Antibiotics: Drug Resistance

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2014, Official Report, columns 779-80W, on death bacterial diseases, if he will make it his policy to collect and publish data on (a) how many NHS patients have died due to antibiotic resistance and (b) which specific pathogens or drug resistant strains of infection caused such deaths. [195017]

Dr Poulter: Although information on deaths associated with specific antibiotic resistant infections is not currently available from routine data sources, the Department is exploring options for producing better and more reliable surveillance. These options include the linking of death registration with resistance-specific surveillance datasets on healthcare associated infections. We understand that the first set of mortality data, covering methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and C.difficile infection, should be made available by Public Health England, towards the end of the year.

Dementia

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve international collaboration in (a) sharing research findings and best practice in care and (b) taking steps to remove stigma against those people diagnosed with dementia following the G8 summit on dementia in December; and if he will make a statement. [194823]

Norman Lamb: As part of its presidency of the G8 last year, the United Kingdom led an all-out global fight-back against dementia.

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Since the summit the Prime Minister has appointed Dr Dennis Gillings, CBE, PhD, as a World Dementia Envoy. Dr Gillings will create a World Dementia Council to stimulate innovation, development and commercialisation of life enhancing drugs, treatments and care for people with dementia, and in protection of those at risk of dementia, within a generation. The Council will be independent of Government and will have expertise in pharmaceuticals, research, investment, civic society and have sufficient global influence, reach and profile to deliver the fund. The Department will shortly be announcing the first members of the Council.

We are also taking forward our commitment to hold a series of high-level global fora throughout 2014, in partnership with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), World Health Organisation (WHO), the European Commission, the EU Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease (JPND), and civil society. Global events will begin with the UK event on dementia and social impact investment in June and will be followed by a September event in Canada, (co-hosted by Canada and France) on partnerships between academia and industry and a further event in Japan on new care and prevention models later in the year.

And we will meet again in the United States in February 2015 with other global experts, including WHO and OECD, to review the progress that has been made on the 2013 G8 dementia summit commitments.

Sound models exist in the UK for sharing research data, including the Medical Research Council's (MRC's) UK Dementia Research Platform, and Alzheimer's Research UK and the Alzheimer's Society's joint portal for patients and carers. With regard to international research collaboration, the MRC and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) National Director for Dementia Research are working with the OECD on the effective international sharing of dementia research data. The MRC leads for the UK on the JPND which encompasses Switzerland and Canada, 21 participating EU member states, and five other countries associated with the EU. The JPND is helping to increase the effectiveness and impact of research efforts on dementia. The JPND has published a comprehensive analysis of 171 longitudinal cohorts of value to neurodegenerative disease research, with further work to come on overcoming barriers to research. Discussions are also expected soon between the JPND and United States experts on the relationship between different research databases.

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce the use of antipsychotic medication in the management of people with dementia; and if he will make a statement. [194912]

Norman Lamb: The National Dementia and Antipsychotic Prescribing Audit (2012) showed a 52% fall in the level of prescribing of antipsychotic medication to people with dementia over the previous five years.

The Department has commissioned the Health and Social Care Information Centre to re-run the audit and results are expected in the autumn of 2014.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on the prescribing of antipsychotics to people with dementia are still current.

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Dental Services: West Midlands

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the likely patient charge revenue for Birmingham and the Black Country area team from NHS dental services in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15. [195399]

Dr Poulter: The Department has made no estimate of the likely patient charge revenue for Birmingham, Solihull and Black Country area team from national health service dental services in 2013-14 and 2014-15. This is a matter for NHS England.

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the management of the Birmingham and the Black Country area team in relation to the shortfall or surplus between the predicted and actual patients charges revenue for NHS dental services in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13. [195402]

Dr Poulter: The Department will not make an assessment of the effectiveness of the management of the Birmingham, Solihull and Black Country area team in relation to the shortfall or surplus between the predicted and actual patients charges revenue for national health service dental services in 2011-12 and 2012-13. This is a matter for NHS England.

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Birmingham and the Black Country area team management of patient charge revenue from NHS dental services. [195403]

Dr Poulter: The Department has made no assessment of the effectiveness of the Birmingham, Solihull and Black Country area team management of patient charge revenue from dental health services.

This is a matter for NHS England.

Epilepsy

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding, information and training available for people with epilepsy and their families. [194300]

Norman Lamb: No assessment has been made of the adequacy of funding, information and training available for people with epilepsy and their families. The majority of patients with this condition can be successfully managed in primary and secondary care and the delivery of such services is a local matter.

To support the delivery of high-quality epilepsy services, in January 2012, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline that sets out best practice in the diagnosis, treatment care and support of adults and children with this condition. The guidance states that epilepsy nurse specialists should be an integral part of the network of care of children, young people and adults with epilepsy. One of their roles is to educate, inform and support the patient and their family with specific training about the management of seizures, among other things.

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In February 2013, NICE published quality standards for both children and adults epilepsy services. Quality standards are important in setting out to patients, the public, commissioners and providers what a high-quality service should look like in a particular area of care. Epilepsy nurse specialists are a key feature of both of these.

Heart Diseases: North East

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the quality of care and treatment of patients with heart failure in the North East. [194915]

Jane Ellison: No such assessment has been made.

The national heart failure audit April 2012—March 2013 provides a national assessment of the quality of care and treatment of patients with heart failure in England. It provides data by provider, but does not provide a regional break-down of figures.

The audit is available at:

www.ucl.ac.uk/nicor/audits/heartfailure/documents/annualreports/hfannual12-13.pdf

Hereditary Diseases

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were born with sex-linked inherited conditions in the last five years for which records are available. [195328]

Dr Poulter: It is not possible to classify a diagnosis of 'sex-linked inherited conditions' within the ICD-10 classification, and therefore the Health and Social Care Information Centre cannot provide any data without specific conditions being identified.

Palliative Care: Children

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to update the NHS Outcomes Framework with the aim of ensuring that every child can access palliative care in the setting of their or their family's choice, 24 hours a day, seven days a week; and if he will make a statement. [194824]

Norman Lamb: There are no current plans to update the NHS Outcomes Framework with an indicator in relation to choice for children accessing palliative care. However, a review of the NHS Outcomes Framework will be conducted this year, which will include a public consultation. The resulting refreshed NHS Outcomes Framework 2015-16 will be published in the autumn.

NHS England and Monitor are working to propose a new per-patient funding system for palliative care for adults and children, to be introduced from 2015, which will provide greater clarity for commissioners on the costs of care, and allow more flexible approaches to be developed to give children and young people, and their families more choice.

Poliomyelitis

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will create a strategy to address the needs of those with post polio syndrome;

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and if his Department will take steps to publicise the needs of those with post polio syndrome amongst medical professionals. [194920]

Norman Lamb: Since 1 April 2013 NHS England has been responsible for determining the overall national approach to improving clinical outcomes from health care services, including for patients with long-term conditions such as post-polio syndrome (PPS). NHS England is adopting a broad strategy for delivering improvements in relation to long-term conditions, rather than pursuing a condition specific approach.

Although there is currently no cure for PPS, there are a range of treatments and support available to help manage the symptoms and improve quality of life for patients including:

physical therapy known as “pacing” to help recognise and manage fatigue;

appropriate pain relief; and

diet and exercise advice.

Information for the public on PPS is available on the NHS choices website. More detailed information for clinicians can be found on the Map of Medicine (MOM), which can be used by doctors working in the NHS to decide on the best treatment options for patients. There are links from the NHS Choices website directly to the MOM.

The MOM has collaborated with the British Polio Fellowship to update the 'post-polio syndrome (PPS)' care map. The care map features information on diagnosis, rehabilitation and management of PPS, and is based on high-quality guidelines, quality-assessed secondary literature, and practice-based knowledge from a multidisciplinary group including neurologists, physiotherapists, sociologists, and general practitioners.

Psoriasis

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is taking to transpose quality statements 1 and 2 of the National Institute for Care and Clinical Excellence quality standard on psoriasis into Clinical Commissioning Group outcome indicators; [195334]

(2) what data requirements are necessary to precipitate the development of Clinical Commissioning Group outcome indicators based on quality statements 1 and 2 of the NICE quality standard on psoriasis. [195390]

Norman Lamb: The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has advised that it has made some investigations into the information that would be required to support the indicators proposed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on the psoriasis quality standard.

The HSCIC found that there was a need for some development in the Read Codes used by clinicians to record patient findings and procedures in health and social care information technology systems across primary and secondary care; as well as guidance and clarification of definitions on the use of the existing Read Codes for recording to support the indicators proposed for the topic of psoriasis.

It should be noted that even where the data sources meet the requirements of the topic, any inclusion of indicators in the Clinical Commissioning group outcome

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indicator set (CCG OIS) requires there to be sufficient cases for statistically reliable measurement across the 211 clinical commissioning groups (CCG).

The NICE CCG OIS advisory committee is due to review potential indicators derived from the NICE psoriasis quality standard at its October meeting. If any indicators based on quality statements 1 (asessing disease severity) and 2 (assessing impact of disease) are prioritised for further development, it will then go through the process described in the recently published NICE indicator process guide, which can be found at:

www.nice.org.uk/media/03E/31/Indicators_process_guide.pdf

The Committee will use the prioritisation criteria (detailed in appendix B of the process guide) to inform its decision about which indicators progress through the process.

Potential CCG outcomes indicators are considered by the NICE CCG OIS advisory committee and the indicators recommended by the Committee are then considered by NHS England for inclusion in the CCG OIS.

Scotland

Social Rented Housing

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions the Government have had with the Scottish Government on the introduction of a Right to Move scheme for social tenants. [193789]

David Mundell: Neither the Secretary of State for Scotland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael), nor I have met with the Scottish Government to discuss the introduction of a Right to Move scheme for social tenants. Under the terms of devolution, responsibility for housing, and that of social housing is the responsibility of Scottish Government Ministers. HomeSwap Direct however, does operate across the United Kingdom for those tenants wishing to mutually exchange within the social housing sphere.

Trade Unions

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department is (a) undertaking or (b) plans to undertake a review of the check-off union subscription provision. [194046]

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. All staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other Government bodies who remain responsible for all employment matters including payroll deductions for union subscriptions.

Working Hours

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of employees in his 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. [193972]

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David Mundell: A breakdown of the relevant data requested can be found in the following table. No staff work term-time or are on a home working contract. All staff have the opportunity to work flexible working hours.

Attorney-General

Crimes of Violence

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Attorney-General what the average timescale was for the Crown Prosecution Service to provide the Metropolitan Police Service with advice on criminal charges against members of the public suspected of involvement in serious crimes in (a) 2011 to 2013 and (b) 2008 to 2010. [195079]

The Solicitor-General: The following table shows, for the CPS in London, the average number of calendar days which have elapsed since the first decision was sought by the police on the date in which the last decision made was to charge. The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) do not identify the number of cases referred to it for advice, by the alleged offence(s).

The CPS in London deals with cases referred to it by both the Metropolitan Police Force and the City of London Police Force and it is not possible to further break down the figures provided without incurring a disproportionate cost.

Homicide

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Attorney-General how and on what basis the Crown Prosecution Service decides whether to prioritise the allocation of resources to its decision-making on criminal charges following conclusions of unlawful killing at an inquest or public inquiry; and whether there is additional consideration where the events in question occurred more than three years prior to the conclusion of the inquest or public inquiry. [195080]

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The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will consider whether there is any new evidence or information within the coroner's proceedings which may have an impact upon any previous CPS decision not to bring criminal charges against an individual(s) or organisation following a conclusion of unlawful killing at an inquest or public inquiry. Where it is found that a further investigation will need to be conducted by the police, and a fresh decision made by the CPS, the police and CPS should ensure the coroner and bereaved family/next of kin are notified of the next steps to be taken.

The allocation of CPS resources to make decisions on criminal charges will be determined by the specific facts and circumstances of the individual case. The complex casework units in each of the CPS areas will deal with more complex homicide cases; other homicide cases will be handled by senior prosecutors in the areas. The special crime and counter terrorism division in CPS headquarters also deals with a wide range of homicide cases including deaths in custody, assisted suicides, terrorist-related homicides and homicides arising from so-called 'disaster' cases. There are no additional considerations where the events in question occurred more than three years prior to the conclusion of the inquest or public inquiry.

Police: Offenders

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Attorney-General what the average timescale was for the Crown Prosecution Service to provide the Independent Police Complaints Commission with advice on criminal charges against current or former police officers suspected of involvement in serious crimes in (a) 2011 to 2013 and (b) 2008 to 2010. [195078]

The Solicitor-General: The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) do not identify the number of cases referred to it for advice by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Such information could be obtained only through a manual search of records which would incur disproportionate cost.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Anaerobic Digestion

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to publish a report on the implementation of the Department's anaerobic digestion strategy and action plan for 2013-14. [195114]

Dan Rogerson: We intend to publish a further report on implementation of the Anaerobic Digestion Strategy and Action Plan later this year.

Angling: Wales

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether income raised from rod licence sales in Wales will continue to be hypothecated for the protection and improvement of fisheries in Wales. [194867]

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George Eustice: Freshwater fisheries is a devolved issue. Natural Resources Wales has responsibility for administering rod licences in Wales.

Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what veterinary and animal welfare qualifications and training are a criteria of becoming an inspector at the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency. [195066]

George Eustice: Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) employs veterinarians and animal health officers who both are inspectors. Veterinarians employed by AHVLA must have a veterinary degree and be members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (MRCVS). AHVLA supports these veterinarians to achieve the annual number of days continued development required to maintain their MRCVS.

Animal health officers are not qualified veterinarians and have no requirement for any veterinary qualifications. They are trained in a variety of aspects relevant to their function and that are essential to their duties, including animal welfare, animal health, enforcement and evidence gathering. Furthermore, and in order to fulfil this function, animal health officers are appointed as Inspectors under the Animal Health Act 1981. A senior veterinarian in the organisation ensures that appointed inspectors only use the powers to act as an inspector when they are deemed competent to do so.

AHVLA has an annual programme of training for its veterinary staff and animal health officers to ensure that they maintain and develop knowledge in their particular areas of expertise.

Ash Dieback Disease

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) when his Department will (a) complete and (b) publish its review of the Chalara management plan; and if he will make a statement; [195061]

(2) what the reasons are for the time taken for the review of the Chalara management plan; why the updated plan was not published by the Government's March 2014 target; and if he will make a statement. [195097]

Dan Rogerson: The Government will publish an updated management approach to ‘Chalara’ alongside updated management approaches to other established tree pests and diseases, and those that pose an imminent threat, in a single Tree Health Management Plan. This plan will set out the action that the Government and others are taking to protect our tree population from pests and diseases. It will be published alongside the wider Plant Biosecurity Strategy later this spring.

Biodiversity

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the individual total cost is of each of the biodiversity offsetting pilot schemes in (a) Devon, (b) Doncaster, (c) Essex, (d) Greater Norwich, (e) Nottinghamshire,

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(f)

Warwickshire,

(g)

Coventry and

(h)

Solihull to date; and what the estimated total cost is of the schemes. [195095]

Dan Rogerson: This information is not held centrally. An evaluation of the pilots is being produced and will be published.

Dogs: Imports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether changes in the number of puppies and dogs imported from EU member states since January 2012 are consistent with AHLVA risk assessment in 2010. [193356]

George Eustice: The quantitative risk assessment carried out prior to harmonisation with the EU pet travel rules in 2012 took into account, among other things, a number of variables including increases in the number of pets entering the UK. The risk assessment was published in 2011 and is available here:

http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/atoz/rabies/documents/se0535-rabies-ara.pdf

Environment Protection

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the reason is for the time his Department has taken to revise and publish environmental guidance on gov.uk. [195191]

Dan Rogerson: A target has been set to simplify all of DEFRA and its agencies' guidance, including general reader and specialist guidance, by March 2015 with an expected reduction in volume of over 80%.

Guidance reform plans have now been prepared for all environmental topics and the Environment Agency started to put revised guidance on:

www.gov.uk

on 31 March. 70% of simplified content for the general reader will be on gov.uk during April and the rest by June.

DEFRA and the Government Digital Service (GDS) are working closely together to make the most effective use of resources as GDS migrates DEFRA's arm's length bodies' web content to gov.uk. The original target date for completing this migration process was March this year. This timing has been revised to July.

Environment Protection: Business

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will publish the findings of his Department's root and branch review of the environmental information required from businesses; and when he plans to publish plans for implementing changes to those requirements. [195112]

Dan Rogerson: Initial findings of DEFRA's root and branch review of the environmental information required from businesses were published on the Smarter Guidance and Data website last November. Findings for marine and carbon information obligations followed in February. These findings can be found at:

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http://guidanceanddata.defra.gov.uk

I have placed copies in the library of the House.

An implementation plan outlining reform measures for environmental information required from businesses is due to be published on 9 April. This implementation plan will be available on www.gov.uk. Remaining measures featuring farming-related information obligations are due to be published in June.

Flood Control

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many non-flood and coastal erosion risk management staff counted under the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management cost-heading at the Environment Agency have been redeployed to inspect flood defence assets in each of the last five months. [195062]

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency has not redeployed any non-flood and coastal erosion risk management staff to inspect flood risk management assets in the last five months. The Environment Agency only uses fully trained staff to inspect assets and has trained and used 200 armed forces personnel for this purpose.

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what proportion of flood management assets have been inspected in each year since 2008-09. [195063]

Dan Rogerson: Since 2008-09 the Environment Agency has inspected all of its flood risk management assets on a risk-based programme. The highest risk assets are inspected every six months, medium risk assets every 12 to 18 months, low risk assets every 24 to 36 months and very low risk assets every 60 months. The Environment Agency currently has around 150,000 flood risk management assets. In March 2014 the Environment Agency carried out a full inspection of all flood risk management assets using military personnel.

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many non-flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM) staff at the Environment Agency, including such non-FCERM staff funded through the FCERM budget, were redeployed for emergency flood response activities in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14 and (e) 2014-15 to date. [195101]

Dan Rogerson: The figures are as follows:

(a) 2010-11—no data available.

(b) 2011-12—no data available.

(c) 2012-13—approximately 5,000 staff involved in flood response (this included Environment Agency Wales at that time). Of this, approximately 38% (1,900) of staff were from non-flooding and coastal erosion risk management (FCRM) functions. This does not include contractors.

(d) 2013-14—approximately 500 staff involved in flood response. Of this, approximately 50% (2,250) of staff were from non-FCRM functions. This does not include the additional staff brought in from Natural Resources Wales, contractors, or the military.

(e) 2014-15—data not yet available.

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More detailed information on the numbers of the non-FCRM staff involved in flood incidents which were funded by FCRM or other budgets is not recorded.

Fracking

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much income the Environment Agency expects to raise from fracking firms to pay for the regulation of the industry; and if he will make a statement. [195084]

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency does not separately record the income it expects to raise from fracking firms. However, it does hold estimates of the charges it expects to raise from environmental permits and licences for the onshore oil and gas industry as a whole.

Over the next year, with the current charging scheme, the Environment Agency estimates income of between £300,000 and £350,000. This includes fees from permit applications and annual subsistence, for mining waste, groundwater, radioactive substances and water resources permits. It does not include any site surrender fees as no sites are expected to surrender their permits over the next year. As the onshore shale gas part of the industry grows over time, we would expect the income from permitting charges to change.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 7 February 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton regarding Mr J Rossi-Stephenson; [192112]

(2) when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 7 February 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr J Rossi-Stephenson; [193032]

(3) when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 7 February 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Mr J Rossi-Stephenson. [195059]

Dan Rogerson: A response to right hon. Member's letter of 7 February 2014, with regard to Mr J Rossi-Stephenson, was sent on the 3 April 2014.

Copies of the response will be made available in the House Library.

Letter from Owen Paterson, dated 3 April 2014:

Thank you for your letter of 7 February on behalf of your constituent, Mr J Rossi-Stephenson of 27 Woodland Road, Gorton, Manchester, who is concerned about Environment Agency cuts and the impact this would have on the organisation's future ability to effectively carry out its responsibilities. I am sorry for the delay in replying.

I appreciate Mr Rossi-Stephenson's concerns. Across Government we are continuing to have to make some tough choices in relation to budgets to help reduce the deficit and deliver savings. The Environment Agency is playing its part in this and is making its own choices about how best to use its resources.

Following the 2013 Spending Round, budget pressures mean that the. Environment Agency needs to ensure it has an affordable business and is structured so that it has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best environmental outcomes. The Environment Agency will firstly look to achieve

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efficiencies across the business as a whole through new ways of working to minimise the impacts on front line delivery. For instance, it is removing its regional tier so that it only has national and area tiers. Simplifying structures in this way will help maximise investment in delivery. It will simplify business processes that will improve customer service and maintain strong engagement with a local presence in communities.

The Environment Agency is also working with Natural England on implementing the conclusions of the Triennial Review, looking at, how both organisations can work together to deliver efficient and effective services to customers. The Environment Agency will continue to maximise benefits for every pound of funding. For example, by the end of March, it will have reduced the administrative budget by 33% compared to 2010/11 figures. Throughout the ongoing reorganisation, pollution prevention will remain a high priority and the additional £5 million funding for waste crime announced in the Budget reflects the commitment to tackling these important issues.

As the Environment Agency moves out of incident mode following the recent floods, it will be necessary to re-focus efforts and revise planning assumptions to continue to bring the Environment Agency costs in line with 2014/15 and 2015/16 budgets, (in light of recent announcements of additional money for the Environment Agency). Decisions will need to be made in response to the additional £130 million announced on 6 February for flood risk management, the further £140 million announced in the Budget to support the repair and maintenance of vital flood and coastal defences as well as the additional £5 million to tackle waste crime.

While the Environment Agency remains in incident mode and following the announcements of additional money, it is too early to' confirm the full re-organisational impacts on staff at this stage. The numbers of job losses quoted in the press were, part of the Environment Agency's initial internal scenario planning work back in November 2013, but did not reflect the settled position. The current priority for the Environment Agency is incident response. Paul Leinster.

The Environment Agency Chief Executive, has assured me that any reductions in posts will not affect the Environment Agency's resilience and ability to respond to flooding incidents.

The Environment Agency will be reviewing the timetable for the change programme in light of the extra funding announced for flood risk management and waste crime. Other than the approximately 150 staff reductions following the Voluntary Early Release scheme initiated in January and the move to a national/area delivery model, no final decisions have been nor will be made about future workforce reductions or structures until the current flooding subsides.

I hope your constituent finds this information useful.

Nurseries

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 35W on nurseries, whether his Department claims tax relief against the cost of such workplace nurseries. [195242]

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA does not claim tax relief against the cost of running workplace nurseries as it does not pay corporation tax.

Packaging

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the marine environment of the exemption of biodegradable plastic bags and paper bags from his single-use plastic bag charging policy. [194976]

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Dan Rogerson: Plastic, mainly plastic bags and bottles, is estimated to account for more than 70% of the total number of marine debris in European seas. The charge will focus on plastic bags as this is a targeted, proportionate approach to the problem of carrier bag distribution and littering.

Paper bags make up less than 0.1% of carrier bags distributed in the UK by the seven major supermarket retailers. Overall, paper bags make up a very small proportion of total carrier bag numbers, the vast majority of which are single-use plastic bags.

Plastic carrier bags take the longest to degrade in the natural environment, therefore decomposition in the marine environment will be one of the considerations when setting a standard for a biodegradable plastic bag exempt from the charge.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the carbon emissions resulting from the production, transport and disposal or recycling of paper bags. [194978]

Dan Rogerson: The calculation of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from paper bags is available in the 2011 research report “Life cycle assessment of supermarket carrier bags”, which was commissioned and funded by the Environment Agency. This forms part of the evidence base for the impact assessment that will be available in due course. I have placed a copy of the report in the Library of the House.

Plastic Bags

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the carbon emissions resulting from the production, transport and disposal or recycling of currently available biodegradable plastic bags. [194977]

Dan Rogerson: The calculation of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from bags currently labelled as biodegradable or compostable is available in the 2011 research report “Life cycle assessment of supermarket carrier bags”, which was commissioned and funded by the Environment Agency. This reviewed the bags available in 2006. I have placed a copy of the report in the Library of the House.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria a biodegradable plastic bag will need to fulfil for exemption from his single use plastic bag charging policy. [194979]

Dan Rogerson: We intend to exempt biodegradable bags that meet certain standards from the charge to give consumers an alternative to using single-use plastic bags when they do not take a reusable bag with them. The standards will be worked up in consultation with industry. They are likely to cover how the bag should behave during disposal or recycling (for example, having a short degradation time period), resource use, energy consumption during production and other elements across their lifecycle.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total number of projects was involved in Lot 1, Phase 1, of

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his Department's Biodegradable Plastic Carrier Bags Solutions through Innovation Research Call; and how many of those projects met each of the five functions and characteristics outlined in the research call. [194980]

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA received six bids for Lot 1, Phase 1 of this research call.

Two bids met the requirements outlined in the research call and are being funded by DEFRA.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many projects were taken forward from Phase 1 of his Department's Biodegradable Plastic Carrier Bags Solutions through Innovation Research Call feasibility studies which concluded on 31 March 2014 in (a) Lot 1 and (b) Lot 2. [194981]

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA has funded and taken forward two feasibility study projects in Lot 1 and two feasibility study projects in Lot 2 of this research call.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total number of projects involved was in Lot 2, Phase 1 of his Department's Biodegradable Plastic Carrier Bags Solutions through Innovation Research Call; and how many of those projects addressed the technical and economic issues outlined in the research call. [194986]

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA received two bids for Lot 2, Phase 1 of this research call.

Both bids addressed the technical and economic issues outlined in the research call and are being funded by DEFRA.

Poultry

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will review the minimum welfare requirements for ducks raised in captivity. [194997]

George Eustice: The welfare of ducks is provided for in the general provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007. We have no plans to review these requirements. DEFRA also has a statutory duck welfare code, which encourages high standards of husbandry.

DEFRA, the RSPCA, academics and the duck industry have done a good deal of work over the last few years looking at how water could be provided to ducks in a commercial setting. DEFRA contributed to the RSPCA's 'Higher Duck Welfare Programme' and the standards in the RSPCA's Freedom Foods scheme and the industry's own Duck Assurance Scheme reflect the latest research. As a result of this collaborative approach, duck welfare standards have been raised.

Rabbits

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will issue updated advice on the care of pets to address the issues of the welfare and abandonment of domestic rabbits. [194893]

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George Eustice: The poor welfare and abandonment of any animal is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 punishable by a fine of up to £5,000 or six months' imprisonment or both. The Government have no plans to issue specific advice on keeping pet rabbits but such advice is available from animal welfare organisations and some pet shops.

Water Companies

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of how the recommendations of the HM Treasury report entitled “Smoothing Investment Cycles in the Water Sector”, published in July 2012, have affected the water sector. [195085]

Dan Rogerson: Ofwat worked closely with HM Treasury and Infrastructure UK on the “Smoothing Investment Cycles in the Water Sector” report. In response to the recommendations of that report, Ofwat has continued to work with water companies and Infrastructure UK on action to address the up and down ‘cyclical investment’ that has affected the sector for many years.

This change in approach has had tangible outcomes. For example, in responding to incentives that Ofwat introduced in its methodology for the price review, water companies have stated in their business plans (December 2013) that they are bringing forward around £440 million of investment into 2014-15 to smooth the investment profile. This investment will improve the delivery of service outcomes to customers, support the supply chain and enable efficient delivery.

Home Department

Azelle Rodney Inquiry

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the statement of 5 July 2013, Official Report, column 74WS, on the Azelle Rodney Inquiry, and with reference to the report of the Azelle Rodney Public Inquiry, what assessment she has made of the responses of the Metropolitan Police Service and the Independent Police Complaints Commission to the Inquiry's findings and recommendations; and if she will make a statement. [195077]

Damian Green: The recommendations made in the Azelle Rodney Inquiry report have been considered fully by the Metropolitan Police Service and the IPCC and, as appropriate, are being taken forward by each organisation.

Hillsborough Stadium

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will digitise all evidence relating to Hillsborough which is being reviewed by the IPCC and Operation Resolve investigations; and if she will make it her policy to publish such evidence electronically upon completion of both investigations. [195174]

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Damian Green: The IPCC and Operation Resolve are responsible for the publication of the findings of their investigations. Decisions on whether to publish will be made once the investigations are complete.

Human Trafficking

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2014, Official Report, column 685W, on human trafficking, whether she plans for the review of the National Referral Mechanism to be completed before committee stage of the Modern Slavery Bill. [194183]

Karen Bradley: An announcement on the review of the National Referral Mechanism will be made shortly.

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Sir John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the nationality and gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme operated by the Salvation Army in March 2014; which agency referred each person to that scheme; in which town the shelter to which those people were placed for the relevant period was; and what contact is had with each such victim to ensure their safety after they exit the scheme. [194896]

Karen Bradley: In March 2014, there were 126 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by the Salvation Army. In the interests of victim safety only the region in which the victim was encountered is provided, and not which town they were placed in. Once an individual receives a Conclusive Grounds decision they will be given tailored move-on support to safely return home or integrate in the UK. Once they exit the service, no formal mechanisms exist to maintain contact.

Riot Control Weapons

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library a copy of the report entitled “The medical implications of vehicle-mounted water cannon with special reference to the Ziegler Wasserwerfer 9000 (WaWe 9) system”, published by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in 2013. [188418]

Damian Green: The report will be placed in the Library when the Home Secretary announces her decision on whether to authorise water cannon for use by the police in England and Wales.

Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the report, “The medical implications of vehicle-mounted water cannon with special reference to the Ziegler Wasserwerfer 9000 (WaWe 9) system”, published by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in 2013; [193719]

(2) what information her Department holds on how many injuries have been associated with the use of water cannon in Northern Ireland; [193720]

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(3) what steps she plans to take to ensure that the temperature of water within a water cannon tank is retained at five degrees Celsius; [193721]

(4) how many police officers in England are trained to use water cannon; [193722]

(5) what assessment she has made of the efficacy of the existing tactics in place for use of water cannon in Northern Ireland; [193723]

(6) if she will review the appropriateness of water cannon tactics used in Northern Ireland ahead of their possible use in London; [193724]

(7) what estimate she has made of the cost of updating awareness training for public order-trained staff operating alongside water cannon; [193725]

(8) if she will review the strategic policing requirement of water cannon based on planning assumptions around three spontaneous sets of disorder ahead of their deployment in London. [193726]

Damian Green: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has now received the 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.

International Development

FGM and Forced Marriage

8. Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to tackle female genital mutilation and early and forced marriage worldwide. [903621]

Justine Greening: FGM is violence against women and girls. The UK has made the largest donor commitment ever to help end FGM, with a flagship programme of £35 million in at least 17 countries.

The Prime Minister will host a summit in July which will step up global efforts to end both FGM and child early and forced marriage within a generation.

Garment Industry: Bangladesh

9. Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of international efforts to improve levels of safety and conditions of work in Bangladesh’s garment industry. [903622]

Mr Duncan: I spent most of last week in Bangladesh, assessing the progress that has been made one year on from the tragedy of Rana Plaza. Steps have been taken to improve working conditions in the garment sector, including through factory inspections and strengthening the labour inspection regime. The UK's support is focused on all areas where action is needed: improving building safety and working conditions, empowering workers and urging buyers to take responsibility for their supply chains.

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Climate Change: IPCC Report

10. John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of conclusions of the recent UN IPCC report on the effects of climate change on developing countries. [903623]

Lynne Featherstone: The Government welcome the IPCC report. Climate change poses very serious consequences to human health, global food security, and can slow economic growth. Its impacts will be an extra burden for those living in poverty, and make it harder to reduce poverty in developing countries.

Syria

11. Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Syria. [903624]

Justine Greening: The UN estimates that 9.3 million people are in dire need of humanitarian aid within Syria. At least 6.5 million people in Syria have been forced to flee their homes to other areas of the country and there are now over 2.6 million refugees in the region.

Sri Lankan Tamils: Poverty

12. Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the levels of poverty among Tamils living in Sri Lanka. [903625]

Mr Duncan: Sri Lanka has met millennium development goal No. 1 which calls for the halving of extreme poverty, and is on track to meet most other MDGs. Poverty remains in areas of northern and eastern Sri Lanka where large numbers of Tamils live. We do not have a breakdown by ethnic group.

Education: Children with Disabilities

13. Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to ensure that all the education programmes it funds are inclusive of children with disabilities; and what monitoring her Department undertakes to ensure that all such programmes include accessible materials for use by children with disabilities. [903627]

Lynne Featherstone: The UK is committed to ensuring all children, with a focus on the most marginalised and those with disabilities have access to education institutions and complete a full cycle of quality education. We are working with partners, such as UNICEF and UNESCO Institute for Statistics, to improve data for monitoring purposes.

Developing Countries: Females

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her objectives are for the summit on violence against women and girls in humanitarian emergencies. [194890]

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Justine Greening: Last November I convened a Call to Action in relation to keeping women and girls safe in humanitarian emergencies. The event brought together both UN agencies and donors, and has already resulted in improved approaches in the Philippines and Syria. I pledged £21.6 million further funding to ensure this work delivered tangible outcomes for women and girls including £4 million to ensure survivors of sexual violence receive comprehensive support services. The US will host a follow-up event in September and this summer the Foreign Secretary will host a summit on his Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, which aims to tackle the culture of impunity for sexual violence committed in conflict.

Nigeria

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what education projects her Department is supporting in Nigeria. [195054]

Lynne Featherstone: DFID supports five education projects in Nigeria Education Sector Support Programme, Girls' Education Programme, Teacher Development Programme, Developing Effective Private Education, and Education Data, Research and Evaluation through which an additional 800,000 children will access better quality schools by 2015.

DFID also supports two further projects through the global Girls' Education Challenge (Discovery Girls and Educating Nigerian Girls in New Enterprises), through which 48,000 marginalised girls will be supported to access better schools.

Palestinians

Mr Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress her Department has made on its programmes in Palestine. [903626]

Mr Duncan: The UK's bilateral programme in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is helping to build Palestinian institutions, promote economic growth and support the most vulnerable Palestinians. Absent meaningful action from Israel to ease movement and access restrictions, however, our progress will always be limited.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Bahrain

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Bahraini Government calling for the release of Hussain Hubail on health grounds. [195091]

Hugh Robertson: We are aware of the case of Hussain Hubail. We understand he was detained in connection with charges related to protests on 14 August last year and that the verdict for his case is due to be issued later this month. We expect the Government of Bahrain to meet all their human rights obligations, and to ensure that all detainees have access to appropriate medical care.

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Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on (a) the trial in Bahrain of Mohammed Abdulla Al-Tajer and (b) his treatment in custody. [195139]

Hugh Robertson: We are aware of the case of Mohammad Al-Tajer. We understand he spent four months in detention in 2011 before his case was moved from the National State Safety Court to the civilian courts, as recommended by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, where he was sentenced to one month in prison. We understand that he appealed the verdict and was acquitted by the High Appeal Civilian court. We continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to meet all their human rights obligations, and adhere to international standards.

Central African Republic

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage his counterparts in other EU member states to support and commit resources to the EUFOR RCA mission in the Central African Republic. [195019]

Mark Simmonds: I welcome the launch of the EU Force (EUFOR) military operation in the Central African Republic (CAR) on 2 April. EUFOR will help the African-led International Support Mission to CAR (MISCA) and French (Sangaris) forces to provide security in Bangui until a hand-over to MISCA or a possible UN Peacekeeping Operation can take place. I discussed the importance of the mission with ministerial colleagues in the margins of the EU-Africa Summit in Brussels on 1-2 April. The UK has played a strong role in the planning for EUFOR, and is discussing the possibility of providing airlifts to help EUFOR's deployment. Ongoing reports of violence in CAR demonstrate the importance of this mission.

Christianity

Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action the Government are recommending on the UN Human Rights Council to tackle the persecution of Christians around the world. [195330]

Mr Hague: We welcomed the recent consensus adoption at the Human Rights Council of both the European Union's regular resolution on ‘freedom of religion or belief’ and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference's resolution on ‘religious intolerance'. This gives the international community a valuable starting point on which to base discussions on how best to implement these resolutions in practice.

The Senior Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Warsi, is leading an international initiative to build up greater political support for practical measures to combat religious intolerance and promote the social and economic benefits of religious pluralism.

Greece

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Greek counterpart on whether

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protests will be permitted to coincide with the upcoming EU meeting. [195239]

Mr Lidington: I have not raised this specific issue with my Greek counterpart. Authorities in Greece have the constitutional right to place restrictive or preventative measures on outdoor demonstrations. No such restrictions were in place on 4 and 5 April 2014, the dates on which the informal meeting of EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs was held in Athens.

Italy

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Italian counterpart on the status of foreign lecturers in Italian universities. [194913]

Mr Lidington: The discrimination faced by UK and foreign national lecturers in Italy is unacceptable and illegal. The Secretary of State raised the 'lettori' with the then Italian Foreign Minister, Emma Bonino, on 25 October 2013. I met the then Italian Europe Minister, Enzo Moavero Milanesi, on 19 November 2013, and stressed the importance of progress. I also met the Chairman of the Association of Foreign Lecturers in Italy (ALLSI), David Petrie, on 28 November 2013, and assured him of the Government's commitment to keep up the pressure on the Italian authorities. I raised the issue with Italian Deputy Foreign Minister, Marta Dassu, when I met her on 15 January. Most recently, the Minister for Universities and Science, has written to the new Italian Minister for Education, Research and Universities, Stefania Giannini, and underlined the importance of finding a solution.

Japan

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will instruct UK diplomats resident in Japan to raise the human rights case of Mr Iwao Hakamda with the Japanese authorities. [195141]

Mr Swire: British Ministers have made clear to their Japanese counterparts on numerous occasions the UK's hope that Japan will move to abolish the death penalty. This is in line with UK policy towards all countries which continue to use the death penalty. Most recently, on 12 December 2013, EU ambassadors in Tokyo wrote a joint letter to the Japanese Foreign Minister on , expressing their concern at executions which took place the same day, and deploring the eight executions authorised by the Minister of Justice since the beginning of that year.

The FCO part-funded a study by the NGO Death Penalty Project in 2013, the conclusions of which argue that aspects of Japan's use of the death penalty—including the sentencing and detention of Mr Hakamada—amount to breaches of its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The British embassy in Tokyo has disseminated this report widely in Japan, including to all Members of the Diet, and we continue to raise the points in the report with the Japanese authorities. The British embassy in Tokyo will continue to follow closely the case of Mr Hakamada, and will work with like-minded partners to raise its

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profile. The embassy and the FCO put out messages on social media about the case on 28 March following his release for retrial.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of Japan's lifting of its ban on arms exports on the UK. [195236]

Mr Swire: The Japanese Government's new guidelines on arms exports have shifted the country's policy on arms exports from a de facto ban with occasional exceptions, to a set of principles governing the transfer overseas of defence equipment. This move is in line with Japan's National Security Strategy, published last year, and reflects the commitment of the Japanese Government to play a more active role in international peace and security, a commitment which the Secretary of State welcomed when he visited Tokyo in October 2013.

The new principles which the Japanese Government have published make clear that Japan will implement its new export control regime in line with international treaty obligations, including the arms trade treaty, and UN Security Council resolutions. Applications will be subject to strict examination and transparency, and controls will be applied concerning extra-purpose use and third-party transfer.

For the UK, the new export control principles may give rise to further opportunities for British defence companies to engage in co-development and joint production of defence equipment with Japanese partners. This builds on the UK-Japan Defence Equipment Cooperation Framework agreement signed by the Foreign Secretary with his Japanese counterpart in July 2013.

Russia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what sanctions the UK has imposed on Russia since Russian troops entered Crimea. [195231]

Mr Lidington: The EU Foreign Affairs Council imposed asset freezes and visa bans on 33 named individuals, for actions that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. The UK has also frozen military co-operation with Russia, refused export licence requests, which may be used by the Russian military, and has postponed a number of planned Ministerial Summits. Along with other G7 members, the UK has withdrawn participation in the planned G8 Summit in Sochi in June, and will instead take part in a G7 meeting in Brussels.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on Russia's actions in Crimea. [195232]

Mr Lidington: In addition to ongoing dialogue at official level, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has discussed it with State

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Councillor Yang, and the Prime Minister has raised the situation in Ukraine with President Xi Jinping and State Councillor Yang Jiechi.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that Russia withdraws all of its forces from the Ukrainian border. [195238]

Mr Lidington: We are concerned by Russian troops on the Ukrainian border. We are clear that Russia has no legal basis or justification to enter Ukrainian territory and call on Russia to withdraw.

Sri Lanka

Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice his Department has given to the Commonwealth (a) Secretariat and (b) Chairperson on the attendance of President Rajapaksa at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. [195331]

Mr Hague: Invitations to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow are issued by the Commonwealth Games Association of each participating nation.

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), discussed attendance at the Commonwealth Games and other games related matters during his meeting with the Commonwealth Secretary-General on 19 March.

Syria

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he plans to take to ensure women's equal and meaningful participation in the Syrian peace process. [195638]

Hugh Robertson: It is vital that Syrian women are able to participate fully in decisions about the future of their country. We continue to raise international awareness of this important issue and the Foreign Secretary has written to the UN Secretary General, the Joint Special Envoy, and a number of Foreign Ministers recommending that Syrian women should be able to participate fully in the peace process. We are providing £200,000 of support to the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom to strengthen the capacity of Syrian women's groups to engage in the transition process. The Foreign Secretary was pleased to meet representatives from the Syrian Women's Initiative for Peace and Democracy during Geneva II, and the UK intends to offer further practical support in close co-ordination with UN Women and donors.

Uganda

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he or officials in his Department have had with the High Commissioner of Uganda regarding Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act. [195406]

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Mark Simmonds: We have consistently raised our concerns about the Anti-Homosexuality Act with the Ugandan Government at all levels. I most recently discussed the legislation with the Ugandan high commissioner to the UK on 18 March.

Ukraine

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next plans to meet the Ukranian Foreign Minister; and if he will make a statement. [195088]

Mr Lidington: The Secretary of State is in regular contact with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andriy Deshchytsia. He met him most recently on 31 March, in the margins of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Foreign Ministers' meeting. The Government will continue to maintain regular contact with the Government of Ukraine at all levels, to support their efforts to deal with the serious economic, political and security challenges that they are facing.

Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what recent assessment he has made of the likelihood of a further Russian military incursion into eastern Ukraine; [195329]

(2) what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Ukraine. [195312]

Mr Hague: I refer my hon. Friend to the statement I made to the House on 8 April 2014, Official Report, column 101. We are gravely concerned about the situation in Crimea and in the east of Ukraine where armed groups have seized government buildings in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Lugansk. There can be no justification for this action, which bears all the hallmarks of a Russian strategy to destabilise Ukraine. Russia should be clear that the deliberate escalation of this crisis will bring serious political and economic consequences.

United Arab Emirates

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will investigate reports that Osama Hussain Al-Najjar has been tortured while held in custody in the UAE. [195213]

Hugh Robertson: We are aware of these reports, and will continue to monitor reporting of Osama Hussain Al-Najjar's case.

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he or officials of his Department last raised the issue of torture of prisoners in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the government of UAE. [195299]

Hugh Robertson: The Government unreservedly condemn the use of torture and urges all countries to comply with international law. Our close relationship with the UAE allows us to discuss sensitive issues, including human rights concerns, at every level.

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USA

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support the First Minister of Scotland has received from (a) the British embassy in Washington and (b) consular offices in the US ahead of his upcoming visit to that country. [195256]

Mr Lidington: The British embassy in Washington, and the New York consulate, have provided support for the visit this week of the First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, to the US. The consul general in New York hosted a lunch at his residence on 7 April, in association with Scottish Development International (SDI), for the First Minister and 17 Scottish companies from the First Minister's accompanying trade mission, to which key business figures were invited. The British embassy in Washington worked with the New York consulate to organise port courtesies for the First Minister, upon arrival in New York, to allow the Scottish Affairs Office (based in the British embassy Washington) to greet the First Minister at the airport and expedite customs and immigration procedures.

Western Sahara

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on human rights monitoring in Western Sahara. [195319]

Hugh Robertson: The British Government have regular dialogue with the Moroccan authorities, including on Western Sahara. We encourage concrete progress towards improving human rights in Western Sahara, including effective human rights monitoring. I discussed this most recently during my visit to Rabat in March.

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what assessment he has made of the statement of the UN Secretary General in his report S/2013/220 published in April 2013 on the human rights situation in Western Sahara; and if he will make a statement; [195375]

(2) what assessment he has made of the conclusions of the 2013 World Report by Human Rights Watch regarding Morocco's 2011 constitution and human rights. [195394]

Hugh Robertson: We read the 2013 World Report from Human Rights Watch and the 2013 United Nations Secretary-General's annual report with interest. We regularly discuss with Morocco the importance of full respect for human rights in Western Sahara, including in discussions at the UN Security Council, and during my visit to Rabat in March. However, we also welcome the facilitation by the Government of Morocco of access to the Territory for United Nations special procedures mandate holders. I recently made a statement warmly welcoming the Government of Morocco's announcement that the process to ratify the OPCAT will be completed imminently. I also welcomed Morocco's new commitments to investigate complaints of human rights violations made to the National Council of Human Rights within a fixed three month deadline, and the definitive ending of military tribunal trials for civilians.

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Education

Child Minding

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of childminder agencies that will be established in September (a) 2014 and (b) 2015. [195337]

Elizabeth Truss: The childminder agency legislation is enabling. Childminder agencies will be independent of government, and it will be for organisations themselves to decide if and when to enter this market. We have therefore not estimated the number of childminder agencies that will successfully register with Ofsted in September 2014 or 2015.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department last visited a private, voluntary or independent sector childcare setting in an official capacity. [193816]

Elizabeth Truss: Records show that the most recent visits undertaken to PVI provision by Ministers in the Department for Education are as follows.

I visited Little Rainbows Day Nursery on 20 March 2014. The Secretary of State for Education, visited Norwood Kennedy Leigh Family Centre in November 2013.

It should be noted that we do not keep records of the specific business model of every nursery or childcare setting Minister’s visit. Therefore, it is possible that other visits have been undertaken, details of which are not held centrally.

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on independent survey packs sent from IPSOS Mori and Ecorys to childminders since the childminder agency pilot began; how many such packs have been sent out to (a) childminders and (b) parents; in which areas have such packs been sent out; how many surveys have been returned by (i) childminders and (ii) parents to date; and what results have been received to date on the likelihood of (A) childminders and (B) parents using a childminder agency. [195335]

Elizabeth Truss: The budget for the six month long evaluation of the child minder agency (CMA) trials, including surveys, is £115,445 exclusive of VAT. The research as a whole is intended to gather findings from the trials to inform policy development and registration requirements for CMAs, which will be set out in future regulations.

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of average changes to childcare costs following the establishment of childminder agencies. [195338]

Elizabeth Truss: We are putting in place legislation to enable organisations to register as childminder agencies (CMAs) in order to increase the number of childminders

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available and improve choice and affordability for parents, as part of reforms to increase the supply of childcare places.

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to early education and childcare, what estimate he has made of the number of new childcare providers which will enter the market as a result of changes made to regulations under section 7 of the Childcare Act 2006 in section 3.4 of the Consultation on proposed changes to the role of the local authority. [195377]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education has not made an estimate of the number of new childcare providers who may choose to enter the childcare market as a result of these reforms.

Business, Innovation and Skills

Agriculture: Subsidies

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2014, Official Report, columns 595-6W, on public sector: food, whether the Manufacturing Advisory Service is unable to give grant aid to the farming industry due to state aid restrictions relating to existing common agricultural policy payments. [195018]

Michael Fallon: The criteria for support from the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) do not include any reference to state aid restrictions related to common agricultural policy payments. MAS delivers support to manufacturers, and is able to support land based enterprises such as farmers, which have formally diversified their agricultural business from their product manufacturing activities.

Apprentices

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people who are (a) under 18, (b) 18 to 21 and (c) 22 or over have completed an apprenticeship in each year since 2008. [195016]

Matthew Hancock: Information on the number of apprenticeship achievements by age are published in a supplementary table to the Statistical First Release:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships--2

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/296345/apprenticeship-achievements-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.xlsm

Bananas

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to his answer of 12 March 2014, Official Report, column 220W, on bananas, if he will hold discussions with the Competition and Markets Authority on the effect of supermarket pricing policies on banana farmers. [195363]

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Jenny Willott: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills maintains regular dialogue with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). If the CMA receives evidence that anti-competitive practices are having an adverse effect on the supply chain for bananas, the Department would consider discussing, as part of its ongoing communications with the CMA, the issues arising.

Banks

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what correspondence there was between (a) the bank acting as financial adviser to the Government and (b) banks acting as bookrunners, co-ordinators and lead managers (i) with and (ii) on priority investors; and if he will publish any relevant correspondence. [195282]

Michael Fallon: The Department has not seen and does not hold copies of any correspondence between Lazard or the Syndicate of banks selling Royal Mail shares and the priority investors.

Exports: Turkey

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the prospects for UK exporters to Turkey; and if he will make a statement. [194834]

Michael Fallon: In October 2013, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office conducted an assessment to identify the prospects for UK export expansion to Turkey. The report concluded that UK exports to Turkey are projected to increase from £4.9 billion in 2011 to £9 billion in 2020. The report also identified which sectors provided the greatest opportunities and are most critical to growing UK exports to Turkey. UK Trade & Investment is leading for Government in actively helping UK business to maximise opportunities.

Gender

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the (a) level of government funding for and (b) effect of research undertaken to date into gender differences in brain development and functioning. [195379]

Mr Willetts: The Government have not made an assessment of the level of funding or effect of research in this area.

Grant Thornton

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many representations he has received relating to concerns over Grant Thornton's handling of insolvency or bankruptcy cases since 2010. [195094]

Jenny Willott: Prior to the introduction of the Insolvency Service's Complaints Gateway in June 2013 no central record was maintained of numbers of complaints made against individual firms.

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Since June 2013 there have been 794 complaints received via the Complaints Gateway, of which 70 related to recorded complaints about insolvency practitioners from Grant Thornton in respect to formal insolvency procedures.

Higher Education: Part-time Education

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people have applied for part-time higher education courses each year since 2004. [195002]

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Mr Willetts: Statistics are not available on applicants to part-time higher education courses as there is no centralised application service for part-time study. However, statistics on entrants to part-time courses at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and have been provided back to the academic year 2004/05 in the table.

Information on enrolments at UK HEIs in the academic year 2013/14 will become available from HESA in January 2015.

Insolvency

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will publish a summary of the responses to the consultation on strengthening the regulatory regime and fee structure for insolvency practitioners which closed on 28 March 2014. [194829]

Jenny Willott: We plan to publish the responses received (unless they may be deemed confidential within the Freedom of Information Act's Code of Practice for authorities) alongside the Government's response to the views received.

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when Ministers in his Department met officials from the Insolvency Service to discuss insolvency practitioner (a) fees and (b) partial licences in the last 12 months. [194873]

Jenny Willott: Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills meet with officials from the Insolvency Service on a regular basis to discuss a wide variety of insolvency issues.

Land Registry

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he intends to respond to the consultation on the introduction of a Land Registry service delivery company. [194863]

Michael Fallon: We are aiming to publish the Government response within 12 weeks of the consultation closing, in line with the consultation principles.

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many responses he has received to the consultation on the introduction of a Land Registry service delivery company; and how many of those were in favour of the proposals. [194864]

Michael Fallon: We are currently considering all consultation responses. The Government response to the consultation will set out the main issues raised by respondents and how the Government intend to address these issues.

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether trade unions will be consulted before a final decision on the future status of the Land Registry is made. [194865]

Michael Fallon: The Government consultation on the introduction of a Land Registry service delivery company was sent to trade unions. Their responses, together with all other responses, will be considered as part of the decision making process.

Land Registry management will engage with their trade unions on changes that may affect staff as a result of the consultation.

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) conveyancers and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises of a change in the Land Registry's trading status to a Government Owned Company and implementation of the Land Registry plans for e-Mandation and self-service. [194866]

Michael Fallon: The proposals in the consultation on the introduction of a Land Registry service delivery company are being considered against the option of remaining as is, and no decisions will be taken until all responses have been considered. As part of considering the consultation responses Government will be considering potential effects on interested parties (including conveyancers and small and medium-sized enterprises).

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The way in which some Land Registry services are delivered will likely change as a result of the implementation of the Business Strategy. Land Registry will engage with customers as and when it introduces new services.

Local Growth Fund

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the total value is of all bids received from Local Enterprise Partnerships for the Local Growth Fund to date. [195056]

Michael Fallon: All 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships submitted their Strategic Economic Plans to Government on 31 March. All proposals are currently being reviewed and assessed against the published criteria and it is too early to know the total call on the fund. However from an initial review it is clear that the Local Growth Fund is significantly over-subscribed, with bids totalling approximately three or four times the amount available.

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria are used to assess bids from local enterprise partnerships for the Local Growth Fund. [195057]

Michael Fallon: The criteria the Government will be using to assess Strategic Economic Plans and bids for the Local Growth Fund were published in July 2013. There are three key criteria: ambition and rationale, value for money and delivery and risk. The most successful LEPs will have strong, deliverable Strategic Economic Plans, evidenced by strong partnership working; robust arrangements for accountability; and effective collaboration across Local Enterprise Partnership geography. These LEPs will earn a greater share of the Local Growth Fund.

Reshore UK

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many officials currently work in the Government's Reshore UK service; how many such officials were previously employed in (a) the Manufacturing Advisory Service and (b) other Government Departments or agencies; and where the staff of the Reshore UK service are currently located. [195285]

Michael Fallon: Reshore UK brings together and joins-up existing resources and activities of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) globally, the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) in England and partner bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to promote the UK as the location of choice for businesses considering reshoring; it is not an employer in its own right.

Plastic Bags

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the Government's policy is on the European Commission's proposed amendments to Article 4 of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, relating to reducing consumption of lightweight, less frequently re-used plastic bags with a thickness below 50 microns. [194987]

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Michael Fallon: The UK Government welcome the flexibility the European Commission proposal offers. We will seek to limit the derogation to the single market as far as possible to what is necessary to allow measures to be taken on lightweight carrier bags.

Public Houses

Mr Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what timetable he has adopted for the introduction of a Statutory Code and Adjudicator in the public house sector. [195037]

Jenny Willott: Between April and June 2013 the Government consulted on proposals to establish a statutory Code of Practice and an independent Adjudicator, which are aimed at supporting pub tenants. The Government received over 1,100 written responses to the consultation on pub companies and their tenants and over seven thousand responses to the online survey conducted in parallel. We are considering the evidence carefully, to ensure that intervention is both proportionate and targeted, and we intend to publish a Government Response to the consultation as soon as we can.

Regional Growth Fund

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much in Regional Growth Fund money is currently held by intermediaries; and how much such money has been allocated (a) in each bidding round, (b) to each intermediary and (c) in each region. [195284]

Michael Fallon: From the four Regional Growth Fund (RGF) bidding rounds, £1.5 billion has been allocated to RGF programmes from which grants are made to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs.)

Of this, £452 million was allocated to 13 endowment programmes in rounds 1 and 2 that received the full payment of their RGF grant upfront. These programmes have since invested £144 million to date in individual projects, and of the remaining £308 million held by such endowment programmes, a further £154 million is already committed to specific SME projects.

Non-endowment programmes are funded a quarter in advance on evidence of credible pipeline projects. These programmes have spent £172 million with a further £151 million of RGF paid to them in the last financial quarter under the expectation it would be spent this quarter. The money held by these programmes is not causing any delay to individual projects as businesses claim the money according to their business needs. A table of RGF funding allocated to intermediaries by each bidding round and region will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Riot Control Weapons: Turkey

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when the standard individual export licence granted in May 2011 to permit tear gas ammunition to be exported to Turkey expired. [195000]

Michael Fallon: The licence expired on 4 May 2012. Temporary export licences are issued for a period of 12 months, with a condition that the goods are returned

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to the UK within the validity of the licence. The goods were returned to the UK on 23 May 2011.

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will investigate whether any tear gas exported to Turkey under the standard individual export licence granted in May 2011 was used on demonstrators in Turkey in 2013. [195001]

Michael Fallon: The licence granted in May 2011 was for temporary export of "inert tear gas/irritant ammunition" for exhibition purposes. It was a condition of the licence that the goods were returned to the UK within 12 months and they were returned on 23 May 2011. The licence did not authorise the export of any tear gas or "live" tear gas ammunition.

Royal Mail

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will break down the £31,400,000 for Royal Mail sale transaction costs in his Department's Supplementary Estimates 2013-14. [195034]

Michael Fallon: The Supplementary Estimate included a Reserve Claim to cover the cost of managing and realising the Royal Mail pension assets in 2013-14 of c£31.4 million. This is in line with the funding arrangement agreed with HM Treasury in May 2011, whereby costs over and above £50 million funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) would be met by HM Treasury. These assets transferred to Government from the Royal Mail Pension Plan in April 2012.

The Supplementary Estimate also included a Reserve Claim to cover the total cost of the transaction estimated to be around £32.6 million of which £9.2 million is stamp duty, £13.1 million underwriters and intermediaries commission fees, £4.2 million underwriters' discretionary fee which has not been paid, and the balance the direct retail cost.

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of shares in Royal Mail allocated to priority investors in its recent privatisation are still held by those investors. [195193]

Michael Fallon: As set out in the National Audit Office report, 22% of Royal Mail shares (220.5 million) were sold to priority investors. As set out in the NAO report, at the end of January, over a half of the shares remain owned by these investors. Some have sold all their shares; some sold part of their shareholding; and others have acquired more shares.

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what process the Government adopted to (a) identify and (b) select priority investors in the recent Royal Mail privatisation. [195196]

Michael Fallon: The process of investor engagement commenced 12 months prior to the Initial Public Offering (IPO), in the initial period, Royal Mail's management met with over 60 high quality institutions to educate them about the business. During pilot fishing in early September 2013, the management team and the

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Government's banking advisers engaged further with a focused group of 21 well-informed and longer-term investors. Initial indications of potential demand were received from this group; this gave the Government the confidence to proceed with announcing the intention to float on 12 September 2013.

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for what reasons details of arrangements with priority investors in respect of the privatisation of Royal Mail were not published at the time of that privatisation. [195197]

Michael Fallon: The Government did not enter into any direct arrangements with investors. All institutional investors entered into agreements with the underwriting banks (the syndicate) to purchase their allocated shares at the offer price. This is standard practice and applied to all investors.

Details of individual allocations were not disclosed because all investors in Royal Mail—whether individuals or institutions—have a legitimate expectation of privacy.

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many officials from (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and associated public bodies worked on the Royal Mail privatisation. [195201]

Michael Fallon: The core team working on the sale of Royal Mail shares was comprised of 17 people. None of the Department's partner organisations were involved in taking forward the initial public offering.

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the names are of (a) the 16 priority investors selected and (b) the 21 priority investors under initial consideration by the Government in the privatisation of Royal Mail. [195210]

Michael Fallon: All investors in Royal Mail, whether individuals or institutions, have a legitimate expectation of privacy. It would not be appropriate to disclose the list of institutions that were allocated shares in the Initial Public Offering (IPO) or the names of investors that participated in the investor engagement prior to the IPO.

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2013, Official Report, column 415, on Royal Mail, over what time period the (a) final price achieved and (b) aftermarket performance of the shares will be assessed under the benchmarks set by the Government. [195261]

Michael Fallon: We have not set a rigid timetable for the assessment of whether the discretionary payment should be made. As seen in recent days, there is still volatility in Royal Mail's share price.

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) discussions and (b) correspondence has taken place between (i) his Department, (ii) Royal Mail, (iii) banks acting as bookrunners, co-ordinators and lead managers and

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(iv) priority investors since the privatisation of Royal Mail took place; and if he will publish any such relevant correspondence. [195278]

Michael Fallon: Since the Initial Public Offering, my Department has had discussions with Royal Mail in our continuing role as a minority shareholder in Royal Mail.

There has been ad hoc contact with the Global Co-ordinators primarily to help with inquiries about the IPO but no formal correspondence.

It is not appropriate to publish correspondence relating to the above on the grounds that it relates to our shareholding or has been provided to help develop Government policy and to do so would inhibit the free and frank advice or exchange of views for the purposes of internal deliberation.

This Department has not had discussions or corresponded with the priority investors.

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) verbal and (b) contractual agreement was made with priority investors in relation to their shareholders during the privatisation of Royal Mail. [195293]

Michael Fallon: No verbal or contractual agreement of any description—including future intentions for shareholdings—was made between the Government and any investor in the Royal Mail Initial Public Offering (IPO). Any suggestion that there was a “gentleman's agreement” is false.

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what involvement (a) the bank acting as financial adviser to the Government and (b) banks acting as bookrunners, co-ordinators and lead managers had in discussions with priority investors on the privatisation of Royal Mail. [195294]

Michael Fallon: Together with Royal Mail's management team, the Government's independent financial adviser (Lazard) and members of the banking syndicate met with the priority investors throughout the investor engagement process. The banking advisers also met with over 500 institutional investors. The purpose of this engagement was to educate investors about the business and secure indications of potential demand and valuation.