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Written Answers to Questions

Wednesday 25 June 2014

Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to paragraph 18 of Investing in Britain's Future, Cm 8669, produced in June 2013, how he intends to spend the £250 million allocated to broadband in 2015-16 and 2016-17. [201331]

Mr Vaizey: With local match funding, the £250 million allocated to broadband in 2015-16 and 2016-17 will enable superfast broadband coverage to be extended to 95% of premises by 2017. The Department announced indicative funding allocations for local broadband project areas in February 2014. The first procurements for projects using this funding are now under way.

Cinemas

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the total number of cinemas in operation in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in each year since 2010. [201638]

Mr Vaizey: The total number of cinemas in operation in the four nations in each year since 2010 is shown in the following table¹.

¹ The regions are based on ISBN television regions and do not necessarily reflect the geographical region, for example, data for Wales also cover a small area of west England and data for Scotland also cover a small part of England around the Scottish border.

Film

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the level of investment in British-produced films in each year since 2010 with budgets of (a) under and (b) over £500,000. [201637]

Mr Vaizey: The level of investment in British-produced films in each year since 2010 is shown in the following tables. The total UK spend is used as the nearest indicator of total investment.

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Scotland

Sovereignty

Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the total costs incurred (a) in his Department and (b) in the Government of the creation and production of the booklet, “What staying in the United Kingdom” means for Scotland. [200947]

David Mundell: The total UK Government cost to date of “What Staying in the United Kingdom Means for Scotland” is £723,501 (plus VAT).

This works out at the equivalent of 30p per household for the entire process of design, production and delivery. Further detail will be published in the usual fashion in the Cabinet Office transparency returns.

The Scotland Office incurred no costs in the production or creation of the booklet. Staffing costs were taken from existing Scotland Office budgets.

Written Questions

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 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. [201549]

David Mundell: None.

Home Department

Cybercrime

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to tackle cyber-crime. [904459]

Karen Bradley: Combating cyber crime is a core part of the National Cyber Security Strategy, which is underpinned by the National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP) with £860 million of new investment over five

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years. The NCSP funds a range of work to tackle cyber crime, including strengthening law enforcement capabilities with the establishment of the National Cyber Crime Unit in the National Crime Agency, and cyber teams within each of the Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs) across England and Wales, as well as developing the capability of local police forces. It also funds the Cyber Streetwise campaign, and the Action Fraud reporting system for cyber crime that is run by City of London Police.

Domestic Violence: Dartford

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of (a) arrests and (b) convictions for domestic violence offences in Dartford constituency in each of the last five years. [201302]

Norman Baker: The information requested is not available.

Data on arrests are reported to the Home Office on the basis of aggregated offence categories only, for example violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery. From these centrally reported categories it is not possible to separately identify arrests that involve domestic violence.

HM Passport Office

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) services and (b) jobs within the Passport Office were transferred to the private sector in the last five years; and when those transfers took place. [199369]

James Brokenshire: No jobs have been transferred from Her Majesty's Passport Office to the private sector in the last five years.

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the current total remuneration package is for the Chief Executive of HM Passport Office. [199849]

James Brokenshire: The Remuneration package for the Chief Executive of HM Passport Office is disclosed in full within the published annual report and accounts which is available on the website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/orr-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-2014

Remuneration for 2013-14 will be published in the annual report and accounts which is due to be laid in the House before the summer recess.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been paid in overtime and other costs incurred in the last three weeks due to changes in HM Passport Office. [200523]

James Brokenshire: The precise information requested by the hon. Member is not available. Overtime payments to staff are recorded by the month in which payment is made. In May 2014, Her Majesty's Passport Office incurred overtime costs of £964,742.

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Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much overtime has been paid to Passport Office staff at the Newport Passport Office since 2011. [200527]

James Brokenshire: Overtime costs relating to the Newport Passport Office from January 2011 to 2014 amount to £298,965.

HM Passport Office: Belfast

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will urgently increase the number of personnel working in the Belfast Passport Office. [200195]

James Brokenshire: The Home Office is identifying staff who could be temporarily redeployed to work with HM Passport Office during this very busy period.

Human Trafficking

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many calls the Metropolitan police human trafficking hotline received from victims of human trafficking in each of the last three years; and what the annual cost of running the hotline is. [201396]

Karen Bradley: The following table shows the number of calls received by the Metropolitan police human trafficking hotline since it was set up in June 2011.

The freephone hotline number (0800 783 2589) is funded by Stop The Traffik and therefore has no cost to the Metropolitan Police Service other than the £15 per month line rental.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to the Immigration and Security Minister dated 12 May 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Mr Rab Nawaz. [201412]

James Brokenshire: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 20 June 2014.

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 22 April 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Mr A. Mehmood. [201414]

James Brokenshire: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 15 May 2014.

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Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 12 May 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Mr Bhatti Akhter. [201415]

James Brokenshire: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 19 June 2014.

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 12 May 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Mr Sebti Messaoud. [201416]

James Brokenshire: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 20 June 2014.

Passports

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people applied to the UK embassy in Dublin for British passports between 2011 and 2014. [200198]

James Brokenshire: This information is not held by the Home Office.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what compensation the Passport Office provides to British passport holders who have faced increases on the cost of their flights because they have had to wait an extended period for a completed passport application. [200403]

James Brokenshire: HM Passport Office's policy on compensation can be downloaded from the website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/compensation-and-complaints-handling

Justice

Community Rehabilitation Companies

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether staff working for community rehabilitation companies will be able to (a) recall offenders and (b) write parole reports without consulting National Probation Service staff. [201199]

Jeremy Wright: The decision whether to recall an offender to custody continues to rest with the Secretary of State. Where a warning does not appear sufficient or appropriate, CRCs will be required to refer potential breaches to the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) with a breach report and a recommendation on the action to be taken. NOMS will take the final decision on behalf of the Secretary of State. The enforcement process for CRCs and the National Probation Service was described in detail in our published Target Operating Model.

Offenders serving indeterminate sentences for public protection will be managed by the National Probation Service: the arrangements for Parole Board hearings during their recall period will remain unchanged. If

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recalled to custody, offenders allocated to the CRCs who are serving determinate sentences will continue to be managed by the CRC, unless their risk of serious harm increases to “high”. CRCs will need to provide information, as appropriate, to support the recall process and consideration of re-release.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether (a) Serco and (b) G4S will be permitted to bid for community rehabilitation company contracts. [201207]

Jeremy Wright: G4S and Serco decided to withdraw from the competition to select lead providers of rehabilitation services.

Courts: Video Conferencing

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many sites for giving remote evidence are operational in England and Wales; [200182]

(2) how many (a) children and (b) vulnerable adult witnesses gave evidence remotely in 2013. [200183]

Damian Green: Facilities for remote video links are now available in 84 Crown court centres and 165 magistrates courts. These facilities enable the victim or witness to appear by video link from a different court location to that of the trial court.

As part of the action plan to increase video usage across the criminal justice system, we intend to examine how to best extend use of remote links for vulnerable, intimidated and other priority victims, as defined by the Victims' Code.

The Department does not hold a breakdown of child and vulnerable adult usage of remote links for giving evidence.

Health Professions: Crimes of Violence

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to ensure that attacks on health professionals are prioritised in the criminal justice system. [201538]

Jeremy Wright: All attacks on health professionals are deplorable. The criminal justice system is already equipped to deal with violent, threatening and abusive behaviour against those in public facing roles, including health professionals. The guidelines for assault offences specify that it is an aggravating factor for an offence to be committed against those who are either working in the public sector or who are providing a service to the public. An offence of this nature would therefore result in a more severe sentence. Tough punishments are available to the independent judiciary, who make their sentencing decisions based on the individual facts of the case.

Islam: Marriage

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Muslim Institute, (b) the Muslim Council of Great Britain and (c) the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain on the legal status of Islamic marriages in England and Wales. [201473]

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Simon Hughes: I have not discussed the legal status of Islamic marriages with any of the organisations listed.

There are no plans to change the law to recognise in English law Muslim marriages and divorces which do not conform to the Marriage Act 1949.

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to provide support for and protect the rights of Muslim women in unrecognised marriages in England and Wales. [201476]

Simon Hughes: The Government are committed to the protection and promotion of the rights of women, families and children. This includes raising awareness of the legal consequences of 'religious only' marriages and encouraging mosques to register in order to be able to carry out legally recognised marriages in their various facilities.

Prisons: Closures

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much in capital receipts has been generated by the disposal of each prison closed since May 2010. [201662]

Jeremy Wright: Through the sale of three prisons we have generated capital receipts of over £30.8 million and, in doing so, avoided unnecessary costs.

The following prisons have been sold since May 2010:

In addition to these disposals, the lease for HMP Lancaster Castle was handed back to the Duchy of Lancaster in 2012. However, no capital receipt was generated from this.

When disposing of surplus property assets the Ministry of Justice will always seek best value for money for the taxpayer.

Prisons: Employment

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many hours per week of purposeful activity was undertaken by offenders in each security category in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14. [200830]

Jeremy Wright: The information requested is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Work in prisons is a key priority to ensure prisoners are engaged purposefully while they are in custody. It also gives them the opportunity to learn skills and a work ethic which can increase their chances of finding employment on release, a key element to reducing reoffending.

The number of prisoners working in industrial activity in public sector prisons increased from around 8,600 in 2010-11 (the first year for which figures are available) to around 9,700 in 2012-13. This delivered an increase in the total hours worked in industrial activities from 10.6 million hours to 13.1 million hours. Private sector prisons have also been supporting this agenda and have reported

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that they delivered over 1.5 million prisoner working hours in commercial and industrial workshops in 2012-13 which provided work for over 1,200 prisoners.

In addition, there are substantial number of prisoners who work on tasks such as cooking, serving meals, maintenance and cleaning as part of the prison’s day-to-day running.

Figures for public sector prisons are published in the NOMS Annual Report Management Information Addendum, available at:

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

Figures for 2013-14 will be published in July.

Our reforms to the incentives and earned privileges national policy framework came into effect in adult prisons on 1 November 2013. Prisoners will be expected to engage in purposeful activity, as well as demonstrate a commitment towards their rehabilitation, reduce their risk of reoffending, behave well and help others if they are to earn privileges.

Information on purposeful activity in each prison and category of prison was published annually in the Prison Performance Digest up until 2011-12 and can be found at the following location:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/163299/prison-performance-digest-2011-12.xls

The data were not collected at individual prisoner level and therefore it is not possible to break this historical data down by security category of prisoner.

Please note that figures are not available after 2011-12. Purposeful activity was formerly a performance indicator for prisons, but was discontinued at the start of 2012-13. The indicator was not used in the day-to-day management of prisons and NOMS had concerns over the burden on the front line of collecting the information. Indicators introduced into prison SLAs in respect of rehabilitation, resettlement and work in prisons provide a better demonstration of efforts to prepare prisoners for release and reduce reoffending.

Figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisons: Overcrowding

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what proportion of the prison population were in overcrowded accommodation on 1 April (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012, (e) 2013 and (f) 2014; [201490]

(2) what proportion of the prison population were sharing cells on 1 April (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012, (e) 2013 and (f) 2014. [201497]

Jeremy Wright: We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts and continue to modernise the prison estate so that it delivers best value for the taxpayer. This Government have a long-term strategy for managing the prison estate which will provide more adult male prison capacity than we inherited from the previous Government.

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Crowding occurs when the number of prisoners in an accommodation unit exceeds the Certified Normal Accommodation in that unit. The average rate of crowding is published annually in the NOMS annual report and accounts.

Figures for the years 2005-06 to 2013-14 are as follows:

In 2013-14, the average number of prisoners held in crowded conditions decreased to 22.9% of the total population compared to 23.3% in 2012-13. This is the lowest level since 2001-02 and has come down from a high of 25.3% in 2007-08.

While we collect the total number of prisoners held in crowded conditions we do not centrally record the overall numbers of prisoners who are accommodated in multiple-occupancy cells, be it crowded (eg two prisoners held in a cell designed for one) or not (eg two prisoners held in a cell designed for two). To identify the number of prisoners who shared a cell in each prison in England and Wales in each of the last five years would require manually going through prisoners' individuals records to identify each prisoner’s cell location in each prison in each of the last five years, which could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were in overcrowded cells on 1 April (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012, (e) 2013 and (f) 2014. [201661]

Jeremy Wright: We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts and continue to modernise the prison estate so that it delivers best value for the taxpayer. This Government have a long-term strategy for managing the prison estate which will provide more adult male prison capacity than we inherited from the previous Government.

Crowding occurs when the number of prisoners in an accommodation unit exceeds the Certified Normal Accommodation in that unit. The average rate of crowding is published annually in the NOMS annual report and accounts.

The average number of prisoners in crowded accommodation for the years 2005-06 to 2013-14 is set out in the following table, alongside the average percentage in crowded accommodation in order to provide context.

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In 2013-14, the average number of prisoners held in crowded conditions decreased to 22.9% of the total population compared to 23.3% in 2012-13. This is the lowest level since 2001-02 and has come down from a high of 25.3% in 2007-08.

Prisons: Staff

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the per capita spending on prison officers was in England and Wales in each of the last five years. [201042]

Jeremy Wright: Information on the average total salary cost, including national insurance and pension contributions, of a prison officer as at 31 March each year since 2010, is contained in the following table:

The pay costs shown are for band 3 prison officers and their equivalents and include basic salary and local pay allowance where applicable.

Suicide

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many self-inflicted deaths there have been in each month since January 2014; [201655]

(2) how many deaths in custody there have been in each month since January 2014. [201656]

Jeremy Wright: The number of deaths in custody for the requested period is not yet available. The number of deaths in prison custody for the first quarter of 2014 will be published on 31 July 2014.

The latest information on deaths in prison custody can be found in the Safety in Custody Statistics bulletin which can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics

Transport

A14

Mr Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motor vehicle accidents occurred on the A14 in each of the last 12 months. [201630]

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Mr Goodwill: The numbers of reported personal injury motor vehicle accidents on the A14 for each of the 12 months in 2012 are given in the following table; by severity:

Mr Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of how many motor vehicles have used the A14 in each of the last three years. [201632]

Mr Goodwill: The Department’s estimates of vehicle flows give the average number of vehicles per mile of the A14 on an average day of the year. Figures for the last three years are in the following table.

A428

Mr Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of how many motor vehicles have used the A428 in each of the last three years. [201631]

Mr Goodwill: The Department’s estimates of vehicle flows give the average number of vehicles per mile of the A428 on an average day of the year. Figures for the last three years are shown in the following table.

Mr Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motor vehicles accidents have occurred on the A428 in each of the last 12 months. [201633]

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Mr Goodwill: The numbers of reported personal injury motor vehicle accidents on the A428 in each of the 12 months in 2012 are given in the following table; by severity.

A5: Shrewsbury

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration he has given to reclassifying the A5 from Shrewsbury to the M54 so that the M54 runs to Shrewsbury. [201198]

Mr Goodwill: Following the meeting with my hon. Friend last year, I asked the Highways Agency to look into the case for and against reclassifying the A5 between the M54 and Shrewsbury as a motorway. The Agency has indicated that work to quantify costs associated with such a reclassification is almost complete but that identifying and evaluating the resulting benefits is proving more problematic. Further assessment will be necessary before a robust cost/benefit analysis can be completed. I have asked the Agency to liaise with my hon. Friend as this matter progresses.

Large Goods Vehicles

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking with his European counterparts to encourage the reduction of fuel consumption by heavy-duty vehicles across the EU. [201318]

Mr Goodwill: We are committed to reducing the fuel consumption of heavy duty vehicles. We continue to work closely with both the UK industry and our European counterparts to ensure that the recently published EU strategy for improving heavy duty vehicle fuel consumption and reducing CO2 emissions reflects UK interests, and is ambitious but deliverable, proportionate and cost-effective.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were prosecuted for failure to pay vehicle excise duty in (a) Dartford constituency and (b) England and Wales in each of the last five years. [201323]

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Stephen Hammond: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency does not hold this data broken down by parliamentary constituency. Figures are not held specifically for England and Wales. The following table shows the total amount of prosecutions for the offence of keeping or using an unlicensed vehicle in England, Scotland and Wales in each of the last five years.

The DVLA operates a comprehensive package of measures to tackle vehicle excise duty evasion. These range from reminder letters and penalties through to court prosecutions and the wheelclamping and/or removal of unlicensed vehicles. These measures have helped to improve compliance and the latest estimates show that vehicle excise duty evasion is at a historic low of just 0.6%.

Speed Limits: Cameras

Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many average speed cameras are operating in each region and constituent part of the UK. [201417]

Mr Goodwill: In England, the Highways Agency has the following six average speed camera systems on its network:

M3 (Junction 2) (South East Region)

M3 (from the M25) (South East Region)

M25 (J12) (South East Region)

A14 (East of England)

A38 Saltash Tunnel (South West Region)

A3 Hindhead Tunnel (South East Region)

Average speed cameras are also used in road works as a temporary measure.

The Department for Transport does not hold this information for cameras on local authority roads. Local authorities have statutory duties related to road safety and decisions about whether they operate speed cameras are a matter for them.

This is a devolved matter so the Department does not hold information on average speed cameras in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what statistics his Department has collected on the use of average speed cameras and their effectiveness in reducing (a) accidents and (b) fatal accidents. [201418]

Mr Goodwill: The Department for Transport does not collect statistics on the use of average speed cameras on local roads.

The most recent evaluation of the effectiveness of safety cameras was carried out in the four-year evaluation report of the National Safety Camera Programme, published in 2005. This evaluation did not, however, specifically address average speed reduction cameras.

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In England, since the National Safety Camera Programme ceased in 2007, evaluation of safety cameras on local roads has been for the individual safety camera partnerships, local authorities and police forces which operate the cameras.

The Highways Agency produces Post Opening Project Evaluation (POPE) reports for average speed camera systems on the Highways Agency network in England.

Valuation of Life and Health Interdepartmental Group

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department’s submission to the Inter-departmental Group for the Valuation of Life and Health review and evidence submitted to the series of interviews with his Department’s staff conducted by researchers from the university of Leeds published in 2008. [201407]

Stephen Hammond: I can inform my right hon. Friend that the documents have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

International Development

South Asia

Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding her Department allocated to the Conflict Pool for South Asia in each of the last three years. [201189]

Mr Duncan: The Conflict Pool is funded from an HM Treasury settlement which is separate from and additional to departmental budgets. Details of Conflict Pool allocations are provided to Parliament annually in a written ministerial statement. The statements for financial years 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 are available on the parliament.uk website.

A statement giving details of Conflict Pool allocations for FY 2014-15 will be laid before the House shortly.

Defence

Afghanistan

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to work with his international counterparts on ensuring that the Afghanistan Government continue to maintain security in sparsely populated areas of that country following the withdrawal of international troops. [201319]

Mr Francois: The international security assistance force’s (ISAF) combat mission will end this year and the Afghan national security force (ANSF) will assume full responsibility for security across Afghanistan. The UK and our international partners have committed to providing long-term support to the Afghan Government, including continued development of the ANSF, as part of the follow-on resolute support mission. This is subject to the necessary legal permissions being in place before the end of this year. The UK is also contributing an additional £70 million per year until 2017 towards ANSF sustainment.

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Air Force: Training

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the results were of the recent interoperability training between RAF 41 (reserve) Test and Evaluation Squadron training with Swedish Air Force and their JAS39C Gripen aircraft. [201351]

Mr Francois: The visiting Swedish aircraft were from the Swedish Air Combat Training School. This visit enabled both parties to conduct tactical development of our respective operational test and evaluation processes. It also provided a valuable opportunity to exchange experiences in this area.

Armed Forces: Cadets

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what criteria he will use in deciding in which schools to establish a new Combined Cadet Force detachment; [201019]

(2) what estimate he has made of the annual cost in each school of setting up a new Combined Cadet Force detachment; [201016]

(3) what assessment he has made of the effect of establishing new Combined Cadet Force detachments in state schools on recruitment to existing community-based cadet forces. [201020]

Anna Soubry: The cost of setting up a new Combined Cadet Force (CCF) unit under the Cadet Expansion Programme depends largely on the number of cadets in the unit.

Decisions on opening new CCFs in schools are made jointly by the Department for Education and Ministry of Defence (MOD). The key criteria for deciding which schools can establish a new CCF are the ability of the school to fund the new unit and provide sufficient adult volunteers to run it. However, we are particularly interested in establishing CCFs in areas of deprivation.

No assessment has been made of the effect of establishing new CCFs in state schools on recruitment to community cadet units. However, it should be noted that CCFs and community cadet units deliver different but complementary elements of the MOD’s youth engagement strategy.

Mr Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what recent discussions he has had with the Combined Cadet Force Association (CCFA) about the funding of school CCFs; [201086]

(2) what plans he has to change the funding support for Combined Cadet Forces; [201087]

(3) what plans he has for further funding of Combined Cadet Forces; and if he will make a statement. [201088]

Anna Soubry: We have set a target of expanding the number of Combined Cadet Forces (CCFs) in state schools.

We are moving towards a model for all CCFs which will involve schools making a small contribution towards the running costs of their units, irrespective of which sector the school is in. We are working with schools to establish the best way forward and our current plan is that funding changes will happen in a phased manner over a four-year period from September 2015.

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The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has not had discussions with the Combined Cadet Force Association (CCFA), although officials are in regular contact. The CCFA is represented on relevant Government cadet committees, and has been briefed on the planned changes.

Armed Forces: Crimes of Violence

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cases of (a) rape, (b) sexual assault and (c) domestic violence were (i) reported to the Royal Military Police, (ii) referred by the Royal Military Police to prosecutors and (iii) directed for trial in each year since 2009. [201069]

Anna Soubry: The tables show the number of cases of rape and sexual assault reported to the Royal Military Police, which of those were referred by the Royal Military Police to prosecutors and which were directed for trial since 2009.

These represent any case worldwide where the Royal Military Police has jurisdiction. Decisions to direct cases for trial are taken by the independent Service Prosecuting Authority.

The figures have been rounded to the nearest five. The specific figure has not been disclosed to ensure that the alleged victim(s) cannot be identified. This is in line with the Sexual Offences (Amendments) Act 1976 and 1992.

Because of the way domestic violence statistics are recorded it is taking some time to collate the information. I will write to the hon. Member with an answer shortly.

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Army Reserve

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what planning data was used to devise his Department's recruitment target for the Army Reserve as part of its Army 2020 reforms. [200586]

Anna Soubry: The term “recruitment target” has been interpreted as the 30,000 trained Army Reservists required under Army 2020.

During the three-month exercise, the Ministry of Defence examined a range of force structure options which were assessed as being able to deliver the policy demand specified by the new defence planning assumptions laid out in strategic defence and security review 2010. As a result of this, a Senior Military Judgment Panel chaired by the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff and including the Assistant Chiefs of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force concluded that the size of the Regular Army should be 82,500, and the Independent Commission to Review the United Kingdom's Reserve Forces recommended an Army Reserve of 30,000 trained personnel. This was judged to be the optimal size and shape of the Army within available resources.

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Army Reserve returned injured from operations in the last 10 years. [201503]

Anna Soubry: 239 Army Reserve personnel have returned injured from operations between 1 April 2007, when records began, and 30 April 2014.

Army: Length of Service

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 363W, on army: length of service, if he will provide the full calculations used to produce that Answer. [201309]

Anna Soubry: The table included in my answer of 16 June 2014 included a column headed ‘Average Strength’. This was incorrectly labelled and should have been headed ‘Underlying Outflow’.

The tables from my answers of 3 April 2014, Official Report, column 809W, and 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 363W, are reproduced as follows with the correct headings and to provide clarity.

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An individual's length of service and enlistment age have been calculated using the current entry date recorded on the Joint Personnel Administration system. There can be small anomalies in the data where personnel have transferred to the Army from another service, served under an alternative assignment type (eg reserve forces), are re-entrants or have transferred from officers to other ranks.

The average career length is a simple calculation based on dividing the total length of service of all those personnel who have left the Army by Corps between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2013 by the total number of personnel leaving each Corps during the same period.

Army: Recruitment

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department’s contract with Capita in relation to the Army Recruitment Partnering project. [201968]

Anna Soubry: Since January 2011, as part of the Transparency Agenda, central Government Departments have been required to publish information about contracts they award on Contracts Finder. A copy of the Ministry of Defence contract with Capita for the Army Recruitment Partnering project can be found at:

Recruiting Partnering Contract, part 1:

https://online.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/Common/View%20Notice.aspx?site=1000&lang=en&noticeid=473310&fs=true

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Part 2:

https://online.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/Common/View%20Notice.aspx?site=1000&lang=en&noticeid=473847&fs=true

D-day Landings: Anniversaries

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to hold further D-day commemorations. [200628]

Anna Soubry: Following the very successful commemorations to mark this year’s 70th anniversary of D-day, we will be discussing with the Normandy Veterans Association how we might approach future commemorations once the association disbands later this year. We are sure that veterans will continue to return annually as long as they are able and that particular plans will again be made as the 75th anniversary, another significant milestone, approaches.

European Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the technical fault was with Typhoon aircraft T3 ZJ815 which forced it to land in Lajes Field; whether this fault has been rectified; and whether this aircraft has since returned to the UK. [201350]

Mr Francois: Typhoon ZJ815 was on a pre-planned stop at Lajes Field on its return journey to the UK from exercise in the USA. A fault with the Inertial Measuring Unit on Typhoon ZJ815 was identified during routine pre-departure checks at Lajes Field. The fault was repaired in situ and the aircraft returned to the UK.

France

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the final investment approval for Project Teutates. [200913]

Mr Dunne: I am unable to place a copy of the business case that sought investment approval for Project Teutates in the Library as the document contains classified information.

Military Decorations

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will add a category of name of medal requested to the Certificate of Kinship Request for the Medals of a Deceased Ex-Serviceman/woman form. [201090]

Anna Soubry: The existing combined medal application and next of kin form contains a box where the applicant can specify which medal they are applying for.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on redundancy payments for special advisers since May 2010. [200475]

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster

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General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 19 June 2014,

Official Report,

column 678W.

Nuclear Weapons

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reports covering the factors surrounding the use of nuclear weapons have been (a) prepared and (b) commissioned by his Department. [201426]

Mr Dunne: The UK has made it clear that the circumstances in which any employment of nuclear weapons might be contemplated are very remote. We would employ nuclear weapons only in extreme circumstances of self-defence and in accordance with our obligations under international law. The UK uses nuclear weapons as a deterrent every single day as demonstrated by the Continuous At Sea Deterrence. The most recent major Government reports that explore these issues are the 2006 White Paper “The Future of the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Deterrent”; the 2010 SDSR and the 2013 Trident Alternatives Review, all of which are in the public domain.

South Asia

Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding his Department allocated to the Conflict Pool for South Asia in each of the last three years. [201193]

Mr Francois: The Conflict Pool is funded from a Treasury settlement which is separate from and additional to departmental budgets and is administered jointly by the Ministry of Defence, the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for conflict prevention and mitigation work. Details of Conflict Pool allocations are provided to Parliament annually in a written ministerial statement. Statements for financial years (FY) 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 are as follows:

5 April 2011, Official Report, columns 57-59WS.

19 November 2012, Official Report, columns 19-22WS.

13 June 2013, Official Report, columns 14-15WS.

A Statement giving details of Conflict Pool allocations for FY 2014-15 will be released to the House shortly.

Type 26 Frigates

Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the key stages of decision-making are in the procurement process of the Type 26 global combat ship. [201542]

Mr Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 March 2014, Official Report, column 504W.

Ukraine

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many ships from the Royal Navy were present in the recent joint manoeuvres with the Ukrainian navy. [201028]

Mr Francois: None.

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Veterans: Mental Health Services

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to improve care for veterans suffering with psychological injuries after their service. [200935]

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 May 2014, Official Report, column 277W, to the hon. Member for Portsmouth South (Mr Hancock). In addition to the initiatives outlined in that answer, I would also note that the mental health of our personnel and veterans is a top priority for the Government and that is why we have committed £7.2 million to ensure there is extensive mental health support in place for those who need it.

Education

Billing

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many creditors had remained unpaid by his Department on 1 June 2014 for (a) 45, (b) 60, (c) 75 and (d) 76 days and over. [201611]

Matthew Hancock: The information requested is not collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In common with other Government Departments, the annual report and accounts for the Department for Education, which are available in the Libraries of both Houses, contain information on supplier payment performance.

Teachers: Veterans

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the success of his Troops to Teachers initiative. [201636]

Mr Laws: The Troops to Teachers undergraduate programme is a new programme, which started in January 2014. Trainees in the first cohort are in their second term of school-based training so whilst feedback from host schools is positive, it is too soon to fully evaluate the success of the programme.

Cabinet Office

Government Procurement: SMEs

11. Mr Bain: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent steps he has taken to address barriers to small and medium-sized enterprises participating in Government procurement. [904464]

Mr Hurd: This Government have transformed central Government procurement to make it more accessible to small and medium-sized businesses. We are in the process of implementing Lord Young’s recommendations to create an SME-friendly ‘single market’ in wider public procurement, and we will go even further through reforms in the forthcoming Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill.

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Public Sector Mutuals

12. James Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress his Department has made on supporting public sector mutuals. [904465]

Mr Maude: The number of public service mutuals has increased from nine in 2010 to nearly 100 today, operating in sectors ranging from youth services to social care. My Department's Mutuals Support Programme continues to provide professional support and training to live and developing mutuals, supporting over 65 to date.

Social Enterprises

14. Peter Aldous: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress his Department has made on supporting social enterprises. [904467]

Mr Hurd: This Government are doing a great deal to support the growth of social enterprises. We are improving their access to finance through social investment. We are making it easier for them to deliver public services through the Social Value Act and a wide range of capacity building support.

Billing

Nick de Bois: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many creditors had remained unpaid by his Department on 1 June 2014 for (a) 45, (b) 60, (c) 75 and (d) 76 days and over. [201612]

Mr Maude: During the 2013-14 financial year my Department paid 98.7% of invoices within 30 days.

On 31 May 2014, the following creditors were unpaid by the Cabinet Office-all were in dispute:

Brain: Tumours

Rebecca Harris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many patients in the UK were diagnosed with secondary brain tumours in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012 and (f) 2013; [201899]

(2) how many patients in the UK were diagnosed with low grade brain tumours in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012 and (f) 2013; [201897]

(3) how many patients in the UK were diagnosed with high grade brain tumours in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012 and (f) 2013. [201898]

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, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking:

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How many patients in the UK were diagnosed with secondary brain tumours in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012 and (f) 2013. [201899]

How many patients in the UK were diagnosed with high grade brain tumours in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012 and (f) 2013. [201898]

How many patients in the UK were diagnosed with low grade brain tumours in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012 and (f) 2013. [201897]

Detailed information about secondary cancer diagnoses and grade of primary cancer at diagnosis are not routinely recorded on individual cancer registrations sent to ONS for processing and publishing as National Statistics. For these reasons it is not possible to provide figures on secondary brain cancer incidence or primary brain cancer incidence by grade.

The most recent cancer incidence figures available are for cases diagnosed in 2012. Table 1 provides the number of newly diagnosed cases of brain cancer in men and women resident in England, for the years 2008 to 2012.

ONS publishes cancer incidence data for England. The latest published figures on cancer incidence for the UK constituent countries are available from the following websites:

England:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/cancer-statistics-registrations--england--series-mb1-/index.html

Wales:

http://www.wcisu.wales.nhs.uk/home

Scotland:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Cancer-Statistics/

Northern Ireland:

http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/CancerData/OnlineStatistics/

Muslim Brotherhood

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when the review of the Muslim Brotherhood led by Sir John Jenkins will be published. [201852]

Mr Maude: The findings of the review will be published once they have been considered by the Government.

Telephone Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each such number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at BT local rates are available in each such case. [201604]

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Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office does not operate or sponsor telephone lines with the prefix 0843, 0844 or 0845.

Deputy Prime Minister

Sovereignty: Scotland

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether his Department had discussions with the Welsh Government regarding the use of public funds by the Cabinet Office to produce and send an anti-Scottish Independence pamphlet to every house in Scotland. [201175]

Greg Clark: There are regular discussions between UK Government and Welsh Government Ministers on matters of mutual interest.

Business, Innovation and Skills

Companies: Ownership

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the proposed beneficial ownership registry identifies the real controlling parties of all companies listed. [201303]

Jenny Willott: The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill will make provision for the implementation of a central registry of company beneficial ownership information. The legislation will set out the obligations and sanctions that will apply to companies and others to ensure that the central registry contains information on the ultimate owners and controllers of UK companies.

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when the public register of beneficial ownership will be introduced. [201559]

Jenny Willott: The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill will make provision for the implementation of a central registry of company beneficial ownership information. We will implement the registry through secondary legislation as soon as practicable following Royal Assent of the Bill, which is subject to the will of Parliament.

Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the budget for the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate is for 2014-15. [201394]

Jenny Willott: The budget for the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate is no longer devolved below branch level in the Labour Markets Directorate, and we are therefore unable to provide this information.

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Higher Education: Dartford

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students at schools in Dartford applied for higher education places in each of the last five years. [201222]

Mr Willetts: Information on the number of UCAS applicants from Dartford constituency is shown in the following table:

Minimum Wage

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many complaints about payment of the National Minimum Wage (a) were made, (b) were resolved within the required departmental time scales and (c) were not resolved within the required departmental time scales in 2013-14; [201382]

(2) what the target time scale is for resolving complaints regarding non-payment of the National Minimum Wage. [201383]

Jenny Willott: The Government are committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) enforces the national minimum wage (NMW) on behalf of BIS.

HMRC investigates every complaint made to the Pay and Work Rights helpline and deals with each NMW complaint on a case-by-case basis. The time scale for each case is dependent on a number of factors:

the complexity of the issues;

the size of employer;

the co-operation of the employer; and

the enforcement route required.

In 2013/14, HMRC investigated 1,631 cases. Of these, 1,084 cases were closed; 565 cases were closed within 120 days; 519 cases were closed outside of 120 days; and 547 cases are still open and yet to be concluded.

Please note that investigations may not commence and be completed in the same financial year.

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much the Government spent on national minimum wage enforcement in 2013-14. [201395]

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Jenny Willott: Final figures for the Government spend on national minimum wage enforcement during 2013/14 are not yet available.

Telephone Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at BT local rates are available in each case. [201603]

Jenny Willott: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) currently operates the following 0845 numbers:

0845 015 0010 BIS Publications Order line;

0845 015 0020 BIS Publications Order line (Fax);

0845 015 0030 BIS Publications Order line (Minicom); and

0845 600 9006 Business Link Helpline.

BIS does not operate any 0843 or 0844 numbers. No records are available showing the number of calls made to these lines in the last 12 months. Alternative numbers charged at the local rate are available on all of these lines.

Communities and Local Government

Combined Authorities: Tees Valley

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions his Department has had with local authorities in the Tees Valley on the creation of a combined authority. [201293]

Brandon Lewis: On 16 June 2014 the Government signed a City Deal with the Tees Valley in which the local leaders committed to develop plans to strengthen governance, including progressing the idea of a combined authority for the area.

It is for the local areas themselves to decide, given their circumstances, what governance arrangements will best enable effective and collaborative decision taking, which is transparent and locally accountable, thus delivering successfully the implementation of the area’s Strategic Economic Plan. Where councils come forward with a proposal for a combined authority that commands wide local support, if the Secretary of State considers that the statutory conditions are met, he will invite Parliament to approve an Order which enables the combined authority to be established.

Fire Services: Pensions

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to hold a further formal public consultation on firefighters' pensions. [201654]

Brandon Lewis: Paragraph 3.3 of the current consultation states that the Department will hold further consultations during 2014 on the governance and transitional arrangements for the firefighter pension reforms.

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The current consultation document, which closes on 4 July, can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-the-regulations-to-introduce-a-new-firefighters-pension-scheme-from-april-2015

and copies have been placed in the Library of the House.

Energy and Climate Change

Energy

Dr Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether independent generators who sign a conditional power purchase agreement ahead of competing in a Contract for Difference auction will be able to participate in a later short-term power purchase market that the offtaker of last resort arrangements seek to support. [201411]

Michael Fallon: We anticipate that some generators will seek to establish the terms of any PPA and financing arrangements before they participate in the CfD allocation round, in order to understand better their likely costs. Agreements between generators and PPA providers could take a number of different forms, from indicative terms to a signed contract. The decision to sign a conditional PPA ahead of the auction, and the duration of any agreement, are ultimately commercial matters.

We anticipate that the Offtaker of Last Resort (OLR) will encourage competition in the PPA market both at

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the outset of the CfD and once any initial PPA has expired. Generators agreeing to a conditional PPA would be able to participate in the later short-term PPA market, once their initial PPA had expired; backed by the protections afforded by the OLR.

Dr Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he expects independent low carbon generators to have secured conditional power purchase agreements prior to bidding in the contract for difference auction in October 2014. [201533]

Michael Fallon: We anticipate that some generators will seek to establish the terms of any PPA and financing arrangements before they participate in the CfD allocation round, in order to understand better their likely costs. Such conditional PPAs could take a number of forms, from indicative terms to a signed contract.

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of his Department's consumption of (a) gas and (b) electricity in KWH in each month since June 2010. [201634]

Gregory Barker: DECC’s monthly consumption of gas and electricity since June 2010 can be viewed in the following tables. The information provided covers those buildings occupied by the core DECC Department where we are directly billed or have estimates.