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Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

All-Party Groups

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his Department’s policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups. [193556]

Dan Rogerson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 300W.

Birds: Falkland Islands

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons his Department supported an officer in the Falkland Islands responsible for implementing the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels on behalf of the Overseas Territories. [192763]

George Eustice: Joint UK and South Atlantic Overseas Territories funding has supported a co-ordinating post based in the Falkland Islands since 2008 to, among other things, help meet obligations arising from the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP), a daughter agreement to the Convention on Migratory Species. ACAP has been extended to the UK's South Atlantic Territories. DEFRA currently contributes £20,000 per year.

ACAP seeks to conserve albatrosses and petrels by co-ordinating international activity to mitigate known threats. Collectively, the UK's South Atlantic Overseas Territories are breeding range states for 12 of the 30 species currently listed by the Agreement. The ACAP co-ordination project was established to ensure coherence of action between the territories, assist with the planning and implementation of albatross and petrel conservation work, take responsibility for the reporting requirements and lead on critical seabird by-catch mitigation work in international fisheries forums.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Republic of Ireland

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what evidence his Department has collected on the effect of badger culls conducted in Ireland on levels of bovine TB in that country. [193609]

George Eustice: The number of bovine TB reactors in the Republic of Ireland fell by over 65% between 1999 and 2013, from 44,903 to 15,612. This represents the lowest level since the eradication programme started in the 1950s. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's wildlife policy statement of April 2013 concludes that it is satisfied that the culling of infected badgers, which is underpinned by research studies and sound science, has led to a significant reduction in the incidence of TB in cattle over the past decade.

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/animalhealthwelfare/diseasecontrol/bovinetbbrucellosiseradicationschemes/wildlifepolicybadgers/

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Flood Control

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to his answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 33W, on flood control, what the reasons are for the disparity between the figures given in that answer and those contained in the Red Book Table 2.1 Line 34 for 2014-15 and 2015-16. [194187]

Dan Rogerson: The figures that I provided in my answers of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 33W, relate to increases in Government funding for flood defence in England announced in the Budget 2014.

The figures in the Red Book Table 2.1 Line 34 for 2014-15 and 2015-16 include consequential funding for the devolved Administrations. The presentation of these figures is consistent with the rest of the table and the standard way of presenting fiscal costs in Budgets.

Floods: EU Grants and Loans

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has made to the EU Commission on the UK applying for and drawing down monies from the European Solidarity Fund following the recent flooding and storm damage; and what the deadline is for making any such bid. [188600]

Dan Rogerson: EU Solidarity Fund money is available to all member states suffering from large-scale natural disasters, but is subject to a number of eligibility requirements, including on the level of direct damages. Comparing the damage today to the 2007 floods, and following contact with the Commission, the Government’s assessment was that we had not met these conditions. The regulation governing the EUSF sets the deadline for applications as 10 weeks after the first damage caused by the disaster.

Floods: Somerset

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of whether the estimated cost of the direct damage caused by recent flooding in Somerset meets the eligibility criteria for the European Union Solidarity Fund; and what discussions his Department has had with EU officials on an application to that fund. [194106]

Dan Rogerson: EU Solidarity Fund money is available to all member states suffering from large-scale natural disasters, but is subject to a number of eligibility requirements, including on the level of direct damages. Comparing the damage today to the 2007 floods, and following contact with the Commission, the Government’s assessment was that we had not met these conditions. The regulation governing the EUSF sets the deadline for applications as 10 weeks after the first damage caused by the disaster.

Hunting Act 2004

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Hunting Act 2004. [194121]

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George Eustice: The Government have no legislative plans to make an amendment to the Hunting Act 2004. However, the Government's position remains that we will bring forward a motion for a free vote on the repeal of the Hunting Act when parliamentary time allows.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has allocated staff resources or established a dedicated unit in his Department to deal with proposed amendments to the Hunting Act 2004. [194165]

George Eustice: Some departmental staff time has been used to look into the issues raised by Welsh farmers about lamb predation by foxes and the stalking and flushing out exemption of the Hunting Act 2004. This has not involved establishing a unit dedicated to this issue within the Department. Staff resources are allocated to look into issues as they arise on a flexible basis. The Government have no plans to bring forward legislation to make amendments to the Hunting Act 2004 in this Parliament.

Land Drainage

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2014, Official Report, column 558W, on land drainage, what funding will be made available to SUDS Approving Bodies to enable them to maintain balancing tanks and sustainable urban drainage systems; who will be responsible for providing that funding; and if he will make a statement. [193909]

Dan Rogerson: The Department will be consulting shortly on funding arrangements for the maintenance of sustainable drainage systems (SUDS) that will be subject to the provisions of schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2014, Official Report, column 358W, on land drainage, for what reasons responsibility for maintaining balancing tanks and sustainable urban development systems is to be given to county or unitary authorities rather than to local planning authorities; and if he will make a statement. [193910]

Dan Rogerson: County and unitary authorities are the lead local flood authorities for their areas.

Nature Conservation: Crime

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what facilities exist for the retention and care of non-native wildlife species confiscated in the UK; where those facilities are located; and how many times such non-native wildlife species confiscated have been returned to the people or location where they were first confiscated. [193703]

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George Eustice: Non-native wildlife specimens (including plants) may be retained for various reasons by the police, UK Border Force (UKBF), Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (RBG Kew), local authorities and other organisations such as the RSPCA.

RBG Kew has a Plant Quarantine Unit and keeps records of all plant material entering its collections, but not records of confiscated specimens that are returned to the people or location they were confiscated from.

UKBF re-homes seized wildlife after having consulted with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, the UK's CITES scientific authority for fauna, on appropriate location. It has not been UK practice to return wildlife to countries of export as there is no guarantee of its return to the wild or that it will not re-enter illegal trade. UKBF does not disclose publically the locations where seized items are held. All seized animals remain the property of the Crown.

No police-run facilities exist for the retention and care of non-native wildlife species confiscated in the UK: each case is dealt with on an ad-hoc basis. Information about returned specimens is not held centrally.

DEFRA does not hold information about holding facilities used by local authorities and other organisations.

Slaughterhouses

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will commission a study on measures to accurately record incidences of mis-stunning in abattoirs. [193828]

George Eustice: The Food Standards Agency already records instances of mis-stunning in slaughterhouses, so a study in this area is unnecessary. Details were given by the Minister for Public Health on 24 March 2014, Official Report, columns 132-34W:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm140324/text/140324w0005.htm#14032581000879

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Argentina

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 February 2014, Official Report, column 525W, on Argentina, how much his Department has spent under each cost heading in each of the last three years. [193652]

Mr Swire: The development aid provided to the Government of Argentina is published with all UK aid spend on the website of the Department for International Development on:

https://www.gov.uk/government/topics/international-aid-and-development

an annual basis.

Figures for 2013 will be published in autumn 2014. We currently forecast this to be much lower than previous years, due to the strict criteria now applied to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's programme work in Argentina.

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Commonwealth

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to increase the number of UK embassies and consulates through co-operation with Commonwealth Governments. [193531]

Mr Lidington: We are committed to strengthening our relationship with our Commonwealth partners and believe co-location of our embassies, where it is of mutual benefit, supports closer co-operation, as well as leading to efficiency savings. We are currently co-located with Canada in Rangoon, Port-au-Prince, Baghdad and Bamako, with New Zealand in Kabul and Bridgetown, and with Australia in Beirut and Vientiane. A number of other co-location projects with these Commonwealth partners are in the pipeline.

Gibraltar: Spain

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) whether he has been informed that the Alcaidesa marina in La Linea has been partly constructed in British-Gibraltar territorial waters; [193673]

(2) how much of the Alcaidesa marina in La Linea has been constructed in British-Gibraltar territorial waters; [193674]

(3) what representations his Department made to the Spanish Government on the Alcaidesa marina in La Linea; when such representations were made and by whom; and what further steps he intends to take on this issue. [193675]

Mr Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) and I have been informed that less than 0.0001 square miles of Alcaidesa marina encroaches on British Gibraltar territorial waters (BGTW). My reply given to the hon. Member on 5 March 2014, Official Report, column 837W, noted that construction of the mole/sea wall and Alcaidesa marina in La Linea is historical fact. The mole was completed in the 1980s and the marina in 2008. A note verbale protesting the construction of the mole was issued in 1982. Earlier this year officials checked the records for 2008 and found no record of a protest at the completion of the marina. This Government have made our position on sovereignty over BGTW clear to the Government of Spain, including recently at a senior level.

Nuclear Security Summit

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 25 March 2014, Official Report, column 189W, on the nuclear security summit, which organisations made what suggestions to the UK's contribution to that summit. [193807]

Hugh Robertson: The UK contributed three statements to the nuclear security summit: a national statement, a progress report and a statement on the UK-led information security initiative. All three statements are publically available on the NSS website. No body from outside

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HM Government contributed written proposals for inclusion in the UK's statements. There were discussions between officials and the following organisations as the UK's contributions were being formulated: National Skills Academy Nuclear; World Institute of Nuclear Security; International Atomic Energy Agency; Kings College London; Vertic; and EU Joint Research Centre.

Venezuela

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the UK is taking to promote peaceful dialogue in Venezuela between the Government of that country and political opponents. [194197]

Mr Swire: As I said in my statement of 26 March, I am deeply concerned about the situation in Venezuela. I am saddened by the deaths that have occurred, and condemn all acts of violence.

We have called for all sides to take steps to avoid confrontation, reduce tensions and create the right conditions for genuine dialogue to take place. I have written to the Venezuelan Government to convey this message and offered the UK's assistance in the reconciliation process. I have spoken to ministerial colleagues in the region, both during my visit to South America and during the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) commission's visit, to encourage their Governments to help promote dialogue in Venezuela. Our embassy in Caracas urges peaceful dialogue through its contacts with a range of actors in Venezuelan society.

A commission of Foreign Ministers from the UNASUR group of countries visited Caracas 26-27 March to support and advise on dialogue between the parties. I welcome this positive first visit which involved meetings with a range contacts, including with President Maduro, Opposition leaders and civil society representatives.

Working Hours

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of employees in his Department of each (a) Civil Service pay grade and (b) gender work (i) reduced hours, (ii) flexi-time, (iii) from home, (iv) a compressed working week, (v) job share, (vi) term-time only and (vii) part-time. [193964]

Hugh Robertson: Under the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) flexible working policy, all staff can request to work flexibly. Many FCO staff in the UK and overseas have agreed successful flexible working patterns with their line managers.

The FCO has been improving the management information system that staff use to record their flexible working patterns. This is a voluntary declaration and the current low level of declarations means there is not yet sufficient data to give a meaningful breakdown of all working patterns. According to the system, on 28 February 2014, there are 192 UK based staff, i.e. not including our locally engaged staff in our overseas posts, who are working part-time.

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Work and Pensions

All-Party Groups

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups. [193568]

Esther McVey: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to PQ 193382 by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 300W.

Atos Healthcare

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the ministerial statement of 27 March 2014, Official Report, columns 56-8WS, on Atos, how much Atos has paid to his Department in order to exit its contract early; and whether he plans for the new contract to provide for payments calculated on the number of assessments completed. [194148]

Mike Penning: The terms of the financial settlement are confidential between the parties.

The Department is currently developing the financial model for the new contract and no decisions have been reached.

Employment and Support Allowance

Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for how many and what proportion of employment and support allowance claimants in the work-related activity group Atos has sought further medical evidence and opinion from the person's nominated professional. [193704]

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

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who have been given a prognosis that engagement in work is unlikely in the longer term have been placed in the work-related activity group for employment and support allowance since October 2008. [193893]

Mike Penning: The information requested is shown in the following table:

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The reassessment of existing incapacity benefits claimants started in October 2010 with a trial in the Burnley and Aberdeen areas. These are included in the table.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many repeat employment and support allowance claimants have been placed in the work-related activity group with the prognosis that engagement in work is unlikely in the longer term since October 2008; [194166]

(2) how many new employment and support allowance claimants have been placed in the work-related activity group with the prognosis that engagement in work is unlikely in the longer term since October 2008. [194167]

Mike Penning: The information requested to answer both questions is shown in the following table:

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in each parliamentary constituency are currently incurring the under-occupancy penalty. [194189]

Esther McVey: The information requested is published and can be found at:

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

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

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

1 Apr 2014 : Column 605W

Incapacity Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people on incapacity benefit who have been given a prognosis that engagement in work is unlikely in the longer term have been placed in the work-related activity group since October 2010. [193896]

Mike Penning: The information requested is shown in the following table:

The reassessment of existing incapacity benefits claimants started in October 2010 with a trial in the Burnley and Aberdeen areas. These are included in the table.

Jobcentre Plus

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department collects information from Jobcentre Plus offices on the number of people referred to local advice providers to use telephones. [194147]

Esther McVey: It is not our policy to refer people to other organisations for the purposes of making a phone call.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance was given to Jobcentre Plus offices on supporting people internally rather than externally following the recent removal of warm phones. [194151]

Esther McVey: Jobcentre plus staff continue to fully support vulnerable claimants with benefit claims and job search. All offices are introducing an assisted service when customer access phones are removed.

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Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent guidance his Department has issued to Jobcentre Plus staff on how to advise clients on alternatives to warm phones for contacting Jobcentre Plus or applying for jobs by telephone. [194201]

Esther McVey: Warm phones have in the past, been used predominantly for dealing with benefit inquiries. Following the introduction of an assisted service for benefit inquiries and the removal of warm phones, we will provide controlled access to a telephone if a claimant needs to make a phone call to apply for a job.

Pensions

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of the planned changes to pensions on opt-out rates of auto-enrolment. [193948]

Steve Webb: The Budget announced that from April 2015, the tax rules for how people access their defined contribution pension savings will be simplified to allow individuals aged 55 or over to withdraw their savings however they wish, subject to their marginal rate of income tax.

Allowing individuals to exercise greater choice over how they access their retirement savings may mean that some people who would have previously chosen to opt out may no longer do so. This is more likely to have an effect on the choices of older workers.

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of the planned changes to pensions on the investment strategy of the National Employment Savings Trust. [193950]

Steve Webb: The investment strategy for the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) is the responsibility of the NEST Trustees who will consider if, in the best interests of their members, there needs to be any change in NEST's investment approach.

Pensions Advisory Service

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received face to face guidance from the Pension Advisory Service in each of the last five years. [193944]

Steve Webb: The Pensions Advisory Service provides information and guidance over multiple distribution channels including by telephone, web chat, online and written enquiries and face to face via outreach activity. The outreach activity includes shows, forums and similar events. All guidance is tailored to the individuals’ personal circumstances.

The data for the last five years are set out in the following table:

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Social Fund

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many outstanding cases of social fund loan repayments his Department is currently pursuing; in what year each such loan was issued; what estimate he has made of the total value of such outstanding repayments; and how much his Department is paying a debt management service to pursue such repayments. [194152]

Steve Webb: At March 2013, there were 10,118,298 loans outstanding relating to 2,940,087 customers. The following table indicates the age of loans and their volumes and values.

The Department pursues all debts available for recovery. Where we have difficulty with locating a customer and obtaining payment from them we will employ a private sector company to do this for us; for year ending March 2013 we paid £880,000 and recovered £6.1 million.

Data have been included for the financial year 2012-13, the latest year for which the audited Social Fund White Paper Account is available. The 2013-14 account will be publicly available from July 2014.

Unemployed People: Cancer

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what support his Department makes available to people who are unable to work while receiving treatment for cancer and what assets which cannot quickly be converted to enough money to cover consequential costs. [194168]

Esther McVey: People who are unable to work while receiving treatment for cancer may be entitled to claim employment and support allowance and, depending on the circumstances of them and their family, may be entitled to other benefits such as personal independence payment, housing benefit and council tax reduction.

Work Capability Assessment

Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average waiting time for a work capability assessment is for claimants in (a) Torbay local authority area, (b) the South West region and (c) England. [193856]

Mike Penning: The average waiting time for a work capability assessment in the period from March 2013 to February 2014 is as follows:

We announced in a written ministerial statement on 27 March our plans to achieve a reduction in waiting times and next steps, including Atos Healthcare's withdrawal from delivery of work capability assessments in Great Britain before the end of the current contract.

Atos Healthcare will continue to deliver work capability assessments until contract exit and will still be subject to a quality and service credit regime. We will continue to work with Atos to ensure it can deliver the best service possible to claimants until it leaves the contract.

Electoral Commission Committee

Electoral Register: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in Dudley metropolitan borough. [191132]

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.

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

The ward results for Dudley metropolitan borough council were as follows:

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Electoral Register: South Wales

Stephen Doughty: 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) Cardiff county council and (b) Vale of Glamorgan council. [191131]

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.

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

The ward results for Cardiff council are as follows:

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The ward results for the Vale of Glamorgan council are as follows:

Electoral Register: West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration

1 Apr 2014 : Column 611W

figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in

(a)

Sandwell metropolitan borough,

(b)

Walsall metropolitan borough,

(c)

Wolverhampton metropolitan borough and

(d)

Birmingham city. [191130]

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.

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

The ward results for Sandwell council, Walsall council, Wolverhampton city council and Birmingham city council will be deposited in the Library.

International Development

Africa

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many portable kits for diagnosis of (a) HIV and (b) hepatitis her Department has delivered to Africa in each of the last three years. [193757]

Lynne Featherstone: The majority of DFID's support on HIV is through the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM). Between 2002 and 2012, GFATM- supported programmes provided 89 million HIV counselling and testing sessions in sub-Saharan Africa; the UK provided approximately 9% of total funding to GFATM in this period.

DFID contributes to prevention and control of diseases causing hepatitis in African countries through support to the GAVI Alliance (vaccines and immunisation), water, sanitation and hygiene programmes, and work to strengthen health systems and services.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funds her Department has allocated to each country in Africa to tackle wildlife crime. [193758]

Lynne Featherstone: DFID recognises that the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) is a serious criminal industry, one that undermines sustainable economic development in some of the world's poorest countries, funds serious and organised crime, and threatens the existence of the world's most iconic species. As part of UK co-ordinated efforts to tackle IWT, DFID has committed £10 million to support DEFRA-led delivery of actions outlined in the London Conference Declaration, to include activities in African countries affected by IWT.

All-Party Groups

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her Department's policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups. [193561]

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Mr Duncan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that was given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 300W.

Developing Countries: Water

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support the Government offered for World Water Day 2014. [193686]

Lynne Featherstone: This year the United Nations dedicated World Water Day to drawing attention to the challenge of meeting water and energy demands. DFID policy teams organised two events with external speakers to promote the day and water issues. The first was to raise awareness of the role of water security in promoting human and economic development, and the second to examine how private sector, technology and innovation can improve the functionality of water supplies.

The Global Water Partnership, which is supported by DFID, used World Water Day to launch its new strategy “Towards 2020”, which focuses upon innovative and multi-sectoral approaches to tackle water resource management. The World Bank's Water Partnership Programme, also supported by DFID, used the day to highlight its Thirsty Energy Programme.

Development Aid

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking as co-chair of the Mexico High Level Meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development co-operation to ensure that future aid to the private sector respects the Busan principles. [194268]

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking in her role as co-chair of the Mexico High Level Meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development to ensure that future development co-operation respects the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Developments Busan Principles (a) generally and (b) as they apply to aid allocated to private sector organisations. [194129]

Justine Greening: The Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation (GPEDC) is shortly to meet in Mexico to discuss principles of country ownership, results, transparency and inclusivity that are applicable across all sectors, including how business can contribute to development.

Barclays

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the policy of Barclays on the use of tax havens. [193462]

Mr Gauke: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Treasury.

I am unable to comment on the tax affairs of individual companies.

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Home Department

Alcoholic Drinks

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with representatives of the retail sector about measures that could be taken by shops selling alcohol to reduce the incidence of binge-drinking. [193543]

Norman Baker: Home Office Ministers have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of these meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Gov.uk website:

http://data.gov.uk/dataset/ministerial-data-home-office

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to reform antisocial behaviour orders; and if she will make a statement. [193527]

Norman Baker: The Government’s reforms are contained in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. The Act will introduce two new powers, a civil injunction and the criminal behaviour order, to replace antisocial behaviour orders. Unlike antisocial behaviour orders, the new powers will not focus solely on enforcement but can include positive requirements to ensure individuals address the underlying causes of their behaviour.

Crime: Greater Manchester

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect of recent changes to the funding of Greater Manchester police on crime rates in that region. [194132]

Damian Green: The funding settlement for the police is a challenging one. However, as the vast majority of forces, including Greater Manchester police, are demonstrating, it is manageable. The latest report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (Policing in Austerity: Rising to the Challenge July 2013) found that crime is falling and the proportion of officers on the front line is increasing. The Government have protected the police from the additional 2014-15 reductions that were announced in the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), autumn statement of 5 December 2013, Official Report, columns 1101-13, which means the police will face a 3.3% cash reduction in central Government funding (5.75% in real terms) compared with 2013-14. Once future police precept income is taken into account, the reduction in overall funding is even lower.

In the Greater Manchester police force areas, recorded crime fell by 7% between September 2012 and September 2013.

Driving: Licensing

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2014, Official Report, column 238W, on driving: licensing,

1 Apr 2014 : Column 614W

what proportion of new drivers obtaining driving convictions were offered speed awareness courses in each year since 2010. [194127]

Damian Green: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 27 March 2014, Official Report, column 372W.

The number of drivers who opted for a speed awareness course rather than accept penalty points on their driving licence in 2010 was 447,724, in 2011 772,430, in 2012, 926,101 and in 2013 953,428. The offer of a speed awareness course is at the discretion of the police. To be deemed eligible, there must be no excessive speed or other offences committed at the same time. Information on previous motoring convictions is not taken into account.

Drugs: Misuse

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the expert panel for the review into new psychoactive substances does not include representation from the public health sector. [193255]

Norman Baker: It does. Public health expertise is contributed to the New Psychoactive Substances review by:

Dr Owen Bowden Jones, Consultant in Addiction Psychiatry, who is leading an initiative to develop clinical knowledge summaries for New Psychoactive Substances with support from Public Health England; Paul Griffiths, Head of Science at the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, who received an award from the US National Institute for Drug Addiction in recognition of his role in developing the knowledge base on NPS; and the drug policy team at the Department of Health.

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2014, Official Report, column 604W, on EU Justice and Home Affairs, with which countries the EU as a legal personality has concluded co-operation agreements in the field of justice and home affairs. [193408]

Karen Bradley: I refer my hon. Friend to the response given by the Minister for Europe, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), on 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 70W. In addition, JHA agreements have also been concluded with Brazil, Ukraine and Moldova during the course of this Government which build on the borders and immigration aspects of the Schengen system, in which the UK does not participate.

Forced Marriage

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested for breach of a forced marriage protection order in each year since such orders came into force. [193700]

Norman Baker: The information requested is not collected centrally by the Home Office.

Powers of arrest for breach of a forced marriage protection order are currently issued by the civil courts. Arrests for civil offences are not covered by the Home Office arrest collection.

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Breach of a forced marriage protection order will become an offence when section 120 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 comes into force in summer 2014.

Human Trafficking: Repatriation

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women who are victims of human trafficking are nationals of non-EEA countries have received return and reintegration assistance through the Assisted Voluntary Returns for Irregular Migrants programme since April 2011; and how much was so made available to those trafficked from (i) inside and (ii) outside the EU. [191303]

Karen Bradley: 16 victims of trafficking (one male, 15 female) have received financial assistance under the programme since April 2011.

While the Assisted Voluntary Return for Irregular Migrants (AVRIM) programme does not normally include financial assistance, a discretionary sum of up to £1000 is provided for specified vulnerable cases, and this includes victims of trafficking. Assisted Voluntary Return is only available to non-EEA nationals and the support is not dependent upon whether the individual has arrived from inside or outside the EU.

The figures provided are sourced from a Home Office management information system which is not quality assured under National Statistics protocols and is subject to change due to internal data quality checking. Figures provided from this source do not constitute part of National Statistics and should be treated as provisional.

Immigration

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has spent on legal fees in immigration cases when she has been (a) the defendant and (b) the appellant, in each of the last five years for which records are available. [194153]

James Brokenshire: The Home Office cannot report separately on expenditure on legal fees in immigration cases where the Secretary of State has been either defendant or appellant because it does not record data in the format required for such an analysis. The only way to answer this question would be to review all payments of litigation expenditure manually which would incur disproportionate cost.

Proceeds of Crime

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many assets of criminal origin have been repatriated from the UK to jurisdictions overseas in each year since 2008-09. [193656]

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Karen Bradley: The serious and organised crime strategy sets out how the Government intend to improve the tackling of criminal finances both in the UK and overseas. This includes developing asset sharing agreements with other countries in order to improve international co-operation on asset recovery. Although no assets have been repatriated to another country since 2008-09, there are a number of ongoing investigations, particularly as part of the Arab Spring Asset Recovery Taskforce, about which it is not possible to comment further at this stage.

Riot Control Weapons: Greater London

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received about the use of water cannon in London. [194013]

Damian Green: A number of representations have been received recently about the use of water cannon in London.

The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has also now received the formal request to authorise water cannon for use by the police in England and Wales. She is considering this request and will announce her decision in due course and lay the relevant information in the House Library.

Theft: Sheep

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received on sheep rustling. [193320]

Norman Baker: The Home Office talks to a wide range of partners about rural crime and theft of particular commodities. However, we have not recently received any formal representations about sheep rustling.

Working Hours

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of employees in her Department of what (a) Civil Service pay grade and (b) gender work (i) reduced hours, (ii) flexi-time, (iii) from home, (iv) a compressed working week, (v) job share, (vi) term-time only and (vii) part-time. [193967]

Karen Bradley: The proportion of Home Office employees with each working pattern by (a) Civil Service pay grade is shown in Table 1.

The proportion of Home Office employees with each working pattern by (b) gender is shown in Table 2.

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Defence

Afghanistan

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what support British service personnel are providing to the Afghan National Security Forces to ensure that the elections in Afghanistan are free and fair. [194094]

Mr Francois: The UK is committed to helping the Afghans achieve credible, inclusive and transparent elections. Whilst the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) have lead security responsibility for Afghanistan, the UK supports ANSF operations by providing enablers such as medical evacuation, aviation and surveillance capabilities.

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what support the UK is offering to the (a) EU and (b) OSCE election monitoring missions to Afghanistan. [194095]

Mr Francois: The UK is not providing any direct support to the EU or OSCE election monitoring missions to Afghanistan.

Armed Forces Day: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to hold Armed Forces Day events in Northern Ireland in June 2014. [194119]

Mr Dunne: Armed Forces Day events provide opportunities for the nation to show its support for the armed forces community. These events are community-led and can come in many different forms, from the national event through to local events organised by councils, ex-service organisations, community groups and schools.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not hold armed forces events, apart from the national event held this year in Stirling, but we do invite local authorities and community organisations to consider hosting an event and to apply for funding from the MOD. Part-funding applications have been received for the Northern Ireland Regional Armed Forces Day event which is scheduled to take place in Ards on 21 June, events in Articlave on 27 and 28 June and for an event planned by Carrickfergus borough council to take place on 28 June. As further events are registered by their organisers, they will be published on the Armed Forces Day website:

www.armedforcesday.org.uk

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Army: Disciplinary Proceedings

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel have been dismissed under AGAI 67 in each year since 2008; what the reasons were for each such dismissal; and if he will make a statement. [193647]

Mr Dunne: Within the British Army, Administrative Action is taken in accordance with the procedures set out in Army General Administrative Instructions Chapter 67, abbreviated to AGAI 67. It is a process of self-regulation that will be familiar to most civilian employers and employees, where action is taken to rehabilitate, censure or initiate sanctions to correct professional or personal failings. The administrative process involves investigation, reporting, determination, sanction and review by a higher authority. It is entirely separate from the Service Justice System.

It may result in a range of outcomes from the assignment of extra duties, informal and formal interviews or rebuke to, in the most serious cases, termination of service.

If individuals consider themselves to have been wronged by any administrative action, they are also entitled to submit a service complaint seeking redress of individual grievance.

Central data relating to AGAI 67 discharges for the period before 2010 are incomplete and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Data from 2010 are provided in the following table.

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Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5 in accordance with departmental practice in order to protect individual data. The symbol ‘*’ has been used to indicate 1-4.