Prisoners: Deaths

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people died in (a) on adult and (b) youth custody in each year since 2010; what their age was at the time of death; whether each such person was on (A) remand and (B) serving a custodial sentence of what length; which offence each such person was convicted; what the offence they were convicted of; and what the cause of death was in each case. [202765]

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice is committed to open and transparent reporting of data relating to deaths in custody, self-harm and assaults. It remains a priority to reduce the number of deaths and violence in custody. Prisons take the responsibility of keeping prisoners, staff and visitors safe extremely seriously.

Strenuous efforts are made to learn from each death and improve our understanding and procedures for caring for prisoners. Each death is subject to a thorough investigation by the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, in addition to a Coroner's inquest.

Central deaths in custody records do not specifically include information on those who die in ‘adult’ or ‘youth’ custody. Where a site is shared between a Young Offender Institute and an adult prison, records are not held to identify in which part of the site the deceased was detained. However, information based on the offenders’ ages at the time of death has been provided.

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The National Offender Management Service makes a provisional classification of death based on apparent cause and records may change following inquest.

A range of statistics on deaths in prison custody is published annually in the Safety in Custody statistical bulletin supplementary tables on deaths with updates on the number of deaths of prison custody published quarterly. This bulletin is published at

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

The overall numbers of deaths in prison custody by age group are shown in table 1.

The numbers of these deaths that were (a) on remand and (b) sentence length, the offence and cause of death have been placed in the Library in the House. There were 74 self-inflicted deaths in custody in 2013, compared to 96 in 2004.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many foreign national prisoners were repatriated to their home countries to serve their custodial sentence in each year since 2010; [202766]

(2) how many foreign national prisoners were repatriated under foreign prisoner transfer agreements to their home countries to serve their custodial sentence in each year since 2010. [202767]

Jeremy Wright: The following table sets out the number of prisoners who have transferred from a prison in England and Wales to a prison in their state of nationality since 1 January 2009.

The list includes one foreign national prisoner who was returned to a British Overseas Territory in 2011 under the Colonial Prisoners Removal Act 1884.

We remain determined to secure compulsory Prisoner Transfer Agreements wherever possible, in order to increase the number of foreign national prisoners who are able to transfer to prisons in their home countries. In January this year we signed a compulsory transfer agreement with Nigeria and last year we signed an agreement with Albania. We expect to see prisoner transfers to both these countries before the end of this year.

We are also working hard to increase the number of foreign nationals who are removed from prison under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) and the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS). In 2013, we removed nearly

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2,000 FNOs under ERS and under TERS, which we introduced in May 2012, we have removed 256 prisoners to date.

The numbers reported here are drawn from a Prison Service Case Tracking System. Care is taken when processing these cases but the figures may be subject to inaccuracies associated with any recording system.

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

Prisons

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many hours per week prisoners in HM Prison Stocken spent (a) in cells and (b) working in each of the last three years; what proportion of such prisoners were classed as unemployed on the last date for which figures are available; and what the average number of hours per week spent working by prisoners in that prison was in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14; [202580]

(2) how many hours per week prisoners in HM Stoke Heath spent (a) in cells and (b) working in each of the last three years; what proportion of such prisoners were classed as unemployed on the last date for which figures are available; and what the average number of hours per week spent working by prisoners in that prison was in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14; [202581]

(3) how many hours per week prisoners in HM Prison Swaleside spent (a) in cells and (b) working in each of the last three years; what proportion of such prisoners were classed as unemployed on the last date for which figures are available; and what the average number of hours per week spent working by prisoners in that prison was in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14; [202583]

(4) how many hours per week prisoners in HM Prison Sudbury spent (a) in cells and (b) working in each of the last three years; what proportion of such prisoners were classed as unemployed on the last date for which figures are available; and what the average number of hours per week spent working by prisoners in that prison was in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14. [202584]

Jeremy Wright: Up until the end of 2011-12 information was collected on the average hours per weekday that prisoners were unlocked. By subtracting the average hours unlocked from the 24-hours in a day it is possible to estimate hours spent locked in cell. Figures for each prison establishment for the three years from 2009-10 to 2011-12 have been placed in the Library of the House.

It should be noted that time in cell includes hours when prisoners are asleep. Time unlocked includes time where a prisoner is either out of their cell or where the cell door is unlocked allowing them to move freely in and out of the cell.

Time unlocked was discontinued as a performance indicator for prisons at the end of 2011-12 because it was not used in the day-to-day management of prisons and NOMS had concerns over the burden on the frontline of collecting the data. Indicators introduced into prison

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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. Figures for time in cell for the years 2012-13 and 2013-14 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Work in prisons is a key priority to ensure prisoners are engaged purposefully whilst 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 across 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 that they delivered over 1½ 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 numbers of prisoners who work to keep prisons running on tasks such as cooking, serving meals, maintenance and cleaning.

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

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

The establishment-level breakdown of weekly hours worked is not available centrally for 2011-12 and 2012-13 and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Information on the proportion of prisoners classed as unemployed is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

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.

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many hours per week prisoners in HM Prison Sutton Park spent (a) in cells and (b) working in each of the last three years; what proportion of such prisoners were classed as unemployed on the latest date for which figures are available; and what the average number of hours per week spent working by prisoners was in that prison in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14; [202626]

(2) how many hours per week prisoners in HM Prison Eastwood Park spent (a) in cells and (b) working in each of the last three years; what proportion of such prisoners were classed as unemployed on the latest date for which figures are available; and what the average number of hours per week spent working by prisoners was in that prison in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14. [202627]

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Simon Hughes: Up until the end of 2011-12, information was collected on the average hours during each weekday when prisoners cells were unlocked. By subtracting the average hours unlocked from the 24 hours in a day, it is possible to estimate hours spent locked in cell.

Figures for each prison establishment for the three years from 2009-10 to 2011-12 have been placed in the Library of the House. 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.

It should be noted that time in cell includes hours when prisoners are asleep. Time unlocked includes time where a prisoner is either out of their cell or where the cell door is unlocked allowing them to move freely in and out of the cell.

Time unlocked was discontinued as a performance indicator for prisons at the end of 2011-12 because it was not used in the day to day management of prisons and NOMS had concerns over the burden on the frontline of collecting the data. Figures for time in cell for the years 2012-13 and 2013-14 could therefore be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Indicators introduced into prison service learning agreements in respect of rehabilitation, resettlement and work in prisons provide a better demonstration of efforts to prepare prisoners for release and reduce reoffending.

Work in prisons is a key priority to make sure that 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, which is a key element to reducing reoffending.

The number of prisoners working in industrial activity across 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 in 2012-13, which is the first year when they were required to supply figures, private sector prisons reported that they delivered over 1.5 million prisoner working hours in commercial and industrial workshops which provided work for over 1,200 prisoners. In addition there are substantial numbers of prisoners who work to keep prisons running by performing tasks such as cooking, serving meals, maintenance and cleaning.

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

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

The establishment-level breakdown of weekly hours worked is not available centrally for 2011-12 and 2012-13 and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Information on the proportion of prisoners classed as unemployed is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

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

1 July 2014 : Column 571W

a commitment towards their rehabilitation, reduce their risk of reoffending, behave well and help others if they are to earn privileges.

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many hours per week prisoners in HM Prison Littlehey spent (a) in cells and (b) working in each of the last three years; what proportion of such prisoners were classed as unemployed on the latest date for which figures are available; and what the average number of hours per week spent working was by prisoners in that prison in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14; [202770]

(2) how many hours per week prisoners in HM Prison Lindholme spent (a) in cells and (b) working in each of the last three years; what proportion of such prisoners were classed as unemployed on the latest date for which figures are available; and what the average number of hours per week spent working was by prisoners in that prison in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14; [202771]

(3) how many hours per week prisoners in HM Prison Lincoln spent (a) in cells and (b) working in each of the last three years; what proportion of such prisoners were classed as unemployed on the last date for which figures are available; and the average number of hours per week spent working was by prisoners in that prison in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14; [202772]

(4) how many hours per week prisoners in HM Prison Long Lartin spent (a) in cells and (b) working in each of the last three years; what proportion of such prisoners were classed as unemployed on the latest date for which figures are available; and what the average number of hours per week spent working was by prisoners in that prison in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14. [202773]

Jeremy Wright: Up until the end of 2011-12 information was collected on the average hours per weekday that prisoners were unlocked. By subtracting the average hours unlocked from the 24-hours in a day it is possible to estimate hours spent locked in cell. Figures for each prison establishment for the three years from 2009-10 to 2011-12 have been placed in the Library of the House.

It should be noted that time in cell includes hours when prisoners are asleep. Time unlocked includes time where a prisoner is either out of their cell or where the cell door is unlocked allowing them to move freely in and out of the cell.

Time unlocked was discontinued as a performance indicator for prisons at the end of 2011-12 because it was not used in the day-to-day management of prisons and NOMS had concerns over the burden on the frontline of collecting the data. 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. Figures for time in cell for the years 2012-13 and 2013-14 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Work in prisons is a key priority to ensure prisoners are engaged purposefully whilst they are in custody. It

1 July 2014 : Column 572W

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 across 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 that they delivered over 1½ 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 numbers of prisoners who work to keep prisons running on tasks such as cooking, serving meals, maintenance and cleaning.

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

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

The establishment-level breakdown of weekly hours worked is not available centrally for 2011-12 and 2012-13 and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Information on the proportion of prisoners classed as unemployed is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

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.

Prisons: Employment

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many hours per week prisoners in HM Prison (a) Rye Hill, (b) Rochester, (c) Risley, (d) Reading, (e) Huntercombe and (f) Ranby spent in (i) cells and (ii) working in each of the last three years; and what proportion of prisoners in each such prison were classed as unemployed on the most recent date for which data are available. [201809]

Jeremy Wright: Up until the end of 2011-12 information was collected on the average hours per weekday that prisoners were unlocked. By subtracting the average hours unlocked from the 24 hours in a day it is possible to estimate hours spent locked in cell. Figures for each prison establishment for the three years from 2009-10 to 2011-12 have been placed in the Library of the House.

It should be noted that time in cell includes hours when prisoners are asleep. Time unlocked includes time where a prisoner is either out of their cell or where the cell door is unlocked allowing them to move freely in and out of the cell.

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.

Figures for time in cell for the years 2012-13 and 2013-14 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

1 July 2014 : Column 573W

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 across 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 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 numbers of prisoners who work to keep prisons running on tasks such as cooking, serving meals, maintenance and cleaning.

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

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

The establishment-level breakdown of weekly hours worked is not available centrally for 2011-12 and 2012-13 and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Information on hours worked during 2013-14 is scheduled for publication on 31 July.

Information on the proportion of prisoners classed as unemployed is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

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.

Simon Danczuk: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many hours per week prisoners in HM Prison (a) Albany, (b) Ashfield, (c) Ashwell, (d) Askham Grange and (e) Buckley Hall spent in (i) cells and (ii) working in each of the last three years; and what proportion of prisoners in each such prison were classed as unemployed on the most recent date for which data are available. [201810]

Jeremy Wright: Up until the end of 2011-12 information was collected on the average hours per weekday that prisoners were unlocked. By subtracting the average hours unlocked from the 24 hours in a day it is possible to estimate hours spent locked in cell. Figures for each prison establishment for the three years from 2009-10 to 2011-12 have been placed in the Library of the House.

It should be noted that time in cell includes hours when prisoners are asleep. Time unlocked includes time where a prisoner is either out of their cell or where the cell door is unlocked allowing them to move freely in and out of the cell.

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.

1 July 2014 : Column 574W

Figures for time in cell for the years 2012-13 and 2013-14 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 across 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 that they delivered over 1½ 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 numbers of prisoners who work to keep prisons running on tasks such as cooking, serving meals, maintenance and cleaning.

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

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

The establishment-level breakdown of weekly hours worked is not available centrally for 2011-12 and 2012-13 and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Information on hours worked during 2013-14 is scheduled for publication on 31 July 2014.

Information on the proportion of prisoners classed as unemployed is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

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.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many hours per week prisoners in HM Prison (a) Wymott, (b) Kirklevington and (c) Holme House spent (i) in cells and (ii) working in each of the last three years; and what proportion of prisoners in each such prison were classed as unemployed on the most recent date for which data are available. [201845]

Jeremy Wright: Up until the end of 2011-12 information was collected on the average hours per weekday that prisoners were unlocked. By subtracting the average hours unlocked from the 24 hours in a day it is possible to estimate hours spent locked in cell. Figures for each prison establishment for the three years from 2009-10 to 2011-12 have been placed in the Library of the House.

It should be noted that time in cell includes hours when prisoners are asleep. Time unlocked includes time where a prisoner is either out of their cell or where the cell door is unlocked allowing them to move freely in and out of the cell.

1 July 2014 : Column 575W

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.

Figures for time in cell for the years 2012-13 and 2013-14 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 across 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 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 numbers of prisoners who work to keep prisons running on tasks such as cooking, serving meals, maintenance and cleaning.

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

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

The establishment-level breakdown of weekly hours worked is not available centrally for 2011-12 and 2012-13 and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Information on hours worked during 2013-14 is scheduled for publication on 31 July.

Information on the proportion of prisoners classed as unemployed is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

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.

Prisons: Interpreters

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on professional interpretation services by each prison in England and Wales in 2013; and on how many occasions such interpretation services were used in each prison in 2013. [201109]

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice language services contract commenced on the 31 October 2011 and went live operationally in January 2012. The new interpreting contract was introduced to tackle the inefficiencies and inconsistencies in the previous system and saved taxpayers £15 million in its first year. We have seen dramatic improvements over the life of the contract so far, with performance currently at 94% success rate,

1 July 2014 : Column 576W

record numbers of bookings are now being made and fulfilled, and we continue to drive further improvement in performance.

The number of occasions on which interpretation services were used, and the total cost of these for each prison in 2013, can be found in the following table:

1 July 2014 : Column 577W

1 July 2014 : Column 578W

The costs for the provision of language services detailed in the table provided vary dependent upon the nature of the service used, and the length of the assignment. These services may include, Face to Face interpreters including provision for the deaf and deafblind, Telephone Interpreters and Written Translations.

Reoffenders

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the reoffending rates of prisoners held in each prison was in each of the last 10 years. [202138]

Jeremy Wright: Statistics on proven reoffending for adult offenders in England and Wales released from custody, by individual prison, are published on a quarterly basis by the Ministry of Justice in the “Proven Re-offending Statistics Quarterly Bulletin”. The latest figures, covering the period July 2011 to June 2012, can be found in Tables 22a (for offenders released from custodial sentences of less than 12 months) and 22b (for offenders released from custodial sentences of 12 months or more) at the following link:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/proven-reoffending-statistics-quarterly-statistics-july-2011-to-june-2012

Note that tables 22a and 22b provide proven reoffending data for adult offenders released from custody between 2007 and the 12 months ending June 2012. Data, for this particular breakdown, are not available prior to 2007.

The Transforming Rehabilitation programme for England and Wales is changing the way offenders are managed in the community in order to bring down reoffending rates while continuing to protect the public.

Secure Colleges

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice under what criteria a decision will be made to place a child into a secure college. [202505]

Jeremy Wright: The Youth Justice Board, with proper consideration of the individual needs of young people and advice from Youth Offending Teams, currently decides the most appropriate establishment in which to place individual young people remanded or sentenced to custody. This will remain the case when there is the option of placement in a Secure College.

Styal Prison

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many hours per week prisoners in HM Prison Styal spent (a) in cells and (b) working in each of the last three years; what proportion of such prisoners were classed as unemployed on the last date for which figures are available; and what the average number of hours per week spent working by prisoners in that prison was in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14. [202582]

1 July 2014 : Column 579W

Simon Hughes: Up until the end of 2011-12, information was collected on the average hours during each weekday when prisoners cells were unlocked. By subtracting the average hours unlocked from the 24 hours in a day, it is possible to estimate hours spent locked in cell.

Figures for each prison establishment for the three years from 2009-10 to 2011-12 have been placed in the Library of the House. 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.

It should be noted that time in cell includes hours when prisoners are asleep. Time unlocked includes time where a prisoner is either out of their cell or where the cell door is unlocked allowing them to move freely in and out of the cell.

Time unlocked was discontinued as a performance indicator for prisons at the end of 2011-12 because it was not used in the day to day management of prisons and NOMS had concerns over the burden on the frontline of collecting the data. Figures for time in cell for the years 2012-13 and 2013-14 could therefore be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Indicators introduced into prison service learning agreements in respect of rehabilitation, resettlement and work in prisons provide a better demonstration of efforts to prepare prisoners for release and reduce reoffending.

Work in prisons is a key priority to make sure that 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, which is a key element to reducing reoffending.

The number of prisoners working in industrial activity across 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 in 2012-13, which is the first year when they were required to supply figures, private sector prisons reported that they delivered over 1.5 million prisoner working hours in commercial and industrial workshops which provided work for over 1,200 prisoners. In addition there are substantial numbers of prisoners who work to keep prisons running by performing tasks such as cooking, serving meals, maintenance and cleaning.

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

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

The establishment-level breakdown of weekly hours worked is not available centrally for 2011-12 and 2012-13 and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Information on the proportion of prisoners classed as unemployed is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

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

1 July 2014 : Column 580W

a commitment towards their rehabilitation, reduce their risk of reoffending, behave well and help others if they are to earn privileges.

Unpaid Fines

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans his Department has to credit check people with unpaid court fines. [202481]

Mr Vara: Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service regularly check the details of offenders who have outstanding financial impositions against a credit reference agency database as part of the standard process of enforcing financial court orders.

Victim Support Schemes

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his strategy is for supporting victims of crime. [904586]

Damian Green: The Government are committed to providing more support than ever to victims of crime, and giving them a louder voice in the criminal justice system. We have implemented a new Victims’ Code that tells people what to expect at every stage of the process. We’re aiming to spend up to £100 million-more than ever before-to support victims to cope and, where possible, recover from the effects of crime.

Witnesses: Children

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make it his policy to record the number of children summoned to give evidence in court. [202207]

Damian Green: Witnesses will only usually be summoned to give evidence as a last resort; most witnesses give evidence as a result of a request. Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service does not hold data on the number of child witnesses summoned to give evidence in court. A summons will be requested by the police, the CPS or the defence.

Treasury

Educational Testing Service

Mr Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what current contracts (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department's executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies holds with the Educational Testing Service or any of that organisation's subsidiaries. [202176]

Andrea Leadsom: Since January 2011, central Government Departments have been required to publish on Contracts Finder information on the contracts they award:

www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk

In addition, Departments publish details of spend in excess of £25,000.

HM Treasury and its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies do not hold any current contracts with the Educational Testing Service or any of that organisation's subsidiaries.

1 July 2014 : Column 581W

Employment

Andrew Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if his Department will estimate the additional receipts accruing to the Exchequer as a result of changes in levels of employment since May 2010. [202645]

Mr Gauke: The information requested is not available.

Environment Protection: Taxation

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to publish guidance for applicants for compensation for the indirect costs of the carbon price floor and begin making compensatory payments to eligible businesses. [201724]

Michael Fallon: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Guidance for applicants will be published this month and payments to eligible businesses will commence shortly thereafter.

Export Control Order 2008

Mr Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions under the Export Control Order 2008 have taken place in each year since 2008. [202494]

Mr Gauke: There has been one prosecution/conviction under the Export Control Order 2008 since 2008, however there have been a number of successful prosecutions under other export control legislation. Details of those prosecutions can be found in the annual reports on strategic export controls in the House of Commons Library. The report for the most recent complete year (2013- 2014) is due to be published in mid-July.

Lloyds Bank: TSB

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what role his Department played in the decision to separate Lloyds and TSB. [202713]

Andrea Leadsom: Lloyds Banking Group is required to divest part of its UK banking business—TSB—as a result of European Commission approval of the aid it received from the UK Government during the financial crisis.

The TSB divestment was part of a wider package of measures to ensure that the recapitalisation of Lloyds was compliant with the single market. The State aid agreement is therefore between HM Government and Lloyds, and between the Government and the European Commission.

Mapeley

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 24 June 2014, Official Report, column 197W, on Mapeley, whether HM Revenue and Customs reviewed these commercial provisions following the raising of financial concerns by Mapeley in November 2001. [202739]

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Mr Gauke: There have been no material changes to the relevant commercial provisions in the STEPS contract. A copy of the contract can be viewed on the National Archive website at:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/freedom/steps-contract.htm

Revenue and Customs

Mr Carswell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints have been made about HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [202416]

Mr Gauke: The following table shows the number of complaints received by HM Revenue and Customs (excluding the VOA) for each of the years 2009/10–2013/14. The figure for 2013/14 will be included in the HMRC annual report that is due to be published on the 3 July 2014.

Self-employed

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2014, Official Report, columns 600-601W, on the self-employed, what proportion of the working age population in each region are classed as individuals with self-employment sources. [202539]

Mr Gauke: As provided in my answer on 17 June 2014, estimates of the numbers of individuals with self- employment sources for each region of the UK in the year 2011-12 are provided in the following table.

These estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes for 2011-12 which is the latest year available.

Estimates of the UK population by country, region and age are published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Information at country level is published at the following address:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-318453

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Information for each region within England is published at the following address:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-335242

Tax Avoidance

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 23 June 2014, Official Report, column 39W, on Tax Avoidance, what recent assessment the Government have made of the prevalence of public sector organisations being engaged in tax evasion or tax avoidance. [202444]

Mr Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) resources to risk and has a continuous programme of work assuring tax compliance in the public (and private) sector. Since 2008 there has been a dedicated operational unit whose aim is to treat the public sector in the same way as HMRC treats similar customers, including taking a tough line in dealing with any avoidance or evasion.

Energy and Climate Change

Biofuels

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect of Government subsidies for the generation of biomass power using domestic wood feed stocks on the UK’s wood panel industry; and if he will make a statement. [202114]

Gregory Barker: At the request of the wood panel industry, the Department carried out an analysis of domestic wood use by biomass generating stations, both through their returns on actual use under the sustainability reporting requirements of the renewables obligation and through the forecasts large scale generators provided to the Department as part of a voluntary exercise. Generators provided information on the amount of domestic and imported woody biomass that is likely to be used for electricity generation up to 2017. We published the aggregated results of last years’ analysis at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246006/UK_wood_and_biomass.pdf

These data support the Department’s initial estimates of the amount of UK biomass that is expected to be used for electricity generation up to 2017 (of between 2.5 and 3.5 million oven dried tonnes (modt)). Use of UK biomass for electricity has remained stable over the 2009-12 period at between 2.3 and 2.5 modt (of which: between 1.3 and 1.6 modt was wood).

We intend to repeat this exercise this year.

Carbon Emissions

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect of carbon reduction targets on jobs in the wood panelling sector. [202115]

Gregory Barker: The Government are committed to ensuring that industrial sectors maintain their competitiveness during the transition to a low-carbon economy, and continue to invest and provide employment

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in the UK. We have recognised the additional costs that climate and energy policies can place on energy-intensive industries, including the wood panelling sector, and announced a range of new measures in Budget 2014 to radically reduce these costs, in addition to the compensation measures already in place.

Energy: Prices

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he has to make changes to mandatory green energy charges on consumer bills; and if he will make a statement. [202576]

Michael Fallon: We have recently consulted on proposed changes to the energy company obligation and expect to announce our response shortly. These proposed changes form part of the package of measures announced in December last year that has led to reductions this year of around £50 on the average household bill. We have no plans to make further changes.

Fracking

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to ensure that the distribution of shale gas community benefit funds go to those households closest to potential drilling sites. [202368]

Michael Fallon: We have welcomed a package of community benefits that was put forward by industry. It is encouraging that industry will offer £100,000 per fractured well site during exploration, so communities can benefit early, as well as 1% of revenues at production.

The UK Onshore Operators Group has provided more information about the community benefits scheme and will be partnering with the UK Communities Foundation for two pilot schemes during the exploration stage. The UK Communities Foundation will work with local residents to use the funding according to their needs and priorities. UKOOG also announced further consultation on payments at production stage.

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change to which locations pending applications for hydraulic fracturing relate. [202657]

Michael Fallon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 30 June 2014, Official Report, column 426W:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm140630/text/140630w0004.htm#1407011000033

Fuels

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what strategic level his Department has agreed with industry for the amount of motor gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel products required to meet the compulsory stock obligations. [202803]

Michael Fallon: EU member states are required under EU Directive 2009/119/EC to hold oil stocks at the higher of 90 days of average net daily imports or 61 days of average daily inland consumption in order to mitigate a substantial supply disruption. At present, the

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UK is obligated at 61 days of average daily inland consumption. The UK meets this obligation by directing substantial suppliers of oil products to the UK market to hold stocks.

In order to meet the requirements of EU Directive, the UK requires that at least one-third of this obligation is held by industry in the form of gas/diesel oil, motor gasoline and Kerosene-type jet fuel.

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion as a percentage of the compulsory stock obligations for motor gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel products are currently being held physically on the UK mainland; and if he will make a statement. [202804]

Michael Fallon: Obligated companies in the UK are required to hold at least one-third of their obligation as finished products of petrol, diesel and jet-fuel. The remaining two-thirds of the obligation can be met with a wider range of oil products and crude oil, known as ‘Any Oil’, potentially including additional stocks of petrol, diesel and jet-fuel. Companies are able to hold stocks both in the UK and in facilities within the European Union.

In April 2014 in total companies held 104% of the obligation for finished products of petrol in the UK, while for jet fuel this was 96% and diesel 78%. The higher figure for petrol is a result of stocks of this product also being held by obligated companies in the UK toward the ‘Any Oil’ obligation.

Fuels: Prices

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the reasons for the variation in average unit retail price of petrol and diesel in Northern Ireland and in the rest of the UK; and if he will make a statement. [202442]

Michael Fallon: No formal assessment has been made of the reasons for the variation in average unit retail prices of petrol and diesel in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Retail fuel prices are determined by the demand and supply fundamentals in local areas. Prices will reflect the underlying cost of crude oil, the process to refine it and transport it so that it is available for consumption at the pump.

Variations in prices are determined by changes in supply and demand factors both for crude oil and for individual products.

On 5 September 2012, the OFT launched a call for information (CFI) to investigate claims that the UK petrol and diesel sectors are not working well. In their January 2013 report they concluded that:

“Overall, on the basis of the evidence collected, it appears that competition in the UK road fuels sector is working relatively effectively”.

Green Deal Scheme

Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average turnaround is on applications for funding under the Green Deal scheme. [202075]

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Gregory Barker: Applications made to the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund which comply with the scheme terms and conditions will typically be turned around and a voucher issued within five working days. Vouchers are redeemable once the customer has completed their installation of energy saving home improvements.

Renewable Energy: Egypt

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will discuss (a) solar energy and (b) other alternative energies with his Egyptian counterpart. [202268]

Gregory Barker: The UK Government engage with Egypt on a series of renewable technologies, including solar, through multilateral forms such as the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). We also provide some technical assistance, through the World Bank, to help Egypt diversify their energy sources.

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of domestic renewable heat incentive applications that have been received from (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland since April 2014. [202205]

Gregory Barker: Since the domestic renewable heat incentive (RHI) launched on 9 April this year, up until the end of May, Ofgem had received 2,296 applications in total from applicants in England, Wales and Scotland.

Due to the infancy of the scheme, analysis is not currently provided at country level, however, this breakdown will be presented in our next monthly renewable heat incentive and renewable heat premium payment statistics to be published on 24 July. These data will be available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/renewable-heat-incentive-renewable-heat-premium-payment-statistics

The Domestic RHI scheme is open only to those living in England, Scotland or Wales. Northern Ireland is planning to introduce its own equivalent scheme to support domestic renewable heat generation shortly.

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the number of domestic renewable heat incentive applications received since April 2014; and how many such applications have been turned down because they did not meet minimum insulation standards. [202208]

Gregory Barker: Since the domestic renewable heat incentive (RHI) scheme launched on 9 April this year, up until the end of May, Ofgem had received 2,296 applications to join the scheme.

Whether or not an application meets the minimum insulation standard is determined using information from the Energy Performance Certificate of the property. Currently, Ofgem do not record data on applicants that are not eligible for the scheme due to not meeting minimum insulation standards, as this check precedes an applicant completing a full application.

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Universal Credit

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of extending entitlement to the warm home discount to all claimants of universal credit once universal credit has been fully rolled out. [202670]

Gregory Barker: The warm home discount is funded by energy suppliers, rather than Government, with scheme spending controlled through the levy control framework. We have committed to a warm home discount spending target of £320 million in 2015-16. We will consult shortly on scheme rules for that year, including the eligibility criteria and the value of the rebate (which is set at £140 in 2014-15). We expect to see the scheme continue to support more than 2 million households per year.

The introduction of universal credit does not in itself imply any significant changes to the operation of the warm home discount. We estimate that 8 million people will be in receipt of universal credit once it has been fully rolled out to all benefit claimants. Any policy decision taken to extend entitlement to warm home discount to all universal credit recipients would need to be accompanied by a decision on the value of the rebate. Overall scheme costs would, broadly speaking, be the number of eligible households multiplied by the value of the rebate.

Warm Front Scheme: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) how many (a) single-pensioner households in York and (b) two-pensioner households in York have received Warm Front assistance in each year since the inception of that scheme; and what the average spend has been on each such household; [202846]

(2) how much his Department has spent on the Warm Front scheme in York local authority area in each year since the inception of that scheme. [202847]

Gregory Barker: The last year of the Warm Front Scheme was 2012-13. There has been no further change in the Warm Front figures for York local authority area since my answer to the hon. Member on 9 July 2013.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many children in poverty lived in a household that did not receive a Warm Home Discount in 2013-14. [201993]

Gregory Barker: Under the “broader group” schemes offered by suppliers participating within the Warm Home Discount, considerable assistance is offered to vulnerable groups such as low-income families and those with long-term illnesses and disabilities. In scheme year 3 (2013-14) all seven participating suppliers (British Gas, EDF, E.On, First Utility, N Power, Scottish Power and SSE) made broader group support open to low-income families with children aged under five years.

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We expect around 600,000 broader group rebates worth £135 to have been provided in 2013-14. However, final figures for the number of such payments will be published in Ofgem’s annual scheme report in the autumn.

Participating energy suppliers are not required to provide the Government with a breakdown of the payments made to different groups of customers. As a result, we cannot calculate how many low income families received the Warm Home Discount, nor how many did not.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department expects to consult on the future of the Warm Home Discount. [201994]

Gregory Barker: Last year, we announced a new £320 million spending commitment for the Warm Home Discount in 2014-15. We intend to consult on the future operation of the scheme in due course.

Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what comparative assessment his Department has made of the level of broadband coverage in (a) the UK and (b) other major European nations. [202112]

Mr Vaizey: Ofcom’s European Broadband Scorecard

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/other/telecoms-research/bbresearch/scorecard-14

stated in figure 8 that the percentages of households in areas served by broadband were:

Ofcom also publishes comparative information in its International Communications Market Report

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/market-data/communications-market-reports/cmr13/international/

Cinemas

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of cinemas in operation in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in each year between 1997 and 2010. [202734]

Mr Vaizey: The table shows the number of cinemas in operation in the four nations from 2002 to 2010. Please note that no data are available for the period before 2002:

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Educational Testing Service

Mr Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what current contracts (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department's executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies holds with the Educational Testing Service or any of that organisation's subsidiaries. [202166]

Mrs Grant: The Department does not hold any contracts with the Educational Testing Service or any of its subsidiaries. We do not hold information centrally on our executive agency or non-departmental public bodies.

Film

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of films made in the UK as co-productions with foreign companies in each year since 1997. [202729]

Mr Vaizey: The number of films made in the UK as co-productions with foreign companies is recorded in the BFI’s Statistical Yearbook and set out in the following table. Data are not available for the period before 2002 and do not include the numbers of inward investments which are substantially financed and controlled from outside the UK and which are attracted to the UK by factors including the UK’s filmmaking infrastructure and film tax relief. An international co-production is where a film is produced by more than one production company from more than one country.

HMS Victory

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what background checks his Department undertook on Lord Lingfield's charitable foundation before the transfer of the wreck of HMS Victory 1744. [202042]

Mr Vaizey: Following the 2010 public consultation on options for the management of the wreck site of HMS Victory 1744 it was decided to place responsibility for the future management of the site on a charitable trust. The Maritime Heritage Foundation (MHF) was a newly formed charity and its objectives ‘to recover, preserve and display in public museums, to promote knowledge and understanding of our maritime heritage through educational projects’ were considered to be well suited for the management of the wreck site. No additional checks were made because the MHF is a registered charity under the auspices of the Charity Commission and subject to its rules and regulations.

Memorials Grant Scheme

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department gave to the Memorials Grant Scheme in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [202024]

Mrs Grant: DCMS has given the amounts set out from the Memorials Grant Scheme in each of the last 10 years:

Monuments

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department (a) spent in each of the last 10 years and (b) plans to spend in each of the next three years on maintaining national memorials; and if he will make a statement. [202023]

Mrs Grant: DCMS has spent the following amounts in each of the last 10 years maintaining national memorials:

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The DCMS-run Memorials Grant Scheme has a budget of £543,000 for this financial year. Grants are available to charities and faith groups, and can be used to repair and maintain war memorials. The Government have today announced that it will give the War Memorials Trust up to £3 million over the First World War centenary period to boost the funds available to local communities for the repair and conservation of war memorials. English Heritage, Imperial War Museums and Civic Voice will together be given £1.5 million over the same period to deliver better protection through listing, a greater pool of specialist skills, a national register of war memorials, and a network of trained volunteers.

Performance Appraisal

Mrs Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by his Department received each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2013-14. [202051]

Mrs Grant: The table sets out the percentage of employees, within each performance category, who have declared a disability, and the percentage of all other staff in each performance category for the 2013-14 reporting year for assessments received to date. The percentage of all other staff includes staff who have either explicitly declared that they do not have a disability, have chosen the ‘prefer not to say’ option, or have not responded to the question at all.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) takes seriously its obligations to collect diversity data as required by the Equality Act 2010. All staff have been asked to provide personal diversity data to be held anonymously, and we continue to encourage increased declaration by staff. As such, these figures will not be fully representative of workforce diversity.

World War I: Anniversaries

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to ensure a suitable commemoration of the First World War; and if he will support the Royal Sussex Regiment Association's efforts for a memorial to be erected in Priez, France. [202113]

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Mrs Grant: The Government will mark the centenary of the First World War with an appropriate programme of national events, cultural activities, educational initiatives and community projects across 2014-18. It is fitting that organisations such as the Royal Sussex Regiment Association are seeking to commemorate the centenary in ways which are meaningful for them.

International Development

Developing Countries

Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which overseas organisations funded by her Department restrict employment to members of particular faiths. [202613]

Lynne Featherstone: DFID does not fund any organisation that state they specifically restrict employment to members of particular faiths. However, we acknowledge that certain posts require a particular understanding of the faith-based values and beliefs of individual organisations.

Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her Department's policy in funding overseas organisations that restict their employment to members of particular faiths. [202622]

Lynne Featherstone: DFID works to ensure that organisations supported do not discriminate. All DFID funding is subject to pre-funding Due Diligence, which includes an analysis of the robustness of the organisation’s operational and commercial systems, processes and procedures, including compliance with relevant policies, legislation and regulations on discrimination.

Developing Countries: Family Planning

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding her Department has allocated to the (a) International Planned Parenthood Federation and (b) United Nations Population Fund in each year since 2009. [202028]

Lynne Featherstone: DFID provided International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) with £9 million of funding for the period 2010-11, £8.6 million during 2011-12 and £8.6 million during 2012-13. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) was provided with £20 million each year for the period 2010-11 to 2012-13.

Details of further historical funding can be found in Table 18 and 19 of the Statistics on International Development (SID) which are available in the Library of the House.

Egypt

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what help the Government are giving to Egypt to source gas and oil fields. [202263]

Mr Duncan: The UK Government do not provide direct support to the oil and gas sector in Egypt.

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Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with her Egyptian counterpart on structural reform in Egypt to improve employment opportunities. [202264]

Mr Duncan: UK officials recently met the Egyptian Finance Minister, who outlined his plans for structural economic reform. The UK supports these reforms, and is providing technical advice through the World Bank to tackle some of these challenges.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions her Department has had with the Egyptian Government on creating job opportunities for people under 30. [202266]

Mr Duncan: The UK Government regularly engage with Egyptian Ministries on the need to promote job creation, particularly for young people. The UK is supporting projects to reform the vocational and technical education sector, to increase access to finance, develop entrepreneurship skills and target microfinance support to women in rural areas.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will take steps to support the introduction of green tourism in Egypt. [202267]

Mr Duncan: Green tourism is supported by many of the international development institutions in Egypt in which the UK is a stakeholder, including the African Development Bank and the World Bank Group.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with her counterpart in Israel on the need for negotiations with Egypt to develop agriculture in that country. [202270]

Mr Duncan: No such discussions have taken place.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she plans to take in conjunction with the Egyptian government to develop the Nile delta for the production of food. [202273]

Mr Duncan: DFID has no specific programmes to develop the Nile delta for the production of food.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the Government have taken to increase the number of women in the Egyptian political system. [202274]

Mr Duncan: Following the low number of women elected to the previous Parliament, the UK funded a project to support over 700 women with the skills and knowledge to run for local office in council elections, as a stepping stone to parliamentary representation. This also included civic education on the role of women in political life.

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Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking with her Egyptian counterpart to reduce the level of poverty in Egypt. [202277]

Mr Duncan: The UK Government provide technical assistance, directed through International Financial Institutions, to tackle Egypt’s economic challenges. One example of UK support is the development of a database of 10 million poor households, which the Egyptian Government can use to target cash transfers towards the poorest. The UK is also funding projects that target marginalised communities, particularly women and girls in rural Egypt, providing them with access to finance and vocational training.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the Government have offered support to the Egyptian Government to help establish the Egyptian Parliament. [202278]

Mr Duncan: The UK has supported the preparation of parliamentary by-laws and helped to build the capacity of the parliamentary secretariat staff in respect of committees, the library and research sections, and the media unit.