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Written Answers to Questions

Thursday 8 May 2014

Prime Minister

Australia

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with his Australian counterpart on (a) climate change and (b) the agenda for the G20 Leaders' Summit to be held in Brisbane in November 2014. [197696]

The Prime Minister: I discussed climate change policy with the Australian Prime Minister (Paul Abbott) in January this year at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. We also discussed the G20 agenda and the need to use the G20 to secure continued and sustainable growth in the global economy.

Women and Equalities

Brighton

Simon Kirby: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities if she will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of her Department to Brighton; and if she will make a statement. [197445]

Mrs Grant: The Department has no plans to bring forward such proposals.

Electoral Commission Committee

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the answer of 3 April 2014, Official Report, column 766W, on electoral register, in which cases numbers of electors registered to vote in the transition from individual electoral registration will be monitored at an electoral ward level. [197056]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it will collect and publish the results of the confirmation data matching process for all electoral wards in Great Britain. These will be available in late-summer 2014.

The Commission also informs me that subsequently data will be collected and published at a local authority level. This will take place after the publication of the December 2014 register and at the time of the 2015 UK parliamentary general election. However, the Commission may choose to ask for more detailed ward statistics

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from individual Electoral Registration Officers if it has concerns around the implementation of individual electoral registration in a particular area.

The Commission also expects electoral registration officers to be monitoring their own data on registrations at ward level, or below, throughout the transition to individual electoral registration, and to communicate them locally to elected representatives and others.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the answer of 10 April 2014, Official Report, columns 305-6W, on electoral register, if the Electoral Commission will start to collect the number of visits that ERO's staff make to individual non-responding households as part of their activities to maintain the electoral register. [197057]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that as part of its monitoring of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration (IER) it will collect data from all EROs at key stages during the transition which will demonstrate the progress EROs are making in implementing IER in their local area. This will not, however, include detailed operational information that EROs will record and monitor locally about the specific interactions they have with individual electors, including the numbers of household visits made by their staff.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what advice the Electoral Commission has given to electoral registration officers on the necessity of conducting local government data matching for the purposes of transition to individual electoral registration. [197127]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has published comprehensive guidance for Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) on their duties to maintain the electoral registers under Individual Electoral Registration (IER), including on using local data to identify and target potential electors and to verify and validate data held on the registers.

The Commission also informs me that the Lord President of the Council has issued ministerial guidance on IER which EROs must, by law, have regard to. This includes guidance on using local data as part of the confirmation process of data-matching existing electors’ details and the verification process for verifying applicants’ identity.

The Commission’s guidance, which incorporates the ministerial guidance, is available on its website at:

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/electoral-administrator/running-electoral-registration

Culture, Media and Sport

Appeals

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the effect on industry of delays in the implementation of the Government's proposals to streamline regulatory and competition appeals. [196698]

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Mr Vaizey: No such assessment has been made. Ministers are currently considering the responses received to the consultation. They will then decide the scope and extent of proposals to be implemented.

Brighton

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of his Department to Brighton; and if he will make a statement. [197451]

Mrs Grant: The Department has no plans to bring forward such proposals.

Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment his Department has made of whether to become a signatory to the UNESCO Convention on Underwater Cultural Heritage and the International Law of the Sea. [197238]

Mr Vaizey: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 31 March 2014, Official Report, column 463W, to the hon. Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy), regarding the UNESCO Convention on Underwater Cultural Heritage. The UK is already a State Party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Electronic Programme Guides

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries on 25 February 2014, Official Report, column 95WH, when the consultation on modernising the Electronic Programme Guide regime will be launched. [197606]

Mr Vaizey: Pursuant to my contribution on 25 February 2014, Official Report, column 95WH, DCMS will make an announcement on the publication date of the consultation in due course.

Freeview Service

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what discussions he has had with Freeview about reasons to extend full Freeview services to (a) Monmouth constituency and (b) all other parts of the UK that are currently not provided with such services; [197692]

(2) what discussions the Government have had with representatives of Freeview about improving the number of channels on offer for people in rural areas; [197694]

(3) what plans the Government have to ensure that places where repeater transmitters are situated receive a full Freeview service. [197695]

Mr Vaizey: Ofcom estimates that 98.5% of UK households have access to 17 channels including those from the public service broadcasters (PSBs) on the digital terrestrial TV (DTT, or Freeview) platform, and that approximately 90% of UK households are also able

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to receive additional commercial DTT channels. Around 1.5% of UK households cannot easily receive DTT services with less than 0.5% not able to receive DTT services at all. However, DTT, cable and satellite digital television services together cover practically 100% of UK households, so that in all but the most exceptional of cases, everyone should be able to get digital television by one means or another. As well as subscription services, digital satellite TV offers non-subscription reception options for a one-off equipment and installation cost, but with no on-going monthly payments.

We have had no discussions with Freeview or Digital UK, who manage the DTT platform, about extending services and there are no plans to require broadcasters to improve the DTT coverage levels agreed for digital television switchover in 2006.

Purely commercial DTT services are not subject to the ‘near-universal’ coverage requirements which apply to PSB DTT services, and while the operators of the commercial DTT services were given the opportunity to extend their networks at the time of digital switchover, the operators determined that it was not commercially viable for them to build-out their services to additional transmitter sites.

Mobile Phones

Mr Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a cap on data charges which can be imposed by mobile telephone operators. [197560]

Mr Vaizey: On 3 December, the Government announced they had reached agreement with the mobile network operators and other telecommunications providers¹ as part of the Telecoms Consumer Action Plan². Working with Government and Ofcom, major telecoms companies have agreed to reduce the risk of unexpectedly high bills. As a result, all of the main operators now provide ‘near data allowance’ alerts to help consumers manage their data usage. They have also increased the visibility and usability of other usage monitoring tools, such as apps. Some operators also offer spend caps to help limit any out-of-allowance charges that consumers may incur.

In addition, customers who use data while abroad are protected by the Roaming Regulations. These limit the amount that operators can charge for data roaming within the EU. They also require all mobile operators to apply a cut-off limit once consumers have used €50 (excluding VAT) of data per month (within or outside of the EU), unless the consumer has opted for another limit. The provider must send an alert when the consumer has reached 80% and then 100% of the agreed data roaming limit, and must stop charging at the 100% point unless the consumer consents to continuing to use data.

¹ 3, BT, EE, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Vodafone

² https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-vows-to-end-unfair-consumer-bill-and-subscription-practices

Business, Innovation and Skills

Appeals

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when his Department plans to publish its response to the consultation on Streamlining

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Regulatory and Competition Appeals launched in June 2013; and on what timetable he intends to introduce reforms arising from that consultation. [196719]

Jenny Willott: We hope to publish the Government response before Summer. Any legislative changes we decide to make will be taken forward when parliamentary time permits.

European Space Agency

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding the UK has given (a) directly and (b) indirectly to the European Space Agency in each of the last five years; what that funding was for; and what assessment he has made of the benefits arising from that funding to the UK. [197364]

Mr Willetts: Direct UK funding of the European Space Agency (ESA) has been as follows:

In addition, national expenditure averaging £20 million a year has been expended within the UK to build and operate scientific instruments carried on spacecraft of ESA. The funding to ESA has been used to contribute to missions and technology in the fields of space science and exploration, Earth observation for science and applications, telecommunications and broadband delivery, access to microgravity facilities for life and physical sciences, space weather, navigation technologies, human spaceflight and weather monitoring. As well as resulting expenditure in the UK due to the juste retour principle, wider benefits have accrued in new scientific knowledge; and improved delivery of public services.

ESA is the primary route for Government R&D space investment. Several economic analyses of investment impact have been undertaken, drawn together in BIS Economics Paper No. 3¹. The UK Space Agency (part of BIS) undertakes a biennial survey of the size and health of the UK space industry² showing growth from £3.4 billion turnover in 1999/2000 to £9.5 billion in 2011, reflecting the results of sustained investment as well as the growth of the market.

The UK Space Agency monitors contracts that return back to UK industry from our ESA subscriptions and also monitors where R&D work has positioned UK industry for success in larger operational contracts.

A UK R&D investment of £15 million for the Astrium E3000 Spacecraft through the ESA telecoms programme (‘ARTES’) was more than matched by industry and resulted in the award of 41 spacecraft contracts worth over £600 million to UK industry, an un-discounted ROI of over 30. Analysis has shown that the return on investment from UK ARTES programmes ranges from 2 to 30 with an average of 6:1. The UK Space Agency also works with the OECD to pool analysis of benefits from space funding as reflected in the OECD Handbook on Measuring the Space Economy³.

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The scientific programmes of ESA directly contribute to UK academic excellence. The ‘Wakeham Review of Physics’⁴ reported to government that in terms of impact (citations) in the space sciences, the UK “is second to the USA and well separated from the following pack”. Data from satellites such as ESA’s Cryosat 2 have directly informed the IPCC 5th Assessment on climate change⁵.

An example of a public service benefit space investment is the weather forecast. The Met Office (also part of BIS) has undertaken analysis showing that satellites have made the greatest impact in improving weather prediction among available observing techniques⁶ “accounting for 64% of short-range global forecast error reduction”. Of all the nine data sources used, the new European Metop satellite has made the largest single impact: “about 25% of the total impact on global forecast error reduction”.

¹ http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.berr.gov. uk/files/file54519.PDF

² http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/ukspaceagency/docs/industry/size-and-health-report-oct-2012.pdf

³ http://www.oecd.org/futures/oecdhandbookonmeasuringthe spaceeconomy.htm

⁴ http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/RCUK-prod/assets/documents/reviews/physics/review.pdf

⁵ https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1

⁶ http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/9/m/FRTR562.pdf

Hospitals: Dorset

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the cost of the Competition Commission's inquiry into the proposed merger between Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals Foundation Trust and Poole Hospital Foundation Trust. [197575]

Jenny Willott: The Competition Commission’s cost for the inquiry into the proposed merger between Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals Foundation Trust and Poole Hospital Foundation Trust was £710,000. This amount includes the cost of the staff on the inquiry amounting to £639,000 and direct costs of £71,000 (including survey costs).

Motor Vehicles: Petrol Alternatives

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to encourage car manufacturers to manufacture cars powered by road fuel gases for the UK market. [197296]

Michael Fallon: We want the UK to be at the forefront of the design, development, manufacture and use of low emission vehicles, delivering economic growth opportunities and contributing to the decarbonisation of road transport.

As part of the Automotive Industrial Strategy, Government and industry will invest about £1 billion over the next 10 years in an Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) to research, develop and commercialise the next generation of low carbon technologies. The APC is technology neutral, so can support new road fuel gas technologies if they offer significant low carbon advantages. This investment will secure up to 30,000 jobs. The Government will allocate £100 million for

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Ultra low emission vehicle-specific research and development for the period 2015-20 as part of the £500 million OLEV package. This represents an increase of over 20% in support from the previous package (which was £82 million over the period 2010-15).

We have also allocated £4 million to ensure the UK has the gas refuelling facilities HGVs need to support our freight and logistics operators in their efforts to reduce the environmental impact of their business.

Student Loans Company

Mr Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what audit he has made of the performance of the Student Loans Company. [196697]

Mr Willetts: Each year the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the devolved Administrations set Student Loans Company (SLC) stretching performance measures which are confirmed in an Annual Performance and Resource Agreement (APRA) letter. BIS closely monitors SLC’s performance against these measures throughout the year. Monitoring arrangements include formal quarterly reviews of SLC's performance which are conducted by Ministers and senior officials.

Each year the SLC publishes externally audited information on its performance in its annual report and accounts. The APRA letter and SLC’s annual report and accounts are available on SLC's website:

http://www.slc.co.uk/

Cabinet Office

Construction: Industry

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people were employed in the construction sector in (a) the UK, (b) the East Midlands, (c) Nottinghamshire and (d) Ashfield constituency in each of the last five years. [197307]

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:

As 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 how many people were employed in the construction sector in (a) the UK, (b) the East Midlands, (c) Nottinghamshire and (d) Ashfield constituency in each of the last five years. (197307)

Annual employment statistics are available from the Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES). Table 1 below contains estimates of the number of employees employed in businesses in the construction sector for Ashfield Constituency, Nottinghamshire, the East Midlands and Great Britain between 2008 and 2012, the most recent year that figures are available. The 2013 provisional (and 2012 revised) BRES estimates will be published on 25th September 2014. Estimates for Great Britain have been provided as UK based estimates are not available on a consistent basis.

National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:

http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

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Attorney-General

Abortion

Steve Baker: To ask the Attorney-General what discussions he has had with the Crown Prosecution Service about the pre-signing of abortion forms. [197309]

The Attorney-General: I have had no recent specific discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) about the pre-signing of abortion forms. I am aware, though, that the CPS has had discussions with the Department of Health on this and I await the outcome of these.

Mr Brazier: To ask the Attorney-General what discussions he has had with the Crown Prosecution Service about the 67 doctors who are accused of pre-signing abortion referral (HSA1) certificates. [197700]

The Attorney-General: I have had no specific discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service about pre-signing of abortion forms by the 67 doctors.

Consultants

Chris Leslie: To ask the Attorney-General which 10 consultancy firms were paid the most by the Law Officers' Departments in the last financial year; and how much each of those firms was paid. [195567]

The Solicitor-General: In 2013-14 Professor Shute was paid £2,286.30 and Dr Tapley was paid £1,735.70 for consultancy services to HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI). There has been no other consultancy spend within that financial year by HMCPSI, the Treasury Solicitor’s Department or the Attorney-General’s Office.

The two companies listed below are the only organisations to have been paid by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for consultancy work during the last financial year.

SCC—£32,316

CIO Partnership Ltd—£2,100.

In addition, two individuals carried out consultancy work for the SFO. The total amount paid for this work was £13,812.

The following table details payments made by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consultancy firms during the last financial year.

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This information has been produced from the CPS accounting system, analysing spend against account codes for consultancy and professional services. Expenditure may include some payments for services not covered by the Crown Commercial Service Consultancy Value Programme definition of consultancy but provided by companies categorised as a consultancy firm. Excluded are payments for professional services supplied by third parties not classified as a consultancy firm, such as employment agencies, training providers, solicitors, ICT managed service suppliers and freelance consultants engaged directly by the Department.

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has spent on staff overtime payments in each CPS area in each of the last five financial years. [197280]

The Solicitor-General: The total amount spent on overtime payments by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in each of the last five years by CPS area is shown in the following table.

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Employment Agencies

Chris Leslie: To ask the Attorney-General which five companies were used most often to provide temporary workers for the Law Officers' Departments in the last financial year; and how much in agency fees was paid to each of them. [195545]

The Solicitor-General: The following table lists the top five companies used by the Treasury Solicitor’s Department (TSol), to provide temporary workers in 2013-14, by expenditure. TSol financial systems do not distinguish between the costs of temporary workers and the associated agency fee. TSol data also cover any expenditure incurred by HM Crown Prosecution Service inspectorate and the Attorney-General’s Office.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has spent the following amounts with four companies during 2013-14 in relation to the provision of temporary workers. The expenditure includes the cost of temporary staff. It is not possible to separately identify the agency element of the payments.

This information has been produced from the CPS accounting system.

The following table lists the top five companies used by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to provide temporary workers in 2013-14, by expenditure. SFO financial systems do not distinguish between the costs of temporary workers and any associated agency fee.

Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General whether the Serious Fraud Office has applied to HM Treasury for additional funding for its investigation into the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation. [197281]

The Solicitor-General: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has a core budget to investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute the most serious and complex cases of fraud, bribery and corruption, and some exceptionally large

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cases will arise that require additional resources. However, it is not in the public interest to specify in detail what resources the SFO intends to dedicate to each case.

Justice

Conditions of Employment

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 10 June 2013, Official Report, column 93W, on conditions of employment, how many people in his Department were employed on zero-hour contracts in each of the last two years up to the most recent period for which records are available. [196917]

Jeremy Wright: Information on the number of staff employed on zero-hour contracts in the Ministry of Justice is set out in the following table. The figures refer to staff in Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Service and National Offender Management Service, as these are the only parts of the Ministry where zero-hour contracts have been used.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is undertaking a review of zero hours policy and practice, and in the light of this work Cabinet Office will ascertain whether any changes need to be made to UK procurement policy.

Courts: Buildings

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many court buildings which were not counted as closed had no cases listed in the preceding (a) three, (b) six and (c) 12 months at 31 March 2014; and what the location was of each such building; [197536]

(2) what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the public purse of maintaining court buildings which are not listed as closed and which have no cases listed for (a) three, (b) six and (c) 12 months; [197537]

(3) what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the public purse of maintaining court buildings which are not listed as closed and which had fewer than five cases listed each week for (a) three, (b) six and (c) 12 months; [197538]

(4) how many court buildings which were not counted as closed had fewer than five cases listed for each week in the preceding (a) three, (b) six and (c) 12 months at 31 March 2014; and what the location was of each such building. [197539]

Jeremy Wright: Providing a detailed response to these questions will require officials to manually collate data. This cannot be accomplished in the time available. The

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Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Mr Vara), will therefore write with a detailed response as soon as possible, and will place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.

High Down Prison

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many prisoners in HM Prison High Down on 1 April 2014 there were (a) in total, (b) aged under 18, (c) aged 18 to 20 and (d) aged 21 or over; [197106]

(2) how many young adult prisoners were held in HM Prison High Down on 1 April (a) 2011, (b) 2012, (c) 2013 and (d) 2014. [197107]

Jeremy Wright: Data are held centrally on the prison population on the last day of each month, so figures have been provided as at 31 March. Table 1 provides the population by age group and Table 2 for those prisoners classed as young adults (18 to 20-year-olds).

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.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 24 March 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Sherratt. [197504]

Jeremy Wright: The letter from the right hon. Member to the Secretary of State for Justice was transferred to the Department for Education for a response.

Police Cautions: Brigg

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many police cautions were issued in Brigg and Goole constituency in each of the last five years. [197598]

Damian Green: Information on cautions is not held by parliamentary constituency.

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Prison Service

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the ratio of prison officers to inmates by gender was in each (a) prison establishment and (b) category of prison in England and Wales in each of the last five years. [194419]

Jeremy Wright: Information on the ratio of prisoners to prison officers has been provided previously to the right hon. Member for Tooting (Sadiq Khan). I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on 4 March 2014, Official Report, column 805W.

It is not possible to calculate a meaningful ratio of prisoners to staff based on gender. Any officer to prisoner ratio must take account of all available staffing, of either gender, in order to realistically represent the level of staffing.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many days in total have been lost due to staff sickness in each prison in each of the last four years. [197081]

Jeremy Wright: Sickness absence is measured as the average working days lost per staff year, which is the measure used across all Government Departments. Sickness rates in adult prisons have fallen over the last 10 years and remain below the rate of 14.8 days lost, across public sector adult prisons, in 2002-03.

Figures for average working days lost for prisons in the public and contracted sectors are used in the Prison Rating System and have been published annually since 2011-12 as part of the data set that accompanies the published ratings.

Figures for 2012-13 can be found on the ‘Data' sheet of the published spreadsheet at the following location:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225231/prs-data-12-13.xls'

Figures for 2011-12 are available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/218342/prison-rating-system-2011-12.xls,

Figures for 2010-11 can be seen in the following table.

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Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the staff turnover rate has been in (a) the prison estate and (b) HM Prison High Down in each month since September 2013. [197103]

Jeremy Wright: The monthly staff turnover rate is calculated as leavers divided by number of staff in post at the beginning of the month. Figures on staff turnover are shown in the following table:

Prisons: Alcoholic Drinks

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many illegal stills or other set ups for distilling or brewing alcohol have been found in each institution in the prison estate in England and Wales in each year since 2010. [197141]

Jeremy Wright: The possession of alcohol or alcohol producing equipment is prohibited within prisons. Prisons carry out security operations to detect and remove such

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items and any prisoner caught with alcohol, or caught under the influence of alcohol, can receive up to 42 additional days in prison.

While finds of such equipment are recorded on a central incident reporting system, to determine the number of such finds since 2010 would require a manual analysis of over 40,000 incident reports which could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Crimes of Violence

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what steps he is taking to prevent offenders receiving compensation for assault which occurred during their incarceration; [195417]

(2) what estimate he has made of the amount of compensation paid to offenders for assaults which took place during their incarceration in each of the last four years; [195418]

(3) if he will make it his policy that compensation awarded to prisoners is put towards legal costs and compensation for victims. [195419]

Jeremy Wright: Prisoners can pursue civil litigation claims for any assault in prison, but we robustly defend all cases as far as the evidence allows. Each case is dealt with on its own merits and we successfully defend two-thirds of claims brought by prisoners. In those occasions where compensation is awarded to an individual, the law requires that it be paid direct to them and cannot be used for other purposes.

The most effective way to reduce compensation is to reduce violence and the National Offender Management Service has clear policy in place to achieve this. The most recent statistics show prisoner assaults falling, and at their lowest for many years. Notwithstanding this reduction, a comprehensive review of the management of violence is being undertaken and improved guidance will be implemented later this year.

The following table shows the total compensation paid to prisoners following assaults by other prisoners over the last four financial years as a result of civil claims, by way of out of Court settlement or by Court award. The figures exclude private prisons. The figures are drawn from financial management information and as with any large scale recording system data may be subject to possible error in entry and processing of transactions against accounting code.

Prisons: Employment

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what amount was generated by levies under the Prisoners' Earnings Act 1996 Levy in each of the last four years; [197074]

(2) how many prisoners were subjected to levies under the Prisoners' Earnings Act 1996 in each of the last four years. [197088]

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Jeremy Wright: The Prisoners’ Earnings Act (PEA) commenced on 26 September 2011. Information for October 2011 to March 2012 was published in the ‘NOMS Annual Report 2011-12: Management Information Addendum’ in July 2012, which can be accessed via the following link to the Gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/218333/noms-annual-report-2011-12-addendum.pdf

Figures for the full financial year 2012-13 were published in the 2012-13 edition of the Addendum at the following location:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225225/mi-addendum.pdf

Figures for 2013-14 will be published on 31 July.

Prisons: Mobile Phones

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the level of illegal use of cellular devices in UK prisons; and if he will make a statement. [197142]

Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) takes the issue of mobile phones in prisons very seriously and is committed to addressing the risks they present to both the security of prisons and the safety of the public.

NOMS has implemented a multi-layer approach: to minimise the number of mobile phones entering prisons, to find phones that do get in and to disrupt mobile phones that cannot be found. A range of technology has been rolled out to prisons to strengthen searching and security, including portable mobile phone signal detectors, Body Orifice Security Scanners (BOSS chairs), high sensitivity metal detecting wands and short range portable mobile phone blockers.

In 2012, prisons reported 7,301 seizures¹ of mobile phones and/or SIM cards. All figures provided have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system.

¹ One seizure may constitute a handset containing one SIM card or media card, a handset only, or a SIM card only.

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to roll out mobile telephone blocking technology across HM prisons estate. [197144]

Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Service is committed to addressing the risks that mobile phones present in prisons. Part of its response is to deploy technology in prisons that prevents mobile phones from working.

In 2012, the Government enacted the Prisons (Interference with Wireless Telegraphy) Act 2012. The Act places the use of mobile phone signal interference technology in prisons on a clear legal footing, enabling maximum use of such technology and to enable private prisons to use it.

A number of prisons are equipped with ‘fixed’ (as opposed to ‘portable’) signal interference technology. Since 21 October 2013, around 300 short-range portable blockers have been deployed to 88 public sector prisons.

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Prisons: Postal Services

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many prisoners have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for receiving each type of illicit or unauthorised items into prison through the post in each of the last four years; [196850]

(2) how many people have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for sending illicit or unauthorised items through the post to prisoners in establishments in England and Wales in each of the last four years; [196852]

(3) how many prisoners were charged with receiving illicit or unauthorised items through the post in each of the last four years. [196851]

Jeremy Wright: Prisons employ a range of measures to detect, disrupt and deter the trafficking of illicit items into prisons. Any contraband detected coming into the prison will be recorded on a central incident reporting system. However, to identify the manner in which the contraband entered the prison and any subsequent referral to the police would require a manual interrogation of incident reports. This could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Information on prosecutions and convictions for these offences is not held centrally and could be obtained only by asking each prison to source information locally. This, again, could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison staff were allocated to the handling, processing and checking of prisoners' post, in each prison, on 1 April in each of the last four years. [197048]

Jeremy Wright: The levels of staff in each prison allocated to handling, processing and checking of prisoners’ post varies according to the security category and size of each prison and is not recorded centrally. To determine the numbers of staff engaged in this activity for the periods in question could only be determined by asking each prison to calculate these numbers using historic records. This cannot be done without incurring disproportionate cost.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 10 April 2014, Official Report, column 406W, on prisons: postal services, how many incidents of (a) drug-related or (b) miscellaneous contraband were found in post received by prisoners in (A) 2010, (B) 2011, (C) 2012 and (D) 2013. [197172]

Jeremy Wright: All finds of contraband, whether found in post or otherwise, are recorded on a central incident reporting system under the drug-related or the miscellaneous incident categories. In order to establish the number of occasions, in each of the last four years, where contraband had been found in post sent to prisoners, would require the examination of over 62,000 individual electronic incident files. This could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

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Prisons: Publications

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many packages containing books were received by prisoners in each of the last four years; and what proportion of such packages contained contraband. [196678]

Jeremy Wright: Following the introduction of the revised Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) national policy framework in November 2013, prisoners are not allowed to receive parcels sent to them. Prisoners are able to order books from reputable suppliers which they can receive via the prison shop, or they can borrow books from the prison library. This limits the opportunity for contraband to be sent into the prison and reduces the operational resource required to search all packages received in the prison.

The number of packages received by prisoners, prior to the introduction of the revised IEP national policy framework, is not recorded centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Probation

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions probation staff have taken cases to employment tribunals on grounds of discrimination in each of the last three years. [197347]

Jeremy Wright: Data on the number of claims made by probation staff on the grounds of discrimination are not collated centrally either by the National Offenders Management Service or HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). This information could be provided only at a disproportionate cost by manually checking hard copy files or judgments.

Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the implications of an increase in the need for court reports arising from his Transforming Rehabilitation agenda on the workload of court staff. [197523]

Jeremy Wright: We do not anticipate that Transforming Rehabilitation will have a substantial impact on the number of pre-sentence reports written. The National Probation Service (NPS) will continue to offer same-day reports where possible and to work closely with the courts to minimise adjournments.

By expanding post-release supervision for those sentenced to under 12-months, this cohort of offenders will now benefit from rehabilitative activity who were previously excluded, but this will not impact on pre-sentence court activity.

The new Risk of Serious Recidivism (RSR) tool will be used to inform the allocation of cases to new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) or the NPS and complements the pre-sentence report process. The RSR is straightforward to use and will support the identification of the likelihood of an offender committing serious re-offending in the future. We will ensure that CRCs work closely with the NPS so that cases are brought before the courts speedily and effectively.

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Secure Colleges

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent representations he has received from HM Chief Inspector of Prisons about his plans to introduce secure colleges. [197550]

Jeremy Wright: In April 2013 Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) submitted a response to the Government's Transforming Youth Custody consultation, which set out our proposals for secure colleges.

The Government value the important role HMIP performs in inspecting custodial establishments. We are therefore legislating in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill for HMIP, along with Ofsted, to have a duty to inspect secure colleges.

On 10 March 2014, I met with the Chief Inspector of Prisons and the Government’s proposals for secure colleges were discussed. In addition, my officials have had, and continue to have, discussions with the Chief Inspector's staff in order to develop, in conjunction with Ofsted, arrangements for the inspection of secure colleges.

Communities and Local Government

Leasehold Advisory Service

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) if he will direct the Leasehold Advisory Service to cease carrying advertising for or links to the services of Benjamin Mire or Trust Property Management; [196397]

(2) if he will direct the Leasehold Advisory Service to co-operate with the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership and the Campaign Against Retirement Leasehold Exploitation on providing advice to leaseholders. [196396]

Kris Hopkins: My hon. Friend raises a serious matter. In July 2013, Mr Benjamin Mire resigned from his (part-time) judicial post on the Southern Residential Property Tribunal following a conduct investigation by the Ministry of Justice, but prior to the conclusion of the formal disciplinary process.

Mr Mire is chief executive of Trust Property Management, a firm of chartered surveyors and managing agents. The issue raised is whether this company should continue to be advertised on LEASE’s (the Leasehold Advisory Service) practitioners’ list.

The practitioner list is not meant to be a fully comprehensive list, nor does inclusion constitute a recommendation by LEASE. Firms pay a fee to be entered on the list and sign a contract accordingly.

In considering a recent complaint on this issue, LEASE undertook a careful review of their terms and conditions in relation to inclusion in their professional directory. This has resulted in amendments being made, and revised terms and conditions have been published on their website.

The revised terms and conditions give LEASE the right to temporarily remove an organisation’s directory information from the directory if a complaint is received from a third party relating to the organisation or its

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listing. They also give LEASE the right to terminate the contract with immediate effect by giving written notice if a number of conditions are not met, these include:

“The inclusion of the organisation’s directory information on the directory conflicts with LEASE Conferences Ltd or the Leasehold Advisory Service’s purposes, objectives or obligations or brings LEASE into disrepute or there is a risk (in our reasonable opinion) of any such conflict or bringing into disrepute.”

If Trust Property Management does not meet the new terms and conditions when their contract for inclusion in the directory is due for renewal in July, then they will be removed, as will any other organisation which similarly does not meet the revised terms and conditions.

While I appreciate that this may not be as quick a step as my hon. Friend would wish, moving forward, I hope these actions taken will in due course ensure the continued integrity of the practitioners’ list. I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend if he wishes to discuss this further.

Public Libraries

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to protect library services. [188738]

Mr Vaizey: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Together with other public services, local authorities are rising to the challenge of delivering and developing the library service, with many reviewing and re-shaping their library offer. Some changes have been made in response to the ongoing funding environment to which all public services are making their contribution to savings. But many changes have also been made because individual authorities are looking at better ways of delivering a range of services so that they are fit for the present and the future. Details of the various developments in library services in England, including a range of innovative approaches to the task of delivering a comprehensive and efficient service, are set out in the annual report to Parliament during 2012-13 and can be accessed at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-under-the-public-libraries-and-museums-act-1964-for-201213

Energy and Climate Change

Electricity: Investment

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to his oral contribution of 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 908, on energy price freeze, how much investment there was in (a) renewable and (b) non-renewable sources of electricity in each year between 1997 and 2013. [197226]

Michael Fallon: We are not aware of a single data series that is currently available which covers investment in the electricity sector, broken down between renewable and non-renewable sources, from 1997 to 2013.

As part of the analysis to support the DECC Investment Report, we have estimated investment in the electricity sector since 2010. Our updated estimates of the investment in renewable and non-renewable electricity generation for the years since 2010 are as follows:

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Energy: Competition

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to his oral contribution of 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 909, on energy price freeze, what the evidential basis is for the statement that independents' share of the retail market has increased from one per cent in 2010 to five per cent. [197223]

Michael Fallon: Data from Ofgem show that independent suppliers’ share of the domestic retail energy market in December 2010 was just under 1%.¹ Further data published in Ofgem’s State of the Market Assessment show that their share of the market had grown to just over 5% by January 2014.² This figure is supported by data from a report compiled by Cornwall Energy for Energy UK on competition in the British household energy supply markets, which state that in January 2014 the independents’ share of the domestic retail energy market was just over 5% for both electricity and gas.³

¹The independents’ share of the retail electricity market was 0.6%; for gas it was 0.5%. See Ofgem (2011) ‘2011 Great Britain and Northern Ireland National Reports to the European Commission’ (pdf), available at:

http://www.energy-regulators.eu/portal/page/portal/EER_HOME/EER_PUBLICATIONS/NATIONAL_REPORTS/National%20Reporting%202011/NR_En/C11_NR_UK-EN.pdf

² This figure is based on Meter Point Administration Data from Distribution Network Operators. See Ofgem (2014) ‘State of the Market Assessment’, pp.7-9 (pdf), available at:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/86804/assessmentdocumentpublished.pdf

³ See: http://www.energy-uk.org.uk/press-releases/competition-in-energy-increasing.html

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the oral answer of 3 April 2014, Official Report, column 982, on energy markets: competition, what measures his Department has introduced to deregulate the energy market since 2010. [197230]

Michael Fallon: DECC keeps all its regulations under review to ensure that they are necessary, proportionate, and have the lowest possible cost on business, while protecting environmental and consumer needs. The Department reviewed all its regulations in the Red Tape Challenge Energy and Environment themes and identified 125 to be scrapped or improved by the end of this Parliament.

In addition, the Department has reduced the regulatory burden for small domestic suppliers by raising the customer number threshold at which suppliers must comply with

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certain Government schemes from 50,000 customers set by the previous Government to 250,000. Since raising the threshold 11 new companies have entered the market.

Green Deal Scheme: Wales

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many companies are registered to provide Green Deal assessments in Wales. [197660]

Gregory Barker: The Green Deal Oversight and Regulation Body (ORB) produces publically available information on the supply chain. The latest information is available by using the search tool at:

http://gdorb.decc.gov.uk/

These organisations operate in different geographical locations and provide a wide variety of offers to consumers. Table 1.16 of the Department’s quarterly Official Statistics release shows the self-reported operational coverage of assessor organisations by local authority that they are expecting to operate within:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-deal-energy-company-obligation-eco-and-insulation-levels-in-great-britain-quarterly-report-to-december-2013

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many Green Deal assessments have been undertaken in (a) Llanelli constituency and (b) each constituency in Wales; and how many of these assessments resulted in uptake of the Green Deal by householders. [197661]

Gregory Barker: The Department publishes the number of Green Deal assessments that have been lodged in each parliamentary constituency in Wales in Table 1.6b of its quarterly Official Statistics release:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-deal-energy-company-obligation-eco-and-insulation-levels-in-great-britain-quarterly-report-to-december-2013

The latest figures show that there were 5,875 assessments lodged in Wales up to the end of December 2013.

Green Deal finance is only one option available to householders. Research shows that 78% of Green Deal assessed households said they had, are in the process or intend to install one or more energy saving measures.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Biofuels: Air Pollution

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the social costs caused by (a) large particulates (PM10), (b) small particulates (PM2.5) and (c) nitrogen dioxide emitted to air in the UK by (i) domestic biomass generation of heat and (ii) biomass for power generation in the latest year for which figures are available. [197669]

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA has not made any direct assessment of such social costs.

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Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what amount of (a) large particulates (PM10), (b) small particulates (PM2.5) and (c) nitrogen dioxide were emitted to air in the UK by (i) domestic biomass generation of heat and (ii) biomass for power generation in the latest year for which figures are available; and what proportion of the annual national inventory of the respective emissions these represent. [197670]

Dan Rogerson: The most recent year for which historic emission estimates are available from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory is 2012. These data were published in December 2013.

The emissions from domestic combustion and their share of national total emissions are estimated to have been: (a) for large particles (PM10), 10.9 thousand tonnes and 9.6%; (b) for small particles (PM2.5), 10.6 thousand tonnes and 13.7%; (c) for nitrogen oxides, 0.96 thousand tonnes and 0.09%.

The emissions from power generation and their share of national total emissions are estimated to have been: (a) for large particles (PM10), 0.65 thousand tonnes and 0.57%; (b) for small particles (PM2.5), 0.55 thousand tonnes and 0.72%; (c) for nitrogen oxides, 4.2 thousand tonnes and 0.4%.

Emissions of nitrogen dioxide have not been separately estimated from those of nitrogen oxides.

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the amount of (a) large particulates (PM10), (b) small particulates (PM2.5) and (c) nitrogen dioxide emitted to air in the UK by (i) domestic biomass generation of heat and (ii) biomass for power generation in each of the next five years; and what proportion of the annual national inventory of the respective emissions these represent. [197671]

Dan Rogerson: Projections of emissions have been made based on the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory released in December 2012 and the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s energy projections published in October 2013 for the year 2015.

The emissions from domestic combustion in 2015 and their share of national total emissions are estimated to be: (a) for large particles (PM10), 10.1 thousand tonnes and 8.0%; (b) for small particles (PM2.5), 7.2 thousand tonnes and 9.8%; (c) for nitrogen oxides, 0.97 thousand tonnes and 0.087%.

The emissions from power generation in 2015 and their share of national total emissions are estimated to be: (a) for large particles (PM10), 0.022 thousand tonnes and 0.017%; (b) for small particles (PM2.5), 0.011 thousand tonnes and 0.015%; (c) for nitrogen oxides, 1.5 thousand tonnes and 0.13%.

Emissions of nitrogen dioxide have not been separately estimated from those of nitrogen oxides.

Education

School Meals

Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to ensure that school lunches in academies and free schools meet the nutritional standards of those in the state sector; and if he will make a statement. [197552]

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Mr Laws: The revised school food standards will apply to single mainstream academies and free schools opening from July 2014, other mainstream academies and free schools opening from autumn 2014, and non-mainstream academies opening later in 2014. Academies set up prior to 2010 already have to comply.

During their review of school food, the authors of the School Food Plan approached several academy chains, including the Harris Federation, the Oasis Community Learning Multi-Academy Trust, and the School Partnership Trust. All agreed in principle to comply with the standards and the Leon Foundation is encouraging as many academies and free schools as possible to sign up formally to the new standards.

99% of those academies which responded to a survey by the School Food Trust in 2012 said they were committed to following the new food standards.

Schools: Armed Forces

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether the pupil premium is available for pre-school children from service families; and if he will make a statement. [197691]

Mr Laws: The pupil premium and the service children premium are additional resources provided to maintained schools and academies in England to support the education of 4 to 16-year-olds who meet the eligibility requirements.

The Government have announced that a new early years pupil premium, worth £50 million, will be introduced from April 2015. It will give disadvantaged three and four-year-old children better access to quality early education which evidence shows can have a major impact on their school readiness. The Government will consult later this year on how best to implement these proposals.

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what arrangements are in place to ensure that the pupil premium for service children is used for its intended purposes. [197697]

Mr Laws: Head teachers are responsible for selecting the most appropriate interventions to support their service pupils, including pastoral support or interventions to improve attainment.

They are held accountable for the use of this additional funding in two ways. First, through the Ofsted inspection framework where inspectors focus on the attainment of different groups of pupils, including those who attract the service premium. Secondly, schools are required to publish online how much service pupil premium funding they receive, how it is spent and the impact it has made.

Transport

Conditions of Employment

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 1 May 2014, Official Report, column 785W, on conditions of employment, what estimate he has made of the number of indirect employees of his Department who are on zero-hour contracts. [197650]

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Stephen Hammond: My Department employs no individuals via contingent labour contracts on a zero hour basis.

Cycling

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to improve road safety for cyclists. [903890]

Mr Goodwill: The Government take cycle safety very seriously. In this Parliament we have committed £278 million of funding directly for cycling in England; this includes junction safety schemes and traffic-free and traffic-calmed routes.

We have also made it easier for local authorities to implement 20 mph zones and other highway measures to support cycle safety, and we encourage them to consider these measures on their highway network.

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to encourage safer cycling. [903904]

Mr Goodwill: In addition to the £278 million of funding directly for cycling in England, we continue to support Bikeability cycle training for children. It provides trainees with skills suited to the road, but also explains the importance of obeying the Highway Code, and sharing the road. Some councils provide free or subsidised training to adults.

Highways Agency

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether any increase in remuneration of senior managers in the Highways Agency will have to be agreed by him when the Agency is transformed into a Government-owned company; [197663]

(2) whether senior managers in the Highways Agency will be able to enter into legal tax reduction schemes when the Agency is transformed into a government-owned company; [197664]

(3) whether the Highways Agency will be subject to the Government's public sector pay policy when it is transformed into a Government-owned company. [197665]

Mr Goodwill: The Government intend to transform the Highways Agency into a Government-owned company, as confirmed in the response to consultation published on 30 April. In accordance with TUPE principles, we expect the pay and terms of employment of all staff to remain unchanged once transferred except for the necessary technical amendments to reflect the change to company status.

Staff management arrangements for the company following transition, including pay and reward, are still being worked through within Government. We aim to establish appropriate conditions to allow the company to fulfil its functions efficiently and effectively, while keeping costs down for the taxpayer. This will reflect the Government’s pay policy, as well as support the delivery of a substantially increased investment programme.

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There is no intention to encourage or create opportunities for legal tax reduction schemes as part of Highways Agency transformation.

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much VAT the Highways Agency recovered in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14. [197667]

Mr Goodwill: The amounts of value added tax (VAT) recovered by the Highways Agency over three years to March 2014 is displayed in the following table.