Work and Pensions

Access to Work Programme

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will amend the Access to Work scheme to enable deaf people to employ a full-time salaried support worker. [198733]

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Mike Penning: The Access to Work programme currently allows for support to be organised in this way if it offers the most cost-effective and practical solution and there is clear customer need for that level of support. We are taking a close look at the Access to Work programme over the next three months, focusing on how we can assist the largest number of disabled people in work. We will include in that process a consideration of how best to address the needs of customers requiring support for a large number of hours each week on an ongoing basis.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the evidential basis was for the decision to change the Access to Work scheme in regards to deaf people having to employ a full-time salaried support worker. [198737]

Mike Penning: The Access to Work programme has not been changed in this way. No customers are required to employ a full-time support worker, their employers and support providers and we are not prescriptive on this.

Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK have received support through the Access to Work scheme in each of the last three years. [199328]

Mike Penning: Please see figures for the last full three financial years for which data are available.

Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what funding has been provided to disabled people in Scotland and the UK through the Access to Work scheme in each of the last three years. [199329]

Mike Penning: Please see figures for the last full three financial years for which data are available.

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Access to Work Programme: Scotland

Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to promote the Access to Work scheme to disabled people in Scotland. [199330]

Mike Penning: Access to Work is a valued and succesful national programme that makes a real difference to the working lives of disabled people throughout the UK.

The Department for Work and Pensions has actively marketed Access to Work to raise awareness of the programme through a national marketing campaign lasting throughout 2013. This included activity to further strengthen our partnerships with key stakeholders and organisations, developing marketing materials, attending key events and digital marketing. The campaign involved a wide range of communications activities, including press releases, presentations at disability and employer events, articles in disability publications and engagement in direct marketing to large employers. It also included use of digital media, paid advertising links in popular search engines, magazine adverts and awareness training for Jobcentre Plus Disability Employment Advisors.

Access to Work also featured in the launch of the Department's Disability Confident campaign in July 2013 and at subsequent local events, including Glasgow on 4 March 2014.

The Department for Work and Pensions has worked closely with the Public Health division of the Scottish Government to raise awareness of Access to Work with health professionals. This included sharing information on the NHS Scotland's Knowledge Network and the Health and Employability Delivery Group.

Carers' Benefits

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment he has made of the effects on carers of (a) each change and (b) all changes to the benefits system since 2010; [199018]

(2) if he will conduct an assessment of the effect on carers of the implementation of the Welfare Reform Act 2012. [199019]

Mike Penning: The Universal Credit Impact Assessment was published in December 2012. Full details of the report can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/welfare-reform-act-2012-impact-assessments

Carers: Income

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the real-terms income of carers in each of the years from 2010 to 2014; and what estimate he has made of the real-terms income of carers in 2015 in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland, and (d) the UK. [198897]

Mike Penning: This information is not available.

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Employment and Support Allowance

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Tom Greatrex) of 21 March 2012, Official Report, column 705W on Atos Healthcare, on how many occasions a Jobcentre Plus decision-maker did not follow the advice of an Atos-approved healthcare professional when making a decision on the eligibility for employment and support allowance in each month since May 2010. [198542]

Mike Penning: The information requested is shown in the following table.

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Employment Schemes

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Community Work Placement providers schemes (a) were operating by 28 April 2014, (b) were operating no later than 2 June 2014 and (c) are yet to commence; for what reasons any providers have breached of the 2 June 2014 commencement deadline; at what capacity the scheme is currently running; and when he estimates that the scheme will be fully operational (i) in Brighton and Hove Local Authority Area and (ii) nationally. [198636]

Esther McVey: Community work placements are being introduced in a phased approach from 28 May 2014 to 9 June 2014. Brighton and Hove started on 9 June 2014 and is taking placements as planned.

Independent Living Fund

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance he has issued to local authorities on the abolition of the Independent Living Fund; what discussions he has held with his ministerial colleagues on this issue; and what steps he is taking to monitor the effect of this decision on disabled people at a national and local level. [198997]

Mike Penning: My Department is committed to working closely with the ILF and other Government Departments to support the work required to enable an effective transfer for ILF users by 30 June 2015.

The ILF also has undertaken a dedicated programme of engagement with local authorities and is also engaging directly with all of those authorities who will be involved in the transfer of user care and support in 2015.

This includes a local authority commitment to the code of practice between the ILF and local authorities in England, backed by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and the Local Government Association (LGA).

DWP is currently developing plans for monitoring the impact of ILF closure on those groups who share protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, both on former users of the ILF and on disabled people more generally.

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Legal Aid Scheme

Mr McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many cases funded by legal aid against his Department where public interest lawyers have represented clients were won by his Department in each of the last 10 years; [198662]

(2) in how many cases against his Department funded by legal aid public interest lawyers have represented clients in each of the last 10 years. [198666]

Mike Penning: The Department does not centrally record information about the identity of claimants' representatives or information relating to claimants' funding arrangements. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Personal Independence Payment

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) whether Capita will incur penalties for delays in carrying out personal independence payments assessments; [199045]

(2) whether Capita have been given additional funding to deal with backlogs of personal independence payments assessments. [199051]

Mike Penning: The information is as follows:

(1) The information is commercial in confidence.

(2) The Department regularly meets with both Assessment Providers to discuss performance. Failure to meet contractual obligations will result in the Department applying service credits (financial remedies) in line with the contract.

Public Expenditure

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will provide a detailed breakdown of the change category of spending in his Department's quarterly summary of spending data. [199464]

Mike Penning: In line with other Departments, the most recent published version of the quarterly data summary (QDS) is that of Q3 2013/14. This is visible on Cabinet Office's Government interrogating Spending Tool.

Social Security Benefits

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the potential effects of removing dedicated funding for local welfare assistance; and if he will review the current local welfare assistance arrangements introduced in 2013 before any such change is made. [199275]

Steve Webb: In the next spending round period, from April 2015, central Government will continue to provide support to local authorities through general funds, as part of the coalition Government's commitment to reducing ring-fencing and ending top-down Whitehall control.

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It was always the intention that 2014-15 would be the last year of separate funding for local welfare provision from the Department for Work and Pensions. Councils will continue to provide support to those in their community who face financial difficulties or who find themselves in unavoidable circumstances.

In contrast to a centralised grant system that was poorly targeted, councils can now choose how to best support local welfare needs within their areas. As this is an administrative change only no assessment has been made of the effects. However we are carrying out a review of the current arrangements, working with the Local Government Association and the Department for Communities and Local Government. Once completed it is our intention to place a copy of the findings in the House Library.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what impairment type or main disabling condition is experienced by people on (a) employment and support allowance and (b) job seeker's allowance and under sanction. [198980]

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Unemployment: Depressive Illnesses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of people who are currently unemployed who have repeat episode depressions; and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the use of mindfulness-based interventions in making people ready for work. [198858]

Mike Penning: We do not keep health data on those who are currently unemployed. However we know that at any one time one in six people has a mental health problem like anxiety or depression, and a further two in a hundred are affected by severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia.

We are currently considering the design of the pilots to test the most promising interventions and evidence-based approaches put forward by RAND Europe and we will be implementing these pilots this year.

Universal Credit

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to include an automated system for cross-checking data within the universal credit system. [199462]

Esther McVey: DWP is already using data matching to automatically cross-reference UC claims to prevent fraud and error.

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues about the risk of fraud in the universal credit system. [199465]

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Esther McVey: As part of the secure, controlled roll out of universal credit, the Secretary of State has discussed the risk of fraud within universal credit extensively with his ministerial colleagues and continues to do so.

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people he expects to be claiming universal credit by the end of (a) 2014, (b) 2015, (c) 2016, (d) 2017 and (e) 2018. [199466]

Esther McVey: We announced our plans for the implementation of universal credit on 5 December, and these were set out in a written ministerial statement. The WMS can be found here:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm131205/wmstext/131205m0001.htm#13120551000006

Official statistics on universal credit were most recently published on 14 May and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-statistics-apr-2013-to-31-march-2014

Vacancies: Internet

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of vacancies on Universal Jobsmatch classified as employer confidential; and what checks are in place to ensure that such vacancies are not bogus, fraudulent or otherwise inappropriate. [199039]

Esther McVey: Universal Jobmatch revolutionises the way jobseekers look for work and it has already helped many jobseekers find the jobs they want through the millions of vacancies posted since 2012. It is part of the Government’s plan for providing easy online access to government services for all.

There are various circumstances where an employer may wish to keep their details confidential—for example, if they are employing a personal carer or another role where they are using their home address. We estimate that there are 42,544 employer confidential vacancies currently on Universal Jobmatch. This equates to 7.1% of the total live vacancies as at 5 June 2014.

The security of a user's data is of the utmost importance to us and built into the service are monitoring tools and vacancy checks, which help to detect, deter and remedy inappropriate use of the site. Checks are made to identify inappropriate, fraudulent and bogus jobs and employers in order to block them from being posted.

There are also warnings to users of the service advising them they should not be asked to reveal personal information i.e. bank details, as this information is not relevant to the application process.

Additionally, a ‘Contact Us' facility is provided so users can quickly highlight any employers that users may have concerns about. DWP then investigate such concerns.

These checks are in place for all vacancies, including employer confidential vacancies.

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Work Capability Assessment

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have successfully appealed refusals of employment and support allowance as part of (a) the periodic reassessment of existing employment and support allowance claimants and (b) the reassessment of those in receipt of incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance and income support. [198543]

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

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many workplace capability assessments have been passed from his Department to Atos for processing in each of the last three years; [198555]

(2) how many workplace capability assessments have been processed by Atos within 35 working days to date; [198556]

(3) what the current actual average clearance time is for a workplace capability assessment; [198557]

(4) what penalties his Department is able to levy on workplace capability assessment providers who miss targets; [198558]

(5) how many workplace capability assessments have been submitted to Atos, processed and returned within 35 working days in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) West Lothian local authority area in each of the last three years. [198559]

Mike Penning: The number of employment and support allowance and incapacity benefit reassessment work capability assessment referrals to Atos Healthcare in each of the last three years is as follows:

For the period October 2008 to May 2014, there have been 3,431,528 employment and support allowance and incapacity benefit reassessment cases processed by Atos Healthcare within 35 days.

The latest (April 2014) national employment and support allowance work capability assessment actual average clearance time (AACT) is 118.9 days.

There are a range of financial remedies available within the medical services contract to address service level failure. However this is a matter of commercial in confidence between the Department for Work and Pensions and its supplier Atos Healthcare.

The number of employment and support allowance and incapacity benefit allowance cases that were referred to Atos Healthcare processed and returned within 35 days in each of the last three years is as follows:

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(c) West Lothian local authority area

The information requested is not available.

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) with reference to the answer of 7 May 2014, Official Report, column 228W, on social security benefits: disability, if he will take steps to reduce the national average waiting times for work capability assessments for (a) employment and support allowance and (b) incapacity benefit reassessment; [199012]

(2) what the target waiting time is for work capability assessment for both (a) employment and support allowance and (b) incapacity benefit reassessment; and what proportion of such assessments have been carried out within the target timescale in the last four quarters for which figures are available. [199013]

Mike Penning: We are working closely with our supplier to deliver the best possible service for claimants, driving up performance and quality to help reduce waiting times and process claims as quickly as possible. We are continuing to monitor and robustly manage this contract.

We do not have a target timescale for waiting time for an employment and support allowance and incapacity benefit reassessment work capability assessment.

Prime Minister

Climate Change

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Prime Minister if he will attend the global leaders Climate Summit in September 2014 in New York; and if he will make a statement. [198574]

The Prime Minister: The UK strongly welcomes the UN Secretary-General's leadership in convening a Climate Summit in September in New York. It will provide added momentum to international action on tackling climate change and showcase significant actions to address the issue. No decision has yet been taken about the composition of the UK's delegation to the Summit.

Iraq Committee of Inquiry

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Prime Minister (1) on what date and which Minister signed off the decision to give permission to the Chilcot inquiry to disclose quotations or gists of the content of notes from Tony Blair or records of discussions between the UK Prime Minister and the President of the United States; when detailed consideration of the gists and quotations requested by the Inquiry began; how many (a) gists and (b) quotations

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of Tony Blair are under consideration; whether the publication of any gists or quotations has yet been agreed; and which Minister will approve the decisions on which gists or quotations can be published; [199046]

(2) with reference to the letter of 28 May 2014 from Sir John Chilcot to the Cabinet Secretary, which Government Minister agreed, and on what date, that there was no prospect of reaching agreement that Notes or records of discussions between the UK Prime Minister and the President of the United States should be disclosed in their entirety or with redactions. [199074]

The Prime Minister: The inquiry is completely independent of Government and should be allowed to complete its work without interference.

At the outset of the inquiry, Government and the inquiry agreed a documents protocol on the handling of information provided to the inquiry. The protocol names the Cabinet Secretary as final arbiter in discussions about disclosure. He is the right person to perform this role. He is the most senior civil servant and can see papers of a previous Government. Sir John Chilcot’s letter of 28 May describes the background against which the inquiry made its requests for gists and quotes. Sir John also makes clear that the gists and quotes are sufficient for the inquiry’s purposes.

Sir John Chilcot’s letter of 28 May is available on the Iraq inquiry website and I am placing a copy in the Library of the House.

The Government will not comment further on the extent or detail of the inquiry’s declassification requests. I have made clear my hope that the inquiry will be able to complete its work by the end of the year.

Mr Amess: To ask the Prime Minister (1) what recent representations (a) he, (b) other Ministers and (c) officials of (i) 10 Downing Street and (ii) the Cabinet Office have made to the (A) Chairman and (B) secretariat of the Chilcot inquiry on delays in publication of its report due to responses from officials of the US administration; what response was received to these representations; and if he will make a statement; [199199]

(2) how many documents provided by the Government to the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war have been declassified; how many such documents he estimates will be declassified within the next six months; and if he will make a statement; [199185]

(3) what discussions he has had with the (a) Chairman and (b) Secretary of the Chilcot inquiry on the publication of its report since March 2013; and if he will make a statement; [199188]

(4) when he expects the report of the Chilcot Inquiry into the war in Iraq to be published; what discussions Sir John Chilcot has had with those expected to be criticised in his report; if he will ensure that hon. Members are provided with a full paper copy of the report and all (a) oral and (b) written evidence that was presented to the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war; and if he will make a statement; [199189]

(5) if he will seek the agreement of the US President to the publication of classified documents by the Chilcot inquiry; and if he will make a statement; [199190]

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(6) if he will discuss with the administrators of the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war a final date for publication; and if he will make a statement; [199196]

(7) what recent discussions he has had with the US President on the publication by the Chilcot inquiry of conversations between (a) Tony Blair and George W. Bush and (b) the right hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Mr Brown) and George W. Bush in the period (i) leading up to the conflict in Iraq and (ii) after the invasion of Iraq; what response was received from the President; and if he will make a statement; [199197]

(8) if it remains his policy to publish the report of the Chilcot inquiry in full; and if he will make a statement. [199198]

The Prime Minister: The Iraq inquiry is independent of government, and should be allowed to complete its work without interference.

Neither I nor Ministers have had any discussions with or made any representations to the inquiry. Nor have I discussed the inquiry with President Obama.

The inquiry has sought the declassification of material for inclusion in its report from many thousands of documents, some of which have been or will be published. Government do not, as a rule, comment on any discussions between officials and the inquiry.

The Maxwellisation process is a matter for the inquiry.

The Government remain committed to ensuring that the inquiry’s final report will be able to disclose all but the most sensitive information which will be determined in accordance with the protocol governing the disclosure of documentary evidence which is available through the inquiry website.

Timing of the delivery of the report to me is a matter for the inquiry, but it is my hope that the inquiry can complete its work before the end of the year. Upon publication, copies of the report will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Deputy Prime Minister

Electoral Register

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. [198963]

Greg Clark: No direct assessment has been made by the Cabinet Office of the use of prize draws to improve electoral registration in Northern Ireland. However, we have learnt from the experience of Northern Ireland and used it to inform the development of Individual Electoral Registration (IER) in Great Britain. Unlike the transition to IER in Northern Ireland in 2002, in Great Britain data matching is being used to confirm the majority of current electors on the existing register without them having to make a new application. The Government have also provided £4.2 million funding which has been shared between five national organisations and all 363 local authorities in order to promote voter registration, particularly amongst under-registered groups.

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Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether monies 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. [198967]

Greg Clark: Under paragraph 11 of schedule ZA1 to the Representation of the People Act 1983, monies received from a civil penalty notice issued for failure to respond to a notice of requirement to register on the electoral register are paid into the Consolidated Fund.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) when electoral registration officers will be able to impose fixed penalty notices for non-registration; [198968]

(2) what training has been given to electoral registration officers in the implementation of fixed penalty notices for non-registration; [198971]

(3) with reference to the answer of 8 November 2011, Official Report, column 283W, on 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. [199049]

Greg Clark: From 10 June 2014, alongside the introduction of individual electoral registration (IER), electoral registration officers in England and Wales will be able to impose civil penalty notices for failure to respond to a notice of requirement to register on the electoral register. In Scotland this will be from 19 September 2014 alongside the introduction of IER in Scotland, following the Scottish referendum.

In conjunction with the Electoral Commission we intend to collect information on the number of civil penalties issued for failure to respond to an IER invitation through each local authority's Electoral Management System.

Local authority staff who are responsible for the delivery of electoral registration have been fully trained on IER processes, including a module on notices of requirement to register and on civil penalties.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister with reference to the answer of 28 January 2014, Official Report, columns 509-10W, on electoral registration, whether his Department provides funding to Bite the Ballot to increase voter registration. [199047]

Greg Clark: The Government recently announced that all 363 local authorities and valuation joint boards in Great Britain and five national organisations are sharing £4.2 million funding to promote voter registration amongst under-registered groups.

Organisations with ideas on how funding can be used to create and support opportunities to promote voter registration, including Bite the Ballot, have been encouraged to approach local authorities, and I emphasised this point with Bite the Ballot when I met them in March this year.

Local Government: Brighton

Simon Kirby: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will estimate the potential economic benefits of the

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City Deal for the Greater Brighton area to that region over the next five years; and if he will make a statement. [199537]

Greg Clark: The Greater Brighton City Deal will enable the area to fulfil its economic potential, turning it into one of the highest performing urban economies in the UK, and boosting its already vibrant creative-digital sector. Local leaders predict that the measures agreed in the City Deal will create at least 1,300 jobs over the next five years, and leverage £24.5 million of investment. In the longer term, the deal is expected to create 8,500 jobs and add £361 million per year to the local economy. The Greater Brighton City Deal is available at:

www.gov.uk

Unemployment: Young People

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress the Cabinet Secretary's review into the provision of assistance for unemployed young people has made. [199542]

The Deputy Prime Minister: The Government have announced a number of policies that have been informed by the review's findings, including two pilots for 18 to 21-year-olds claiming jobseeker's allowance aimed at improving basic skills in Maths and English for those without level 2 from the beginning of their claim and ensuring people receive work or skills base activity best suited to their needs after six months. We will also be piloting, for the first time, extending Job Centre Plus advisor support to 16 and 17-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) and not in receipt of an out of work benefit. The Government have also introduced new statutory guidance for schools on careers guidance, and announced the creation of an online portal for post-16 education and training opportunities.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the findings of the Cabinet Secretary's review into the provision of assistance for unemployed young people will be published. [199543]

The Deputy Prime Minister: The Prime Minister and I commissioned work last summer to look at provision for 16 to 24-year-olds to see if more could be done to help young people into work. This has informed internal policy advice that has been provided to myself and the Prime Minister on an ongoing basis. A number of initial findings led to announcements by the Chancellor in the autumn statement, and by myself in February 2014. Further findings will be announced over time.

International Development

Afghanistan

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will publish a list of all consultancy groups and sub-contractors used by her Department on the Bost Agri-Business and airfield projects in Afghanistan. [198544]

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Justine Greening: The Bost industrial business park proposal was originally approved by officials in 2009 at a time when Ministers did not approve spend under £40 million. In 2012 it became clear that the project could no longer be completed within the original timeframe and in good order. To avoid wasting taxpayers' money I decided that UK funding for the project should be cancelled. The completed park designs have been handed over to the Afghan authorities to enable them to pursue the project over a revised time frame. DFID's work on Bost airfield was completed in November 2013.

The following consultancy groups were paid directly by DFID on the Bost Airfield and Business Park programme:

Coffey International;

Crown Agents; and

Mott Macdonald.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what official agreements were made between her Department and the Afghan Investment Support Agency for any work relating to the (a) Bost Agri Industrial Park and (b) Bost airfield. [198581]

Justine Greening: The Bost industrial business park proposal was originally approved by officials in 2009 at a time when Ministers did not approve spend under £40 million. In 2012 it became clear that the project could no longer be completed within the original time frame and in good order. To avoid wasting taxpayers’ money I decided that UK funding for the project should be cancelled. The completed park designs have been handed over to the Afghan authorities to enable them to pursue the project over a revised time frame. DFID’s work on Bost airfield was completed in November 2013.

DFID put a Memorandum of Understanding in place with AISA and the Helmand Provincial Government in April 2012, focusing solely on the development of the Bost Agri Business Park. AISA was not engaged on the Bost airfield.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the answer of 5 September 2013, Official Report, column 461W, on Afghanistan, what works at the Bost Agri Park and Bost airfield were left by USAID upon her Department taking control of the project in 2009. [198594]

Justine Greening: The Bost industrial business park proposal was originally approved by officials in 2009 at a time when Ministers did not approve spend under £40 million. In 2012 it became clear that the project could no longer be completed within the original timeframe and in good order. To avoid wasting taxpayers’ money I decided that UK funding for the project should be cancelled. The completed park designs have been handed over to the Afghan authorities to enable them to pursue the project over a revised time frame. DFID's work on Bost airfield was completed in November 2013.

The information required to answer the hon. Member's question is not available in the form requested.

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Developing Countries: Abortion

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the answer of 8 May 2014, Official Report, column 279W, on developing countries: family planning, how much of her Department's budget has been allocated to achieving outcomes in her Department's policy paper Safe and Unsafe Abortion in each of the last two years. [198721]

Lynne Featherstone: DFID adheres to Development Co-Operation Directorate (OACD-DAC) expenditure coding requirements to allow comparison across donor spending towards attainment of the millennium development goal targets. This measures against coding titles as have been internationally agreed. Only coding titles as have been internationally agreed can be individually disaggregated by DFID systems.

Development Aid

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the answer of 10 April 2014, Official Report, column 381W, on development aid, if she will publish the agreement (a) between her Department, the CDC and ACTIS on the Department for International Development impact fund and (b) between her Department and ACTIS when it was spun off from the CDC; and if she will make a statement. [199075]

Justine Greening: The agreement between my Department and CDC for the Impact Fund will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

Copies of the key documents relating to CDC and Actis were placed in the Library of the House by the then Secretary of State for International Development subsequent to his ministerial statement on the CDC reorganisation of 12 July 2004.

International Climate Fund

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will place in the Library a list of all projects supported by the International Climate Fund. [198892]

Lynne Featherstone: The International Climate Fund is £3.869 billion of climate finance, over 2011-12 to 2015-16, for developing countries to help them tackle climate change.

The portfolio of International Climate Fund investments is growing and therefore additional projects will be approved and start up during the course of 2014-15. I have deposited a list of International Climate Fund projects up until 2013-14 in the House Library.

South Sudan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she has taken to (a) improve the security of humanitarian aid goods and workers and (b) speed up customs processes for humanitarian aid shipments in South Sudan. [199120]

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Lynne Featherstone: The UK has been at the forefront of efforts to press for safe and unhindered access for humanitarian goods and workers in South Sudan. At the Humanitarian Conference on South Sudan in Oslo on 20 May, which was attended by both the South Sudanese Government and the Opposition, I called on all parties to facilitate safe and speedy access, including accelerated customs clearance. The FCO Minister for Africa raised humanitarian access with senior Ministers when he visited Juba in April.

The UK is also providing practical support to help improve security. For example we are funding well-coordinated and security-aware transportation of goods and staff, including emergency air evacuations, through the World Food Programme Logistics Cluster. We are also supporting the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) which works to increase understanding of, and respect for, International Humanitarian Law by all parties to the conflict. UK officials raise our concerns about the humanitarian situation and the need to improve access regularly in Juba and Addis Ababa.

Yemen

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the effect of lethal operations in Yemen on (a) the civilian population and (b) security in that country. [198642]

Mr Duncan: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) activity and attacks continue to threaten Yemen's development and security. DFID has made no specific assessment of the effect of such operations in Yemen, but along with other Departments has conducted detailed analyses of conflict and instability.

Health

Abortion

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 7 May 2014, Official Report, column 230W, on abortion, whether his Department has formed a view as to when the Royal College of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians publication, “The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion”, should be updated in order to take into account new research; and if he will make a statement. [198620]

Jane Ellison: An updated guideline, “The Care of Women Requesting induced Abortion”, was published in 2011. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is maintaining a watching brief on the need to review recommendations in the light of new research evidence.

Bone Diseases: Children

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to maintain and improve specialist services for children suffering from brittle bone disease. [199226]

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Dr Poulter: The nature of brittle bone disease requires care across the healthcare system, the majority being provided in the community by a variety of therapists with involvement from a wide multi-disciplinary team. The provision of services for children with brittle bone disease in Northern Ireland will be a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive and the health service in Northern Ireland.

In England, in the majority of cases the local clinical commissioning group (CCG) will decide on the level of provision of services, taking into account the needs of the population it serves. The CCG's decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs.

Complex childhood brittle bone services in England are commissioned by NHS England which has developed a specification for these services. This can be found at:

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/e13-child-osteo-imperfecta.pdf

Cancer

Dr Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the adequacy of the sentences available under the Cancer Act 1939 for people convicted of fraudulently advertising offers to treat cancer. [198621]

Jane Ellison: The Department last consulted on changes to the Cancer Act 1939 in 2006, and subsequently to this a Legislative Reform Order came into force in October 2008.

We do not currently have any plans to review the adequacy of the sentences available under the Act for people convicted of fraudulently advertising offers to treat cancer.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that there is no age discrimination in NHS treatment of breast, prostate and bowel cancer. [199079]

Jane Ellison: The national health service has a statutory duty to reduce health inequalities and improve the health of those with the poorest outcomes. The NHS constitution makes clear that a core duty of the NHS is to promote equality for all groups in society, including older people. A ban on age discrimination in NHS services was introduced in 2012, meaning that NHS services need to do everything they can to ensure that services do not unwittingly discriminate against older people.

As well as the legal and moral imperative, improving the treatment and care of older people affected by cancer can also play a significant role in improving outcomes. Tackling health inequalities and promoting equality of outcome in England is essential to achieving cancer survival rates which match the best performing countries in the world. Furthermore, cancer treatment should always be based on what is right for each individual patient, whatever their age.

In December last year, NHS England National Clinical Director for Cancer, Sean Duffy, launched a ‘call for action' on the treatment for older people, a priority for NHS England and its partners. As part of this, NHS England is setting up an advisory group so it can

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identify where real improvements can be made in cancer services for older people. We are also supporting an initiative which will make sure that patients are better informed about the options available to them and they are fully involved in decisions about their treatment.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to increase the amount of research undertaken into ways to detect the origin of primary cancer in those suffering from cancer of the unknown primary. [199372]

Dr Poulter: Research infrastructure funded by the Department's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is currently hosting the following study:

A multi-centre phase II trial to assess the efficacy of epirubicin, cisplatin and capecitabine in carcinomas of unknown primary: incorporating the prospective validation of molecular classifiers in diagnosis and classification and exploratory metabonomics.

Overall NIHR investment in cancer research increased from £102 million in 2009-10 to £133 million in 2012-13. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including cancer of unknown primary. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and the national health service, value for money and scientific quality.

College of Emergency Medicine

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to meet the Chair of the College of Emergency Medicine. [198738]

Jane Ellison: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health is planning to meet with the Chair in the near future, to discuss the health system and emergency medicine. The Chair also met with my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Earl Howe) last week to discuss operational resilience plans for the remainder of this year.

Cystic Fibrosis

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust's report entitled Hope for More: Improving access to lung transplantation and care for people with cystic fibrosis, what assessment he has made of the donor lung utilisation rate for transplantation; and what measures he has identified as having the greatest potential to increase such utilisation. [199027]

Jane Ellison: Currently donated lungs are allocated to the designated cardiothoracic transplant centres on a zonal basis. However, the Cardiothoracic Organs Advisory Group (CTAG) have recently reviewed the allocation policy and have recommended that the size of the allocation zones be adjusted to help ensure equity of access. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) have therefore confirmed that for cardiothoracic organs, the zones will be reviewed in August 2014 to coincide with changes in liver allocation zones and from August 2015, heart and lung zones will be disaggregated and the zones reviewed separately.

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CTAG have also recommended that NHSBT reviews the consequences of introducing two levels of priority for listing for lung transplants-urgent and routine, and suggest a national allocation scheme for urgent listed patients, and zonal allocation for routine listed patients.

Any proposed change would need to be validated by NHSBT, who will review the criteria for urgent listing and the statistical modelling of the potential impact of such a system. NHSBT will continue to work closely with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to improve outcomes for patients requiring lung transplants.

Dental Health: Children

Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the trends in the incidence of dental caries among school children (a) in Bolton and (b) nationally since 2010. [199206]

Dr Poulter: There has been only one published survey of dental caries among schoolchildren which includes the Bolton area since 2010. This is the ‘National Dental Epidemiology Programme for England: oral health survey of five-year-old children 2012, A report on the prevalence and severity of dental decay’. This can be found at the following link:

www.nwph.net/dentalhealth/survey-results5.aspx?id=1

A comparison of selected findings from the survey, and from the previous survey of five-year-old children in England, published in 2009, the ‘NHS Dental Epidemiology Programme for England, Oral Health Survey of 5 year old Children, 2007/2008’ can be found at the following link:

www.nwph.info/dentalhealth/survey-results.aspx?id=1

The comparisons are supplied in the following table:

Depressive Illnesses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of trends in issuing of NHS prescriptions for (a) anti-depressants and (b) mindfulness-based interventions for the treatment of repeat episode depression since 2008; and if he will make a statement. [198861]

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Norman Lamb: Information on the use of mindfulness-based interventions is not collected centrally. However, the new Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) data set, which is due to come on stream from July 2014, will allow recording of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy as an IAPT treatment. The following table provides information on the use of antidepressant medicines:

Diabetes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects that artificial pancreases for treatment of diabetes will be available through the NHS. [198741]

Norman Lamb: There are a number of artificial pancreas device systems and technologies for integrated continuous glucose monitoring in development which could be made available through the national health service once they have gone through the appropriate regulatory process to demonstrate safety and efficacy.

Eyesight: Health Services

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the costs of a patient who presents with eye conditions as a first point of call (a) a GP, (b) a hospital eye service, (c) an accident and emergency department and (d) a primary eye care acute referral scheme. [199248]

Dr Poulter: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is shown in the following table:

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General Practitioners: Business Premises

Dame Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many funding applications were made by GPs for new premises in 2013; and how many of such applications have been approved by NHS England; [198718]

(2) how many applications for new GP premises of which an increase in rent formed a part NHS England approved in 2013. [198719]

Dr Poulter: NHS England has advised that information about the number of funding applications, the number of applications which have been approved and the number of applications which include a rent increase is not held centrally.

However, NHS England has been collating all applications transferred from predecessor primary care trusts concerning funding for general practitioner (GP) practice premises, after which prioritisation decisions will be made for each of the application categories in the system.

NHS England is working with clinical commissioning groups, health and wellbeing boards and other partners to develop a new strategy for premises and to support timely decisions on GP premises funding.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that food labels include details of any genetically modified ingredients used in a product's manufacture; and if he will make a statement. [198896]

Jane Ellison: The Food Standards Agency advises that ‘EC Regulation 1829/2003 on genetically modified food and feed’ requires that food derived from genetically modified (GM) sources must be labelled, regardless of the presence of detectable GM material in the final product or of the quantity of intentionally used GM

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ingredients. This regulation applies to all food that is marketed in the United Kingdom and in other member states.

Heart Diseases

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the time taken to prescribe drugs for heart disease. [198751]

Jane Ellison: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has made no recent assessment of the time taken to prescribe drugs for heart disease. All drugs should be prescribed in accordance with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

Hospital Beds

Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital beds per head of population there were in (a) Bury St Edmunds, (b) Suffolk and (c) England and Wales in each of the last five years. [198567]

Jane Ellison: Information is not collected centrally on the catchment populations served by national health service hospital trusts in order to estimate beds per head of population at this level. Such information as is available is shown in the following table.

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Medical Treatments

Mr Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS has spent on treating (a) anal cancer, (b) penile cancer, (c) cervical cancer, (d) vaginal cancer, (e) vulval cancer, (f) oropharyngeal cancer, (g) genital warts and (h) recurrent respiratory papillomatosis in the last year. [198632]

Jane Ellison: The Department does not collect national health service expenditure on treating individual cancers or other diagnoses. It does collect reference costs, which are the average unit costs to NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts of providing defined services in a given year to NHS patients.

Mental Illness

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the number of people with mental health problems in each of the last five years; [199102]

(2) if he will take steps to make the treatment of mental health a priority within the NHS. [199101]

Norman Lamb: We have not estimated the number of people with mental health problems in each of the last five years. The Department has commissioned the National Centre for Social Research and the University of Leicester to undertake the 2014 Adult Psychological Morbidity Survey. We are also actively developing plans for a new prevalence survey for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. The following tables show the number of people in contact with national health service secondary mental health services for the last five years and referrals to NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Services in 2012-13:

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Mental Health has been a priority for this Government for several years now. We made this commitment explicit in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 which, for the first time, creates equal status for mental and physical health across Government and for the NHS and social care.

The Ministerial Advisory Group brings together individuals and organisations with a specific interest in the cross government mental health strategy, No Health Without Mental Health, and how it is delivered.

The Mandate to NHS England 2014-15 makes clear that “everyone who needs it should have timely access to evidence-based services”. This will involve extending and ensuring more open access to programmes, in particular for children and young people, and for those out of work.

Closing the Gap, our new mental health action plan, which has attracted widespread, cross-sector support, sets out our priorities for essential change in mental health, 25 areas where people can expect to see and experience the fastest changes. The document challenges the health and social care community to move further and faster to transform care and support; the public health community, alongside local government, to give health and wellbeing promotion and prevention the long-overdue attention it needs and deserves; and individuals and communities to shift attitudes in mental health.

The Department is leading an information revolution around mental health. The new national Mental Health Intelligence Network will draw together comprehensive information about mental health and wellbeing.

The new Crisis Care Concordat, signed by more than 20 national organisations, is a commitment for all agencies involved in supporting someone in a crisis to work together to improve the system of care and support so people in crisis are kept safe and helped to find the support they need. All the signatories have pledged to work together and our expectation is that, in every locality in England, local partnerships of health, criminal justice and local authority agencies will agree and commit to local Mental Health Crisis Declarations.

System partners are also taking responsibility for the drive for parity. Public Health England (PHE) has made a commitment to addressing parity of esteem through prioritising mental health and working to embed it throughout all PHE programmes. Greater attention is needed to mental health throughout the public health system and PHE seeks to enable and support this through its leadership and delivery of a Wellbeing and Mental Health programme. It is supporting local authorities and other partners to give greater attention to mental health within the public health system.

Health Education England is developing training programmes that will enable all healthcare employers to ensure that their staff have a greater awareness of mental health problems and how they may affect their patients. This will include understanding the links between patient’s physical and mental health, so that staff know what actions they can take to ensure that patients receive appropriate support for both their mental and physical health care needs.

The Department has no plans to repeat the child and adolescent national psychiatric morbidity survey, but is looking at other ways to investigate the prevalence of mental health problems in children and young people.

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Out of Area Treatment: Wales

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many patients resident in England have requested that their treatment be delivered in Wales in the last three years; [198560]

(2) how many patients resident in England but receiving health care in Wales have requested that their treatment be delivered in England in the last year. [198553]

Jane Ellison: This information is not held by the Department.

Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how often the Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group meets per year; and if he will request that it will consider new specialised service applications for alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency at its next meeting; [198965]

(2) what steps NHS England takes to consider (a) all new specialised service applications and (b) new treatments for alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency; and whether such steps are subject to review by his Department. [198966]

Norman Lamb: The Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group (PSSAG) is a Department expert committee which was set up to provide regular advice to Ministers on which services are specialised and should be prescribed in regulations for national commissioning by the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS England). The Group met most recently in May 2014 and may meet up to four times a year.

Evidence, supporting information and activity on those services currently prescribed in legislation for direct commissioning by NHS England and any new services identified as potentially specialised, are made available to PSSAG from a range of sources, which may include Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs), patient groups, clinicians, commissioners and members of the public. The proposals the group considers are in large part generated by NHS England through its CRGs. The PSSAG makes recommendations to Ministers who, before deciding whether to make regulations, consult with NHS England, as required by section 3B of the National Health Service Act 2006.

NHS England advises that where it becomes the responsible commissioner for a service, it considers the funding priority of the service through its clinical priorities advisory group and manages a process for selecting providers. Any highly specialised services that become the commissioning responsibility of NHS England will be discussed at its Rare Disease Advisory Group.

The commissioning of services for people with alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency is a matter for individual clinical commissioning groups. We understand the Alpha 1 Alliance is working with NHS England and the Specialised Respiratory Clinical Reference Group to develop a proposal on alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency for a future PSSAG meeting.

Prostate Cancer

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to ensure that patients with prostate cancer receive the highest quality treatment. [198999]

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Jane Ellison: Newly updated National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on how best to diagnose and treat prostate cancer will help doctors to ensure that men are given information about the treatment options available and help in choosing the best option to suit them. The updated guidance also aims to reduce the uncertainty and variations in practice that remain in some areas of prostate cancer diagnosis and management.

Since the original recommendations were published in 2008, a number of new treatments have been licensed for the management of hormone-relapsed metastatic prostate cancer. There is also more information now available on the best way to diagnose and identify the different stages of the disease in a hospital setting, as well as how best to manage the side effects of radical treatment. NHS England would expect providers to take account of best evidence and treatments in their delivery of services.

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations he has received from (a) research bodies and academics, (b) non-governmental organisations and (c) people at high risk for prostate cancer and prostate cancer patients about accessibility of early prostate cancer screenings; [199036]

(2) what steps his Department has taken to increase awareness of early screenings for prostate cancer for men at risk. [198998]

Jane Ellison: The Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme (PCRMP) Scientific Reference Group (SRG) keeps the evidence on prostate cancer screening under review, and has not yet seen compelling evidence that screening should be offered to high risk groups.

The PCRMP is in place to ensure that men over 50 without symptoms of prostate cancer can have a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test free on the national health service after careful consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of the test and after a discussion with a general practitioner.

The patient information sheets on PSA testing make it clear that the risk of prostate cancer is greater for men with a familial history of prostate cancer and black-African and black-Caribbean men.

The National Cancer Action Team (NCAT) previously highlighted the increased risk of prostate cancer in black men through the ‘Cancer Does Not Discriminate’ campaign, including distributing over 200,000 health supplements and an editorial in The Voice newspaper.

In 2011, the Department, NCAT, North East London Cancer Network and Prostate Cancer UK worked with NHS Newham and Barts Health Care Trust to pilot the Newham Prostate Health Drop-in Clinic at the Newham African-Caribbean Resource Centre. 322 men had a consultation at the clinic, 59 were referred to secondary care and nine new diagnoses of early stage prostate cancer were made.

The learning gained from a formal evaluation of the pilot was shared widely with stakeholders within London and across England, including NHS England. The pilot won the 2013 Civil Service Diversity and Equality Award for Understanding and Engaging with Communities.

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The Department is represented on the multi-disciplinary PCRMP SRG and the Prostate Cancer Advisory Group, along with representatives from clinicians, professional bodies, academics, the voluntary sector and patient groups.

Justice

Abortion

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been (a) prosecuted for and (b) convicted of failure to return a completed abortion notification form in each of the last five years. [199193]

Mr Vara: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. However, not all offences are individually reported within the centrally held data. It is not possible to separately identify from this centrally held information convictions resulting from failure to return a completed abortion notification form. This information may be held by the individual courts in England and Wales and as such it can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Community Rehabilitation Companies

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he obtained clearance from the European Commission for his Department to retain a golden share in each community rehabilitation company. [198933]

Jeremy Wright: On 19 September last year the Government launched the competition to find the future owners of the community rehabilitation companies (CRCs) who will deliver rehabilitation services in England and Wales. The European Commission does not operate a process whereby member states are required to seek clearance in order to retain special shares in a company, and instead the onus is on individual states to ensure they are operating in accordance with the law. The Department is satisfied that it is in full compliance with European law on retaining a special share within each of the new CRCs. The Transforming Rehabilitation competition will continue through 2014 with contracts being awarded and mobilised by 2015.

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) if he will place a limit on the number of the community rehabilitation companies that a single external provider may control; and if he will make a statement; [198977]

(2) when he expects to transfer (a) the first and (b) the last community rehabilitation company to an external provider. [198932]

Jeremy Wright: The Transforming Rehabilitation programme is opening up the market to a diverse range of new providers, so that we can harness the best that the private and voluntary sectors has to offer to reduce reoffending. In mid December 2013, the bidders who passed the first stage of the competition to bid for the

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rehabilitation contracts were announced. The list includes a mix of private and voluntary sector partnerships with more than 50 organisations represented. We expect to announce the winners of these contracts by the end of 2014 and are committed to the roll out of payment by results by 2015.

The Government have been clear that we want to see a diverse market delivering probation services, rather than being dominated by just a few providers. We have set a market share restriction whereby bidders can win a maximum of 25% of market share based on the indicative contract values set out in the competition documentation. Bidders will be allowed to win multiple contracts up to the point at which their market share cap would be breached subject to meeting any other requirements set out by the authority.

Driving Offences

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) males and (b) females of what age group and in which police force area found guilty of an offence under section 14(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 opted to attend a driving safety course paid for by the offender that includes instruction on the benefits of wearing seat belts in lieu of a fine in the last 12 months for which information is available. [199213]

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. However, not all offences are individually reported within the centrally held data. Data for offences under Section 14 (3) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 are reported as part of a miscellaneous group of offences, and it is not possible to separately identify prosecutions for these specific offences from other offences under the Act. Nor does centrally held data indicate the number of offenders who opted to attend a driving safety course. This information may be held by the individual courts in England and Wales and as such it can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Driving Offences: Insurance

Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many instances of car insurance fraud in Yorkshire and the Humber have been reported in each of the last five years. [198879]

Karen Bradley [holding answer 9 June 2014]:I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.

This information is not held centrally.

Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many instances of car insurance fraud have been reported in each of the last five years. [198880]

Karen Bradley [holding answer 9 June 2014]: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.

This information is not held centrally.

Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases of car insurance fraud have been reported, by region, in each of the last five years. [199252]

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Karen Bradley [holding answer 10 June 2014]: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.

This information is not held centrally.

Driving under Influence

Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects to receive the Sentencing Council's review of sentencing guidelines for death by drink-driving; and what discussions he has had with that body on its progress on that programme of work. [199428]

Jeremy Wright: The Government announced on 12 May that we intend to carry out a review of the offences and penalties available for a range of driving offences, including causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs. Any changes to the law arising from this review will need to be considered by the independent Sentencing Council when setting new guidelines. For that reason the Sentencing Council has decided to suspend its consideration of driving offence guidelines until after the conclusion of the Government review.

Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what use his Department has made of the National Wellbeing Index introduced by the Office for National Statistics in formulating policy since the introduction of that index in 2011; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve national wellbeing as defined in that index since 2010. [198871]

Damian Green: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is measuring National Wellbeing, not as an index but through a framework of 41 indicators which capture social progress around important aspects of life for individuals, communities and the nation. The statistics are experimental and as such we should not expect to have examples of major policies that have been heavily influenced by the well-being data at this stage.

Evidence provided to the Environmental Audit Committee for its Inquiry into Wellbeing can be found at:

http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/environmental-audit-committee/inquiries/parliament-2010/well-being/

Most of our policies are targeted at specific groups in society—users of the justice system—so national measures are not necessarily useful indicators. Nonetheless public interest is at the forefront of all our policy development, and therefore is often designed to improve aspects of well-being. For example, we have a major programme of reform that we are implementing to transform the way we rehabilitate offenders. These important reforms mean that we are turning around the lives of offenders, delivering value for the taxpayer while protecting victims and making our communities safer.

We have also made reforms to the family justice system focusing primarily on promoting the well-being of children and supporting separating parents. Many of these reforms were enshrined in the Children and Families Act 2014.

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Finally, the Mental Capacity Act 2005, for which the Ministry of Justice has responsibility, feeds into the well-being recommendations relating to mental health, treating citizens with respect and enabling greater empowerment.

Judges: Conflict of Interests

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many incidents of a judge recusing themselves there were in each of the last four years; and what the reasons were for each recusal. [199534]

Mr Vara: Incidents of judges recusing themselves will only be held on individual court files and are not held on any central database. This question could, therefore, be answered only by manually checking every court file log at disproportionate cost.

Legal Aid Scheme

Mr McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how much public interest lawyers have received in legal aid for cases against the Department for Work and Pensions in each of the last 10 years; [198669]

(2) how much public interest lawyers have received in legal aid for cases against the Ministry of Defence in each of the last 10 years; [198670]

(3) how much public interest lawyers have received in legal aid for cases against the Home Office in each of the last 10 years; [198671]

(4) how many cases against the Department for Work and Pensions were funded by legal aid in each of the last 10 years; [198672]

(5) how many cases against the Ministry of Defence were funded by legal aid in each of the last 10 years; [198673]

(6) how many cases against the Home Office were funded by legal aid in each of the last 10 years. [198674]

Mr Vara: The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) cannot separately identify legal aid cases against the Department for Work and Pensions, the Ministry of Defence and the Home Office. Opponents are not systematically recorded against Legal Aid cases.

The net payments to Public Interest Lawyers over the past 10 years were:

These payments cover all work undertaken by the firm under legal aid. The payments made will be offset by recoupment on successful cases where the opponent has paid the costs.

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Prerogative of Mercy

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) if he will list the people who have received the Royal Prerogative of Mercy by Letters Patent in the last 20 years; and if he will make a statement; [199269]

(2) whether there has been any occasion when the exercise of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy has been granted by way of Letters Close (Litterae Clausae); and if he will make a statement; [199270]

(3) whether the (a) Crown Office and (b) Office of the Lord President of the Council maintains a list of all Letters Patent issued in the last 20 years; and if he will make a statement; [199271]

(4) if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance notes used in his Department and in the Office of the Lord President of the Council regarding the wording, drafting, formatting, production, approval and processing of Letters Patent. [199272]

Damian Green: There has been no one who has received a pardon within England and Wales by Letters Patent in the last 20 years. Neither have any Letters Close (or Litterae Clausae) been issued by the Crown Office during the last 25 years.

Letters Patent all pass under the Great Seal of the Realm and an entry for each is made in the Crown Office Docquet Book (a record which is designated for permanent preservation). A Patent Roll which sets out the text of the Letters Patent is also maintained by the Crown Office. The Patent Roll entries are sent annually to the National Archives for permanent preservation.

With regard to the final question, the wording, drafting, formatting, production, approval and processing of Letters Patent is governed by:

The Crown Office Act 1877;

The Great Seal Act 1884;

The Crown Office (Forms and Proclamations Rules) Order 1992 (SI 1992 No. 1730) as amended; and

The Crown Office (Preparation and Authentication of Documents Rules) Order 1988 (SI 1988 No. 1162).

An exercise of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy is currently effected by means of Warrant under the Royal Sign Manual. A record is maintained of all such Warrants granted since the Lord Chancellor assumed responsibility for this remit from the Home Secretary and these records are transferred to the National Archives from time to time.

Prison Sentences: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many custodial sentences were handed down at (a) York Magistrates Court and (b) York Crown Court in each year since 2008. [198530]

Jeremy Wright: Sentencing is entirely a matter for the courts, taking account of all the circumstances of each case.

Since 2010, crime has continued to fall and fewer individuals are entering the criminal justice system for the first time. Defendants are now more likely to be convicted for committing crime and sent to prison for longer than they were a decade ago. In addition, criminals

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convicted since 2010 are more likely to receive an immediate custodial sentence, both overall and for a first time offence.

The number of offenders given a custodial sentence at (a) York magistrates court and (b) York Crown court each year from 2008 to 2013 can be viewed in the table.

Prisoners: Romania

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Romanian-born prisoners are being held in British prisons. [198705]

Jeremy Wright: On 31 March 2014 there were 588 prisoners in England and Wales who declared they were Romanian on reception to prison.

All foreign national offenders sentenced to custody are referred to the Home Office for them to consider deportation at the earliest possible opportunity.

Romania has implemented the EU Prisoner Transfer Arrangement and relevant cases have been referred to the Home Office to obtain deportation orders.

The Prisoner Transfer process is just one mechanism for removing Foreign National Offenders. The number of FNOs deported under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) has increased under this Government. In 2013, we removed nearly 2,000 FNOs under ERS and under the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS), which we introduced in May 2012, we have removed over 240 FNOs to date.

Whereas this Government have begun to reduce the foreign national population in prison since 2010, between 1997 and 2010, the number of foreign nationals in our prisons more than doubled.

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Probation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many private and third sector bidders for privatised probation work employ ex-offenders; and of these how many employ ex-prisoners. [198734]

Jeremy Wright: In mid December, the bidders who passed the first stage of the competition to win the regional rehabilitation contracts were announced. The list includes a diverse mix of private and voluntary sector partnerships with more than 50 organisations represented—from charities experienced in tackling a range of issues affecting offenders, to small and large British businesses and experienced multinationals. All of these Tier One bidders have experience in working with offenders or across the wider Criminal Justice System.

The successful delivery of this competition does not depend on or require the Programme to hold information on how many private and third sector organisations bidding for Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) contracts employ ex-offenders or ex-prisoners. Such information would be included in bidder’s submissions if it was deemed relevant by that bidder. We have a strong and diverse market and anticipate that the bids we receive to run CRCs will be of a high standard. Providers will need to demonstrate in their bids how they would deliver high quality rehabilitative support to offenders, and they will be held to account to deliver these services in their contracts.

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what his policy is on the role of local authorities in the commissioning of probation services within their areas; and if he will make a statement; [198979]

(2) what his policy is on the role of police and crime commissioners in the commissioning of probation services within their force areas; and if he will make a statement. [198938]

Jeremy Wright: The Offender Management Act 2007 places the responsibility for the provision of probation services on the Secretary of State for Justice. Under the Act, the Secretary of State may make contractual or other arrangements with any other person for the making of the probation provision. The process of commissioning probation services will be informed by engagement with co-commissioning partners including, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and local authorities. Contracts will be responsive to changing demands and priorities at local and national levels.

During the Transforming Rehabilitation programme, we have undertaken extensive engagement at a national and local level with PCCs and local authorities. As part of this process, we have established a national PCC Reference Group and a Local Authority Reference Group which have proved to be useful forums to engage with those PCCs and local authorities which are most interested in our reforms and enabled them to scrutinise the commissioning and delivery of the programme. PCCs and local authorities, together with other key local stakeholders have also been able to provide structured advice on what works locally via the creation of competition local advisory panels.

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No organisations are prohibited from bidding in the competition. However, to bid successfully to own and run Community Rehabilitation Companies, they will need to meet the criteria we set, which will include the ability to take on the necessary financial risk under our proposed payment by results mechanism.

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library a copy of the Transforming Rehabilitation programme risk register. [198992]

Jeremy Wright: The Transforming Rehabilitation Programme's risk register is a live document which the Department maintains to actively monitor all risks to the successful delivery of the programme. It is good Government practice to challenge proposals robustly internally and we need to maintain a mechanism to do this to ensure we implement these reforms to the highest standard. It is firmly in the public interest that this process is not inhibited. For this reason there are no plans to publish the risk register.

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many probation officers his Department plans to recruit in the next 12 months; in which countries those posts will be advertised; and what his Department's budget for that advertising is. [199404]

Jeremy Wright: A campaign is in progress to recruit graduates to train as probation officers. It is being advertised on United Kingdom websites only and will be tailored to the overall staffing needs across probation. Funding for the advertising campaign is found from within the overall budget, but does not form a separate budget item.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many unfilled vacancies there were in (a) the National Probation Service and (b) each community rehabilitation company on 1 May 2014. [199516]

Jeremy Wright: The information requested is not held centrally. The National Probation Service and the Community Rehabilitation Companies did not exist on 1 May 2014, having come into existence on 1 June 2014. Prior to their existence, vacancies were managed locally by Probation Trusts, which have now ceased to exist.