were held in each prison; and if he will make a statement. [189868]

Simon Hughes: The Women's Custodial Estate Review, published in October 2013, announced the Government's intention to keep more Welsh women as close to home as possible by giving priority to women from south Wales at HMP/YOI Eastwood Park (in Gloucestershire) and priority for women from north Wales at HMP/YOI Styal (in Cheshire). The estate review also proposed the refurbishment of 77 mothballed places at HMP/YOI Eastwood Park to further improve capacity for women from Wales. There are places for 12 mothers and 13 babies at HMP/YOI Eastwood Park.

Following my predecessor's commitment during parliamentary passage of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, I will be providing in March 2014 an update to Parliament on the progress made since the publication of the Government's strategic objectives for female offenders in March 2013.

The following table shows the number and location of female prisoners with a recorded residential address in Wales, on two separate dates in each year of 2011, 2012 and 2013.

The estate review also proposed the refurbishment of 77 mothballed places at HMP/YOI Eastwood Park to further improve capacity for women from Wales.

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

If no address is given, an offender's committal court address is used as a proxy for the area in which they are resident. These figures are included in the table in the answer. No address has been recorded and no court information is available for around 3% of all offenders, these figures are excluded from the table in the answer. Information on offenders' residences is provided by them on reception in prison and recorded on a central IT system. Addresses can include a home address, an address to which offenders intend to return on discharge or next of kin address.

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many women prisoners with a registered home address in Wales have applied for a place in a mother and baby unit since 2006; how many have been given a place; and if he will make a statement. [189870]

Simon Hughes: The information requested on how many women prisoners who have a registered home address in Wales and have requested a place in a mother and baby unit is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

There are six mother and baby units in England which provide an overall total capacity of 64 places for mothers. There are a total of 70 places for babies to allow for twins.

The Women’s Custodial Estate Review, published in October 2013, announced the Government’s intention to keep more women from Wales as close to home as possible by giving priority to women from south Wales at HMP/YOI Eastwood Park (in Gloucestershire) and priority for women from north Wales at HMP/YOI Styal (in Cheshire). The estate review also proposed the refurbishment of 77 mothballed places at HMP/YOI Eastwood Park to further improve capacity for women from Wales. There are places for 12 mothers and 13 babies at HMP/YOI Eastwood Park.

Following my predecessor’s commitment to do so during parliamentary passage of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, I will be providing an update to Parliament on the progress made since the publication of the Government’s strategic objectives for female offenders in March 2013.

Procurement

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what financial targets he plans to set for the successful bidder for the National Compliance and Enforcement Service contract in that contract; [190243]

(2) what estimate his Department has made of the costs of running the National Compliance and Enforcement Service contract. [190244]

Mr Vara: The costs and financial targets for the Compliance and Enforcement Services contract will be determined through the commercial process, in negotiation with the bidders.

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which of the short-listed bidders for the National Compliance and Enforcement Service contract were involved in his Department's aged debt pilot. [190245]

Mr Vara: Two of the companies involved in the aged debt pilot are also involved in the commercial process for Compliance and Enforcement Services.

Public Defender Service

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidelines are applied when making a Public Defence Service appointment; and what provision is made for advertising Public Defence Service appointments in Welsh. [190464]

Mr Vara: Anyone appointed to the Public Defender Service will be employed as a civil servant, and recruited on the basis of the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles.

These principles determine that selection is made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition:

Merit means the appointment of the best available person: no one should be appointed to a job unless they are competent to do it, and the job must be offered to the person who would do it best.

Fair means there is no bias in the assessment of candidates. Selection processes must be objective, impartial and applied consistently.

Open means that job opportunities must be advertised publicly and potential candidates given reasonable access to information about the job and its requirements, and about the selection process.

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The Commission recognises that in some circumstances it may be right to allow appointments to be made outside of the principle of selection on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. Any such exception should not undermine this fundamental principle.

Such appointments by exception are usually short-term; for example secondments which promote the exchange of ideas and experience.

For a national recruitment exercise it is our practice to advertise in the English language. When recruiting for vacancies specifically for Wales, these will be advertised bilingually. Notices will be in Welsh in Welsh language publications, if required.

Public Sector: Information

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to ensure that users of public services can access and control personal data held on them by the Government, their agencies and other public bodies. [190106]

Simon Hughes: The Government take the protection of individuals’ personal data very seriously. The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) confers a number of rights on individuals in respect of the processing of their personal data by organisations. Subject to certain exemptions, section 7 of the DPA gives individuals the right to request a copy of information which an organisation, including Government Departments and their agencies, holds about them. An individual can exercise this right, commonly known as ‘subject access’, by making a written subject access request.

In exercising this right, an individual is entitled to be told whether any personal data are being processed; given a description of the personal data, the reasons they are being processed and whether they will be given to any other organisations or people; given a copy of the information comprising the data; and given details of the source of the data, where available. In Addition, where an individual believes that any personal data being processed by an organisation are inaccurate, they are entitled to have that information corrected on request.

Reoffenders: Young Offenders

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the proven re-offending rates were for 18 to 20 year olds in the latest period for which figures are available. [190038]

Jeremy Wright: Reoffending rates for young adults remain stubbornly high. Statistics on proven reoffending for adult and juvenile offenders are published by the Ministry of Justice on a quarterly basis in the ‘Proven Re-offending Statistics Quarterly Bulletin' at the following link:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/proven-reoffending-statistics-april-2011-march-2012

The latest proven reoffending rates for 18 to 20-year-olds in England and Wales can be found in Table 3.

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Sentencing: Appeals

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of appeals against unduly lenient sentences in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013 were successful; and what the outcomes of the appeals were. [190308]

The Solicitor-General: The information is set out in the following table:

There is one outstanding case from 2013.

Students: Fees and Charges

Mr Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many students were taken to court by universities for recovery of their student fees after dropping out of university courses in each of the last three years. [190291]

Mr Vara: HMCTS do not record claimant and respondent details on the civil case management system in a way that allows them to identify which were universities or students, nor the reason of a money claim. The only way they could answer this question would be to manually search every case to establish whether the claimant was a university or represented a university and then whether the claim was for the recovery of fees. This would incur disproportionate costs.

Youth Custody

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his latest estimate is of the average annual cost of custody in the secure estate. [189993]

Jeremy Wright: The Department routinely publishes average costs per prisoner and prison place, based on actual net resource expenditure for each private and public sector prison and in summary form for the whole of the prison estate in England and Wales on an annual basis after the end of each financial year. The most recently published figures are for financial year 2012-13 which give an average overall cost per place of £36,808 and average overall cost per prisoner of £34,766. This is the latest information available.

The information for financial year 2012-13 is published as an Addendum to the NOMS Annual Report and Accounts and is available on the Department's website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics-201213

Continuing to reduce prison unit costs is one of the key targets for the Department. Between 2009-10 and 2012-13 prison unit costs (based on overall prison costs) have reduced in real terms by 16% per place and 13%

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per prisoner. The Department is committed to delivering prison capacity changes designed to modernise the prison estate and further reduce prison costs.

Attorney-General

Crime: Victims

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what conclusions the Crown Prosecution Service has drawn from its September 2013 consultation on the functioning of the victims' right to review. [190256]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service has considered the responses received during the public consultation. A summary of the consultation responses and the final Victims' Right to Review Scheme will be published on the CPS website in the near future.

Female Genital Mutilation

Helen Jones: To ask the Attorney-General what steps he is taking to ensure that more cases of female genital mutilation are prosecuted. [190517]

The Solicitor-General: The Attorney-General is encouraging the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to take a leading role in tackling female genital mutilation (FGM). They have worked closely with the police, other Government Departments and third sector organisations to put a robust framework in place to support reporting and the effective investigation and prosecution of FGM. The CPS has published actions planned in 2012 and 2013 which have led to much closer joint working between the police and CPS. Lead prosecutors have been appointed for each CPS area and they have led on agreeing protocols with every local police force setting out the arrangements for investigating and prosecuting FGM locally. A joint CPS/police national training event has been recently held to consider case-building strategies, and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and I have written to Ministers in the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Department of Health with a paper identifying possible ways in which the criminal law could be strengthened.

I have recently visited both the CPS and the Metropolitan police's specialist unit to discuss this issue, and also last month attended the departmental roundtable on FGM, at which I was a signatory to the ministerial declaration.