Written Answers to Questions

Tuesday 6 May 2014

Cabinet Office

Conditions of Employment

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) women and (b) men employed on zero-hours contracts in the UK. [196923]

Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Glen Watson, dated May 2014:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) women and (b) men employed on zero-hours contracts in the UK. 196923

Estimates of the numbers and characteristics of people in employment on zero-hours contracts are available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which is a survey of people resident in households. The LFS asks people in employment if their job has any flexible working arrangements and, if so, to choose from a list of employment patterns as to which best describes their situation. “Zero-hours contract” is one of the options listed and is described as a contract ‘where a person is not contracted to work a set number of hours, and is only paid for the number of hours that they actually work’.

Further to this, the ONS announced on 23 August 2013 that it would additionally undertake a survey of businesses, to obtain an employer-based estimate to complement the existing LFS employee-based figure, as in the following link:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/mro/news-release/ons-announces-additional-estimate-of-zero-hours-contracts/zhc0813.html

Results from the ONS business survey were published on 30 April 2014:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lmac/contracts-with-no-guaranteed-hours/zero-hours-contracts/art-zero-hours.html

This adopted a slightly different definition to the LFS, and reported on the number of employee contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours, which provided work in the survey reference period. This estimate includes, but is not exclusively, “zero-hours contracts” and covers some other contract types that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours.

According to the LFS for the three-month period October to December 2013, there were an estimated 583,000 people on a zero-hours contract in the UK. For the ONS business survey, there were 1.4 million employee contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours, which provided work in the survey reference period of the fortnight beginning 20 January 2014. This is higher than the figure reported in the LFS for a number of reasons:

i. employers and employees will have differing perceptions and awareness about the types of employment contracts used;

ii. the employer survey will count employee contracts, not people, and will provide higher estimates (as one person can have more than one contract);

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iii. employers in the business survey may report multiple contracts for each job;

iv. the questions asked of respondents differed slightly, with the business survey asking about contracts not guaranteeing any hours, while the LFS question uses the term “zero-hours contracts”;

v. the LFS includes all people in employment (including the self-employed) while the business survey only includes employees.

As for the original question of the numbers by gender, it is only the LFS that enables a breakdown by gender, and this shows that the 583,000 is split as 263,000 (45%) men and 319,000 (55%) women.

Debts

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the aggregate household debt in the UK was in the most recent quarter for which figures are available. [196847]

Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Glen Watson, dated April 2014:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the aggregate household debt in the UK was in the most recent quarter for which figures are available. (196847)

The Office for National Statistics publishes details of the combined financial liabilities of households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH). NPISH is a relatively small contributor to the sector. The most recent analyses can be found in table A64 of the United Kingdom Economic Accounts (UKEA) 2013 Q4, published on 28 March 2014. The UKEA is available on the National Statistics web site at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/naa1-rd/united-kingdom-economic-accounts/q4-2013/index.html

This shows that, in households and NPISH, the combined “Total financial liabilities” increased in 2013 Q4 to a figure of £1,555.0 billion. In the same period in 2012 the figure was £1,544.3 billion.

Infant Mortality

Mr Love: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the five most common causes of infant mortality have been over the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [197265]

Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated May 2014:

On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the five most common causes of infant mortality have been over the last five years. [197265]

Table 1 provides the number of deaths for the top five causes among infants, for those occurring in England and Wales from 2008 to 2012 (the latest year available).

Figures for infant mortality in England and Wales are published annually on the ONS website at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/child-mortality-statistics--childhood--infant-and-perinatal/index.html

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Policy

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office in what circumstances he uses a calculation of the (a) value of preventing a fatality, (b) willingness to pay and (c) cost-per-quality adjusted life year approach to quantify the value of a policy intervention; what other tools he uses to quantify the benefit of a policy intervention; and if he will make a statement. [196458]

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Mr Hurd: These things are not easy to quantify. Approaches to quantifying benefits of a policy intervention are used in accordance with principles outlined in HM Treasury’s guidance on conducting appraisal and evaluation in central Government (known as the “Green Book”). The Green Book recognises that using these approaches to quantify the benefits of an intervention is challenging, and that the approaches should be used appropriately.

Senior Civil Servants

Hilary Benn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the Government's target is for the proportion of (a) women, (b) people from black and minority ethnic communities and (c) disabled people in senior management posts in central Government Departments. [196793]

Mr Maude: Appointments and promotion in the civil service should be made on merit through fair and open competition. To ensure our civil service delivers the best for Britain we must draw on the widest possible pool of talent. We want to ensure that the best people—irrespective of who they are—rise to the top of the civil service but are concerned that for too long the very top ranks do not reflect those further down. We have commissioned independent research to look at the blockages women face making it to the very top and will use this to drive a new strategy for managing talent.

Stationery

Mr Redwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what levels of stock his Department holds of (a) stationery, (b) printer cartridges, (c) treasury tags and other fasteners and (d) other office consumables; [196197]

(2) what levels of stock No. 10 Downing Street holds of (a) stationery, (b) printer cartridges, (c) treasury tags and other fasteners and (d) other office consumables. [196215]

Mr Hurd: The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Youth Services

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what estimate has he made of the proportion of youth services commissioned by local authorities from (a) in-house bids from directly-funded providers, (b) voluntary organisation and (c) private-sector companies in each year since 2010; [196256]

(2) what steps his Department is taking to ensure continuity in local authority provision of youth services during commissioning processes to tender those services. [196224]

Mr Hurd: Local authorities are expected to make arrangements for continuity of provision of services and activities to young people throughout any commissioning activity. Statutory guidance on this duty was issued by the Department for Education in July 2012.

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Local authorities are required to submit to Government separate budget and outturn statements outlining planned and actual expenditure for their education and children’s social care functions annually. This includes spend information on youth work and youth services, however this information does not allow a complete breakdown by different categories of organisation to be calculated.

Northern Ireland

Domestic Visits

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many times she has visited Northern Ireland since 1 January 2014; and what the length was of each such visit. [196581]

Mrs Villiers: I have visited Northern Ireland 14 times since 1 January 2014. On two occasions the length of the visit was a day, on 10 occasions the length of the visit was two days and on two occasions the length of the visit was three days.

Northern Ireland Government

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what discussions she has had with HM Treasury on additional financial support to implement the draft proposals put forward in the Haass agreement; [196582]

(2) what assessment her Department has made of the cost of introducing any new structures proposed by the Haass agreement. [196583]

Mrs Villiers: No estimate has been made of the cost. I continue to support and encourage the Northern Ireland parties as they pursue an agreement on flags, parading and the past, but as these are mainly devolved matters funding for new structures would principally come out of the Block Grant that is paid to the Northern Ireland Executive. Requests for additional funding will be considered in the context of the current UK Government deficit that we inherited from our predecessors and would require Treasury approval.

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what meetings she has had with (a) the First Minister of Northern Ireland, (b) the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and (c) both the First and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland in the last 12 months. [196713]

Mrs Villiers: I meet regularly with the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to discuss a range of issues and will continue to do so.

Terrorism

Mr Khalid Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether west midlands police were contacted on the issuing of so-called comfort letters to anyone suspected of involvement in the Birmingham Pub Bombings. [196607]

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Mrs Villiers: I am not aware of any contact with west midlands police by my Department prior to the issuing of any letters to individuals involved in the on-the-runs administrative scheme.

Mr Khalid Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will publish witness statements given to the Downey trial. [196613]

Mrs Villiers: This is a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service.

Mr Khalid Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the families of all victims of crimes for which the beneficiaries of so-called comfort letters were convicted have yet been informed that such letters were issued. [196707]

Mrs Villiers: The administrative scheme established by the previous Government operated as follows; the police (and in some cases the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland) checked whether sufficient evidence existed in each case at that time for named individuals to be questioned, arrested or prosecuted if they returned to Northern Ireland or any other part of the United Kingdom.

If it was concluded that there was no prospect of any prosecution based on the evidence then available, the individuals were informed that they were not wanted by the police—the letters were only ever a statement of fact regarding an individual's status with the police and prosecuting authorities at a particular point in time i.e. whether they were sought for arrest or not. Lady Justice Hallett has been appointed to investigate the administrative scheme and to provide a full public account of how it operated.

Prime Minister

Nuclear Power

Paul Flynn: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his oral answer of 30 April 2014, Official Report, column 824, what the evidential basis is for the statement that nuclear power is carbon-free. [197381]

The Prime Minister: There is a strong consensus in the global scientific community that nuclear energy represents one of the lowest carbon forms of baseload electricity generation.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that the life cycle emissions associated with the generation of electricity from nuclear power groups are 16g CO2 per kWh electricity produced. This is very low compared to the equivalent figure for electricity produced by natural gas turbines, which is in excess of 400g CO2/kWh, and similar to the IPCC's estimate for widespread non-baseload form of electricity generation, such as wind.

The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology report ‘Carbon Footprint of Electricity Generation’ states that the operation of the nuclear power station accounts for less than 1% of the total life cycle emissions of nuclear electricity generation.

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Pakistan

Paul Flynn: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 28 April 2014, Official Report, column 473W, on Pakistan, whether Pakistan's possession of nuclear weapons and the prospects of Pakistan joining the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty were discussed at his 30 April 2014 meeting with the Prime Minister of Pakistan. [197010]

The Prime Minister: When I met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on 30 April, I discussed a range of issues, including on foreign and security policy.

It is the UK’s position that all countries should join and abide by the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty.

Deputy Prime Minister

European Union: Citizenship

Simon Danczuk: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking in support of Action 12 of the EU Citizenship Report 2013, com (2013) 269. [196654]

Greg Clark: The issue of voting in domestic elections is a matter for national Governments and we do not accept the Commission's view of a European Public Space.

General Elections: Voting Rights

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make an assessment of the feasibility of granting people the right to vote in General Elections based on residency rather than nationality; and if he will make a statement. [196936]

Greg Clark: The Government have no plans to link the right to vote in general elections to residency rather than nationality.

Stationery

Mr Redwood: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what levels of stock his Office holds of (a) stationery, (b) printer cartridges, (c) treasury tags and other fasteners and (d) other office consumables. [196202]

The Deputy Prime Minister: The information requested is not held centrally.

Attorney-General

Counterfeit Manufacturing: Alcoholic Drinks

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Attorney-General how many people in the UK were prosecuted for the production or sale of counterfeit alcohol in each of the last five years. [196599]

Nicky Morgan: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Treasury.

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HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold the management information required to answer the specific question around counterfeit product.

Freezing Orders

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many and what value of asset freezing orders have been enforced in the UK at the request of overseas jurisdictions in each year since 2008-09. [193657]

The Solicitor-General: The number and estimated value of restraint orders obtained by the CPS and SFO pursuant to requests from overseas jurisdictions since 2008-09 are shown in the following tables.

The value of restrained assets may vary over time due to changes in asset valuations, exchange rates and payments of expenses.

Minimum Wage: Prosecutions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many cases of non-payment of the minimum wage were (a) referred to the Crown Prosecution Service from HM Revenue and Customs, (b) prosecuted and (c) prosecuted successfully in 2013-14 and each of the preceding three financial years. [197340]

The Solicitor-General: Based on data held centrally by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) together with information provided by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which has responsibility for enforcing the law in relation to the national minimum wage, I have established (a) three referrals were made to the CPS from HMRC in 2010-11. No referrals were made in the financial years 2011-12, 2012-13 or 2013-14. (b) One prosecution commenced in 2011-12 from the three cases referred in 2010-11. (c) One conviction is recorded in 2010-11 (referred in 2009-10) and one conviction in 2012-13 (referred in 2010-11). This information represents the period of 2013-14 and the preceding three financial years.

HMRC also has civil enforcement powers to secure and punish in cases of non-compliance.

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Pornography: Internet

Helen Goodman: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 29 April 2014, Official Report, column 540W, on pornography: internet, how many prosecutions there have been under section 2 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 since 2005 in which a person has been charged in connection with the distribution of R18 equivalent material on a website which allowed under-18s to see such material. [197390]

The Solicitor-General: The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service do not specify the type of material which is the subject of a charge under Section 2 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 (publishing or having an obscene article for gain). To obtain details of individual cases would require a manual review, which could only be undertaken at disproportionate cost.

Trade Unions

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Attorney-General whether the Law Officers' Departments have any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system. [196759]

The Solicitor-General: These arrangements are kept under review.

Women and Equalities

Gender: Equality

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2014, Official Report, columns 578-9W, on equality, how many companies responded to the recent survey of companies participating in the Think, Act, Report initiative; and what information her Department holds on which companies participating in that initiative (a) have conducted a gender pay audit in the last two years and (b) publish detailed gender pay gap information for each grade. [197286]

Jenny Willott: The survey of Think, Act, Report participating companies was conducted in October 2013. There were 39 responses, roughly a third of the companies then supporting the initiative.

The survey was anonymous, so the Department does not hold information on which of the companies have conducted gender pay audits. However, we are aware there are at least 16 such companies.

At least two companies, Friends Life and Genesis Housing, publish detailed gender pay gap information broken down by every grade. The Government are using the initiative to encourage companies to publish pay information, and for many of them signing-up to Think, Act, Report is their first step on that journey.

Work and Pensions

Children: Maintenance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recovery actions in respect of child support arrears owed to the parent residing in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency

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were

(a)

commenced,

(b)

concluded successfully and

(c)

suspended in the last three years for which figures are available. [196988]

Steve Webb: Information on the number of recovery actions in respect of child support arrears owed to the parent with care in the Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency is not available as it is not routinely recorded for management information purposes. To provide this would require the creation of new information which could only be completed and appropriately assured at a disproportionate cost.

Information regarding enforcement actions undertaken by the Child Support Agency (CSA) is published on page 48 of the CSA Quarterly Summary of Statistics. This can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-statistics-december-2013

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much remains outstanding in child maintenance arrears by (a) UK parliamentary constituency area and (b) local authority area in each of the last three years. [197190]

Steve Webb: Information on the amount of child maintenance arrears owed by (a) UK parliamentary constituency will be placed in the Library.

The information on child maintenance arrears by (b) local authority area is already published and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284686/csa_qtr_summ_stats_ regional_dec13.xls

Notes:

The table contains outstanding arrears figures as at December 2012 and December 2013 broken down by each local authority. Although arrears figures are available in previously published versions of the regional tables, available at

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-statistics--2

these figures are not comparable due to a different methodology.

Employment and Support Allowance

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many employment and support allowance claimants in the work-related activity group in (a) Scotland, (b) Airdrie and Shotts constituency, (c) North Lanarkshire and (d) the UK (i) successfully and (ii) unsuccessfully appealed against the imposition of a sanction in (A) the two years prior to December 2012 and (B) each year since December 2012 including the most recent period for which figures are available. [196528]

Esther McVey: The information requested is shown in the following table:

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Employment: Young People

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of young people participating in the Youth Contract have been offered permanent employment by their employer once they have completed their placement since the commencement of that programme. [196903]

Esther McVey: From April 2012 to November 2013 there have been 99,640 18-24 year olds who have started a work experience placement and 41,360 18-24 year olds who have started Sector based work academy pre-employment training. [Youth Contract official statistics: February 2014]. Research found that 22% of WE participants who completed their placement were offered a job by placement organisers (from a base of 824 survey respondents who completed placement).

42% of sbwa participants who had a placement and completed it were offered a job by their placement organiser (from a base of 126 who completed a placement).

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284017/rr865-youth-contract-customer-experiences.pdf

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people have benefited from Youth Contract wage incentives, by region, in each year since the Youth Contract was introduced; [197147]

(2) how much has been paid out in wage incentives under the Youth Contract, by region, in each year since its introduction. [197150]

Esther McVey: The latest information that we hold on Youth Contract Wage Incentives was published in February 2014 and can be found at the following link.

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We do not collect payment data in a form that allows them to be reported at regional level.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/283873/youth-contract-feb14.pdf

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent on consultants working on the Youth Contract in each year since its introduction. [197148]

Esther McVey: DWP does not have any consultants working on the delivery of the Youth Contract.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what funding is currently allocated to the Youth Contract; and what proportion of that funding is allocated for wage incentives. [197151]

Esther McVey: Our 2014-15 budget allocation for Youth Contract is £183.75 million, of which £42.55 million is currently allocated to wage incentives (23.2%).

Industrial Health and Safety: Stress

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what steps the Government are taking to ensure that workers report work-related stress to their employers; [197181]

(2) what steps the Government are taking to enable employers to handle cases of employees suffering from work-related stress or other psychological problems affecting their work. [197182]

Mike Penning: Health and safety regulations already place a duty on employers to consult with all employees over issues that may affect their health and safety, including work-related stress.

My Department will also introduce a new Health and Work Service to provide occupational health advice and support for employees, employers and GPs to help individuals with health conditions, including stress and other psychological problems, to stay in or return to work. This service will provide a more effective system for employees to report work-related stress issues.

The service is due to begin by the end of 2014.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require employers to undertake a systematic assessment of psychological risks in the workplace. [197183]

Mike Penning: The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 already require employers to undertake an assessment of risks to the health and safety of their employees. The Health and Safety Executive’s Management Standards for work-related stress provide further practical guidance to support this legislation, and help employers to assess the risk of work-related stress. The Government believe that this represents a proportionate and sensible approach to the assessment of work-related stress and psychological risks.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will commission an assessment of the causes of work-related stress. [197184]

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Mike Penning: There is already a considerable amount of academic research—national and international—that has evidenced the primary causes of work-related stress. The Health and Safety Executive website provides details of a wide range of research commissioned over the past decade:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/research.htm

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if his Department will publish guidance for employers on reducing the causes of work-related stress. [197185]

Mike Penning: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has already published a comprehensive range of guidance to help employers reduce the causes of work-related stress:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/

Guidance on HSE’s Management Standards for work-related stress is available free to download from the HSE website:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/index.htm

Jobcentre Plus

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many representations he has received opposing the removal of customer access phones from Jobcentre Plus offices; which Jobcentre Plus offices serving constituents of Ogmore constituency have been affected by the removal of customer access phones from such offices; and how many people in Ogmore constituency are being serviced by each such Jobcentre Plus office. [196609]

Esther McVey: The Department has received a number of representations on the removal of Customer Access Phones. The Department operates an Operational Stakeholder Engagement Forum, made up of charities, community organisations and customer representative groups, and this issue will be discussed at the next meeting of the Forum in May.

Jobcentres provide face-to-face support for claimants. Following the removal of Customer Access Phones, claimants who require access to a phone-in connection with their benefit or job search will still be given controlled access to a telephone in a jobcentre.

Ogmore constituents are served by several jobcentres as the jobcentre network does not reflect constituency boundaries. A summary follows by jobcentre in the constituency:

Bridgend Jobcentre

Customer Access Phones have not yet been removed.

Maesteg Jobcentre

Customer Access Phones were withdrawn, replaced by a new assisted service of face-to-face support in 2014.

Llantrisant Jobcentre

Customer Access Phones were withdrawn, replaced by a new assisted service of face-to-face support in 2014.

Porth Jobcentre

One Customer Access Phone is currently available; three were withdrawn between November 2013 and January 2014, because of falling demand.

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Jobcentre boundaries do not match constituency boundaries so we can only provide a breakdown for Ogmore in total. These are as follows:

Total JSA claimants (March 2014): 1,559.

(Source: ONS claimant count with rates and proportions).

Total claimants (Working-age client group—key benefit claimants (August 2013)): 10,510.

(Source: DWP benefit claimants—working age client group).

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many reported assaults there have been on members of staff in Jobcentre Plus in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) West Lothian local authority area and (d) Livingston constituency in each of the last five years. [196725]

Mike Penning: All incidents of unacceptable behaviour are taken very seriously by the Department and particularly those of a physical assault. Jobcentres have a robust set of control measures in place to reduce such risk, and work with the police and departmental solicitors to ensure appropriate punitive action is taken against those who assault our staff. In September 2011 a new online incident reporting system was introduced to support staff and improve the quality of incidents reported.

It is also important to note that physical assaults, whether resulting in injury or not, on staff within jobcentres¹ are very rare and should be viewed in context of the millions of interactions undertaken by our staff each year.

¹Incident figures reported by the Department include our security officers/customer care officers (CCO’s) as staff on Jobcentre premises, by default.

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many days were lost due to illness among Jobcentre Plus staff in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) West Lothian local authority area and (d) Livingston constituency in each of the last five years. [196726]

Mike Penning: DWP has robust and effective measures in place for managing sickness absence and has succeeded in cutting sickness absence from an annual average of 11.1 days per employee in 2007 to 6.9 days per employee currently. To place this in context the civil service average is 7.6 days.

Jobcentre Plus was re-structured and absorbed into a revised Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Operations structure in October 2011. Since that point, it has no longer existed as a separate organisation. This means the information beyond September 2011 is not available.

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In accordance with cross government arrangements; the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) reports sick leave expressed as average working days lost (AWDL) per employee, over a rolling 12-month period

The following table shows Jobcentre Plus AWDL for 2009-10 and 2010-11. Information was not available for the period April to September 2011 because this was less than a 12 month period.

To put these reductions into context, if Average Working Days Lost in DWP was still at the level it was in 2007, the Department would be paying over £27.5 million more in sick pay than it is at present.

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria his Department uses to measure the performance of each Jobcentre Plus office. [196736]

Esther McVey: Jobcentre Plus offices’ performance is measured in a variety of ways, including in respect of how quickly they help get people off benefits and into work.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Jim McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many sanctions were applied to jobseeker's allowance claimants in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Dundee in each of the last three years. [196554]

Esther McVey: Statistics on the number of jobseeker’s allowance benefit claimants, who have been sanctioned in Great Britain, Scotland and Dundee, 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

Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:

http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research.htm

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many decision makers within the jobseeker's allowance framework in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) North Lanarkshire and (d) Airdrie and Shotts constituency had a complaint issued against them in each of the last four years; and how many of those complaints led to disciplinary action. [196888]

Mike Penning: The information sought is contained in individual personnel records. DWP cannot provide this information as it could be collated only at a disproportionate cost to the Department.

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Jobseeker's Allowance: Lone Parents

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research he has commissioned on the number of single parents on jobseeker's allowance who have been sanctioned; what the reasons are for such sanctions; and what the proportion of such sanctions that have been overturned is. [196501]

Esther McVey: The Department has commissioned research with lone parents on jobseeker’s allowance which provides further information on sanctions. Findings are published on the DWP website:

Coleman, N and Riley, T; (2012); Lone Parent Obligations: following lone parents’ journeys from benefit to work; DWP Research Report 818:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lone-parent-obligations-following-lone-parents-journeys-from-benefits-to-work-rr818

Lane et al; (2011); Lone Parent Obligations: work, childcare and the Jobseeker’s Allowance regime; DWP Research Report 782:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lone-parent-obligations-work-childcare-and-the-jobseekers-allowance-regime-rr782

Casebourne et al; (2010); Lone Parent Obligations: destinations of lone parents after Income Support eligibility ends; DWP Research Report 710:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lone-parent-obligations-destinations-of-lone-parents-after-income-supporteligibility-ends-rr710

Gloster R al; (2010); Lone Parent Obligations: early findings of implementation as well as experiences of the Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance regimes; DWP Research Report 645:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lone-parent-obligations-early-findings-of-implementation-as-well-as-experiences-of-the-income-support-and-jobseekers-allowance-regimes-rr645

Information on the number of lone parents on jobseeker's allowance who have been sanctioned, by reason, 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

The information requested on the proportion of JSA sanctions overturned is not currently available.

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

For further information see here:

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

National Insurance Credits: Armed Forces

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the letter dated 5 March 2014 from the Minister of State for Pensions to the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth, (1) when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to make national insurance credits available for past periods for service spouses; and if he will make a statement; [197415]

6 May 2014 : Column 18W

(2) what estimate he has made of the number of service spouses who will be affected by his plans to bring forward legislative proposals to make national insurance credits available for past periods for service spouses. [197416]

Steve Webb: Subject to Royal Assent of the Pensions Bill a duty will be placed on the Secretary of State to make regulations to allow service spouses and civil partners, due to reach state pension age from 6 April 2016, to apply for national insurance credits for periods during which they accompanied their husband, wife or civil partner on a posting outside the UK. The regulations will make provision to allow credits for periods between 1975-76 and 2010.

We are working with the Ministry of Defence on the finer details of the scheme, including the manner in which applications will need to be made and the precise date when the administrative arrangements will be in place.

We estimate that up to 20,000 individuals could have a higher single-tier pension from these credits as some individuals may, at state pension age, already have sufficient qualifying years to gain a full single-tier pension.

Operating Costs

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will disaggregate the departmental operating costs in his Department's annual accounts to programme level for each financial year since 2010-11. [197049]

Mike Penning: Programme costs are detailed in the Department’s annual report and accounts as follows:

2012-13

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/264555/dwp-annual-report-accounts-2012-2013.pdf

note 9 page 115

notes 10-12 pages 116-117

2011-12

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/214340/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2011-2012.pdf

note 10 and 11, page 132

notes 13-16 pages 134-135

2010-11

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/214339/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2010-2011.pdf

note 13 page 152

notes 15-19 pages 155-157

Pensions

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department takes into account the differences in the positions of men and women in preparing for retirement when devising its policy on pensions. [197054]

Steve Webb: Yes. The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to fully meeting our legal obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty, which is part of

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the Equality Act 2010. We have embedded equality analysis into the processes we use to develop, deliver and evaluate our policies, practices and services. This ensures that we continue to assess the likely and actual effects of what we do on people with protected characteristics to help inform our decision making processes.

Personal Independence Payment

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what processes his Department has in place to monitor the welfare of personal independence payment applicants awaiting a decision on their claim. [196728]

Mike Penning: The Department does not routinely monitor the welfare of people applying for benefits.

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what processes his Department has in place to evaluate the roll out of personal independence payments. [196729]

Mike Penning: The Department has plans to undertake an evaluation of PIP. We published our outline PIP evaluation proposals in December 2012.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/180969/pip-evaluation-proposals.pdf

Additionally, PIP will be subject to two independent reviews, the first of which will be completed by the end of 2014. We will use this review to understand how the PIP assessment is working in practice and carefully consider any recommendations made by the independent reviewer.

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the performance of Capita in fulfilling its contract to administer personal independence payments. [197152]

Mike Penning: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 January 2014, Official Report, columns 58-59W, to the hon. Member for Edinburgh East (Sheila Gilmore).

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of savings to the public purse arising from using Capita to administer personal independence payment assessments. [197153]

Mike Penning: Expenditure forecasts from the introduction of personal independence payment (PIP) are calculated on a national basis and it is therefore not possible to provide a breakdown in respect of areas where administration of PIP has been contracted to Capita.

Social Security Benefits

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 8 April 2014, Official Report, columns 218-9W, on social security benefits, when he expects to make available the requested data. [196518]

6 May 2014 : Column 20W

Mike Penning: In the production of new statistics the Department works 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.

All releases will be preannounced via the UK National Statistics publication hub at:

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/index.html

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time taken was between an application being made and benefit paid for (a) attendance allowance, (b) bereavement benefits, (c) carer's allowance, (d) disability living allowance, (e) employment and support allowance, (f) jobseeker's allowance, (g) maternity benefits, (h) housing benefit, (i) council tax benefit and (j) pension credit in the most recent period for which figures are available in (i) Airdrie and Shotts constituency, (ii) Scotland and (iii) the UK. [196601]

Mike Penning: The information regarding when a benefit is paid is not available as this can vary from each claim depending on circumstances, payment type and frequency of payment.

The data that are available are on the Actual Average Clearance Time (AACT) which is the average time taken between an application being made and the date the customer was notified of the decision on their claim.

Please see the most recent AACT data in the following table.

Housing benefit and council tax benefit are administered by local authorities and not the DWP. Processing statistics for these benefits can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?publication_filter_option=statistics

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of households in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency whose incomes from benefits payments have reduced by (i) 10 per cent, (ii) between 20 and 49 per cent and (iii) 50 per cent or more since May 2010. [196989]

Esther McVey: The requested information is not available.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a code of practice on the circumstances in which recovery

6 May 2014 : Column 21W

action will be taken for overpayments of universal credit, jobseeker's allowance and employment and support allowance. [197338]

Esther McVey: A copy of the Code of Practice “What happens if you are overpaid Universal Credit, Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance” will be placed in the House Library.

The Code of Practice is available on gov.uk and can be accessed through the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-happens-if-you-are-overpaid-universal-credit-jobseekers-allowance-or-employment-and-support-allowance

Social Security Benefits: Scotland

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who have received a benefit sanction have appealed this decision and won sanction in (a) Scotland, (b) Airdrie and Shotts constituency and (c) North Lanarkshire in each of the last four years up to the most recent period for which figures are available. [196891]

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

Trade Unions

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system. [196775]

Mike Penning: These arrangements are kept under review.

Unemployed People: Travel

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what budget is allocated to each Jobcentre Plus office to reimburse jobseekers' travel expenses; and how each such budget is decided. [196735]

Esther McVey: Each jobcentre is allocated funding to support claimants move towards and into work, and this could include meeting their travel expenses. For internal planning purposes, each district manager will estimate of the likely number of claimants requiring additional support and the cost within that locality, but the information is not routinely collated and reported centrally. District plans are reviewed regularly to ensure they make best use of available funding and all local priorities can be met.

Universal Credit

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the effect on the number of people subject to improved incentives to work of the introduction of universal credit. [196519]

Esther McVey: Universal credit will encourage claimants to move into employment by allowing individuals to keep more of their income as they move into work and by introducing a smoother and more transparent reduction of benefits.

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Once universal credit is fully rolled out, the number of households losing more than 70% of their earnings when starting work of 10 hours per week will fall by 800,000.

Overall it is estimated that up to 300,000 individuals will move into work as a result of universal credit, through improved financial incentives, increased simplicity of the system and increased conditionality.

These estimates are consistent with the policy assumptions underpinning the universal credit costings published by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Universal Credit: Merseyside

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of single people who will be claiming universal credit in the first year of the roll-out of universal credit in the six boroughs of the Merseyside Jobcentre Plus district. [196916]

Esther McVey [holding answer 1 May 2014]:The Department announced on 5 December 2013 that universal credit would roll out in the north west in summer 2014. The Department confirmed on 30 April 2014 that it is now in discussion with relevant local authorities in the north west on the detailed planning to make that happen.

As with jobseeker's allowance, the Department does not hold forecasts of UC claimant numbers split by both borough, and then by marital status within that borough. Claimant numbers at this degree of detail will be influenced by a range of factors; these include likely local demographics and likely economic conditions within each borough. It is not possible to combine these in any meaningful way, and any such estimates might prove to be unreliable.

Work Capability Assessment

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many meetings (a) officials and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with (i) disability groups and charities and (ii) providers of the work capability assessment in each of the last five years. [196724]

Mike Penning: Ministers and officials meet regularly with a range of stakeholders about the work capability assessment, including our health assessment providers, disability representative groups and charities.

The current contractual agreement between DWP and Atos Healthcare contains a number of key performance indicators. DWP monitors and discusses performance with Atos on a weekly basis.

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department uses a working assumption for the timescale for a work capability assessment report to be processed by Atos. [196745]

Mike Penning: Atos Healthcare is expected to clear work capability assessments within an Actual Average Clearance Target (AACT) of 35 working days. This is to handle the referral from the date it is received from the

6 May 2014 : Column 23W

Department and includes the time for processing and completing paperwork relating to work capability assessments.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether all staff employed by Atos Healthcare to perform the company's contract with his Department for the conduct of work capability assessments will receive full protection under TUPE provisions. [196805]

Mike Penning: When Atos Healthcare withdraws from the delivery of work capability assessments in February 2015, a new national provider will be brought in. It is expected that the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations will apply and most of the Atos Healthcare employees will transfer to the new provider.

Work Programme

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of staff members employed by contractors delivering the Work Programme are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation. [197136]

Esther McVey: The Department does not hold the information requested.

Communities and Local Government

Affordable Housing

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on devolution of the Affordable Homes programme to (a) combined authorities and (b) local enterprise partnerships. [191376]

Kris Hopkins: Housing policy and the provision of affordable housing is not a function of combined authorities or Local Enterprise Partnerships.

Elected local councils act as both the local housing authorities and local planning authorities, and we should be cautious about any intervention which effectively transferred power upwards.

Notwithstanding, in the recent Affordable Homes Programme prospectus, we have stated that local authorities will want to engage in strategic dialogue with their Local Enterprise Partnerships when identifying key areas for economic growth.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what is the average (a) social rent and (b) Affordable Rent is for units funded under the Affordable Homes Programme in each region of the UK. [197134]

Kris Hopkins: The information is not centrally held in the form requested.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average housing benefit award is for housing benefit claimants paying Affordable Rent under the Affordable Homes Programme in each region of the UK. [197135]

6 May 2014 : Column 24W

Kris Hopkins: The information is not centrally held in the form requested.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the grant per property was for new affordable housing under the National Affordable Housing Programme, by region, in each year since the inception of the Programme. [197218]

Kris Hopkins: Average grant allocated per property for the National Affordable Housing Programme, which operated from 2008-09 to 2010-11, broken down by Homes and Communities Agency operating area, is set out in the following table:

Since 2011, the new Affordable Rent model allows for new affordable housing to be delivered with a lower grant cost to taxpayers.

Care Homes

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward proposals to amend regulations governing the change of use of residential homes to care homes to promote enforcement of the classification of care homes as C2 residential institutions. [196902]

Nick Boles: The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended) provides a C2 use class for residential institutions and a C3 (b) use class for houses occupied by up to six people living together as a single household and receiving care. This allows for a mix of types of care homes to meet local needs. Where a change of use has taken place without the necessary planning permission it is for the local planning authority to determine whether it would be appropriate to take enforcement action.

Council Tax

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many summons for non-payment of council tax have been issued by each local authority in each of the last three years. [197259]

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect figures on the number of people who have been issued with court summonses by local authorities for non-payment of council tax.

Notwithstanding, I also refer the hon. Member to my answer of 17 October 2013, Official Report, column 866W.

6 May 2014 : Column 25W

Empty Property

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what discussions he has had with local authorities on charges for property owners who purchase properties with the intention of keeping them vacant; [195177]

(2) what assessment has he made of the effect of buy-to-leave investments on the proportion of homes standing empty. [195186]

Kris Hopkins [holding answer 8 April 2014]:The information is as follows:

Action on empty homes

The coalition Government have a comprehensive package of policies to help get empty homes back into use. They include:

A £235 million empty homes funding programme, which will deliver 12,000 homes from empty properties by March 2015—with apprenticeships on offer to make this happen.

Rewarding councils for bringing empty homes back into use through the New Homes Bonus—since April 2011, councils have received over £2.2 billion for bringing over 93,000 empty homes back into use, which they can then use to benefit the wider community.

Giving councils new powers to remove council tax subsidies to empty homes, and use the funds to keep the overall rate of council tax down.

Cancelling the last Administration’s Pathfinder programme which sought to demolish homes, instead focusing on refurbishment and getting empty homes into use.

The evidence base

This approach is working. The number of empty homes has fallen year-on-year since 2009, and is now at the lowest level since 2004. Similarly, the number of long-term vacant properties has fallen by around a third since 2009.

I note that Islington borough council’s recent discussion paper on so-called “Buy to Leave” tried to use the electoral roll as a proxy for measurement—yet many UK residents of foreign nationality may not be legally eligible to be on the electoral roll, or it simply may not be a priority for such individuals to register.

Moreover, in relation to London, I have placed in the Library a table showing how the number of empty homes has fallen by 30% since 2009 and by 18% in the last year, including a breakdown by London borough, which broadly shows falls across both central, inner and outer London boroughs. Islington has seen a drop in the number of empty homes of 26% since 2009.

In that context, the evidence that “Buy to Leave” is a widespread problem is weak. Fundamentally, even where property is purchased by someone of foreign nationality, it will generally be either occupied or rented out, generating an ongoing return for the investor. It is not particularly rational for any investor not to rent out an unused flat and lose rental income, given the strong demand for private rented accommodation, especially in London.

The small number of foreign buyers

Even then, the Bank of England recently estimated that foreign buyers represent just 3% of total residential property transactions in London (Bank of England, “Financial StabilityReport”, November 2013). Knight Frank have estimated that between 85% and 90% of new build sales in Greater London are sold to domestic

6 May 2014 : Column 26W

buyers, and there is no indication of a shift towards higher non-resident purchases in the last two years (Knight Frank, “International Buyers in London”, October 2013). Savills have reported that the proportion of sales to overseas buyers in ‘prime’ London markets is no higher than it was in 1990. But they also estimate that, in 2012, foreign investment helped to finance 3,000 new affordable homes and added a further 3,000 much needed new homes to the market-rented sector (Savills, “Spotlight: The World in London”, 2013).

How foreign investment helps build new housing

Both domestic and foreign investment in new housing has been helping to provide the finance needed to build it, particularly in a global city like London. Without up-front investment, financiers would not have released the cash needed for development to go ahead, and building would have stalled. These new developments not only provide homes for people to live and work, they also unlock associated affordable housing development. A good example is the Battersea Power Station redevelopment which, having laid derelict for 30 years, is now being taken forward thanks to the combination of private investment from Malaysia and public infrastructure support from the UK Government. Both were essential to move the project forward.

Marketing new build to local residents

I would add that the Government have actively encouraged the property industry to ensure that homes for sale are marketed in the United Kingdom, and not solely overseas. In response, the Home Builders Federation announced in December 2013, a new industry initiative which commits signatories to ensure that housing developments in London are marketed in the UK either at the same time as, or in advance of, any overseas launch.

The Mayor of London has also recently launched a Mayoral concordat on new homes in the capital, writing to key developers across the UK, asking them to sign up to commit to selling new homes on every development to Londoners before, or at the same time as they are available to overseas buyers. The concordat is already supported by the Major Developer Group, London First, the London Chamber of Commerce and the Home Builders Federation and signed by 50 developers in London.

Tackling tax avoidance

Of course, it is important that overseas owners of property pay their way. That is why this Government have taken action to tackle tax avoidance by reforming taxation of higher-value UK residential property held by non-natural persons, and also levelling the playing field by introducing capital gains tax on future gains made by non-residents disposing of UK residential property. Last month’s Budget took further steps to discourage the use of corporate envelopes to invest in high-value housing to avoid paying tax.

More new housing to buy and rent

As well as tackling empty homes, the Government’s long-term economic plan is increasing investment and building more homes. According to the NHBC, in 2013, new housing registrations rose by 30% in England on the year before and registrations are the highest since 2007; in London, new registrations rose 60%, the highest annual total since their records began 26 years ago.

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Families: Disadvantaged

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2014, Official Report, column 56W, on families: disadvantaged, what criteria his Department uses for assessing whether a family has been turned around. [196545]

Kris Hopkins: As set out in my answer to the hon. Member for Croydon North (Mr Reed) on 2 December 2013, Official Report, column 556W, the criteria used by local authorities to determine whether a family is deemed turned around are published in the Financial Framework for the Troubled Families Programme's Payment by Results Scheme. This can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-troubled-families-programme-financial-framework

Fire Services: Pensions

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what arrangements are in place for the pension entitlement and employment status of firefighters under the new pension arrangements if they are unable to maintain required fitness levels. [196887]

Brandon Lewis: Where a firefighter cannot maintain operational fitness, the fire and rescue authority will assess the reasons for the loss of fitness. Where the loss is due to a permanent medical reason, the firefighter will be considered for ill-health retirement under the rules of the pension scheme. Where there is no permanent medical reason, the firefighter will receive support and training to increase fitness to the required level.

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has had discussions with the Fire Brigades Union on calculating pension entitlement for firefighters using length of service rather than age in the last six months. [196889]

Brandon Lewis: The transitional protection arrangements for the firefighters’ pension schemes are set out in the Proposed Final Agreement which was published in May 2012. The transitional protections use age to calculate a member’s entitlement to protection.

There has been recent correspondence with the Fire Brigades Union on the scope and timing of discussions on this issue. Copies of this correspondence are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/firefighters-pension-scheme-reforms

Housing

Mr Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much housing stock was held by (a) local authorities and (b) housing associations for (i) social rent, (ii) affordable rent, (iii) intermediate rent and (iv) affordable homeownership in each year from 2010 to 2013. [R] [196529]

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Kris Hopkins: Statistics on the amount of dwelling stock in England by tenure are published in the Department’s live table 104, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants

This provides the total amount of stock owned by private registered providers (housing associations) and local authorities but does not provide any further breakdown.

More detailed information on housing stock owned by local authorities, including a breakdown between those for social rent and those for affordable rent, for 2011-12 and 2012-13 only, can be found in the dataset that accompanies the Department’s annual Local Authority Housing Statistics release. Information on housing stock for intermediate rent and affordable home ownership is not collected separately. For 2011-12 and 2012-13, these datasets can be found here:

Section A, question 2

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/local-authority-housing-statistics-data-returns-for-2012-to-2013

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/local-authority-housing-statistics-data-returns-for-2011-to-2012

Detailed information on housing stock owned by private registered providers can be found in the dataset that accompanies the Homes and Communities Agency’s annual Statistical Data Return. For 2011-12 and 2012-13, these datasets can be found here:

2012-13

http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/news/second-statistical-data-return

2011-12

http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/news/statistical-data-return

Prior to 2011-12, this information was collected in the Tenant Services Authority’s Regulatory and Statistical return and can be found here:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120419011320/http://www.tenantservicesauthority.org/server/show/nav.15039

£19.5 billion of public and private investment in affordable homes will deliver 170,000 homes in the four years to 2015. Halfway through, we have already delivered almost 99,000 affordable homes (98,700).

Housing: Students

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance he has given on whether (a) student housing need should be contained within local authority housing targets and (b) proposed student accommodation should be counted towards Local Plan housing numbers. [196618]

Nick Boles: The National Planning Policy Framework asks local planning authorities to assess the full housing requirements in their area and plan for a mix of housing based on demographic trends and the needs of different groups in the area, including students.

The recently published planning guidance confirms that:

‘All student accommodation, whether it consists of communal halls of residence or self-contained dwellings, and whether or not it is on campus, can be included towards the housing requirement,

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based on the amount of accommodation it releases in the housing market. Notwithstanding, local authorities should take steps to avoid double-counting’.

The relevant planning guidance, paragraph 39, can be found at the following link:

http://planningguidance.planningportal.gov.uk/blog/guidance/housing-and-economic-land-availability-assessment/stage-5-final-evidence-base/

Student accommodation is also eligible for the New Homes Bonus. Our approach reflects the fact that increases in dedicated student accommodation has a beneficial effect on wider housing supply, by taking pressure off private rented accommodation.

Insects

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will take steps to ensure that measures to protect bees and other pollinators are fully reflected in planning practice guidance. [196786]

Nick Boles: The National Planning Policy Framework sets out our policies for the conservation and enhancement of the natural environment. The biodiversity, ecosystems and green infrastructure section of our new web-based planning guidance explains how these matters should be taken into account in the planning system. DEFRA is consulting on a National Pollinator Strategy and my officials are working with DEFRA officials.

Local Government: Publications

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities publish magazines or newsletters more than four times a year. [196666]

Brandon Lewis [holding answer 30 April 2014]: I refer the right hon. Member to my answer of 21 November 2013, Official Report, columns 980-81W and my answer to him of 16 December 2013, Official Report, columns 443-44W.

I also refer him to the written ministerial statement by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), of 28 April 2014, Official Report, column 35WS, which outlines the rationale for the steps taken on 17 April, and how we are prepared to take further action against other breaches of the Publicity Code.

Non-domestic Rates

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to help local shops in (a) England and (b) Lancashire with the cost of business rates. [196542]

Brandon Lewis: At the autumn statement, we announced a £1 billion package of business rates support to help shops and local firms. This included a £1,000 discount for two years for smaller shops, pubs and restaurants. Based on local authority reports of the amount of relief awarded, we estimate that 272,300 properties will benefit in England, including 7,740 in Lancashire.

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The support package also included a 50% discount for businesses taking on long-term empty shops, the doubling of small business rate relief for another year, a 2% cap on RPI increases for 2014-15, allowing businesses to spread their business rates payments over 12 months, and allowing ratepayers that take on a second property to keep their small business rate relief for an extra year.

The Localism Act has also made it easier for small firms to claim small business rate relief.

Regional Planning and Development: Brighton

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he has had with Brighton and Hove city council on the finalisation of the city plan for the area; and if he will make a statement. [196617]

Nick Boles: The Localism Act 2011 has strengthened the role of local plans and abolished the last Administration’s top-down regional strategies. Our streamlined national planning policy framework strongly encourages areas to get up-to-date local plans in place, and we have been actively supporting councils in doing so. Local plans now set the framework in which decisions on particular applications are taken, whether locally or at appeal, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

The Brighton and Hove local plan is currently at examination before an independent inspector and it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the content of the plan. However, I understand that the inspector has agreed a programme of additional work with Brighton and Hove council.

Right to Acquire Scheme

Mary Macleod: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations he has received on the potential merits of extending the Right to Acquire to homes built before 1997. [196563]

Kris Hopkins: My Department has received a number of recent representations from individual housing association tenants to extend the right to acquire to homes built before 1997, to enable them to buy the home in which they currently live.

The right to acquire is offered on a different basis to the right to buy, including the level of discount, to reflect the different tenancy and type of landlord. Housing association properties which were not part of a stock transfer have been provided through various forms of finance, including private money. However, the Government are committed to keeping the policy under review and we are open to further representations on this matter.

Social Rented Housing: Young People

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people (a) under 18 and (b) under 16 years of age have been given social housing in the last five years. [196482]

Kris Hopkins: The number of lead tenants being given social housing aged under 18 in England in the past five years for which data are available (1April 2008 to 31 March 2013) is shown in the following table. Lead

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tenants are defined as the most economically active in the household. Numbers shown include lettings from both local authorities and private registered providers.

6 May 2014 : Column 32W

The numbers per year and per tenure type are as follows: