Leader of the House

Pay

Mr Bradshaw: To ask the Leader of the House how many officials employed by his Office, of each grade, have remained at that grade since 2010 but received a pay rise; and how much of a rise each such person at each such grade has received. [205463]

Mr Hague: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the right hon. Member to the answer by the Minister for the Cabinet Office of 16 July 2014, Official Report,column 734W.

Attorney-General

Confiscation Orders

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what the value is of outstanding debt under confiscation orders obtained by the Crown Prosecution Service; and what recent estimate he has made of how much such debt is realistically recoverable. [205134]

The Solicitor-General: As of 3 April 2014 the total amount of outstanding debt in confiscation orders where the CPS was the lead enforcer was £501,450,120 (excluding interest). 31.8% of this debt has been assessed as recoverable which relates to £159,416,384.

Convictions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what the conviction rates were in the magistrates' courts for cases prosecuted by (a) Crown prosecutors and (b) paralegals in each of the last five years. [205187]

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The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number or outcome of prosecutions conducted by Crown Prosecutors or Associate Prosecutors (paralegals) in magistrates courts. To obtain details of the conviction rates for each would require a manual exercise of reviewing individual case files to be undertaken at a disproportionate cost.

CPS Direct

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General in how many and what proportion of CPS Direct-charged cases the charge was subsequently (a) varied, (b) dropped pre-trial, (c) subject to a prosecution decision to offer no evidence at trial and (d) dismissed by the court in 2013-14 and each of the three preceding years. [205153]

The Solicitor-General: The CPS holds no central records of the number of cases where one, or more, charge was varied subsequent to a charging decision made by CPS Direct.

The proportion of cases dropped by the CPS in cases where the original charging decision was made by CPS Direct is as follows:

No record is held of the number of cases where the prosecution decided to offer no evidence specifically at trial.

The following table shows the number and proportion of prosecutions where the original charging decision was made by CPS Direct which subsequently resulted in a judge directed acquittal or the court dismissing the case at trial, either of its own motion, or on a defence submission of no case to answer, without hearing evidence for the defence.

Included here are cases where an acceptable guilty plea was submitted for one or more charges and the prosecution proceeded on other charges which resulted in a judge directed acquittal or a verdict of no case to answer.

Criminal Proceedings

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of cases were charged by (a) the police, (b) the Crown Prosecution Service and (c) another agency in (i) 2013-14 and (ii) each of the previous three financial years. [205182]

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The Solicitor-General: The Director’s Guidance on Charging, issued under the provisions of S37A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE), sets out the requirements for police officers and prosecutors during the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases, including those offences which the police and the CPS are responsible for the charge decision.

Under these arrangements the police are responsible for the charge decision in approximately 70% of all cases, with the CPS retaining the decision to charge in the remaining 30% of cases which are the most complex and serious. The CPS is responsible for making the charging decisions in cases brought by other agencies such as DWP, HMRC and DEFRA.

The proportions for the last three years are as follows:

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of police-charged cases in each of the last three financial years were subsequently subject to a (a) decision by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to vary the charge, (b) decision by the CPS to drop the charge, (c) decision by the CPS to offer no evidence, (d) dismissal by the court on grounds of no-case to answer and (e) dismissal by the court after trial. [205184]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold data that would allow the identification of individual charges that had been varied at any point from the original charge.

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The proportion of Police charged cases that resulted in the other requested outcomes are as follows:

Public Expenditure

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how much the (a) Serious Fraud Office and (b) Crown Prosecution Service spent on (i) travel, (ii) furniture and fittings and (iii) any dilapidation claims arising from the quitting of premises in each year since 2008. [205094]

The Solicitor-General: The Serious Fraud Office moved from its premises at Elm House on Elm Street and part of the ITN building on Gray's Inn Road at the end of 2012. It is now located on one site in Cockspur Street.

The information requested is set out in the following table. There were no relevant costs in 2008-09 or 2009-10.

The Crown Prosecution Service spent the following amounts on furniture and fittings and dilapidations in each year since 2008.

Expenditure incurred on dilapidations occurred as a result of quitting premises. Expenditure on furniture and fittings covers all such expenditure. To identify spend that relates solely and specifically to quitting premises would involve the checking of thousands of invoices and would incur a disproportionate cost.

From records held it is also not possible to identify spend on travel arising from quitting premises without incurring a disproportionate cost.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Alcoholic Drinks

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's policy is on the consumption of alcohol during social occasions held in his private office. [205240]

Mr Ellwood: Consumption of alcohol is permitted in FCO premises for social occasions amongst FCO staff. Staff are responsible for the cost of alcohol and refreshments for these events. The Department has a zero tolerance policy on the misuse of alcohol by FCO employees.

Bahrain

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the human rights situation in Bahrain. [205253]

Mr Ellwood: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 26 June 2014, Official Report, column 253W.

Burma

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Burmese government on a ceasefire in conflict zones and the withdrawal of military forces. [204998]

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Mr Swire: We are supporting the continued peace talks between the Burmese Government and ethnic armed groups and the agreement to work towards a nationwide ceasefire and political dialogue. However, we remain concerned by continued fighting in Kachin State and Northern Shan State, and reports of human rights violations.

I discussed the peace process with the Burmese Government and the military Commander in Chief during my visit to Burma in January 2014, and in Kachin with the army’s Northern Commander and ethnic and religious leaders. Our ambassador in Rangoon regularly raises both our concerns and our support for a sustainable peace through ceasefire and political dialogue with Burmese Government Ministers, officials and ethnic leaders.

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise with the Burmese authorities the arrest and sentencing to 10 years hard labour of journalists in that country. [205641]

Mr Swire: We welcome the overall widening of media freedom under this Burmese Government. However, we are deeply concerned by the intimidation, detention and sentencing of several reporters in Burma in recent months, which contrary to the longer positive trend is further restricting Burma’s media environment.

Our ambassador has raised our concerns about the detention of journalists with Deputy Minister of Information Ye Htut, and the cases of the five journalists sentenced to 10 years hard labour were also discussed during the first EU-Burma Human Rights Dialogue in May. We will continue to raise the issue of media freedom in discussions with the Burmese Government and in international fora.

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of recent changes in the Burmese authorities' attitude to freedom of expression. [205642]

Mr Swire: We welcome the overall widening of media freedom under this Burmese Government. However, we are deeply concerned by the intimidation, detention and sentencing of several reporters in Burma in recent months, which contrary to the longer positive trend is further restricting Burma’s media environment.

Our ambassador has raised our concerns about the detention of journalists with Deputy Minister of Information Ye Htut, and the cases of the five journalists sentenced to 10 years hard labour were also discussed during the first EU-Burma Human Rights Dialogue in May. We will continue to raise the issue of media freedom in discussions with the Burmese Government and in international fora.

Central African Republic

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in the Central African Republic. [205543]

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Mark Simmonds: The security situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) continues to be severely unstable. Sectarian violence continues, and there is widespread displacement of civilians. The UK is playing a strong role as part of the international community’s response. We provided early support to the deployment of the African Union mission (MISCA), as well as to the EU security mission (EUFOR), and co-sponsored the UN Security Council Resolution that authorised a UN Peacekeeping Operation (PKO), which will deploy in September. Through DFID, the UK has also provided £23 million in humanitarian aid to a range of NGOs and UN agencies, providing access to protection, food, water and sanitation, shelter and healthcare.

Middle East

Mr Khalid Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to decrease violence between Israel and Palestine. [205251]

Mr Ellwood: I refer to the statement made by the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), to the House on 14 July 2014, Official Report, column 581-83.

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications for his policy of the report by the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs on the number of casualties among young people and other civilians during the recent Israeli military operation in Gaza. [205657]

Mr Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the Statement on Gaza made by the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), to the House on 14 July 2014, Official Report, columns 581-83.

This statement both underlines the terrible human cost of the conflict and outlines our policy objectives to end this cycle of violence and devastation once and for all. Our objectives are to secure a ceasefire, to alleviate humanitarian suffering and to keep alive the prospects for peace negotiations.

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the number of Palestinian civilian casualties during the recent Israeli military operation in Gaza. [205663]

Mr Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the statement on Gaza made by the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), to the House on 14 July 2014, Official Report, columns 581-83.

As of the morning of 16 July, it is reported that 197 Palestinian civilians have been killed in Gaza and up to 1,265 injured since Israel started Operation Protective Edge. The UN estimates that 77% of those killed are civilians.

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Recruitment

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost was of his Department's Black and Minority Ethnic campaign. [204743]

Mr Ellwood: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spent £21,968 on the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Campaign in the financial year 2013-14, excluding staff costs. We expect to spend a further £20,000 in financial Year 2014-15.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion for all its employees. Further diversity and equality information is available from the FCO’s Diversity and Equality Report.

Secondment

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff of his Department have been seconded to (a) other Ministries of Foreign Affairs and (b) international organisations in each year since 2010; and to which (i) other Ministries of Foreign Affairs and (ii) international organisations such staff have been seconded. [204741]

Mr Ellwood: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff can be seconded to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) or international organisations on agreement between the Directorate, Post and the MFA or international organisations. These secondments are a valuable tool for the FCO to meet objectives, increase ties with partner Governments or international organisations and develop staff skills and experience.

There is no centrally held record of each of these secondments since 2010 and to answer this question would incur disproportionate costs.

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many secondees from which other Ministries of Foreign Affairs his Department has received in each year since 2010. [204742]

Mr Ellwood: Foreign Service Officers from other Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFA) are seconded to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on agreement between the Directorate, Post and MFA. These secondments are a valuable tool for the FCO to meet objectives and increase ties with partner Governments.

There is no centrally held record of each of these secondments since 2010 and to answer this question would incur disproportionate costs.

Training

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many individuals in his Department have participated in (a) disability awareness and (b) lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender training in each year since 2010. [204738]

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Mr Ellwood: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) Disability Policy and Support Team arrange disability awareness sessions for staff. Between September 2010 and June 2014 we held 205 sessions reaching an estimated 2,460 staff as follows:

The Civil Service Learning (CSL) Disability Awareness and their Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) awareness e-learning courses were made available from February 2013 and April 2013 respectively. Based on those staff completing evaluation records, at least 142 staff have completed these so far as follows:

Disability Awareness e-learning: 2013 – 51; January to 10 July 2014 – 30.

LGBT Awareness e-learning: 2013 – 28; January to 10 July 2014 – 33.

FCO staff associations for people with disabilities (ENABLE) and LGBT staff (FLAGG) also hold regular awareness raising sessions and external speaker events each year, across a range of topics, which all staff are welcome to attend. Further information on FCO initiatives to promote diversity and equality information is available in the FCO’s Diversity and Equality Report.

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what professional courses civil servants in his Department have attended since 2010; and how many officials attended each such course. [204739]

Mr Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Hugh Robertson), 14 July 2014, Official Report, column 483W.

International Development

Afghanistan

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2014, Official Report, column 181W, on Afghanistan, for what reason her Department did not engage with the Afghan Investment Support Agency on the Bost airfield project. [205006]

Justine Greening: The Bost Airfield and Agri-Business Park project comprised two separate components. On the airfield upgrade component, DFID worked closely with the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, which operates airfields and airports in Afghanistan, to complete the upgrade. All works have now been handed over to the relevant authorities.

Alcoholic Drinks

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her Department's policy is on alcohol consumption on the premises (a) in general and (b) during parties in her Private Office. [205328]

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Lynne Featherstone: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided today by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude).

Buildings

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much has been spent on refurbishing (a) gymnasium and leisure facilities, (b) cafeteria and (c) interior decoration within (i) her Department and (ii) buildings owned by her Department in (A) 2013 and (B) 2014 to date. [205071]

Lynne Featherstone: No refurbishment was made to facilities in 2014.

The east Kilbride office carried out refurbishment to facilities mentioned at a cost of £5,790 during 2013.

Commonwealth

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will takes steps to adapt her Department’s budget to favour Commonwealth countries. [205529]

Lynne Featherstone: DFID’s development programming is concerned with extreme poverty everywhere, but the Department focuses its financial investments on poor people in countries where extreme poverty is currently a problem, with relatively weak future prospects of the poor, and for which a self-financed exit from poverty is not feasible at this stage.

DFID has 28 priority countries, 14 of which are Commonwealth countries. The UK is committed to its strong relationships with the countries of the Commonwealth and in the financial year 2013-14, approximately one third of the Department’s bilateral expenditure went to Commonwealth countries. These figures exclude the UK Government’s contribution to multilateral organisations and regional programmes which also benefit Commonwealth countries.

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will support the inclusion in the Sustainable Development Goals of a standalone goal on climate change, in addition to targets on environmental sustainability integrated across the framework, accompanied by a measure to keep the rise in global temperatures at 2° C on pre-industrialisation levels. [205609]

Justine Greening: The UK supports a target to hold the increase in global average temperature below a 2° C rise in accordance with international agreements.

The final targets in the post-2015 development framework will, however, be subject to international negotiations in the United Nations, in which the UK will play an active role.

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Developing Countries: Health Services

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will support the inclusion of universal health coverage in the goal on health in the Sustainable Development Goals. [205607]

Justine Greening: The UK supports a post-2015 target on universal health coverage. This language is included in the most recent draft goals and targets list released by the co-chairs of the Open Working Group (OWG) on 2 June.

The final targets in the post-2015 development framework will be subject to international negotiations in the United Nations, in which the UK will play an active role.

Developing Countries: Poverty

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will support the inclusion in the Sustainable Development Goals of a target on reducing the number of people living on less than $2 a day under the goal on poverty. [205610]

Justine Greening: The UK supports a target to reduce the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day and a target on reducing poverty according to national definitions. This language is included in the most recent draft goals and targets list released by the co-chairs of the Open Working Group (OWG) on 2 June.

The final targets in the post-2015 development framework will, however, be subject to international negotiations in the United Nations, in which the UK will play an active role.

Developing Countries: Sustainable Development

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the report of the High Level panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, what steps she is taking to ensure that the pledge to leave no-one behind is effectively translated into the target language of the proposed Sustainable Development Goals. [205608]

Justine Greening: The UK, through our Troika, have made statements in the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals on the importance of “leaving no one behind” as an overarching principle for the post-2015 framework.

The final goals and targets in the post-2015 development framework will be subject to international negotiations in the United Nations, in which the UK will play an active role.

Mass Media: Subscriptions

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what subscriptions to (a) magazines and (b) television channels her Department funds; and what the annual cost is of each of those subscriptions. [205257]

Lynne Featherstone: DFID’s communications team subscribes to following magazines:

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A figure for magazine subscriptions across the entire Department cannot be compiled from our accounting records without incurring disproportionate cost.

Television channels are paid for via the parliamentary feed. DFID pays £6,728.90 each year for maintenance of the parliamentary TV system and £13,500 a year for rental of the telecomms link from 22 Whitehall to the Palace of Westminster.

Ministers' Private Offices

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her Department's policy is on the consumption of alcohol during social occasions held in her private office. [205241]

Lynne Featherstone: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided today by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude).

Procurement

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much and what proportion of her Department’s budget was spent on activities which were contracted out in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13 and (e) 2013-14; and how much and what proportion of her Department’s budget she expects to be contracted out in 2014-15. [205220]

Justine Greening: Under this Government’s transparency programme, contracts and future contract pipeline information is published on Contracts Finder which is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder

In regards to the proportion of my Department’s contracted spends to overall budget, full copies of the annual accounts are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?keywords =annual+accounts&publication_filter_option=corporate-reports&topics%5B%5D=all&departments%5B%5D=department

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Training

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many away days her Department has held for its officials in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date; and what the cost of each such event has been. [205074]

Lynne Featherstone: Information on the number of DFID away days and the costs incurred is not held centrally and precise information is not readily available.

Away days for Department for International Development (DFID) staff are overwhelmingly undertaken on DFID or other Government Department premises where there is little or no cost involved.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department has spent on (a) media training and (b) social media training for (i) her and (ii) other Ministers in her Department; and what specific training was provided in each such case. [205243]

Lynne Featherstone: DFID operates a decentralised learning and development system and does not hold central records of course attendance or small scale expenditure. DFID publishes all expenditure over £500, which can be found on our website:

http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-us/How-we-measure-progress/DFID-spend/

Producing any other type of report would incur disproportionate costs.

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much has been spent on what (a) media training and (b) social media training for (i) her and (ii) Ministers in her Department since May 2010. [205312]

Lynne Featherstone: DFID operates a decentralised learning and development system and does not hold central records of course attendance or small scale expenditure. DFID publishes all expenditure over £500, which can be found on our website at:

http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-us/How-we-measure-progress/DFID-spend/

Producing any other type of report would incur disproportionate costs.