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Written Answers to Questions

Thursday 19 June 2014

Transport

A14: Northamptonshire

Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if his Department will work with the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Cabinet Office, the Northamptonshire and South East Midlands LEPs and local authorities to help secure funding for a new junction 10A on the A14 which is required to facilitate the creation of a 60MW renewable energy park and low carbon business park between Burton Latimer and Kettering. [904342]

Mr Goodwill: The Department for Transport and the Highways Agency are already working closely through a Strategic Partners Group, which includes the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Homes and Community Agency, local authorities, local enterprise partnerships and private sector developers, on the transport infrastructure proposals—including the provision of a new junction 10A on the A14—in relation to the East Kettering Development site.

The Department and the Highways Agency would be happy to work additionally with the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Cabinet Office on the provision of transport infrastructure in relation to the proposals for an energy park and low carbon business at this location.

Driving Tests

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the merits of including alcohol awareness training in the driving test assessment; and if he will make a statement. [200561]

Stephen Hammond: The Highway Code advises drivers not to drink any alcohol before driving; this advice applies to all drivers, regardless of experience. The driving theory test includes questions about the effects of alcohol on a person's ability to drive.

The Department for Transport believes a more effective route to public awareness of the negative effect of alcohol on drivers is through appropriate pre-test training. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency produces the National Standard for Driver Training that should form the basis of training that approved driving instructors give to their pupils; these include thorough guidance on the appropriate consumption of alcohol prior to driving.

Official Visits

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what visits each of the Ministers in his Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was. [200494]

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Stephen Hammond: Details of ministerial overseas travel and meetings with external organisations are routinely published every quarter and information covering the period up to the end of March 2014 can be accessed on the Department’s website via the following:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/ministerial-transparency/

Railways

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to further devolve responsibility for railways to the Scottish and Welsh Governments and the English regions. [200609]

Stephen Hammond: The Government confirmed their support for the principle of further decentralisation of rail franchises in its July 2013 response to the Brown Review of rail franchising. Two propositions from English regions are currently being developed (West Midland Rail) or taken forward (with the Rail North consortium). We are examining the scope for further devolution of rail responsibilities in Wales. The Scottish Ministers already have substantial executive devolved powers in relation to the railways in Scotland.

Railways: Staff

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with train operating companies on changes in staffing for revenue protection functions. [200610]

Stephen Hammond: Staffing levels and the roles to which staff are allocated are matters for the train operator, as long as they continue to deliver the services that meet the requirements of the franchise agreement.

Train operating companies do sometimes inform us of staff restructuring, for example as was explained in the answer to the hon. Member for Coventry South (Mr Cunningham) on 17 June 2014, Official Report, column 530W.

Railways: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the terms and conditions of the agreement reached between the Welsh and UK Governments in 2012 on the funding of the electrification of (a) the Great Western mainline from Cardiff to Swansea and (b) the Valleys lines. [200429]

Stephen Hammond: The agreement is set out in the letters exchanged between the Secretary of State and the Welsh Minister for Local Government and Communities on 13 and 24 July 2012. These letters have already been made public.

Schools: Bus Services

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce a concessionary bus fare scheme for 16 to 18-year-olds to allow them to pay child fare for their school bus passes. [200502]

Stephen Hammond: The Government currently have no plans to introduce a national statutory concession for young people. However, we recognise the importance

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of affordable and accessible bus services in enabling young people to access education, employment and training and note that, while there is no statutory obligation to provide reduced fares to young people, many bus operators and local authorities make discounts available. It is right that local authorities and the bus industry continue to take the lead in improving services for their younger customers, and I encourage them to continue innovating in this area.

Taxis

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to respond to the Law Commission's final report and draft Bill on Taxis and Private Hire Services, published on 23 May 2014. [200506]

Stephen Hammond: The Department is considering closely the report and draft Bill concerning taxi and private hire vehicle legislation, which the Law Commission published on 23 May this year. We will be mindful, when responding, of the existing protocol between Government and the Law Commission.

Written Questions

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many parliamentary questions tabled to his Department in the last parliamentary Session did not receive a substantive answer by the time of the 2014 prorogation; and when each such question was first tabled. [200596]

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport gave a substantive answer to all parliamentary questions by the time of the 2014 prorogation.

Culture, Media and Sport

Direct Selling

Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the roundtables on nuisance calls and texts met; and when the next roundtable will meet. [200416]

Mr Vaizey: The roundtable on nuisance calls and texts last met on 23 September 2013 and since then we have worked with stakeholders to finalise our nuisance calls action plan, which was published on 30 March of this year. The next roundtable meeting is being arranged and will be confirmed soon subject to diary commitments.

Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when his Department plans to publish draft legislation to amend the legal threshold from substantial damage and distress to nuisance, annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety for the International Commissioner's Office to take enforcement action from substantial damage or distress under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003; and when he expects that legislation to be in force. [200590]

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Mr Vaizey: We plan to publish a consultation document shortly, which will seek views on proposals to lower the legal threshold for enforcement of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) 2003. Following consultation we will look to implement any reforms as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Gambling

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what estimate he has made of the number of adult gambling addicts in Britain; and what proportion of total funding on addressing gambling addiction has come from (a) the NHS, (b) local authorities and (c) the gambling industry; [200556]

(2) what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on treating gambling addiction. [200557]

Mr Vaizey: The Health Surveys for England and Scotland showed a rate of problem gambling of around 0.5% of the adult population—around 200,000 people. The Responsible Gambling Trust expects to distribute £6,292,000 on treatment, education and research in 2014-15 and is funded by the gambling industry and further donations; a full list of funders can be found on their website:

www.responsiblegamblingtrust.org.uk

The Government do not collate details of any expenditure by local authorities or the NHS on problem gambling. DCMS Ministers have regular discussions with their Department of Health colleagues on a range of matters.

Mass Media: Equal Opportunities

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what advice or guidance his Department provides to employers in the media industry on equality monitoring; [200434]

(2) what assessment he has made of diversity in employment in public and private sectors of the media industry; [200431]

(3) what steps his Department plans to take to improve equality monitoring of employment within the media industry; and if he will make a statement. [200433]

Mr Vaizey: Promoting greater equality of opportunity in the workforce is a matter the Government take seriously. The Government are actively engaging with leading organisations in the media industry who are working together through the Creative Diversity Network to help address the under-representation of ethnic minorities in that sector. The industry will outline the steps it intends to take at a roundtable event in early July. Equality data monitoring is among a number of issues that will be discussed. In addition, Ofcom has a number of duties relating to equality of opportunity, as set out in the Communications Act 2003. These include requiring all UK licensed radio and television broadcasters’ licences to have in place arrangements for promoting equal opportunities in employment on the basis of gender, race and disability, and to review those arrangements with regard to any relevant guidance published by Ofcom.

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Ministerial Policy Advisers

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on redundancy payments for special advisers since May 2010. [200474]

Mr Vaizey: The Government publish annual statements on special adviser numbers and paybill costs, including severance pay. Information for each financial year going back to 2010-11 is available at the following links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-adviser-data-releases-numbers-and-costs

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-adviser-data-releases-numbers-and-costs-october-2013

Official Visits

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what visits each of the Ministers in his Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was. [200480]

Mrs Grant: Details of Ministers’ visits overseas are published quarterly and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-meetings-and-hospitality-data-october-to-december-2013

Written Questions

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many parliamentary questions tabled to his Department in the last parliamentary Session did not receive a substantive answer by the time of the 2014 prorogation; and when each such question was first tabled. [200442]

Mrs Grant: All parliamentary questions, tabled to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in the last parliamentary session, received a substantive answer by the time the House prorogued on 14 May 2014.

Home Department

Borders: Personal Records

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress she has made in introducing universal exit checks; and if she will make a statement. [200301]

Karen Bradley: The Government are committed to reintroducing exit checks. By April 2015, comprehensive exit checks will apply on scheduled and commercial air, sea and rail routes.

We have recently introduced new powers in the Immigration Act 2014 to support embarkation checks at the border, and we continue to work with carriers and port operators to explore the least burdensome way of delivering the exit checks commitment.

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Immigration

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 29 April 2014, Official Report, column 662W, on immigration, how many casework outcomes on immigration reconsideration cases have been delivered; whether this is in line with targets agreed with Capita; and what targets have been agreed with Capita for delivering these outcomes. [199798]

Karen Bradley: The contract requires Capita to deliver 50,000 casework outcomes (including reconsiderations) within nine months of a complete casework service being developed and agreed with the Home Office. As of 8 June 2014, Capita has already implemented agreed processes to deliver 16,780 casework outcomes on reconsideration cases, which count towards the 50,000 outcome target.

These are being delivered as part of a phased approach, as further processes are under development to achieve a complete casework service.

The figures provided have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 28 April 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Tanvir Shah. [199216]

James Brokenshire: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 18 June 2014.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of redundancy payments for special advisers in her Department has been since May 2010. [200472]

Karen Bradley: No redundancy payments have been made to special advisers in the Home Office since May 2010.

Offences against Children: Internet

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests in the UK have resulted from Operation Rescue; how many charges were brought following those arrests; how many open investigations remain from those identified; and if she will make a statement. [200938]

Damian Green: Operation Rescue was an investigation into a website that promoted the distribution of indecent images of children. From 2007 to 2011, 240 intelligence packages were disseminated by the SOCA affiliated Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre (CEOP) to police forces across the UK.

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At the end of the intelligence dissemination phase of the operation in 2011 CEOP had been notified of 121 arrests; of these 33 individuals were convicted and seven cautioned.

Further information regarding charges, convictions and open investigations is handled at a local level by the relevant police force and is not recorded centrally.

Official Visits

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what visits each of the Ministers in her Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was. [200488]

Karen Bradley: Home Office Ministers have meetings with and make visits to a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

Details of these meetings and visits are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Gov.uk website:

http://data.gov.uk/dataset/ministerial-data-home-office

UK Visas and Immigration

Mr Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will arrange for the hon. Member for Walsall North to receive a reply to her letter to the Director General, UK Visas and Immigration, of 1 May 2014 on behalf of a constituent, CTS ref M5845/14. [200805]

Karen Bradley: The Director General responsible for Immigration Enforcement, responded to the hon. Member on 17 June 2014.

Deputy Prime Minister

Sovereignty

Mr Weir: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what estimate he has made of the charges made by external (a) public affairs consultants, (b) creative agencies and (c) printing, logistics and delivery companies for work relating to the production of the booklet, What staying in the United Kingdom means for Scotland; [200948]

(2) what the total cost was of production and delivery of the booklet, What staying in the United Kingdom means for Scotland; and what proportion of such costs relate to (a) research, verification and co-ordination, (b) writing, editing, sub-editing and proofing of the text, (c) photography, design, artwork and licensing, (d) printing, (e) distribution and delivery and (f) related communications, administration and public affairs support. [200946]

Greg Clark: The total cost to-date of What staying in the United Kingdom means for Scotland is £723,501 (plus VAT).

Each booklet cost around 30p to design, produce, print and deliver to every household in Scotland. As is standard practice, detail and spending data will published in the Cabinet Office transparency returns.

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Energy and Climate Change

Energy Supply

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the UK's security of energy supply. [904346]

Mr Davey: The UK enjoys a stable and secure energy supply, and we are working hard to ensure that it continues. As a Government, we are actively managing a number of risks to our current and future energy supplies, including the current challenges from Iraq, Russia and Ukraine. Our recent national gas risk assessment demonstrated that our gas infrastructure is robust. The measures recently announced by National Grid respond to the energy crunch that, owing to the legacy of under-investment and neglect, was predicted for this winter, but which will not now happen.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Mr Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much of mean electricity generation in the UK will be represented by the proposed development at Navitus Bay over its lifetime. [200450]

Gregory Barker: The Department does not undertake analysis or hold information of this nature relating to specific developments. Provisional data for 2013 are that total UK electricity generation was 356,649 Gigawatt hours (GWh). Based on the average five year offshore wind load factor from 2008 to 2012 inclusive of 33.1%, a wind farm of 1 Gigawatt (GW) of installed capacity is expected to produce 2.9 GWh of electricity generation. The Department publishes estimated energy and emissions projections to 2030, the latest update can be accessed at this link:

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

Mr Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) in determining the reduction in UK carbon dioxide emissions arising from Navitus Bay, what allowance his Department for UK carbon dioxide emissions from backup baseload generation to cover (a) for maintenance and repair downtime and (b) for the failure of the wind to blow in the operating range; [200453]

(2) what fraction of mean rated output will be achieved on average throughout the lifetime of Navitus Bay; [200456]

(3) what the global mean carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere and partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the oceans will be (a) at the outset and (b) at the end of the Navitus Bay lifetime, if the project goes ahead, (c) at the end of the Navitus Bay lifetime, if the project does not go ahead. [200457]

Gregory Barker: The Department does not undertake analysis or hold information of this nature relating to specific developments. The average load factor for offshore wind farms using five year historical data from 2008 to 2012 inclusive is 33.1%.

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Education

Academies

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether the payment of £97,000 made by his Department to the Third Millennium Education Trust on 29 November 2012 was a grant secured through the Sponsor Capacity Fund. [200280]

Mr Timpson: Third Millennium Education Trust was awarded £97,000 during the 2012/13 sponsor capacity funding round. The information is published online here:

www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-department-and-executive-agency-spend-over-25-000

These funds were subsequently returned to the Department by the sponsor, Zail Enterprises Ltd.

Education: Basic Skills

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department has taken to ensure a high standard of teaching in numeracy and literacy. [200344]

Elizabeth Truss: We have published a more rigorous curriculum for English and mathematics. The new national curriculum sets expectations that match those in the highest-performing education jurisdictions in the world, challenging pupils to realise their potential in an increasingly competitive global market. It increases the level of demand from an early age, with greater emphasis on arithmetic, including learning times tables to 12 x 12 by age nine and removing calculators from key stage 2 tests in mathematics, and on phonics, grammar and vocabulary development in English. GCSEs in English language and mathematics are also being reformed to be more challenging and give stronger guarantees of literacy and numeracy, with the mathematics GCSE in particular covering more than the current GCSE.

We are confident that our reform to the national curriculum will give teachers greater flexibility and freedom, which will help to raise standards and expectations for all pupils. It has been significantly slimmed down and will free-up teachers to use their professional judgment to provide support that best meets the needs of their pupils.

We have invested in and reformed initial teacher training (ITT) to focus on attracting the very best graduates with the right qualities for teaching into the profession through making more scholarships available; using bursaries to attract more of the most talented graduates in key subjects such as maths and physics and supporting the expansion of the highly-successful Teach First programme. Teach First is now the largest graduate recruiter in any sector in the United Kingdom.

In 2013/14, we recruited 96% of the overall number of trainees we set out to recruit and the proportion with first-class or 2:1 degrees has risen 3 percentage points (74%) – a record compared to last year (71%). We have raised the bar for entry into ITT by making skills tests tougher, limiting candidates to two re-sits and making passing the tests in literacy and numeracy a requirement before entering, rather than exiting, ITT.

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Sir Andrew Carter has been appointed to lead an independent review about the effectiveness of ITT. As part of this, the review will look at ITT courses for both primary and secondary teaching to consider how well trainees are equipped to become outstanding teachers.

Polling Stations: Schools

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect of school closure for local elections on parents and children. [200820]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department has made no such assessment. Local returning officers can require a school to act as a polling station and may do so where no suitable alternative venue is available. It is often possible for schools to remain open in such circumstances, but whether to close is an operational decision for the head teacher. We expect head teachers to keep schools open whenever it is reasonable for them to do so.

Where a head teacher decides to close a school on polling day, we expect them to take all necessary steps to minimise any damage to pupils' education. This may include making up the missed day later in the year, or combining the day with one of the five annual training days. We also expect schools to give as much notice as possible to parents of any school closures, including for local elections.

Primary Education: Admissions

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what assessments he has made of the successes and failures of the differing primary school starting age in other countries such as Finland and Norway; [198993]

(2) what representations he has received from (a) researchers, (b) academies, (c) pressure groups, (d) parents and (e) people working in education on the appropriate age for children to enter primary education; [198713]

(3) what assessment his Department has made of the effect of primary school starting age on (a) intellectual development, (b) social mobility and (c) results in (i) GCSE and (ii) A-level examinations. [198715]

Elizabeth Truss: Formal school starting ages vary across OECD member states. However it is useful to compare the state provision of education for young children prior to the start of compulsory education as the majority of children in OECD countries have entered the education system at a young age—participation rates in formal child care and pre-school are broadly similar across Finland, Norway and the United Kingdom.

Research indicates that most countries have published curricula governing the provision of early years education from the ages four to six years which are consistent in their use of learning objectives and expected outcomes. The Department has commissioned the OECD to carry out an international review of pedagogy and practice in the early years to investigate this issue further. We anticipate a report in autumn 2014.

Research has demonstrated that all-round development is enhanced for those children attending nursery compared to those who do not before starting school. This suggests

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that attending a formal learning environment from an earlier age is typically beneficial. Furthermore duration in nursery matters, with every month of nursery experience after age two years linked to better intellectual development and improved independence, concentration and sociability at age five with a continued effect at Key Stage 1.

High-quality early years education will help close the attainment gap that already exists by the beginning of primary school between disadvantaged children and their peers. Evidence is clear that children’s learning and development in their early years is crucial to later attainment. The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education Project found that high-quality early years education is a strong predictor of achievement in English and mathematics later on in school.

We cannot provide the information requested on representations on this topic. The Department receives a huge volume of mail and representations on education and children’s issues. There would be a disproportionate cost to providing a response in this case.

Schools: Standards

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the current status is of schools placed in special measures in (a) Copeland and (b) Cumbria; and if he will make a statement. [200366]

Mr Timpson: There is one school judged to require special measures in Copeland. There are 12 schools in special measures in Cumbria.

Of these 12 schools, nine have received HMI monitoring visits where they have been judged to be either making reasonable progress or their plans are fit for purpose. Two schools are awaiting monitoring visits.

The Interim Executive Board of Walney School has voted to become an academy on 1 September 2014, sponsored by Queen Katherine Academy Trust. The school was granted an Academy Order in April 2014.

Sixth Form Education: Rural Areas

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received on funding sixth forms in rural schools. [200419]

Mr Laws: The Department for Education has received three letters recently on funding sixth forms in rural schools. We recognise the importance of rural schools, many of which are small schools, and the need to maintain access to a local school in rural areas. Often these schools are at the heart of their community.

Special Educational Needs

Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) when his Department plans to publish the terms of reference for its review of the resolution of disagreements for people with education, health and care needs under the Children and Families Act 2014; [200755]

(2) when his Department's review of arrangements for complaints and redress for people with education, health and care needs under the Children and Families Act 2014 will commence; [200762]

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(3) when his Department plans to publish further details of its review of resolution of disagreements for people with education, health and care needs under the Children and Families Act 2014; [200764]

(4) when his Department will publish further information on pilots testing the role of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal in making recommendations on the health and social care aspects of Education, Health and Care Plans. [200840]

Mr Timpson: The Department for Education, in consultation with the Ministry of Justice and others, is in the process of developing proposals for the review of redress and complaint arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. The review will consider:

1. Whether the amended mediation arrangements set out in the Act provide parents and young people with a way of having their complaints considered in a holistic way and whether they reduce the number of appeals to tribunals.

2. How successful the new assessment and EHC planning process itself is at resolving disagreements.

3. If health and social care complaint arrangements are working for parents and young people.

4. What role the Tribunal might play in hearing appeals and complaints across education, health and social care.

Running parallel to the review will be pilots to test an expansion of the powers of the first tier tribunal to make recommendations about the health and social care elements of EHC Plans. We estimate that the pilots will begin in the spring of 2015 as the first appeals about the new education, health and care plans begin to be heard and that the pilots will last for two years as they build up the evidence on which to base any recommendations.

The Secretary of State for Education and the Lord Chancellor must lay a report on the outcome of the review before Parliament within three years of any of the provisions of Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014 coming into force in September 2014. Interim findings from the pilots could be published before the final report on the review.

Written Questions

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many parliamentary questions tabled to his Department in the last parliamentary Session did not receive a substantive answer by the time of the 2014 prorogation; and when each such question was first tabled. [200445]

Elizabeth Truss: Two parliamentary questions tabled to the Department for Education, PQs 198493 (tabled on 13 May 2014) and 198434 (tabled on 12 May 2014), did not receive substantive answers by the time of prorogation. The questions had reply-on dates during prorogation, and therefore could not be answered due to the House's rules regarding notice periods.

As a courtesy, both Members have been sent copies of the answers that they would have received had the Department been permitted to give the answers in the usual way.

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Treasury

Bilderberg Group

Mr Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what capacity he and the Secretary of State for International Development attended the recent Bilderberg conference in Copenhagen; and whether the visits have been recorded in the register of interests. [200959]

Andrea Leadsom: The Chancellor of the Exchequer attended the Bilderberg conference in Copenhagen. All travel undertaken by Treasury Ministers is carried out in line with the ministerial and civil service management codes. Details of all ministerial overseas travel are published quarterly:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

Business: Loans

Mr Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the next dataset of bank lending by postcode from the major UK banks will be released; and if he will make a statement. [200964]

Andrea Leadsom: In July 2013 the Government announced that they had reached an agreement with the major UK banks to publish lending data across 10,000 individual postcodes.

The first dataset was published in December 2013 and shows the outstanding stock of lending that has been committed to customers across three categories; loans and overdrafts to SMEs, mortgages and unsecured personal loans (excluding credit cards).

The data are published quarterly, and the next publication is expected in July 2014.

Children: Day Care

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the average annual cost of childcare in the UK for a child aged (a) two and under, (b) three to four and (c) five and over in each year since 2009-10; and if he will make a statement. [200802]

Mr Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mr Timpson), on 17 June 2014, Official Report, column 538W. This points the hon. Member to, among other sources, the Family and Childcare Trust Annual Cost Survey for 2014 and sets out the action the Government are taking to support families.

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) National Savings and Investments staff will be employed administering tax-free childcare in (i) 2015-16, (ii) 2016-17, (iii) 2017-18 and (iv) 2018-19; [200822]

(2) what performance indicators he has agreed with National Savings and Investments (NS&I) on the delivery of tax-free childcare; how often NS&I will be benchmarked against such indicators; how often the results of this benchmarking will be made available;

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what penalties have been agreed for poor performance against these indicators; and if he will make a statement. [200821]

Nicky Morgan: On 23 May the Government published a further consultation on the delivery of child care accounts within tax-free childcare. The consultation will be open until 27 June and the Government will consider the responses alongside those to the first consultation before they makes their decision on the provision of child care accounts.

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of the report entitled, Evaluating alternative market models for tax-free childcare vouchers, prepared by Economic Insight for his Department; what assessment he made of this report's findings and recommendations; and whether these recommendations informed the operation and design of his Department's policy on tax-free childcare. [200823]

Nicky Morgan: Economic Insight was asked to consider whether there are any reasons why a private sector competitive market for child care accounts might not function well. It compared it to a closed model in which there is competition to select a limited number of private sector child care account providers. It concluded that there were no reasons why a competitive market could not function effectively as parents would be able to assess the differences between the offers and choose accordingly.

On 23 May the Government published a further consultation on the delivery of child care accounts within tax-free childcare. The consultation will be open until 27 June and the Government will consider the responses alongside those to the first consultation before they make their decision on the provision of child care accounts.

Lucy Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what support his Department will give child care providers on the introduction of tax-free child care. [200936]

Nicky Morgan: The Government's response to the consultation on design and operation of tax-free child care, published on 18 March 2014, sets out that the Government will work with stakeholders to develop guidance and communications to support child care providers to understand the scheme.

Lucy Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish any cost benefit analysis of awarding the contract for the tax-free child care scheme to National Savings & Investments undertaken before the decision was announced. [200937]

Nicky Morgan: On 23 May the Government published a further consultation on the delivery of child care accounts within tax-free child care. The consultation will be open until 27 June and the Government will consider the responses alongside those to the first consultation before they make their decision on the provision of child care accounts.

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This and the previous consultation has set out options for delivering child care accounts through the public and private sector so that all interested parties will have had an opportunity to comment on them. These options will be assessed against the criteria set out in the consultation document, “Tax-Free Childcare: consultation on childcare account provision”:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/313878/PU1667_Tax-Free_Childcare__consultation_on_childcare_account_provision.pdf

Mapeley

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date the private finance initiative contract between HM Revenue and Customs and Mapeley Steps Contractor Limited was entered into. [200801]

Mr Gauke: The private finance initiative contract between HM Revenue and Customs and Mapeley Steps Contractor Ltd was entered into on 2 April 2001.

Mortgages: Glasgow

Ann McKechin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Glasgow North constituency have used the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme to date. [200923]

Andrea Leadsom: The Government publish quarterly official statistics relating to the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme. The first of these were published on 29 May 2014.

This report, along with accompanying tables, can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/help-to-buy-mortgage-guarantee-scheme-quarterly-statistics-october-2013-to-march-2014

Official Visits

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what visits each of the Ministers in his Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was. [200495]

Andrea Leadsom: Details of Ministers' visits overseas are published quarterly and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications

Written Questions

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many parliamentary questions tabled to his Department in the last parliamentary Session did not receive a substantive answer by the time of the 2014 prorogation; and when each such question was first tabled. [200449]

Andrea Leadsom: None.

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Communities and Local Government

Animal Experiments: Yorkshire and the Humber

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions his Department has had with B&K Universal Ltd, Yorkshire Evergreen or its associates about their planning application for a facility at Grimston, Yorkshire for the breeding of dogs and other animals for laboratory use in the last 12 months. [200261]

Nick Boles: There have been no discussions between my Department and this company or its associates in the last 12 months. However, I can confirm that a planning appeal of an application to develop its facilities has recently been received, necessitating standard procedural communications with the Planning Inspectorate.

Council Tax

Dame Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the revenue that would be generated from additional council tax bands on higher value homes, broken down by (a) the total revenue generated UK wide, (b) the total generated in the Greater London region and (c) a breakdown for each threshold and band value (i) UK wide and (ii) in the Greater London region. [199982]

Brandon Lewis: No assessment has been made as we have no intention of introducing higher council tax bands.

Council tax re-banding would require a wholesale council tax revaluation, hitting ordinary home owners with higher taxes, especially those who have undertaken home improvements. Fundamentally, council tax is not a wealth tax; it is a local charge for the use of local services. The current banded system is intentionally designed to avoid the flaws and inequities of both the poll tax and of domestic rates, the former which taxed multiple-adult homes too much, and the latter which taxed both family homes and pensioner households too much.

I would note that the last Labour Government and Welsh Assembly Government jointly undertook a council tax revaluation and re-banding exercise in Wales in 2005. Four times as many homes moved up one or more bands than moved down. Two-thirds of the net rises were among homes (originally) in Bands A to C, meaning that those on more modest incomes were hardest hit.

Labour Ministers originally claimed that revaluation was revenue-neutral, but this was not the case. In the first year of the revaluation, council tax income rose by 10%, of which 4% was due to that year's increase in Band D rates, and 6% due to more properties in higher bands due to the revaluation (Welsh Assembly Government, “Submission to the Lyons Inquiry into Local Government, Annex B: Council Tax Revaluation and Rebanding 2005” Chronology and Facts, March 2006). To place that in context, a 6% rise in council tax receipts in England would today represent a sustained tax increase on hard-working people of £1.4 billion a year, every year.

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As the then Chairman of the Communities and Local Government Select Committee, Phyllis Starkey (the then Member of Parliament for Milton Keynes South West), observed:

“The Welsh Assembly-I believe it was my party, but I am not making an excuse for it-took advantage of the revaluation hugely to increase the total [tax] take”

(3 February 2010, Official Report, column 383).

Instead of finding new ways to tax people, this Government have given extra funding to town halls to help freeze council tax. We cancelled any plans for a council tax revaluation. We have handed local residents new rights to veto big local tax hikes, so local people have the final say on the amount they pay. Council tax in England more than doubled under the Labour Government; under this Government, bills have fallen by 11% in real terms, giving families financial security and helping hard-working people with the cost of living.

Women and Equalities

Official Visits

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities what visits each of the Ministers in the Government Equalities Office have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was. [200486]

Mrs Grant: Details of Ministers’ visits overseas are published quarterly and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-meetings-and-hospitality-data-october-to-december-2013

Electoral Commission Committee

General Election 2010

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission (1) in which 100 wards in which constituency in the UK turnout for voting at the polling station was lowest at the 2010 general election; [200435]

(2) in which local authority wards in which constituency postal ballot turnout was greater than 90 per cent at the 2010 general election. [200436]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission does not hold the data requested at ward level. The Commission collects electoral data at each set of polls down to the level of individual contests, which means that it holds only ward level data for local elections.

Cabinet Office

Conditions of Employment: Bolton

Mr Crausby: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of people employed on zero-hour contracts in Bolton North East constituency. [200973]

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

Letter from Neil Wooding, dated June 2014:

In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of people employed on zero-hours contracts in Bolton North East constituency. (200973)

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

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide the data at constituency level. It is only the LFS that enables a breakdown by geography. However, the LFS sample size is not large enough to reliably support estimates of the number of people on zero-hours contracts by constituency.

In January 2014 ONS undertook a survey of businesses to obtain an employer-based estimate to complement the existing LFS employee-based figure. Results from this survey were published on 30 April 2014:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Ian Swales: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his Department has spent on redundancy payments for special advisers since May 2010. [200473]

Mr Maude: The Government publish annual statements on special adviser numbers and paybill costs, including severance pay. Information for each financial year going back to 2010-11 is available at the following links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-adviser-data-releases-numbers-and-costs-october-2013

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Pay: Bolton

Mr Crausby: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of people who are paid at a rate below the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation in Bolton North East constituency. [200967]

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

Letter from Neil Wooding, dated June 2014:

In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, ! have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of people who are paid at a rate below the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation in Bolton North East constituency (200967).

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. Hourly levels of earnings are estimated from ASHE, and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence. It is not possible to estimate the number of people with earnings below specified thresholds, though it is possible to estimate the corresponding proportion of employee jobs. Figures relate to employee jobs, which are defined as those held by employees and not the self-employed.

In April 2013, the latest period for which results are available, the Living Wage rate suggested by the Living Wage Foundation was £7.45 for employees who did not work in London. The proportion of employee jobs below this rate in Bolton North East in April 2013 was 21.9%.

Temporary Employment: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people from in Warrington North constituency were employed on temporary or fixed term contracts in each year since 2010. [200918]

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

Letter from Glen Watson, dated June 2014:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people from in Warrington North constituency were employed on temporary or fixed term contracts in each year since 2010. (200918)

The ONS compiles Labour Market Statistics for local areas using the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.

Reliable estimates of the number of people employed on temporary or fixed term contracts in Warrington North constituency cannot be provided because of small sample sizes. Regional estimates are available on the National Statistics website.

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

http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Unemployment: Older Workers

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of people over 50 had been out of work for over a year in each year since 1994. [200922]

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

Letter from Dr Neil Wooding:

On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of people over 50 had been out of work for over a year in each year since 1994. (200922)

The table provides estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for the number and proportion of people aged 50 and over who have been unemployed for 12 months or more. Estimates are for the period February to April 1994 to 2014 and are seasonally adjusted to account for temporal fluctuations.

Unemployment by age and duration statistics are estimated from the LFS and are published monthly in Table UNEM01 as part of the Labour Market Statistics release, available here:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-311468#tab-all-tables

As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. These are indicated by the guide to quality in the table.

I hope this meets your requirements.

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International Development

Chief Scientific Advisers

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many meetings she has had with her Department's Chief Scientific Adviser in the last 12 months. [200791]

Justine Greening: As was the case under previous Administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.

Official Visits

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what visits each of the Ministers in her Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was. [200489]

Mr Duncan: Details of all overseas visits undertaken by DFID Ministers are published under the transparency section of the DFID website and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfid-secretary-of-state-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-with-external-organisations

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfid-minister-of-state-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-with-external-organisations

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfid-parliamentary-under-secretary-of-state-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-with-external-organisations

Palestinians

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what research her Department has undertaken into the humanitarian effects of the occupation of the West Bank and the blockade of Gaza. [200411]

Mr Duncan: Israeli movement and access restrictions do tremendous damage to the Palestinian economy; the World Bank has estimated that easing restrictions on Area C alone could increase Palestinian GDP by 35%. In Gaza, Israeli restrictions on movements of goods and people do tremendous damage to the economy and living standards of ordinary people. Some 80% of the households in Gaza are below the poverty line, and 57% are food insecure. The UN predicts that by 2020 Gaza may no longer be a 'liveable' place.

Written Questions

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many parliamentary questions tabled to her Department in the last parliamentary Session did not receive a substantive answer by the time of the 2014 prorogation; and when each such question was first tabled. [200447]

Mr Duncan: According to departmental records DFID answered all parliamentary questions that required a substantive answer before the 2014 Prorogation.

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Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of the £70 million which her Department offered to Yemen in 2013 for emergency food assistance, shelter, clean water and help for people recovering from conflict was provided to that country. [200355]

Mr Duncan: DFID is one of the largest humanitarian donors to Yemen. We are committed to tackling the humanitarian crisis in the country including through the £70 million of human assistance we offered in 2013. Last financial year we offered £32 million of assistance, we have already allocated £33 million for this year and the balance of the commitment will be allocated as soon as possible.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many meetings she has had with world leaders to discuss the humanitarian situation in Yemen since 1 January 2013. [200357]

Mr Duncan: Tackling the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, where we are one of the largest humanitarian donors, is a priority for DFID. As such, DFID Ministers have played a leading role in galvanising international efforts and encouraging others to do more. This has involved regular discussions with senior global leaders both in the specifically convened Friends of Yemen, but also during regular meetings with partners to discuss humanitarian issues.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the budgeted spend is for humanitarian aid for Yemen for the next two years. [200427]

Mr Duncan: DFID has already committed £33 million in assistance for this financial year and we are in the process of assessing where we should allocate further funds and at what scale.

Business, Innovation and Skills

Bankruptcy

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will review the level of the debt threshold for a creditor bankruptcy petition. [200896]

Jenny Willott: We plan to review the debt threshold for a creditor bankruptcy petition this year.

Disabled Students’ Allowances: Birmingham

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people in Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency are eligible for disabled students allowance (DSA); and how many such people will be negatively affected by proposed changes to DSA. [200507]

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Mr Willetts: Information on students awarded and paid disabled students’ allowance (DSA) is published annually by Student Loans Company (SLC) in the Statistical First Release ‘Student Support for Higher Education England’. The latest statistics are available at the following link:

http://www.slc.co.uk/media/694170/slcsfr052013.pdf

A further breakdown for Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency has been provided in the table for the academic year 2012/13. Equivalent figures for the academic year 2013/14 will be available from November 2014.

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

We are currently consulting a wide range of stakeholders and are working through the detail of how the changes will work in practice, including the number of students affected.

Foundation Degrees

Mr Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many and what proportion of foundation degrees have been delivered by (a) further education colleges and (b) universities in each of the last 10 years; [200811]

(2) how many and what proportion of foundation degree students continued to a honours degree in each of the last 10 years; [200809]

(3) how many students have (a) started and (b) completed a foundation degree in each of the last 10 years. [200812]

Mr Willetts: The available information is shown in the tables. The tables have been compiled by the Higher Education Funding Council and describe the number of foundation degree entrants (Table 1) and qualifiers (Table 2) and those who transfer from HEIs to honours degree level (Table 3a and 3b). The Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE) has derived these figures from the HESA standard population (HEIs) and the equivalent population at further education colleges (FECs). Some of the data have been published in the 2010 HEFCE report “Foundation Degree: Key statistics 2001/02 to 2009/10”.

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http://www.hefce.ac.uk/media/hefce/content/pubs/2010/201012/10_12.pdf

It has not been possible for HEFCE to complete time series data for FECs for all years because of the disproportionate cost in providing this analysis.

The number and proportion of UK-domiciled foundation degree entrants at higher education institutions and further education colleges in England between 2004/05 and 2012/13, split by the type of registering institution.

The figures since 2009/10 show a decline in foundation degree entrants registered at English HEIs with a particularly sharp decline in 2012/13. Some of the reasons for this trend are discussed in the HEFCE report “Undergraduate courses other than first degrees: an analysis of recent trends” published in April 2014:

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/media/hefce/content/pubs/2014/201408c/HEFCE2014_08c.pdf-

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Tables 3a and 3b shows the number of UK domicile students being awarded a foundation degree who progress in the following academic year from an HEI to study an Honours Programme. Table 3a is not comparable with Table 3b. The figures shown in Table 3a (up to 2009/10) are derived from analysis produced by HEFCE. The data in Table 3b show qualifiers derived from the HESA standard qualifications obtained population (Table 3b). However, these figures can only be linked forward to study undertaken at a UK HEI (in the following academic year).

Higher Education

Mr Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (a) how many higher national diplomas and (b) higher national certificates have been completed in each of the last 10 years. [200814]

Mr Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on student qualifiers at UK higher education institutions (HEIs). The number of students registered at an English higher education institution, who qualified with a Higher National Diploma (HND) and a Higher National Certificate (HNC) in the last 10 years can be found in the following table.

It has not been possible to provide a time series data for FECs because of the disproportionate cost in providing this analysis.

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Insolvency

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when his Department's review of debt relief orders will be launched. [200892]

Jenny Willott: We plan to launch a review of debt relief orders this year.

New Businesses: Kent

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many start-up loans have been granted to businesses in (a) Gillingham and Rainham constituency, (b) Medway and (c) Kent to date. [200382]

Matthew Hancock: Twelve start-up loans have been granted to businesses within the Gillingham and Rainham constituency with a total drawn down value of £68,800;

36 start-up loans have been granted with a total drawn down value of £220,750 in the Medway constituency.

265 start-up loans have been granted in Kent with a total drawn down value of £1,498,105.

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many company formations were recorded in (a) Gillingham and Rainham, (b) Medway and (c) Kent in the last year. [200510]

Michael Fallon: The number of company formations in (a) Gillingham and Rainham, (b) Medway and (b) Kent in the financial year 2013-14 were as follows:

These figures, which include all corporate bodies for the financial year, including limited liability companies, should be considered as approximations as the data are derived from postcode areas that can cross regional boundaries.

Official Visits

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what visits each of the Ministers in his Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was. [200477]

Jenny Willott: Details of Ministers’ overseas visits are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-business-innovation-skills&publication_type=transparency-data

Information for January to March 2014 will be published shortly.

Information relating to UK visits can be provided only at disproportionate cost as it is not held centrally.

Overseas Trade: Latin America

Mr Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps are being taken to promote UK trade with Latin America in connection with the 2014 Football World Cup taking place in Brazil. [200553]

Michael Fallon: During the 2014 Football World Cup, the UK Trade & Investment network in Brazil will host a series of events to promote the UK as a destination for business, investment, education and tourism. The programme includes 20 events focussed on our prosperity campaigns to promote British expertise and partnership in priority areas that includes culture, energy, infrastructure, inward investment and legacy opportunities associated to the 2012 London Olympic games.

Events will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Manaus and Belo Horizonte, the cities hosting the England team which will be supported by Prince Harry, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Sajid Javid), and the Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Tourism and Equalities, my hon. Friend the Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Mrs Grant).

One of the highlights of the UK programme is the GREAT Britain House in Sao Paulo. Specially developed for the agenda of events, the venue will be set up at the British Consulate in Sao Paulo to present the best the UK has to offer.

Regional Growth Fund: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses in Warrington North constituency received funding from the Regional Growth Fund in each year since 2011-12; and how much each such business received. [200829]

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Michael Fallon: No businesses in Warrington North have received project funding directly from the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) but they can apply to regional and national RGF programmes for support.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when the Offshore Wind Industry Council last met; and what meetings of the council have taken place since 16 May 2013. [200863]

Michael Fallon: The Offshore Wind Industry Council last met on 16 June 2014. This was the council's fourth meeting. The three previous meetings took place on 16 May 2013, 21 October 2013 and 24 February 2014.

Written Questions

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many parliamentary questions tabled to his Department in the last parliamentary Session did not receive a substantive answer by the time of the 2014 prorogation; and when each such question was first tabled. [200437]

Jenny Willott: Ministers and officials in this Department attach the highest priority to answering written parliamentary questions (PQs) accurately and on time. All PQs tabled in the last session of Parliament received a substantive answer from the Department by the time of the 2014 Prorogation.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bovine Tuberculosis

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the planned further research into the use of carbon monoxide as a potential method of culling badgers will include (a) trials on living badgers, (b) trials on existing badger setts and (c) laboratory trials. [200931]

George Eustice: The planned further research involves preliminary tests to investigate the potential use of carbon monoxide in a sett environment. These preliminary tests will not involve the use of either live badgers or active setts. Whether or not we proceed with further research involving live badgers or active setts will depend upon the outcome of these preliminary tests.

Farms: Safety

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure the effective implementation of regulations (a) relating to storage of slurry and (b) in general for safety in farm yards. [200345]

George Eustice: Implementing safety regulations in farm yards is the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The HSE recognises agriculture

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as a priority industry and has a programme for measurable and sustainable changes to the industry's health and safety performance.

The regulation of slurry storage is a devolved matter. In England it is controlled by the Water Resources (Control of Pollution) (Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil) Regulations 2010 (the SSAFO regulations), with the Environment Agency as the main regulator. From this year the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is including slurry storage in its cross-compliance inspections. Both the RPA and Environment Agency work closely with the HSE on farm safety.

Slurry storage and management in England has been reviewed recently by a Joint Industry and Government Working Group and this included a review of the SSAFO regulations. The group’s report was published on 21 November 2013 and is available online at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/slurry-management-and-storage-joint-government-and-industry-report

The report recognised the risks involved in managing slurry and included a recommendation about developing regular assessment of the condition of slurry stores to provide assurance that stores both prevent environmental pollution and meet health and safety requirements. The Government and industry continue to work in partnership to implement the recommendations.

Housing: Formaldehyde

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the efficacy of the published acceptable limits for formaldehyde in the air within a domestic dwelling. [200819]

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA is not responsible for air quality policy within domestic buildings and so has made no such assessment.

Timber: Imports

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government are taking to prevent illegally-harvested timber and endangered hardwoods being imported into the UK. [200944]

Dan Rogerson: In March 2013 the Timber and Timber Products (Placing on the Market) Regulations were introduced in the UK. The regulations implement the EU Timber Regulation, which aims to prevent the trade of illegally harvested timber in the EU by:

prohibiting the placing of illegally harvested timber and timber products on the EU market for the first time;

requiring operators who place timber products on the market for the first time to exercise “due diligence”; and

requiring traders to keep records of their suppliers and customers in order to facilitate the traceability of timber products through the supply chain.

The UK also provides financial and in-country support to the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) process between the EU and timber producing countries under the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan. Once VPAs are in operation, EU-bound timber exports will be issued with FLEGT licences which guarantee the timber's legality.

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In addition, the import of a number of endangered hardwood species into the UK is controlled under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) licensing system. The system aims to ensure that international trade does not threaten the survival of endangered species and is implemented in the EU by the Wildlife Trade Regulations.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance his Department issues on types of timber it discourages from being imported to the UK. [200945]

Dan Rogerson: The EU Timber Regulation aims to prevent the trade of illegally harvested timber in the EU by laying down obligations on operators who place timber and timber products on the market and those who subsequently trade in them. It was implemented in the UK by the Timber and Timber Products (Placing on the Market) Regulations in March 2013.

Guidance on how UK operators and traders can comply with the EU Timber Regulation, including the list of products that are in scope of the regulation, is available at:

www.gov.uk/eu-timber-regulation-guidance-for-business-and-industry#guidance

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The National Measurement Office, the UK enforcement authority for the EU Timber Regulation, also administers an advice and enquiry service for industry, as well as undertaking an ongoing programme of activities designed to raise awareness and promote compliance.

Health

Ambulance Services

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times ambulance response times in (a) the North West and (b) each ambulance service trust in England have exceeded (i) 15, (ii) 20, (iii) 30 and (iv) 60 minutes since May 2010. [200857]

Jane Ellison: The information is not available in the format requested. The following tables show that in April 2014, North West Ambulance Service responded to 95% of Category A immediately life threatening calls within 17 minutes and that 99% of calls were responded to within 31 minutes. The tables also provide response time information for each ambulance service trust in England since April 2011.

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