Wind Power

Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many tonnes of carbon dioxide were displaced by onshore wind electricity generation in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales in the latest year for which figures are available. [196079]

Michael Fallon: Provisional 2013 data show that 11.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide were displaced by onshore wind electricity generation in the UK. DECC does not publish a breakdown of electricity generated by onshore wind for each constituent country so carbon dioxide savings are only available for the UK as a whole.

Wind Power: Planning Permission

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answers of 19 December 2013, Official Report, column 745W and 13 January 2014, Official Report, column 342W, on wind power: planning permission, what recent assessment

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he has made of whether the average time taken from submission of a planning application to full generation for offshore wind is reasonable; and whether he has recently discussed this matter with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. [195717]

Michael Fallon: Since the introduction of the new Planning Act 2008 regime in March 2010 in England and Wales (planning is devolved in Scotland), there is now a statutory maximum time scale of 12 months for the examination, report-writing and decision-making phases of applications for the development consent of nationally significant infrastructure projects (including offshore wind farms over 100MW). The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), has made decisions on three offshore wind farms under that regime, all within the statutory deadlines.

The time taken to construct the offshore wind farm following consent is a matter for the developer.

Northern Ireland

Equal Opportunities

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of her progress in discharging her responsibilities under section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 in respect of (a) HM Revenue and Customs, (b) the Driver and Vehicle Agency and (c) the UK Border Agency. [195999]

Mrs Villiers: Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 imposes a statutory duty on public authorities (as defined therein) with regard to the carrying out of their functions relating to Northern Ireland.

The bodies concerned are not within my responsibility, but that of Treasury Ministers, the Northern Ireland Executive Minister of the Environment and the Secretary of State for the Home Department, respectively.

Terrorism

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) who took the decision not to announce the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy in respect of members of the IRA in the London Gazette or the Belfast Gazette; [194052]

(2) for what reasons the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy granted in respect of members of the IRA was not announced in the London Gazette or the Belfast Gazette. [194051]

Mrs Villiers: There have been no instances in which the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM) has been issued in respect of paramilitaries in Northern Ireland since the current Government came to power in May 2010.

I am not aware of any legal requirement to publish in the media information relating to the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM). In England and Wales, RPMs signed by HM the Queen, on the advice of the Secretary of State, are then passed to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery for sealing, who by convention subsequently places the notice in the London Gazette.

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By convention in Northern Ireland, RPMs signed by HM the Queen are not subsequently placed in the

Belfast Gazette

.

Transport

Aviation: Noise

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will establish an Aircraft Noise Ombudsman; and if he will make a statement. [196176]

Mr Goodwill: The Government are currently considering the recommendations made by the Airports Commission, including the recommendation to create an independent noise authority. The Government will respond to the Interim Report as soon as possible.

Bus Services: Concessions

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received from organisations representing pensioners on the start and end times of the National Concessionary Bus Travel Scheme; and if he will make a statement. [195365]

Stephen Hammond: During the past 12 months we have received no representations on this subject from organisations representing pensioners.

The Chancellor has committed to maintaining the statutory concession until the end of this Parliament, and we have no plans to amend its hours of validity.

Travel Concession Authorities have powers to implement discretionary enhancements to the statutory concession, including extending the hours of validity. The Department’s annual concessionary travel survey monitors the availability of such discretionary concessions, and the most recent dataset can be found at:

http://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/bus08-concessionary-travel/

Bus Services: Tickets

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to encourage the interoperability of smart tickets on local bus services outside London where more than one bus company runs the service; and if he will make a statement. [196006]

Stephen Hammond: The Government’s ambitions for smart and integrated ticketing on England’s buses are set out in chapter 4 of the Door to Door Strategy. Local authorities already have the powers to introduce multi-operator ticketing schemes. In March 2013, the Department published guidance to help and encourage authorities to establish schemes in their areas.

A significant number of smart ticketing schemes already operate across the UK and the Department has held a series of conversations with the Brighton and Hove transport authority and operators to see how their offer can be accelerated. All of the major urban areas, and a number of counties, have smart ticketing schemes, and all buses in London and over three quarters of buses elsewhere in England are smart-equipped.

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In addition we have set up the Smart Cities Partnership, through which we will work with the nine largest cities in England (excluding London) and operators to support them in delivering and enhancing smart, integrated ticketing schemes.

The outcome of this partnership approach will be greater co-ordination of efforts, concentration on resolving long-standing problems, a framework for other transport authorities to adopt and an acceleration of delivery of smart ticketing products for passengers. I ensure accountability of the Partnership through its governance arrangements.

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many officials of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency are responsible for (a) driver and (b) operator compliance in the bus industry. [195277]

Stephen Hammond: It is not possible to determine the number of roles within the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) that are responsible for (a) driver and (b) operator compliance in the bus industry, as it forms only a part of a number of roles within the Agency. However, for the financial year of 2014-15, DVSA is budgeted to provide over 38 man-years of resource on the enforcement of the bus industry, for deployment of tasks such as roadworthiness checks, visits to licensed operators and bus operator account management.

Driving: Eyesight

Mr Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect changes to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency vision testing contract will have on independent optical practices. [195706]

Stephen Hammond: As part of the procurement process, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency identified that 2,009 optical practices carried out vision testing services. The new contract means that independent practices are no longer required to carry out on average 20 assessments per year. This equates to around 10 hours of work.

Driving: Licensing

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether there are plans for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to accept Army Personnel Centre records of driver qualifications as proof of army personnel having passed driving tests. [195683]

Stephen Hammond: Legislation provides, under delegated authority, for military personnel to carry out driving tests. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) following a notification from the Military of Defence records the test pass and applies the new entitlement to the driving record. Letters from the Army Personnel Centre are also accepted, provided it confirms that the driver has passed an appropriate driving test that allows them to drive on public roads.

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Employment Agencies

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which five companies were used most often to provide temporary workers for his Department in the last financial year; and how much in agency fees was paid to each of them. [195562]

Stephen Hammond: The five companies used most often to provide temporary workers to Department for Transport were:

Badenoch and Clark

Capita

Networkers

Spring Technology

Michael Page

We are unable to provide the amount in fees paid to each supplier as this information is not recorded. The cost of a temporary worker is provided as a total daily rate which is inclusive of supplier fees.

Euston Station

Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the capacity utilisation on trains out of Euston between 6.30am and 9.00am on a weekday morning was in the latest period for which figures are available. [195752]

Stephen Hammond: Published information relating to rail demand is available via this link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/rai02-capacity-and-overcrowding

Table RA10203 shows the following pattern of demand for trains departing Euston on a typical autumn weekday in 2012.

Ferries: France

Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will open discussions with his French counterpart to ensure crews on ferries operating between the UK and France are paid under British or French minimum wage regulations. [196313]

Stephen Hammond: The issue was discussed at length at the recent maritime roundtable, at which industry including the maritime unions were present. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, working with this Department and HMRC, will review the application, guidance and enforcement of the national minimum wage towards seafarers, to ensure that employers are aware of their responsibilities and employees are aware of their rights. As part of this, we will consider a targeted enforcement programme for this sector.

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High Speed 2 Railway Line

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish a list of responses to the Environmental Statement in Advance of Second Reading of the High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Bill. [196392]

Mr Goodwill: The responses to the Environmental Statement have been published and can be found at:

https://hs2phaseonebilles.dialoguebydesign.net/

This includes responses from both individuals and organisations, unless they had requested that their response was not made public.

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy that the compensation consultation and trial scheme in relation to High Speed 2 should be published by the end of 2014. [196393]

Mr Goodwill: Following the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), announcement on 9 April 2014 of decisions regarding HS2 London to West Midlands property compensation, it is our intention to consult on additional cash payment mechanisms over summer 2014 and to announce the way forward by the end of 2014.

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish details of who considered the proposals for a property bond in relation to High Speed 2; and what the reasons were for rejecting that proposal. [196394]

Mr Goodwill: The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), considered the option of a property bond for Phase One of HS2 and has ruled out this option for the reasons set out in ‘Property Compensation Consultation 2013 for the London-West Midlands HS2 route: Decision Document’, published on 9 April 2014.

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the safeguarding directions in relation to High Speed 2 were last updated; and if he will publish the maps relating to that update. [196395]

Mr Goodwill: The safeguarding directions in relation to High Speed 2 were last updated on 24 October 2013. The updated maps are published on the High Speed 2 Ltd website at the following link:

http://www.hs2.org.uk/safeguarding?sg_link=576

London Midland

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to improve the performance of London Midland commuter trains. [196279]

Stephen Hammond: We do not monitor train operator performances by service type (i.e. commuter trains only) under the Franchise Agreement; we monitor each operator’s performance across their whole network against benchmarks under the Franchise Agreement.

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The Department monitors each train operator’s overall performance against these benchmarks and there are clear actions set out in the Franchise Agreement should performance drop below what is expected. This regular monitoring includes monthly meetings with their senior management where performance figures are scrutinised and challenged.

At present London Midland are assessed as being within their contracted performance benchmarks as set out in the Franchise Agreement.

In 2002 when Network Rail took control of Britain's Rail infrastructure, train performance was languishing at record low levels (78.6% of trains arriving on time nationally). Since then, it has risen to averaging around 90%. Network Rail has been tasked with ensuring that 92.5% of trains arrive on time nationally by 2019.

We are determined that improvements in infrastructure across the network, as evidenced by the £38 billion investment agreed with Network Rail for the next five years, will further improve the performance of all train operators.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the Competition Commission's inquiry into the car insurance industry to report. [195976]

Mr Goodwill: The Competition Commission is required to publish its final report by 27 September 2014.

Motor Vehicles: Secured Loans

Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the prevalence of the practice of logbook lending. [196314]

Stephen Hammond: No assessment has been made by the Department for Transport. The regulation of consumer credit, including the practice of logbook loans, is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority.

National Air Traffic Services

Mr Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to meet the costs of the National Air Traffic Service's employee share scheme if the Civil Aviation Authority decides that these costs will no longer be allowed for in the next regulatory settlement. [195722]

Mr Goodwill: The regulatory settlement is a matter for the Civil Aviation Authority. We would expect the NATS Board, in the first instance, to continue to consider the benefits of the employee share scheme and the terms on which it operates.

National Air Traffic Services: Scotland

Mr Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the forthcoming independence referendum on the National Air Traffic Service Centre in Scotland's ability to secure international contracts. [195721]

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Mr Goodwill: No assessment has been made as we believe Scotland is stronger in the UK and the UK is stronger with Scotland in it. NATS’s success in winning international contracts is a matter in the first instance for its Board.

Network Rail

Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff Network Rail employed (a) in the last year for which figures are available and (b) in 2010-11. [195953]

Stephen Hammond: Network Rail is currently a private sector company limited by guarantee, and its annual total staff complement is a matter for the company. Network Rail advises that in 2012-13, the last year for which figures are available, the average number of its employees was 35,190. The figure for 2010-11 was 35,606.

Network Rail: Land

Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the value of outstanding property development proposals on Network Rail land is. [195952]

Stephen Hammond: Network Rail is currently a private sector company limited by guarantee and the development of its property portfolio is a matter for the company, within the regulatory and incentives framework established for it by the independent Office of Rail Regulation.

Public Transport: Tickets

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with cities outside London on interoperability of smart tickets between rail and bus services; and if he will make a statement. [196007]

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport is working closely with nine major cities and regions outside London to establish how plans to accelerate smart ticketing on bus and rail can be achieved. The initiative known as the ‘Smart Cities Partnership’ and funded by the Department brings together the authorities concerned, the operators and the policy makers to address some of the technical and commercial challenges.

This programme will pave the way for other cities and authorities with similar ambitions to have smart interoperable ticket offers to passengers. It will also build upon the South East Flexible Ticketing programme which the Department is leading on which will see rail stations suitably equipped for smart ticketing, and more flexible smart ticket products on offer which are better suited to meet modern working and leisure patterns.

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with Transport for London (TfL) about the use of other smart ticket systems in the TfL area; and if he will make a statement. [196015]

Stephen Hammond: Department for Transport officials work regularly with Transport for London (TfL) both on the national strategy for smart and integrated ticketing and on implementation in and around London. Co-operation with TfL is integral to any smart ticketing

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system which includes the London area, in order to ensure full integration of systems and a positive passenger experience.

TfL will shortly have completed the delivery of the “ITSO on Prestige” project, specified and funded by the Department, which has equipped the capital with readers that can now accept the national open standard for transport ticketing (ITSO) as well as contactless bank cards. We have been working closely with them to make the most of this investment, including accepting Southern’s “The Key” card which was successfully launched at Victoria by my Noble Friend the Minister of State for Transport, Baroness Kramer, last year. Southern is also working closely with us and TfL to roll out more products progressively as the capability becomes available.

TfL is also a key delivery partner for the South East Flexible Ticketing programme (SEFT) and has been a signatory to the Memorandum of Understanding and a member of the Programme Board since the beginning. Significant work continues to be undertaken with them in order to ensure that the SEFT scheme will interoperate properly with their existing infrastructure in the London area.

Railways: Fares

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the modal shift from car to railway use as a result of eliminating the weekday minimum fare resulting from the use of the Network Rail card; and if he will make a statement. [196008]

Stephen Hammond: It is not proposed to make any estimate of the modal shift that might result from the removal of the minimum fare applying on weekdays to the Network Railcard. The Network Railcard is offered on a commercial basis and therefore it would be for the train operators to consider any changes to its terms and conditions.

Railways: Passengers

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of increases in passenger numbers (a) nationally and (b) on the west coast main line over the next 10 years. [196423]

Stephen Hammond: The total train passenger numbers is forecast to grow from an estimated 1,530 million in 2013-14 to 1,842 million by 2023-24.

The Department has made no forecast of increases in passenger numbers on the west coast main line over the next 10 years. Chapter 4 of Network Rail’s West Coast

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Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy sets out anticipated changes in demand to 2024-25 and is available here:

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse_documents/rus_documents/route_utilisation_strategies/west_coast_main_line/westcoastmainlinerus.pdf

Railways: Tickets

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress his Department has made on the introduction of part-time season tickets for rail commuters; and if he will make a statement. [195460]

Stephen Hammond: Part-time season tickets for rail commuters will be trialled on a London commuter route next year; a competition will be held later this year to identify a train operator to undertake the trial.

Rescue Services

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many coastguard operations room staff have applied for both new posts in the new coastguard structure and voluntary redundancy; [196405]

(2) how many coastguard operations room staff have applied for voluntary redundancy; [196406]

(3) how many coastguard operations room staff have applied for posts in the restructured coastguard service. [196407]

Stephen Hammond: As at 14 April 2014, of those coastguards currently working in a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, 86 have applied for both new posts in the new coastguard structure and voluntary redundancy, 140 have applied for voluntary redundancy only and 128 have applied for a new post in the new coastguard structure only.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how often and when each coastguard station has been under-staffed in the last two years. [196410]

Stephen Hammond: The following table shows the number of occasions each Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed at below risk assessed levels over the last two years by month.

Where there are specific issues at a MRCC Her Majesty’s Coastguard is using the current long established pairing arrangements between MRCCs. This enables each MRCC to be connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support.

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Rescue Services: Liverpool

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many coastguard operations room staff in Liverpool have left the service in the last two years. [196409]

Stephen Hammond: Since April 2012 eight Coastguards that worked in the operations room at Liverpool Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre have left Her Majesty's Coastguard.

Roads: Brighton

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions his Department has had with Brighton and Hove city council on the condition of roads in that area; and if he will make a statement. [195372]

Mr Goodwill: Officials at the Department for Transport discuss highways maintenance matters with local authorities as and when issues are raised with them. Brighton and Hove city council also registered to attend the recent ‘Gearing up for Efficient Highway Delivery and Funding from 2015 Roadshow’ where the Department sought views from the sector on the future of funding arrangements for highways maintenance and on improvements to the value for money of the local road network programme.

The Department for Transport provides capital funding to local highway authorities from the local maintenance highways maintenance capital block grant and over the four year period from 2011 Brighton and Hove city council’s allocation is £13.9 million.

The Department has also allocated additional highways maintenance funding to authorities to help repair roads damaged due to severe weather events. For Brighton and Hove city council this includes £0.152 million in 2010/11, £0.412 million in March 2011 and more recently £0.295 million in March 2014.

A £200 million Pothole Fund was announced in the recent Budget. From this, £168 million is being made available to councils in England through a bidding exercise. Further details of the fund were made available on 24 April, and can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/pothole-fund-2014-to-2015-application

Any local authorities wishing to apply for a share of the funding are required to submit an application to the Department for Transport by 22 May 2014.

Roads: Safety

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require landowners and service suppliers to install manhole covers that have resistance abrasion values to prevent slipping and injury. [196318]

Mr Goodwill: The majority of manhole covers on the highway network fall under the responsibility of utility companies, with a small percentage in the ownership of local highway authorities.

The Department for Transport currently has no plans to bring forward legislative proposals for landowners and service suppliers to install high-friction manhole

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covers to prevent slipping and injury. That said, we are aware of a number of authorities that are taking steps to replace manhole covers with ones having enhanced anti-skid properties.

Taxis: Licensing

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of local authorities in England and Wales require a Disclosure and Barring Service check on applicants before issuing a (a) taxi and (b) private hire vehicle licence. [195957]

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport does not hold this information. Local authorities are under a statutory duty to ensure that any person to whom they grant a taxi or private hire vehicle driver’s licence is a “fit and proper person”. As part of this process they can undertake criminal record checks on applicants but we do not keep details of the assessment policies and procedures adopted by local authorities.

Transport: Per Capita Costs

Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the level of funding per head of the population for transport in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England in each of the last five years. [196230]

Stephen Hammond: The most recent data available for regional expenditure are the country and regional analysis for 2013, published by HM Treasury.

Table A.15 shows UK identifiable expenditure on services by function, country and region, per head, 2008-09 to 2012-13, of which: Transport

The following table gives identifiable expenditure per head for the West Midlands and England. Committed spend is not analysed at a lower level.

The Department for Transport is not the only public body responsible for transport and a large proportion of expenditure is covered by local government bodies.

Work and Pensions

Atos Healthcare

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written statement of 27 March 2014, Official Report, columns 56-7W, on Atos, how many Atos Healthcare staff currently carrying out work capability assessments are expected to carry out personal independence payment assessments in future; and if he will make a statement. [195741]

Mike Penning: The Department maintains separate contracts with Atos Healthcare for the delivery of work capability assessments and personal independence payment

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assessments and these contracts require that resources for these two contracts be kept separate.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written statement of 27 March 2014, Official Report, columns 56-57W, on Atos, whether Atos Healthcare will continue to carry out assessments for industrial injuries disablement benefits; and if he will make a statement. [195743]

Mike Penning: The written statement of 27 March 2014, Official Report, columns 56-58WS, refers to the exit of Atos Healthcare from the medical services agreement. This contract includes assessments for industrial injuries disablement benefits. Atos will continue to provide assessments until the transition to a new provider in early 2015.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what contracts are held by his Department with Atos Healthcare for the provision of medical and health-related assessments. [195784]

Mike Penning: The Department holds a national contract with Atos Healthcare for the provision of work capability assessments and contracts for personal independence payment assessments for PIP lot 1 covering north west England, north east England, Scotland and Isle of Man and PIP lot 3 covering London/southern England.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to monitor the transitional arrangements put in place by Atos Healthcare following the termination of his Department's contract with that company for the provision of work capability assessments. [195785]

Mike Penning: The Department has negotiated a more robust agreement covering the remaining contract term; with an agreed performance regime that gives us confidence delivery goals will be achieved. Atos will continue to deliver Work Capability Assessments (and other assessments and advice) until contract exit and will be subject to a rigorous quality and service credit regime. To this end, a remedial advisory team is being appointed to work with the Atos Healthcare management during this period to assist Atos in meeting their contractual obligations, ahead of awarding the contract to a new provider.

Children: Maintenance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made on his Department's child maintenance arrears and compliance strategy for 2012 to 2017; and if he will make a statement. [195739]

Steve Webb: Since 2008 we have considerably slowed down the growth of arrears via faster case processing and better enforcement. The successful introduction of the new 2012 Child Maintenance Scheme allows most paying parents to be assessed more quickly, which reduces the number of cases that accrue arrears. The new Child Maintenance Scheme is also built to trigger notification

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of missed payments so we can investigate non-compliance earlier, reducing the time in which arrears could build.

We are also looking at new techniques for collecting older debt. The trial of the process of reclassifying arrears has concluded and we are analysing how this initiative might be used in the future.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) timetable and (b) process will be under which debt suspension in older Child Support Agency (CSA) cases will be reviewed during the forthcoming CSA case closure process; and what process will be put in place to enable the participation of the parents in that process. [195740]

Steve Webb: The Child Support Agency (CSA) plans to close all 1993 and 2003 scheme cases over a three year period starting in 2014.

When a client’s ongoing maintenance liability has ended, the case will be reviewed to ensure any arrears balance is accurate. This process will include any suspended debt to ensure the reason for suspension remains valid and, if not, the debt will be reinstated. Whether the CSA needs to contact the client during this process will depend on the circumstances of the individual case.

When the review has been completed, both clients will be informed of the arrears balance and can contact the CSA about this should they wish to do so.

Consultants

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which 10 consultancy firms were paid the most by his Department in the last financial year; and how much each of those firms was paid. [195587]

Mike Penning: The top 10 consultancy firms by spend in 2013-14 is shown in the following table.

Employment Agencies

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which five companies were used most often to provide temporary workers for his Department in the last financial year; and how much in agency fees was paid to each of them. [195565]

Mike Penning: In the last financial year 2013-14 DWP used the services of Capita Resourcing Limited and Capita Business Services to provide temporary workers. The amounts paid in agency fees were as follows:

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Capita Resourcing Limited £9,517,163

Capita Business Services £1,108,082

Both Capita Resourcing Ltd and Capita Business Services provided a managed service to DWP to provide interim personnel and specialist contractors. The figures represent the total fee paid to Capita including the fees paid by Capita to the workers.

Employment Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many times he has met work programme providers or their representative body to discuss the progress of employment support allowance claimants since June 2011. [196104]

Esther McVey: The Secretary of State has not met with work programme providers or their representative body about the progress of employment support allowance claimants since June 2011.

Housing Benefit: Rural Areas

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to continue discretionary housing payments for rural communities beyond 2014-15. [195837]

Steve Webb: In January 2014 the Government announced that the additional £5 million funding for the 21 least densely populated local authorities would be maintained in 2014/15. Information about individual DHP allocations to local authorities was published in the Subsidy Circular S1/2014. This can be accessed on the Government website GOV.UK through the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hb-subsidy-circular-s12014-discretionary-housing-payments-for-local-authorities-2014-to-2015

An assessment has not yet been made about the level of need in rural communities for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) beyond 2014-15. DHP funding after 2014-15 will be agreed in due course and will be informed by evidence on the use and demand for DHPs, including in rural communities. The Department is currently collecting data on the use of Discretionary Housing Payments in the 2013-14 financial year.

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what criteria he is distributing the additional £5 million discretionary housing payment for the least densely-populated areas announced on 30 July 2013. [195839]

Steve Webb: The £5 million rural discretionary housing payments (DHP) fund for 2013-14 was allocated to those local authorities (LA) with the smallest population per square metre. The fund was then proportionally distributed using LAs share of the original DHP allocation, i.e. if an LA had an 8% share of the total DHP allocation of the least populated LAs, then they received 8% of the rural fund.

The £5 million funding provided in 2014-15 is intended to avoid a disproportionate impact on those affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy in remote and isolated communities. The Government has assessed that the geography in some areas means that potential

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remedies such as finding work or alternative accommodation, are less readily available, and as a result, transitions may take more time.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 724W, on housing benefit: social rented housing, for what reasons his Department has determined that a longer time frame than one year is required to assess the effects of the under-occupancy penalty on rent arrears in the social rented sector. [196166]

Esther McVey: Rent arrears can have multiple causes and levels tend to fluctuate over time. Analysis of monthly, quarterly or even a single year of arrears is insufficient to reliably remove these normal fluctuations, driven by both seasonal and general economic trends, and to determine whether and to what extent the removal of the spare room subsidy has impacted on rent arrears levels.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 724W, on housing benefit: social rented housing, if he will make an interim assessment of the effects of the under-occupancy penalty on rent arrears in the social rented sector in the first year of its introduction. [196167]

Esther McVey: We have already commissioned a two-year evaluation of the effects of the removal of the spare room subsidy across Great Britain. The evaluation commenced in April 2013 and is being led by Ipsos MORI and includes the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research. The final report will be published in late 2015.

Rent arrears can have multiple causes and levels tend to fluctuate over time. A longer time frame than one year is required in order to factor out short-term fluctuations and to see whether and to what extent the removal of the spare room subsidy has impacted on rent arrears levels.

There is some evidence that rent arrears levels are falling, as the Homes and Communities Agency reported in February 2014 that the median level of arrears among larger housing associations had fallen from 4.1% in the second quarter of 2013-14 to 3.9% in the third quarter of 2013-14.

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for West Ham of 3 February 2014, Official Report, column 100W, on housing benefit: social rented housing, what work his Department would need to undertake in order to assess the potential effects of the under-occupancy penalty on the level of child poverty in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [195681]

Esther McVey: To assess the impact the Department would need to adapt simulation models and undertake validation work to ensure consistency with published measures of child poverty. This would incur disproportionate cost.

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This Government has made good progress in tackling the root causes of child poverty and has recently published the 2014-17 draft child poverty strategy for consultation which outlines the actions we are taking. The latest figures from 2011-12 show that 2.3 million children (17%) are in relative income poverty, down 300,000 since 2009-10. These are the lowest levels since the mid-1980s. The number of children in workless households has fallen by more than 270,000 since 2010, which is key to driving down poverty.

Independent Living Fund

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what funding for the independent living fund his Department has withdrawn from local authorities in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17. [195856]

Mike Penning: Responsibility for supporting former ILF users will transfer to local authorities and the devolved Administrations from 1 July 2015.

In line with the commitment made in last year's spending review, local authorities and devolved Administrations will be fully funded to enable them to meet those responsibilities in 2015-16.

Budgets for 2016-17 and later years will be determined in future spending reviews.

Industrial Health and Safety: EU Action

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment he has made of the progress of the current review of the European strategy on health and safety at work; [195718]

(2) what representations he has made to the current review of European strategy on health and safety at work; and if he will make a statement. [195719]

Mike Penning: The UK Government responded to the public consultation on a new policy framework for health and safety at work in the EU conducted by the European Commission in 2013. We emphasised the need for any new policy framework to be rooted in the principles of better regulation. The Commission has said that it expects to publish a communication on the outcome of that consultation this year and I look forward to seeing it in due course.

Jobcentre Plus

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average caseload was for a Jobcentre Plus advisor in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012 and (e) 2013. [196468]

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

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received from charities and community organisations on the removal of warm phones from Jobcentre Plus offices. [196471]

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Esther McVey: The Department has received a number of inquiries from charities and community organisations on the removal of customer access phones.

They have all been reassured that claimants will still have access to a telephone when necessary.

Jobcentres provide face to face support for claimants. After the removal of customer access phones, claimants who require access to a phone in connection with their benefit or job search will be given controlled access to a telephone in a jobcentre.

National Employment Savings Trust Scheme

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are currently auto-enrolled in the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST); and what the mean monthly contribution paid in by members of NEST is. [196179]

Steve Webb: The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) announced on 1 April 2014 that it has over a million members.

The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold information about the level or amount of member contributions to NEST.

Pensioners: Poverty

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to tackle pensioner poverty; and if he will make a statement. [196012]

Steve Webb: This Government want all pensioners to have a decent and secure income in retirement. We have restored the link to earnings for the basic state pension and also introduced the 'triple lock', the guarantee that the basic state pension will increase by the highest of the growth in average earnings, price increases or 2.5%. We have protected key benefits for older people including: free eye tests; free NHS prescriptions; free bus passes; free television licences for those aged 75 and over and winter fuel payments.

Personal Independence Payment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with Capita on the need to seek evidence from health and social care professionals in progressing personal independence payment assessments. [195825]

Mike Penning: The Department’s guidance to personal independence payment assessment providers explains that they should take steps to obtain further evidence if they believe it would help inform their advice to the departmental case manager, who will make a decision on the benefit claim, or negate the need for the claimant to attend a face-to-face consultation. Such evidence can come from a variety of sources, including but not limited to health and social care professionals.

More information can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210722/pip-assessment-guide.pdf

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Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what meetings he has had with organisations (a) from the advice sector and (b) representing people with disabilities on the performance of Capita in introducing personal independence payments. [195826]

Mike Penning: I have had regular meetings with various stakeholder organisations, for example Macmillan, and my officials and I continue to engage with them on a regular basis.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment he has made of the early operational performance of each private sector company providing personal independence payments assessments; [195828]

(2) what assessment he has made of the performance of Capita on the delivery of personal independence payments for those who are terminally ill; [195868]

(3) what assessment he has made of the performance of Capita in the delivery of personal independence payments in Wales. [195870]

Mike Penning: Personal independence payment (PIP) is a new benefit and processes are currently bedding in. The Department’s contracts with Capita and Atos Healthcare for the delivery of assessments for personal independence payment include a full set of service level agreements setting out the Department’s expectations for service delivery, including quality of assessments and the number of days to provide advice to the Department.

Officials meet regularly with both assessment providers to discuss performance. We are closely monitoring their progress against the Department’s expectations for service delivery and are taking action to drive up performance where this does not meet the required standards. In particular, for both providers, the end-to-end process for many claimants is taking significantly longer than originally anticipated. We are working with the providers to ensure that they are taking all necessary steps to improve performance, speed up the process and ensure claimants receive a satisfactory experience. Special rules claims for terminally ill claimants are dealt with urgently by our assessment providers. The latest published statistics show that over 99% of people with terminal illnesses who have applied have been awarded the benefit, which means over 9,500 terminally ill claimants are now receiving personal independence payment.

Although limited data have started to feed through, we need to wait until the Department has quality assured, meaningful figures for publication. We intend to publish official statistics on PIP from spring 2014 in line with our publication strategy. An ad-hoc release of PIP information was published on 11 February 2014.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department has issued to personal independence payment providers on calling in clients for personal independence payment assessments who are terminally ill. [195866]

Mike Penning: The ‘PIP Assessment Guide’, the Department’s guidance for personal independence payment assessment providers, states that face-to-face consultations

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are not required where a claim has been referred under the ‘Special Rules for Terminal Illness’ provisions.

More information can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210722/pip-assessment-guide.pdf

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the quality of feedback to hon. Members by (a) his Department and (b) private sector providers when they raise constituents' concerns about personal independence payments. [195872]

Mike Penning: The Department for Work and Pensions and Ministers provide feedback to hon. Members in a range of ways, for example at meetings, during debates, through correspondence and by answering parliamentary questions. Where it is not possible to answer a particular query the Department will say so and indicate, where appropriate, when the information will become available in the future, for example through the release of statistical material.

The two assessment providers for personal independence payment are responsible for dealing with complaints about their own respective levels of service and I understand that they may also deliver their own events for hon. Members. Both providers have their own processes for dealing with inquiries from MPs.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many new personal independence payment claims were submitted by December 2013; and how many decisions have been made on those claims; [195873]

(2) what the maximum length of time taken to process an application for personal independence payments has been since the introduction of that payment; [195829]

(3) what proportion of Capita personal independence payment assessments have involved people who were mentally ill since the introduction of that assessment; [195867]

(4) what the average length of time taken was for personal independence payments to be made in Wales in each month for which data are available. [195871]

Mike Penning: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Stephen Twigg), and the hon. Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Pamela Nash), on 5 March 2014, Official Report, column 850W.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what recent estimate his Department has made of the savings to the public purse from the personal independence payment programme; and what assessment he has made of the long-term risks to that programme; [195874]

(2) what assessment he has made of the National Audit Office’s conclusion in its report on personal independence payments: early progress that his Department has increased the risk that the personal independence payment programme will not deliver value for money in the longer term. [195879]

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Mike Penning: The National Audit’s Office (NAO) report acknowledged that it is too early to make judgments about value for money.

Both the NAO and Office for Budget Responsibility noted that the introduction of personal independence payment is expected to deliver very significant savings for the taxpayer, estimated to be £3 billion per year by 2018 as well as delivering fairer outcomes for disabled people.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what outstanding commercial risks that might affect operational security his Department has identified in its relationship with contracted assessment providers. [195876]

Mike Penning: In the area of contracted assessment providers who are delivering work capability assessments under the medical services contract and personal independence payment assessments, the Department has no commercial risks that might affect operational security. Any commercial risks that might affect operational security are managed within the Department’s standard risk management framework and procedures.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what tests his Department has made on its operating assumption across the whole claims process to identify future bottlenecks; [195877]

(2) what guidance his Department has issued on the amount of time to be taken for an individual to be assessed for a personal independence payment; [195869]

(3) whether his Department has tested (a) assessment providers’ and (b) departmental plans for dealing with backlogs and high numbers of assessments; [195878]

(4) what plans his Department has to inform claimants about delays they may experience while plans to improve performance of personal independence payment take effect. [195880]

Mike Penning: The Department does not have a target for completion of personal independence payment (PIP) claims while processes are bedding in. Clearly, we want to minimise the length of time claimants have to wait for assessments, but the key requirement is to produce high quality assessments, to enable DWP decision makers to make the right decisions about benefit entitlement.

We are committed to driving up PIP performance and are in regular contact with our assessment providers to do this. We already monitor performance closely and liaise with assessment providers on a daily basis, supplemented by formal monthly performance review meetings. We will continue to work closely with assessment providers on an ongoing basis to monitor quality.

Our original departmental operational delivery plans assumed a larger volume of assessment provider referrals than we are currently receiving and we have retained this surplus capacity using it to consolidate learning or carry out other duties. This will be available for deployment as cases are returned to the Department for decision- maker action. The Department has contingency plans in place to secure additional capacity from other areas of the Department should assessment provider volumes exceed plans.

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From 10 March, we have included with the PIP2 “How your disability affects you” questionnaire, issued to PIP claimants, communications explaining how long they might be expected to wait for a PIP assessment. This information is also available on Gov.uk.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department made of Capita's ability to handle large numbers of personal independence payment (PIP) claims before award of the PIP contract. [195881]

Mike Penning: The assessment of Capita’s ability to manage PIP claimant volumes was undertaken as part of the PIP assessment procurement exercise, conducted in line with Cabinet Office guidelines.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has held back from payments to Capita because of poor performance on personal independence payment assessments. [195882]

Mike Penning: The Department has applied performance measures against both of the personal independence payment assessment providers and has recovered service credits (financial remedies) in accordance with the contract.

Specific application of service credits for Capita is commercially sensitive information.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) whether the contract for the introduction of personal independence payment included targets for the (a) proportion of assessments to be conducted face to face and (b) average length of time for each assessment; [195883]

(2) what proportion of personal independence payment assessments were face to face in each month for which information is available. [195884]

Mike Penning: The Department has not set personal independence payment assessment providers targets for the proportion of assessments to be conducted face to face and the average length of time for each assessment.

Personal independence payment started from April 2013 and although limited data have started to feed through, we need to wait until the Department has quality assured meaningful figures for publication. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity. We intend to publish official statistics on PIP from spring 2014 in line with our publication strategy.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of personal independence payment claimants faced travel times to assessments greater than 60 minutes; and what proportion of those claimants were mentally ill. [195885]

Mike Penning: The Department does not hold central records on claimants travelling time to a personal independence payment consultation, nor is it gathered by health condition, this information could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

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Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many concluded applications for personal independence payment there have been to date, by parliamentary constituency; [196120]

(2) how many applications have been made for the personal independence payment to date, by parliamentary constituency. [196121]

Mike Penning: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Stephen Twigg) and the hon. Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Pamela Nash), 5 March 2014, Official Report, column 850W.

Separated People: Finance

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when each of the 10 Help and Support for Separated Families Innovation Fund projects announced by his Department in December 2013 will start. [195695]

Steve Webb: The round two projects delivered by the Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships, Mediation Now, Family Matters Mediate, Family Lives, Children 1st, Sills and Betteridge, Headland Future and National Family Mediation have all started. Projects being run by NACCC and Pinnacle People have started to recruit parents to the project and will start seeing them before the end of April.

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 103W, on separated people: finance, whether the proposed external independent evaluation of the Help and Support for Separated Families Innovation Fund projects will include as a consistent measure across the different projects the increase in the number of children benefiting from regular child maintenance payments to meet their day-to-day living costs as a result of the interventions being tested. [195696]

Steve Webb: External independent evaluation of the Innovation Fund projects will measure improvement in the relationship between parents, and therefore, their likely ability to reach agreement on a range of issues affecting their children, including agreeing financial arrangements. As the primary aim of these projects is helping parents to resolve conflict and work together, we will not specifically be measuring the number of children benefiting from regular child maintenance payments.

Social Security Benefits

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit claimants were sanctioned for failure to attend an appointment between (a) April 2012 and April 2013 and (b) April 2013 and April 2014. [195947]

Esther McVey: In the latest quarter for which figures are available (June to Aug 2013), decisions to apply a sanction were made against approximately two per cent

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of JSA claims, two per cent of ISLP claims and around one quarter of a per cent of ESA claims for failure to attend an appointment

The information requested up to September 2013 is shown in the table below.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in the UK received in excess of £100,000 in social security payments in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012 and (e) 2013. [196102]

Esther McVey: This information is not available.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent steps he has taken to prevent benefit fraud; and if he will make a statement. [196011]

Esther McVey: The level of fraud in the benefit system is relatively low at 0.7% of total benefit expenditure. However, any loss to the public purse due to fraud is unacceptable, which is why the Department is working across Government-and with the private sector-to further reduce the level of loss due to benefit fraud.

We have made considerable progress since the Fraud and Error Strategy was published in 2010. In terms of prevention, this includes using Real Time Information in the universal credit pathfinders to prevent fraud and

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error on new claims before payments are issued. In addition we recently announced a package of measures which, amongst other things include extending these checks to other benefits.

We are also testing the effectiveness of communications to help change attitudes to benefit fraud and to encourage people to routinely report changes of circumstances.

Social Security Benefits: Immigrants

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterpart on further steps to prevent benefit tourism. [196145]

Esther McVey: Ministers and officials are in regular dialogue with the European Commission and other member states about the co-ordination of social security in the European Union. DWP Ministers and officials have met with a number of their European counterparts in recent months to discuss mutual matters of interest where reforms to the social security co-ordination system have been discussed.

Social Security Benefits: Preston

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Preston constituency are subject to sanction of their (a) employment and support allowance and (b) jobseeker's allowance. [196142]

Esther McVey: Statistics on the number of jobseeker’s allowance benefit, and employment and support allowance claimants in the Preston parliamentary constituency who have been sanctioned, from April 2000, the earliest data we have, up to September 2013 which is the latest data available, are published and can be found at:

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

Guidance for users is available at:

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

Sportsgrounds: Industrial Health and Safety

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has made to authorities in Brazil and Qatar conveying the lessons learned in the UK about health and safety in constructing sporting stadia. [196103]

Mike Penning: A senior official from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) participated in the Government to Government Olympic Handover in Rio de Janeiro in November 2012 and established ongoing contact with the Brazilian labour inspectorate. HSE attended meetings held with the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup Supreme Committee in London during February 2014. In both engagements, attention was also drawn to the material published by HSE on the successes and lessons learned from the 'Big build’, which formed part of the Olympic Delivery Authority's legacy commitment. This can be found at

http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/london-2012-games/index.htm

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State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of extending the triple lock guarantee to all British pensioners resident abroad; and if he will make a statement. [196233]

Steve Webb: The triple lock guarantee is intended to reflect the circumstances of pensioners living in the UK. It means that for this Parliament the basic state pension will increase by the highest of the growth in average earnings or price increases or 2.5%, for pensioners in the UK and for those who live overseas and currently receive an up-rated basic state pension.

There are no plans to change the up-rating arrangements for UK state pension paid to pensioners overseas.

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of British pensioners resident abroad whose pensions have been frozen. [196242]

Steve Webb: The information as requested by nationality of state pension recipient is not available.

However statistics on state pensioners residing abroad by frozen and non-frozen rate countries are available on the Department’s website at

http://83.244.183.180/100pc/sp/tabtool_sp.html

Unemployment: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of the Youth Contract in the 20 designated areas of high youth unemployment. [196469]

Esther McVey: The Department has carried out an evaluation of the Youth Contract, to assess the effectiveness of the programme at a national level. The evaluation does not provide results for specific geographical locations, but the Youth Contract official statistics provide regional, Jobcentre Plus district, local authority and parliamentary constituency level data for work experience and sbwa.

The information can be found at:

Published evaluation reports

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/222943/early_impacts_of_work_experience.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/youth-contract-wage-incentive-wave-2-research

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/youth-contract-customers-experiences

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employer-perceptions-of-work-experience-and-sector-based-work-academies-rr-842

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-evaluation-of-the-youth-contract-wage-incentive-scheme-rr828

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-youth-contract-findings-from-research-with-jobcentre-plus-staff-in-five-case-study-districts-rr-833

Official Statistics

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/youth-contract-official-statistics-february-2014

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Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department is monitoring the progress and effect of the EU Youth Guarantee. [196470]

Esther McVey: My Department takes part in a range of discussions at the EU level on issues relating to youth unemployment.

The European Commission also continues to collect information from member states in this respect.

We believe that action is best taken at a national level because governments are best placed to know what measures are needed to address the particular situation in their country.

This Government introduced the Youth Contract, which is in addition to the support already on offer through the jobcentre.

Latest statistics show that we are making real progress in tackling youth unemployment. Overall, youth unemployment in the UK is lower than most EU countries; it has fallen by 127,000 since peaking in 2011 and continues to fall. The Government remain focused on addressing this issue.