Bovine Tuberculosis

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms in Henley constituency have been subject to restrictions on cattle movements following a test proving the presence of TB in each of the last three years. [201008]

George Eustice: Statistics on TB breakdowns are available only at county and herd level. The following figures show the number of herds restricted as a result of positive bovine TB test results in Oxfordshire in each of the last three years:

 Number

2011

30

2012

29

2013

27

Bovine TB statistics are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bovine-tb

Chief Scientific Advisers

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many meetings he has had with his Department’s chief scientific adviser in the last 12 months. [200787]

Dan Rogerson: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), meets his chief scientific adviser at least weekly, sometimes more frequently.

23 Jun 2014 : Column 63W

Common Agricultural Policy

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the regulatory effect of recent changes to the common agricultural policy on farmers. [201043]

George Eustice: In implementing the new Common agricultural policy (CAP) in England a number of decisions have been taken around how the budget should be spent.

In October 2013 DEFRA published an evidence paper alongside the consultation on CAP reform. This assessed the overall impact of the new CAP and the associated decisions being consulted on in England:

https://consult.defra.gov.uk/agricultural-policy/cap-consultation

Throughout the consultation period we actively sought further evidence, and further analysis took place. Further assessments of impacts on farmers, the rural community and DEFRA delivery bodies were made, and the findings of these have been included in publications setting out government decisions. These include:

The December 2013 Government response to the consultation, which included estimates of the aggregate impact of changes to Pillar 1 on Farm Business Income:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/common-agricultural-policy-reform-implementation-in-england;

A draft impact assessment of the new Regional Development Programme for England, published in December 2013 and updated in June 2014:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/319445/rdpe-ia-201406.pdf;

The Government decision on the moorland rate including an assessment of impact on farmers, published by DEFRA in May 2014:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/common-agricultural-policy-reform-implementation-in-england

and

The Government decisions on cross-compliance together with a summary of the evidence, published by DEFRA in June 2014:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/common-agricultural-policy-reform-implementation-in-england

We will continue to publish further evidence as final CAP implementation decisions are made.

Drinking Water: Contamination

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer 196584 of 6 May 2014, Official Report, column 41W, on drinking water, what plans his Department has to test for the levels of tranquillisers and antidepressants in drinking water; and if his Department will conduct a study into levels of psychotropic drugs in UK river and seawater. [201036]

Dan Rogerson: In 2012, the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) published research looking at pharmaceuticals likely to present the worst case scenario in drinking water. Fluoxetine was included in the study, the outcome of which was that these pharmaceuticals presented no concern for public health. The research is part of an ongoing risk assessment which is revisited in the event of new information. The DWI has also responded to the earlier PQ (0019) on this matter.

23 Jun 2014 : Column 64W

Monitoring river water and seawater is driven by requirements under the EU water framework directive (WFD). As psychotropic drugs have not been identified as harmful chemicals under the WFD they are not routinely monitored, although they may be detected in less specific investigations.

The water industry has undertaken collaborative research into chemicals in sewage effluent through the UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) Chemicals Investigation Programme. Some medicines were included in the first programme of 2010-13, including fluoxetine. A second Chemical Investigations Programme, beginning in 2015, will look at the psychoactive medicines fluoxetine and sertraline in sewage effluent.

Floods

Mr Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether garages, boiler rooms and other non-habitable areas affected by flooding are eligible for the repair and renew grant. [201376]

Dan Rogerson: The repair and renew grant is available to establish resilience and resistance measures in properties to minimise the risk of damage caused by flooding. As it stands, the grant only applies to homes and businesses affected by flooding and excludes non-habitable areas.

Floods: Christchurch

Mr Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects work to all properties identified by the Environment Agency in Christchurch constituency as being suitable for Property Level Protection against flooding to be completed. [201380]

Dan Rogerson: As part of schemes funded through local levy and flood defence grant in aid, work to protect 10 properties in the Mudeford and Stanpit area is planned for 2015.

Property-level protection measures were installed at 12 properties in Stony Lane, Christchurch earlier this year.

Food: Packaging

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with food suppliers to encourage them to reduce excess packaging; and if he will make a statement. [201156]

Dan Rogerson: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), has not had recent discussions with food suppliers specifically about packaging. I spoke at the Fresher for Longer conference in February this year, and the Government are working with food manufacturers and retailers to reduce food waste as part of the Courtauld Commitment, which is targeting a further reduction of 1.1 million tonnes of food and packaging waste by 2015. We encourage the use of a minimum level of packaging that protects products from damage and ensures that it maintains its quality during its shelf life.

23 Jun 2014 : Column 65W

Food: Recycling

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much food waste was recycled by each district and metropolitan local authority in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013. [201096]

Dan Rogerson: The number of local authorities in England carrying out separate food waste collections has increased from 69 in 2010-11 to 89 in 2012-13. In addition, 79 authorities collected and recycled a ‘combined mixed garden and food waste’ in 2012-13.

The following table shows the amount of separately collected food waste that was recycled by each authority, excluding the amount rejected at collection or rejected at the gate by processors. Between 2010-11 and 2012-13 the total amount of food waste that was separately collected and recycled increased by 86% from 134,000 to 249,000 tonnes.

Amount of food waste recycled
Tonnes
Authority2010-112011-122012-13

Aylesbury Vale District Council

4,005

Bath and North East Somerset Council

2,389

4,296

3,902

Bexley LB

134

268

Braintree District Council

2,037

4,478

Brentwood Borough Council

540

1,162

Bristol City Council

461

10,176

Broadland District Council

824

797

797

Bromley LB

6,964

2,960

11,147

Calderdale MBC

5,844

5,349

5,041

Central Bedfordshire

2,165

3,974

3,817

Chelmsford Borough Council

4

1,588

3,812

Cheltenham Borough Council

3,129

2,641

Cheshire West and Chester

6,052

City of London

218

176

105

Corby Borough Council

693

Council of the Isles of Scilly

20

19

18

Croydon LB

210

6,034

10,503

Daventry District Council

320

1,131

Derbyshire Dales District Council

848

Dorset Waste Partnership

265

2,336

Dover District Council

2,092

3,806

Ealing LB

4,936

5,175

4,715

East Devon District Council

4,571

5,210

4,398

East Lindsey District Council

1,281

East Northamptonshire Council

2,067

Eastleigh Borough Council

2,425

2,248

2,147

Elmbridge Borough Council

4,004

3,535

3,420

Epsom and Ewell Borough Council

2,150

1,847

2,032

Forest of Dean District Council

2,000

23 Jun 2014 : Column 66W

Gloucester City Council

796

2,788

2,386

Guildford Borough Council

4,288

3,905

3,719

Hackney LB

1,459

1,517

1,781

Harborough District Council

1,448

1,313

681

Harlow District Council

3,671

3,439

3,199

Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council

76

Hounslow LB

3,080

3,071

2,981

Isle of Wight Council

2,988

Islington LB

174

147

154

Knowsley MBC

800

887

669

Lambeth LB

625

682

320

Leeds City Council MBC

1,007

939

841

Leicestershire County Council

150

286

231

Luton Borough Council

505

428

401

Maidstone Borough Council

948

5,523

5,007

Maldon District Council

1,497

Manchester City Council MBC

658

215

5

Mendip District Council

2,886

3,087

2,937

Merton LB

2,274

3,142

3,933

Mole Valley District Council

1,614

2,049

2,014

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council

2,419

3,214

2,949

North Devon District Council

7,680

5,192

North Somerset Council

4,265

6,983

6,884

Northampton Borough Council

642

3,647

Norwich City Council

673

2,410

2,309

Nottingham City Council

1,064

807

Oldham MBC

805

Oxford City Council

1,328

1,470

1,970

Pendle Borough Council

363

191

Peterborough City Council

2,249

Preston City Council

461

579

533

Reigate and Banstead Borough Council

2,712

Richmond upon Thames LB

1,709

2,591

3,887

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

5,213

4,938

4,566

Runnymede Borough Council

410

2,499

2,233

Salford City Council MBC

341

Sandwell MBC

2,765

6,553

Sedgemoor District Council

3,056

4,288

3,873

Sefton MBC

3,065

2,720

2,343

Shepway District Council

2,708

3,535

Shropshire

360

South Gloucestershire Council

1,947

5,426

5,034

South Hams District Council

59

105

South Oxfordshire District Council

1,871

5,378

5,033

South Ribble Borough Council

107

42

South Somerset District Council

6,026

5,781

5,236

23 Jun 2014 : Column 67W

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council

3,107

3,096

3,070

Spelthorne Borough Council

1,059

2,077

Suffolk Coastal District Council

23

76

11

Surrey Heath Borough Council

3,346

3,215

3,149

Sutton LB

145

134

121

Tandridge District Council

1,577

Taunton Deane Borough Council

4,040

3,674

3,489

Telford and Wrekin Council

100

111

Tendring District Council

2,320

Tewkesbury Borough Council

2,954

2,859

2,619

Torbay Council

993

3,392

3,321

Tower Hamlets LB

44

Uttlesford District Council

3,761

3,895

3,324

Vale of White Horse District Council

1,903

5,238

4,650

Waveney District Council

90

377

640

Waverley Borough Council

308

477

2,783

West Devon Borough Council

1,100

1,839

1,720

West London Waste Authority

741

West Oxfordshire District Council

1,414

3,713

3,402

West Somerset District Council

571

1,123

Westminster City Council

64

8

Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council

882

Woking Borough Council

2,975

3,093

2,971

Wolverhampton MBC

677

3,552

3,951

Wychavon District Council

1,087

897

817

Food: Waste Disposal

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to enforce the waste hierarchy in managing food waste and to prioritise prevention and redistribution for human consumption ahead of anaerobic digestion and composting. [201037]

Dan Rogerson: In accordance with the waste hierarchy, voluntary agreements with business and the Waste and Resources Action Programme’s (WRAP’s) Love Food Hate Waste Campaign encourage action by households, food manufacturers, retailers and the hospitality and food service sectors to prevent food waste.

If surplus food cannot be prevented, the next best option is to ensure it is redistributed for human consumption, and I have met with a number of companies and organisations which are looking at innovative ways to redistribute food.

The Courtauld Commitment 3 supply chain target includes action on both prevention and redistribution. This dual target approach encourages redistribution as the most desirable route for any surplus food suitable

23 Jun 2014 : Column 68W

for human consumption. DEFRA convened a ministerial round table in July 2012 and requested WRAP to lead an industry working group to follow up on recommendations. As a key output of the group, WRAP has recently published research, guiding principles and good practice case studies to help industry take action. Further information is available at:

http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/foodredistribution

There will always be some unavoidable food waste. The Government’s Anaerobic Digestion Strategy is in place to reduce the amount of organic material going to landfill and drive the waste that is produced into energy recovery or recycling.

Forestry Commission

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what powers the Forestry Commission has to (a) impose fines, (b) restore woodland and (c) take other enforcement action where a landowner has carried out deforestation contrary to the Forestry Act 1967. [201063]

Dan Rogerson: Only the courts have the power to impose fines on people convicted of felling trees without a licence where one is required under the Forestry Commissioners' Power to control felling of trees in Part II of the Forestry Act 1967 (as amended). This can be up to £2,500 or twice the value of the trees, whichever is the higher.

Where it appears to the Forestry Commissioners that somebody has committed an offence by felling trees without a licence where one is required, the Commissioners can serve them with a Restocking Notice requiring the area to be restocked. Failure to comply with the requirements of a Restocking Notice can result in an Enforcement Notice being issued. It is an offence not to obey an Enforcement Notice, which can mean a possible fine of up to £5,000.

Where deforestation accompanied by a change of land use has not received the required consent and has a significant impact on the environment, the Forestry Commission can, under the provisions in The Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry)(England and Wales) Regulations 1999, issue an Enforcement Notice requiring the land to be restored to its condition before the work started.

Forests

Mr Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress his Department has made on placing the public forest estate on a sustainable footing; and if he will make a statement. [201377]

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to reform the public forest estate in the present parliamentary session. [201513]

Dan Rogerson: I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy) on 17 June 2014, Official Report, column 516W.

23 Jun 2014 : Column 69W

Mangoes

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from which countries other than India the import of mangoes to the EU is banned. [201026]

Dan Rogerson: None. The ban only applies to mangoes from India.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether any phyto-sanitary and plant-disease expertise from the UK has been involved in helping to address the shortcomings identified by the EU Commissioner necessitating the recent ban on importation of mangoes from India. [200980]

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA’s Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) has offered to deliver a technical training programme for Indian plant health inspectors to help address some of the issues raised in the previous European Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) audits of the Indian plant health export certification systems. A plant health and seeds inspector from Fera will also be assisting the FVO when it undertakes its audit visit to India in September.

Deputy Prime Minister

Electoral Register

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress has been made in rolling out Individual Electoral Registration across the country. [201014]

Greg Clark: Individual Electoral Registration was launched in England and Wales, as planned, on 10 June 2014. This included the introduction of on-line registration. IER is due to be launched in Scotland on 19 September. The roll out of IER is proceeding as planned, to date.

Local Government: Tees Valley

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a copy of the Tees Valley City Deal. [201246]

Greg Clark: All City Deals are available on:

www.gov.uk

A copy of the Tees Valley City Deal has been placed in the Library of the House.

Polling Stations: Schools

Richard Burden: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many schools in England and Wales were closed for the local and European elections on 22 May 2014. [200775]

Greg Clark: The information requested is not held centrally.

23 Jun 2014 : Column 70W

Sovereignty: Scotland

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what costs have been incurred under each cost heading for the production and postage of anti-Scottish independence pamphlets to be sent to every home in Scotland; [200770]

(2) how much has been spent under each cost heading by the Government in relation to the Scottish independence referendum. [200772]

Greg Clark: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Angus (Mr Weir), on 19 June 2014, Official Report, column 667W.

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

John Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with charities on implementation of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 since that act received Royal Assent. [200761]

Greg Clark: The Electoral Commission is producing guidance to explain the rules on non-party campaigning. The commission has held four roundtable discussions for charities and other campaigners across the UK and Electoral Commission officials have spoken at events hosted by charity sector umbrella bodies.

The commission will publish its full guidance on the new rules in the summer, in advance of the regulated period which starts on 19 September 2014.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Mr Watson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister with reference to the Cabinet Manual, paragraph 5.38, whether the convention that the House of Commons should have an advance opportunity to debate significant military action applies to the deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles outside Afghanistan when operated from RAF Waddington. [201155]

Greg Clark: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Armed Forces, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois) to PQ 198710.

Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of homes in the UK served by fibre to the home broadband services. [201059]

Mr Vaizey: Ofcom monitors and publishes broadband coverage data for the UK indicated in its 2013 UK fixed broadband market report that superfast broadband was available to 73% of UK premises. Ofcom did not, however, publish a separate figure for the number of homes with fibre to the home broadband services.

23 Jun 2014 : Column 71W

Hundred Years’ War: Anniversaries

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has put in place to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the Battles of Harfleur and Agincourt. [200865]

Mrs Grant: The previous Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), announced in October last year a commitment of £10 million of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for projects marking some of the UK's most important anniversaries and commemorative events including Agincourt 600. This will ensure that those moments which form a central part of our national history are commemorated and understood by people today.

National Lottery: Arts

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much lottery funding and from which year is being committed to Arts Council England's national portfolio organisations and national partner museums as part of their overall settlement for the period 2015 to 2018. [200859]

Mr Vaizey: DCMS allocates 13.956% of lottery income to Arts Council England. It is for the Arts Council to make decisions about how to allocate this funding, and to which organisations. The Arts Council is currently finalising how it will allocate funding from 2015-16 onwards, and is due to make an announcement on 1 July.

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which Arts Council England strategic programmes are designed specifically to address the national lottery directions issued in 2007. [200884]

Mr Vaizey: Lottery distributors, including Arts Council England, are required to take account of directions issued under section 26 (1) of the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. It is for the Arts Council to determine how best to do so in designing its strategic programmes.

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what Arts Council England strategic funding programmes funded from the National Lottery are designed wholly or primarily to benefit national portfolio organisations and national partner museums. [200885]

Mr Vaizey: Arts Council England makes its funding decisions, and establishes its funding programmes, independently of Ministers and Government. It seeks to ensure that its funding programmes support a wide range of arts organisations and museums. There are no strategic programmes funded through the National Lottery exclusively for national portfolio organisations or national partner museums.

Public Libraries

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) how much was made available for purchasing public library items in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14; [200868]

23 Jun 2014 : Column 72W

(2) how many electronic workstations were made available in each public library per thousand population in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14; [200866]

(3) what proportion of public libraries replenished their full lending stock within eight and a half years in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14; [200867]

(4) how many visits per thousand of the population were made to each public library’s website in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14; [200869]

(5) what proportion of public libraries with a catchment area of more than 40,000 resident population were open at least 45 hours per week in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14; [200888]

(6) whether National Public Library user surveys are still being taken. [200889]

Mr Vaizey: The detail requested is not held centrally by this Department. However, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) collect, annually, from the individual library authorities comprehensive information relating to library service provision in the United Kingdom, which includes data relating to the questions raised. Copies of CIPFA statistics are available in the House Library.

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) how many public libraries were open at least five hours per week outside 9am to 5pm on weekdays in each of the years (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14; [200872]

(2) for what proportion of time public library service points were unavailable to visitors because of (a) emergency closures and (b) missed or cancelled mobile library stops in each of the years (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14; [200873]

(3) what proportion of public libraries open for more than 10 hours a week provided access to online catalogues in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14. [200890]

Mr Vaizey: The detail requested is not held centrally by this Department and nor is it collected by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy as part of the annual public library statistics provided by individual library authorities.

Tourism

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment has been made of the likely effects of the Government's proposed Deregulation Bill on jobs in tourism. [200855]

Mrs Grant: At present, local authorities are required to set term and holiday dates for only about 30% of secondary schools and 70% of primary schools (around half of all registered pupils). The Deregulation Bill gives more schools the flexibility to make changes should they wish to, although the experience of the academies programme, foundation schools and voluntary aided (church) schools, suggests that only a small percentage of schools are likely to vary their term dates where there is a compelling benefit to pupils' education.

23 Jun 2014 : Column 73W

The Department for Education has assessed the impact of the changes. Whilst there will be greater flexibility for schools, we will continue to expect that sensible conversations between the local authority and schools on co-ordination will take place. Local authorities have told the Department for Education that they will continue to co-ordinate term dates for schools as they do now. Variations to term dates could also help businesses and employers, for example, in areas of high-seasonal employment where employees may welcome the chance to holiday outside of peak tourist periods. For example, Bishop Bronescombe School in St Austell, has a two-week half term in May/June to accommodate parents' seasonal employment patterns.

A separate assessment of the specific impact on tourism-related jobs has not been carried out. The Department for Education has discussed the changes to this policy with a variety of tourism industry bodies-including ABTA and BALPPA.

UNESCO

Mr Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's response to the letter of 2 May 2014 from Mr Kishore Rao, the Director of the UNESCO Culture Sector, World Heritage Centre. [201110]

Mr Vaizey: DCMS has not issued a formal response to the letter of 2 May 2014. The letter has been passed to the planning authorities as part of that process.

World Heritage Sites: South West

Mr Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Dorset and east Devon coast continues to enjoy World Heritage status and remains in compliance with Article 4 of the World Heritage Convention; and if he will make a statement. [201128]

Mr Vaizey: The Dorset and east Devon coast world heritage site continues to enjoy world heritage status and it is not currently under threat. The UK Government take their responsibilities to conserve world heritage sites very seriously. The planning systems in place provide robust processes for assessing the potential impact of proposals on heritage assets and dealing appropriately with them.

Energy and Climate Change

Natural Gas: Imports

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate the potential reduction in gas imports from the roll-out of ground-source heat pumps. [201247]

Gregory Barker: I have not made such an estimate. However, we expect the impact of ground-source heat pump (GSHP) deployment on gas imports to be negligible.

23 Jun 2014 : Column 74W

Nuclear Power Stations: Safety

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the timetable is for the next periodic safety review of each of the UK's nuclear power stations; whether an environmental impact assessment is required as part of the periodic safety review procedure; and what opportunities exist for public involvement in such reviews. [200777]

Michael Fallon: The timetable for the next periodic safety reviews of each of the operating nuclear power stations is included in the table. The nine stations are the seven advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGRs) sites, the single pressurised water reactor at Sizewell B and the remaining operating Magnox reactor at Wylfa.

StationSubmission to ONRONR decision date

Hinkley Point B/Hunterston B

January 2016

January 2017

Dungeness B

January 2017

January 2018

Hartlepool/Heysham 1

January 2018

January 2019

Heysham 2/Torness

January 2019

January 2020

Sizewell B

January 2024

January 2025

Wylfa

October 2013

September 2014

An environmental impact assessment is undertaken by each licensee covering the radiological impact of routine discharges. Such assessments are carried out separate to the PSR submitted to ONR by the licensee under Licence Condition 15, and are regulated by the appropriate UK environmental agency—the Environment Agency, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, or Natural Resources Wales—in each case.

While there is no legal requirement for public involvement in PSRs, the decision of whether to include public involvement is taken at the discretion of each station licensee. ONR completes an assessment of the licensee’s submission prior to the decision date to ensure it meets the expectations set out in its guidance and that it provides an adequate demonstration of the future safe operation of the plant—see ONR guidance at:

www.onr.org.uk/periodic-safety-review/

www.onr.org.uk/operational/tech_asst_guides/ns-tast-gd-050.pdf

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Mr Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the radioactive forcing from the increase in carbon dioxide concentration will be over the lifetime of Navitus Bay (a) if the project goes ahead and (b) if the project does not go ahead. [200458]

Gregory Barker: The Department does not undertake analysis or hold information of this nature relating to specific developments.

Written Questions

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 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. [200446]

23 Jun 2014 : Column 75W

Gregory Barker: None. All questions in the last parliamentary Session received a substantive answer.

Education

Academies: Capital Investment

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what criteria were used to assess bids made under the 2014-15 Academies Capital Maintenance Fund; and if he will make a statement. [200647]

Mr Laws: We received bids for the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund for 3,300 projects from 2,015 academies and have so far made awards to 1,134 academies, including six academies in the hon. Member’s constituency.

The criteria used to assess bids were set out in the guidance for the scheme. We assessed each eligible application against these weighted criteria. The guidance can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-capital-maintenance-fund-round-1-information

Guidance for the second round of the fund, which is aimed at academies opened since December 2013, has been published. The online application system will be launched shortly. We will announce future arrangements for maintenance funding in due course.

Academies: Land

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the answer of 14 May 2014, Official Report, column 635W, on schools: land, in what circumstances he (a) would and (b) would not exercise his powers to protect public land when an academy closes entirely. [200639]

Mr Timpson: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), may need to make a determination in order to protect the public investment in the land where the land ceases, or will cease, to be used for an academy. The Secretary of State will consider a range of factors, including:

1. The degree of public investment in the land and the degree of any enhancement to the value attributable to that investment;

2. The degree of private investment in the land and the degree of any enhancement to the value attributable to that investment;

3. The length of time that the land has been in public use;

4. The value of the land at the date of determination.

Additional protections for school playing fields would continue to apply, as set out in published guidance, which is available at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-school-playing-fields-and-public-land-advice

A copy of the guidance has been placed in the House Library.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what his policy is on the question of who retains ownership of the land in cases where freehold interest in local authority land is granted to an academy trust; [201051]

23 Jun 2014 : Column 76W


(2) how many cases of academy trusts acquiring freehold interests on land for schools there have been in each of the last five financial years; [201052]

(3) what the estimated value of the land is for which academy trusts have a freehold interest; [201053]

(4) what estimate he has made of the value of the land for which academy trusts currently have leasehold interest. [201072]

Mr Timpson: When community schools convert to academies, the freehold is retained by the local authority and a lease is granted to the academy trust. In some circumstances, where the school governors or supporting foundation already hold the freehold, the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), may allow publicly funded school land to be transferred to an academy trust, which will have satisfied the Secretary of State as to its ability to operate a state-funded school.

There are strict rules protecting publicly funded land used by academies, regardless of who holds the freehold. This is set out in published guidance, which is available online:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-school-playing-fields-and-public-land-advice

A copy of the guidance has been placed in the House Library.

The Department does not hold information about the average value of land used for academies on a freehold or leasehold basis. Information about the number of academies that occupy land on a leasehold and freehold basis is not held centrally.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) under what circumstances he can re-acquire freehold interest in land when an academy’s funding agreement is terminated early; [201165]

(2) how many times he has used his powers under schedule 1 to the Academies Act 2010 to ensure that land is transferred from an existing governing body directly to an academy trust; [201167]

(3) what steps his Department has taken to protect public assets and prevent academy trusts from selling freehold land in their possession; [201252]

(4) what powers academy trusts have to dispose of land on which they hold freehold interests while retaining the proceeds; [201253]

(5) in what circumstances he would terminate a leasehold agreement with an academy trust prior to the expiration of a 125-year agreement. [201254]

Mr Timpson: We have published guidance which sets out how publicly funded land and school playing fields are protected. This guidance is available at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-school-playing-fields-and-public-land-advice

If land ceases, or will cease, to be used for an academy, the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), may need to make a determination in order to protect the public investment in the land. The Secretary of State will consider a range of factors including:

1. The degree of public investment in the land and the degree of any enhancement to the value attributable to that investment;

23 Jun 2014 : Column 77W

2. The degree of private investment in the land and the degree of any enhancement to the value attributable to that investment;

3. The length of time that the land has been in public use;

4. The value of the land at the date of determination.

Information about the number of academies where land has been transferred from a governing body to an academy trust is not held centrally and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

Chief Scientific Advisers

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many meetings he has had with his Department's Chief Scientific Adviser in the last 12 months. [200786]

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

Children in Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects to release funds to finance the extension of staying put for young people leaving care. [201078]

Mr Timpson: Local authority allocations for 2014-15 of the staying put implementation grant will be paid in four instalments on or by 30 June 2014, 30 August 2014, 30 November 2014 and 27 February 2015.

Children: Social Services

Mrs Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what research has been undertaken by or on behalf of his Department into the potential (a) benefits and (b) disbenefits to children of further delegation of children's social care functions. [200876]

Mr Timpson: The proposals for the further delegation of children’s social care functions build on the evaluation of the Social Work Practices pilot set in train by the Children and Young Persons Act 2008. This identified evidence of positive change through the delegated arrangements for looked-after children and care leavers in the pilot authorities. As a result, the original freedoms in part 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 were extended to all local authorities.

Discussions with the pilot local authorities and some other councils, supported the argument that wider delegation would in some circumstances, benefit children.

The proposals in the consultation document, is published online at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/304660/Powers_to_Delegate_Con_Doc.pdf

Mrs Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to ensure that third party providers taking on children's social care functions under his Department's proposals adhere to quality standards set out in regulations. [201209]

Mr Timpson: Delegation of children’s social care functions does not remove a local authority’s duties to meet statutory obligations. It remains a local authority’s

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responsibility to ensure the quality of services regardless of what arrangements it makes for the discharge of its functions.

Delegated social care functions are inspected by Ofsted, in the same way as directly delivered local authority social care functions, as part of its local authority inspection framework. In addition, regulations currently govern the fitness of third party providers and require their registration with Ofsted.

Dominic Cummings

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when Dominic Cummings's security pass to the Department of Education was deactivated and withdrawn. [201169]

Matthew Hancock: In line with the practice of successive Administrations, the Government do not comment on security matters.

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what requirements have been placed on Dominic Cummings, as part of his contractual terms, to obtain clearance for public statements or writings on matters of Government policy or the internal workings of Government. [201170]

Matthew Hancock: These requirements are outlined in the relevant sections of the Civil Service Code and can be found at

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-code/the-civil-service-code

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) whether Dominic Cummings has had any e-mail contact with officials, Ministers or special advisers in his Department since he resigned his post as a special adviser; [201075]

(2) when Dominic Cummings last had e-mail contact with officials, Ministers and special advisers in his Department; [201161]

(3) if he will release all e-mail correspondence between officials, Ministers and special advisers in his Department and Dominic Cummings since Mr Cummings left the Department; [201162]

(4) whether Dominic Cummings has contacted officials, Ministers and special advisers in his Department through their (a) official or (b) personal e-mail accounts on official business since Mr Cummings left the Department. [201163]

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with Dominic Cummings since Mr Cummings left his Department; and what the purpose of those meetings was; [201077]

Matthew Hancock: Mr Cummings is an ex-employee of the Department for Education. It is not uncommon for ex-employees to be in contact with Ministers and the Department. As the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) explained to the House on 16 June

23 Jun 2014 : Column 79W

2014, many people seek to visit and contact the Department for Education to exchange ideas with old friends and colleagues.

First Aid: Education

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of the benefits of teaching emergency life-saving skills in schools. [200676]

Matthew Hancock: Emergency life-saving skills (ELS) can be taught as part of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education.

PSHE can help children develop essential social skills that evidence shows are important for children’s achievement across all subjects, and for their preparation for a healthy and active life.

Schools are encouraged to work with expert organisations to teach ELS, for example St John Ambulance who visited approximately 2,000 schools in 2013. Their ‘Teach the Difference’ website has over 7,000 registered users, most of whom are teachers, and users downloaded over 16,000 first aid lesson plans in 2013.

Free Schools

Mr Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which free schools have been approved in each local education authority area excluding London since 2010; and which such schools are (a) non-denominational and (b) of each religious denomination. [200839]

Mr Timpson: There are 174 open free schools in England. Published location information for all these schools is available on the Department for Education’s website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/309965/List_of_open_free_schools_ and_free_schools_opening_in_2014_and_beyond_up....xlsx

37 of those schools have a faith designation, of which. 20 are in areas other than London. They can be found in the following table, along with their religious designation.

Name of schoolLocal authorityFaith designation

Al-Madinah School

Derby

Muslim

Atherton Community School

Wigan

Christian

Barrow 1618 Church of England School

Shropshire

Christian

Becket Keys Church of England School

Essex

Christian

Grindon Hall Free School

Sunderland

Christian

Khalsa Secondary Academy

Buckinghamshire

Sikh

King's School Hove

Brighton and Hove

Christian

Krishna-Avanti Primary School

Leicester

Hindu

Leeds Jewish Free School

Leeds

Jewish

Niskham Free School

Birmingham

Sikh

Nishkam High School

Birmingham

Sikh

St Michael’s Catholic Secondary School

Cornwall

Christian

St Anthony’s School

Gloucestershire

Christian

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St Mary’s Primary School, Dilwyn

Herefordshire

Christian

Tauheedul Islam Boys’ High School

Blackburn with Darwen

Muslim

The Olive School, Blackburn

Blackburn with Darwen

Muslim

The Olive Tree Primary School

Bolton

Muslim

Trinity School

Kent

Christian

Tyndale Community School

Oxfordshire

Christian

University Cathedral Free School

Cheshire West and Chester

Christian

26% of mainstream free schools have a faith designation, as opposed to 34% of all state-funded mainstream schools.

GCSE

Mr Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of the age cohort achieved a A* to C grade in GCSE (a) mathematics, (b) English and (c) English literature by the age of (i) 19, (ii) 20, (iii) 21, (iv) 22, (v) 23, (vi) 24 and (vi) 25 years in each of the last 10 years. [200649]

Mr Timpson: The following tables show the proportion of 18, 19 and 20-year-olds who had achieved A*-C grade in GCSE English and GCSE mathematics. The figures relate to academic age, that is age at the start of the academic year, so young people of academic age 18 are those turning 19 during the academic year. The figures cover young people who were in the state sector at academic age 15. The data source used for this analysis does not differentiate between English literature and English language so the figures for English include those that have A*-C in either subject. The Department does not hold information on the attainment of people older than academic age 20. The earliest data available are for the cohort that was academic age 18 in 2004/05.

Proportion achieving A*-C grade in GCSE mathematics by academic age and cohort
Percentage
 Academic age
Cohort academic age 18 in181920

2004/05

49.3

49.4

49.4

2005/06

48.6

48.7

48.8

2006/07

50.5

50.6

50.6

2007/08

52.7

52.7

52.8

2008/09

54.6

54.7

54.7

2009/10

56.5

56.6

56.7

2010/11

59.1

59.2

59.3

2011/12

61.9

62.0

2012/13

65.2

Proportion achieving A*-C grade in GCSE English by academic age and cohort
Percentage
 Academic age
Cohort academic age 18 in181920

2004/05

55.9

56.0

56.0

2005/06

56.7

56.8

56.9

2006/07

57.3

57.4

57.4

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2007/08

58.9

58.9

59.0

2008/09

60.1

60.2

60.2

2009/10

61.2

61.3

61.4

2010/11

63.2

63.3

63.3

2011/12

65.4

65.5

2012/13

69.0

Source: DFE Young Person’s Matched Administrative Dataset.

Literature: GCSE

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what role he has had in designing the new GCSE English literature curriculum; and on what dates he has had meetings about its design in the last 12 months. [201054]

Matthew Hancock: The Secretary of State for Education set out that new GCSEs should provide students with fulfilling and demanding courses of study, with expectations that match and exceed those in the highest performing countries. GCSE English literature subject content was developed drawing on the evidence gathered through its public consultation on GCSE English literature content, which ran from June to August 2013, and from Ofqual, the awarding organisations and other subject experts.

In the last 12 months, the Secretary of State has met Department for Education officials on a series of occasions to discuss evidence gathered during the consultation.

Magna Carta

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will estimate the cost of sending a copy of Magna Carta to every school. [201015]

Elizabeth Truss: Magna Carta and the emergence of Parliament are included within the new history curriculum, to be taught in maintained secondary schools from September 2014.

To support teachers to commemorate the 800th anniversary, a range of projects and resources are being provided by Parliament and others for primary and secondary school pupils.

We have no plans to send a copy of Magna Carta to every school and therefore have not made an estimate of what this might cost.

Pupils: Mental Health

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what training is given to teachers at maintained schools to (a) support the mental health of their students and (b) spot the early signs of emerging mental health problems. [201292]

Mr Timpson: The Government believe that professional development for teachers is important to help support and enable teachers to improve their practice, and an assessment of training and development needs must be included in teachers’ written appraisal reports. Headteachers

23 Jun 2014 : Column 82W

and teachers are best placed to make decisions about what professional development they require in order to meet the needs of their pupils.

To support this, on 16 June 2014 the Department for Education issued new non-statutory guidance for schools and teachers on pupils’ mental health and behaviour. This guidance gives information, guidance and practical tools on how to build resilience and support good mental health. It also helps school staff identify those pupils who may have emerging problems and provides guidance on appropriate routes of support.

We put before Parliament a new 0-25 SEN and Disability Code of Practice. This makes it clear that schools should look to identify any underlying mental health needs that pupils have. The code emphasises the importance of staff development and provides a number of signposts to specific support. This includes further support for teachers and adults working with children and young people, which is available through MindEd—

www.minded.org.uk—

a website funded by the Department of Health that helps adults identify and support children and young people’s mental health issues.

Science: Females

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he has taken to increase the proportion of girls taking separate science at GCSE. [200798]

Elizabeth Truss: The number of girls taking separate science GCSEs increased between 2010 and 2013 from 53,000 to 74,800 (41%) in biology, from 51,400 to 73,600 (43%) in chemistry and from 50,700 to 73,200 (44%) in physics. Girls now make up approximately 49% of all those taking each of the separate sciences, compared with approximately 45% in 2010.

The Government are committed to increasing take-up of separate science GCSEs, including increasing the proportion of girls as part of our commitment to improve overall take-up of STEM subjects at A-level and beyond.

The “Your Life” campaign, launched in May 2014, brings together business, educators, civil society and Government to show how science and mathematics lead to exciting, successful careers. This will include a publicity campaign aimed at 14 to 16-year-olds, which will aim to change the way they think about science-based subjects from boring, specialist and niche to empowering, exciting, enabling and for everyone.

We are funding the Triple Science Support Programme to provide intensive support to schools with either no take-up or relatively low take-up of all three separate science GCSEs, and more general support to all other schools. We are also funding the Stimulating Physics Network to increase progression to physics A-level, especially of girls. Much of the work the network does focuses on improving the engagement and interest of pupils in physics at GCSE.

Excellent teaching is vital and we are offering bursaries worth up to £20,000 and teacher training scholarships worth £25,000 to recruit more specialist science teachers. We are also funding up to 50 local science learning partnerships to provide CPD for existing science teachers.

23 Jun 2014 : Column 83W

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills funds the STEM Ambassadors programme, a nationwide network of over 27,000 volunteers from industry and academia, 40% of whom are women, who work with schools across the UK to raise awareness of the range of careers that STEM qualifications can offer.

Special Educational Needs

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether special educational needs co-ordinators are able to request funds from his Department for extra assistance with SEN students in maintained schools. [201299]

Mr Timpson: The Department for Education does not give funds directly to local authority maintained schools. Funds for extra assistance with students with special educational needs (SEN) come from schools’ budgets and, if the extra cost is more than £6,000 per year for an individual student, from local authorities in the form of top-up funding for the school. Local authorities can also give extra funding to schools with a disproportionate number of pupils with SEN. Special educational needs co-ordinators should therefore seek any additional funds required from the relevant local authority.

Teachers: Disciplinary Proceedings

Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teachers have had action taken against them under Teachers' Standards for (a) undermining fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and (b) failing to ensure that personal beliefs are not expressed in ways which exploit pupils' vulnerability or might lead them to break the law in the last two years. [201061]

Mr Laws: The National College for Teaching and Leadership has prohibited two teachers following professional conduct hearings where the allegations relate to behaviours outlined in the question.

Teachers: Early Retirement

Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teachers took early retirement in (a) Bury St Edmunds constituency, (b) Suffolk and (c) England in each of the last five years. [200744]

Mr Laws: The following table provides the number of teachers in publicly-funded schools who took early retirement in Suffolk local authority and England between March 2008-09 to March 2012-13. This is the latest information available. Information for Bury St Edmunds constituency is not available.

MarchSuffolk LA1, 2England1, 2

2008-09

130

8,570

2009-10

100

7,810

2010-11

130

9,380

2011-123

180

9,780

23 Jun 2014 : Column 84W

2012-133

150

8,630

1 Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 teachers. 2 Includes Premature Retirements, Actuarially Reduced Benefits and Ill Health. 3 Provisional estimates. 2011-12 data will remain provisional until summer 2015 and 2012-13 data are likely to remain provisional until summer 2016. Source: Pensioner Statistical System (PENSTATS).

Teachers: Pensions

Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the (a) feasibility and (b) cost to the public purse of enabling supply teachers to contribute to the Teachers' Pension Scheme. [200849]

Mr Laws: Supply teachers are able to participate in the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) where they are employed by an ‘accepted employer'. In the main, these are local authorities (LAs), academies and further education colleges. This includes supply teachers who are recruited by a supply agency but then employed directly, under a contract of employment, by the accepted employer. The LA, academy or further education college is responsible for meeting a number of obligations that fall to employers under the teachers' pensions regulations, not least of which is to pay the employer contribution to the TPS.

However, where supply teachers are self-employed or remain employed by the supply agency, and their services are provided under a ‘contract for services', it is not possible for them to participate in the TPS. This is because the Department for Education cannot mandate that private sector employers participate in the scheme.

It is for LAs, academies and further education colleges to determine how supply teachers are employed, which can in turn enable access to the TPS under the current arrangements.

Teachers: Veterans

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many members of the armed forces have been recruited into teacher roles under the Troops to Teachers initiative to date. [201290]

Mr Laws: The Troops to Teachers undergraduate programme is a new programme, which started in January 2014. 41 service leavers joined the Troops to Teachers programme in January 2014. Recruitment is almost complete for the second cohort of the programme and more service leavers will start their training in September 2014. The first successful graduates of the programme will be employed as teachers, subject to achieving Qualified Teacher Status and a degree, in 2016.

Defence

Air Force

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 9 June 2014, Official Report, column 27W, on the Royal Air Force, whether any UK personnel other than Remotely Piloted Air System personnel are embedded in the 732nd Operations Group. [200598]

23 Jun 2014 : Column 85W

Mr Francois: There are no UK personnel embedded in the 732nd Operations Group.

Aircraft Carriers

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which personnel aboard Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers will need to wear active noise cancellation headsets; how many such headsets will be required; and what the cost of such headsets will be. [200914]

Mr Dunne: The requirement for Active Noise Reduction (ANR) headsets for personnel associated with operating F-35B on board Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers will be tailored to individuals' noise exposure. As with all flight operatives on aircraft carriers, this will apply to personnel on the flight deck and not on other areas of the ship. The noise exposure will be dependent upon the operational employment of personnel, which will be defined through the ongoing development of operating procedures. The design specification of the headsets will be commensurate with the noise exposure, and in cognisance of the Control of Noise at Work Regulations, 2005. The preferred product is due to be ordered prior to the QEC entering service.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate (a) the savings generated by each branch of the armed forces having separate recruiting programmes and (b) the annual cost of each such programme. [200295]

Anna Soubry: Each branch of the armed forces has a distinctive brand that needs to be marketed separately in order to attract the best candidates.

Capturing the cost of recruiting across the armed forces is a complex and resource-intensive task. For financial year (FY) 2010-11, when both the recruitment budget and recruitment targets were below normal levels, these calculations were not carried out. The costs of recruiting programmes for FYs 2009-10, 2011-12 and 2012-13 are set out in the following table. The cost of recruiting in FY 2013-14 will be available in early 2015.

£
Financial yearRoyal NavyArmyRAFTotal

2009-10

41,475,281

138,743,300

51,298,179

231,516,760

2011-12

32,017,364

134,595,989

38,702,993

205,316,346

2012-13

33,228,059

122,756,649

35,430,723

191,415,431

As reductions have been made to force levels recruitment levels have been adjusted but not stopped as the Services are required to keep recruiting to maintain the right skills.

Armed Forces: Training

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place a copy of 2014DIN07-081 on Physical Training Policy For Army Reserve And Full Time Reserve Service in the Library. [200740]

23 Jun 2014 : Column 86W

Mr Francois: A copy of 2014DIN07-081 on Physical Training Policy For Army Reserves And Full Time Reserve Service will be placed in the Library of the House.

Army Reserve

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide details of the current workforce model for the Army Reserve that his Department is using to assess how long it will take to recruit the required number of 30,000 reserves; and when under the current model that target will be met. [200585]

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement and paper the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), placed in the Library of the House on 19 December 2013, Official Report, column 124WS.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 364W, on reserve forces, what the current national recruitment rate to the Army Reserve is. [201369]

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the UK Armed Forces Quarterly Personnel report which is published by Defence Statistics. This shows reserve trained and untrained strength figures, as well as movements into the Future Reserves 2020 populations. It is available on the www.gov.uk website at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-armed-forces-quarterly-personnel-report-2014

Army: Recruitment

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the (a) monthly and (b) total additional cost to date for paying Capita as if it was meeting quantity and quality standards for recruitments in the Recruiting Partnering Project. [200381][Official Report, 1 September 2014, Vol. 585, c. 1MC.]

Anna Soubry: Between its launch in March 2012 to 31 March 2014, the Army has paid Capita £100.380 million for the Recruiting Partnering Project. The Recruiting Partnering Project remains within the overall agreed cost of £1.360 million.

The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), set out on 14 January 2014, Official Report, column 716, the cost of Capita providing a new information technology platform as part of the Recruiting Partnering Project. At the time, these costs were expected to be around £47.7 million directly linked to the change of hosting provision. Since this statement, these costs have reduced to around £42.9 million.

As previously stated by the Secretary of State on 14 January, there has been an additional cost of around £1 million per month to run the Capita system. This includes costs for additional manpower.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the National Audit Office report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June

23 Jun 2014 : Column 87W

2014, page 12, what his Department's response is to the recommendation that it should reassess its targets for recruiting reserves. [200536]

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement and paper the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), placed in the Library of the House on 19 December 2013, Official Report, column 124WS. The hon. Member will be aware that this is a five-year plan and I am confident that the Army will reach this target.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the National Audit Office report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014, page 8 (1) if he will provide a breakdown of the costings used to work out that reserves cost around 87% of the costs of regulars when mobilised; [200573]

(2) when Ministers in his Department first established that reserves cost around 87% of the cost of regulars when mobilised. [200574]

Anna Soubry: The figures used by the NAO in paragraph 11 of its report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014, were taken from Future Reserves 2020: The Independent Commission to Review the United Kingdom's Reserve Forces. I refer the hon. Member to paragraph 97. This involved considerable work to develop a Regular: Reserve Cost Comparison Model.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons his Department did not provide supporting ICT infrastructure for Capita's new recruitment software as required under its contractual arrangements with Capita in relation to the Recruiting Partnering Project. [200575]

Anna Soubry: A number of factors contributed to the problems experienced with the information communication technology hosting environment provided for Capita.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), on 14 January 2014, Official Report, column 715, to the hon. Member for Gedling (Vernon Coaker).

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the National Audit Office report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014, page 10, which Minister in his Department signed off on the decision not to provide supporting ICT infrastructure for Capita's new recruitment software as part of his Department's contractual arrangements with Capita in relation to the Recruiting Partnering Project. [200576]

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 January 2014, Official Report, column 111W.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to rectify the (a) inconsistent understanding of Army staffing requirements, (b) limited use of management information and (c) unsystematic approach to improvement in relation to the Recruiting Partnering Project referred to on

23 Jun 2014 : Column 88W

pages 36 and 37 of the National Audit Office report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014. [200584]

Anna Soubry: The National Audit Office made a number of observations and recommendations in their report into Army 2020. The Department will respond to these in due course. Part of the reason the Army has entered a recruitment partnership with Capita is to harness the benefits of an integrated recruiting system to help the Army drive more effective end-to-end recruiting and training activity. As the Capita IT systems and applications and the recruitment partnering project reaches full operating capability, and can interact with other IT tools available to the Army, we would expect to see these benefits realised.

Army: Training

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) male and (b) female recruits who completed phase two training at Catterick Infantry Training Centre in each year since 2006 went on to join the trained strength; how many such recruits in those categories were aged under 18 years when they enlisted; how many had undertaken phase one training at Harrogate Army Foundation College; and if he will make a statement. [200578]

Anna Soubry: On 8 May 2014 the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), announced that a review of the exclusion of women in ground close combat roles, including the Infantry, Royal Armoured Corps and Household Cavalry would begin immediately, and report by the end of this year.

No female recruits currently undergo infantry training and therefore figures shown for the Infantry Training Centre relate to males only.

The information requested is shown in the table. Completion of phase 2 training is the point at which recruits are deemed to have joined the trained strength.

 Phase 2 Completions (Male)Under 18 on entry (Male)Army Foundation College Starts (Male)

2006-07

2,300

950

230

2007-08

2,210

890

260

2008-09

2,610

860

270

2009-10

3,370

980

310

2010-11

1,920

540

300

2011-12

2,790

620

390

2012-13

2,760

740

520

2013-14

2,450

560

320

Note: Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the full out-turn cost of (a) building maintenance, (b) staffing, (c) training, (d) salaries for recruits and (e) other costs were at Catterick Infantry Training Centre in each year since 2006; and if he will make a statement; [200579]

(2) what the full out-turn cost was of AFC Harrogate in each year since 2006, including (a) building maintenance,

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(b)

staffing costs,

(c)

training costs and

(d)

salaries for recruits; and if he will make a statement; [200604]

(3) what the anticipated out-turn cost of AFC Harrogate is for financial year 2014-15; and if he will make a statement; [200606]

(4) what the anticipated out-turn cost of ITC Catterick is for financial year 2014-15. [200623]

Anna Soubry: Financial data are held from financial year 2007-08 onwards. The Ministry of Defence’s budgetary structure is organised into a number of different Top Level Budget areas. This means that the cost of activities

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at a single location can often be split between a number of different budgets which are not managed centrally. For example infrastructure costs (including utilities) are managed by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation through contracts which do not split out the costs for individual units operating on a particular site. Similarly, equipment costs are managed across whole fleets of items by Defence Equipment and Support, and not by individual location. For this reason the full running costs of the Infantry Training Centre and the Army Foundation College cannot be provided in the format requested. However the costs attributable to the Army can be provided from financial year 2007-08 onwards.

£ million
Unit2007-082008-092009-102010-112011-122012-132013-14

Army Foundation College

54.658

62.078

58.435

60.829

62.199

63.486

62.232

Infantry Training Centre

83.172

90.790

104.702

81.471

103.196

105.274

93.046

The Army’s anticipated out-turn for the Army Foundation College Harrogate in 2014-15 is £66.204 million, and for Infantry Training Centre Catterick is £90.793 million.

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) male and (b) female recruits dropped out of training at Catterick Infantry Training Centre after completing phase one but before completing phase two in each year since 2006; how many such recruits in each category were aged under 18 years when they enlisted; how many had undertaken phase one training at Harrogate Army Foundation College; and if he will make a statement. [200580]

Anna Soubry: Infantry training at Catterick is comprised of the Combat Infantryman's course, which is a combined phase one and phase two course. For this reason it is not possible to provide the information requested for those who are recruited straight into Catterick.

Separate phase one training prior to attending Catterick is undertaken by those who attend the Army Foundation College at Harrogate. The numbers in the table relate only to recruits who attended the Army Foundation College and therefore all would have been under 18 on enlistment.

No female recruits undergo infantry training and therefore figures shown relate to males only.

 Total startsJunior entry startsJunior entry drop outSenior entry startsSenior entry drop out% Junior entry drop out% Senior entry drop out

2006-07

3,410

300

40

3,110

950

13

28

2007-08

3,550

300

30

3,250

1,090

10

31

2008-09

4,020

320

40

3,700

1,060

13

26

2009-10

4,170

380

50

3,790

1,340

13

32

2010-11

2,600

280

40

2,320

840

14

32

2011-12

4,050

470

70

3,580

1,260

15

31

2012-13

3,870

630

100

3,240

910

16

24

2013-14

1,950

420

40

1,530

680

10

35

Note: Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.