The following table shows how many knee replacement revisions were carried out by the national health service in England in the last three years. Information relating to how long the average time interval was between total knee replacement and subsequent revision procedures is not held centrally.
| Region | Full knee replacement | Only one bone in the knee joint is replaced | |
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| Notes: 1. Finished Consultant Episode (FCE): Both tables show FCEs. An FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. The figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person. 2. The data should not be described as a count of people as the same person may have been admitted on one or more occasion. 3. To protect patient confidentiality, figures between 1 and 5 have been replaced with “*” (an asterisk). Where it was still possible to identify figures from the total, additional figures have been replaced with "*”. | |||
Lung Diseases: Transplant Surgery
Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the performance of the lung transplant allocation system; and what steps he is taking to ensure that as many lung transplants as possible are made available to cystic fibrosis sufferers. [203031]
Jane Ellison: Donated lungs are currently allocated to the designated cardiothoracic transplant centres on a zonal basis. However, the Cardiothoracic Organs Advisory Group (CTAG) has recently reviewed the allocation policy and has recommended that the size of the allocation zones be adjusted to help ensure equity of access. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has therefore confirmed that, for cardiothoracic organs, the zones will be reviewed in August 2014 to coincide with changes in liver allocation zones, and from August 2015 heart and lung zones will be disaggregated and the zones reviewed separately.
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CTAG has also recommended that NHSBT review the consequences of introducing two levels of priority for listing for lung transplants—urgent and routine; and suggest a national allocation scheme for urgent listed patients, and zonal allocation for routine listed patients.
Any change would need to be validated by NHSBT, to review the criteria for urgent listing and the statistical modelling of the potential impact of such a system. NHSBT will continue to work closely with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to improve outcomes for patients requiring lung transplants.
Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of donated lungs are successfully transplanted. [203032]
Jane Ellison: The information requested is in the following table:
| Proportion of donated lungs successfully transplanted over the last five financial years, 2009-14 | |
| Percentage | |
| Source: NHS Blood and Transplant | |
NHS Blood and Transplant works closely with clinicians to ensure donated organs are used for transplantation wherever appropriate.
It is the responsibility of the surgeon to decide whether to accept the donor organs for use in transplantation. Lungs not accepted for transplant are rejected both before retrieval and at retrieval, or occasionally at allocation. The surgeon will base the decision on the characteristics of both the donor and the potential recipient. Donor factors include past and present medical, social, clinical and laboratory data as well as a thorough examination of the organs before, during and after retrieval.
NHS Foundation Trusts: Public Appointments
Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 16 December 2013, Official Report, column 524W, on NHS: public appointments, where the data showing the gender of people appointed to the boards of NHS foundation trusts is held. [203037]
Jane Ellison: This information is not collected centrally. Information on the constitution of individual national health service foundation trust boards is available in the annual report of each foundation trust.
NHS: Competition
Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many requests for advice on competition related issues Monitor received from each (a) NHS trust and (b) foundation trust in 2013-14. [202999]
Jane Ellison:
Monitor receives a variety of requests for support from stakeholders including national health service trusts and foundation trusts. These include requests
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for advice and support on issues including commissioning, the development of integrated care models and service reconfiguration. It is not possible to determine which of these requests are ‘competition related’ as they represent a wide variety of issues and scenarios. In 2013-14, Monitor’s Co-operation and Competition Directorate had 12 general requests for advice from NHS trusts and 23 general requests for advice from NHS foundation trusts.
Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much Monitor (a) spent in 2013-14 and (b) plans to spend in 2014-15 on the enforcement of the NHS Provider Licence; [203014]
(2) how much Monitor (a) spent in 2013-14 and (b) plans to spend in 2014-15 on the enforcement of the licence conditions relating to choice and competition as set out in section 3 of the NHS Provider Licence Standard Conditions. [202997]
Jane Ellison: The information requested is not available. The cost of specific enforcement activity is not disaggregated in Monitor's internal reporting systems.
Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much Monitor spent in 2013-14 on supporting NHS trusts in relation to the competition aspects of mergers and acquisitions; how much Monitor intends to so spend in 2014-15; which trusts have received such support to date; and which trusts he anticipates will require such support in 2014-15. [203039]
Jane Ellison: The information requested is not available. Such expenditure is not disaggregated in Monitor’s internal report systems.
Monitor provides informal advice to organisations considering mergers on a confidential basis and Monitor is therefore unable to provide a list of trusts that have received support. However I can state that in 2013-14 Monitor provided advice relating to mergers to 21 trusts.
Monitor’s statutory advice to the Competition and Markets Authority on merger transactions is published on its website:
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/monitor
It is not possible for Monitor to predict how many trusts will require such support in future.
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many requests for advice on competition-related issues the NHS Trust Development Authority received from each NHS trusts in 2013-14. [203114]
Jane Ellison: This information is not collected by the NHS Trust Development Authority.
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much the NHS Trust Development Authority spent in 2013-14 on the enforcement of the licence conditions relating to choice and competition as set out in section 3 of the NHS Provider Licence Standards Conditions; and how much the NHS Trust Development Authority expects to spend in this area in 2014-15; [203115]
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(2) how much the NHS Trust Development Authority spent in 2013-14 on the enforcement of the licence conditions as set out on page three of the Partnership Agreement with Monitor; and how much the NHS Trust Development Authority plans to spend in this area in 2014-15. [203145]
Jane Ellison: As part of its oversight and escalation process, the NHS Trust Development Authority asks NHS trusts to self-certify compliance with the licence conditions relating to choice and competition. Therefore, the NHS Trust Development Authority has not incurred related expenditure in 2013-14 and does not plan any expenditure in 2014-15 over and above the costs of the teams that manage the oversight and escalation process more generally.
There were no instances requiring the enforcement of licence conditions set out on page three of the Partnership Agreement with Monitor in 2013-14 and there has been no expenditure. The NHS Trust Development Authority is not planning any spend in this area in 2014-15.
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS Trust Development Authority spent in 2013-14 to support NHS trusts in relation to the competition aspects of mergers and acquisitions; which trusts required such support; how much the NHS Trust Development Authority plans to spend in this area in 2014-15; and if he will publish a list of those trusts requiring such support. [203146]
Jane Ellison: While the NHS Trust Development Authority contributes to costs of mergers and acquisitions, it is not able to disaggregate the spend into different components. Information in relation to the specific competition aspects of this spend is therefore not available.
The NHS Trust Development Authority does not record requests for support from trusts. All such requests are directed to Monitor or the Competition and Markets Authority for advice, as the expert bodies on mergers and acquisitions.
Pharmacy
Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to be able to introduce the sharing of patient data with community pharmacists in support of patient safety in England. [203009]
Dr Poulter: Local solutions are presently being developed. In addition, NHS England has commissioned the Health and Social Care Information Centre to deliver a “proof of concept” project in order to enable 80-100 community pharmacies, across 2 or 3 geographical areas, to access the Summary Care Record (SCR). Subject to the proof of concept, the SCR should provide a platform which will enable pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to view prescribed medicines, allergies and adverse reactions for patients who go to their pharmacy for urgent or unscheduled care.
determine if SCR viewing can be safely implemented in community pharmacies and will add value to existing practice and patients’ experience by improving quality, safety and continuity of care;
identify the optimum model for implementation should the proof of concept conclude that SCR access provides added value; and
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assess whether providing community pharmacies with access to the SCR has the potential to relieve the increasing demands on the wider health care system.
It is planned that the first pharmacies will go live towards the end of 2014, with the project due to provide its findings and recommendations early in 2015. Further plans will be developed based on those findings and will be published in due course.
Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that the expertise of community pharmacists is fully utilised to reduce the burden on general practice. [203013]
Norman Lamb: Pharmacy already plays a vital role in supporting the health of people in their local communities, providing high quality care and support, improving people’s health and reducing health inequalities. As we move to more integrated care, there is real potential for pharmacists and their teams to play an even greater role in the future, particularly in keeping people healthy, supporting those with long-term conditions and helping make sure patients and the national health service get the best use from medicines.
The Department and NHS England’s publication Transforming Primary Care—Safe, proactive, personalised care for those who need it most, sets out plans for more proactive, personalised and joined up care, part of which is harnessing the potential of pharmacists. This recognises the vital role that pharmacists have in optimising medicines use, helping to prevent avoidable hospital admissions and supporting people to manage their own care. A copy has already been placed in the Library.
NHS England’s public consultation, Improving care through community pharmacy–a call to action, has provided an important opportunity to explore the contribution community pharmacists and their teams can make. This will inform a strategic framework for commissioning wider primary care services in the autumn, including consideration of fully utilising the expertise of community pharmacists in reducing burdens on other health services, such as general practice. A copy of the consultation document is at:
www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/qual-clin-lead/calltoaction/pharm-cta/
Prostate Cancer
Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure the same standard of care across the country for those diagnosed with prostate cancer. [202568]
Jane Ellison: To help reduce regional variations, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is increasingly incorporating information from accreditation and peer review programmes into its assessments of national health service trusts' services, including the National Cancer Peer Review Programme. The CQC also intends to use data from the national clinical audit which is being developed for prostate cancer. In addition, national statistics on waiting times experienced by patients with suspected and diagnosed cancers continue to be collected, monitored and published in order to improve equity of access to cancer services and to contribute to an improvement in survival rates.
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The results of the latest national Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES) from 2013 show that, while variations between trusts still exist, the overall range of variation for many indicators has narrowed. For example, in 2010 the proportion of patients saying that they had been given the name of a clinical nurse specialist ranged from 92% in the highest performing trust to 59% in the poorest performing trust (33 points); by 2013 this had reduced to 97% to 76% (21 points).
NHS Improving Quality (NHS IQ) will be doing a suite of work across all surveys to understand what the barriers are to implementing change and to showcase best practice where real improvements can be demonstrated.
NHS England is working with NHS IQ to develop better ways of using the CPES data within the NHS in order to maximise the impact of the survey, to be able to work with successful and struggling organisations to spread best practice for example.
Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will include prostate cancer in the next Be Clear on Cancer awareness campaign; and if he will make a statement. [202569]
Jane Ellison: Be Clear on Cancer campaigns are tested at a local and regional level, before a decision is taken on whether to run them nationally throughout England.
Public Health England is actively considering potential local pilot activity specifically targeting prostate cancer within Black African-Caribbean men, due to their significantly increased risk of developing prostate cancer.
Universal Credit
Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of extending entitlement to (a) free prescriptions, (b) free eye tests and (c) free dental care to all claimants of universal credit once universal credit has been fully rolled out. [202672]
Jane Ellison: The cost to the public purse of extending entitlement to free prescriptions, eye tests and dental care to all claimants of universal credit once universal credit has been fully rolled out will depend on the number of claimants at that time. This number will depend on a range of factors. The Government intend that broadly the same number of individuals will be passported via universal credit as are currently passported.
Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had on the financial position of Warrington and Halton NHS Foundation Trust; and if he will make a statement. [203006]
Jane Ellison: No ministerial discussions have taken place on this matter in the last six months.
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Northern Ireland
Work Experience
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what her Department's policy is on work experience placements; and how many such placement requests have been accepted in each year since 2010. [203158]
Mrs Villiers: There have been no work experience placements in my Department since 2010.
Electoral Commission Committee
Electoral Register
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many of the six million people identified as missing on the electoral register by the Electoral Commission in 2011 have been registered to vote in each year since 2011. [201256]
Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that its last GB wide study into the completeness of electoral registers was completed in 2011. This type of research does not specifically identify unregistered individuals but provides an assessment of the overall accuracy and completeness of the registers. The Commission’s next study is being published in July and this will update the picture on levels of completeness in 2014.
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the target was for each voter registration drive of the last five years of the number of electors they hoped to register; how much was allocated for each campaign; and how much the Electoral Commission planned to spend on each registration drive. [202748]
Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the information requested for the years 2010 to 2013 was provided to the hon. Member in response to his PQs 189416 (6 March 2014, Official Report, column 892W) and 185198 (3 February 2014, Official Report, column 61W).
In addition, for 2014, the Commission ran a registration campaign for the local and European Parliamentary Elections which were held on 22 May. The campaign budget was £2,800,000 and there was a target of 150,000 registration form downloads. 207,000 downloads were achieved during the campaign.
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, (1) how many times an electoral registration officer (ERO) has to fail Standard Three before the Electoral Commission will refer the ERO to the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office for the purpose of improving the performance of the ERO; [202756]
(2) on what date the discussions between the Electoral Commission and the Cabinet Office on sanctions against electoral registration officers (EROs) who refuse to conduct door-to-door canvassing as per Standard Three began; when those discussions will conclude; whether
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the conclusions of those discussions will be made available to
(a)
hon. Members with EROs who failed Standard Three,
(b)
the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee and
(c)
councillors within failed local authorities; and if he will place in the Library the conclusions of those discussions. [202757]
Mr Streeter: The Commission informs me that it has reported on ERO performance against Standard 3 for each year since 2008.
To support EROs in preparing for and delivering the transition to individual electoral registration (IER) the Commission has developed a new performance standards framework, which it will use to monitor the performance of EROs against throughout the transition to individual electoral registration. The Commission will continue to carefully monitor and work closely with EROs and will consider a range of options to ensure EROs are carrying out their duties in full.
Discussions between the Electoral Commission and the Cabinet Office take place regularly on a range of subjects.
The Commission made clear in its June report that it would use its statutory powers to make a recommendation to the Secretary of State to require specific EROs to do door-to-door canvassing if this did not happen during the introduction of IER, which began on 10 June in England and Wales.
No specific date for conclusion has been set as it will depend on the circumstances in each area, but the Commission will continue to keep this under active review. Should the Commission make a recommendation for such a direction, it will write to the relevant hon. Members and local council leaders. We will also write to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee and ask for this correspondence to be placed in the House Library.
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, on which dates the Electoral Commission will report to (a) Parliament and (b) individual hon. Members on the progress on the implementation of individual electoral registration. [202759]
Mr Streeter: The Commission informs me that it will report to both Parliament and individual Members at appropriate points, and in line with its statutory duties throughout the implementation of individual electoral registration.
The Commission intends to publish updates on progress at three key points in the transition, as laid out in its March report. This is available on the Commission’s website here:
www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/166511/Readiness-for-the-transition-to-IER-Progress-Report-March-2014.pdf
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, on what specific date the Electoral Commission plans to publish its estimate of the number of people missing off the electoral register. [202762]
Mr Streeter: The Commission informs me that it will publish this report shortly.
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Cabinet Office
Average Earnings: Warrington
Helen Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate the UK Statistics Authority has made of the gross weekly earnings of (a) men, (b) women and (c) all people employed (i) full-time and (ii) part-time in Warrington North constituency. [203040]
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 July 2014:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate the UK Statistics Authority has made of the gross weekly earnings of (a) men, (b) women and (c) all people employed (i) full-time and (ii) part-time in Warrington North constituency (203040).
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. Weekly levels of earnings are estimated from ASHE, and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence. Figures relate to employee jobs, which are defined as those held by employees and not the self-employed. Additional sources of income such as benefit payments, rental income and pensions are not covered in ASHE.
The following table shows estimates of median gross weekly earnings for male, female and all employees working full-time and part-time in Warrington North constituency in April 2013, the latest period for which results are available.
| Median gross weekly earnings (£) for employees1 in Warrington North constituency in April 2013 | ||
| Full-time employees | Part-time employees | |
| 1 Employee jobs are defined as those held by employees and not the self-employed. Figures relate to employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence. ASHE is based on a 1% sample of jobs taken from HM Revenue and Customs' Pay As You Earn (PAYE) records. Consequently, individuals with more than one job may appear in the sample more than once. Guide to quality: The coefficient of variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure; the smaller the CV value, the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an average of 200 with a CV of 5%, we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to 220. Key: CV >5% and<= 10% CV > 10% and <= 20% x = Unreliable CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), Office for National Statistics Trusted Statistics—Understanding the UK | ||
Civil Servants: Equal Pay
Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to ensure gender equality in civil service salaries. [904642]
Mr Maude:
The median gender pay gap for full-time civil servants has narrowed since 2010 but we must continue to press to narrow the gap further, including by reminding Departments of their clear legal obligations on equal pay and conducting equal pay audits. Salaries for new appointments must be justified on the basis of the skills and experience necessary to do the job. For
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staff below the senior civil service (SCS), this is for individual Departments to manage. For the centrally-managed SCS, pay proposals have regard to the impact on women.
More widely, the Government are concerned that a long-standing majority of women in the overall civil service, does not translate into a similar proportion in the SCS. I have commissioned work to address this issue.
Government Departments: Procurement
Mr Crausby: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what Government spending was in reform of the process of procurement and across central Government in each year since May 2010. [202636]
Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office has been working with central Government Departments to implement a demanding Commercial Reform agenda which is aimed at leveraging the Crown’s buying power, deriving better value for money and savings for the taxpayer to support deficit reduction and growth. This work has been carried out across Departments and costs are not held centrally.
As a result of our work to date, we have made the way we buy goods and services in central Government quicker, more competitive, more transparent, better value and far simpler than before. This has saved the taxpayer £2.9 billion in 2010-11, with a further £3.0 billion in 2011-12, £3.8 billion in 2012-13 and £5.4 billion in 2013-14. These savings are all calculated against a 2009-10 baseline and include both recurring and non-recurring items.
All of this could have been started before the 2010 General Election. However in May 2010 there was no effective central oversight of procurement, commercial skills were lacking and Government did not even know who their strategic suppliers were, let alone how much was being spent with them.
Women and Equalities
Marriage Certificates
Dr Huppert: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities what progress she has made on modernising marriage certificates. [904639]
Sajid Javid: I have discussed modernising marriage certificates with the Home Secretary and we are currently considering a range of options. The content of marriage registers has not changed since civil marriage was introduced in 1837, so it is right that we look at whether it still meets our needs.
Home Department
Cheshire Constabulary
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding has been allocated to Cheshire Police in (a) cash and (b) real terms in each year since 2005. [203002]
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Karen Bradley: The table shows the amount of core Government revenue funding provided by the Home Office to the Cheshire Police Authority (from November 2012, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire) since 2005-2006.
Due to changes in police revenue funding over this time period (which includes a change in the way pensions are funded), it is difficult to compare spending power between years.
| Total HO funding (£ million) | ||
| Cash1 | Real (2012-13 prices)2 | |
| 1 Figures include specific grants that have since been rolled into Police Main Grant (including Rule 2 Grant, the Neighbourhood Policing Fund and, from 2013-14, the Community Safety Fund) in order to provide consistency over the time period. 2 Real figures are calculated using the latest GDP deflators. These are updated and published regularly by Her Majesty’s Treasury and therefore can change the way that the real figures in the table are represented. 3, 4 From 2013-14 formula grant funding which in previous years had been paid by the Department for Communities and Local Government was transferred to the Home Office to pay to PCCs. This amounted to £49 million in 2013-14 and £46.7 million in 2014-15. Notes : 1. From 2014-15, the Home Office is also paying out Council Tax Freeze Grant (including funding relating to the 2011-12 scheme paid to Cheshire) and Local Council Tax Support (LCTS) funding to PCCs in England. This amount was previously paid by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). This will total £7.67 million for Cheshire in 2014-15 and is excluded from the table to assist comparison with previous years. 2. In addition, the police in England also receive central Government grant from other sources including the DCLG. They also receive funding from the police precept component of council tax and a small amount of income from charging for additional services. | ||
Domestic Violence: Preston
Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many call-outs police in Preston attended in response to domestic violence in 2013. [202486]
Norman Baker: The requested data are not collected centrally by the Home Office. Data are available on the number of domestic abuse incidents that come to the attention of the police but these are only held at police force area level.
Educational Testing Service
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the statement of 24 June 2014, Official Report, column 206, on student visas, what due diligence tests her Department undertook on the Educational Testing Service prior to awarding the company a contract for delivering language tests for visa applications. [202330]
James Brokenshire:
The licence with Secure English Language Testing providers is clear that providers must put measures in place to combat abuse and any concerns regarding fraud or abuse should be reported to the
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Home Office. All third-party service providers, whether they are employers, education establishments or test providers, must take their obligations seriously or face the removal of their licence to work with us.
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the statement of 24 June 2014, Official Report, column 206, on student visas, on what date her Department first became aware of the systematic cheating taking place in the tests of the Educational Testing Service. [202332]
James Brokenshire: Since the last election, the Government have taken action to reduce and control immigration and to crack down on the abuse of the system which the previous Government failed to address. We have kept the main immigration routes to Britain under review and remain vigilant against abuse of the student visa system. Around 750 education sponsors have been removed from the register of those entitled to bring overseas students to the UK. We now know that almost 400 of these were linked to the sponsorship of people who obtained invalid ETS certificates. Abuse of the student visa route has been the subject of various lines of inquiry for some time, but Immigration Enforcement officers, together with officials from UK Visas and Immigration and with the support of the National Crime Agency, began conducting a detailed and wide-ranging investigation into actions by organised criminals to falsify English language tests provided by ETS at the start of February.
Entry Clearances: Overseas Students
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the statement of 24 June 2014, Official Report, column 206, on student visas, how many students wrongly awarded language certificates (a) remain in the UK, (b) have an address known to her Department and (c) have been deported. [202331]
James Brokenshire: As I stated on 24 June in my statement to Parliament, the Home Office will provide regular updates to the House on progress with work to remove these students and on further information we receive from ETS.
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the statement of 24 June 2014, Official Report, column 209W, on student visas, what the projected cost in 2014-15 is of the student dedicated helpline; how many staff will be employed on that helpline; and what estimate she has made of the number of calls that helpline will receive. [202487]
James Brokenshire: The number of calls the student helpline will receive will be dependent on the demand from individual students.
10 members of staff can currently be deployed on the student helpline, depending on the demand, and additional trained staff are ready for redeployment should the volume of calls increase.
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Human Trafficking: Children
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will bring forward legislative proposals to establish a statutory system of guardianship to support victims of child trafficking. [202632]
Karen Bradley: The Modern Slavery Bill, published on 10 June 2014, includes an enabling clause which provides a statutory basis for child trafficking advocates and their functions including the circumstances and conditions under which a person may act as an advocate.
The clause provides the Secretary of State with a power to make arrangements so that specialist child trafficking advocates are available to support and represent children who there is reason to believe may be victims of trafficking. It also allows for requirements on public authorities to co-operate with and provide information to these advocates.
Trials of the child trafficking advocates scheme will commence in summer 2014. The trials will be independently evaluated both at six months and on completion. A report on the findings will be laid before Parliament.
Passports
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the target time is for dealing with passport applications; [198915]
(2) what proportion of passport applications have been dealt with within the target timescale in each of the last 12 months. [198919]
James Brokenshire: Expected service standards for passport applications are given at
www.gov.uk
Information in respect of the Member’s constituency is not available and the cost of collating it would be disproportionate.
The following table shows the proportions of UK passport applications in each of the last 12 months which have been processed within the published service standards.
| Percentage straight forward applications processed within the published time scales | Percentage non-straightforward applications processed within the published time scales | |
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Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the Immigration and Passport Service on (a) the service's ability to meet the three-week timescale for processing an application for a child passport and (b) possible extension of that timescale. [199081]
James Brokenshire: Expected service standards for processing passports are given at:
www.gov.uk
The Secretary of State for the Home Department explained in the House on 12 June a set of measures to deal with the high level of passport demand has been put in place. I refer the hon. Member to the statement of 12 June 2014, Official Report, columns 693-94.
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of passport applications submitted in each month since June 2010; and how many such applications were processed within three weeks of receipt. [199624]
James Brokenshire: The following table gives the requested information.
| Month | Number of straightforward applications | Number processed within three weeks |
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department's definition of straightforward is in relation to passport applications. [200157]
James Brokenshire: A straightforward application is one where all the required information, including supporting documentation, is provided, the application is signed, and no further inquiries are required in order to progress the application.
Passports: Kilmarnock
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for passports have been made by residents in Kilmarnock and Loudoun in each of the last 12 months. [198916]
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James Brokenshire: Expected service standards for passport applications are given at:
www.gov.uk
Information in respect of the Member’s constituency is not available and the cost of collating it would be disproportionate. The table below shows the proportions of UK passport applications in each of the last 12 months which have been processed within the published service standards.
| Percentage | ||
| Straightforward applications processed within the published timescales | Non-straightforward applications processed within the published timescales | |
Rape
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to encourage more rape victims to report that crime to the police and to ensure that they are treated appropriately when they do so. [202402]
Norman Baker: Rape and sexual violence are devastating and unacceptable crimes. The coalition Government’s continued approach to tackling such violence and abuse is set out in our Violence against Women and Girls Action Plan, updated in March 2014. Supporting victims is at the heart of this approach, which includes giving victims more confidence to report crimes, and it is encouraging that police recorded crime figures show more victims are having the confidence to come forward.
We want every report of rape to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity and every investigation and every prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.
We have ring-fenced funding for 87 independent sexual violence advisers to provide appropriate and independent support for victims.
We have supported the publication of data on rape for every police force in the country as a basis for improving recording and investigations of rape and to ensure that guidance on investigating and prosecuting rape is implemented in every police force area. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary is inspecting the recording of rape as part of a wider crime recording audit, and the police and Crown Prosecution Service have published a joint action plan to improve how these cases are handled within the criminal justice system.
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Stalking
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in each police force area have been (a) arrested and (b) prosecuted for cyber-stalking to date. [203001]
Karen Bradley: The information requested cannot be provided as cyber-stalking is not defined as a specific crime on the statute book.
Surveillance
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to amend the Interception of Communications Code of Practice to include provisions for identifying and reporting interception errors. [201670]
James Brokenshire: We will respond to the Interception of Communications Commissioner's report in due course.
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to improve the quality of statistics held by Government agencies relating to data communication interceptions. [201768]
James Brokenshire: The Interception Commissioner publishes information on communications data (CD) and interception warrants. His 2013 report published in April set out for the first time a detailed breakdown by public authority of the number of CD authorisations and notices issued. We are considering the Commissioner's recommendations and will respond in due course.
Surveillance: Appeals
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to bring section 67(9) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 into force. [202493]
James Brokenshire: We have no plans to bring section 67 (9) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 into force as provisions to which it relates in sections 65(c) and (d) of RIPA are themselves not in force.
Defence
Armed Forces: Training
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place a copy of 2014DIN07-082 on 2014/2015 Defence Cyber Practitioner Courses in the Library. [200739]
Mr Francois: I have placed a redacted copy of the Defence Information Notice 2014DIN07-082 in the Library of the House.
Energy
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of his Department's consumption in kWh of (a) gas and (b) electricity in each month since June 2010; and what the cost of such consumption has been in each such month. [202702]
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Dr Murrison: The table shows the breakdown of consumption and expenditure relating to gas and electricity for each month since June 2010. Figures are not yet available for the first quarter of financial year 2014-15
The expenditure data represent physical payments in addition to the accrued expenditure posted to the Ministry of Defence accounts each month.
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Expenditure also includes standing charges as well as costs of pure consumption.
| Consumption profiled by month (KWh) | Expenditure profiled by month (£) | |||
| (a) Gas | (b) Electricity | (a) Gas | (b) Electricity | |
HMS Severn
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what Russian Navy ships HMS Severn intercepted in the English Channel on 25 June 2014; and whether HMS Severn was assigned to the Fleet Ready Escort role at that time. [202834]
Mr Francois:
Two Russian Federation Navy ships transited the English Channel on 25 June 2014. These
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were the Ropucha Class Landing Ships Olengorsky Gornyak and Georgiy Pobedonosets.
As the hon. Member will be aware from my letter to him of 27 January 2014, Official Report, columns 414-15W, there are usually a number of Royal Navy units available in UK waters at any one time and, if it is appropriate, one of those units could be reprioritised to undertake a required task. In this case, HMS Severn was better placed to respond, and it made the most operational sense to utilise her. At the same time the Fleet Ready Escort remained available at high readiness.
Minesweepers
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Shallow Water Influence Minesweeping System was purchased; on what vessels it operated from; whether it is still operational; and what the total cost of the system has been. [202361]
Mr Dunne: The Shallow Water Influence Minesweeping System was purchased as an urgent operational requirement in financial year 2002-03 to be operated remotely from Mine Countermeasures Vessels in the Gulf for 12 months, at a cost of approximately £3.5 million. It has been non-operational since 2004.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on the Unmanned Sea Vehicle-based Mine Countermeasures Hydrographic Programme Sweep Demonstrator project. [202367]
Mr Dunne: The Mine Countermeasures Hydrographic Programme’s sweep demonstrator project is in its pre-contract award stage; spending to date has been on technical preparation activities at a cost of approximately £40,000.
Nuclear Weapons
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the titles of all reports covering the effects of the use of a UK nuclear weapon produced by (a) his Department and (b) the Atomic Weapons Establishment and its predecessor body for his Department in the last 30 years. [202696]
Mr Dunne: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
RAF Lossiemouth
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost has been of transfer of all Typhoon Force mission-specific equipment and related removable fittings and fixtures from RAF Leuchars to RAF Lossiemouth; and what estimate has been made of the total cost of the transfer. [202099]
Mr Francois: The principal transfer of Typhoon Force mission-specific equipment has been accomplished as part of an agreed change to an existing contract, at an additional cost of some £2.5 million.
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RAF Menwith Hill
Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements his Department has made with the US administration on control of the base at NSA Menwith Hill. [202447]
Mr Francois: RAF Menwith Hill is made available to the United States under the terms of the NATO Status of Forces Agreement. The Ministry of Defence retains ownership of the base and operations are carried out with the full knowledge and consent of the UK Government.
Submarines
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost is of the Weapon Handling and Launch System and Submerged Signal Ejector support contract. [202362]
Mr Dunne: The Weapon Handling and Launch System support contract, which includes Submerged Signal Ejector support, has an agreed fixed price of £22 million to provide defined technical and logistic support until 31 March 2019. The contract also allows for further tasking of the support contractor by the Ministry of Defence and the purchase of consumable spares when required at an additional cost.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Weapon Handling and Launch support contract includes an obligation on the contractor to provide waterfront support in the loading and unloading of (a) conventional and (b) nuclear weapons in (i) the UK and (ii) abroad. [202363]
Mr Dunne: The Weapon Handling and Launch System (WHLS) support contract provides technical and logistic support for all WHLS equipment on Royal Navy submarines and at Royal Navy training establishments, including Weapon Embarkation Equipment (WEE). The actual use of WEE to load and unload conventional weapons in the UK and abroad is covered by separate commercial arrangements. The WHLS support contract is not used for any aspect of nuclear weapons.
International Development
Energy
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate she has made of her Department's consumption in kWh of (a) gas and (b) electricity in each month since June 2010; and what the cost of such consumption has been in each such month. [202708]
Mr Duncan: DFID has UK Headquarter offices in Whitehall, London and East Kilbride, Glasgow. The weblink below sets out our actual gas and electricity monthly consumption in each office since June 2010:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-development/about/our-energy-use
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Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Bovine Tuberculosis
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which policies of other countries he has assessed with regards to the gassing of badgers. [202631]
George Eustice: Carbon monoxide gas has been used successfully in the United States and Australia to control a range of species including burrowing rodents, rabbits and larger mammals such as coyotes and foxes.
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion of 25 November 2013, Official Report, column 20W, on bovine tuberculosis, whether his Department has since commissioned any research about the safety, humaneness and effectiveness of gassing badgers; [202742]
(2) if he will make an assessment of the potential suffering felt by badgers through gaseous methods of slaughter. [202630]
George Eustice: In August 2013, we commissioned new research into alternative methods of culling badgers.
The first step involved reviewing and updating the 'Review of effectiveness, environmental impact, humaneness and feasibility of lethal methods for badger control' published in 2005. The review was completed in September 2013.
Following research carried out as a result of Lord Zuckerman's review in the 1980s, we would not support the use of hydrogen cyanide gas due to humaneness concerns. However, we are considering potential humane alternatives.
In October and November 2013 we carried out initial trials of nitrogen-filled foam to analyse its dispersal in an artificial sett-like environment. These trials did not involve the use of active setts or tests on live animals.
Further research is now planned into the use of carbon monoxide as a potential sett-based means of humane culling.
Dredging
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the number of marine dredging applications that will be dealt with by the Marine Management Organisation using the online marine licensing system in 2014-15. [202815]
George Eustice: Since the beginning of 2014-15 the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has dealt with five 15 year marine licences for aggregate dredging.
For non-aggregate dredging DEFRA’s Impact Assessment on exemptions and navigational dredging predicted 872 applications ranging from simple, routine and complex applications for 2014-15 (Ref: IA No DEFRA 1118—The Marine Licensing (Exempted Activities) (Amendment) Order 2013). The actual annual number of applications being received so far is currently running at between 10% and 20% of the forecast.
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John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the average length of time taken by the Marine Management Organisation to approve a marine dredging application using the outline marine licensing system since 2009. [202816]
George Eustice: The online marine licensing system came into force on 6 April 2011 following the formation of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) in 2010. From the start of the licensing system the estimated average time taken by the MMO to approve marine dredging applications are as follows:
Average length of time to licence a 15 year aggregate application is estimated at 300 hours (200 hours during application and 100 hours of pre-application advice).
| Description of activity | Average MMO hours per case |
Fishing Gear
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people have been prosecuted for setting intertidal nets in England in each of the last three years. [202560]
George Eustice: Prosecutions for setting intertidal nets in England are undertaken, for the most part, by the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs). The 10 IFCAs manage sea fisheries resources to six nautical miles around the English coast.
In 2011, North Eastern IFCA made one prosecution relating to intertidal nets and Cornwall IFCA had one case where a prosecution was commenced alongside another, potentially more serious, non-fisheries offence.
In 2012 there were no prosecutions.
In 2013, North Eastern IFCA made two prosecutions.
To date in 2014, there are two cases under investigation by Cornwall IFCA, one case under investigation by North Eastern IFCA, and three pending cases with Southern IFCA. These cases will not necessarily result in a prosecution in a court.
In all of these years there will be cases where warnings or cautions were issued or seizures were made instead of formal prosecutions.
Environment Agency records indicate that 12 people have been prosecuted in the past three years for setting an intertidal net which targeted or caught salmon or sea trout for which they did not have an Environment Agency licence to do so in England.
The River Tweed Commission (RTC) has its own legislation to control netting both in England and in Scotland which is included in The Scotland Act 1998 (River Tweed) Order 2006. In England, the RTC took seven prosecutions relating to intertidal nets in 2011, five prosecutions in 2012, and five prosecutions in 2013.
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Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many inshore fisheries and conservation authorities in England have bylaws to prohibit the setting of intertidal nets; and how many land-based officers in each authority police and enforce those bylaws. [202817]
George Eustice: Most Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) in England have byelaws which affect net fishing activities in the intertidal zone. These byelaws vary between IFCAs, with each authority prescribing certain net specifications, geographic areas, time restrictions and other limitations. Details of each IFCA’s byelaws can be found on their respective websites.
The IFCAs with byelaws relating to intertidal nets are:
Cornwall IFCA
Devon and Severn IFCA
Eastern IFCA
Kent and Essex IFCA
North Eastern IFCA
North West IFCA
Northumberland IFCA
Southern IFCA
Sussex IFCA
Isles of Scilly IFCA is the only authority not to have any byelaws relating to intertidal nets, as this is not a fishing activity that takes place in the Isles of Scilly.
Most IFCAs have enforcement officers based both on land and at sea. These officers enforce all byelaws, not specifically those concerning intertidal nets. The latest figures held by DEFRA are:
Cornwall IFCA—12 officers
Devon and Severn IFCA—eight officers
Eastern IFCA—10 officers, three land based
Kent and Essex IFCA—two land based officers, six sea based officers
North Eastern IFCA—six officers, two dedicated land based
North West IFCA—eight mostly land based officers
Northumberland IFCA—eight officers and one part time
Southern IFCA—10 officers
Sussex IFCA—four officers
Forests
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been spent on biodiversity on the public forest estate in each year since 2004-05. [202849]
Dan Rogerson: While all sustainable forest management on the public forest estate can benefit biodiversity, the following table shows the money spent by the Forestry Commission specifically for the benefit of biodiversity:
| Financial year | Spend on public forest estate (£) |
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Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much Government spending there was on public forest estate in each year since 2008-09. [202853]
Dan Rogerson: Government spending on the public forest estate since 2008-09 has been as follows:
| Financial year | £ million |
Forests: Yorkshire and Humberside
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many hectares of Forestry Commission public forest estate there was in Yorkshire and the Humber in each year since 2008-09; and what the make-up of such forest was. [202852]
Dan Rogerson: The latest figures for area of the Forestry Commission public forest estate in the Yorkshire and Humber region are set out in the table. The data is organised to show area of coniferous woodland and broadleaved woodland. Land on the public forest estate which does not fall into either of these two categories is shown as ‘other’; this includes open habitats and land waiting to be restocked after felling.
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |
Natural England
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will assess the level of public confidence in Natural England's appeals process. [203038]
George Eustice: Natural England is the determining body only for appeals relating to breaches of agri-environment agreements. The process for this includes provision for matters to be referred to an independent person or body, nominated by Natural England, for further consideration. There are no plans at present to make an assessment of the level of public confidence in this process.
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Recycling: York
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of waste collected in City of York has been recycled in each year since 2008-09; and what funding his Department provided to City of York local authority to increase recycling rates in each of those years. [202848]
Dan Rogerson: The proportion of household waste collected in City of York which was recycled for the five years since 2008-09 is presented in the following table:
| Percentage (Rounded) | |
The proportion of all waste collected by City of York council (household and non-household) which was recycled for the five years since 2008-09 is as follows:
| Percentage (Rounded) | |
These statistics are taken from data submitted by the council.
Local authorities receive revenue support grant and council tax to fund waste collection and disposal. These funds are not ring-fenced. We have no record of funding to York City council specifically to increase recycling rates over this period.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Armed Conflict: Sexual Offences
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will assign a focal point in all UK missions for human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders, to consult on and implement support and protection measures following the Ending Sexual Violence Initiative. [203090]
Mr Lidington: Human rights defenders (HRDs), including women HRDs, play a critical role in the fight against sexual violence in conflict through advocacy, documenting and reporting, providing support to survivors, and holding Governments to account. In recognition of the importance of their work, we supported the participation of a large number of HRDs at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict and have consulted them throughout the development of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI). We will continue to do so as we take forward the outcomes of the Summit through our missions across the globe, both in conflict and post-conflict countries and with our other PSVI partners.
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Any UK post with a significant human rights element to its work already has an existing human rights focal point which would include responsibility for engaging with local HRDs. We also work locally with EU and other colleagues to support HRDs, in line with the EU Guidelines on HRDs and recently updated internal guidance, by speaking out publicly in support of their work, providing funding, raising specific instances of abuse or detention with Governments; and working to promote a more conducive atmosphere for their activities.
Burma
Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policy towards Burma of the recently published brief by the Chin Human Rights Organisation entitled The state of freedom of religion or belief for Chin in Burma, 2013. [202954]
Mr Swire: We are aware of the Chin Human Rights Organisation and their report on freedom of religion and belief in Chin State. We are currently implementing some of the recommendations that the report makes to the international community, including regularly raising the importance of Freedom of Religion and Belief in discussions with the Burmese Government.
During my visit to Burma in January, I raised the full range of our human rights concerns with senior members of the Burmese Government and called for religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue in a speech in Rangoon. Freedom of Religion and Belief was also discussed during the first EU/Burma Human Rights Dialogue in May 2014.
Our ambassador and embassy officials meet regularly with representatives of all faith communities, both in Rangoon and in the wider country, including in Chin State. The UK has provided funding for interfaith dialogue to help build trust between communities—for example a project promoting peace building among youths from different faith groups.
Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential consequences of the proposed religious conversion bill in Burma and the situation for religious minorities in that country. [203060]
Mr Swire: We have voiced our strong concerns over proposed legislation on inter-faith marriage and religious conversion to members of the Burmese Government and parliamentarians. If enacted, these laws would harm religious tolerance and respect for diversity in Burma, and contravene international standards and treaties such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), to which Burma is a signatory. During my visit to Burma in January, I delivered a speech which called for greater religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue, and we continue to make clear that respect for freedom of religion and belief must be guaranteed.