Uganda

Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the treatment of Ugandan human rights defenders and LGBT activists since the recent signing of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. [190806]

Mr Lidington: Officials in our embassy in Kampala continue to meet regularly with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activists in Uganda. Since the signing of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, LGBT activists in Uganda have reported an increase in persecution against individuals who are believed to be LGBT. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs made clear in his statement of 24 February that the Anti-Homosexuality Bill would increase persecution and discrimination of Ugandans. We urge the Government of Uganda to protect all their citizens without discrimination on any grounds and to investigate any such attacks fully.

Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to impose (a) travel bans and (b) other targeted sanctions against Ministers in the Ugandan Government responsible for serious rights abuses or involved in the implementation of the new anti-homosexuality law in that country. [190807]

Mr Lidington: We have no plans to impose travel bans or other targeted sanctions against promoters of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. We do not believe that it would be in the interests of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender minorities in Uganda or those working to defend their rights.

Ukraine

Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of harassment of journalists in the Crimea. [190636]

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Mr Lidington: The situation in Crimea is of serious concern to the UK and the wider international community. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatovic visited Ukraine last week and warned that the current situation have led to a media freedom crisis. She reported seeing cases of intimidation, beatings and media censorship. The most serious problem was journalists' safety. In addition, the signals of Ukrainian television stations had been cut in Crimea, including the signal of the independent Chernomorskaya TV.

The UK believes freedom of expression and the media are essential qualities for any functioning democracy. The media have a vital role in providing reliable and accurate information to allow people to discuss and debate issues freely and make informed decisions. We along with the international community will continue to monitor the situation very closely in Crimea and elsewhere in Ukraine.

Communities and Local Government

Car Boot Sales

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what steps he is taking to ensure that car boot sales are properly regulated and do not contribute to traffic congestion in the surrounding area; [190563]

(2) if he will bring forward legislative proposals to remove permitted development rights for car boot sales. [190565]

Nick Boles: My Department has no plans to legislate to impose new controls on car boot sales. They are a legitimate activity by tens of thousands of people every weekend across the country to buy and sell unwanted household goods; they provide income for households and encourage the environmentally sustainable re-use of goods that might otherwise be thrown away.

Notwithstanding, if there are localised problems from a particular activity, a council does have powers to issue an Article 4 direction which can remove national permitted development rights. This is a targeted solution that prevents enveloping a whole sector in unnecessary red tape.

Green Belt

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many planning applications for development in the green belt have been referred to the National Planning Casework Unit since it was established; [189400]

(2) how many planning applications for development on the green belt he has called in since the establishment of the National Planning Casework Unit. [189496]

Nick Boles: Since the Department's National Planning Casework Unit was formed in March 2011, local authorities have referred 419 such planning applications; 10 applications were ‘called in'. To place this in context, in 2009-10, there were 335 comparative referrals, of which one was ‘called in'.

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‘Call-in' powers are used very selectively and rarely; for example, a total of just 10 applications (across all types of application) were called-in across England in 2012-13 according to Planning Inspectorate statistics. This low number stems from the fact that they involve Ministers taking the original planning decision away from the local authority and determining it centrally. ‘Call ins' are commonly confused with the separate (and slightly more numerous) occasion of planning ‘recovery'—where a Minister decides on a planning appeal in place of a decision by the Planning Inspectorate.

Such planning applications may have been inappropriate and subsequently refused by the local authority. Equally, the planning application may have involved the regeneration of brownfield land within broader green belt boundaries.

I would also refer the hon. Member to my answer of 23 January 2014, Official Report, columns 289-92W, which notes that residential green belt development is at its lowest since modern figures began in 1989, and which outlines how this Government have safeguarded and increased national green belt protection.

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many called in planning applications for development on the green belt he has refused since the establishment of the National Planning Casework Unit. [189497]

Nick Boles: Of the 10 ‘called-in’ planning applications since the National Planning Casework Unit was established in 2011, seven are currently under consideration, one was subsequently withdrawn, and two were approved.

The detailed reasoning for the approvals were outlined in the two decision letters, but it may assist the hon. Member to note that one case was for development on an existing industrial estate next door to a quarry, landfill site and sewage works; the second case was a broad location that the local council had already identified for development in its core strategy.

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the proportion of sites on the green belt in England which have been previously developed. [189498]

Nick Boles: Information on the proportion of sites in the green belt which have been previously developed is not centrally available.

Internet

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what services his Department provides that are (a) available online only and (b) planned to move to online only. [190360]

Brandon Lewis: The Department provides the following services online—planning applications (via the Planning Portal), planning appeals and national infrastructure planning applications (both via the Planning Inspectorate). We encourage the use of these online services but we also offer people the choice of completing such applications offline and have no plans to end this arrangement.

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Local Government Finance: Bolton

Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what the total net change in central Government funding to Bolton Council between 1997 and 2012 was; [187551]

(2) how much general revenue funding was allocated to Bolton Council in each year between 1997 and 2012 in (a) cash and (b) real terms. [187552]

Brandon Lewis: The following table shows the cash funding that Bolton council received from central Government in each year from 1997-98 to 2012-13.

The hon. Member is able to undertake his own analysis of this data. Inflation indices are available on the Office for National Statistics website. I would simply note that this is a similar level of central funding to that found in the last decade and that this illustrates how the reductions in central funding are frequently exaggerated.

Of course, every bit of the public sector needs to do its bit to tackle the deficit left by the last Administration, including local government which accounts for a quarter of all public spending. There is immense scope for sensible savings by cutting waste and inefficiency, as outlined in my Department's best practice guide, ‘50 ways to save’.

Our broader local government finance reforms—from the New Homes Bonus, the localisation of council tax benefit to the local retention of business rates—also place councils in the driving seat and make them less dependent on Government hand-outs; the system now rewards councils for supporting enterprise, getting people back into work and backing local high streets and local firms.

Local Government: Public Appointments

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy to allow elected council leaders to take over the role and responsibilities of council chief executives. [190926]

Brandon Lewis: We are open to representations on this issue.

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Local Government: Trade Unions

Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent guidance he has issued to local authorities on their funding of trades union posts and facilities; and if he will make a statement. [190538]

Brandon Lewis: At a time when all local authorities need to make sensible savings to protect front line services, councils should review the merits of using publicly funded full-time union officials.

In March 2013, we issued advice to councils¹ on how they could follow the example set by my Department by ensuring that no employees spend all their working hours on trade union duties and by restricting the amount of facility time offered to private sector levels. We also intend to ensure that local spending on trade unions is open and transparent by requiring councils to publish on-line details of the amounts spent on providing support and facilities to trade union representatives in their workforces.

¹ Available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/136079/Taxpayer_funding_of_Trade_Unions_-_Sensible_Savings.pdf

Planning Permission

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the average cost to a local authority of making an Article 4 direction. [190567]

Nick Boles: This information is not centrally held.

The main administrative cost will be undertaking a local consultation, which does not need to be particularly expensive given councils consult all the time on local issues, and bringing together the evidence in support of the direction which should already be held by the council.

Property Development: Floods

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many refusals of planning permission involving flood risk were appealed to the Planning Inspectorate in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and how many of these were (i) dismissed, (ii) allowed with conditions to fully implement the advice of the Environment Agency, (iii) allowed with conditions to partially implement the advice of the Environment Agency and (iv) allowed against the advice of the Environment Agency. [190566]

Nick Boles: This information is not centrally held in the form requested.

Social Rented Housing: Housing Benefit

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people subject to the under-occupancy penalty were evicted in each local authority in the North East in the last 12 months. [190498]

Kris Hopkins: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 6 March 2014, Official Report, columns 897-98W.

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Business, Innovation and Skills

Agriculture: Technology

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the UK agricultural technologies strategy; and if he will make a statement. [190937]

Mr Willetts: My noble Friend, Lord de Mauley, the Under-Secretary of State for the Natural Environment and Science, and I co-chair the Agri-Tech Leadership Council, which last met in January 2014. Under this arrangement, our two Departments work closely on the implementation of the UK Strategy for Agricultural Technologies.

Animal Experiments

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding his Department has provided to (a) research councils funding animal research and (b) development of non-animal experimentation methods in each of the last five years. [188641]

Mr Willetts: The information is as follows:

(a) The research councils provide funding for programmes and projects to address specific scientific questions. Some aspects of this work may require the use of animals in research but animals are only used where there is no practicable alternative. It is not currently possible to provide information on the proportion of project spend relating to animal use. However, the following table provides a breakdown of research council spend on projects which include an element of animal use.

(b) The following table outlines funding provided by the Department for research programmes relating to the 3Rs (the replacement, refinement and reduction of animals in research). This includes funding provided for the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) established by the Government in May 2004 to advance and promote the 3Rs in research and testing that uses animals. The

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NC3Rs primarily receives Government funding through BIS via the MRC and BBSRC. Note that in this table it has not been possible to separate the figures for non-animal experimentation.

The MRC and EPSRC also support research projects which contribute to the development of new knowledge and new methods that help replace or refine animal use. However these projects are not identifiable.

In addition, the Technology Strategy Board, NC3Rs, BBSRC, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) launched a competition on 3 February 2014 for feasibility studies which will advance the development of non-animal technologies. These technologies could revolutionise the way in which new drugs and chemicals are assured for effectiveness and safety. The funding, £4 million in total (£1.5 million from Technology Strategy Board), will allow companies to collaborate with each other and with researchers to explore better ways of predicting the effects of new drugs and chemicals on humans, animals and the environment. We expect successful projects from this competition to begin in October 2014.

Debts

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of debt relief orders filed in 2011-12 failed due to an increase in the debtor's income invalidating the procedure. [190924]

Jenny Willott: A total of 32 debt relief orders were revoked due to the debtor's income increasing and breaching the £50 disposable income parameter in 2011-2012. This represents 10.66% of all revocations and 0.11% of the total debt relief orders approved in 2011-12.

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the average total debt was of individuals who filed for (a) a debt relief order, (b) bankruptcy and (c) an individual voluntary arrangement in 2012-13. [190925]

Jenny Willott: For 2012-13 the information available for the total average debt for individuals who filed for insolvency is as follows:

(a) Average total debt in debt relief orders stood at £8,310.11;

(b) Average total debt (secured and unsecured) in debtor petition bankruptcies stood at £83,26275;

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(c) Individual voluntary arrangements—information regarding the average total debt within individual voluntary arrangements is not held by the Insolvency Service.

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many individual voluntary arrangements failed because an increase in the debtor's income invalidated the procedure in each year for which data are available. [190927]

Jenny Willott: Insolvency practitioners, who supervise individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs), are required to notify the Insolvency Service when an IVA terminates, but are not required to provide information on the cause of termination. The Insolvency Service does not, therefore, hold any information on this.

Official statistics presenting completions and terminations of IVAs were published by the Insolvency Service on 11 December 2013 here:

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http://www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk/otherinformation/statistics/IVAs/ivas.htm

The statistics show the status (completed, terminated, ongoing), as at September 2013, for IVAs registered each year from 1990 to 2012.

Exports

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the international ranking of the UK in terms of the total value of exports was in each of the last five years. [190634]

Michael Fallon: The international ranking of the UK in terms of the value of exports of goods and services in the last five years is shown in the following table. The figures are sourced from UNCTAD:

http://unctadstat.unctad.org/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?Reportld=25116

Insolvency

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many complaints about insolvency practitioners were received in each year from 2010 to 2014; what issue gave rise to the most such complaints in each such year; and (a) how many and (b) what proportion of such complaints related to fees. [190802]

Jenny Willott: The information is as follows:

In 2013 there were 748 complaints about insolvency practitioners received by the Insolvency Service of which 13 or 2% of the total related to fees;

In 2012 there were 578 complaints of which 38 or 7% of the total related to fees;

In 2011 there were 517 complaints of which 25 or 5% of the total related to fees; and

In 2010 there were 532 complaints of which 38 or 7% of the total related to fees.

Two independent reports have recently identified issues with over-charging by insolvency practitioners. The complaints system is not currently able to deal fully with complaints about the quantum of fees and the figures above should be taken in that context.

In the years 2011-13, the issue giving rise to the most complaints was a breach of ethical guidance. In 2010 the issue giving rise to the most complaints was a communication breakdown and/or failure between the complainant and the insolvency practitioner.

In 2013 an in depth review was undertaken in relation to fees by Professor Kempson which received detailed evidence on fees from a range of parties.

Insolvency Service

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many complaints about the Insolvency Service were received in each year from 2010 to 2014. [190803]

Jenny Willott: The Insolvency Service received the following number of complaints since 2010:

Public Sector: Food

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department provides funding to strengthen supply chains in the UK so that British producers and farmers can sell more of their food to public sector institutions. [190412]

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Michael Fallon: BIS has two broad objectives with respect to supply chains. First we are working with industry to map current supplier capabilities and quantify the opportunity to source more UK content. Where this mapping finds gaps in supply chain capabilities, sectors will encourage domestic suppliers to expand to fill them.

Second, we are working to strengthen existing supply chains by encouraging primes to adopt a collaborative and long-term approach to their suppliers.

The Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI) underpins these policy objectives, through funding for capital investment, skills and innovation. The Manufacturing Advisory Service works alongside with dedicated funding for supply chains.

This funding to strengthen supply chains is therefore available to farmers and food producers to sell more products to all sectors.

Regional Growth Fund

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applications have been received for Regional Growth Fund funding from businesses operating within the tourism industry in (a) Cornwall and (b) England in the latest period for which figures are available. [190791]

Michael Fallon: The total number of tourism related applications made to the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) in each of the five rounds was as follows: 34 in Round 1; 27 in Round 2; 10 in Round 3; 12 in Round 4; and 9 in Round 5. One of the Round 4 applications received in was from Cornwall.

The RGF is targeted at projects and programmes which support new additional sustainable jobs. The Independent Advisory Panel, which advises Ministers on which bids most effectively support RGF objectives, have not recommended bids where there is a risk that RGF support could lead to a relocation of existing jobs rather than new additional job creation. This is likely to have influenced the number of tourism related bids submitted in later rounds.

Regional Growth Fund: Cornwall

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many Regional Growth Fund grants have been awarded to applicants based in (a) St Austell and Newquay constituency and (b) Cornwall in the latest period for which figures are available. [190792]

Michael Fallon: Three Regional Growth Fund awards totalling £19.5 million have been made to applicants based in Cornwall from the first four bidding rounds. One of the awards is to a LEP programme to which companies located St Austell and Newquay can apply to for funding. No awards have been made directly to applicants in the St Austell and Newquay constituency.

Science

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what programmes he has for public engagement with science; what the cost

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of those programmes is; what evaluation he has made of their effectiveness; and if he will publish the results of that evaluation. [191032]

Mr Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) allocates £13 million annually to drive public engagement with science and increase scientific literacy. This funds programmes including Sciencewise, which is the UK's national centre for public dialogue on science, National Science and Engineering Week, the British Science Festival and the National Science and Engineering Competition whose finals take place at this week's national Big Bang Fair. Evaluations of these individual programmes are published on relevant organisations' websites.

BIS also funds STEMNET which provides a network of over 27,000 STEM ambassadors, volunteer scientists and engineers who inspire schoolchildren and help bring career opportunities to life. We evaluate all our programmes individually and measure the collective impact of our policies and complementary activity provided by others every three years with the Public Attitudes to Science survey. Previous surveys are available on BIS' website and the 2014 edition will be published and uploaded on 14 March.

Justice

Commercial Court

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was received in fees by the public purse through cases held in the Commercial Court in 2013 or most recent full year for which figures can be provided. [189931]

Mr Vara: The Commercial Court operates as part of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court. 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 in the financial year 2012-13, the most recent year for which figures can be provided, was £2.3 million.

Domestic Violence

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the purpose is of his Department's new Building Better Relationships Programme; how that purpose differs from the purpose of the (a) Integrated Domestic Abuse Programme and (b) Community Domestic Violence Programme; and if he will make a statement. [190342]

Jeremy Wright: The Integrated Domestic Abuse programme ultimately aims to eliminate offenders’ abusive behaviour towards their partners and children.

The Community Domestic Violence programme aims to ensure the safety of women and children who are victims of offenders placed on the programme.

The Building Better Relationships programme aims to reduce reoffending and promote the safety of current and future partners and children and to work collaboratively with other agencies to manage risk.

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The rationale for the development of this programme is to refresh and update the treatment interventions for intimate partner violent males delivered across NOMS in line with current theory and research on intimate partner aggression and abuse, motivational theory and therapeutic engagement. As well as bringing materials up to date the new programme aims to reduce the high attrition figures experienced within treatment interventions for domestically violent men.

Employment Tribunals Service

Gordon Birtwistle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what average award is made to an employee through the tribunal process for unpaid wages. [190755]

Mr Vara: Data on the number of monetary awards made in relation to complaints about unpaid wages, or the level of those awards, are not collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. While some data on monetary awards made by employment tribunals are collated centrally, that data only relate to claims for unfair dismissal and certain types of discrimination. Those data are published annually and available on the Ministry of Justice website.

Non-molestation Orders

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 248W, on non-molestation orders: West Sussex, how many non-molestation orders were issued by courts in England in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013. [190838]

Simon Hughes: Table 1, as follows, shows the numbers of non-molestation orders made in England in each quarter between January 2011 and September 2013.

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Prison Governors

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many previous prisons each prison governor in England and Wales has governed; [189933]

(2) for how many months each current incumbent governor of prisons in England and Wales has been in post; [189935]

(3) how many governors there have been in post since May 2010 in each prison in England and Wales. [189937]

Jeremy Wright: The number of previous prisons each prison governor in England and Wales has governed, how many months each current incumbent governing governor has been in post and how many governing governors each prison has had in post since May 2010 are provided in the following table:

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Prisons

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how each prison that has gone through his Department's benchmarking process scored against each of the criteria in that process. [186640]

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

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

Benchmarking optimises the skills of staff by introducing new ways of working and puts all prison officers in prisoner facing roles. It is not a process which involves scoring.

Probation

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the inherent and post-mitigation risk is to the Transforming Rehabilitation Probation programme of a failure to have in place a robust operational design; [183802]

(2) what the inherent and post-mitigation risk is to the Transforming Rehabilitation Probation programme if complex human resource issues such as grievances cannot be resolved within the exact timescales; [183803]

(3) what the inherent and post-mitigation risk is to the Transforming Rehabilitation Probation programme from difficult and protracted union negotiations; [183804]

(4) what the inherent and post-mitigation risk is to the Transforming Rehabilitation Probation programme if the Payment by Results model does not encourage contract providers to invest in services; [183805]

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(5) what the inherent and post-mitigation risk is to the Transforming Rehabilitation Probation programme from increased costs, lack of funding and pension issues which are unresolved. [183806]

Jeremy Wright: We are introducing radical reforms to the way offenders are rehabilitated in order to tackle high reoffending rates that currently see almost half of all prisoners commit further crime within a year of release. The new system has been developed and designed through consultation and engagement. We are taking a phased approach to implementation and have plans in place to roll out further business readiness tests at key stages of implementation so that we can ensure we are managing the transition to the new system in a safe and measured way.

Trusts have now completed the allocation of staff to their new roles and are on track to have heard all appeals by the end of March. We will trial the new ways of working over two months before we formally complete the transfer to the new governance arrangements on 1 June. We are working closely with Trust senior leaders to prepare for transition to the new structures.

On 29 January, following intensive negotiations with Probation Trade Unions and employers' representatives, the National Negotiating Committee and the Standing Committee for Chief Officer Grades ratified a National Agreement on Staff Transfer. Staff will transfer to the new probation structures with their existing terms and conditions in place.

We remain committed to protecting the pensions of existing and former probation staff and as part of the National Agreement, the Ministry of Justice has guaranteed that all staff that transfer on 1 June 2014 to either the NPS or the CRC will remain members of the Local Government Pension Scheme. Pensions of all existing staff will be covered by a Secretary of State Guarantee.

We are confident that paying providers by their results in reducing reoffending will drive the right behaviours. We are negotiating contracts with providers which will set out minimum standards by which those providers are expected to perform and we will monitor those contracts very closely. Providers will be expected to cost the services in a way which takes into account variations in the cost of provision during the lifetime of the contract. Our proposals are affordable within the context of the MOJ commitment to deliver annual savings of over £2 billion by 2014-15.

Public Defenders

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) when the decision to hire new Public Defender Service advocates was made; [190188]

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(2) what estimate he has made of the average salary of a Public Defender Service advocate after the current recruitment drive is complete; [190189]

(3) for how many advocate positions in the Public Defender Service his Department plans to recruit; [190193]

(4) how many applications for each vacancy for the Public Defender Service his Department received. [190208]

Mr Vara: The decision to start the recent round of recruitment for advocates was made in January 2014.

Salaries paid are based on an individual's skills and experience, we therefore cannot currently give the estimated figures requested while the recruitment process is still ongoing, as average salaries will be dependent upon the outcome of the recruitment exercise.

We have recruited and are continuing to recruit for a small number of advocates to join the Public Defender Service. This number will be determined as a result of the recruitment process, and it would be inappropriate to comment further while that process is ongoing.

Reoffenders: Females

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the reoffending rate is for women released from each women's prison in England. [190596]

Simon Hughes: The Government are committed to reducing reoffending by men and women. Under our Transforming Rehabilitation reforms those serving custodial sentences of under 12 months will, for the first time in recent decades, be subject to statutory supervision on release and they will be supported through the gate into the community. Proportionally, more women than men are serving short sentences so they will benefit particularly from this element of the reforms.

The latest proven reoffending rates for women released from a women's prison can be found in tables 1 and 2. These have been taken from the Proven Re-offending Statistics Quarterly Bulletin, April 2011 to March 2012. Table 1 provides proven reoffending rates for offenders released from serving a sentence of less than 12 months and table 2 provides proven reoffending rates for offenders released from serving a sentence of 12 months or more.

A large part of this variability in the tables reflects the small cohort sizes and the mix of offenders who are held in different prisons. For example, a group of prisoners with a high number of previous offences is more likely to reoffend than a group with a low number of previous offences. Therefore, direct comparisons between prisons should not be made using these raw reoffending rates.

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A proven further offence is defined as any offence committed in a one year period following release which results in a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in that one year period. Following this one year period, a further six month waiting period is allowed for the offence to be proven in court.

Sexual Offences: Prosecutions

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many men have been charged under section 53A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, as inserted by section 14 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 since 1 April 2010; how many successful prosecutions resulted; and what penalty was imposed in each case. [189537]

Jeremy Wright: The Government are committed to ensuring that the courts have the right powers to tackle sexual exploitation, and continue to keep those powers under review.

Under section 53A it is an offence to pay for or promise to pay a person to provide sexual services, where that person is subject to exploitative conduct to induce or encourage them to provide those services. The offence carries a maximum penalty of a level 3 (£1,000) fine.

The number of defendants in England and Wales who were proceeded against at magistrates courts, found guilty and sentenced at all courts (all of whom are men) from 2010 to 2012 can be viewed in the table.

The Ministry of Justice does not collect charging data.

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Standards

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the comparator benchmarking scores used in his Department's benchmarking scheme are; and how those scores are calculated. [186642]

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

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

Benchmarking optimises the skills of staff by introducing new ways of working and puts all prison officers in prisoner facing roles. It is not a process which involves scoring.

Trade Union Officials

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what facility time was allocated to trades unions in his Department in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14 to date. [191018]

Mr Vara: The Information for 2012-13 is available at the Gov.uk website at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/276890/Facility_Time_Figures_Q1-Q3_2013_Overall.xls

The data for 2012-13 provided by the link takes into account the new Cabinet Office monitoring requirement which is by headcount; it also includes representatives who undertake Health and Safety and Union Learning roles for which paid facility time is not provided. Therefore the data for 2011-12 and 2012-13 are not comparable.

The latest data will be published shortly.

Wills

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps the Government are taking to encourage people to make wills. [190577]

Simon Hughes: The Government encourage people to make wills by providing a relatively straightforward legal framework that keeps the formalities to a minimum and enables wills to be made quickly and inexpensively. We also provide information to help people considering making a will on Government websites: see, for example:

www.gov.uk/make-will

and

www.justice.gov.uk/courts/probate/why-make-a-will

We are considering what further steps we can take to raise awareness of the importance of making a will and to make the process simpler. We will make a statement about this in due course.

Home Department

Asylum: Uganda

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will update the UK visas and immigration guidance on Ugandan asylum cases to reflect the safety implications for Ugandans of the recent ratification of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in that country. [190716]

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James Brokenshire: All asylum and human rights claims are considered on their merits in accordance with our obligations under the 1951 refugee convention and the European convention on human rights. Our current guidance for handling Ugandan asylum claims is set out in an Operational Guidance Note (OGN) of December 2013. The OGN already recognises that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons may be at risk of persecution and warrant protection in the UK.

The Home Office will publish updated guidance on handling Ugandan asylum claims in light of the enactment of Anti-Homosexuality Bill by the end of March.

Daniel Morgan

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to announce a new chair of the Daniel Morgan inquiry team. [191010]

Damian Green: The Panel continues to carry out its important work and I am planning to appoint a new Chair as soon as possible.

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times the Daniel Morgan inquiry committee has met in the last 12 months. [191011]

Damian Green: The Daniel Morgan Independent Panel has held 10 meetings since its formation.

The first meeting was held on 17 September.

The Independent Panel will present its final Report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department who will make arrangements for its publication to Parliament. The Terms of Reference provide that the Panel will brief members of the family through a final report which is to be made available first to the family and then to the public at large. It is not envisaged that the Panel will make material public until that point.

The Independent Panel has received around 700 documents from relevant organisations to date. This is a very small proportion of the anticipated number of documents that the Panel will review. The vast bulk of the material will be made available to Panel for review following agreement of protocols with relevant organisations. In the mean time, the relevant organisations have provided schedules of documents.

Drug Seizures: Chelmsford

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what value of illegal drugs was seized by police in Chelmsford constituency in each of the last five years. [190688]

Damian Green: The requested information is not centrally collected by the Home Office.

Employment

Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment her Department has made of the effect of migration on employment of UK nationals. [190851]

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James Brokenshire [holding answer 10 March 2014]: The Government have recently published two reports on the effects of migration on employment of UK nationals. These are:

1. ‘Impacts of migration on UK native employment: An analytical review of the evidence’:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/287086/ocd09.pdf)

and

2. ‘Employment and Occupational skill levels among UK and foreign nationals’:

ixhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/282503/occ108.pdf

Entry Clearances: Married People

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many spousal visas were granted in 2013. [191094]

James Brokenshire: The latest published figure for partner entry clearance visas (including spouses) granted under the family route in 2013 was 24,641. It is not possible to separately identify those granted visas under the old family rules and those granted visas under new family rules implemented on 9 July 2012.

The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics including those for entry clearance visas granted under the family route within the quarterly Immigration Statistics release. A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics October- December 2013, is available from:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

and will be placed in the Library of the House.

Extradition

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times she has intervened in extradition cases since May 2010. [190699]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 10 March 2014]: Since May 2010, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department has withdrawn the extradition orders in two extradition cases. One case fell to be considered under the Extradition Act 1989, which gave the Secretary of State a wide discretion as to the matters she may consider. The other case fell to be considered under the Extradition Act 2003, under which her decision-making powers are limited to a number of factors. The case in question, however, was decided under the Secretary of State's then residual human rights obligations. The Secretary of State no longer has the power to consider representations on human rights grounds, following the coming into force of the relevant provisions of the Crime and Courts Act 2013.

Internet

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what services her Department provides that are (a) available online only and (b) planned to move to online only. [190366]

Karen Bradley: The following services are available online only:

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Applications to join the pilot Border Force Registered Traveller Scheme

Applications for visas from overseas (except from North Korea, Cuba and Zimbabwe)

Applications to join the DBS Update Service

There are no current plans to move other Home Office services to online only. The aim of Government is to make services digital by default. However, Government recognise that not everyone who uses these services is online, so digital support will be available to those users that need it.

Members: Correspondence

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department has received correspondence from the hon. Member for Birkenhead on the immigration status of constituent Luiza Czarnecka; and when she expects to reply to such correspondence. [190976]

James Brokenshire: The Home Office received correspondence from the right hon. Member dated 14 November 2013. Officials replied to this letter on 27 November requesting further information. Following receipt of this information, officials sent a further reply to the right hon. Member on 17 December 2013.

Police: Essex

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect of reductions in funding to local authorities on police forces in (a) Essex and (b) Chelmsford. [191019]

Damian Green: Funding for local authorities is a matter for the Communities Secretary. The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 puts in place two related, reciprocal duties for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to co-operate with partners.

PCCs are already working with local leaders to achieve effective outcomes for their areas and we encourage them to continue to do so. In Essex, the police have been working in collaboration with the County Fire and Rescue Service, including property sharing at appropriate locations across Essex, thereby reducing costs.

Police: Floods

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in all cases of recent flooding, where a Gold Command has been established for severe weather events, the police, unless agreed otherwise locally have convened and led the multi-agency response. [190422]

Brandon Lewis: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government. Under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 statutory guidance “Emergency Preparedness”, police authorities and other responders work together as a local resilience forum to draw up multi-agency plans and incident command and control protocols, where the Gold commander is identified in advance of need. Police Gold commanders, where identified locally as the

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lead responder, have led the local multi-agency response for severe weather. I would note that this is a Pitt Review Recommendation which has been implemented.