Patients: Taxis

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many taxis have been used by ambulance trusts to collect urgent or emergency patients in each region in each of the last five years. [191797]

Jane Ellison: These data are not collected centrally.

Taxis are never used for patients in emergency or life threatening situations.

The first priority for all emergency services is the welfare and safety of patients. It is up to individual ambulance trusts to decide how resources are used to meet local demand.

All 999 calls to the ambulance service are assessed on priority and paramedics are dispatched to the most serious cases first, known as Red calls, which require a response within eight minutes in 75% of cases.

In very limited circumstances where an ambulance is clearly not required, and the trust is under pressure, patients may be transported by taxis. This is only after the patient has been assessed, usually on a face to face basis, as having a minor ailment and confirmed as having a transport only need.

Social Services

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many and what proportion of adults received social care in each English local authority in each year since 2009-10; [191724]

(2) how many, and what number per 1,000, of the adult population received social care in each English local authority in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2012-13. [191725]

Norman Lamb: We are informed by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) that it collects data on the total number of adults aged 18 and over who receive social services funded wholly or in part by Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities (CASSRs). This is published annually.

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The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Tuberculosis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were diagnosed with tuberculosis in each of the last three years. [191417]

Jane Ellison: The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in the United Kingdom is assessed through systematic analysis of notification data obtained from the Enhanced Tuberculosis Surveillance System run by Public Health England (PHE).

In 2012 in the UK, a total of 8,751 cases of TB were reported, a rate of 13.9 cases per 100,000 population. In 2011, 8,899 TB cases were reported in the UK (a rate of 14.1/100,000 population), and 8,397 TB cases were reported in 2010 (a rate of 13.5 per 100,000 population).

The latest analysis can be found in the updated PHE TB annual report, which has been placed in the Library.

Vaccination

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of the private availability of vaccines on different measures of health equality. [191375]

Jane Ellison: Immunisations provided through the national health service are freely available to all for whom a particular vaccine is recommended. We have not made any assessment of the effect of the private availability of vaccines on health equality.

Cabinet Office

Civil Servants: Working Hours

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the change in numbers of civil servants working less than 20 hours per week was between January 2010 and January 2014. [191685]

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

Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2014:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Minister for the Cabinet Office asking what the change in numbers of civil servants working less than 20 hours per week was between January 2010 and January 2014.

Estimates of Civil Service employment are published annually by the Office for National Statistics, with a survey reference date of 31 March.

As of 31 March 2010, the Civil Service employment headcount was 527,257, of which there were 22,257 employees working less than 20 hours per week. As of 31 March 2013, the Civil Service employment headcount was 448,835, of which there were 21,435 employees working less than 20 hours per week. Therefore over this period there was a reduction of 822 in the number of employees who worked less than 20 hours per week.

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Government Departments: Charities

Richard Burden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much each Government Department has allocated to charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institutions to deliver programmes through the Charities Act 2006 to date. [191743]

Mr Hurd: Cabinet Office is investing £470 million over the spending review period directly to support charities and voluntary groups. In most cases these payments are made under the Charities Act 2006.

Data on the legal powers exercised to make these and previous allocations to charitable, benevolent and philanthropic institutions by the Cabinet Office are not held.

Government Departments: Internet

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will estimate the net benefit to the UK economy of data.gov.uk since it publicly launched in January 2010. [191143]

Mr Maude: We know that open data are of huge value to the economy. It is difficult to cite an exact figure for the net benefit of:

www.data.gov.uk

A recent Deloitte report, available at LINK, cited £1.8 billion of direct benefit and £6.8 billion of indirect benefit to the UK economy from the use of open data, although this also includes data that are not Government data.

Government Departments: Standards

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many consultants have been engaged in the Crown Oversight Function since its creation; what each of their job roles were; and how much has been paid in consultancy fees to date; [191301]

(2) how many civil servants of what grades have been employed on the Crown Oversight Function since its creation. [191302]

Mr Maude: Prior to the last general election the civil service lacked commercial and procurement skills. This Government's commercial and procurement reforms saved taxpayers £3.8 billion last year alone. The Government are strengthening central procurement skills to ensure further savings can be realised. The Crown Oversight Function was created on 1 November 2013 and has 52 civil service roles. Further details will be available via the Department's organogram. Consultants were not employed at Government expense.

Immigration: Northern Ireland

Dr McCrea: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what change there has been in (a) gross and (b) net immigration into Northern Ireland in the last three years. [191872]

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

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Letter from Caron Walker, dated March 2014:

On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what change there has been in (a) gross and (b) net immigration into Northern Ireland in the last three years [191872]

The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency publishes statistics on migration flows into and out of Northern Ireland. The latest available migration statistics available are for the period mid-2011 to mid-2012. Table 1 shows total immigration, emigration and net migration for the last three years available. These statistics include all migration between Northern Ireland and both Great Britain and the rest of the world.

Table 1 Total Migration estimates for Northern Ireland, Mid-2009 to Mid-2012
 Mid-2009 to Mid-2010Mid-2010 to Mid-20111Mid-2011 to Mid-20121

Immigration

24,544

23,724 (-820)

23,255 (-469)

Emigration

23,394

25,218 (+1,824)

24,570 (-648)

Net migration

1,150

-1,494 (-2,644)

-1,315 (+179)

1 Figures in italics show change from previous year

These statistics are based on the United Nations definition of a long-term international migrant, that is, someone who changes their country of usual residence for a period of at least one year.

These data are available on the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) website

http://www.nisra.gov.uk/archive/demography/population/midyear/CoC_0012.xls

Overseas Students

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many non-EU students (a) came to the UK and (b) departed the UK in the last period for which figures are available. [191830]

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

Letter from Caron Walker dated March 2014:

On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to respond to your Parliamentary Question to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many non-EU students (a) came to the UK and (b) departed the UK in the last period for which figures are available. [191830]

The latest available provisional estimates published by ONS are for the year ending September 2013 and are based on the United Nations definition of a long-term international migrant, that is, someone who changes their country of usual residence for a period of at least one year. In addition to the ONS estimates, the Home Office have published counts of study-related visas issued to non-EEA citizens in 2013.

a) How many non-EU students came to the UK?

The latest provisional estimates from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) show that 124,000 non-EU citizens arrived in the UK for formal study in the year ending September 2013, with a margin of error of +/- 14,000. The margin of error refers to the 95 per cent confidence interval and is a measure of the uncertainty associated with making inferences from a sample.

HO visa and admissions data provide a more complete count for non-EEA students coming to the UK. The latest Home Office data show that there were 218,773 study-related visas issued to non-EEA nationals (including dependants, excluding student visitors) in 2013. Please note that Home Office student visa data will include some short-term migrants, who stay in the UK for less than 12 months.

b) How many non-EU students departed the UK?

Latest provisional IPS estimates show that 49,000 non-EU citizens, whose previous main reason for immigrating to the UK was formal study, emigrated from the UK in the year ending

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September 2013. This estimate has a margin of error of +/- 5,000. It should be noted that a person's main reason for migration may not be their only reason for migration. A note has been published to provide guidance on interpreting previous main reason for migration estimates, particularly within the context of student migration:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/population-and-migration/international-migration-methodology/international-migration-how-to-interpret-table-4.pdf

Profumo Inquiry

Frank Dobson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer to Lord Lexden of 18 July 2013, Official Report, House of Lords, column 872, on the Profumo Inquiry, how many of the people interviewed by Lord Denning in his inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Mr Profumo are still alive. [191368]

Mr Maude: The information requested is not held centrally.

Public Sector: Fraud

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he plans to publish the report of the independent project review of the Counter Fraud Checking Service once it is completed. [191593]

Mr Maude: Prior to the last general election, there was no-cross Government work to tackle the billions of pounds of taxpayers' money lost to fraud.

We are currently reviewing the business case for a Counter Fraud Checking Service.

Statistics

Katy Clark: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which statistics identified as high impact outputs with less widespread support by the Office for National Statistics in consultation on statistical products 2013 have had funding secured for their compilation in 2014-15. [191785]

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

Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2014:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office which statistics identified as high impact outputs with less widespread support by the Office for National Statistics in consultation on statistical products 2013 have had funding secured for compilation in 2014-15. 191785

As part of the consultation on statistical products 2013, we identified a number of 'high impact outputs with less widespread support' which we can no longer afford to fund. In our consultation response published on our website,

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/about-ons/get-involved/consultations/consultations/statistical-products-2013/response/index.html

we said that we would continue to seek alternative solutions that would enable their continuing production, but that if alternative solutions have not been identified by 31 March 2014, outputs in this group would no longer be produced by ONS.

We plan to publish an updated response on our website once the ongoing discussions we are having with a number of Government

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Departments and agencies about possible funding solutions have concluded. We expect to be in a position to do this by the end of April 2014.

Trade Union Officials

Alun Cairns: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what funding his Department provided for staff to carry out trade union activities in each of the last three years; and how many days staff spent on those activities in each of those years. [190235]

Mr Maude: Prior to January 2013, the Cabinet Office did not differentiate between time spent on trade union activities and time spent on trade union duties in recording the usage of trade union facility time.

No facility time has been granted for trade union activities since January 2013.

Since January 2013, data relating to departmental facility time are published on the GOV.UK website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trade-union-facility-time

Unemployment Benefits: Graduates

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many graduates of British universities aged 21 to 25 are claiming unemployment-related benefits. [191449]

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

Letter from Glen Watson:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many graduates of British universities aged 21 to 25 are claiming unemployment-related benefits. (191449)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles data on the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance, the main unemployment related benefit, from the JobcentrePlus Administrative System.

Unfortunately, information on whether claimants have graduated from British universities is not available from this source.

National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:

http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Unemployment Benefits: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people living in the London borough of Havering have moved off unemployment benefit as a result of gaining employment in 2013. [191451]

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

Letter from Peter Fullerton:

On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people living in the London Borough of Havering have moved off unemployment benefit as a result of gaining employment in 2013. (191451)

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The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles data on the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), the main unemployment related benefit, from the JobcentrePlus Administrative System. It is not possible to provide data on the number of people who have ceased claiming JSA. As an alternative we have provided data on the total number of claims that have ceased during 2013 which will include multiple instances for some individuals over the year.

The reason for moving off JSA is not known for over 40% of UK cases. In many of these cases the claimant, will, in fact, have moved into employment. Of the 12,910 moves off JSA in Havering in 2013, 5,685 provided the reason “found work” but this will be an underestimate of the total number of moves into employment.

National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Unemployment: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people aged 18 to 24 years old in Scotland have been unemployed for (a) six months, (b) one year, (c) two years and (d) more than two years. [191751]

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

Letter from Glen Watson:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people aged 18 to 24 in Scotland have been unemployed for (a) six months, (b) one year, (c) two years and (d) more than two years. (191751)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles detailed estimates of unemployment from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.

The attached table shows the number of people aged 18 to 24 resident in Scotland who were unemployed for less than 6 months, 6 months to less than one year, one year to less than 2 years and over 2 years, according to survey responses from the APS for the period October 2012 to September 2013.

As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.

National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Number1 of unemployed people aged 18 to 24 resident in Scotland by duration of unemployment, October 2012 to September 2013
 Number (Thousand)

Less than 6 months

**33

6 months to less than 1year

***12

1 year to less than 2 years

***12

2 years and over

***7

1 Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 ≤ CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 ≤ CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 ≤ CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ≥ 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Population Survey.

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Work and Pensions

Access to Work Programme

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what consultation his Department undertook with deaf users of the Access to Work scheme and their representative groups prior to introducing recent restrictions on the funding available for communication support through that scheme; and what alternative cost-reduction measures his Department considered; [191235]

(2) whether his Department undertook (a) an impact assessment and (b) consultation with deaf and deafblind users of Access to Work, their representative organisations and with employers prior to the implementation of Access to Work funding limitations for the provision of communication support for deaf and deafblind people in the workplace; [191236]

(3) whether his Department applies quotas to different disability groups for funding available through Access to Work; and if he will make a statement; [191237]

(4) how many fraudulent claims were received by Access to Work for communication support for deaf and deafblind people in each year for which figures are available; [191238]

(5) what proportion of his Department's Access to Work budget was spent on communication support for (a) deaf and (b) deafblind individuals in each year for which figures are available; [191243]

(6) what estimate his Department has made of the market value of a NRCPD-registered sign language interpreter; and how this estimate was used during the identification of an appropriate Access to Work funding cap for a full-time sign language interpreter; [191253]

(7) what estimate he has made of potential additional financial costs for employers resulting from newly implemented restrictions on Access to work funding for communications support for deaf and deafblind people; and what consultation he undertook with employers of deaf people on that matter; [191254]

(8) what assessment his Department made of the potential effect on deaf and deafblind people of restrictions on access to work funding for the provision of communication support for such people prior to the introduction of those restrictions; [191255]

(9) how many (a) deaf and (b) deafblind people have employed a full-time communication professional following recent changes in the implementation of access to work guidance; [191256]

(10) what the surplus or deficit of the Access to Work budget was in each financial year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement; [191257]

(11) what guidance is provided to deaf and deafblind users of the Access to Work scheme regarding that scheme's complaints procedure and the process for requesting a decision review. [191258]

Mike Penning: Access to Work supports employed people with all types of disability; the budget is not allocated to particular disability groups in advance of

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applications. Existing policies on the cost effective funding of full time support workers are being enforced to ensure the programme remains available for new applicants.

Access to Work supports employed people with all types of disability; the budget is not allocated to particular disability groups in advance of applications. Existing policies on the cost effective funding of full time support workers are being enforced to ensure the programme remains available for new applicants.

There are no quotas applied to customer numbers or funding for particular disability groups.

There are currently a small number of investigations where charges have been made and are due to be heard in court over the summer months. We continue to monitor the system for abuse.

Please note that DWP only has information based on Primary Disability type. Therefore total spend on hearing impaired customers is shown, this includes other Access to Work support. However spend relating to deafblind customers is not available from our records.

Department of Work and Pensions—Access To Work (ATW)
 Number of people helped with hearing impairmentsAmount spent on hearing impairment (£ million)Total ATW customersTotal ATW spend (£ million)

2008-09

4,950

21.7

32,130

69

2009-10

5,450

28.5

37,280

98

2010-11

5,300

32.7

35,820

107

2011-12

4,960

34.1

30,780

93

2012-13

5,250

34.5

31,460

95.3

Children: Day Care

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of people of pensionable age providing unpaid childcare support. [191512]

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available. The Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents estimates that grandparents provided informal child care for 1.8 million children in 1.4 million families in 2012-13 with 4% of these families making some form of payment to the grandparent. We are unable to identify the ages of these grandparents; previous studies have shown that around half of grandparents are aged over 65.

Source for grandparent age distribution:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/220274/eia-ni-credits-changes.pdf

Source for Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents-2012-to-2013

Databases

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the accuracy of his Department's databases of people (a) in receipt of and (b) not in receipt of benefits for the purposes of data matching with the electoral register. [191352]

Esther McVey: Results of DWP data matching with the electoral register have been subjected to review by both the Electoral Commission and Electoral Registration Transformation Programme with positive results.

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No separate assessment has been made of accuracy of data for benefit and non-benefit recipients for the purposes of data matching with the electoral register.

To undertake such an assessment would entail disproportionate costs due to the need to contact and compare citizen details against data held by DWP.

Employment and Support Allowance

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of (a) new employment and support allowance claimants and (b) existing employment and support allowance claimants reporting a change in circumstances receive their benefit payments within (i) one week, (ii) two weeks, (iii) three weeks, (iv) four weeks, (v) eight weeks, (vi) 12 weeks and (vii) more than 12 weeks. [191499]

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.

Employment Schemes

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what protections have been built into Universal Job Match to ensure the service cannot be infiltrated with non-existent jobs with the aim of accessing personal data; and if he will make a statement. [191219]

Esther McVey: The security of a user's data is of the utmost importance to us and built into the service are monitoring tools and vacancy checks, which help to detect, deter and remedy inappropriate use of the site. There are also warnings to users of the service advising them they should not be asked to reveal personal details. Additionally, a 'Contact Us' facility is provided so users can quickly highlight any employers that they may have concerns about. DWP then investigate such concerns.

Employment Schemes: Rhyl

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what additional funding his Department allocated to the town of Rhyl for the purpose of piloting back-to-work projects in each year since 1997. [191213]

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

Health and Safety Executive: Fees and Charges

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to review his Department's Fee for Intervention policy. [191832]

Mike Penning: The Fee for Intervention (FFI) scheme will be reviewed as recommended in the recent Triennial Review of the Health and Safety Executive. An independent FFI Review Board is being established and will report its conclusions later this year.

Housing Benefit

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households which claim housing benefit do not have access to a kitchen. [191316]

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Steve Webb: The information requested is not available.

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on the housing benefit budget of limiting all rents to local authority rent levels. [191578]

Steve Webb: It is not possible to make a meaningful assessment. Limiting all rents to local authority rent levels would be a dramatic change to the housing market. It is therefore not possible to reliably predict what would happen to the supply and demand for accommodation, especially in the private rented sector, and the impacts on housing benefit expenditure.

Housing Benefit: Scotland

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much in housing benefit payments was paid to recipients in (a) Glasgow, (b) Edinburgh, (c) Dundee and (d) Aberdeen in the last year. [191626]

Steve Webb: The amount paid in housing benefit in 2012-13 can be found in the following table:

Housing benefit, 2012-13
 £ million

Glasgow City

348

City of Edinburgh

200

Dundee City

77

Aberdeen City

55

  
Note: Expenditure is shown for the last complete financial year. Benefit expenditure for housing benefit can be found in the local authority tables as per link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/266828/la-tables-201213.xls Source: Local authority statistical data and subsidy returns.

Independent Living Fund

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Executive on the closure of the independent living fund. [191486]

Mike Penning: The devolved Administrations in Wales and Scotland have been informed of the decision to close the independent living fund on 30 June 2015. I will be writing to Ministers with further details shortly.

Industrial Health and Safety

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which Health and Safety Executive Approved Codes of Practice (a) have been reviewed since May 2010, (b) are scheduled for review or amendment and (c) are not currently scheduled for review. [191791]

Mike Penning: Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is reviewing all of its Approved Codes of Practices (ACOP) in line with Professor Löfstedt's independent review of health and safety legislation, 'Reclaiming health and safety for all' (published November 2011).

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(a) 19 ACOPs have been reviewed since May 2010. Of these, five have been revised and re-published, nine consolidated into three revised ACOPs and five withdrawn completely. These are:

Revised

L5—Control of substances hazardous to health

L8—Legionnaires' disease. The Control of legionella bacteria in water systems

L24—Workplace health, safety and welfare

L117—Rider-operated lift trucks: Operator training

L118—Health and safety at quarries.

Consolidated

L56—Safety in the installation and use of gas systems and appliances. This is a consolidation of two ACOPs (L56 and COP20: Standards of training in safe gas installation) into a single revised ACOP (L56)

L138—Dangerous substances and explosive atmospheres consolidated the following five ACOPs into a single revised ACOP (L138):

L134—Design of plant, equipment and workplace

L135—Storage of dangerous substances

L136—Control and mitigation measures

L137—Safe maintenance, repair and cleaning procedures

L138—Dangerous substances and explosive atmospheres

L143—Managing and working with Asbestos. This is a consolidation of two ACOPs (L127—The management of asbestos in non-domestic premises and L143—Work with materials containing asbestos) into a single revised ACOP (L143).

Withdrawn

L21—Management of health and safety at work

L74—First aid at work

L81—Design, construction and installation of gas service pipes

L116—Preventing accidents to children in agriculture

L130—Compilation of safety data sheets.

(b) A review of a further 14 ACOPS will be completed by the end of 2014. These are:

COP25 Safety in docks to be replaced by L148 Safety in docks ACOP

Five Diving ACOPs:

L103—Commercial diving projects offshore

L104—Commercial diving projects inland/inshore

L105—Recreational diving projects

L106—Media diving projects

L107—Scientific and archaeological diving projects.

Three Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations linked ACOPs:

L22—Safe use of work equipment

L112—Safe use of power presses

L114—Safe use of woodworking machinery

L113-Safe use of lifting equipment

L101—Safe work in confined spaces

L122—Safety of pressure systems

L133—Unloading petrol from road tankers

L146—Consulting workers on health and safety.

A further 19 ACOPs associated with changes to legislation and will be reviewed in accordance with the timescale for legislative change.

(c) All HSE ACOPs are scheduled for review.

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Jobseeker's Allowance

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of (a) new jobseeker's allowance claimants and (b) existing jobseeker's allowance claimants reporting a change in circumstances receive their benefit payments within (i) one week, (ii) two weeks, (iii) three weeks, (iv) four weeks, (v) eight weeks, (vi) 12 weeks and (vii) more than 12 weeks. [191498]

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Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people and what proportion of the working age population have been in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance for over (a) two years, (b) five years and (c) 10 years in each region of England. [191628]

Esther McVey: The information requested is shown in the following table.

Jobseeker’s allowance claimants in each region in England by duration of claim and as a percentage of the working age population, as at August 2013
 AllDuration of 2 to 5 yearsDuration of 5 to 10 yearsDuration of over 10 years
RegionNumberPercentageNumberPercentageNumberPercentageNumberPercentage

North East

77,400

4.9

14,330

0.9

300

50

North West

166,260

3.8

22,990

0.5

1,400

180

Yorkshire and the Humber

140,760

4.3

23,660

0.7

810

110

East Midlands

87,700

3.2

12,900

0.5

630

40

West Midlands

141,210

4.2

23,410

0.7

1,490

120

East of England

93,300

2.6

13,370

0.4

420

50

London

191,590

3.5

30,990

0.6

1,420

250

South East

107,830

2.1

13,550

0.3

610

80

South West

68,750

2.2

8,530

0.3

180

50

Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Percentages are shown rounded to one decimal place. “—” denotes nil or negligible. 2. Working age population figures are defined as males aged 16-64 and females aged 16-59. Source: DWP IGS 100% WPLS and ONS Mid-2012 Population Estimates.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Disqualification

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have received sanctions in relation to their jobseeker's allowance for non-attendance in (a) the London Borough of Havering and (b) England to date. [191391]

Esther McVey: The information requested is published and available at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Guidance for users is available at:

https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm

Labour Force Survey

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect (a) generally and (b) on ease of comparisons with previous years of collecting work-related ill-health data through the Labour Force Survey biennially instead of annually. [191798]

Mike Penning: Experience from collecting work-related ill health data through the Labour Force Survey from 2003-04 to 2011-12 indicated that figures rarely changed significantly year-on-year. The main value in the data is in comparisons over longer time periods and in combining survey years to look at detailed sub-populations.

Work-related ill health data for 2013-14 have been collated and will be published in the autumn.

Long Term Unemployed People: Peterborough

Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to reduce long term unemployment in Peterborough constituency; and if he will make a statement. [191744]

Esther McVey: The Government are committed to helping people off benefits and into work, so it is encouraging that we have seen record numbers of people in work nationally, with unemployment falling.

The Government's Work programme revolutionises the help available to people who were in danger of becoming long-term unemployed. Private providers offer tailored help to people who may have been out of work for many years - moving them closer to getting a job. According to industry figures released this month (March), half a million people have found work through the Work programme.

We are determined to do everything we can to support those people who are hardest to help into work, and that is what the Work programme is designed to do, whilst also being a good deal for the tax payer.

Work coaches in local jobcentres now have the flexibility to offer all claimants a comprehensive menu of help which includes skills provision, job search support and the Flexible Support Fund.

Pensioners

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the pension entitlement is of people of pensionable age who served long sentences in prison. [191684]

Steve Webb: A person’s entitlement to the contributory state pension is dependent on the national insurance contributions they have paid or had credited to them over their working life (from the age of 16 up to the year before they reach state pension age) which builds up qualifying years. This will also be the case for the new single tier pension, but with a requirement to have a minimum number of qualifying years.

17 Mar 2014 : Column 479W

A person who has served a long prison sentence during their working life is likely to have a below average entitlement to contributory state pension. However, pension credit is available where the person's (and partner's) income from all sources is inadequate.

Personal Independence Payment

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to tackle delays faced by people waiting for a medical assessment following their application for personal independence payment. [191500]

Mike Penning: We are committed to ensuring personal independence payment (PIP) claimants receive high quality, objective, fair and accurate assessments. Since the introduction of PIP new claims in April, we have been closely monitoring all aspects of the process.

Our latest analysis is telling us that the end-to-end claimant journey is taking longer than expected. We are working closely with the assessment providers to ensure that they are taking all necessary steps to improve performance, speed up the process and ensure claimants receive a satisfactory experience. We are also seeking to ensure that all the steps in the process run as smoothly as possible and that there are no barriers in our processes and systems that contribute to claims taking longer than necessary to progress.

Post Office Card Account

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what his policy is on the payment of benefits into Post Office card accounts; [191484]

(2) what his policy is on the payment of pensions into Post Office card accounts. [191485]

Steve Webb: The Department pays benefits and pensions by direct payment into a bank, building society, credit union or Post Office card account.

The Post Office card account is a very simple account with limited functionality. Our policy has always been clear that the best option, especially for people of working age, is an account that can accept payments from employers and has transactional facilities such as direct debits for the payment of bills and housing costs.

The Department is currently in discussions with Post Office Ltd and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills to consider the future needs of customers beyond 2015.

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what recent discussions his Department has had with (a) Post Office Limited and (b) the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters on the future use of the Post Office card account; [191495]

(2) what assessment his Department has made of the future use of the Post Office card account; and if he will make a statement; [191493]

(3) what recent discussions his Department has had with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the future use of the Post Office card account. [191494]

17 Mar 2014 : Column 480W

Steve Webb: The Post Office card account (POca) contract expires in March 2015 with the possibility of a two-year extension beyond that date.

The POca is a very simple account designed for the receipt of pensions and legacy benefits. It cannot be used for the payment of wages/salaries and does not offer transactional services such as direct debits so will not be suitable for the majority of working age claimants eligible for universal credit.

No decision has been made on the future of the POca but discussions are currently taking place between DWP, Post Office Ltd and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to consider the future needs of customers beyond 2015 and any announcement on this matter will be made in due course.

Ministers and officials have also met with relevant stakeholders, including the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters to discuss POca related issues.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans his Department has for the future use of Post Office card accounts. [191790]

Steve Webb: The Post Office card account (POca) contract expires in March 2015 with the possibility of a two-year extension beyond that date.

No decision has been made on the future of the POca but discussions are currently taking place between DWP, Post Office Ltd and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to consider the future needs of customers beyond 2015.

Post Office Card Account: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Warrington currently have benefits of which type paid into a Post Office card account. [191788]

Steve Webb: The information is not available in the format requested as data held relate to payment accounts rather than people. A customer may receive benefits in the form of a separate payment for each benefit to which they are entitled or a single, combined payment. Each of these payments is termed a payment account which would be paid into the same Post Office card account.

The number of payment accounts paid into a Post Office card account split by benefit type in Warrington local authority as at February 2013 is shown in the following table.

Number of payment accounts paid via a Post Office card account by benefit type in Warrington local authority: February 2013
 Number

Total Benefits paid via Post Office card accounts

9,540

Attendance Allowance

390

Bereavement Benefit

10

Disability Living Allowance

1,260

Employment and Support Allowance

610

Incapacity Benefit

200

Carer's Allowance

170

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

190

Income Support

480

Jobseeker's Allowance

440

17 Mar 2014 : Column 481W

Pension Credit

1,730

State Pension

3,970

Severe Disablement Benefit

90

Widow's Benefit

10

Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Figures refer to payment accounts. Claimants with more than one account will be counted for each account. Figures only relate to accounts live and in payment on the specified date. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate, 100% data

Social Security Benefits

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the quality of the administration of the short-term benefit advances scheme since its inception. [191105]

Esther McVey: DWP has a quality framework in place for checking the accuracy of Short Term Benefit Advance decisions. In February 2014, checks confirmed 96% accuracy of application decisions. In terms of

17 Mar 2014 : Column 482W

timeliness, an average 98% of all application decisions made throughout the operational year since April 2013 were made within 24 hours.

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will assess the potential for improved administration and awareness of the short-term benefit advances scheme to affect demand for food banks; and if he will make a statement. [191156]

Esther McVey: DWP does make claimants aware of relevant support services, but will always consider whether it has provision first.

Short-term benefit advance awards are available to those entitled to them prior to initial payment of benefit, almost 100% of applications are routinely processed within 24 hours.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people and what proportion of the working population have been in receipt of incapacity benefit or employment and support allowance for over (a) two years, (b) five years and (c) 10 years in each region of England. [191625]

Esther McVey: The information requested is shown in the following tables:

Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance (IB/SDA) claimants in each region in England by duration of claim and as a percentage of the working age population—as at August 2013
RegionAll cases%Duration of 2 to 5 years%Duration of 5 to 10 years%Duration of over 10 years%

North East

29,950

1.9

1,820

0.1

6,380

0.4

21,500

1.4

North West

77,400

1.8

3,250

0.1

17,650

0.4

55,980

1.3

Yorkshire and the Humber

47,770

1.5

1,980

0.1

10,700

0.3

34,760

1.1

East Midlands

39,600.

1.4

1,370

9,020

0.3

28,820

1.0

West Midlands

55,560

1.6

2,130

0.1

13,770

0.4

39,260

1.2

East of England

45,960

1.3

1,730

12,710

0.4

31,030

0.9

London

87;890

1.6

4,420

0.1

26,990

0.5

55,570

1.0

South East

60,710

1.2

2,250

15,570

0.3

42,410

0.8

South West

51,240

1.6

1,960

0.1

13,200

0.4

35,620

1.1

Employment and support allowance (ESA) claimants in each region in England by duration of claim and as a percentage of the working age population—as at August 2013
RegionAll%Duration of up to 5 years%

North East

102,540

6.5

16,010

1.0

North West

284,580

6.6

49,000

1.1

Yorkshire and the Humber

170,050

5.2

29,980

0.9

East Midlands

130,210

4.7

23,430

0.8

West Midlands

166,670

4.9

30,220

0.9

East of England

133,560

3.8

26,410

0.7

London

227,650

4.1

48,070

0.9

South East

185,150

3.5

36,240

0.7

South West

135,980

4.3

26,390

0.8

Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Percentages are shown rounded to one decimal place."—" denotes nil or negligible. 2. Working age population figures are defined as males aged 16-64 and females aged 16-59. 3. Incapacity benefit was replaced by employment support allowance (ESA) for new claims from October 2008. 4. Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance figures will include some people receiving national insurance credits only. 5. The caseload data provided for IB/SDA and ESA is published and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool Source: DWP IGS 100% WPLS and ONS Mid-2012 Population Estimates

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Mr Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit claimants have been sanctioned for (a) four weeks, (b) three months and (c) three years in each month since January 2010. [191565]

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

17 Mar 2014 : Column 483W

Social Security Benefits: Immigrants

Dame Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what work his Department has commissioned on the use by migrants of UK welfare systems. [190447]

Esther McVey: The previous Government did not collect data; we are rectifying this and the data collected on migrants' use of the welfare system continue to grow as the current welfare reforms are rolled out. For example, under the recently strengthened habitual residence test we have started to record nationality and immigration status.

Under universal credit we will also make better records of claimants’ circumstances including nationality.

Social Security Benefits: Scotland

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid in disability living allowance and personal independence payments to recipients in (a) Glasgow, (b) Edinburgh, (c) Dundee and (d) Aberdeen in the last year. [191621]

Mike Penning: The amount paid in disability living allowance in 2012-13 can be found in the following table.

Personal independence payments were introduced in April 2013 and therefore there was no expenditure in the 2012-13 financial year.

DLA 2012-13
 £ million

Glasgow City

234

Edinburgh, City of

93

Dundee City

47

Aberdeen City

40

Note: Expenditure is shown for the last complete financial year. The benefit expenditure for disability living allowance can be found in the local authority tables as per the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/266828/la-tables-201213.xls Source: DWP statistical data

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how much was paid in employment and support allowance payments to recipients in (a) Glasgow, (b) Edinburgh, (c) Dundee and (d) Aberdeen in the last year; [191623]

(2) how much was paid in jobseeker’s allowance payments to recipients in (a) Glasgow, (b) Edinburgh, (c) Dundee and (d) Aberdeen in the last year. [191624]

Esther McVey: The amount paid in employment and support allowance and jobseeker’s allowance in 2012-13 is shown in the following table.

2012-13
£ million
 ESAJSA

Glasgow City

153

83

Edinburgh, City of

55

38

Dundee City

26

19

17 Mar 2014 : Column 484W

Aberdeen City

25

11

Note: Expenditure is shown for the last complete financial year. Benefit expenditure for employment and support allowance and jobseeker’s allowance can be found in the local authority tables at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/266828/la-tables-201213.xls Source: DWP statistical data.

Unemployed People: New Businesses

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to promote small business entrepreneurial skills for people who are currently unemployed. [191768]

Esther McVey: The Government are keen to promote and provide support to help people start and build their own business. One of the ways we are doing this is through the new enterprise allowance (NEA).

The NEA provides access to business mentoring and financial support for people on benefits interested in starting up their own business. The financial support consists of a weekly allowance payable over 26 week's worth up to £1,274. If participants need start-up capital they may also apply for an unsecured loan through the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills start-up loan scheme.

So far 32,520 businesses have been created and 56,700 claimants have started working with a mentor.

We announced in the autumn statement our intention to extend the scheme through to 2015-16.

Unemployment Benefits

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been in receipt of out-of-work benefits for (a) one year, (b) two years and (c) three years or more in (i) Wrexham constituency, (ii) Wales and (iii) the UK in each of the last three years. [191126]

Esther McVey: The information we can provide is shown in the following table:

Out of work benefit claimants by statistical group and duration of oldest claim, for Great Britain, Wales and Wrexham constituency: August 2011 to August 2013
  AllUp to 1 year1 to 2 years2 to 3 years3 years and over

August 2011

Great Britain

4,842,010

1,937,380

503,230

290,240

2,111,170

 

Wales

296,370

105,870

27,670

18,030

144,790

 

Wrexham

6,350

2,370

620

420

2,930

       

August 2012

Great Britain

4,721,460

2,138,490

649,290

313,940

1,619,740

 

Wales

286,820

124,910

35,260

17,320

109,320

 

Wrexham

6,090

2,850

660

380

2,200

       

August 2013

Great Britain

4,395,860

2,051,340

881,810

389,270

1,073,440

 

Wales

267,890

121,960

53,400

21,180

71,340

17 Mar 2014 : Column 485W

 

Wrexham

5,710

2,740

1,160

400

1,400

Notes: 1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and totals may not sum due to rounding. 2. Out of work benefits which are included in this analysis are: Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance (IB/SDA) Income Support (IS). 3. Incapacity Benefit and IS on incapacity grounds were replaced by Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) for new claims from October 2008. 4. The duration of claim reflects the longest out-of-work benefit claim for each person. 5. Where a claim has converted to ESA from IB/SDA or IS data reflects duration from start of ESA claim. 6. Great Britain data have been provided as the information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at: http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research.htm Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Where a claim has converted to employment and support allowance (ESA) from incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance or income support the data reflects the duration from the start of ESA claim. Most of these re-assessments have occurred since April 2011 when the re-assessment process commenced.

Universal Credit

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) whether the universal credit system will accept new claims for employment and support allowance by the end of 2016; [191507]

(2) whether claimants who begin claiming employment and support allowance prior to new claims being accepted by the universal credit system will be transferred to the universal credit system by the start of 2017 or end of 2017; [191508]

(3) whether the universal credit system will accept (a) any and (b) all new claims for employment and support allowance at the start of 2017 or end of 2017. [191509]

Esther McVey: While the majority of the legacy caseload will move to universal credit during 2016 and 2017, claimants in receipt of income based employment and support allowance (ESA) will retain their current arrangements during this period unless there is a relevant change in their circumstances. Final decisions on the implementation of the programme will be informed by the development of the enhanced digital solution.

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of processing a change in a claimant's circumstances when he or she (a) moves to live in an area where universal credit is not being piloted, (b) forms a new relationship and are re-classified as part of a couple and (c) has a child. [191510]

Esther McVey: No estimate of this has been made (in the examples quoted the changes would be processed in the same way as any other reported change of circumstances).

17 Mar 2014 : Column 486W

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the IT systems supporting universal credit are able to process a change in a claimant's circumstances when he or she (a) moves to live in an area where universal credit is not being piloted, (b) forms a new relationship and is re-classified as part of a couple and (c) has a child. [191511]

Esther McVey: Where a universal credit claimants circumstances change in the way set out IT systems support the processing of those changes.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what effect on the budget of universal credit the decision to develop a second IT system will have; and if he will make a statement. [191629]

Esther McVey: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 12 December 2013, Official Report, column 314W.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of the claimants who have returned to Jobcentre Plus after 104 weeks on the Work Programme are attached to each jobcentre in the UK; and what proportion of each jobcentre's caseload such people represent. [191627]

Esther McVey: Statistics on the number of claimants, who have returned to Jobcentre Plus after 104 weeks on the Work programme, by Jobcentre Plus district, can be found at:

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

Guidance for users is available at:

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

In order to calculate the proportions, statistics on the number of jobseeker's allowance claimants by Jobcentre Plus district can be found at:

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

Guidance for users can be found at:

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

Work Programme: Brigg

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people in Brigg and Goole constituency who have begun an apprenticeship through support provided on the work programme. [191638]

Esther McVey: The data requested are not available. Participants on the Work programme are some of the hardest people to help into work, what we do know from the latest industry published statistics is that nationally from June 2011 to December 2013, 498,000 people have been helped into work by the Work programme.

17 Mar 2014 : Column 487W

Defence

Combat Troops: Human Rights Legislation

16. Mr Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he plans to take to ensure that human rights legislation does not apply to troops deployed in combat operations. [903060]

Mr Philip Hammond: It is for the courts to decide in what circumstances legislation applies. The Government are however clear that forces in combat must be able to take operationally necessary decisions without worrying about the risk of future civil litigation. We have therefore made clear that we will consider legislating in this area should the need arise.

Army Helicopter Capability

17. Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent progress he has made on upgrading army helicopter capability; and if he will make a statement. [903061]

Mr Dunne: The Government are committed to providing the armed forces with the helicopter capability required to deliver Future Force 2020. For the Army this includes the Apache and Wildcat battlefield helicopters.

We expect the Army variant of the Wildcat helicopter to achieve Initial Operating Capability later this year, and to fully replace the in-service Lynx Mk7 and Mk9a fleets later this decade.

In addition, as the Secretary of State for Defence, announced at the end of January, we have recently placed a contract worth £430 million with Agusta Westland to support the Apache fleet for the next five years, and are currently considering options to sustain this fleet until its planned out of service date in 2040.

Afghanistan: Force Withdrawal

18. Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements have been made for the withdrawal of UK personnel and heavy equipment from Afghanistan through Russian territory; and if he will make a statement. [903062]

Mr Philip Hammond: We use a number of Lines of Communication to move personnel and equipment into and out of Afghanistan. Currently, a very small proportion of materiel, around 1%, is being redeployed from Afghanistan by means of the Northern Line of Communication, which includes Russia. We keep all Lines of Communication under constant review and stand ready to adapt our redeployment plans should the need arise.

Injured Service Personnel: Competitive Sport

20. Mark Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to increase opportunities for injured service personnel to participate in competitive sporting events. [903064]

17 Mar 2014 : Column 488W

Anna Soubry: All personnel, but especially injured service personnel, are encouraged to participate in competitive sporting events. Earlier this month, it was announced that the first Invictus games will be held in September. It is anticipated that some 100 serving and veteran wounded, injured and sick personnel will take part.

The games will be an international sporting competition bringing together armed forces of nations that have served alongside each other. The Invictus games will use the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect of those who serve their country.

Another key component of our approach is Battle Back, a Ministry of Defence-led Adaptive Sport and Adventurous Training programme. Individuals are being introduced to it at Headley Court, Lilleshall or through the network of personnel recovery centres.

Watchkeeper Vehicles

22. Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the British Army plans to begin flying Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicles. [903066]

Mr Dunne: The Watchkeeper unmanned aircraft system was awarded an initial release to service three weeks ago on 28 February 2014 and personnel from the 1st Artillery Brigade will begin training flights from Boscombe Down next month. Watchkeeper will provide the British Army with an enduring tactical surveillance and reconnaissance capability.

Army Recruitment

23. Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to improve the Army’s recruitment process. [903067]

Anna Soubry: The Secretary of State for Defence, said on 14 January 2014, Official Report, columns 715-16, we are taking a number of steps to improve recruiting performance. These include the major recruiting campaign currently under way for Regular Army and Army Reserve personnel, highlighting the variety of roles and skills available in the Army, an improved offer to Reservists, and a more efficient application and medical assessment process for all candidates.

Air Force

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will place in the Library copies of the (a) operating cost statement, (b) balance sheet, (c) statement of recognised gains and losses, (d) cash flow statement and (e) fixed asset register for each of Air Command's basic level budget groups for financial years 2010-11 to 2012-13; [191170]

(2) if he will place in the Library copies of Air Command's (a) operating cost statement (b) balance sheet, (c) statement of recognised gains and losses, (d) cash flow statement and (e) fixed asset register for financial years 2010-11 to 2012-13. [191182]

17 Mar 2014 : Column 489W

Mr Francois: Air Command is not required to produce financial records in the format requested at Basic Level Budget level.

However, I am placing in the Library of the House operating cost statements and balance sheets for the Air Command Top Level Budget for financial years (FY) 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 and the Statement of Changes in Taxpayers' Equity (this expanded set of information replaced the statement of recognised gains and losses in 2009-10) and cash flow statements for the Air Command Top Level Budget for FY 2010-11 and 2012-13. The Statement of Changes in Taxpayers' Equity and cashflow statements were not produced for Top Level Budgets for FY2011-12 across the Department.

The fixed asset register could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) establishment and (b) number of established posts filled is for each RAF operational squadron. [191178]

Mr Francois: The establishment and number of established posts filled for each RAF operational flying Squadron as at 11 March 2014 is shown in the following table.

LocationSquadronStrengthEstablishment

Akrotiri (air base)

84 SQN

17

17

Various units—SAR

202 SQN

72

77

Various units—SAR

22 SQN

77

77

Basingstoke (RAF Odiham)

7 SQN

163

181

Basingstoke (RAF Odiham)

18 SQN

100

112

Basingstoke (RAF Odiham)

27 SQN

107

112

Elgin (RAF Lossiemouth)

12 SQN1

28

181

Elgin (RAF Lossiemouth)

617 SQN2

138

183

Kings Lynn (RAF Marham)

II (AC) SQN

178

182

Kings Lynn (RAF Marham)

31 (B) SQN

179

182

Kings Lynn (RAF Marham)

IX (B) SQN

186

182

Las Vegas (Creech AFB)

39 SQN

79

92

Lincoln (RAF Coningsby)

11 SQN

156

163

Lincoln (RAF Coningsby)

3 SQN (F)

170

164

Lincoln (RAF Waddington)

14 SQN3

140

7

Lincoln (RAF Waddington)

V SQN

169

157

Lincoln (RAF Waddington)

51 SQN

188

224

Lincoln (RAF Waddington)

8 SQN

250

287

Lincoln (RAF Waddington)

XIII SQN

93

77

Northallerton (RAF Leeming)

100 SQN

24

36

Oxford (RAF Benson)

230 SQN

103

120

Oxford (RAF Benson)

28 SQN

131

159

Oxford (RAF Benson)

33 SQN

118

138

17 Mar 2014 : Column 490W

Oxford (RAF Benson)

78 SQN

122

148

Oxford (RAF Brize Norton)

10 SQN

97

113

Oxford (RAF Brize Norton)

101 SQN

78

111

Oxford (RAF Brize Norton)

216 SQN

330

390

Oxford (RAF Brize Norton)

24 SQN

77

80

Oxford (RAF Brize Norton)

30 SQN

52

71

Oxford (RAF Brize Norton)

47 SQN

104

148

Oxford (RAF Brize Norton)

99 SQN

323

304

Ruislip (RAF Northolt)

32 (TR) SQN

68

57

St Andrews (RAF leuchars)

1(F) SQN

161

165

ST Andrews (RAF Leuchars)

6 SQN

183

189

Total

4,461

4,886

1 Squadron disbanding on 31 March 2014. 2 Squadron disbanding on 31 March 2014. 3 This Squadron was temporarily established to support an Urgent Operational Requirement.

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of Air Command's Command Plan for financial years 2012-13 and 2013-14. [191181]

Mr Francois: I am withholding the plans as their release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces.

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list each branch and trade in the Royal Air Force. [191184]

Mr Francois: Branches and trades in the Royal Air Force are set out in the following table and list:

Functional Branches
BranchSpecialisation

Flying (Fg)

Pilot

Remotely Piloted Air System (Pilot) (RPAS(P))

 

Weapons Systems Officer (WSO)

 

Air Traffic Control (ATC)

 

Aerospace Battle Manager (ABM)

 

Intelligence (Int)

 

Flight Operations (Fit Ops)

 

Fit Ops Fire

 

RAF Regiment (Regt)

 

Provost (Prov)

 

Engineer (Eng)

Aerosystems (AS)

Communications-Electronics (CE)

 

Logistics (Logs)

 

Medical Support Officer (MSO)

 

Personnel (Pers)

 

Medical

 

Chaplain

 

Legal

 

17 Mar 2014 : Column 491W

Nursing Officer

 

Director of Music (DOM)

 

RAF Trades

Aircraft Engineering:

Aircraft Engineering Technician

Aircraft Technician (Avionics)

Aircraft Technician (Mechanical)

Aircraft Maintenance Mechanic (Avionics)

Aircraft Maintenance Mechanic (Mechanical)

Engineering Technician Weapon

Weapon Technician

Information and Communications Technology Manager

Information and Communications Technology Technician

Information and Communications Technology Aerial Erector

General Engineering Technician

General Technician Electrical

General Technician (Mechanical)

General Technician Workshops

Logistics (Driver).

Force Protection:

RAF Police

Gunner

Firefighter.

Air Traffic Control:

Air Traffic Controller

Air Traffic Control Assistant

Flight Operations Manager

Flight Operations Assistant

Meteorological Observer.

General Service:

Trainee

RAF Physical Training Instructor.

Intelligence:

Intelligence Analyst

Intelligence Analyst (Voice) (Includes Student (Sdt) trade).

Aerospace Systems Operating:

Aerospace Systems Manager

Aerospace Systems Operator

SNCO Weapons Control.

Safety and Surface:

Survival Equipment Fitter

Painter and Finisher.

Photography:

Photographer

Air Cartographer.

Medical:

Pharmacy Technician

Environmental Health Technician

Operating Department Practitioner

Radiographer

Biomedical Scientist

RAF Medic.

The Princess Mary's RAF Nursing Service (PMRAFNS):

Nurses Spine

Registered Nurse (Adult)

17 Mar 2014 : Column 492W

Registered Nurse (Mental Health).

Dental: