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Written Answers to Questions

Wednesday 14 May 2014

Wales

EU Membership

11. Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the net benefits to people in Wales of the UK’s membership of the EU. [903938]

Mr David Jones: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the oral answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Delyn (Mr Hanson) and the hon. Members for Cardiff West (Kevin Brennan) and Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies), earlier today.

Trade: EU Countries

12. Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the level of trade undertaken by businesses in Wales with countries in the EU. [903939]

Mr David Jones: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the oral answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Delyn (Mr Hanson) and the hon. Members for Cardiff West (Kevin Brennan) and Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies), earlier today.

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, what the ranked order of spending per person on electoral registration by local authorities was for the last year for which figures are available. [197795]

Mr Streeter: A copy of the information requested by the hon. Gentleman has been placed in the Library.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, which local authorities have initiated proceedings for failure to complete and return an annual electoral registration return in the latest period for which figures are available. [197827]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the following electoral registration officers (EROs) reported that they had initiated prosecutions as a result of a failure to respond to the 2012 annual canvass:

East Staffordshire;

Gravesham;

Nottingham;

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London borough of Tower Hamlets;

Warrington.

The commission also informs me that it is in the process of analysing the detailed registration data relating to the 2013 canvass, and that once this work has been completed, it will publish the full data set, which will include information on which local authorities initiated proceedings for failure to complete and return an annual canvass form in 2013.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, which local authority had the biggest percentage (a) increase and (b) decrease in electoral registration in each year since 2010. [197828]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that there are no reliable yearly estimates of levels of registration at a local authority level.

The Office for National Statistics publishes total electorates for each local authority on an annual basis. These data can be found here:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pop-estimate/electoral-statistics-for-uk/2013/index.html

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, if the Electoral Commission will make a copy of its recommended registration form for individual electoral registration available to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee; and if he will place a copy of that form in the Library. [197832]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that a copy of the relevant information will be sent to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee. Copies will also be placed in the Library. The commission has provided EROs with English and Welsh language versions of its form designs, in both colour and mono.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, with reference to the answer of 13 June 2011, Official Report, column 586W, on electoral register, how many (a) written and (b) oral representations the Electoral Commission has received on electoral registration matters from hon. Members from the (i) Labour, (ii) Conservative and (iii) Liberal Democrat parties in each year since 2010. [197933]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it no longer holds information in the format requested. However, the commission answers parliamentary questions about all aspects of its work and meets regularly with a range of hon. Members to discuss issues relevant to its work, including on registration matters. This includes meetings with parliamentary parties, a range of meetings with individual MPs and meetings with its Parliamentary Advisory Group, minutes of whose meetings can be found on its website here:

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/our-work/who-we-are/governance-and-decision-making/parliamentary-advisory-group.

Details of the chair of the commission’s external meetings are also published on an annual basis and can be found on its website here:

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http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/our-work/who-we-are/executive-and-management-team

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, with reference to the answer of 5 July 2011, Official Report, column 1103W, on electoral register, which electoral registration officers rated themselves too highly in their self-assessment and had their ratings reduced in each year for which data are available. [197949]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that information about those electoral registration officers (EROs) whose assessments it revised to ‘below the standard’ in each of 2008, 2009 and 2010 is available in the answer provided on 5 July 2011, Official Report, column 1103W.

Those EROs whose assessments the commission has revised to ‘below the standard’ in 2011 and 2012 are shown in the following list.

2011

Performance Standard 3

Angus

Arun

Braintree

Broxbourne

Castle Point

Chichester

Clackmannanshire

East Ayrshire

East Devon

East Dorset

East Hertfordshire

East Lothian

Edinburgh, City of

Falkirk

Fife

Gravesham

Great Yarmouth

Hart

Maldon

Malvern Hills

Medway

Merthyr Tydfil

Midlothian

Milton Keynes

Mole Valley

North Ayrshire

North Devon

North Lanarkshire

North Somerset

North Warwickshire

Perth and Kinross

Powys

Rhondda, Cynon, Taff

Sedgemoor

Shropshire

Solihull

South Ayrshire

South Lanarkshire

Stirling

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Suffolk Coastal

Tandridge

Taunton Deane

Thanet

The Vale of Glamorgan

Torfaen

Warwick

West Devon

West Lothian

West Oxfordshire

West Somerset

Wycombe

2012

Performance Standard 3

Arun

Braintree

Broxbourne

Castle Point

East Hampshire

East Hertfordshire

Eastbourne

Great Yarmouth

Gwynedd

Lancaster

Merthyr Tydfil

Mid Sussex

North Hertfordshire

North Warwickshire

Powys

Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

South Oxfordshire

Uttlesford

Vale of White Horse

West Oxfordshire

Performance Standard 4

Eden

Performance Standard 6

Eden

The Commission informs me that it is in the process of analysing the detailed registration data relating to the 2013 canvass, which informs its assessments of EROs’ performance. Once this work has been completed, it will publish final assessments of performance for 2013, including the details of any EROs whose assessments it has revised.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, with reference to the answer of 13 June 2011, Official Report, column 585W, on electoral register, how many letters the Electoral Commission have written to hon. Members as a result of their electoral registration officers having failed at least one standard performance indicator in each year for which data is available. [197968]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it notifies all MPs of the outcomes of electoral registration officers’ (EROs) performance measurement assessments through a written statement and it writes individual letters to MPs who have an ERO that has

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failed at least one performance indicator within their constituency. EROs that have failed the standards are identified in the Commission’s reports each year, which are available on its website:

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/find-information-by-subject/performance-standards

Electoral Registration Officers

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, which electoral registration officers identified themselves as below standard at using information services to verify entries in the register of electors and identify potential new electors in the latest period for which figures are available. [197826]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that in 2013 no electoral registration officers (EROs) reported performing below the standard for performance standard 1, which aims to ensure that EROs use appropriate sources of information to verify records on the register of electors and to identify and contact potential new electors throughout the year.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the main reasons given by electoral registration officers were for not conducting data matching activities for the purpose of individual electoral registration. [197830]

Mr Streeter: The commission informs me that the use of local data matching to support confirmation and verification under individual electoral registration (IER) is at the discretion of electoral registration officers (EROs). Ministerial guidance sets out the considerations EROs should take into account in determining whether to conduct local data matching for these purposes, which includes an assessment of the costs and benefits of doing so in their local area.

Following the dry-run of the confirmation exercise in summer 2013, 137 EROs reported to the commission on the trials that they had carried out of local data matching to support the confirmation process. The reasons given by EROs for not carrying out local data matching at that time included a lack of staff resources and an already high match rate. However, in a survey of EROs after the dry-run, 91% of respondents said that local data matching would be important in their area during the confirmation live run in 2014.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, if the Electoral Commission will write to all hon. Members to inform them whether or not their electoral registration officer (ERO) conducted data matching for the purposes of individual electoral registration (IER) in the recent dry-run; and what steps the Electoral Commission can take against EROs who do not undertake data matching activities for the purpose of IER. [197831]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the use of local data matching to support confirmation and verification under individual electoral registration

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(IER) is at the discretion of electoral registration officers (EROs). Ministerial guidance sets out the considerations EROs should take into account in determining whether to conduct local data matching for these purposes, which includes an assessment of the costs and benefits of doing so in their local area.

Following the dry-run of the confirmation exercise in summer 2013, 137 EROs reported to the commission on the trials that they had carried out of local data matching to support the confirmation process. However, in a survey of EROs after the dry-run, 91% of respondents said that local data matching would be important in their area during the confirmation live run in 2014.

The commission published the confirmation dry-run data and an analysis of these and the survey responses received from EROs on its website and e-mailed hon. Members on publication.

The commission informs me that it will continue to work with the Cabinet Office and its regional delivery managers to provide support to EROs throughout the transition to IER to ensure that they are carrying out all necessary activities to meet the challenges of IER in their local areas.

The commission will also collect and publish data from EROs at key stages in order to monitor the progress of the transition, as follows:

on conclusion of confirmation—August 2014 (England and Wales) and October 2014 (Scotland)

on conclusion of the write-out and following publication of the revised register—December 2014 (England and Wales) and March 2015 (Scotland)

after the registration deadline for the May 2015 elections—April 2015

The Commission will make this information available to all hon. Members on publication, along with information on what questions they can ask their local ERO to establish progress with delivering the transition in their area.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many and what proportion of electoral registration officers conducted data matching of local government databases for the purposes of the dry-run for individual electoral registration; and if he will make a statement. [197833]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that 137 electoral registration officers (EROs) reported results of the local data matching activities they had undertaken following the confirmation dry-run in 2013. However, there may have been other EROs that undertook the work but did not report on their findings.

A survey of EROs, issued by the commission at the time of the dry run, found that 91% of the 316 respondents said that local data matching would be important in their area during the live run of confirmation. The commission will report on the full results of the live run of confirmation later in 2014 and this will include the results of local data matching, where available.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what steps have been taken

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by the Electoral Commission to inform hon. Members of the performance of electoral registration officers in their

(a)

constituency and

(b)

local authority. [197881]

Mr Streeter: The commission informs me that it notified all hon. Members of the performance of electoral registration officers (EROs) through a written statement announcing the publication of its assessment report on 31 March 2014. The commission also writes individually to every MP who has an ERO within their constituency who has failed to meet at least one performance standard.

Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014

Mr Dodds: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what consultation there has been with charities in Northern Ireland on the Electoral Commission's guidance on the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014. [198135]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that since Royal Assent to the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 it has held four round-table discussions across the UK, and has used an online survey to listen carefully to the needs of campaigners and explain its plans for guidance. One round table event was held in Northern Ireland and was hosted by the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA). 24 organisations were invited to attend; 11 organisations—including umbrella bodies—were represented.

The Electoral Commission is also providing a series of campaigner updates, giving information on what the Act will mean for charities and other campaigners. These updates are available on the commission’s website and have also been promoted by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.

The commission will publish its full guidance on the new rules, which will include joint guidance with the charity regulators, in the summer. This will ensure that campaigners have guidance available to them in advance of the regulated period which begins on 19 September 2014. Meanwhile, the commission will continue to offer charities and others bespoke advice as usual, both before and after the guidance is published and the regulated period begins.

Deputy Prime Minister

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what comparative assessment he has made of the estimates made by (a) Experian and (b) the Electoral Commission of the number of unregistered voters in the UK. [197788]

Greg Clark: The Government funded the Electoral Commission's 2011 research into the completeness and accuracy of the electoral register. This informed the approach to the transition to individual electoral registration, including the use of data matching to confirm the majority of current electors on the existing

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register without their having to make a new application, and the phasing of the transition over two years, which means no one who registered to vote at the last canvass will lose their right to vote at the general election. Alongside this the Government are funding all local authorities in Great Britain and five national organisations to take steps to boost the completeness and accuracy of the register.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister with reference to the answer of 8 November 2011, Official Report, column 283W, on the electoral register, if he will make it his policy to collect information on the number of fixed penalty notices issued for non-registration in the run-up to the introduction of individual electoral registration. [198442]

Greg Clark: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use in Northern Ireland of prize draws to increase voter registration. [198443]

Greg Clark: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with (a) church and community leaders from black and minority ethnic communities and (b) Operation Black Vote on increasing registration levels for voters in those communities. [198444]

Greg Clark: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether moneys collected from fixed penalty notices issued for failure to register on the electoral register will be retained by the local authority which issues that notice. [198455]

Greg Clark: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when electoral registration officers will be able to impose fixed penalty notices for non-registration. [198456]

Greg Clark: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what training has been given to electoral registration officers in the implementation of fixed penalty notices for non-registration. [198457]

Greg Clark: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to disseminate the lessons learned from the data mining pilots for the introduction of individual electoral registrations; and if he will make a statement. [198458]

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Greg Clark: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will bring forward legislative proposals to provide that the freeze dates for population size for boundary reviews and the census be in the same year. [198459]

Greg Clark: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of people eligible to be on the (a) most recent census and (b) most recent electoral register who were not recorded. [198460]

Greg Clark: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2014, Official Report, column 387W, on the electoral register, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of holding information on the proportion of attainers who are registered to vote; and what assessment he has made of the usefulness of this information in improving the introduction of individual electoral registration. [198461]

Greg Clark: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2013, Official Report, column 971W, on the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013, whether non-individual electoral registration entries will be included on the register by the time of the freeze date for the next boundary review on 1 December 2015. [198462]

Greg Clark: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister with reference to the answer of 23 April 2012, Official Report, column 623W, on the electoral register, what steps he has taken to improve student registration in the run-up to individual electoral registration. [198463]

Greg Clark: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister with reference to the answer of 24 January 2012, Official Report, column 203W, on the electoral register, what assessment he has made of his Department's performance in making the public aware of individual electoral registration; and how he measures that performance. [198465]

Greg Clark: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2014, Official Report, column 510W, on electoral registration, whether

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his Department provides funding to Bite the Ballot to increase voter registration. [198466]

Greg Clark: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what lessons he has learned from the Northern Irish experience of introducing individual electoral registration. [198467]

Greg Clark: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 20 May 2013, Official Report, column 443W, on the electoral register, what the results were of his Department's co-operation with private sector credit reference agencies on datasets that can be used to ensure completeness and accuracy of the electoral register. [198468]

Greg Clark: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Electoral Register: Armed Forces

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of armed services personnel were registered to vote in each of the last 30 years. [197969]

Greg Clark: The information requested is not held centrally.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much Local Growth Fund finance has been requested within all Local Enterprise Partnerships' strategic economic plans; what estimate he has made of private investment that will be leveraged through strategic economic plans; and what estimate he has made of European match-funding. [197629]

Greg Clark: Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) have shown a high level of ambition in their proposals, and the Local Growth Fund (LGF) is three to four times over-subscribed. The amount of private sector leverage put forward varies by LEP and by project, and this is part of the current discussions with LEPs.

In addition to the competitive element, the Local Growth Fund contains £170 million of resource funding to match against skills and employability activity supported by EU Structural Investment Funds. The amount of LGF match made available will depend on EU funding allocation agreed with each LEP.

Women and Equalities

Castes

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Ministers for Women and for Equalities when the Government plan to introduce regulations under the Equality Act 2010 to prevent discrimination by caste and descent. [198276]

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Mrs Grant: There is a lack of certainty on some intrinsic issues around caste, such as what it is and how it is manifested, partly because there had never been any form of public consultation on caste. It was accepted therefore by both Front Benches during the parliamentary debate on this issue last year that the whole process, up to and including the commencement of legislation, would take time and should include a consultation on the proposed legislation. The Government are currently considering two issues which have developed and which have potential implications for the consultation stage. We would expect the public consultation document, including our conclusions on these matters, to be issued in the autumn. We will then be in a position to consider plans to introduce regulations. You may also wish to note the answer given to Lord Avebury by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, on 6 May 2014, Official Report, House of Lords, columns 331-32.

Northern Ireland

Meetings

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many meetings she has had with the (a) Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, (b) Northern Ireland Parades Commission and (c) Equality Commission for Northern Ireland since 1 January 2014. [198099]

Mrs Villiers: I have held no meetings with the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland or the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland since 1 January 2014. I am however due to meet both the Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission in the coming weeks. In relation to the Equality Commission, the right hon. Gentleman may wish to note that although appointments are made to the commission by the Northern Ireland Office, sponsorship responsibility lies with the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

Terrorism

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department's policies to combat the glorification of terrorism in Northern Ireland. [198062]

Mrs Villiers: Section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006 makes the encouragement, including glorification, of terrorism a criminal offence. Any investigations into allegations of encouraging, including the glorification of, terrorism are of course entirely matters for the police, while decisions on prosecution of such offences are the responsibility of the Public Prosecution Service.

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 1 May 2014, Official Report, column 762W, on terrorism, (1) in what circumstances the information pertaining to grants of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy between 1987 and 1997 was lost; and what steps she plans to take to recover that information; [197927]

(2) when she first became aware that records on grants of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy between 1987 and 1997 had been lost; [197928]

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(3) if she will publish the names of those people who received the Royal Prerogative of Mercy; and when and for what reasons it was granted to each. [197929]

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy certificates issued by her Department in the last 30 years have been issued to people accused of terrorism-related offences. [198119]

Mrs Villiers: The information provided in my written answer of 1 May 2014, Official Report, column 762W, was based on information held by my Department. I first became aware of the issue of missing files while preparing to answer that question. I directed that a review take place, along with other relevant Departments, of the historical records relating to RPMs during the period 1987 to 1997. This is ongoing.

Records indicate that the vast majority of uses of the RPM referred to in my answer of 1 May did not relate to terrorist offences. Historically, the RPM was used to remit sentences of individuals before statutory means existed to do so. This included releasing individuals from prison for compassionate reasons (e.g. those who were terminally ill), individuals who assisted the police and prosecuting authorities (now provided for by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005), or to correct errors in calculating release dates. Further information on the general operation of the RPM can be found in the Ministry of Justice’s “Review of the Executive Royal Prerogative Powers: Final Report”, published in October 2009.

In a written answer to my hon. Friend the Member for North West Norfolk (Mr Bellingham), on 17 March 2014, Official Report, column 368W, I repeated an answer given on 20 March 2003, Official Report, column 895W, by the then Secretary for State for Northern Ireland to the right hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Mr Donaldson)—namely that 18 individuals had been granted the RPM in relation to terrorist offences since 1998. Given the RPM has not been used since 2002 and has not been used by this Government, the answer given was the same as the 2003 one. However, early findings from the review of files have indicated that at least one of these cases did not relate to a terrorist offence and in one other case the records do not indicate whether or not the offence was terrorism-related.

In relation to the remaining 16 uses of the RPM between 2000 and 2002 (which did concern terrorist offences), I understand that previous Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland used the RPM in relation to individuals who for technical reasons fell outside the letter of the Early Release Scheme, to shorten (i.e. not waive or remove) sentences in order that individuals fell within what I understand the then Government saw as the spirit of the scheme.

In other words, the RPM was used to correct what the last Government viewed as discrepancies between the letter and the intention of the Belfast agreement and the subsequent Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998—that for a certain category of terrorist offences, offenders could be released after serving two years of their sentences.

The reasons for exercising the RPM in the 16 terrorism-related cases are summarised as follows:

to correct an anomaly in the treatment of an offender convicted of the same offence(s) and given the same sentence as co-defendants but who would otherwise have served longer in prison;

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to release prisoners who would have been eligible for early release under the Belfast agreement had they not transferred to a different jurisdiction;

to release prisoners who would have been eligible to be released under the Belfast agreement had they not served sentences outside the jurisdiction having been convicted extraterritorially, or

to release prisoners who would have been eligible to be released under the Belfast agreement had their offences (which subsequently became scheduled offences) been scheduled at the time they were committed.

The names of the 16 individuals granted the RPM in relation to terrorist offences since 2000 are currently being considered as part of an ongoing court case in Northern Ireland.

Energy and Climate Change

Biofuels

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the government subsidy for power generation by (a) biomass and (b) heat generation by biomass in each of the next five years. [197672]

Gregory Barker: The total future subsidy cost of power generation by biomass will depend on future deployment of this technology, which is uncertain, as this will depend on the relative costs of this technology going forward. Given these uncertainties, the EMR Delivery Plan included a number of illustrative deployment scenarios (see following table). However, these scenarios are for illustration and are not exhaustive.

The following table summarises the tariffs available for heat generation by biomass through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), expected heat production and expenditure in 2015-16.

In the December 2013 Government Response “Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive: Improving Support, Increasing Uptake” Government confirmed they would be introducing tariffs for medium and large biogas combustion and increase the tariff for large biomass and biomass CHP. Subject to parliamentary process, the intention is for this to be in place in spring 2014.

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These tariffs are for 2014-15 and are increased by RPI each year. New applicants are potentially subject to degressions (reductions in payment) if demand reaches certain pre-set triggers.

Deployment potential beyond 2015-16 will depend on the Government’s 2015 spending review.

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the Government subsidy for biomass power generation was in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [197673]

Gregory Barker: The main mechanism of support for biomass¹ power generation is the Renewables Obligation (RO). An estimate of support can be made by applying the share of RO certificates (ROCs) redeemed by suppliers, originating from biomass generation, to overall RO expenditure. This is given in the following table for 2008-09 to 2012-13.

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RO expenditure published in Ofgem’s RO annual reports, available at:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-programmes/renewables-obligation-ro

ROCs redeemed by technology available at:

https://www.renewablesandchp.ofgem.gov.uk/Public/ReportManager.aspx?ReportVisibility=1&ReportCategory=0

(Compliance certificates report).

¹ There is no single category for “biomass” under the RO. In this answer, we have defined biomass as the following generation types: dedicated biomass, co-firing, gasification and unspecified biomass.

Electricity

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will reconsider the proposal to introduce contract for difference auctioning three years earlier than planned. [198160]

Michael Fallon: We have always been clear that auctions can be used to drive value for money, once the market is sufficiently developed. As set out in the ‘Consultation on Competitive Allocation’, published by the Department on 16 January 2014, we consider that market conditions are such that for some, more established, technologies this will be the case from the start of the allocation of contracts for difference (CfDs) under the enduring arrangements.

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of (a) the readiness of markets for a contract for difference (CfD) competitive bidding process and (b) the effect on independent generators of early introduction of CfD auctioning. [198161]

Michael Fallon: The Department launched a consultation on our approach to competitive allocation of contracts for difference (CfDs) in January 2014. This included proposals to move to auctioning of CfDs from the first allocation this autumn. We carefully considered the responses to the consultation before confirming our policy position in the Government Response published on 13 May 2014. Competitive allocation will deliver renewable energy at a lower cost for consumers.

In developing our proposals for the move to competitive allocation, my officials have also worked closely with developers and other stakeholders, including representatives of independent renewable energy generators.

In particular, we are introducing the Offtaker of Last Resort (OLR) to support independent renewable generators by guaranteeing a route to market and therefore improving their ability to raise project finance. The policy design is already at an advanced stage, and the detail of the proposals has been recently consulted on. We are on

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track to deliver the final policy and introduce enabling regulations ahead of the first allocation of CfDs. CfD applicants will, therefore, have a high degree of clarity about the arrangements for OLR well in advance of the first auctions.

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the impact on independent generators of introduction of contract for difference auctioning before the Offtaker of Last Resort is in place. [198162]

Michael Fallon: The OLR will support independent renewable generators by providing them with a guaranteed route to market and improving their ability to raise project finance.

My officials have worked closely with developers and other stakeholders in working up the Offtaker of Last Resort proposals. The policy design is already at an advanced stage, and the detail of the proposals has been recently consulted on. We are on track to deliver the final policy and introduce enabling regulations ahead of the first allocation of CfDs. CfD applicants will, therefore, have a high degree of clarity about the arrangements for OLR, well in advance of the first auctions.

Energy Company Obligation

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reason his Department's consultation on the energy company obligation does not include a return to its originally announced level. [198421]

Michael Fallon: The recent consultation on the future of the energy company obligation (ECO) focused on the period between now and 2017. The precise shape of the obligation after March 2017 will be the subject of a separate consultation in due course.

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will make it his policy to return the energy company obligation to its originally announced level. [198422]

Michael Fallon: The Government have already confirmed that the energy company obligation (ECO) is intended to be ambitious and long-term, extending through until at least 2022.

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he has for the energy company obligation; and if he will make a statement. [198423]

Michael Fallon: The consultation on the future of the energy company obligation (ECO) closed on 16 April 2014, and the Government expect to publish their response before Parliament rises for summer recess.

Energy Supply

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the proportion of the UK's energy requirement

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that will be generated by

(a)

onshore wind,

(b)

offshore wind,

(c)

solar and

(d)

nuclear energy sources by the end of 2015. [198258]

Michael Fallon: The range of estimates for generation by source, as a proportion of the UK’s total electricity demand in 2015, is as follows:

These have been calculated using data derived from the annual update of energy and emissions projections:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updated-energy-and-emissions-projections-2013

Energy: Prices

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will assess the effect of bringing forward by three years the contract for defence auctions on independent generators wishing to enter the auctions and the market conditions in which they will operate. [198298]

Michael Fallon: Auctions can be used to drive value for money once the market is sufficiently developed. We consider that market conditions are such that for some, more established, technologies this will be the case. For established technologies, the proposed move to competition builds on the strong progress on cost reduction and the well-developed pipeline. For less established technologies, our aim is to ensure that they can deploy at levels which enable continued cost reduction and which ultimately support cheaper deployment in the long term.

We continue to develop and implement our detailed proposals for competitive allocation of CfDs, which has the potential to improve value for money, encourage new entry and drive innovation. In developing our proposals we have also been mindful of the final EU Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy 2014-20 published on 9 April, which indicate the need for a move to competitive processes for some technologies.

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will provide additional support to assist independent renewable energy generators to know PPA terms from suppliers in their contract for difference auction bids; and whether he will assess the effect of the absence of an Offtaker of Last Resort on the level of support so needed. [198299]

Michael Fallon: The Offtaker of Last Resort (OLR) will support independent renewable generators by providing them with a guaranteed route to market and improving their ability to raise project finance.

My officials have worked closely with developers and other stakeholders in working up the OLR proposals. The policy design is already at an advanced stage, and the detail of the proposals has been recently consulted on. We are on track to deliver the final policy and introduce enabling regulations ahead of first allocation

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of contracts for difference (CfDs). CfD applicants will have a high degree of clarity about the arrangements for OLR in advance of the first auctions.

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he intends that the Offtaker of Last Resort will have fostered the creation of a bankable offtake PPA market for independent renewable energy generators; and what assumptions this estimate is based on. [198300]

Michael Fallon: The Offtaker of Last Resort (OLR) mechanism will increase competition and reduce PPA discounts by enabling independent generators and lenders to rely on shorter-term PPAs and a wider variety of PPA counterparties. Powers were taken in the Energy Act 2013 to enable the establishment of the OLR. We are minded to report on the OLR scheme annually, and to undertake a comprehensive review of it at the end of the first EMR Delivery Plan in 2018-19. Annual reporting would cover a range of market performance measures, including the level of competition in the PPA market.

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of whether proceeding with Contract for Difference auctions prior to the introduction of the Offtaker of Last Resort will be compatible with EU state aid guidelines on competitive bidding. [198321]

Michael Fallon: The Government consider that the proposed policies are compatible with EU state aid guidelines on competitive bidding and are currently engaging with the European Commission on the matter.

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect of proceeding with contract for difference auctions prior to the introduction of the Offtaker of Last Resort. [198323]

Michael Fallon: My officials have worked closely with developers and other stakeholders in working up the Offtaker of Last Resort proposals. The policy design is already at an advanced stage, and the detail of the proposals has been recently consulted on. We are on track to deliver the final policy and introduce enabling regulations ahead of first allocation of CfDs. CfD applicants will, therefore, have a high degree of clarity about the arrangements for OLR, well in advance of the first auctions.

After the regulations come into force, time will be required to establish the processes for allocation of backstop PPAs and apportionment of their costs between licensed suppliers, but we do not consider that this will constitute a significant impediment to projects which secure CfDs through the auction. Furthermore, the OLR has been designed to be a last resort and generators will need to have commercial offtake arrangements in place in order to secure investment.

Green Deal Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment his Department has made of the competitiveness of Green Deal finance loans. [198244]

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Gregory Barker: Green Deal finance loans are one way that households can fund home energy efficiency improvements. The competitiveness of a Green Deal finance loan compared to other financing options will depend on the circumstances of each household. However, external research has shown that a Green Deal finance loan, available at 6.96% (plus administrative charges) for a period of 10 to 25 years, can often be a competitive option, compared with other forms of unsecured lending.

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average value is of (a) new, (b) pending and (c) live Green Deal plans. [198245]

Michael Fallon: The Department publishes the number of Green Deal plans at each stage in its monthly Official Statistics release. The latest figures show that there were 2,000 Green Deal plans in the system at the end of April 2014. Of these, 532 were ‘new’ (quote accepted), another 473 were ‘pending’ (Plan signed) and 995 were ‘live’ (all energy efficiency measures installed). These figures are available at

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-deal-and-energy-company-obligation-eco-monthly-statistics-april-2014

It is only possible to calculate the average value of ‘live’ Green Deal plans as this is the point, after the measures have been installed, at which the energy supplier has all the information required to bill Green Deal charges. However, this has not yet been calculated by the Department and would take in excess of the resource limit for parliamentary questions to compile and quality assure from the underlying data.

Nuclear Power Stations

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects the nuclear sites at (a) Bradwell, (b) Hartlepool and (c) Heysham to be made available to new nuclear power station consortia. [198358]

Michael Fallon: Bradwell, Hartlepool and Heysham are three of the eight sites listed in the 2011 Nuclear National Policy Statement as potentially suitable for the deployment of new nuclear power stations. Development of these sites is a matter for commercial developers: as yet there are no proposals on the table. We hope, however, that firm plans will come forward in due course.

Renewable Energy

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the effect of contracts for difference auctioning on small and medium-sized enterprises in the (a) renewable energy sector and (b) solar power industry. [197723]

Michael Fallon: The Department launched a consultation on our approach to competitive allocation of contracts for difference (CfDs) in January 2014. This included proposals to move to auctioning of CfDs from the first allocation this autumn. We carefully considered the responses to the consultation from small and medium-sized enterprises in the renewable energy sector and the solar

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power industry before confirming our policy position in the Government Response published on 13 May 2014. We will continue to engage with SMEs as we implement our proposals for competitive allocation to understand any difficulties they might face in participating in an auction for CfDs.

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 3 April 2014, Official Report, column 805W, on renewable energy, what the standard period is for stakeholders to be given to respond to a Government consultation. [198159]

Michael Fallon: The amount of time required for stakeholders to respond to a Government consultation will depend on the nature and impact of the proposal and might typically vary between two and 12 weeks.

Renewables Obligation

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the total expenditure was on Renewables Obligation support in 2013; and what proportion of such support was given to solar power. [197711]

Gregory Barker: Renewable Obligation (RO) expenditure is calculated on a financial year basis. Total expenditure in 2012-13 was £1,991 million.

The proportion of this support given to solar in 2012-13 can be calculated by dividing the number of RO certificates (ROCs) redeemed by suppliers originating from solar generation (20,932) by the total number of ROCs redeemed by suppliers (44,773,499). This gives a figure of 0.05%.

Source:

RO expenditure published in Ofgem’s 2012-13 RO annual report, available at:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/renewables-obligation-ro-annual-report-2012-2013

2012-13 ROCs redeemed by technology available at:

https://www.renewablesandchp.ofgem.gov.uk/Public/ReportManager.aspx?ReportVisibility=1&ReportCategory=0

(Compliance certificates report).

Solar Power

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the proposed reduction in solar farm support under the Renewables Obligation on planned community-owned or shared ownership schemes; [197713]

(2) what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of reductions to Renewables Obligation support on the quality of solar farms; [197716]

(3) when his Department's proposed changes to the level of the solar PV Renewables Obligation Certificates will take effect; and if he will make a statement. [197726]

Gregory Barker: The Government published the second part of our UK Solar PV Strategy Part 2¹ on 4 April 2014. We made clear in that document that we are considering the implications of current trends of

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deployment in solar PV on the financial incentives available in Great Britain under the renewables obligation and small-scale feed-in tariffs. We will issue a public consultation shortly proposing changes to financial support for solar PV.

¹https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-solar-pv-strategy- part-1-roadmap-to-a-brighter-future

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much solar PV was installed under the 50 kW to 5 MW feed-in tariff bands in (a) 2012, (b) 2013 and (c) 2014 to date. [197722]

Gregory Barker: The following table shows the total number of 50 kW to 5 MW solar PV installations accredited under the feed-in tariff scheme.

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much solar PV was installed under the 250 kW to 5 MW feed-in tariff band in (a) 2012, (b) 2013 and (c) 2014 to date. [197724]

Gregory Barker: The following table shows the total number of 250 kW to 5 MW solar PV installations accredited under the feed-in tariff scheme:

Staff

Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many jobs in his Department are based in (a) London and (b) Aberdeen as part of the Licensing, Exploration and Development Unit. [198410]

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Gregory Barker: As of 30 April 2014, there were in total 54 Department of Energy and Climate Change jobs as part of the Licensing, Exploration and Development Unit, 32 based in London, and 22 based in Aberdeen.

International Development

Bangladesh

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will take steps to encourage all UK clothing companies which use suppliers in Bangladesh to join the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. [198109]

Mr Duncan: Over 160 companies, including many well-known British brands and retailers, have now signed up to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety, a ground-breaking, legally binding agreement between international unions and clothing companies. Signing up to the Accord shows that they are serious about their responsibilities in ensuring the safety of all those people in Bangladesh that make their clothes.

DFID has used every opportunity—such as the Westminster Hall debate on 30 April, my recent visit to Bangladesh, communications around the Rana Plaza anniversary, and meetings with retailers and buyers—to call for companies to take responsibility for the working conditions of all those that make their clothes and to contribute to the Rana Plaza Trust Fund for the victims of the factory building collapse.

International Assistance

Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to improve the transparency of bilateral and multilateral aid spending. [198316]

Mr Duncan: The UK continues to lead the world on aid transparency. DFID was a founder of (and the first to publish aid data under) the International Aid Transparency Initiative. Over 230 organisations have now followed this lead. 98% of civil society organisations receiving funding under DFID’s Programme Partnership Arrangements are now publishing IATI compliant data.

DFID’s Development Tracker has revolutionised the sharing of aid information, enabling public access to details on expenditure and recipients, alongside project documentation. These efforts have been recognised recently, with DFID assessed as the best performing donor in the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation’s 2014 monitoring report.

The Multilateral Aid Review (MAR) included transparency and accountability as a key aspect of assessing multilateral partners’ performance. DFID is pushing organisations to strengthen their disclosure policies and make project details readily available. This is likely to be examined again in 2015.

Nigeria

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance her Department is offering to Nigeria for the promotion of education for women and girls in a safe environment. [198261]

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Lynne Featherstone: British aid is helping to educate 800,000 Nigerian children, including 600,000 girls, through a package of educational support to state governments in Nigeria. DFID also has an extensive portfolio of programmes helping Nigeria to provide long-term security for its citizens, particularly working to prevent violence against women and girls. For example, DFID’s Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme is already scaling up its work in Borno state, and my officials are currently investigating what further support we can offer both in terms of education and security programmes.

Business, Innovation and Skills

Australia

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what visits he has made to Australia in the last year; what the primary purpose was of any such visits; and who accompanied him on such visits. [198263]

Jenny Willott: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has not visited Australia in the last 12 months.

Bankruptcy

Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people have been declared bankrupt in (a) Bury St Edmunds constituency, (b) Suffolk, (c) East of England and (d) England and Wales in each of the last five years. [198314]

Jenny Willott: Figures for bankruptcies in England and Wales, East of England, Suffolk and Bury St Edmunds constituency in each of the last five years can be found in Table 1.

Regional figures for 2013 are not currently available. They will be published in July 2014.

It should be noted that these figures do not account for any changes in the base population over time. Using the rate of bankruptcies per 10,000 adults allows for a like-for-like comparison across years.

Headline figures for insolvencies in England and Wales can be found in the quarterly Insolvency Statistics release, a National Statistics publication. Figures for January-March 2014 were published on 29 April 2014, and can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/insolvency-statistics-january-to-march-2014

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Annual numbers and rates of bankruptcies by region for 2000 to 2012 are available in the Individual Insolvencies by Region publication, which can be found at the following link:

http://www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk/otherinformation/statistics/regionalstatisticsmenu.htm

Conditions of Employment: Scotland

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning in Scotland on the use of zero-hour contracts in Scottish education establishments. [198063]

Jenny Willott: There have been no recent discussions between the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable) and the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning in Scotland directly relating to the use of zero-hour contracts in Scottish education establishments.

Disabled Students' Allowances

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the written statement of 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 1WS, on higher education (student support), what estimate he has made of how many prospective students will no longer be eligible for the disabled students' allowance once the changes set out in the statement are introduced; and what steps he plans to take to support those prospective students. [198137]

Mr Willetts: Disabled students will continue to receive support through a combination of disabled students' allowances (DSAs) and reasonable adjustments made by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Each student's needs are unique. Some will receive more support through reasonable adjustments than previously experienced. Written guidance will be available.

It is not possible to make an accurate estimate of how many prospective students will no longer be eligible for DSAs as many students receive more than one type of support.

Current DSA recipients and disabled students applying for DSAs in 2014/15 will not be affected by these changes in 2015/16.

Hydraulic Equipment: Imports

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent representations he has received on illegal pump imports into the UK; and if he will make a statement. [196444]

Michael Fallon: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

We have had no representations on illegal pump imports. The National Measurement Office (NMO) is the designated Market Surveillance Authority for the UK for products subject to regulations made under the Ecodesign for Energy-related Products Directive, including those for pumps. It takes an intelligence-led and risk-based approach to market surveillance; any evidence of illegal imports should be sent to the NMO:

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https://www.gov.uk/placing-energy-related-products-on-the-uk-market

for follow-up and appropriate enforcement action.

Manufacturing Industries: Females

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps the Government are taking to encourage more women to pursue a career in advanced manufacturing. [198398]

Mr Willetts: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.

Vocational Guidance: Internet

Mr Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the performance of plotr; and if he will make a statement. [198320]

Matthew Hancock: Officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have been working with those from the Cabinet Office to assess the next steps with plotr, which the two Departments supported in its early development stages in 2012.

The website provides employers with an opportunity to attract young people into careers in their businesses and industries. It does so in an engaging way and fits well with the Inspiration Vision which I announced in September last year: widening the horizons for young people with details of the range of options available as they progress in education. An impressive list of employers is already involved.

I have decided to further support plotr to achieve a step change in the site to meet employers’ expectations and provide a better user experience for young people. I expect this to provide the springboard for plotr to be entirely funded by employers from the end of this year.

Transport

Bus Services: Lancashire

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are being taken to ensure that funding is made available to maintain bus services in rural areas of Lancashire. [198385]

Stephen Hammond: The majority of public funding for local bus services is via block grant provided to local authorities in England from the Department for Communities and Local Government. This Department is also devolving around £1.9 million annual Bus Service Operators Grant funding to Lancashire county council relating to the tendered bus services they support, to allow decisions to be taken locally on how that funding should be spent.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of introducing a refund and vehicle excise duty system based on the day a vehicle is bought and sold. [198303]

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Stephen Hammond: The estimated cost of amending the vehicle excise duty refund process is £10 million. This information was published in the Tax Information and Impact Note published on 10 December 2013 alongside the draft 2014 Finance Bill.

This is part of the initiative to abolish the tax disc which will result in ongoing savings to the taxpayer of around £7 million per annum due to no longer producing, issuing and posting tax discs.

Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what comparative assessment he has made of superfast broadband coverage in (a) Hampshire and (b) other counties in the UK. [198022]

Mr Vaizey: Ofcom monitors the availability of broadband in the UK, including superfast broadband, and publishes comparative data on its website, which can be found at:

http://maps.ofcom.org.uk/broadband/

Ofcom’s 2013 report provides the following comparative data on the availability of superfast broadband in Hampshire compared with the UK average.

The full Ofcom data table can be found at

http://d2a9983j4okwzn.cloudfront.net/downloads/ofcom-uk-broadband-speed-data-2013.csv

Electronic Publishing

Mr Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what assessment he has made of the effect of growth in the UK market for eBooks on authors, publishers and readers; [198447]

(2) if he will launch a public consultation on steps to be taken to promote the UK eBook industry. [198448]

Mr Vaizey: The creative industries are a great success story for the UK, and the importance of the publishing sector has been illustrated in the recently published creative industries statistics (January 2014), which show its worth of £9.7 billion in 2012, its employment of nearly a quarter of a million people, and its worth of £1.25 billion in export of services in 2011.

The Department has made no direct assessment of the effect of growth in the UK market for eBooks on authors, publishers and readers; however, the existence of digital platforms, such as eBooks, increases the multimedia possibilities for authors and publishers, and provides consumers with more choice. The sector is continuing to seize the opportunities presented by digital technologies and the UK eBook industry is continuing to develop even further.

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World War One: Anniversaries

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans the Government have to hold events in Northern Ireland to commemorate the centenary of the First World War. [198257]

Mrs Grant: The Government are leading a wide-ranging programme of events and activities to mark the First World War centenary. HMS Caroline, moored in Belfast, has received £13.2 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund to enable this veteran of the Battle of Jutland to open as a floating museum for the battle’s centenary in 2016. Commemorative paving stones will be laid in the hometowns of Victoria Cross recipients born in Northern Ireland. The 14-18 NOW cultural programme summer 2014 season includes events in both Belfast and Derry/Londonderry. There will be other First World War related activity as part of the wider decade of centenary commemorations in Ireland and Northern Ireland. At the same time, the Northern Ireland Centenary Committee is developing plans for a cross-community commemorative event at St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast which will complement UK Government events in Glasgow, Belgium and London on 4 August 2014. The right hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Mr Donaldson), as Chair of the Northern Ireland Centenary Committee, is a member of the UK Government Advisory Group.

Defence

Afghanistan

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of the work done on the Kajaki Dam project in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [198096]

Mr Francois: The Kandahar Helmand Power Project to enhance the electrical power output of the Kajaki Dam is not funded by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), but by the US Agency for International Development and the US Army Corps of Engineers. The MOD is therefore unable to provide a thorough estimate of costs. In 2008, the UK’s 16 Air Assault Brigade provided protection for the movement of a turbine to Kajaki. By the end of 2014, the project aims to deliver reliable, sustainable electricity to around 2 million people in Kandahar and Helmand, and to support the continued development of the regional South-East Power System (SEPS) power grid.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what economic benefit has accrued to the Afghan people from work on the Kajaki Dam project to date. [198301]

Mr Francois: The work on the Kajaki Dam is part of the US funded Kandahar Helmand Power Project. The US Agency for International Development has stated that, once operational, the new turbine will increase Kajaki capacity from 33 MW to 51 MW, benefiting some 50,000 households in Kandahar and Helmand provinces.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force personnel of each rank have been in breach of their harmony guidelines in each year since 2010. [196674]

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Anna Soubry: The “Harmony Guidelines” are used by the Services to strike a balance between deployment, training and time with families. Individual harmony guidelines (IHG) are different for the three Services, equating to no more than 660 days away from home over a rolling three-year period for the Naval Service, no more than 415 days away in a 30-month rolling period for the Army and no more than 280 days away over in the previous 24 months for the Royal Air Force.

The following tables show the information available in respect of breaches of harmony guidelines, by percentage in each year, by rank, since 2010 to the latest date available (1 January 2014 for the RAF or 1 March 2014 for the Naval Service and the Army).

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