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Written Answers to Questions

Tuesday 8 July 2014

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Bahrain

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Bahrain about the treatment of the democracy movement in that country; and if he will make a statement. [203906]

Hugh Robertson: I discussed the importance of political reform with the Bahraini authorities during my visit to Bahrain in June for the UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group. We continue to believe that the only way to promote peace and stability in Bahrain and address the legitimate aspirations of all Bahrainis is through dialogue leading to an inclusive political settlement.

Burma

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he considers that the recent census in Burma meets international standards. [203633]

Mr Swire: Reports from independent international observers of the census suggest that, with the exception of Rakhine State and parts of Kachin State, the enumeration process appears to have largely been carried out effectively. Regarding the process in Rakhine and Kachin, I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Belfast East (Naomi Long) on 26 June, Official Report, column 255W. We continue to monitor the process closely.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what commitments the Government of Burma have made to implement the declaration on preventing sexual violence in conflict. [203910]

Mr Swire: The Burmese Government's endorsement of the declaration of commitment and attendance at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in June 2014, is an important signal of commitment to tackling this serious issue. However, we are absolutely clear that this is just one step towards that goal. We are already lobbying the Burmese Government to follow up with concrete action to address sexual violence, including strengthening legislation and improving access to justice for survivors. I urged the Burmese Government to follow the endorsement with a quick and credible action plan that involved the military when I met Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister U Thant Kyaw on 13 June.

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Diego Garcia

Mr Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Government Department or Office keeps a list of flights which passed through Diego Garcia from January 2002 to January 2009. [203500]

Mark Simmonds: Records on flight departures and arrivals on Diego Garcia are held by the British Indian Ocean Territory immigration authorities. Daily occurrence logs, which record the flights landing and taking off, cover the period since 2003. Though there are some limited records from 2002, I understand they are incomplete due to water damage.

EU Working Groups

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the value for public money of the European Commission Work Programme 2014. [203398]

Mr Lidington: The Government submitted an Explanatory Memorandum on the Commission Work Programme 2014 to Parliament on 15 November 2013. This outlined the most significant initiatives in the Work Programme and the Government’s initial views on them.

The financial implications of initiatives outlined in the Work Programme will be contained in the Explanatory Memoranda of individual proposals, which will be deposited for scrutiny in the usual way.

The annual Commission Work Programme provides a useful, early opportunity for Parliament to scrutinise and debate upcoming EU legislative and non-legislative proposals.

Iraq and Syria

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the source of supply of the arms being used by Jihadi groups fighting in (a) Syria and (b) Iraq. [203277]

Hugh Robertson: We believe terrorist groups are likely to have acquired weapons and ammunition from stockpiles captured in fighting with Assad's regime in Syria, and in recent clashes with the Iraqi security forces. During his recent visit to Iraq, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) made a statement in which he highlighted the need to intensify international efforts to stem the flow of weapons and fighters to extremist groups.

Iraq: Kurds

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Departtment has has with Iraqi Kurds on moves to give them autonomy. [203225]

Hugh Robertson: During his visit to Iraq in late June 2014, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond

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(Yorks) (Mr Hague), met the President of the Kurdistan Region, Massoud Barzani, Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and other key political figures. These meetings included discussion of the status of the Kurdistan Region. The Kurdistan Region has significant autonomy within the Republic of Iraq.

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the reaction of the Government of (a) Iran and (b) Turkey to the announcement of the President of Kurdistan that he intends to hold a referendum on independence of the region of Kurdistan from Iraq. [203275]

Hugh Robertson: We are aware of reports that the President of the Kurdistan Region has expressed an intention to hold a referendum on independence for the Kurdistan Region. It is for the people of Iraq to determine the shape of Iraq's future. We continue to urge all Iraqi leaders to work together to tackle the challenges Iraq faces, particularly the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Passports

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK emergency travel documents have been issued to (a) British nationals, (b) non-British Commonwealth citizens and (c) non-British EU citizens in each year since 2010. [203264]

Mark Simmonds: Between 1 January 2010 and 31 May 2014 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued 115,239 Emergency Travel Documents (ETDs). The breakdown by year is as follows:

A further breakdown of this information according to nationality is not available and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Ukraine

Mr Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss the coverage of the situation in eastern Ukraine by the BBC Russian Service with that Service; and if he will make a statement. [204020]

Mr Lidington: The BBC World Service is independent and decides on its own coverage.

USA

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 June 2014, Official Report, column 641W, on the USA, if his Department will update the 1946 UK-USA agreement to take better account of developments in

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technology since 1946 and ensure that data shared under the agreement are not used for targeted killing by the US outside Afghanistan. [R] [204050]

Hugh Robertson: It is a long-standing policy not to comment on intelligence matters. I would reiterate to the hon. Member that all of the UK’s intelligence sharing with the US is undertaken within a robust legal framework, and is subject to rigorous ministerial, parliamentary and judicial oversight.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Mr Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons question 198304, tabled by the hon. Member for Chichester on 9 May 2014 was not answered by his Department. [203499]

Mr Lidington: My hon. Friend tabled question 198304 as a named-day question for answer on 19 June. This was after Prorogation so the question fell and was unable to be answered.

Zimbabwe

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 29 October 2013, Official Report, column 411W, on Zimbabwe: pension payments, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that British nationals in Zimbabwe receive their pensions. [203821]

Mark Simmonds: We continue to pursue a resolution to this issue. I have personally written to both Finance Minister Chinamasa and the responsible Minister for Pensions, Minister Goche. I also raised the issue during a meeting with the Zimbabwean ambassador in London on 30 June. We are in regular contact with the Director of Pensions, with whom officials last met on 12 June. Our ambassador regularly raises the issue with interlocutors, including most recently on 4 June with the Finance Minister Chinamasa. She also wrote to the Zimbabwe Civil Service Commission in December 2013; we await a response. We remain in regular contact with the interested parties, including the Overseas Service Pensioners Association (OSPA) and the Federal Pensioners Association in Harare.

Culture, Media and Sport

Broadcasting: Northern Ireland

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had with the BBC Trust on increasing coverage of life in Northern Ireland across the BBC national television and radio network. [203432]

Mr Vaizey: No such discussions have recently taken place. Under the terms of the BBC's Charter and Agreement, the BBC is operationally and editorially independent of Government and there is no provision for the Government to intervene in the Corporation's day-to-day operations, including programme content.

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Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of BBC (a) television and (b) radio programming was made in Northern Ireland in each year since 2010. [203433]

Mr Vaizey: The proportions of the BBC's TV programming and radio output in Northern Ireland are published in the BBC's annual accounts which are available at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/foi/publication_scheme/classes/what_how_priorities/annual_reports_accounts.shtml

Flags

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to reduce bureaucratic obstacles to the flying of flags in the UK. [203415]

Mr Vaizey: DCMS plays no role in setting the protocols that determine when, where or which flags are flown in the United Kingdom. The Department for Communities and Local Government undertook a numbers of measures to deregulate flag flying in England in 2012. The flag flying policy in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the specific devolved Administrations themselves.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will estimate the total number of ministerial replies from his Department to hon. Members in a parliamentary session; and what proportion of such replies are sent (a) by letter and (b) by email. [203300]

Mrs Grant: In the last parliamentary session (2013-14) the number of replies to Members of Parliament stood at 5,860. As a rule the Department sends all responses by e-mail unless specifically requested otherwise by the Member of Parliament. We do not keep separate records of how many were sent by post compared to e-mail.

Mobile Phones

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether he plans to introduce proposals for regulations or guidance to reduce the cost of the use of British mobile telephones roaming outside of the EU. [203267]

Mr Vaizey: The provider must send you an alert when you reach 80% and then 100% of the agreed data roaming limit. Operators must stop charging for data at the 100% point, unless you agree to continue to use data.

Ofcom provides advice on using telephones abroad, including in countries outside the European Union. See:

http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/2013/03/check-your-phone-before-you-roam/

and

http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/2013/07/using-your-smartphone-or-tablet-abroad/

This includes the advice to talk to your UK provider before you travel—it may offer special packages for your destination.

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Scotland

Food Banks

Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland with reference to the statement of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, giving evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Welfare Reform Committee on 26 June 2014, that ‘I want an analysis of the use of foodbanks that everybody can subscribe to’, whether his Department (a) is producing, (b) has commissioned or (c) plans to produce or commission any new research into the use of foodbanks in Scotland. [202813]

David Mundell: My evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Welfare Reform Committee on the 26 June highlighted the underlying complexity of the use of foodbanks and my desire to ensure that any further analysis be done in a way that would ensure widespread support.

The Government have already commissioned a report on food security by Warwick university, which was published in February 2014.

The Government have no immediate plans to produce or commission further research, but will keep this under review.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will estimate the total number of ministerial replies from his Department to hon. Members in a parliamentary Session; and what proportion of such replies are sent (a) by letter and (b) by email; [203311]

(2) what plans his Department has to increase the number of replies sent electronically to letters from hon. Members. [203534]

Mr Alistair Carmichael: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 7 July 2014, Official Report, columns 5-6W.

House of Commons Commission

Computer Software

Thomas Docherty: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to his answer of 24 June 2014, Official Report, column 134W, on computer software, what feedback has been received on the mechanics of the implementation of Microsoft 365 from (a) members of the Administration Committee and (b) other hon. Members. [203932]

John Thurso: In May, parliamentary ICT (PICT) piloted migrating Members’ mailboxes to Microsoft 365. In this Members’ pilot, PICT migrated 82 mailboxes, including the mailboxes of 10 hon. Members, their staff and 12 Members of the House of Lords. One of the hon. Members involved in this pilot is a Member of the Administration Committee. PICT requested feedback on the migrations in an anonymous survey. Four people in the pilot survey reported a problem with the migration of their e-mail. Because the survey was anonymous, it is not possible to say who responded to the survey.

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A paper on the implementation of Microsoft 365, which included feedback from the survey, was presented to the Administration Committee for its meeting on 16 June. A member of the committee expressed serious concern that Office 365 was not well received by users. The Chair of the Committee is also aware of written complaints from three other hon. Members about recent changes.

PICT began the migrations for other hon. Members and their staff on 22 June. By 4 July, over 1,800 mailboxes assigned to hon. Members and their staff had been migrated.

The most common cause of a call to the service desk after the mailbox migration has been to request help to follow the process for logging into the new mail box for the first time. The second most common problem relates to mobile devices. Parliamentary e-mail stops working on mobile devices until they are reconfigured to point to the new server after the migration. BlackBerry devices need to be physically reconfigured by PICT, and this process can take over an hour. Furthermore, it takes longer for personal BlackBerry devices than for BlackBerrys issued by PICT. In addition, new security features have made it difficult to synchronise some android devices with mailboxes.

For those having a problem with their e-mail, it is of course disruptive, and PICT have dedicated specialists on hand to assist.

Thomas Docherty: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to his answer of 24 June 2014, Official Report, column 134W, on computer software, how many calls the PICT service desk has received from hon. Members and their staff relating to problems resulting from the migration of their mailboxes to Microsoft 365. [203933]

John Thurso: Following a pilot, PICT began the migration of the mailboxes of hon. Members and their staff on 22 June. By 4 July over 1,800 mailboxes assigned to hon. Members and their staff had been migrated.

In the period from 22 June to 12:00 on 4 July, PICT logged 128 cases from hon. Members and their staff which were directly related to problems resulting from the migration of their mailboxes to Microsoft 365. 112 of those cases are now closed. During the same period, PICT logged 149 other cases from hon. Members and their staff requesting advice or help which were directly related to other aspects of the migrations to Microsoft 365.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bovine Tuberculosis

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many veterinary surgeons are qualified to undertake bovine tuberculosis testing in each NUTS-1 region of England. [204003]

George Eustice: The number of official veterinarians qualified to undertake TB skin tests are shown in the following table.

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NUTS 1 refers to the old local government regions. We do not record data on this basis.

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost of introducing annual testing for bovine tuberculosis. [204013]

George Eustice: In 2012 the Animal Health and Welfare Board for England considered options for changes to the herd testing programme for bovine tuberculosis including the recommended county-based approach deployed from 2013. The additional cost to Government of introducing annual herd testing in England was estimated at £12.8 million for 19,600 additional herd tests per year. The average cost of a routine bovine tuberculosis herd test to a farmer was estimated at £350 in 2011-12.

Dairy Farming

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many complaints his Department has received on the Dairy Code of Conduct. [203268]

George Eustice: Since its launch in October 2012, the Dairy Code of Conduct has helped to improve contractual relationships between farmers and their milk buyers. The code was developed by the industry and now covers more than 85% of domestic milk production. I regularly discuss the code with industry.

I am aware of some concerns that exist about the notice periods for farmers where there are any price changes and how these apply to dairy co-operatives, I have emphasised that any difficulties or suggestions for improving the code should be raised with the right hon. Alex Fergusson, MSP who is currently leading an independent review process.

Food Supply Networks Review

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects the Elliott Report on food crime to be published; and if he will make a statement. [203636]

George Eustice: The Elliott Report is due to be published shortly.

Forests: Christchurch

Mr Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 24 June 2014, Official Report, column 137W, on forests: Christchurch, how many areas of woodland

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and heathland in Hurn Forest will be affected by the cable route; and what steps have been taken to consult local people about the environmental effect. [204015]

Dan Rogerson: An application for the proposed development has been made under the Planning Act 2008 and members of the public have had an opportunity to register as interested parties in the examination process. The application documents are published on the Planning Portal website. The applicant proposes that a cable corridor of 4,565 linear metres will be laid within the Hurn Forest.

During construction a corridor up to a maximum of 40 metres would be required by the contractors to facilitate laying the cable; this equates to an area of 18.26 hectares. After construction, the land directly affected by the cable would be 20 metres wide (affecting 9.13 hectares). The Forestry Commission has worked with the developer to locate the proposed cable route adjacent to existing forest roads and tracks, reducing the impact on the actual forest area.

Since 2012, the developers have undertaken public consultation prior to the submission of their application on the route of the cable and the potential impacts

http://www.navitusbaywindpark.co.uk/consultation

The examination process will include further opportunities for representations about the proposal, including the Environmental Statements submitted as part of the application.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if he will estimate the total number of ministerial replies from his Department to hon. Members in a parliamentary Session; and what proportion of such replies are sent (a) by letter and (b) by email; [203304]

(2) what plans his Department has to increase the number of replies sent electronically to letters from hon. Members. [203528]

Dan Rogerson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 3 July 2014, Official Report, columns 5-6W.

Pesticides

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on implementing a ban on pesticide neonictinoids; and if he will make a statement. [203903]

Dan Rogerson: Decisions on the approval of pesticide active substances are made at European level. Last year, the European Union (EU) withdrew approval for the use of three neonicotinoids on a number of crops. The UK Government have implemented these restrictions on neonicotinoids.

Pets: Sales

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many complaints Trading Standards has received relating to the sale of unwell puppies in each of the last five years. [203196]

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George Eustice: Details of the number of complaints that Trading Standards has received relating to the sale of sick puppies would rest with each local authority and are not held centrally.

Policy

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at what level his Department values the reduction of the risk of death per fatal casualty prevented; and if he will give an example of a policy intervention where this evaluation was made. [203288]

Dan Rogerson: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply given on 7 July 2014, Official Report, column 73W.

An example of a policy intervention where the reduction of risk of death is valued is in the consultation stage impact assessment on whether to issue a ministerial direction for the preparation of reservoir flood plans, issued on 17 December 2009. This document has been placed in the House Library.

Treasury

Business: Loans

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the level of bank lending to small and medium-sized businesses since May 2010. [203916]

Andrea Leadsom: The Government have introduced measures to improve both bank and non-bank lending to businesses, such as the Funding for Lending Scheme, the British Business Bank and the Appeals Process.

Against this backdrop, gross lending to small and medium sized businesses in 2014 Q1 was almost 15% higher than in the same quarter a year earlier; and 32% of SMEs that have been through the Appeals Process have had their initial loan rejection overturned.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the proportion of households who will be eligible for tax-free childcare who currently spend more than (a) £7,000, (b) £8,000, (c) £9,000 and (d) £10,000 on childcare. [203904]

Andrea Leadsom: Information on the number of families eligible for tax-free childcare and the number of families who will benefit from the increase of the £6,000 cap on costs per child to £10,000 can be found in Annex B of Delivering Tax-Free Childcare: the Government’s response to the consultation on design and operation:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293084/PU1607_Tax_free_Childcare_response.pdf

Breakdowns of the proportion of families benefitting from the levels of support requested are not available.

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Conditions of Employment

Pamela Nash: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many calls the pay and work rights helpline received in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last four years. [202979]

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

Calls to the pay and work rights helpline are shown in the following table.

The ‘unknown’ figure refers to callers who either did not wish to say where they were calling from, or rang off before they could be asked.

Dover Priory Station

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 8 April 2014, Official Report, column 225W, on Dover Priory Station, for what reasons HM Revenue and Customs has not made an assessment of the economic benefits that new parking facilities at Dover Priory Station would provide to the local area. [203486]

Mr Gauke: As explained in my previous reply on 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 394W, HM Revenue and Customs occupies its site adjacent to Dover Priory Station under a PFI contract. Local development is a matter for local authorities and not HMRC.

Highways Agency

Richard Burden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2014, Official Report, column 598, on the Highways Agency, whether his Department is discussing the potential extension of the provisions of section 41(3) of the VAT Act 194 to the proposed Strategic Highways Company. [203438]

Mr Gauke: The Treasury deals with requests from Government Departments relating to Section 41(3) of the VAT Act 1994. The Department for Transport has raised the issue of the new company being created to replace the Highways Agency and officials from both Departments are looking at this.

Hotels: VAT

Simon Kirby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider reducing VAT on hotels to encourage tourism; and if he will make a statement. [203878]

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Mr Gauke: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave on 11 February 2014, Official Report, columns 212-14WH.

Minimum Wage

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many civil enforcement actions HM Revenue and Customs has taken against employers over non-payment of the minimum wage in the last five years. [203782]

Mr Gauke: The Government take the enforcement of national minimum wage (NMW) very seriously and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) reviews every complaint that is referred to investigating the complaint and, in addition, carrying out targeted enforcement where we identify a high risk of non-payment of NMW.

The majority of employers identified as paying below the NMW will pay arrears on receipt of a formal Notice of Underpayment, i.e. civil enforcement action.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer on 6 May 2014, Official Report, column 110W, for the number of non-compliant employers for the period requested.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria HM Revenue and Customs uses to determine whether a case where an employer is paying one or more employees less than the minimum wage is pursued by the civil route or the criminal route. [203783]

Mr Gauke: The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) is responsible for National Minimum Wage (NMW) policy, including the policy on compliance and enforcement. HM Revenue and Customs enforces the NMW Act on behalf of BIS.

BIS has set out how the Government operate the civil and criminal enforcement of the NMW in a policy document headed ‘Policy on HM Revenue and Customs enforcement, prosecutions and naming employers who break national minimum wage law (March 2014)’. This document is available on-line at

www.gov.uk/government/publications/enforcing-national-minimum-wage-law

National Insurance Fund

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the income to the National Insurance Fund would be if all people over the state retirement age paid contributions. [202998]

Mr Gauke: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) currently estimates that abolishing the national insurance exemption for people of pensionable age in 2014-15 would raise around £950 million in NIC receipts.

This figure is based on employee and self-employed national insurance contributions (Classes 1, 2 and 4).

The estimate is based on the latest available Survey of Personal Incomes (2011-12), which has been projected in line with Budget 2014 economic assumptions.

The estimate also includes a behavioural adjustment to reflect changes in labour supply for this age group which are subject to some uncertainties.

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Pension Funds

Mr Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an assessment of the effect of allegations of illegal manipulation of the WM/Reuters benchmark currency rates on private pension funds in the UK. [203197]

Andrea Leadsom: The Financial Conduct Authority is investigating allegations of misconduct in foreign exchange markets. The Government are clear that any attempted manipulation of foreign exchange markets is completely unacceptable and they are leading the reform agenda both internationally and within the EU to reform the governance of financial benchmarks. The Government have also launched a joint review by the Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority into the way wholesale financial markets operate.

However, it would be inappropriate for the Government to comment on any potential or ongoing investigations.

Public Sector: VAT

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps HM Revenue and Customs is taking to ensure that public sector bodies do not underpay VAT. [203224]

Mr Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) deploys its resources according to risk and has a continuous programme of work assuring tax compliance across a range of taxes, including VAT, in the public (and private) sector. Since 2008 there has been a dedicated operational unit responsible for compliance activity in the public sector, and it aims to treat the public sector in the same way as HMRC treats similar customers in the private sector.

Revenue and Customs: Irvine

Katy Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the reasons are for the proposed closure of Irvine Tax Office. [203767]

Mr Gauke: The spending review means HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will reduce in size to 52,000 full- time equivalent (FTE) posts by 2016. Reduced staffing levels mean a reduced need for accommodation and HMRC has to consider where and how work will be done in the future.

Irvine is one of 14 offices which do not feature in the longer term plans of any of HMRC’s lines of business, and in November staff based at these locations were invited to apply for voluntary exits if they wished to leave the Department now. Those who accepted exits left on 30 April.

On 5 June HMRC opened consultation on the possible closure date for 12 of these 14 offices. The proposed closure date for Irvine is December 2015. Consultation will last until 5 August and HMRC’s decision will be announced in September.

HMRC’s longer term strategy will look to bring people together in larger sites, enabling the Department to work more flexibly and with improved cost effectiveness.

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Attorney-General

Sexual Offences: Armed Forces

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Attorney-General what recent discussions he has had with the director of the Services Prosecution Authority about its effectiveness in prosecuting rape and other sexual offences in the armed forces in the UK and overseas. [904727]

The Solicitor-General: The Attorney-General and I meet regularly with the Director of Service Prosecutions and discuss casework issues at these meetings. This includes the prosecution of rape and other sexual offences.

Children: Abuse

Mr Watson: To ask the Attorney-General (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of each item of correspondence between his Department and (a) the Home Office and (b) Lord Brittan of Spennithorne in relation to child abuse in (a) 1984 and (b) 1985; and if he will make a statement; [203925]

(2) if he will place in the Library copies of papers from Lord Brittan of Spennithorne in relation to child abuse in 1983 and 1984 and which were referred to his Department by the Home Office; and if he will make a statement. [204036]

The Attorney-General: Searches of records at the Attorney-General's Office have been conducted to try and determine what, if any, correspondence or files were passed to this Office in relation to these issues. We have so far found no trace of any material.

Consultants

Keith Vaz: To ask the Attorney-General what the cost to the public purse was of external consultants employed by (a) the Serious Fraud Office and (b) the Crown Prosecution Service in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012, (iv) 2013 and (v) 2014 to date. [199705]

The Solicitor-General: The following table contains details on the expenditure on external consultants by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) during the past four complete financial years. Both organisations financial reporting systems are configured to provide information based on financial rather than calendar years.

Crown Prosecution Service

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Attorney-General what progress the Crown Prosecution Service has made in reducing costs. [904723]

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The Attorney-General: In 2010-11, the baseline year for the current comprehensive spending review period, the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) gross resource expenditure was £684,725,000.

The Department is on target to meet its cost reduction plans through to 2015-16 and in 2013-14 the uncertified Annual Accounts report gross resource expenditure of £616,342,000, a reduction of £68,383,000, or 10%, in cash terms.

Forced Marriage: Prosecutions

Mr Hollobone: To ask the Attorney-General what steps the Crown Prosecution Service is taking to prosecute successfully the offence of forced marriage in (a) Northamptonshire and (b) England. [203838]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service issued Legal Guidance on the new offence of forced marriage in June 2014. The Legal Guidance applies nationally and all prosecutors in the CPS, including those based in Northamptonshire, will refer to it when reviewing forced marriage cases. The CPS is also developing a new e-learning module on forced marriage for all prosecutors and expects to launch the module in July 2014, in addition to developing a joint training package with the police which will be delivered across all of the 13 CPS areas this year.

Electoral Commission Committee

Absent Voting

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, which wards, in which town, county and parliamentary constituency had a postal vote turnout greater than 90 per cent at the last set of local elections for which figures are available. [203488]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the most recent turnout data it holds by ward/division are for the May 2013 county council elections in England and Anglesey, Wales. Postal voter turnout was not greater than 90% in any electoral ward/division at these elections.

Electoral Commission

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent assessment the Committee has made of the adequacy of the budget of the Electoral Commission for (a) advertising and (b) the functioning of the Commission. [203629]

Mr Streeter: Under paragraph 14 of schedule 1 to the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 the Committee is required to review the Electoral Commission’s estimates of resources and five-year corporate plan before they are laid before the House. In the course of the Committee’s scrutiny it is required to have regard to advice provided to it by HM Treasury and reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General as well as taking

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oral evidence from the Commission. The report from the C&AG has been published on the SCEC website:

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/NAO%20Electoral%20Commission%20Annual%20 VFM%20Report%202013-14.pdf.

A Sub-Committee of SCEC was informally briefed on the Electoral Commission’s finances and plans by Peter Wardle, Chief Executive and Carolyn Hughes, Director of Finance and Corporate Services on 4 February and the full Committee took oral evidence on the Estimate in public from Jenny Watson, Chair of the Committee, and Carolyn Hughes on 2 April. A transcript of the evidence is available online at the Committee’s website:

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/speakers-electoral-commission/140402_SCEC_estimate.pdf!docid=2047751!.pdf

On 1 May 2014 the Committee made a written statement confirming that it had agreed the Commission’s Estimate for 2014-15 without modification.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, which 50 local authorities had the largest decrease in electoral registration between December 2012 to March 2014; and which parliamentary constituencies cover such local authorities. [202601]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the requested data are available here:

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The following parliamentary constituencies are covered by these local authorities:

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Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, (1) if the Electoral Commission will publish the names of the 10 local authorities with the (a) smallest and (b) biggest percentage increase in registration after the implementation of the Standard Three door-to-door canvassing for 2013 canvass; and which parliamentary constituencies each such local authority covers; [202758]

(2) will publish the 10 local authorities with the biggest (a) increase and (b) decrease in the net number of electors following the 2013 annual canvass. [202760]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the following table shows the 10 local authorities with the biggest increases and decreases in electorate between the start and end of the 2013 canvass:

These local authorities cover the following parliamentary constituencies:

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Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, if the Electoral Commission will publish electoral registration rates for each region and constituent part of the UK for each of the last 30 years; what the long term and predicted future trends in levels of registration are; and if he will make a statement. [203487]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it holds regional and country-level data on completeness from the studies on electoral registration which have been carried out using census data. These are presented in the table. Note that these estimates are not corrected for non-response to the census and as a result are higher than the commonly quoted headline completeness estimates.

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The Commission’s 2011 report summarises its conclusions on the recent trends in levels of registration and likely causal factors. The report can be found on their website here:

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/145366/Great-Britains-electoral-registers-2011.pdf

A further report on the completeness and accuracy of the registers will be published in July and will update the picture to 2014.

Voting Behaviour

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the answer of 26 June 2014, Official Report, columns 267-68W, on general election 2010, if the Electoral Commission will make it its policy to hold information on ward level turnout for general as well as local elections. [203272]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that legislation specifies what data returning officers (ROs) must currently record and report to the Commission, and the list of required data does not include ward level electoral data for UK parliamentary general elections. The Commission's current view is that the likely benefits of it collecting these data are insufficient to justify the additional burden it would impose on ROs and their staff. The Commission will continue to collect electoral data at constituency level for UK parliamentary general elections.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, which 100 wards had the lowest turnout for voting (a) in person and (b) by postal vote in the last set of local elections for which figures are available; and which town, county and parliamentary constituency each such ward was located. [203489]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has placed the answer to the hon. Member's question in the Library.

Home Department

Asylum

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many refugees have been recognised under each eligibility criterion in each of the last five years. [203051]

Karen Bradley: The Home Office is unable to provide information with regards to eligibility criterion; this information is not readily accessible.

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The following data refer to asylum claims lodged in the UK. These figures refer to main applicants and therefore do not include dependents.

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Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost to the public purse of (a) officials' time and (b) legal fees was of defending Refugee Action vs the Home Department, case number CO/8523/2013. [203417]

Karen Bradley: Information relating to officials' time is not available because the time spent on individual cases is not broken down or recorded. Legal costs to date are £109,076.74.

Asylum: Finance

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers in receipt of section 95 support are (a) single adults aged between 18 and 24, (b) single adults aged over 25, (c) couples, (d) single lone parents, (e) aged 16 or 17, (f) children under 16 and (g) children under five. [203354]

Karen Bradley: The Home Office data on section 95 claimants are aligned to the specific payment categories. The categories referred to in the question were changed in October 2009.

The Home Office data on section 95 claimants are aligned to the specific payment categories. The categories referred to in the question were changed in October 2009.

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long on average an asylum seeker stays on Section 95 support. [203355]

Karen Bradley: We do not hold data on the amount of time people stay on section 95 support in a format that is compatible with National Statistics protocols.

Asylum: Somalia

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers have (a) been deported and (b) voluntarily returned to Somalia in each of the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement. [203641]

Karen Bradley: The following table provides the number of asylum cases removed or departing voluntarily from the UK to Somalia in each of the last 12 months.