The statistics on defendants proceeded against for offences under Immigration Acts 1971 to 2007 in England and Wales are supplied by the Ministry of Justice for the Home Office to publish annually within immigration statistics. Annual data is available in the latest release, Immigration Statistics: October—December 2013, table pr_01, from the Library of the House and from the gov.uk website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2013
Crime
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to ensure police officers record all crimes they deal with. [196323]
Damian Green: It is vital that recorded crime statistics are as robust as they can possibly be, and the Government have a strong record on reinforcing their independence and accountability.
The Home Office transferred responsibility for publishing them to the Independent Office for National Statistics and have made more crime data available to the public on street-level crime maps. The Secretary of State for the Home Department has also written to chief constables emphasising that the police must ensure that crimes are recorded accurately and honestly. Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary is inspecting the quality of crime recording in every force in England and Wales, and will report back later this year. We look forward to the interim report this month.
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of crimes reported in a police station in each year since May 2010. [196378]
Norman Baker: The requested information is not held centrally. The Home Office holds data on offences recorded by the police.
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Crimes of Violence: Foreign Nationals
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of violent crimes were committed by non-British nationals in 2013. [196304]
Norman Baker: The Home Office does not hold data on the nationality of offenders, and so cannot provide data on the number of crimes committed by non-British nationals that were recorded by police.
The Ministry of Justice collects details on the number of offenders and offender characteristics, but does not collect information on the number of offences that these offenders commit.
Domestic Violence
Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will introduce specialist-led training for police services in England and Wales on domestic violence and coercive control. [195665]
Damian Green: The College of Policing sets standards of training for police officers and staff in this important area of policing. Subject matter experts are already used in developing training and delivery into forces, ranging from initial training through to specialist training for senior investigating officers.
Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there are any plans to create a legal framework which criminalises patterns of coercive control. [196150]
Norman Baker: Domestic abuse is a crime and we already have a framework which covers coercive control.
There is a range of existing offences for which a perpetrator of domestic violence can be prosecuted, including common assault.
Coercive control can amount to common assault where the perpetrator, via their words or actions, intentionally or recklessly causes another to fear unlawful or immediate violence. In sentencing, the courts can also take into account as aggravating factors a range of features which are common in domestic violence cases, such as the vulnerability of the victim, the repeated nature of the assaults and abuse of power by the perpetrator.
Last September, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to conduct a review of the response to domestic abuse across all police forces. The inspectorate published its findings in March 2014. It emphasises that the key priority is a culture change in the police so that domestic violence and abuse is treated as the crime that it is and the police use the full range of tools already available to them.
The Home Secretary will chair a national oversight group to oversee delivery against each of HMIC’s recommendations on which I will also sit.
Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of (a) domestic and (b) sexual abuse were reported by victims attending a police station in each year since May 2010. [196377]
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Norman Baker: The requested information is not held centrally. The Home Office holds data on offences recorded by the police.
Driving Offences: Motorways
Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) with reference to the 2013 edition of the Highway Code, paragraph 264, what guidance her Department has given to motorway police on enforcement of the requirement that drivers overtaking a number of slower-moving vehicles should return to the left-hand lane as soon as they are safely past; what the maximum penalty is for a driver not complying with that requirement; and on how many occasions in the last 24 months (a) warnings have been given to such drivers, (b) enforcement procedures have been instigated against such drivers and (c) such drivers have been prosecuted for related road traffic offences; [196159]
(2) what guidance her Department has given to motorway police on advising (a) vehicles without all-round screen vision and (b) public service vehicles carrying passengers of (i) up to 3.5, (ii) between 3.5 and 7.5 and (iii) over 7.5 tonnes maximum laden weight against entering or travelling in, or preventing such vehicles entering or travelling in, the right-hand overtaking lane of a three or more lane motorway; and which last edition of the Highway Code included advice on these matters. [196160]
Damian Green: The Home Office has not issued any guidance and does not hold any information on the enforcement of lane discipline. Enforcement of the law is an operational matter for the police.
Entry Clearances
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the number of people who have overstayed their approved visa to be in the UK by (a) up to six months, (b) six months to one year, (c) more than one year and (d) more than three years as at 31 March 2014. [194952]
James Brokenshire: It is not possible to accurately quantify the number of immigration offenders in the UK as, by their very nature, those that deliberately evade immigration control to enter and stay in the country illegally are not officially recorded until they come to light and are arrested.
The Immigration Bill will provide new powers to implement exit checks, which the last Labour Government scrapped in 1998. This will allow the Home Office to screen those who leave the UK to identify threats and persons of interest to Border Force, immigration enforcement and other law enforcement bodies, and to enable an appropriate response.
The Home Office continues to prevent abuse, pursue offenders and increase compliance with immigration law—our immigration compliance and enforcement teams across the UK target illegal migrants who have no right to live and work in the community.
The Immigration Bill will stop migrants using public services to which they are not entitled, reduce the factors which encourage people to come to the UK and make it easier to remove people who should not be here.
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Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time is between the expiry of a visa and (a) the person voluntarily leaving the country and (b) the forcible removal of the visa holder. [196067]
James Brokenshire: The information requested is not available.
Margaret Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many family visit visa applications to the UK were made between June 2013 and December 2013; and how many such applications were (a) granted, (b) refused, (c) withdrawn, (d) lapsed and (e) given the right to appeal. [196070]
James Brokenshire: From the 1 of June until the 31 of December 2013 there were 149,995 applications for family visit visas. Of those applications:
111,990 were issued
37,370 were refused
65 were lapsed
330 were withdrawn
4,570 were given the right to appeal
These figures are based upon management information, and have been rounded to the nearest five. Until the 24 June 2013, any family visit visa that was refused was given a right of appeal against that decision. The numbers above reflect this change to appeal rights.
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are used to decide in which countries to have UK consular and visa offices. [196075]
James Brokenshire: Decisions regarding the location of our visa application centres, and the places in which the applications are decided, are based on a number of different factors, including geography, security issues, distribution of demand, political and economic impacts, as well as the financial cost. The Home Office uses commercial partners to help run its network of visa application centres, which are the customer-facing end of the service. Under new contracts which came into effect on 1 April 2014, we will have 340 visa application points in 142 countries around the world. Applications submitted at visa application centres are then sent to one of our 32 decision-making hubs for consideration.
On the consular side, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) supports British nationals through the diplomatic network of 220 posts around the world, in 170 countries. They also have a network of 230 honorary consuls who provide support in places where the UK is not otherwise represented. Having consular partners present in countries where the UK is not represented ensures British nationals have immediate access to assistance. There are only three countries in the world where there is no in country consular representation by the UK or any of our main consular partners (EU, Australia, Canada, US or New Zealand).
These are Palau, Sao Tome & Principe and Tuvalu. In these cases, UK Travel Advice instructs British nationals to seek assistance when needed through the nearest country with British diplomatic representation: Philippines, Angola and Fiji respectively. The FCO currently advise
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against all travel to Syria and warn British nationals who travel there that the FCO will not be able to provide them with any assistance. The FCO also advise against all but essential travel to Iran and advise British nationals to seek assistance from any EU member state present in the country.
Entry Clearances: Israel
Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Israeli citizens were found to be working in the UK without an appropriate visa in each of the last five years. [196266]
James Brokenshire: The following table gives the number of Israeli nationals arrested on illegal working type enforcement visits from 2009 to 2013.
| Table 1: Israeli nationals arrested on illegal working type enforcement visits, 2009 to 2013 | |
| Arrests | |
Entry Clearances: Lesotho
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people from Lesotho applied for UK visas in each of the last 12 years. [196074]
James Brokenshire: The available information is given in the following table:
| Entry clearance visa applications: Lesotho nationals | |
| Source: Table be_03, Before Entry Volume 2 tables, Immigration Statistics October-December 2013 | |
The latest Home Office immigration statistics on entry clearance visa applications (by nationality) are published in the quarterly Immigration Statistics release, which is available from the Library of the House and on the Department’s website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
Illegal Immigrants: Employment
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what total amount of fines has been (a) levied and (b) collected under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 for employment of illegal workers in each year since 2010. [192805]
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James Brokenshire: The civil penalty scheme to prevent illegal working was introduced in the Immigration Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (2006 Act), and came into effect in February 2008.
Before 2010, the average value of penalties collected under the scheme was 14%. Since 2010, the average value of penalties collected has been 45%. The information requested is in the following table. The figures are based on the number of civil penalties served at visited business addresses.
Please note the figures are for penalties levied at the initial decision stage which may be reduced, cancelled, increased or reissued at the objection or appeal stage.
Please also note that the collection figures are not cohort based statistics and therefore do not represent payment against penalties issued in a particular year.
| £ million | ||
| Financial years | Value of initial penalties issued | Value of penalties collected |
Immigration
George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of workers made unemployed, or displaced, as a result of immigration from countries outside the EU in the last year. [191003]
James Brokenshire: The Government commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to
“research the labour market, social and public service impacts of non-EEA migration; and to advise on the use of such evidence in cost-benefit analyses of migration policy decisions”.
The MAC’s report published in 2012 called “Analysis of the Impact of Migration”, available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/257235/analysis-of-the-impacts.pdf
“between 1995 and 2010 an additional 100 non-EU migrants were associated with a reduction in employment of 23 native workers”.
Recently, the Government published a report on the “Impacts of migration on UK native employment: An analytical review of the evidence”, available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/287086/occ109.pdf
This report is a comprehensive review of the evidence around the displacement effect of migrants on UK native employment and builds on the MAC 2012 report.
In addition, a report on the “Employment and Occupational skill levels among UK and foreign nationals” available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/282503/occ108.pdf
finds that over most of the last decade, employment levels in the UK rose faster among foreign nationals
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than among UK nationals. However, this pattern has reversed, and over the last year around 90% of employment growth was accounted for by UK nationals.
Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigration reconsideration cases have been outsourced to Capita Business Services; what payment Capita Business Services receives to process these cases; which country these cases are processed in; and what targets she has set Capita Business Services for that work. [196177]
James Brokenshire: Capita has been contracted to deliver contact management and casework services for the Home Office. The initial target is for 50,000 casework outcomes to be delivered, which includes responding to requests for reconsideration.
Disclosure of payment information would result in commercially sensitive information being placed in the public domain and could jeopardise the effective use of public money by undermining further contractual negotiations.
Capita process all of work under this contract in the United Kingdom.
Capita are currently delivering a phased mobilisation of casework services in a model office environment, to build up capacity and refine processes. The contract requires Capita to deliver the first 50,000 casework outcomes within nine months of completing model office and moving into full delivery under the contract.
Police
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers have received (a) redundancy payments and (b) pension enhancements since 2010; and what the cost of each such type of payment is. [196317]
Damian Green: The Home Office does not hold this information.
Decisions regarding the award and administration of both redundancy and pension payments to police officers are made locally in accordance with the appropriate police regulations. It is the responsibility of chief constables, working with police and crime commissioners, to ensure that they manage their resources appropriately to deliver value for money to the public.
Police and Crime Commissioners
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was claimed by police and crime commissioners in expenses in 2013-14. [196324]
Damian Green: The Home Office does not collect data on expenses claimed by police and crime commissioners (PCCs).
Under paragraph 1 (d) of schedule 1 of the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011, PCCs are obliged to publish
“the allowances paid to each relevant office holder in respect of expenses incurred by the office holder in the exercise of the body’s functions”.
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Article 1(2) of the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011, PCCs defines “relevant office holder” as, where the elected local policing body is a police and crime commissioner, the commissioner and any deputy police and crime commissioner appointed by the commissioner.
Police Custody: Young People
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the code governing detention of teenagers under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act will be redrafted to ensure that 17 year olds in custody are treated as teenagers by the police. [196089]
Damian Green: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Minister for Modern Slavery and Organised Crime of 8 April 2014, Official Report, column 202W.
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many 17 year olds have been held in police custody in the UK in each year since 2010. [196091]
Damian Green: This information is not held centrally.
Police: Bureaucracy
Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department has taken in the last 12 months to reduce the burden of administration for the police. [193681]
Damian Green: This Government have acted so that the police focus on fighting crime and not processing paperwork. Our work which has already taken place to reduce bureaucracy could see up to 4.5 million hours of police time saved across all forces every year-the equivalent of over 2,100 officers back on the beat.
In the last 12 months we have established the Police Innovation Fund to support innovative delivery approaches to policing and free up officer time to fight crime. We have extended the use of police-led prosecutions, reducing bureaucracy for officers dealing with high-volume offences. We have also introduced an improved approach to dealing with missing people so resources are deployed more intelligently.
We are producing digital case files to improve file build and reduce paperwork and we are supporting all forces to develop digital solutions so officers can submit information via mobile devices and not have to return to the station to fill in forms.
Procurement
Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what proportion of business awarded under Framework Contract RM1568 was awarded to businesses on Capita's prime supplier list; and what the value of that business was; [195588]
(2) what proportion of business awarded under Framework Contract RM1568 was awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises; and what the value of that business was. [195589]
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Mr Maude: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
25% of business from contract start to the end of January 2014 was invoiced to Capita and their prime supplier list. The value of this expenditure is £9,893,960.
On SMEs, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) won 64% of awards from the start of the contract to the end of January 2014. We do not hold breakdown by value.
House of Commons Commission
Palace of Westminster: Police
John McDonnell: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the police staff turnover rates have been at SO17 Palace of Westminster over the last 10 years. [194359]
John Thurso: The turnover for police staff (security officers) at SO17 Palace of Westminster since the start of the current contract in April 2010 is as follows:
April 2010 to March 2011: 5.1%
April 2011 to March 2012: 3.2%
April 2012 to March 2013: 7.6%
April 2013 to March 2014: 7.6%
These figures are provided by SO17 and were calculated by dividing the number of leavers every year by the total number of staff. I understand that data for previous years could only be derived from manual records and are not readily available.
John McDonnell: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many police officers have been employed in office-based roles in SO17 Palace of Westminster in each of the last 10 years. [194360]
John Thurso: The number of police officers employed in office-based roles in SO17 Palace of Westminster since the start of the current contract in April 2010 is as follows:
April 2010 to March 2011: 7
April 2011 to March 2012: 7
April 2012 to March 2013: 8
April 2013 to March 2014: 9
At the start of 2013-14 there were 164 police officers and 356 security officers in SO17. These figures are provided by SO17. I understand that data for previous years could only be derived from manual records and are not readily available.
John McDonnell: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many police officer managers have been deployed at SO17 Palace of Westminster in each of the last 10 years. [194361]
John Thurso: The average number of police officer managers, defined as Chief Superintendent, Superintendent, Chief Inspector, Inspector and Sergeant, deployed at SO17 Palace of Westminster since the start of the current contract in April 2010 is as follows:
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April 2010 to March 2011: 20
April 2011 to March 2012: 21
April 2012 to March 2013: 19
April 2013 to March 2014: 21
The numbers vary from month to month so the figures above are rounded averages for the 12 month periods shown. At the start of 2013-14 there were 164 police officers and 356 security officers in SO17.
These figures are provided by SO17. Data for previous years could only be derived from manual records and are not readily available.
Justice
Convictions
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of an offence contrary to section 170 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 in relation to goods prohibited to be imported under section 42 of the Customs Consolidation Act 1876 in each of the last four years. [196433]
Jeremy Wright: Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the Court Proceedings Database does not include the circumstances behind each case beyond the description provided in the statute. It is not possible to separately identify from this centrally held information offences under Section 170 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 relating to prohibited goods under Section 42 of the Customs Consolidation Act 1876 from offences of prohibited goods relating to other statutes. This detailed information may be held on the court record but due to the size and complexity is not reported centrally to the MOJ. As such, the information requested can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of an offence contrary to sections 126 to 129 of the Mental Health Act 1983 in each of the last four years. [196450]
Jeremy Wright: The number of offenders found guilty of offences under Sections 127 and 128 of the Mental Health Act 1983 in England and Wales, from 2008 to 2012 (latest data available) can be viewed in the table. There have been no findings of guilt recorded under section 129 in this time period.
Court proceedings data for 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014.
Data for offences under section 126 of the Mental Health Act 1983 cannot be separately analysed from other offences under other statutes. This information is held by the individual courts in England and Wales but could only be separately identified at disproportionate cost.
| Offenders found guilty at all courts for offences under the Mental Health Act 1983, England and Wales, 2008-121, 2. | |||||
| Section of Act | 20083 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
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| ‘-’ = Nil 1 The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. 4 Describes offences of ill-treatment of patients. 5 Describes offences of assisting patients to absent themselves without leave etc. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice. | |||||
Deportation
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 31 March 2014, Official Report, columns 532-3W, on prisoners: foreign nationals, what the main features of the Early Removal Scheme are; how many foreign national offenders were deported under this scheme in each of the last five years; and what the main features are of the Tariff Expired Removal scheme. [195009]
Jeremy Wright: Under the Early Removal scheme (ERS), Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) who are going to be deported or removed by Immigration Enforcement can be removed from prison and the UK up to a maximum of 270 days before their normal release date. This enables their removal earlier than would otherwise be possible, but only after a minimum of half the requisite custodial period has been served in prison in the UK.
The Tariff Expired Removal scheme (TERS) enables FNOs with life or indeterminate sentences to be removed from the UK using a deportation order once they have completed their minimum tariff period set by the sentencing court. Since its introduction in May 2012, 240 prisoners have been removed under this mechanism (as of April 17 2014).
Those removed subject to a deportation order cannot legally return to the UK. If they do come back in breach of their deportation order this is a criminal offence. They would also be liable to immediate arrest and return to prison to complete the outstanding part of the sentence they would have served had they not been removed early.
The numbers removed under ERS in each of the last four years are:
| ERS removals | |
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We are unable to provide data for the 2009 period. Since 2010 the Home Office have used one system to report on their data. This was not in place in 2009 therefore figures arising from this period may be inconsistent.
Manchester Prison
Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many packages of books delivered to HM Prison Manchester were found to contain drugs in each of the last five years. [196235]
Jeremy Wright: Prisons employ a range of measures to detect, disrupt and deter the trafficking of drugs into prisons. This is particularly the case at HMP Manchester which is a High Security prison. Over the last 5 years there have been 53 recorded attempts to smuggle drugs into Manchester by post-all were in letters.
In common with many other prisons, HMP Manchester does not allow books to be sent direct to prisoners in packages because of the ease with which illicit items may be concealed. As such there have been no recorded incidents of drugs been sent in packages of books over the last 5 years. Prisoners may order books through the prison from approved suppliers and can borrow books from the prison library.
Prisoners' Release
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) male and (b) female prisoners were released on temporary licence by way of (i) resettlement day release, (ii) resettlement overnight release and (iii) childcare resettlement in the latest period for which figures are available. [194409]
Jeremy Wright: Table 1 presents the number of individuals who were granted each of these temporary licence (ROTL) release types, broken down by gender, for 2012, which is the latest year for which published figures are available.
An individual prisoner can have a number of different types of ROTL over a period of time. Where an individual received more than one type of ROTL within the year, this individual has been counted once under each type received. Therefore there will be some individuals who are counted more than once in the table presented.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
| Table 1: Number of individuals granted ROTL, by licence type and gender, 2012 | ||
| Type of licence1 | 2012 | |
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| 1 Where an individual received more than one type of ROTL within the year, this individual has been counted once under each type received. Therefore the sum across all types of licence does equate to the total number of unique individuals who were granted at least one instance of any type of ROTL within the year. Sources: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. | ||
Prisoners: Nigeria
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much the UK Government have agreed to provide the Government of Nigeria in financial support as part of the prisoner transfer agreement with the country signed on 9 January 2014; and what the benefits for the UK are of that agreement. [196094]
Jeremy Wright: We are currently in discussion about supporting further projects that will assist Nigeria to improve their prisons and build the capacity they need to receive prisoners from the UK under the compulsory prisoner transfer agreement we signed in January this year. To date the cross-Government Migration Fund has funded refurbishment works at Kiri Kiri women’s prison in Lagos, and supported a project aimed at increasing access to justice for remand prisoners to tackle the issue of congestion within the Nigerian prison estate.
The prisoner transfer process is just one mechanism for removing foreign national offenders (FNOs). All FNOs sentenced to custody are referred to the Home Office to be considered for deportation at the earliest possible opportunity. The number of FNOs deported under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) has increased under this Government with nearly 2,000 FNOs removed in 2013. Under the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) which we introduced in May 2012, we have removed 243 FNOs (at 23 April 2014).
Whereas this Government has begun to reduce the foreign national population in prison since 2010, between 1997 and 2010, the number of foreign nationals in our prisons more than doubled.
Prisoners: Suicide
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many inmates committed suicide in prison between 2010 and 2013. [196326]
Jeremy Wright: The number of self-inflicted deaths in each year is published in the Safety in Custody statistics bulletin. The latest bulletin was published on 24 April and can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics
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We are working hard to manage the levels of self-harm in prison and are carefully investigating the rise in self-inflicted deaths.
We are providing further resources and support to prisons to help support their safer custody work.
Prisons: Mother and Baby Units
Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many places are available in mother and baby units in the custodial estate in England and Wales. [188790]
Simon Hughes: There is currently space for 64 mothers and 70 babies in mother and baby units in the custodial estate within England and Wales, which allows for multiple births.
Prisons: Publications
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners borrowed books from (a) HM Prison Belmarsh and (b) HM Prison Brixton in (i) January and (ii) February 2014; and what proportion of the prison population in each prison this represents. [195425]
Jeremy Wright: The information is not held centrally by the Ministry of Justice and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent representations he has received from organisations concerned about the inclusion of books in the Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme; and what assessment his Department has made of the effect the inclusion of books in that scheme will have on prisoner rehabilitation. [195779]
Jeremy Wright: There have always been controls on the sending of parcels into prisons, and allowing parcels to be sent in unrestricted would be operationally unmanageable and would lead to a significant risk of drugs and other illicit items being smuggled into prisons.
We have always recognised the importance of reading and literature in the rehabilitative process, and the positive effects this has on prisoners’ welfare. The National Offender Management Service works closely with schemes such as the Shannon Trust reading network, which includes peer mentoring to improve reading levels.
The Howard League for Penal Reform, English PEN and Liberty have made representations concerning prisoner access to books. There have been no changes in the availability of books in prisons. Every prison has a library, to which every prisoner has access. Up to 12 books may be held by prisoners in their cell at any one time and additional volumes may be stored locally at the prison.
Probation: South West
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how long it took to merge Avon and Somerset Probation Services. [195830]
Jeremy Wright:
Avon and Somerset Probation Trust, which was established on 1 April 2010, replaced the
29 Apr 2014 : Column 672W
Avon and Somerset Probation Board, which had been created on 1 April 2001 following the merger of the two separate probation committees for Avon and for Somerset.
Northern Ireland
Consultants
Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which 10 consultancy firms were paid the most by her Department in the last financial year; and how much each of those firms was paid. [195581]
Mrs Villiers: During 2013-14, my Department only used one consultancy firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, who were paid £1,620.
Employment Agencies
Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which five companies were used most often to provide temporary workers for her Department in the last financial year; and how much in agency fees was paid to each of them. [195559]
Mrs Villiers: My Department used four companies to provide temporary workers during the 2013-14 financial year; their names and the amounts paid to them for the provision of temporary staff are shown in the following table.
| £ | |
Stationery
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what levels of stock her Department holds of (a) stationery, (b) printer cartridges, (c) treasury tags and other fasteners and (d) other office consumables. [196214]
Mrs Villiers: The following tables set out the current stock levels of stationery, printer cartridges, treasury tags and other fasteners and other office consumables held in my Department across the three locations at 1 Horse Guards Road, London; Stormont House, Belfast; and Hillsborough Castle.
| Table 1: Stationery items | |
| Product | Quantity |
29 Apr 2014 : Column 673W
| Table 2: Printer Cartridges | |
| Product | Quantity |
| Table 3: Treasury Tags and Other Fasteners | |
| Product | Quantity |
| Table 4: Other Office Consumables | |
| Product | Quantity |
Terrorism
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many officials from her Department attended the recent Crown court trial of John Downey in an official capacity; which representatives of the British-Irish Inter-Governmental Secretariat attended that trial in an official capacity; and if she will make a statement. [196081]
Mrs Villiers: No official representative from either the Northern Ireland Office or the British Irish Inter-Governmental Secretariat attended the Crown court trial of John Downey.
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Scotland
Consultants
Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 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. [195583]
David Mundell: In the last financial year the Scotland Office did not engage or pay any money to any consultancy firm.
Employment Agencies
Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 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. [195561]
David Mundell: The Scotland Office used two companies to provide temporary workers in the last financial year. Temporary workers in Edinburgh were employed from Pertemps Recruitment Partnership Ltd at a total cost of £37,639.21; in London, temporary workers were employed from Eclipse Recruitment Ltd at a total cost of £40,214.17.
Transport
Crossrail Line
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to ensure that the benefits of Crossrail are shared with passengers using London Victoria, London Bridge and London Blackfriars railway stations; and if he will make a statement. [196016]
Stephen Hammond: Crossrail will transform rail transport in London, increasing rail capacity by 10%, reducing congestion and cutting journey times across the city. The Crossrail route will run over 100 km from Reading and Heathrow in the west, through new tunnels under central London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. Crossrail will provide connections with more underground lines than any other service, which will enable more direct journeys and simpler interchanges.
Crossrail will decongest many London Underground lines, notably the Jubilee, Central, District and Circle lines, which many users of London Victoria, London Bridge and London Blackfriars stations use to connect with a range of destinations across London.
A new major rail interchange will be created at Farringdon connecting Crossrail and Thameslink services. This will benefit passengers using Thameslink services to London Bridge and London Blackfriars who will be able to interchange directly onto Crossrail services operating on a 24 train per hour basis from Farringdon connecting passengers directly to Canary Wharf in nine minutes and Bond Street in five minutes. Passengers using London Victoria will have quick access to Crossrail services via the tube network at Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road.
Infrastructure: North West
Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Government invested in highway and infrastructure construction in the North West in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013. [196111]
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Stephen Hammond: HM Treasury’s ‘Country and Regional Analysis November 2013’ states that identifiable public capital expenditure on transport in the North West of England was: 2009-10 £1,229 million, 2010-11 £1,268 million, 2011-12 £1,261 million, 2012-13 £1,257 million.
Stationery
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what levels of stock his Department holds of (a) stationery, (b) printer cartridges, (c) treasury tags and other fasteners and (d) other office consumables. [196217]
Stephen Hammond: The Department does not hold this information centrally and commissioning a stock take of stationery stock levels would represent a disproportionate cost.
Transport: Windsor
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps he has taken to improve transport connections between Windsor and London. [195451]
Stephen Hammond: The programme to increase passenger capacity on the Windsor to Waterloo railway by 25% is now under way and will be completed in early 2015. 60 additional carriages are being incorporated into an extended and refurbished fleet of trains to operate as a maximum 10 carriage train length. The first additional vehicles are now in service. From May 2014, platform 20 of the former Waterloo International station will be brought into use for scheduled services. Construction of Crossrail is now half completed and electrification of the Great Western main line is also under way; the Slough to Windsor and Eton Central line will be electrified by 2019. The Highways Agency is welcoming preliminary comments on the M4 Smart Motorway scheme between Junction 3 (Hayes) and Junction 12 (Theale) until the end of April 2014, and will conduct a formal public consultation on the scheme in the autumn. Subject to development consent and the final business case, construction could start in spring 2016.
West Coast Railway Line
Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what he expects the percentage increase in passenger capacity on the West Coast Mainline to be as a result of High Speed 2. [195448]
Mr Goodwill: HS2 provides a very significant expansion of the rail network’s ability to carry passengers and freight, resulting in improvements to rail services throughout the country.
Compared with today’s capacity, HS2 will ultimately triple the seats available at Euston during the peak hour. The initial Phase One service plan for HS2 in 2026 doubles seating capacity at Euston during the peak hour, while more than doubling commuter and regional service seating capacity, where the crowding pressure is greatest. HS2 will allow space to be released on the existing network, including the West Coast Mainline to
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enable regional, commuter and freight traffic to grow, and for a well-planned timetable of other services to places not served by HS2.
Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what calculations he has used to estimate actual take-up by freight of any spare capacity releases on existing West Coast Mainline tracks if High Speed 2 Phase 2 is realised, including the costs of double and triple handling of goods, products and containers from point of production to point of sale. [195449]
Mr Goodwill: HS2 has the potential to increase the amount of freight that can be carried by rail between London and the West Midlands by using the existing mainline capacity that it releases. HS2 Ltd’s assessment concludes that an extra 20 West Coast Mainline freight paths could be released. The Department has not conducted any analysis of potential take-up of these freight paths released by HS2, and such take-up would be a commercial matter for rail freight operators.
Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 6 March 2014, Official Report, column 940W, on railways: passengers, and to paragraph 4 of Annex 2 to the Tenth Report of the Transport Committee of Session 2010-12, High Speed Rail, HC 1185-i, what assessment he has made of whether an 80 per cent increase in seats on the West Coast Mainline by 2016 should create enough extra seats to deal with projected increase in passenger growth outlined in the answer. [195482]
Mr Goodwill: The Department for Transport asked Network Rail to carry out an assessment of the 51M and RP2 proposals referred to in paragraph 4 of Annex 2 to the Tenth Report of the Transport Committee of Session2010-12, High Speed Rail, HC 1185-i. This assessment is available at:
http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/hs2-review-of-strategic-alternatives/hs2-review-of-strategic-alternatives.pdf
Network Rail’s assessment suggests that the additional capacity proposed by both 51M and RP2 would not match the demand growth on the route and would not solve the overcrowding on suburban services at the southern end of the route in the peak.
Treasury
Jobseeker’s Allowance
15. Nia Griffith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effect of fiscal policy on the number of young people claiming jobseeker's allowance for over 12 months since May 2010. [903723]
Nicky Morgan: Long-term youth unemployment is falling, the number of young people who have been claiming jobseeker’s allowance for over a year has fallen for 17 consecutive months.
But no young person should be left behind in the recovery. We have delivered 1.7 million apprenticeships starts so far this Parliament. We will abolish employer national insurance contributions for under 21s which
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will help to support jobs for almost 1.5 million young people in employment. And we are supporting up to 500,000 young people into education and employment through the Youth Contract.
Saving
17. Steve Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of sustained low interest rates on incentives to save; and if he will make a statement. [903726]
Danny Alexander: Low interest rates have benefited everyone, including through reducing mortgage rates, but the Government recognise that this has made it harder for people’s savings to grow and to secure an adequate income for retirement. The Government believe it is right, therefore, to support hard working people that have taken the long term decisions to save and plan for their future.
The Budget package announced last month aims to help all savers at all stages of life. It reduces tax for the lowest income savers; reforms the ISA regime to give all savers greater flexibility as to where and how they save their money; and creates new products to help retired savers see a better return.
Income Tax
18. Ian Murray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of how much the reduction in the additional rate of income tax to 45 per cent will be worth each year for a person earning £1 million a year. [903727]
21. Lindsay Roy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of how much the reduction in the additional rate of income tax to 45 per cent will be worth each year for a person earning £1 million a year. [903730]
Mr Gauke: I refer the hon. Gentlemen to the answer I gave today to the hon. Member for Sefton Central (Bill Esterson).
Pensioners on Low Incomes
19. Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fiscal steps he is taking to help pensioners on low incomes. [903728]
Mr Gauke: Supporting pensioners is a key priority for this Government. Due to the triple lock, the full basic state pension has increased this month to £113.10 a week-a cash rise of £2.95. This is around £8.50 a week higher than it would have been if it had been uprated only in line with average weekly earnings growth since the start of this Parliament.
We have also passed through the cash rise, due to the triple lock, to the minimum guarantee in pension credit. This ensures that the poorest pensioners also benefit.
This Government also continue to protect universal pensioner benefits, such as winter fuel payments, free eye tests and prescriptions.
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“Europe for Citizens” Programme
22. Michael Connarty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the potential funds that will accrue to the public purse from the "Europe for Citizens" programme. [903731]
Nicky Morgan: No estimate has been made of potential funds that will accrue to the public purse from the Europe for Citizens Programme.
Business Premises Renovation Allowance
23. David Mowat: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to reform the business premises renovation allowance following HM Revenue and Customs' recent consultation. [903732]
Mr Gauke: The Government have introduced legislation in Finance Bill 2014 to clarify the scope of Business Premises Renovation Allowance. The aim is to address exploitation of the allowance, while preserving it as an investment incentive and ensuring continued value for money for tax payers.
Bank Services
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect the introduction of seven-day bank account switching has had on the number of people changing bank account provider; and if he will make a statement. [195454]
Andrea Leadsom: The Current Account Switching Service launched in September of last year, and has had a very positive impact. Early signs are positive, with switching numbers in Q4 of 2013 up by 17% compared to Q4 of the previous year.
The Financial Conduct Authority will carry out a review in September of this year into the effectiveness of the Current Account Switching Service. This will include an assessment of the effect the introduction of seven day account switching has had on the number of people changing bank account provider.
Consultants
Chris Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 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. [195585]
Andrea Leadsom: Since January 2011, central Government Departments have been required to publish on Contracts Finder information on the contracts they award:
www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/
In addition, Departments publish details of spend in excess of £25,000 at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/25000-spend
Credit: Interest Rates
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will bring forward proposals to limit the interest rate payable on payday loans; and if he will make a statement; [195597]
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(2) if he will bring forward legislative proposals to make personal debt charged at an APR of over 30 per cent unrecoverable; and if he will make a statement. [195592]
Andrea Leadsom: The Government legislated in the Banking Reform Act 2013 to require the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to introduce a cap on the cost of high-cost short-term credit, including payday loans, in order to protect consumers from excessive costs. In designing the cap, the FCA will take into account the interest rate and other fees and charges which may be incurred in relation to a high-cost loan.
As part of the FCA’s powers to cap the cost of credit in the Financial Services Act 2012, the Government gave the FCA specific powers to prevent a lender enforcing a credit agreement and recovering the debt, if the agreement contravenes its rules on the cost of credit. It can also require that any money or property transferred under the credit agreement must be returned.
The FCA is currently conducting analysis to inform the design of the cap; it has committed to publishing its proposed rules which implement the cap in July. The FCA plans to publish final rules in the autumn and all lenders must be compliant with the cap by 2 January 2015. The Government support the FCA’s proposed timetable for implementing the cap: it allows the FCA appropriate time to conduct analysis, consult on its proposals and ensure that firms are fully compliant by January. It also allows the FCA to draw on the insight of the Competition and Markets Authority’s study into payday lenders in designing the cap.
Employment Agencies
Chris Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 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. [195563]
Andrea Leadsom: Under this Government’s transparency programme, contracts are published on Contracts Finder which is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder
In addition all Departments publish details of transactions above £25,000. Data for HM Treasury can be found at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/25000-spend
Private Sector
Lucy Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many jobs have been transferred from the public to the private sector as a result of privatisations or outsourcing by his Department since May 2010. [195516]
Andrea Leadsom: HM Treasury have not transferred any jobs to the private sector as a result of privatisations or outsourcing since May 2010.
Social Security Benefits
Mr Bain:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in each (a) region and (b) constituent part of the UK were in receipt of (i) universal credit and (ii) other in-work tax credits or benefits at the beginning
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of the current financial year; and if he will estimate the likely numbers of such people in each of the following two financial years. [195483]
Nicky Morgan: The provisional award Child and Working Tax Credits statistics for December 2013, split by geography, are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/266640/1312_Geog_sent.xls
Table 2 breaks down Tax Credit claimants by Region and Table 4 by constituency. Those in receipt of WTC are presented within the ‘WTC and CTC’ and ‘With no children’ columns.
Figures for the current financial year are not yet available, but HMRC are due to publish the next provisional tax credits national statistics for April 2014 on 25 April.
Forecasts of tax credit claimant numbers are not available.
Official statistics on Universal Credit were published on 19 March and can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293502/universal-credit-first-release-mar14.pdf
DWP announced plans for the next stage of implementation on 5 December, and these were set out in a written ministerial statement (WMS). The WMS can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/universal-credit-progress
Statistics on numbers in receipt of other benefits are available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2014
VAT
Hilary Benn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many VAT431C claims have been submitted in each of the last 32 quarters; [196288]
(2) how many VAT431NB claims have been submitted in each of the last 32 quarters. [196287]
Mr Gauke: Data on these forms are not kept on a quarterly basis.
Wales
Consultants
Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 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. [195586]
Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office did not employ any consultants in 2013-14.
Employment Agencies
Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 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. [195564]
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Stephen Crabb: The information requested is as follows, for financial year 2013-14:
| £ | |
Stationery
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what levels of stock his Department holds of (a) stationery, (b) printer cartridges, (c) treasury tags and other fasteners and (d) other office consumables. [196219]
Stephen Crabb: As a small Government Department the Wales Office does not keep large amounts of stationery or other office consumables. The level of stock is monitored regularly, and replenished as necessary to meet business needs.
The Wales Office uses IT services under Ministry of Justice contracts which include the supply of printer cartridges. Cartridges are ordered automatically and we hold no reserves.
Work and Pensions
Disability Living Allowance
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recipients there are of disability living allowance, by parliamentary constituency. [196119]
Mike Penning: The information requested is already published and can be found at:
http://83.244.183.180/100pc/dla/ccparlc/ccsex/a_carate_r_ccparlc_c_ccsex_aug13.html
Personal Independence Payment
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many times the date set for the implementation of the personal independence payment programme has changed since that policy was introduced. [196083]
Mike Penning: Personal independence payment was introduced, as planned, to a limited geographical area from 8 April 2013 for new claimants. As further planned, it was extended nationally from 10 June 2013 for new claimants.
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the criteria is by which his Department determined the successful bidders for management of the administration of the personal independence payments contracts. [196118]
Mike Penning: The personal independence payment (PIP) assessment providers were selected following a fair and open competition.
Tenders were assessed against a detailed set of criteria which covered key aspects of PIP service delivery. A wide range of areas were assessed but particular weighting was given to bidders' management of the claimant
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journey, staff recruitment, delivering assessments by health professionals, performance management, estates and overall implementation.
Providers were selected on the basis of the most economic advantageous tender which overall assessed a combination of qualitative, risk and financial factors to determine the preferred supplier for each contract to be awarded.
Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate his Department has made of the proportion of claimants who will receive higher rates under the new personal independence payment compared to the disability living allowance. [196140]
Mike Penning: The Department published its estimates of the proportion of claimants to personal independence payment (PIP) who will be in receipt of both the enhanced rates on 19 December 2012, available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/180964/pip-reassessments-and-impacts.pdf
By May 2018, we estimate that 23% of claimants will be receiving both the enhanced rates. In comparison, we estimate that the proportion receiving both the higher rates of disability living allowance without the introduction of PIP would be 16%.
Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the performance of Capita on processing medical assessment reports for personal independence payments. [196278]
Mike Penning: The Department’s contract with Capita for the delivery of assessments for personal independence payment includes a full set of service level agreements setting out the Department's expectations for service delivery. We are closely monitoring their progress against these and are taking action to drive up performance where this does not meet the required standards.
We are aware that, in many cases, it is taking longer than we would like for claimants to have their assessments with Capita. We are working closely with our supplier to speed up the process for claimants.
Personal Independence Payment: Wales
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what average length of time was taken to process personal independence payments applications and DS1500s for clients who were terminally ill in Wales in the last year; [195940]
(2) if his Department will introduce a seven day deadline for the processing of personal independence payments for the terminally ill. [195827]
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), on5 March 2014, Official Report, column 850W.
Although personal independence payment is a new benefit, and the Department does not have a target for completion of claims while processes are bedding in, we do deal urgently with special rules claims for terminally
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ill claimants. We are implementing a range of improvements to improve clearance times for people with a terminal illness, including a dedicated phone service which we introduced in February 2014.
Procurement
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of his Department’s performance in handling commercial contracts. [195998]
Mike Penning: In 2013, the Department recruited a new commercial director who has reviewed the Department’s commercial capability and capacity. The review took account of the views and policy steers from the Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG), the chief procurement officer and Crown representatives.
The review found that while there are areas of high capability, in some of the most complex contract areas there is a need to improve the capability and capacity of the Department’s commercial function and people. In line with civil service reform and the ERG-led procurement reform programme, the Department initiated a commercial improvement programme. The programme completed a commercial skills survey in October 2013. It also restructured the commercial organisation where assessment of current practice against the standards of the NAO contract management model was also conducted.
The commercial improvement programme will strengthen commercial capability by developing and running training to underpin contract management capability and fill identified current skills gaps. Further improvement actions will be informed by the report of an independent assessment of the Department’s contract management capability, currently being conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers. The Department’s commercial capability will also be evaluated by a review team as part of a new ERG programme during 2014.
Social Security Benefits
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the administration costs are, per claimant, of (a) disability living allowance and (b) personal independence payments. [195875]
Mike Penning: Personal independence payment (PIP) and disability living allowance (DLA) are different benefits with different delivery models. PIP includes a more objective assessment process, with a face-to-face consultation for most people. That is different to DLA, which is a self-assessed paper based process that purely looks at the type of health condition or impairment they have. It was always expected that PIP would produce an overall increased administration cost compared to DLA for these reasons. The current administration cost for DLA per claimant is £56.06. A comparable administration cost is currently unavailable for PIP.
State Retirement Pensions
Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people currently receiving a UK state pension and living in the UK who would move abroad if pensions were up-rated for all UK pensioners living overseas. [196561]
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Steve Webb: The Department has not made any estimate of the number of people currently receiving a UK state pension and living in the UK who would move abroad if pensions were uprated for all UK pensioners living overseas.
It would be difficult to develop a robust estimate of this, as in practice there will be a wide range of factors that determine decisions to emigrate.
Stationery
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what levels of stock his Department holds of (a) stationery, (b) printer cartridges, (c) treasury tags and other fasteners and (d) other office consumables. [196220]
Mike Penning: We do not have this level of information on a site by site basis either by value or volume. We operate a ‘lean’ supply chain with minimal stock holding.
We are unable to confirm any stock held by sites, inclusive of paper as this information is not collected.
As part of the managed print service, we operate on the basis of one consumable per device as stock, or three for a colour device; we also hold some drums and other products depending on the model. There are approximately 7,910 devices at present. This does not take into account devices which are not part of the managed print service.
(c) Treasury tags and other fasteners
We do not have this information available, this would require further analysis of management information for the desktop stationery contract and definition of other fasteners to identify the appropriate product lines.
We do not have this information available, this would require further analysis of management information for the desktop stationery contract and definition of what constitutes other office consumables in order to obtain information for each individual product.
Wolverhampton
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an assessment of the effect of using Wolverhampton as a redistribution centre for all mail relating to processing benefit claims, payments and appeals on (a) time taken to process and (b) the reliability of the claims process. [196080]
Mike Penning: DWP post opening arrangements are delivered as part of a contract for Office Services awarded to Cofely (formerly Balfour Beatty Workplace) which commenced on 1 March 2007. The contract was let in line with EU procurement legislation and offers significant cost savings and efficiencies over the previous arrangements which were a mixture of third party contractors and in-house teams.
In 2013 and in partnership with Cofely, DWP has introduced a new initiative to transform DWP’s mail services. The Mail Opening, Scanning and Indexing Project will provide a single strategic service for post opening and scanning across DWP allowing our front-line staff to work more efficiently and effectively while drastically reducing our paper consumption, storage
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requirements and demonstrating the Departments commitment to the Government’s digital agenda.
As part of the overall efficiencies, we have consolidated the number of MOUs from 29 sites operated by the Royal Mail Group to just two locations operated by Cofely, but underpinned by a new Royal Mail sorting office in Wolverhampton.
The consolidation to two MOUs is currently being transformed; the Department is working with all the
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providers impacted in the supply chain to optimise quality, performance and service delivery.
As with any new way of working, time is needed for processes and procedures to be bedded in and the Department continues to work closely with the supplier, regularly reviewing their performance. The Department is confident that this new way of handling inbound mail when coupled with the increase in scanning, will deliver efficiencies and a better service to our customers in the long term.