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Written Answers to Questions

Monday 21 July 2014

Women and Equalities

Pay

Mr Bradshaw: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities how many officials employed by the Government Equalities 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. [205457]

Jo Swinson: The Government Equalities Office joined DCMS in September 2012. The Department’s database management system does not record this information in a way that can extract the information asked for. To identify this information for each employee would incur disproportionate cost. Pay awards for civil service Departments are limited to an average of up to one percent of overall paybill costs.

Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities how many contracts the Government Equalities Office (a) has let and (b) plans to let that are worth (i) between £1 million and £3 million and (i) over £3 million since 2010; how much the Government Equalities Office has spent on monitoring each such contract; and how many officials in the Government Equalities Office monitor each contract. [205370]

Jo Swinson: Since 2010 the Government Equalities Office (GEO) has not let any contracts between £1 million and £3 million and does not have any current plans to do so. The GEO has let only one contract over £3 million since 2010 and does not have any current plans of further contracts of this value. Monitoring of the contract, which is in relation to the Equalities Advisory Support Service, is undertaken alongside other duties by a small team of officials; there is no resource or budget solely for the monitoring of this contract.

Northern Ireland

Alcoholic Drinks

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what her Department's policy is on alcohol consumption on the premises (a) in general and (b) during parties in her Private Office. [205329]

Mrs Villiers: In line with the Conduct Policy, employees must report to work and remain in a fit and safe condition to undertake their duties throughout the working day. Employees must not consume alcohol at any time on work premises unless sanctioned by their line manager. Such sanction may be given, for example, for the Christmas reception hosted by my Private Office.

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Business

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment the Joint Ministerial Task Force on Banking and Access to Finance has made of the effect in Northern Ireland of UK-wide interventions to promote business in Northern Ireland. [205531]

Mrs Villiers: The Joint Ministerial Task Force on Banking and Access to Finance, which I chair, has been encouraging greater Northern Ireland participation in UK-wide access to finance schemes.

As reported in ‘Building a Prosperous and United Community: One Year On', UK Government schemes are having an increasing impact for businesses in Northern Ireland. The Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme delivered £5.1 million in 2013-14, an increase from the previous year and bringing total Northern Ireland funding from this scheme to £36.1 million. The Business Finance Partnership and Start-up Loans schemes have also delivered £2.4 million and £400,000 respectively in their first year in Northern Ireland. The Task Force will continue its work and will discuss the progress being made at its autumn meeting.

I recently took part in a series of discussions in Belfast with banks active in Northern Ireland to encourage them to take part in schemes supported by the Business Bank and Invest NI.

Mass Media: Subscriptions

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what subscriptions to (a) magazines and (b) television channels her Department funds. [205345]

Dr Murrison: My Department funds the subscription to a weekly magazine entitled The Caterer to ensure industry standards on, for example, health and safety are adhered to. My Department does not subscribe to any television channels.

Pay

Mr Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many officials employed by her Department, 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. [205464]

Mrs Villiers: 37 Officials in my Department have remained at the same grade since 2010, broken down by grade as follows:

SCS = 2,

A = 4,

B = 3,

C = 7,

D = 10,

E = 8,

F = 3.

Home civil servants in Bands A-F in my Department follow MOJ terms and conditions, including pay. Accordingly, NIO staff at these grades were subject to a three-year pay freeze until August 2013, when a 1% pay rise was awarded in line with the Government’s directive on public sector pay.

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Staff at grades A-F who were rated as outstanding in their annual performance report for 2013 received a 2% pay rise. Given the small numbers who received an outstanding marking, it would not be appropriate to provide any further breakdown as to do so could risk the identification of the individuals concerned.

Pay for SCS members of staff is regulated by the Senior Salaries Review Board. Neither of the two SCS in my Department, who have been here since 2010, has had a pay rise.

This response does not cover Northern Ireland Civil Servants seconded to the NIO from NI departments as they remain on terms and conditions of their home department, including pay.

Space Technology: Conferences

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps her Department is taking to support the application of Northern Ireland to host the UK Space Conference in 2017. [205503]

Mrs Villiers: I am strongly supportive of efforts to develop the space economy in Northern Ireland and am keen to work with Northern Ireland Ministers to deliver growth in this important sector. The Space Agency has welcomed the proposal from Northern Ireland to host the UK Space Conference in 2017, which it will consider in due course alongside proposals for other potential venues, to ensure that it is in the best position to deliver a successful event.

Training

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many awaydays her Department has held for officials in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date; and what the cost was of each such event. [205297]

Mrs Villiers: My Department has not held any awaydays for officials in (a) 2013 or (b) 2014 to date.

Justice

Children: Maintenance

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether courts link maintenance and contact with respect to children following the separation of the parents; and if he will make a statement. [205811]

Simon Hughes: The payment of child maintenance and the operation of children arrangements are two separate issues which are both vitally important for separated parents. Children have a right to care and support and parents have a responsibility to provide it, regardless of whether they are separated. There is also great benefit to most children of continued contact with both parents, regardless of the financial circumstances. A dispute about child maintenance should not therefore deprive a child of meaningful contact with the other parent and vice-versa.

The purpose of the child maintenance scheme is to make sure that parents fulfil their financial obligations to make provision for children with whom they no

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longer live. The Government believe that this is something parents should be able to manage for themselves through a family-based arrangement (in the vast majority of cases). The Department for Work and Pensions provides support to help them do so through the Child Maintenance Options Service, contactable on 0800-988-0988 or via:

www.cmoptions.org

The family courts deal with arrangements for children where parents have been unable to come to an agreement themselves. Here again, parents are encouraged to resolve their differences themselves. The Children and Families Act 2014 introduced, from April 2014, a legislative requirement on those who seek to issue certain family proceedings to first attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) to find out about family mediation. The other party is also expected to engage in the process.

Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what costs his Department incurred in relation to each stage of the judicial proceedings of the cases of (a) Christopher Huhne and (b) Vasiliki Pryce. [205007]

Mr Vara: The information required to provide a full response to the question could not be collated within the timeframe available. I will write to my hon. Friend.

Contact Orders

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what restrictions are placed on fathers who visit their children in contact centres. [205865]

Simon Hughes: Contact centres are intended to be enabling and supportive environments for fathers and mothers, which have children as their focus. Beyond the limitations of opening times, their volunteer nature and the facilities available, there are no intrinsic limits on what a contact centre can offer. Courts may place limits on the type of contact through court orders, in which case the contact centre will encourage compliance with the order.

The National Association of Child Contact Centres (NACCC) operates separate standards for supervised and supported contact and these are published on their website at:

http://www.naccc.org.uk/standards

Courts: Children

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in how many cases involving adults and children jointly charged, the child co-defendants were tried together with the adults in (a) an adult magistrates’ court and (b) a Crown court. [R] [204969]

Mr Vara: The vast majority of children and young people have their cases heard by specially trained magistrates in the Youth Court.

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Where a trial may involve both youth and adult co-defendants, criminal courts must consider whether it is in the interests of justice to keep the defendants together and deal with them in the adult magistrates court or the Crown court. In reaching this decision, courts must take into account factors such as age, maturity, culpability, inconvenience to witnesses or injustice to the case as a whole, including whether there are benefits in the same tribunal sentencing all offenders.

Overall crime is down and fewer young people are offending. Proven offending by under-18s has reduced by 44% since 2010-11, while the number of first-time entrants to the system has fallen by 39% over the same

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period. The number of young people dealt with in the criminal courts has also fallen, reducing by 51% between 2010 and 2013.

HMCTS do not centrally collate data on the number of young people and adults jointly charged and subsequently tried together.

Table 1 shows the number of cases where a child or young person has been tried in (a) the adult magistrates court. A child or young person may only be tried in the adult magistrates courts where they are a co-defendant with an adult and the court has decided that it is in the interests of justice to keep the defendants together.

Table 2 shows the number of cases where there was at least one youth defendant and at least one adult defendant from 2009-10 to 2013-14 in (b) the Crown court.

We are considering the recommendations made by the recent inquiry by parliamentarians, chaired by Lord Carlile, including the recommendation concerning where cases involving children and young people are heard.

Courts: Fines

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in how many and what proportion of all offences resulting in a court-issued fine the maximum fine was handed down in the last five years. [204503]

Mr Vara: Fines imposed in individual cases are entirely a matter for the independent courts within the limits set by Parliament and following any relevant sentencing guidelines. The law requires that the amount of any fine must reflect both the seriousness of the offence and the known financial circumstances of the offender. Fines imposed in the Crown Court are unlimited. In the magistrates courts the sentencing guidelines set the starting point for courts as a percentage of the offender’s “relevant weekly income” after tax and national insurance. In most cases these are 50%, 100% or 150% of this figure, depending on seriousness. For offenders with low incomes or on benefits their “relevant weekly income” is assumed to be £110. In the last five years 7,440 fines and 0.17% of all fines were at the statutory maximum in the magistrates courts. The proportion of all fines at the maximum rate rose from 0.06% in 2009 to 0.36% in 2013.

Custody

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of times fathers have had access to their children restricted in each of the last five years for which figures are available; what the reasons were for the restrictions; and if he will make a statement. [205810]

Simon Hughes: Details of the number of times fathers have had access to their children restricted in each of the last five years and the reasons for those restrictions are not held centrally and can be obtained only by manually checking every case file at disproportionate costs.

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Detention Centres

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Gold Suite openings there have been in each month since January 2010. [205489]

Mr Vara: It has not been possible to answer the question within the timeframe. I will write to the right hon. Member in due course.

Fines: Lancashire

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were given a term of imprisonment by each magistrates court in Lancashire for non-payment of fines in each of the last five years. [205631]

Mr Vara: The number of offenders sentenced to immediate custody for non-payment of fines by each magistrates court in Lancashire is not available from information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the Court Proceedings Database. In order to provide this information it would involve the manual checking of case files and to do so would be disproportionate to costs.

HMCTS takes the issue of fine enforcement very seriously and is working to ensure that clamping down on fine defaulters is a continued priority nationwide. The courts have a range of powers to enforce payment of fines, including the use of bailiffs to seize goods and deductions from earnings or benefits. Ultimately, an offender can be imprisoned for non-payment of their fine.

Over recent years we have overseen improvements to the collection of financial penalties. There was a total of £290 million collected against fines and related impositions in 2013-14, which was a record high.

Food: Hygiene

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many businesses have been convicted under the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006 in each magistrates court in Lancashire in each of the last five years. [206328]

Mike Penning: The number of offenders that are companies or organisations found guilty at each magistrates court in the Lancashire police force area for offences under the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006 from 2009 to 2013 (latest available) is shown in the following table.

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HM Courts and Tribunals Service

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been made redundant by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) in each year since the foundation of HMCTS; and what the cost of redundancies at HMCTS was in each of those years. [206322]

Mr Vara: I can confirm that there have been no compulsory redundancies in HMCTS since its foundation in April 2011. There have been voluntary departures agreed in HMCTS since April 2011, as detailed in the HMCTS Financial Statement of Accounts. The number and cost of these voluntary departures are detailed below:

Minimum Wage

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many employment tribunals have taken place relating to under-payment of the minimum wage in (a) 2013-14 and (b) each of the previous five financial years; and how many such tribunals found in favour of the employee. [205523]

Mr Vara: The National Minimum Wage jurisdiction relates to suffering a detriment and or/dismissal related to failure to pay the minimum wage or allow access to records. The data are given in the following table. This information is published in Tribunals Statistics Quarterly, available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2014

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Open Prisons

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many indeterminate sentence prisoners have spent time in open prisons in the year ending 31 March (a) 2012, (b) 2013 and (c) 2014; [205145]

(2) what the (a) average, (b) maximum and (c) minimum time spent in an open prison was for indeterminate sentence prisoners before their release in each of the last five years. [205150]

Mr Vara: An indeterminate sentence prisoner will be transferred to open conditions only upon a positive recommendation from the independent Parole Board following a full risk assessment or, exceptionally, without a recommendation from the Parole Board where a prisoner can show exceptional progress. The Justice Secretary recently announced that any prisoner with an abscond history on their current sentence will not be eligible for return to open conditions other than in wholly exceptional circumstances.

While the National Offender Management Service records the number of indeterminate sentence prisoners transferred into open conditions each year, its case management systems do not report on the total number of indeterminate sentence prisoners who spend time in open conditions in the course of a calendar year; neither do they provide data on the average, maximum and minimum time they spend in open conditions. In order to provide this information, officials would be required to undertake a manual interrogation of case management systems. Such an exercise would incur disproportionate cost.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the least amount of time spent in an open prison by a prisoner was before (a) absconding and (b) breaching prison regulations in each of the last five years. [205158]

Mr Vara: To answer either part of this question it is necessary to look at the record of every prisoner who has been in an open prison and either absconded or breached prison disciplinary regulations in the last five years, in order to identify the date of transfer to open conditions and make a calculation. This could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Figures for the number of absconds, by prison, since 1995 are provided in the Prison Digest contained in the Prison and Probation Trusts Performance Statistics. This can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225234/prison-performance-digest-12-13.xls

Pay

Mr Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many officials employed by his Department, 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. [205462]

Mr Vara: In the emergency budget on 22 June 2010 the Chancellor announced that the Civil Service, alongside the wider public sector, would be subject to a two-year

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pay freeze from 2011-12, with those earning a full-time equivalent salary of £21,000 or less seeing an increase of at least £250, subject to continuing to make progression payments where these were contractual. In the 2011 autumn statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that public sector pay awards will average at 1% for the two years following the pay freeze.

The pay freeze took effect in MOJ (excluding NOMS) from August 2011 and MOJ exited the pay freeze on 1 August 2013. MOJ's pay arrangements from August 2013 target actions at the most pressing issues to ensure our proposals remain affordable within the 1% public sector pay cap while aiming to reward high performers, better enable recruitment and talent retention, and protect the lowest paid staff by improving their starting salaries.

NOMS have separate pay bargaining arrangements, linked to the Prison Service Pay Review Body. From 2010-11 to 2011-12 under the pay freeze NOMS was unable to increase the pay scales within its structures. However, NOMS has continued to honour annual pay progression increases for eligible staff (those who have not reached the maxima of the pay scale).

In 2012, the Prison Service Pay Review Body and the Government endorsed NOMS's proposals to invest into reforming pay structures so that they are more fair and sustainable. The review of NOMS's pay structures is based on data about the wider labour market (i.e., how levels of pay in NOMS compares to public and private sector labour markets), cost of living and inflation. From April 2012 new employees into NOMS, transfers into NOMS from other Government Departments and those moving within NOMS on promotion are subject to the new pay and grading structures; those moving within NOMS on level transfer have an option to move across to the new structures.

The cost of providing information on the pay rise received by each official that has remained in grade and has received a pay rise in MOJ and NOMS would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.

Police: Trials

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many trials in each magistrates court in Lancashire cracked due to failure of police officers to attend court as witnesses between 1 January 2013 and 30 June 2014. [205670]

Mr Vara: Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on cracked trial hearings does not include details regarding the occupation of absent witnesses. It is not possible to separately identify trials which crack due to police officers failing to attend court as witnesses. This information could be obtained from the individual courts only at disproportionate cost.

Prison Accommodation

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the certified normal accommodation and operational capacity is planned to be for each prison establishment on 29 August 2014. [205260]

Mr Vara: Prison numbers fluctuate throughout the year and we have sufficient accommodation for the current and expected population.

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Sensible measures have been taken to ensure that we will have sufficient capacity to deal with the projected level of the population. These measures include identifying additional places in prisons that can provide safe and decent conditions if required. This is a proportionate measure to ensure that we are able to hold all of those committed to custody by the courts.

Decisions on the number of such spaces required and the effect this will have on each prison’s certified normal accommodation and operational capacity will depend on the current and projected prison population, including an assessment of the necessary margin to manage population fluctuations.

Individual prison population and capacity information for every prison in England and Wales is published monthly on the Ministry of Justice website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-population-figures-2014

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We will end this Parliament with more adult male prison places than we inherited, more hours of work in prisons than we inherited, more education for young detainees than we inherited and a more modern, cost- effective prison estate than we inherited.

Prison Sentences: Bradford

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of all sentences handed down at (a) Keighly magistrates court and (b) Bradford Crown court in each year since 2008 were custodial sentences. [204458]

Mr Vara: While crime is falling, offenders are now more likely to go to prison and for longer.

The number and proportion of offenders sentenced to custodial sentences at magistrates courts within Keighley and Bradford local justice area(s) and Bradford Crown court from 2008 to 2013 can be viewed in the table.

Prisoners

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans his Department has to publish revised prison population projections. [205259]

Mr Vara: The Ministry of Justice publishes prison population projections annually as a National Statistic. The publication date for Prison Population Projections 2014–20 is 27 November 2014.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how old the oldest prison inmate in England and Wales is; [205506]

(2) how many prison inmates are aged (a) between 60 and 65, (b) between 66 and 70, (c) between 71 and 75, (d) between 76 and 80 and (e) over 80 years. [205507]

Mr Vara: Prison is the right place for serious, dangerous and persistent offenders. Since 2010, those who break the law are more likely to be sent to prison.

Over the last 10 years the number of prisoners in England and Wales aged 60 and over has risen each year. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is working hard to ensure that prisons are equipped to meet the needs of this group, including through the commissioning of health and social care services.

The table below shows the population of prisoners by specified age groups in all prison establishments in England and Wales, from the most recent available data at the end of March 2014.

Providing information on a single individual that is personal and potentially disclosive, such as the age of the oldest prisoner in England and Wales, would be contrary to our obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998. There were, however, five prisoners aged 90 or over as of 31 March 2014.

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Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment his Department has made of the likely effect on prison numbers of clause 25 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill. [206211]

Mike Penning: Knife crime is a scourge, and this Government have already introduced new offences of threatening with a knife in a public place or school in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. We are also legislating in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill to place statutory restrictions on the use of adult cautions for certain offences, which includes knife possession.

Clause 25 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill was introduced by Back-Bench amendment in the House of Commons. On the 17 June, the House of Commons passed the clause into the Bill at Report stage. The clause is now being considered in the House of Lords. We will publish an assessment of the impact of this clause on prison numbers, if it were to become law, in due course.

Prisoners' Release: Terrorism

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners convicted of terrorist-related offences have been released from prison in each of the last five years. [204460]

Mr Vara: When released from prison, all prisoners convicted of terrorist-related offences released on licence are managed through Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). They will be risk assessed, monitored and supervised by Probation, Police and other agencies. Terrorist offenders subject to statutory probation supervision may also be required to comply with additional licence conditions to better manage any risk they pose.

The release data available are extracted from the Home Office TACT bulletin, which also includes data for Scotland. The earliest available data are for 2010-11 and the figures provided in this answer include the England and Wales data only.

The 2013-14 figures have yet to be published.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the total (a) population and (b) number of foreign nationals of each nationality was in each jail in London on 1 July (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012, (iv) 2013 and (iv) 2014; [204035]

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(2) how many foreign nationals in jails in London on 1 July (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014 (i) were on remand and (ii) have been found guilty of a criminal offence; [204037]

(3) what crimes foreign nationals in jails in London on 1 July (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014 have been found guilty of committing. [204038]

Jeremy Wright: All FNOS given custodial sentences are referred to the Home Office for them to consider deportation at the earliest possible opportunity.

Separate tables (tables 1-8) providing the data requested have been placed in the Library. Data have been provided as at 31 March for 2014, as this is the latest published data point. For 2010 to 2013 data have been provided as at 30 June for each year, as this is the closest available published data point.

The number of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) deported under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) has increased under this Government. In 2013, we removed nearly 2,000 FNOs under ERS and under the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS), which we introduced in May 2012, we have removed over 240 FNOs to date.

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

Prisons: Business

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 30 June 2014, Official Report, column 396W, on prisons: business, what criteria each prison has to meet to be considered to have achieved Steady State. [205505]

Mr Vara: Prisons will be assessed as having achieved ‘Steady State’ when they are delivering the recommended benchmark ‘core day’, staffing profiles and regime, in compliance with arrangements formally agreed with trade unions.

Prisons: Overcrowding

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the level of overcrowding was on the prison estate in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [205255]

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

The average rate of crowding is published in the National Offender Management Service Annual Report and Accounts.

Figures for the 10 years 2004-05 to 2013-14 are set out in the following table.

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

Procurement

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much and what proportion of his 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 his Department's budget he expects to be contracted out in 2014-15. [205221]

Mr Vara: The following table shows the amount and proportion of the Department’s budget spenton activities which were contracted out. We expect 2014-15 to follow the recent trends.

Secondment

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff have been seconded into his Department and its Executive agencies from (a) G4S, (b) Serco, (c) Capita, (d) Working Links, (e) A4E, (f) Sodexo, (g) GEO Amey, (h) Mitie, (i) MTC Amey, (j) GEO Group, (k) Atos and (l) Carillion in each year since 2010; in which area of his Department such staff were seconded; how long each secondment lasted; and what the reasons were for each secondment. [204110]

Mr Vara: Ministry of Justice records show that there were no secondments into the Department and its Executive agencies from (a) G4S, (b) Serco, (c) Capita, (d) Working Links, (e) A4E, (f) Sodexo, (g) GEO Amey, (h) Mitie, (i) MTC Amey, (j) GEO Group, (k) Atos and (l) Carillion in each year since 2010.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff have been seconded from his Department and its Executive agencies into (a) G4S, (b) Serco, (c) Capita, (d) Working Links, (e) A4E, (f) Sodexo, (g) GEO Amey and (h) Mitie; in which areas of his Department such staff previously worked; how long each secondment lasted; and what the reasons were for each secondment. [204111]

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Mr Vara: Ministry of Justice records show that there were no secondments from the Department and its Executive agencies into (a) G4S, (b) Serco, (c) Capita, (d) Working Links, (e) A4E, (f) Sodexo, (g) GEO Amey and (h) Mitie in each year since 2010.

Taxation: Appeals

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) first-tier and (b) upper-tier tax tribunal judges there were in 2013-14; for how many days (i) first-tier and (ii) upper-tier tax tribunal panel members sat in that year; how many (A) first-tier and (B) upper-tier tax tribunal expert panel members there were in that year; and how much was paid to tax tribunal panel members in that year. [206358]

Mr Vara: I refer the hon. Member to the answers provided on 10 February 2014, Official Report, column 491W and 10 April 2014, Official Report, column 408W, which contain the most up-to-date information on Judicial Numbers. Data for later periods will be contained in the next publication of Judicial Diversity Statistics, which is due for release at the end of July.

For the period 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 panel members sat in the first-tier tribunal (Tax Chamber) for a total of 1,272 days.¹ Members do not sit on tax cases in the upper tribunal.

In the financial year 2013-14, expenditure on all fee-paid judicial office holders within the tax jurisdiction was £1.8 million.

¹ This figure is taken from internal management information and as such has not been quality checked to the same level as official statistics.

Video Games: Cybercrime

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that cyber criminals who steal online items in video games with a real-world monetary value received the same sentences as criminals who steal real-world items of the same monetary value. [205872]

Mike Penning: Those who commit theft or fraud online can be prosecuted for those offences and face severe maximum sentences. Sentencing for individual cases is a matter for the courts. The independent Sentencing Council issues guidelines to ensure consistency in sentencing.

Leader of the House

Amendments and New Clauses

Mr Bone: To ask the Leader of the House how many amendments to Government Bills were not debated in the House due to a lack of time in each of the last 10 years. [206177]

Mr Hague: The information sought is not held in the form requested; nor is it possible to determine the reasons why some amendments are not debated. The majority of Public Bill Committees in this Parliament have concluded earlier than the time programmed. The average number of groups of amendments not reached at Report Stage on a Bill in each of the ten Sessions from 2002-03 has

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been provided by the Government and is included in the Appendix of the Third Report from the Procedure Committee of Session 2013-14, HC767. The figure for the 2013-14 Session is an average of 1.4 groups per Bill.

Business Committee

Mr Bone: To ask the Leader of the House, with reference to the commitment in the Coalition Agreement, when he plans to introduce a Parliamentary Business of the House Committee. [206173]

Mr Hague: Given the absence of consensus, the Government have decided not to pursue the establishment of a House Business Committee at the present time.

Debates

Mr Bone: To ask the Leader of the House how many days were allocated to business not introduced by a Government Minister in each of the last 10 years. [206176]

Mr Hague: The statistics requested are not maintained as business is not always allocated on the basis of whole days. The number of days allocated to Opposition days, Backbench Business, Select Committee business and private Member’s Bills each Session is specified in the Standing Orders of the House. The number of hours spent each Session on different categories of business is recorded in the Sessional Returns.

Elections

Mr Bone: To ask the Leader of the House if he will bring forward proposals to provide that the Leader of the House should be elected by the whole House, not appointed by the Prime Minister. [206174]

Mr Hague: No.

Programme Motions

Mr Bone: To ask the Leader of the House how many programme motions were proposed in each year since the introduction of such motions; and how many such motions were agreed to. [206175]

Mr Hague: No records of the number of programme motions moved each year are maintained and this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In the last 10 years, every programme motion that has been moved has been agreed to.

Cabinet Office

Census

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in each (a) constituency in England and Wales and (b) local authority area in Scotland were listed as aged 18 or over in (i) the 2011 Census and (ii) the most recent Office for National Statistics estimate. [205691]

Mr Newmark: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

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Letter from Glen Watson, dated July 2014:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in each (a) constituency in England and Wales and (b) local authority area in Scotland were listed as aged 18 or over in (i) the 2011 Census and (ii) the most recent Office for National Statistics estimate. (205691)

(a) (i) The numbers of people aged 18 or over in each UK parliamentary constituency in England and Wales from the 2011 Census have been extracted from the published table KS 102EW and are shown in the attached spreadsheet.

(a) (ii) The most recent estimate of those aged 18 or over in each constituency in England and Wales are shown in the attached spreadsheet which have been taken from the published Mid-2012 Parliamentary Constituencies for England and Wales data released on 26 November 2013:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/sape/parliament-constituency-pop-est/mid-2012/index.html

(b) (i) The numbers of people aged 18 or over in each local authority area in Scotland have been extracted from the published table KS102UK and are shown in the attached spreadsheet.

(b) (ii) The most recent estimate of those aged 18 or over in each local authority area in Scotland are shown in the attached spreadsheet and have been taken from the published Mid-2013 estimates released on 26 June 2014:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pop-estimate/population-estimates-for-uk--england-and-wales--scotland-and-northern-ireland/2013/index.html

A copy of the tables will be placed in the Library of the House.

Children: Abuse

John Mann: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) whether any files on child abuse have been passed to his Department by (a) other parts of the Government or (b) hon. Members; and in what year such files were so passed; [205424]

(2) whether any files on child abuse have been passed to No. 10 Downing Street by (a) other parts of the Government or (b) hon. Members; and in what year such files were so passed. [205429]

Mr Maude: The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

The Cabinet Office has no record of having been passed any files on child abuse by another Department or hon. Members.

Debates

Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office for what reason no Minister in his Department was able to represent his Department in the debate on the political independence of charities scheduled to take place in Westminster Hall on 15 July 2014. [206244]

Mr Maude: The debate was withdrawn.

Government Digital Service

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 291W, on Government Digital Service (1) whether all Government Digital Service staff are members of the Civil Service ICT professional group; [206242]

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(2) how many (a) male and (b) female (i) permanent and (ii) contract staff of the Government Digital Service were in each grade in each of the last five years. [206243]

Mr Maude: Further to the answer by my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd) on 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 291W, information on GDS staffing, including grades, is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gds-business-plan-april-2014-to-march-2015/gds-business-plan-april-2014-to-march-2015#budget-and-headcount

GDS also employs specialist staff on short-term contracts as a cost-effective option to deliver specific programmes.

Rather than ensuring staff are members of an ICT professional group we are actually improving IT and digital skills across Government, addressing a long-standing weakness. The capability for IT professionals within Government is the responsibility of departmental technology leaders and the HR community, with support and advice provided by GDS.

Land

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much land his Department has released for the purpose of building new homes since May 2010. [205472]

Mr Maude: Since 2010 the Government Property Unit, based in the Cabinet Office, has helped the Government reduce the size of our estate by over 2 million square metres. As at March 2014 the Government had released land with capacity for 76,000 homes under the current public sector land programme, towards a target of 100,000 by end March 2015.

The Cabinet Office has two land holdings: (i) an operational site at Hannington; and, (ii) the Sunningdale Park site, which is subject to a Private Finance Initiative contract. The Sunningdale Park site is not subject to a lease break until 2017.

Therefore the Cabinet Office has not been in a position to release any land since May 2010.

Non-governmental Organisations

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations were abolished in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [205499]

Mr Maude: In 2010 the coalition pledged to reduce the number and cost of public bodies. Our Public Bodies Reform Programme is the largest restructuring of public bodies in a generation. It will make the landscape smaller, more accountable, and will offer better value for money to the public.

By April 2011 the reforms brought about by the programme had reduced the number of public bodies by 46. During 2011-12 the numbers reduced by a further 56. To date over 185 public bodies have been abolished and more than 165 have been merged into fewer than 70.

The total number of public bodies has been reduced by over 285.

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Official Secrets Act 1989

John Mann: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the Government's policy is on waiving the obligations of officials under the Official Secrets Acts when they (a) provide evidence to official inquiries and (b) provide information privately to hon. Members. [205437]

Mr Maude: The obligations under the Official Secrets Act apply at all times.

Provision may be made for protected disclosures in certain circumstances.

Older People: Harrogate

Andrew Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people (a) of pensionable age and (b) over 80 years of age there are in Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency. [206564]

Mr Newmark: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter Glen Watson, dated July 2014:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people (a) of pensionable age and (b) over 80 years old there are in Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency (206564).

ONS publishes annual estimates of the resident population of the UK, by age, as at 30 June each year. The latest available estimates show that there were an estimated 22,934 people of pensionable age in Harrogate and Knaresborough parliamentary constituency at mid-2012.

The estimate of pensionable age gives the number of women aged 61 and over, and men aged 65 and over. This is the closest available approximation to state pension age at mid-2012 that can be obtained for population estimates by parliamentary constituency. The estimated population of Harrogate and Knaresborough parliamentary constituency who were aged 80 and over (that is, have passed their 80th birthday) at mid-2012 is 6,435.

The latest population estimates for parliamentary constituencies in England and Wales were published on 26 November 2013 and are available on the ONS website at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/sape/parliament-constituency-pop-est/mid-2012/index.html

Written Questions

John Mann: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what No. 10 Downing Street's policy is on responding to parliamentary questions where the subject file or letter is within the scope of the Official Secrets Act 1989; [205435]

(2) what his Department's policy is on responding to parliamentary questions where the subject file or letter is within the scope of the Official Secrets Act 1989. [205430]

Mr Maude: The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

The Cabinet Office complies with any relevant legislation, including the Official Secrets Act, when responding to written parliamentary questions.

Guidance to answering parliamentary questions is available online:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/drafting-answers-to-parliamentary-questions-guidance

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Business, Innovation and Skills

Alcoholic Drinks

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his Department's policy is on alcohol consumption on the premises (a) in general and (b) during parties in his Private Office. [205319]

Jo Swinson: There is no prohibition of alcohol in this Department. This includes ministerial and official Private Offices.

Billing

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of suppliers to his Department have been paid within the time specified on their invoice in each of the last three years. [206340]

Jo Swinson: The prompt payment of supplier invoices is very important to the Department and we aim to pay all supplier invoices as quickly as possible to meet the Government’s aim of ensuring that at least 80% of supplier invoices are paid within five working days. This goes beyond the Department’s standard payment terms and conditions that require payment of a correctly submitted supplier invoice within 30 calendar days of receipt. The Department’s achievement over the last three years goes well beyond the aim, and in doing so the vast majority of supplier invoices are paid within the standard time period. The detail of payment within five working days and standard 30 calendar days over the last three financial years is as follows:

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Business: Northern Ireland

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses located in Northern Ireland have contacted UK Export Finance to enquire about loans from the Direct Lending Facility since June 2013. [205597]

Matthew Hancock: UK Export Finance has received approximately 10 inquiries from businesses located in Northern Ireland on its Direct Lending Facility since June 2013.

Earthquakes

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many seismic events of (a) 0.0-0.5, (b) 0.5-1.0, (c) 1.0-1.5, (d) 1.5-2.0, (e) 2.0-2.5 and (f) 2.5-3.0 magnitude on the Richter scale were recorded in each month since June 2004. [205584]

Greg Clark: The UK's national seismic network is operated by the British Geological Survey (BGS), a Research Centre of the Natural Environment Research Council. The network will detect almost all earthquakes of local magnitude 2 and above in the UK. The network does detect events with magnitude less than 2, but some will not be recorded as the ability to detect an event reliably diminishes with increasing distance from the closest seismometer stations. Seismic events in the UK since June 2004 are shown in Table 1 below. The BGS network detects around 100 earthquakes in the UK annually. Further information on seismic monitoring in the UK can be found at:

http://www.earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk/

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