Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2014, Official Report, column 738W, on human trafficking: Victim Support Schemes, how many Government victim care contract specialist support providers are employed by (a) the Government, (b) local authorities, (c) quasi-automomous non-governmental organisations (NGOs), (d) shelter NGOs, (e) charities and (f) voluntary organisations. [191328]

Karen Bradley [holding answer 13 March 2014]: A total of 11 victim care contract specialist support provider organisations are contracted under the Government victim care contract. They are all charities, voluntary organisations and non-governmental organisations.

Stalking

Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of police staff in each police area in England and Wales have received training in sections 2A and 4A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. [191757]

Damian Green: The College of Policing training package on stalking has been completed 48,897 times between October 2012 and 28 February 2014.

The Home Office does not hold information which splits this figure for each police area in England and Wales.

Victim Support Schemes

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Government victim care contract specialist support providers work (a) full and (b) part-time. [191304]

Karen Bradley [holding answer 13 March 2014]: There are currently 41 full-time and 37 part-time specialist support providers working for the Salvation Army subcontractors delivering the Government's victim care contract. These numbers exclude administrative, managerial and bank staff.

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Energy and Climate Change

Empty Property

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the empty property business rates for the vacant properties recorded on the e-PIMS database owned by (a) his Department and (b) any Executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies of his Department in the current financial year. [191807]

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not have any vacant property. However the following non-departmental public bodies of DECC hold vacant properties:

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2014, Official Report, column 391, on energy prices, how many new (a) electricity and (b) gas suppliers have entered the (i) domestic and (ii) non-domestic energy markets in each year between 1996 and 2013. [190657]

Michael Fallon: The Department does not hold the information requested.

Ofgem has provided the following information on the number of new entrant gas and electricity supply companies in the GB domestic markets between 1996 and 2013. The chief executive of Ofgem will write to the right hon. Member directly with the equivalent data for non-domestic suppliers, and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

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Energy: Competition

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2014, Official Report, column 519W, on energy competition, if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's assessment of the effects of the introduction of a ring-fence between the generation and retail arms of vertically integrated energy companies. [191107]

Michael Fallon: I have arranged for this to be placed in the House Library.

My letter to the right hon. Member of 27 February (also to be placed in the House Library) explained that this analysis was undertaken in the context of informing discussion with Ofgem on its proposals to reform wholesale electricity market liquidity. It does not include a detailed cost benefit analysis of ring-fencing.

Fuel Poverty: Northern Ireland

Dr McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on fuel poverty. [191864]

Gregory Barker: Officials in the Department liaise regularly with the Department for Social Development on a range of fuel poverty related issues.

Geoengineering

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what solar geo-engineering his Department (a) has conducted, (b) has permitted and (c) is aware of in the airspace above Britain. [191581]

Gregory Barker: No “solar geo-engineering”, usually referred to as solar radiation management (SRM), and which could include spraying to reflect sunlight or modifying clouds, has been conducted or permitted by the Department, in the airspace above the United Kingdom. Neither are we aware of any such activity being carried out by any other Government Department or indeed anyone else. The UK Government position on geo-engineering can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/120688/Government_view_on_geo-engineering_research.pdf

Green Deal Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Luciana Berger) of 16 October 2014, Official Report, column 754W, on the Green Deal scheme, to what the remainder of the funding allocated to the Green Deal in November 2011 which has not yet been spent has been allocated. [191708]

Gregory Barker: Of the £200 million announced in November 2011, £30 million was allocated to 2012-13 and £170 million to 2013-14. As of the end of January 2014, £55.2 million had been spent by DECC, £28.9 million

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in 2012-13 and £26.3 million in 2013-14 (including £21.75 million transferred to Scotland and Wales under the Barnett Consequential Settlement). We have also allocated up to £80 million to the Green Deal Communities scheme in 2013-14 and announced the first 6 bids. We have also announced increases in the value of our cashback incentives on 18 February 2014 with applications to be accepted up to 30 June 2014.

Offshore Oil and Gas in the UK Review

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which recommendations of the Maitland Review he has not implemented due to an alternative approach being adopted; and what the alternative approach is in each such case. [192052]

Michael Fallon: Full details of the recommendations from the Maitland Review which have not been implemented are detailed in either the formal government response to the Maitland Review, which was published in December 2012 or the update to the formal government response, which was published on 13 December 2013. Both responses can be found on the following web-links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/84191/Offshore_ Oil_and_Gas_in_the_UK_Maitland_Response_Final.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/265799/update_government _response_independent_review_regulatory_regime.pdf

Trade Union Officials

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 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 those years. [190483]

Gregory Barker: Trade union representatives have a statutory right to reasonable unpaid time off to undertake trade union activities. Line managers must satisfy themselves as to what is reasonable to allow. DECC does not hold information on unpaid time to undertake activities centrally.

DECC implemented the new Cabinet Office facility time framework in June 2013. This includes an exception process for requests for paid time off to undertake activities where the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), must agree to the request. No requests for paid time off to undertake trade union activities have been made since this date. DECC does not hold information on paid time to undertake activities before this date.

A standardised set of information monitoring and reporting on the use of facility time is submitted to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Sarah Newton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when his Department plans to consult on changes to the Warm Home Discount for the period from 2015-16. [191920]

Gregory Barker: We plan to consult on changes to the Warm Home Discount for 2015-16 in spring this year.

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Sarah Newton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many families with children receive the Warm Home Discount. [191921]

Gregory Barker: The Warm Home Discount provides direct financial support to low income households including families with children, pensioners and those with disabilities and long term illnesses. In winter 2012-13, over 500,000 households in this group received direct rebates of £130 off their electricity bills from their suppliers.

In 2013-14 we expect even more low income and vulnerable households to have received £135 off their bills.

However, we not have data on how many families with children receive a Warm Home Discount.

Wind Power

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much onshore wind capacity (a) received planning approval and (b) was rejected in each month in 2013; and how many planning applications for onshore wind farms were (i) approved and (ii) rejected in each such month. [191992]

Gregory Barker: The Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) tracks the progress of all projects over 0.01 MW from submission of a planning application through to determination and generation:

https://restats.decc.gov.uk/app/reporting/decc/monthlyextract

Historical data for planning approvals and refusals change from one month to the next owing to time taken for planning information to be published and the difficulty in locating each individual piece of planning data.

As at the end of January 2014, the REPD shows (for onshore wind installations):

Scotland

Dounreay

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he was first informed about the increased levels of radioactivity in the cooling waters in the reactor at the Vulcan Nuclear Reactor Test Establishment. [191753]

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Mr Alistair Carmichael: I was informed of the decision to refuel HMS Vanguard, including the background on the prototype core at Dounreay in February 2014 ahead of the Secretary of State for Defence, the right hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), announcement to the House on 6 March 2014. The Scotland Office and my predecessor was first notified in September 2012. With no safety or environmental risk in Scotland, there is no reason why the Scotland Office should have been notified at an earlier stage.

As recognised by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, this occurrence was classed Level 0 (below scale—no safety significance) on the International Atomic Energy Agency scale. As made clear in the Defence Secretary's statement to the House on 6 March 2014, Level 0 events are not routinely made public and are not routinely reported in either the civil or military nuclear sectors.

Income Tax

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss income tax in Scotland. [191831]

Mr Alistair Carmichael: I have regular meetings with cabinet colleagues, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the right hon. Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), where a wide range of economic topics are discussed.

The Government recognise that times are tough for families and that is why we have taken continued action to help with the cost of living.

In the Budget 2013, we increased the personal allowance further, bringing it to £10,000 in 2014-15. This will benefit 2.2 million taxpayers in Scotland and will lift 224,000 Scots out of income tax altogether.

Sovereignty: Scotland

Mr Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how Scottish soldiers and their families posted on accompanied tours elsewhere in the UK can register to vote in the Scottish Referendum. [192169]

David Mundell: There are a number of ways in which service personnel and their families can register to vote; many Scottish servicemen and servicewomen who are posted outside Scotland will remain entitled to be registered at an address in Scotland, either because they are resident there or because they have a service declaration for such an address.

In order to ensure that service personnel who are eligible to vote in the referendum are aware of it, the Scotland Office has been working closely with counterparts in the Ministry of Defence and Cabinet Office, together with the Electoral Commission to raise awareness of voting registration procedures amongst service personnel. This awareness raising includes referendum specific activity and the annual campaign to promote service voter registration.

The Ministry of Defence has issued Defence Instructions and Notices (DINs) relating to the referendum and electoral registration processes to all units, including those based outside of Scotland, whether within other parts of the UK, or overseas, to ensure all those who are eligible to vote are aware of how and when to do so.

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In addition, unit registration officers are expected to hold service registration days at all units.

However, registration remains a personal matter for all service personnel and it is for individual service personnel to decide where and how they register to vote.

Trussell Trust

Mr McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to meet representatives of the Trussell Trust in Scotland; and if he will make a statement. [190542]

David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) and I meet regularly with representatives from charitable and third sector organisations across Scotland and will continue to engage with these sectors over the coming months.

International Development

Developing Countries: Education

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many full-time equivalent officials in her Department have responsibility for helping developing countries improve education systems. [191990]

Justine Greening: DFID has a total of 40 full-time and two part-time education advisers, as well as a wide range of staff across the Department, including policy, financial, corporate and press advisers and staff in country offices, who also work on education.

Developing Countries: Health Services

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many full-time officials in her Department have responsibility for helping developing countries improve their healthcare systems. [191985]

Justine Greening: There are 55 Specialist Health Advisers in DFID, as well as a wide range of staff across the Department, including policy, financial, corporate and press advisers and staff in country offices, who also work on health.

Developing Countries: Tax Collection

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many full-time equivalent officials in her Department have responsibility for helping developing countries improve their tax collection systems. [191988]

Justine Greening: There are four full-time equivalent members of staff based in the UK working specifically on tax, as well as a wide range of staff across the Department, including policy, financial, corporate and press advisers and staff in country offices, who also work on tax. This does not include HMRC staff providing tax capacity technical assistance in DFID partner countries.

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Uganda

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funds her Department has made available to the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda in each year from 2010-11 to 2013-14. [191914]

Lynne Featherstone: DFID provides funding through the Democratic Governance Facility to the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU). The support began in 2011-12 and focuses on peace and security. The amounts attributed to DFID are £27,000 in 2011-12, £46,000 in 2012-13 and an estimated £36,000 in 2013-14.

Ukraine

Dr McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development to what use has past UK aid to Ukraine been put. [191868]

Justine Greening: The DFID programme to Ukraine began in 1991 and was closed in March 2008. The programme supported the building of state institutional capacity, democratic processes, improved livelihood opportunities.

Work and Pensions

Access to Work Programme

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what steps he plans to take to monitor the effect of recent restrictions on Access to Work funding for communication support for deaf and deafblind people; [191583]

(2) for what reason his Department has changed the requirements for access to funding through Access to Work for communication support for deaf and deafblind people; and if he will make a statement. [191584]

Mike Penning: We continually monitor the impact of our policies and processes by liaising with and requesting feedback from our customers and a range of stakeholder organisations.

The current process is being taken in respect of requests for funding from all customers needing assistance of this type and extent to ensure that programme funds are being managed equitably and consistently to assist with the work needs of the maximum possible number of disabled people.

Employment Schemes: Mental Illness

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to help people with mental illnesses find appropriate work. [191454]

Mike Penning: Each Jobcentre Plus District is resourced to have a ‘Mental Health and Wellbeing Partnership Manager’, they identify the availability of local support that advisers may refer to and provide a support role to advisers who work with customers with mental health conditions.

In January 2014 we launched the ‘Employment and Wellbeing toolkit’ which offers practical support to Jobcentre advisers to help them work with claimants

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affected by mental health problems. The toolkit enables advisers to establish a clear employment focus and identify appropriate interventions and actions which enable claimants with mental health issues to progress into employment as quickly as possible.

Disability employment advisers (DEAs) and work psychologists also offer specialist advice in Jobcentres. DEAs can act as an advocate for the customer with prospective employers, aiming to identify work solutions that will overcome or minimise any difficulties related to an individual's disability in the work place, and work psychologists can provide advice and guidance on effective provision and complete an employment assessment for claimants.

Many benefit claimants with mental health problems will be referred to, or may have access to, a range of support including the Work programme or specialist disability employment programmes including Work Choice and Access to Work.

Work programme advisers have access to the Working for Wellbeing toolkit which was developed by an expert group of Work programme and specialist providers to improve employment outcomes for claimants who have mental health problems.

Work Choice is a programme for disabled people with more intensive support and can provide specialist support for people with mental health conditions.

Access to Work includes a specific mental health support service for people who require support while in work to help them to stay in work. 90% of the people who have been on the MHSS programme for six months (though not always needing six months of support) are still in work. Employer engagement is a key element of the service.

Employment: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been signed off work in the UK as a result of having obsessive compulsive disorder. [191455]

Mike Penning: The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold information on the number of people taking sickness absence from work as a result of having obsessive compulsive disorder.

Empty Property

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the empty property business rates for the vacant properties recorded on the e-PIMS database owned by (a) his Department and (b) any executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies of his Department in the current financial year. [191815]

Mike Penning: The Department does not own any buildings. The DWP estate was sold (freehold, feuhold and long leasehold interests) or transferred (short leasehold interests) to Telereal Trillium under a 20 year PFI contract known as “PRIME” in 1998.

Any properties that become surplus to DWP's requirements are returned to Telereal Trillium under the PRIME contract.

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The Health and Safety Executive estimate that the empty property business rates for the vacant properties recorded on the e-PIMS database in the current financial year is £40,143.33. However, this relates to Douglas House in Edinburgh which, strictly speaking, is not empty. There are other occupants in the property but HSE's space held on e-PIMS is shown as vacant to attract potential tenants. As a result, the e-PIMS entry will make Douglas House appear empty.

Housing Benefit: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on housing benefit for tenants in (a) council property, (b) housing association and registered social landlord property and (c) private sector housing in (i) Tameside and (ii) Stockport in each year since 2009. [192149]

Steve Webb: The information is in the following tables:

Independent Living Fund: Darlington

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Darlington constituency currently receive independent living fund payments. [191710]

Mike Penning: The Independent Living Fund records data by post code or local authority rather than by constituency and therefore does not hold the information in the format requested. As at 13 March 2014 there are 63 ILF recipients in the area covered by Darlington borough council.

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The ILF publishes data by local authority quarterly on its website:

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/ilf/publications/corporate-publications/statistics/index.shtml

Jobseeker’s Allowance: Disqualification

Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of jobseeker's allowance in Scotland have (a) received a sanction and (b) received a sanction and disputed it in each of the last five years; and how many such claimants had a sanction overturned as a result of it being reconsidered or appealed in each of the last five years. [191732]

Esther McVey: Information on the number of sanctions received by individuals in Scotland 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

Information requested for those whose sanction has been overturned is not currently available.

DWP statisticians identified a data issue in the JSA sanctions appeal outcomes data. In line with normal practice for official statistics, the Department has withdrawn this particular set of information. The data will be made available again as soon as possible pending investigations by DWP statisticians who will, if necessary, make corrections to this data.

For further information see here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/jobseekers-allowance-sanctions

Members: Correspondence

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to reply to the email correspondence from the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish dated 10 January 2014 (reference 7648/Jan14) on Atos Healthcare. [191734]

Mike Penning: I wrote to the hon. Member on 7 March. I apologise for the delay in replying.

Personal Independence Payment

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to introduce statutory time limits on claims for personal independence payments. [191993]

Mike Penning: In line with other benefits, there are no statutory time limits on processing times to claims for personal independence payment (PIP) and we have no plans to change that position.

We are taking the necessary action to improve the processing times, including working with the providers.

Poverty

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 15 January 2013, Official Report, column 715W, on child poverty, what estimate his Department has made

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of the effect of

(a)

the new timetable for the implementation of universal credit and

(b)

changes to work allowances on the level of relative income poverty among (i) children and (ii) adults. [191594]

Esther McVey: After full roll-out, the Department's latest analysis suggests that universal credit will reduce the number of individuals in relative income poverty by some 600,000; including up to 300,000 children and up to 350,000 adults (numbers do not sum due to rounding).

This figure does not take into account the expected increase in numbers of people in work as a result of universal credit, and excludes the impact of the minimum income floor for the self-employed which is designed to encourage those affected to improve their income levels and for which the behavioural response is very difficult to model.

This estimate is not affected by the timetable for the implementation of universal credit, and changes to the policy on uprating of work allowances make negligible difference to the impact of universal credit on child or adult poverty as measured by relative income.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to penalise those who fail to attend scheduled meetings at jobcentres. [191450]

Esther McVey: Where a person is required to attend an interview as part of their obligations as a benefit claimant, and subsequently fails to attend that interview, a sanction will be applied to their benefit unless they can show good reason/cause for their failure.

Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many migrants from non-EU countries claim benefit payments. [191452]

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available in the form requested, however the Department has published some statistics on working age benefit recipients. This information is known as “Nationality at point of National Insurance number registration of DWP benefit claimants” and is included in the Statistical Bulletin on National Insurance Number Allocations to Adult Overseas Nationals Entering the UK—registrations to March 2013, available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nino-allocations-to-adult-overseas-nationals-entering-the-uk-registrations-to-march-2013

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) men and (b) women were (i) investigated, (ii) given an administrative penalty, (iii) given a caution and (iv) convicted in court for benefit fraud in each of the last five years. [191464]

Esther McVey: The data requested are not collated in gender format. The following table represents the total numbers of investigations and outcomes following a benefit fraud investigation by the Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) in the last five years where available.

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Following a merger of DWP Prosecution Division with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in April 2012, conviction data for benefit fraud offences in England and Wales for 2012-13 are within ownership of CPS, and in Scotland the Procurator Fiscal. DWP data available for this period are not comparable to the data formatted and published by Prosecution Division in each year shown and if published could show a distorted view.

The decline in the lesser penalties is due to DWP operational strategy to investigate in the most serious of cases, uncover the whole extent of the fraud and to prosecute wherever possible. The strategic approach to investigate in the most serious of cases and direct resources to the sternest penalty outcome of prosecution underpins the Department's fraud and error principles to Prevent, Detect, Correct, Punish and Deter.

Social Security Benefits: Married People

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to prevent married couples from fraudulently claiming council and housing tax-related benefit available only for single people. [191456]

Steve Webb: There are no social security benefits relating to housing costs or council tax that are available only to single people. There is a reduction of 25% in the council tax payable available to those who live alone, but the administration of this is a matter for local authorities.

Generally, suspicions that claimants may be living together as if they were married or in a civil partnership without informing the relevant benefit payer come from various sources, including members of the public and members of staff. The Department currently does not investigate cases that only involve housing benefit as these are a matter for local authorities.

Council tax benefit ceased to exist on 1 April 2013 and has been replaced by the local council tax reduction (LCTR) scheme, the administration of which is a matter for local authorities.

Universal Credit

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the effect on the time taken to receive universal credit of a claimant (a) moving to live in an area where universal credit is not being piloted, (b) forming a new relationship and being re-classified as part of a couple and (c) having a child. [191524]

Esther McVey: No estimate of this has been made. Providing the claimant reports all details of the change promptly, payment of universal credit would continue without any delay.

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Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2012, Official Report, column 1032W, on work programme, when he expects to publish the independent evaluation of the Work Programme. [192005]

Esther McVey: The Department will publish findings once the independent evaluation of the Work programme is complete.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people referred by Jobcentre Plus to the Work programme in each month since June 2011 failed to start on the programme. [192006]

Esther McVey: The information we have on the number of Work programme referrals, since June 2011, who failed to start on the programme can be found in table 2.6 of the Work Programme Statistical Summary through the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-programme-statistical-summary-december-2013

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the operation of the Work programme in rural areas. [192007]

Esther McVey: The independent evaluation of the Work programme includes providers and participants in a range of geographical areas. The Department will publish findings once the evaluation is complete.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received from (a) providers and (b) customers on the effectiveness of the Work programme; and if he will make a statement. [192008]

Esther McVey: I meet regularly with both providers and claimants and receive regular feedback from both on how well the Work programme is performing.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he received the Work Programme Evaluation: Interim meta-report; what his plans are for its publication; and if he will make a statement. [192009]

Esther McVey: Draft findings from the phase of the evaluation covered by the interim report were received by the Department in August 2013. The Department will publish findings once the independent evaluation of the Work programme is complete.

Electoral Commission Committee

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, which local authority databases may be consulted by local authority electoral registration officers for the purpose of data matching for the electoral register. [191357]

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Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are entitled to access any records kept in any form by the local authority which appointed them, for the purpose of meeting their registration duties. These records may include, for example, council tax, social services and education records. Access to these records serves a dual purpose: to identify potential new electors and to check that registered electors continue to be eligible to be registered.

As direct access to records is limited to records held by the appointing authority, in those parts of England where there are two tiers of local government, EROs are currently unable to directly access county council records (such as education records). The Commission understands that the Government are planning to legislate to enable records held by county councils to be shared with EROs for the purposes of maintaining and improving the accuracy and completeness of electoral registers.

Electoral Register: Birmingham

Richard Burden: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in Birmingham, Northfield constituency. [191202]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.

The ward results for the area requested are as follows:

Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here:

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/_data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls

Electoral Register: Newcastle upon Tyne

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in the Newcastle City Council area. [191293]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.

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The ward results for Newcastle city council are shown in the following table:

Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here:

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls

Electoral Register: South Yorkshire

Caroline Flint: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in (a) Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council and (b) Don Valley constituency. [191364]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.

The ward results for Doncaster metropolitan borough Council are shown in the following table:

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The ward results for the Don Valley constituency are shown in the following table:

Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here:

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls

Cabinet Office

Average Earnings: Denton

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average earnings of full-time employees in Denton and Reddish constituency were in April (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012 and (e) 2013. [192138]

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 asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average earnings of full-time employees in Denton and Reddish constituency were in April (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012 and (e) 2013. (192138)

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. Weekly levels of

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earnings are estimated from ASHE, and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence. Figures relate to employee jobs, which are defined as those held by employees and not the self-employed.

The table shows estimates of median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees in Denton and Reddish constituency from 2009 to 2013.

Debts

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the level of personal debt was in (a) the UK, (b) Stockport Metropolitan Borough, (c) Tameside Metropolitan Borough and (d) Denton and Reddish constituency in the most recent period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [192135]

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 (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the level of personal debt was in (a) the UK, (b) Stockport Metropolitan Borough, (c) Tameside Metropolitan Borough and (d) Denton and Reddish constituency in the most recent period for which figures are available. (192135)

The Office for National Statistics publishes details of the financial liabilities of households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) combined. These data are only available at the United Kingdom level and hence data are not available for Stockport Metropolitan Borough, Tameside Metropolitan Borough and Denton and Reddish constituency.

The UK data are published in the UK Economic Accounts for Quarter 3 2013 published on 20^th December 2013 which is available at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/naa1-rd/united-kingdom-economic-accounts/q3-2013/index.html

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The most recent analyses on debt can be found in table A64 of this publication.

The most recent analyses on borrowing can be found in Tables A12 and A 55 of this publication.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the size of the electorate was (a) the year before and (b) two years after the coming into force of the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001. [192116]

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, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the size of the electorate was (a) the year before and (b) two years after the coming into force of the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 (192116).

The Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 came into force on 16 February 2001. Electoral statistics showing the number of local government and parliamentary electors in England and Wales for the period 2000 to 2003 are provided in the table below.

These statistics are based on the annual electoral registers for 16 February 2000 and 1 December 2001, 2002 and 2003. ONS does not hold data for the number of parliamentary electors in 2000.

Unemployment: Brigg

Andrew Percy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people aged (a) 25 years and over and (b) 16 to 24 years old have been unemployed for more than a year in Brigg and Goole constituency since 2008. [191915]

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 (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people aged (a) 25 years and over and (b) 16 to 24 years old have been unemployed for more than a year in Brigg and Goole constituency since 2008. (191915)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles unemployment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions. However, estimates of unemployment for the requested age bands, durations and geographies are not available due to small sample sizes.

As an alternative, in Table 1 we have provided the number of persons, (a) 25 years and over and (b) aged 16 to 24 years, claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for more than a year in Brigg and Goole constituency since 2008. The counts of people

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claiming JSA are those who are claiming benefits for unemployment related purposes. At a UK level the total number of JSA claimants is around two thirds of the total unemployment level.

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

Working Hours

Mr Russell Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the average weekly hours worked since the first quarter of 2008 to date. [191752]

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 what estimate he has made of the total average weekly hours worked since the first quarter of 2008 to date. (191752)

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) provides estimates of average actual weekly hours worked by people in employment. The table shows estimates of the total average actual weekly hours worked for the whole economy and the average actual weekly hours worked per person from quarter 1 2008 to quarter 4 2013. Estimates are seasonally adjusted.

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Prime Minister

Israel

Paul Flynn: To ask the Prime Minister whether the possibility of Israel (a) disarming its nuclear weapons capability and (b) joining the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was discussed with (i) his Israeli counterpart, (ii) other Israeli ministers and (iii) members of the Knesset during his visit to Israel on 12 and 13 March 2014. [192110]

The Prime Minister: I did not discuss this issue during my recent visit to Israel.

The Government consistently call on Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state and to agree a full scope Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. We continue to support the objective of a middle east free from weapons of mass destruction and continue to encourage Israel to participate in discussions to that end.

Deputy Prime Minister

Electoral Register: Darlington

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent voter confirmation dry run conducted in (a) Darlington constituency and (b) the Borough of Darlington. [192146]

Greg Clark: The information can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-confirming-electors-through-data-matching

Education

Academies

Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which academy chains have been restricted (a) in full and (b) in part from sponsoring new academies or free schools; and if he will make a statement. [189443]

Mr Timpson: The number of approved sponsors with open academies that have been restricted is reviewed regularly in the light of the latest assessment of performance. At 27 February 2014, 14 sponsors were restricted in full

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from sponsoring new academies or free schools out of a total of over 350 approved sponsors that currently support academies.

They are:

1. Academies Enterprise Trust (AET)

2. Academy Transformation Trust (ATT)

3. Barnfield Academies Trust

4. City of Wolverhampton Academy Trust

5. Djanogly Learning Trust

6. E-ACT

7. Grace Foundation

8. Landau Foundation

9. Lee Chapel Academy Trust

10. Prospects Academies Trust

11. South Nottingham College Academy Trust

12.The Learning Schools Trust

13. University of Chester Academies Trust (UCAT)

14. West Hertfordshire Teaching Schools Partnership

There are other sponsors that have decided to consolidate their growth, preferring to focus on improving the performance of their open academies. The Department does not record these centrally.

This Government are tough on under-performance wherever it occurs—be it in council-run schools or in academy chains.

The vast majority of academies and sponsors are performing well, with key stage 2 and GCSE results improving faster in academies than council-run schools.

When we do have concerns about the performance of academy sponsors, we act quickly by stopping them from taking on new projects, so that they focus on their existing schools and ensure that pupils receive a good education. Only when sponsors have demonstrated this are they then able to take on new academies.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many Academy Trusts (a) met the deadline to submit, (b) missed the deadline of 31 January 2014 for submitting and (c) are yet to submit their 2012-13 accounts return. [191775]

Mr Timpson: There are 2,172 Academy Trusts that were required to submit the completed accounts return to the Education Funding Agency (EFA) by 31 January 2014. Of these:

2,006 (92.36%) met the deadline;

166 (7.64%) missed the deadline; and

As of 13 March, 69 (3.18%) are yet to submit their return.

The EFA is currently contacting all Academy Trusts with outstanding accounts returns to ensure a complete set of returns.

Children in Care

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department gives to local authorities on the use of virtual headteachers for children in care. [191933]

Mr Timpson: The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities in England to appoint at least one virtual school head. That person will be responsible for ensuring that the local authority carries out its duty under the Children Act 1989 to promote the educational achievement of the children it looks after wherever they

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live. Statutory guidance to local authorities on that duty was published in March 2010. The Department for Education is currently working with a group of virtual school heads on updating this guidance to reflect the new statutory nature of the virtual school head role. We expect the revised guidance to be published in summer 2014.

To support their role in managing the pupil premium plus arrangements for looked after children in 2014-15, we will shortly issue departmental advice to all virtual school heads. In addition, we are working closely with virtual school heads who represent their peers on a regional basis across England and who meet regularly as a national steering group.

In 2013-14 we have also been working with an expert group of virtual school heads through the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). This work has included promoting the virtual school head on-line learning community hosted by NCTL and planning three on-line seminars to support the work of virtual school heads.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many virtual headteachers there were (a) in total and (b) in each local authority in each of the last five years. [191950]

Mr Timpson: The Department for Education does not hold historical information about the number of virtual school head teachers. The Department maintains a list of local authority officers who are currently performing the virtual school head role. This information is provided on a voluntary basis to the Department by each local authority.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will bring forward legislative proposals to grant virtual headteachers statutory powers to intervene when a young person is facing exclusion from school. [191951]

Mr Timpson: The role of virtual school heads is to promote the educational achievement of looked after children. This includes working in partnership with the school's designated teacher for looked after children, the child and the child's carer as soon as problems begin so that everything possible can be done to avoid exclusion. Statutory exclusion guidance makes it very clear that head teachers should, as far as possible, avoid excluding permanently any looked after child¹.

The National College for Teaching and Leadership has been working with Bath Spa University and the virtual school head in Bath and North East Somerset to produce training materials on attachment and the implications for learning and behaviour.

¹ Note:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/269681/Exclusion_from_maintained _schools__academies_and_pupil_referral_units.pdf

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding his Department allocated for virtual headteachers in each of the last five years. [191954]

Mr Timpson: Between September 2007 and August 2009, the Department for Education funded virtual

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school head pilots in 11 local authorities. The total amount of funding was £792,000 in 2008-09 and £286,000 in 2009-10.

Funding for children's services is provided through the Local Government Finance Settlement. Local authorities have the flexibility to make decisions about how this funding is allocated, including on carrying out their responsibilities to promote the educational achievement of the children they look after through the work of virtual school heads.

We have provided £100,000 in 2013-14 to the National College for Teaching and Leadership to work with a group of virtual school heads to develop training materials prior to prepare for the role becoming statutory.

Children: Care Homes

Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will estimate the average cost to the public purse of placing a severely disabled child in full-time residential care. [191976]

Mr Timpson: Information in the form requested is not held centrally.

The Personal Social Services Research Unit at the university of Kent publishes an annual report which gives some information. Further details can be found at:

http://www.pssru.ac.uk/project-pages/unit-costs/2013/

Free Schools

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many free schools proposed to open in September 2014 have yet to secure a (a) permanent and (b) temporary site; and if he will make a statement. [192053]

Mr Timpson: We have already secured either permanent or temporary sites for 69 of the 92 (75%) free schools seeking to open in September 2014. For almost all of the remaining 23 schools we have identified and agreed preferred sites, and are in active negotiations to secure them.

Pre-school Education

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect of pre-school education on attainment during school years. [191474]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education commissioned research in 1997 to identify the long-term effect of pre-school education on attainment during school years. This has assessed the impact of pre-school education throughout primary and secondary school. The most recent results were published in 2012. ‘The Effective Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education (EPPSE) 3-14 Project: Final report from the KS3 stage-influences on students development from age 3-14’ is available on the Gov.uk website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/184087/DFE-RR202.pdf

A copy will be placed in the Library. The research is currently being updated and results at key stage 4 will be published in July 2014.

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The Department has commissioned the Study of Early Education and Development (SEED) which began in autumn 2013 to evaluate the effectiveness of the current early education model in England, and the impact of providing funded early years education to the 40% least advantaged two-year-olds. This new, large scale, longitudinal study (due to be completed in 2020) will evaluate children's pre-school experiences at the age of two, three and four, and how these impact on later attainment and social outcomes, tracking children to the end of key stage 1 (age 7). It will assess the extent to which Government investment in early-years education and childcare offers value for money. It will publish its initial baseline report in 2014, with the first reports on the impact of quality due in 2015 and 2016.

Pre-school Education: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children aged three or four in (a) England and (b) the London borough of Havering are in pre-school education. [191475]

Elizabeth Truss: 96% of three and four year-old children accessed funded early years education in England in January 2013. In the London borough of Havering, the figure was 101%. Percentages can exceed 100% because population estimates used in the calculation of the published figures are derived from mid-year estimates and projections provided by the Office for National Statistics. They are subject to a margin of error and should be considered to be approximations.

Figures since 2009 are published in Table 1b of the document on the Department for Education's website at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/provision-for-children-under-5-years-of-age-in-england-january-2013

Pupils: Allergies

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his Department's policy is on the use of adrenaline shots in schools to treat children having an anaphylactic shock. [191916]

Mr Laws: We expect schools to put in place arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions, including what should happen in an emergency situation. Schools should work closely with relevant health and social care professionals, and with parents/carers to ensure that that these provisions are in place. Currently, there is non-statutory guidance available to schools, ‘Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings’, to help them manage medicines and support children with medical needs.

From September 2014, there will be a new duty, (introduced in the Children and Families Act 2014), on governing bodies of maintained schools and proprietors of academies to make arrangements to support pupils at school with medical conditions and to have regard to statutory guidance. The guidance will set out the requirements on schools to support children with medical conditions, which we would expect them to apply to conditions like anaphylaxis.

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Religion: Education

Mrs Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to ensure that a higher proportion of religious education lessons are taught by fully qualified subject specialists. [191441]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education does not stipulate what qualifies as a fully qualified subject specialist for religious education (RE). It is for head teachers and governing bodies to decide whom they choose to employ and in what capacity.

The Government are committed to ensuring sufficient supply of new teachers for schools. This year, we have over-allocated places for initial teacher training (ITT) in RE. RE is also supported by the National College for Teaching and Leadership's Teaching Line, which provides information and advice for anyone who wants to apply for ITT. In addition, officials have met the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education (NATRE) to identify further ways of supporting recruitment to RE ITT.

Mrs Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to implement the recommendations of the Ofsted report RE: Realising the Potential, published in October 2013; and if he will make a statement. [191527]

Elizabeth Truss: Religious education (RE) remains very important for pupils' understanding of the rich diversity of faiths and communities in the UK and their part in shaping the values and traditions of this country. Since the publication of Ofsted's report the Department for Education has announced that we are establishing a subject expert group for RE, chaired by David Francis from RE:ONLINE. By working with schools to clarify the key challenges for them, the group will help make sure that teachers have the support and resources to deliver high quality RE teaching.

As part of reforms to non-EBacc subjects, Ofqual is considering how it could work with others to improve the content and rigour of the Religious Studies GCSE and A-level. Taken together, these represent significant steps towards improvements in the subject. In addition, we are working closely with the Religious Education Council (REC) in its efforts to improve the quality of teaching in the subject, in particular by highlighting best practice and helping teachers to strengthen their own approaches.