Tobacco: Excise Duties

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will lower tax duty on cigarettes. [205907]

Priti Patel: Budget 2014 announced that tobacco duty rates will continue to rise by 2% above RPI each year until the end of the next Parliament.

VAT

Mr Streeter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward legislative proposals to reduce VAT on flood defence works carried out by individual householders to help protect their own homes against flooding. [206455]

Mr Gauke: There are no plans for legislative proposals to reduce VAT on flood defence works.

The Government have responded to the recent floods in a decisive way by offering a package of initiatives, including a “renew and repair” grant of £5,000 to provide financial support for households and businesses.

Details of the new funding schemes for homeowners and businesses in flood hit areas were announced on 20 February by the Prime Minister.

Further information on this is available on the UK Government web-site at:

www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-announces-details-of-flood-support-packages.

Home Department

Animal Experiments

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to bring forward legislative proposals to ban the testing of household products on animals. [204393]

Norman Baker: We have made a commitment to ban the testing of household products on animals. Although superficially straightforward, the details are not been easy to resolve. Any solution has to be legally viable since we cannot ban testing which may be required under UK or EU law.

The key issue is around ingredients. I am looking to develop a solution that is workable, but does not have a chain of unforeseen circumstances. It is my intention to implement a ban before the next general election in May 2015.

Asylum: Females

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women were detained whilst seeking asylum for (a) less than three days, (b) between four and seven days, (c) between eight and 14 days, (d) between 15 and 28 days, (e) between 29 days and three months, (f) between three months and one year and (g) over one year in the latest year for which figures are available. [204426]

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James Brokenshire: The data in the following table refer to main, female claimants who have raised a claim for asylum and been detained in the year 2013-14, and who have been detained either on or after the day that a claim for asylum was raised.

The figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols, as such it should be treated as provisional and subject to change.

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of women who have been detained pending their asylum claims were subsequently granted asylum in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [204427]

James Brokenshire: The data in the following table refer to main, female claimants who have raised a claim for asylum and been detained in the financial year 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14, and who have been detained either on or after the day that a claim for asylum was raised. Claimants who have had more than one period of detention are recorded under the latest period of detention.

The figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols, as such it should be treated as provisional and subject to change.

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women who have sought asylum in the UK in each year since 2010 have (a) been granted asylum, (b) been detained pending application and (c) been refused asylum and removed. [204430]

James Brokenshire: The data provided in the following table relate to females who applied for asylum as the main asylum applicant between 2010 and 2013. Claimants who have had more than one period of detention in the three financial years specified, have been recorded under the latest period of detention. Cases represented in the following table are those that, at the latest case outcome, have been: granted asylum, detained or refused and removed on or before 31 March 2014.

The figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols, as such it should be treated as provisional and subject to change.

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Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason fire sprinklers were not installed at Campsfield house, Oxfordshire prior to the fire in those premises in October 2013. [206462]

Karen Bradley: Campsfield house was fully compliant with fire safety requirements at the time of the fire in October 2013.

Other older centres, including Campsfield (which is a former HMPS facility) and all the prison sites utilised as immigration removal centres, have had comprehensive fire strategies that do not involve automated fire suppression systems. Sprinklers are one of several options available for fire prevention.

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who met the costs of damage caused by the fire in October 2013 at Campsfield house, Oxfordshire. [206467]

Karen Bradley: The cost of the re-instatement of Campsfield house was met fully by the operator, MITIE, and their insurers.

Consultants

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to the public purse was of external consultants employed by her Department in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014 to date. [206232]

James Brokenshire: Consultancy expenditure incurred by the Home Department and its agencies is published annually in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, copies of which are held in the House Library. The figures from each year's report are shown in the following table.

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Correspondence

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has any plans to increase the number of replies within her Department's working day standard; and if she will make a statement. [206481]

Karen Bradley: Plans are in place within all correspondence teams to drive up performance and reduce any backlogs. Latest complete monthly figures for replies to hon. Members are 86% within working day target for Home Office HQ and Her Majesty’s Passport Office and 84% within working day target for operational areas (UK Visas and Immigration, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force). The operational figure includes letters from hon. Members replied to by officials and Director Generals.

Crimes of Violence: Females

Dr Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to tackle gender-based violence in gangs (a) generally and (b) in respect of sexual violence against girls and young women; and if she will make a statement. [204922]

Norman Baker: The coalition Government’s Ending Gang and Youth Violence programme is the first such programme to tackle the issue of gang-affected women and girls.

Women and girls who come into contact with street gangs are at greater risk of violence, particularly sexual violence. The Home Office has provided £1.2 million funding for 13 Young People’s Advocates over three years (April 2012 – March 2015). The Advocates provide direct support to young women who have been victims, or are at risk of, sexual violence by gangs.

Action to protect girls from becoming involved in gang-related crime is set out in the ‘Ending Gang and Youth Violence: One Year On’ (November 2012) and ‘Ending Gang and Youth Violence Annual Report 2013’ (December 2013) documents.

The reports are available on the GOV.UK website.

In addition, I have undertaken targeted visits to identify good practice on the ground.

Detention Centres: Internet

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which websites detainees in each immigration detention centre are blocked from accessing. [205397]

Karen Bradley: The details of individual blocked websites are not held centrally and could be obtained only by examination of information held at each immigration removal centre (IRC) at disproportionate cost.

Internet access is not standardised across all IRCs although a review of access is being undertaken to address this.

Suppliers operating IRCs on behalf of the Home Office use specialised software which screens out prohibited categories of sites or sites whose addresses contain prohibited key words rather than blocking individual

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website addresses. Prohibited categories are based on safety and security concerns, for example potential terrorist or pornographic sites.

Entry Clearances

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time taken was for a spouse visa appeal to be heard from the time of being refused to a decision by the tribunal in each of the last five years. [205897]

James Brokenshire: The information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

HM Passport Office

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passport examining officers were employed by HM Passport Office in each year since 2010. [200158]

James Brokenshire: The table below shows the number of Her Majesty's Passport Office full-time equivalents working within the passport operational Directorates. The formal record for workforce data is made on the last day of each calendar month. We have therefore provided the data as of 31 March of each year.

Due to the limitations of the HR management system used prior to December 2010, it is not possible to provide reliable management information below top level for any periods prior to that date.

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what performance indicators for the renewal of existing passports have been met by each passport office administrative centre in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) England in each year since 2009. [201273]

James Brokenshire: Her Majesty's Passport Office does not log performance data at office, regional or home country level. Performance is monitored at a national level as Her Majesty's Passport Office distributes work across the UK estate to manage variation in local levels of passport demand. The cost of identifying the information in the format requested would be disproportionate.

Information on the number of passports issued each year in the UK is set out in Her Majesty's Passport Office's Annual Report and Accounts. I refer to the answer given to the hon. Member on 30 June 2014, Official Report, column 381W.

Her Majesty's Passport Office have issued over 4 million passports in the year 2014 to date.

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the change was in number of (a) part-time and (b) full-time staff in passport offices between 1 May 2014 and 1 July 2014. [203704]

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James Brokenshire: For the period requested, Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO) has increased their full-time complement by (a) 8.5 FTE (b) 33 FTE. Since the start of 2014, HMPO has been putting in extra resources to deal with exceptional demand. As a result, over 650 staff have been deployed to front-line operations in HMPO.

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what performance indicators for the renewal of existing passports were met by each passport office administrative centre in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) England in (i) 2009, (ii) 2010, (iii) 2011, (iv) 2012, (v) 2013 and (vi) 2014 to date. [203716]

James Brokenshire: Her Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO) does not log performance data at this level. Performance is monitored at a national level as HMPO distributes work across the UK estate to manage variation in local levels of passport demand. The cost of identifying the information in the format requested would be disproportionate.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the total cost to the public purse was of overtime worked in HM Passport Office in June 2014; [203942]

(2) what the total cost to the public purse was of overtime worked in HM Passport Office in each month between May 2011 and December 2012. [203941]

James Brokenshire: The following table provides the level of overtime paid for the period between May 2011 to December 2012. The level of overtime paid for June 2014 was £1,212,006.

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much HM Passport Office has spent on couriers to deliver passports in each month since January 2013. [204745]

James Brokenshire: The costs of courier services to deliver passports in each month since January 2013 is set out in the following table.

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HM Passport Office: Belfast

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports were processed by the Belfast Passport Office in each of the last five years; and what proportion of those passports were processed within three weeks. [200957]

James Brokenshire: Her Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO) does not collect performance data at this level. HMPO monitors performance at national level as it distributes work across the UK estate to manage any variation in local levels of passport demand.

The cost of identifying information in the format requested would be disproportionate.

HM Passport Office: Glasgow

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were employed in the Glasgow passport office in each of the last four years. [201806]

James Brokenshire: The number of full-time equivalent staff employed by Her Majesty’s Passport Office in the Glasgow office are as follows:

Human Trafficking

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the nationality and gender of each suspected victim of trafficking to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme operated by the Salvation Army in May 2014; in which (a) region and (b) county each of the suspected victims was found; which agency referred each person to the Scheme; in which town the shelter was to which they were placed for the relevant period; and what contact is had with each victim after they exit the shelter to ensure they are not re-trafficked. [206493]

Karen Bradley: The data requested for May 2014 can be found on The Salvation Army’s website, at:

http://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/Anti_Human_Trafficking_Latest_Report

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In future, monthly reports will be published on the website providing information on victims that have been supported. In the interests of the victim’s safety, only the region in which the victim was encountered will be provided.

Upon leaving Government-funded care, a victim is provided with tailored support either to safely return home or integrate in the UK, if they are eligible to do so. Once a victim leaves the service, no formal mechanisms exist to maintain contact with them. However, ongoing support of victims is being considered as part of the review of this service and the review of the National Referral Mechanism.

Immigrants: Detainees

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will hold an inquiry into trends in the number of deaths of individuals detained in immigration detention. [199416]

James Brokenshire: Any death in immigration detention is a tragic event and each death is subject to independent investigation, as appropriate, by the police, the coroner and the prisons and probation ombudsman.

Any recommendations made by the investigating authorities are thoroughly examined to see how they can be used to help prevent further tragedies across the detention estate and action plans are drawn up to monitor their implementation.

For example, firm written reminders were issued to all suppliers on the requirements of the current Detention Services Order on use of handcuffs, which was followed up by a workshop on their appropriate use and the importance of proper risk assessments. Recommendations relevant to medical care for detainees have been shared with NHS England to inform their commissioning of health care services from 1 September 2014.

Land

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much land her Department has released for the purpose of building new homes since May 2010. [205481]

Karen Bradley: As of the end of March 2014 the Public Sector Land Programme had disposed of land capable of delivering over 76,000 homes in England.

The Home Office has contributed land capable of delivering 375 homes to the Programme, we are continuing to rationalise our estate, delivering cost savings and better value for money for the taxpayer.

In the final year of this programme work is continuing to dispose of land capable of delivering much needed homes and is on course to meet the Government's ambition to dispose of land capable of delivering 100,000 homes by April 2015.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 4 June 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr M Ilyas. [205547]

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James Brokenshire: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 21 July 2014.

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to the Foreign Secretary dated 2 June 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr H R Chowdhury, transferred to her. [205548]

James Brokenshire: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 21 July 2014.

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 2 June 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Miss Olusola Folasade Kayode. [205549]

James Brokenshire: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 21 July 2014.

Offences Against Children: Internet

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the people identified to date by the National Crime Agency investigation into online child abuse had previously worked in regulated activity. [206233]

Karen Bradley: As operation NOTARISE is an ongoing operation it is not possible to provide this information.

As a result of this NCA-led operation, individuals who have committed serious offences or are considered to pose a risk to children will be placed on the barred list which will prevent them from working in regulated activity with children.

Passports

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many overseas resident passport applications by UK citizens have been dealt with by HM Passport Office in each year since 2010. [200113]

James Brokenshire: The following table provides the requested information:

The administration of overseas resident passports was repatriated from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2012. Transition arrangements began in December 2012 and were completed in March 2014.

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of passport applications made in the last 12 months have been processed within (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 15 working days. [200169]

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James Brokenshire [holding answer 16 June 2014]: Her Majesty's Passport Office sets out expected turnaround periods for the handling of passport applications based on the type of application and the location from which the application has been made. Straightforward applications are expected to be dealt with within three weeks and non-straightforward applications within six weeks. A minimum period is set out for dealing with overseas applications on a country by country basis. Details of expected turnaround periods are set out at:

www.GOV.UK

In the period from June 2013 to May 2014, 44.9% of straightforward passport applications were processed within 5 working days, 90.6% within 10 working days and 99.2% within 15 working days.

In the same period, 24.3% of non straightforward passport applications were processed within 5 working days, 59.8% within 10 working days and 79.6% within 15 working days.

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions her Department has had with representatives of the travel insurance industry regarding cancellations of holidays or business trips due to delays in processing passport applications. [200765]

James Brokenshire: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and operational delivery. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Cabinet Office website, which is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/home-office-mnisters-hospitality-data

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of people who have applied for passports using the (a) fast track and (b) premium service in the last month; and how many recent passport applications will receive compensation from her Department. [201354]

James Brokenshire: In June 2014, (a) 59,692 people applied and paid for fast track and (b) 31,289 applied for premium service. Her Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO) only normally offers compensation for financial loss as a result of delays in its guaranteed (Fast Track and Premium) services. HMPO does not have an estimate of how much compensation may be paid this year in line with its policy. As the Secretary of State announced on 12 June 2014, customers who need to travel within seven days and who have waited more than the three weeks service standard for a straightforward application to be processed through no fault of their own, are fast-tracked free of charge. To 15 July, HMPO has issued 13,461 passports as a result of this change of policy.

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports were delivered to the wrong person or address by HM Passport Office in each year since 2011. [201715]

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James Brokenshire: Since Her Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO) started collecting this data in February 2014, 62 cases of passports wrongly delivered or packages damaged on delivery have been reported and investigated by HMPO and resulted in passports being cancelled. Subject to the outcome of the investigation, a new passport is issued to the passport holder. This is 0.0017% of the total passports issued for this period.

There is no reason to believe this number is higher or lower than at any other point previously.

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of passports issued for residents of (a) Airdrie and Shotts constituency, (b) Lanarkshire, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK in (i) 2009, (ii) 2010, (iii) 2011, (iv) 2012, (v) 2013 and (vi) 2014. [203094]

James Brokenshire: The information is not held in the format requested for (a) to (c) above.

Information on the number of passports issued each year in the UK is set out in Her Majesty's Passport Office's Annual Report and Accounts.

I refer to the answer given to the hon. Member on 30 June 2014, Official Report, column 381W.

Her Majesty's Passport Office have issued over four million passports in the year 2014 to date.

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passport renewals for residents in (a) Airdrie and Shotts constituency, (b) Lanarkshire, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK have been completed within the three weeks from receipt in (i) 2009, (ii) 2010, (iii) 2011, (iv) 2012, (v) 2013 and (vi) 2014 to date. [203095]

James Brokenshire: The information is not held in the format requested for (a) to (c). Since January 2014 to the end of June, 93% of straightforward passport renewal applications in the UK were dealt with within three weeks and 98% within four weeks.

Mr Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants for a UK passport have paid an upgrade fee to fast-track their application after having submitted that application at a passport office at each such office and in each of the last 12 months. [203852]

James Brokenshire: The information is not collected in the format requested and the cost of collecting the information would be disproportionate.

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the number of people in (a) Kilmarnock and Loudoun, (b) Scotland and (c) the UK who have used the premium one day service for passport application in each month since January 2014. [204518]

James Brokenshire: Figures are not held in the format requested at (a) and (b) above. The cost of obtaining this information would be disproportionate.

The number of people in the UK who have used the premium service for each month since January 2014 is set out in the following table, which provides intake levels from January 2014 to June 2014 on all applications.

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Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on compensating people who have suffered financial loss as a result of delays by HM Passport Office; and how much compensation her Department expects to pay in such fashion. [205515]

James Brokenshire Her Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO) criteria for compensation are set out at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-passport-office/about/complaints-procedure

Detailed guidance is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/118588/compensation-complaints-handling.pdf

HMPO only normally offers compensation for financial loss as a result of delays in its guaranteed (Fast Track and Premium) services. HMPO does not have an estimate of how much compensation may be paid this year in line with its policy. As the Secretary of State announced on 12 June 2014, customers who need to travel within seven days and who have waited more than three weeks for a straightforward application to be processed through no fault of their own are fast-tracked free of charge.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria her Department will apply to compensating individuals who have experienced financial loss following recent delays by HM Passport Office delays. [205516]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 17 July 2014]: Her Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO) criteria for compensation are set out at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-passport-office/about/complaints-procedure

Detailed guidance is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/118588/compensation-complaints-handling.pdf

HMPO only normally offers compensation for financial loss as a result of delays in its guaranteed (Fast Track and Premium) services. HMPO does not have an estimate of how much compensation may be paid this year in line with its policy. As the Home Secretary announced on 12 June 2014, customers who need to travel within seven days and who have waited more than three weeks for a straightforward application to be processed through no fault of their own are fast-tracked free of charge.

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Passports: Lancashire

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many passport applicants resident in (a) Preston constituency and (b) Lancashire have been compensated by HM Passport Service in each year since 2009; [205654]

(2) how many passport renewals for residents in (a) Preston constituency and (b) Lancashire have been completed within three weeks from receipt in each year since 2009. [205655]

James Brokenshire: Her Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO) does not collect information on compensation in the format requested. Performance data are not collected at these levels. HMPO monitors performance at national level as it re-distributes work across the UK

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estate to manage any variation in local levels of passport demand. The cost of identifying information in the format requested would be disproportionate.

Procurement

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 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. [205218]

Karen Bradley: The following table shows what was spent on contracted out activities in the period 2009-10 to 2014-15, as a proportion of the Home Office’s budget.

Remand in Custody: Parents

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance her Department gives to police on ensuring that children whose parents have been arrested and detained are taken care of in the interim. [205880]

Mike Penning: The police have a statutory duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under Section 11 of the Children Act 2004.

All frontline officers have a crucial role to play in identifying, protecting and safeguarding children. Police officers attending domestic violence incidents, for example, should be aware of the effect of such violence on any children normally resident in the household.

The College of Policing issues authorised professional practice guidance in relation to detention and custody. This makes clear that staff must be aware of the potential implications of detention for each detainee and their dependants. Detainees should be asked about any caring responsibilities during the booking-in process. This information must be recorded in the risk assessment or other appropriate place in the custody record. If a detainee is identified as having dependants for whom arrangements are required, appropriate arrangements should be made as necessary to find alternative care.

Sexual Offences: Registration

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people on the Sex Offenders Register failed to complete their annual notification in each of the last five years. [204659]

Norman Baker: Figures for the number of registered sex offenders who were either cautioned or convicted for breaches of their notification requirement in England and Wales are contained in the Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements Annual Report, published by the Ministry of Justice. The MAPPA reports for 2009-2013 may be found on the GOV.uk website.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which the highest number of previous convictions for failing to comply with the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register for an individual convicted of a further such offence without being sent to prison was in each year since 2010. [204661]

Norman Baker: This information is not collated centrally.

Figures for the number of registered sex offenders who were either cautioned or convicted for breaches of their notification requirement in England and Wales are contained in the Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements Annual Report, published by the Ministry of Justice. The MAPPA reports for 2009-2013 may be found on the GOV.uk website.

Slavery

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what funds have been made available to the NSPCC for the establishment and running costs of the modern slavery helpline; [206158]

(2) who the target demographic is for the modern slavery helpline run in conjunction with the NSPCC; and what services and support will be offered through this helpline. [206159]

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Karen Bradley: We are working with the NSPCC to pilot a dedicated modern slavery helpline as part of a wider communications and marketing campaign to raise awareness of modern slavery. The NSPCC will be reimbursed for the cost of hosting the hotline, up to a maximum of £50,000 for 12 months from 31 July 2014.

The purpose of the helpline is to provide potential victims, members of the public and professionals with one consistent telephone number to call if they have concerns related to modern slavery. We are working with a number of non-governmental organisations and law enforcement agencies to ensure that the NSPCC can direct helpline callers to a range of organisations that can provide additional help, advice and support. The helpline will also be a route for potential victims to access Government-funded support. The helpline and website will also provide information and general advice about modern slavery.

Training

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 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. [205295]

Karen Bradley: The Home Department does not hold centralised information on the number and cost of awaydays held for officials so this question could be answered only at disproportionate cost.

At the start of this Parliament, Home Office civil servants were issued guidance making clear that awaydays and staff events should be held on official premises where possible.

UK Visas and Immigration

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time taken for the Director General, UK Visas and Immigration to reply to hon. Members in (a) all and (b) urgent visit visa cases was in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement. [204979]

Karen Bradley: For 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014, UK Visas and Immigration replied to correspondence from hon. Members within an average of 26 days. Information on the average time taken to reply to urgent visa cases is not recorded centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Transport

A303

Mr Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to ensure that the A303 is dualled from Honiton to Amesbury within the next 10 years. [206458]

Mr Hayes: The Department has committed to undertaking six feasibility studies as part of the process of identifying and funding solutions to tackle some of the most notorious and long-standing road hot spots in the country, including the A303/A30/A358 corridor.

In April this year, the Department published details of the scope, timing and management arrangement of the A303/A30/A358 feasibility study which is available

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from the Department for Transport website. The aim of the study is to identify the opportunities and understand the case for future investment solutions on the A303/A30/A358 corridor that are deliverable, affordable and offer value for money. The study is considering a range of solutions to the problems identified along the route, including to the problems identified on the sections between Amesbury and Honiton.

The Government have committed to report back at autumn statement 2014 with solutions to the problems on this route, and through this feasibility study we will identify potential future investment proposals as part of our process for longer term investment planning.

Billing

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the value is of duplicate supplier payments identified by his Department since 2010; and what proportion of such payments have since been recovered in each of the last two financial years. [205979]

Claire Perry: In 2011, £28,861 of duplicate supplier payments were identified by the Department and its agencies, and were all recovered. No duplicate payments have been identified in subsequent years.

In accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines, the Department commissioned a spend recovery audit in 2010. This reported that:

“The quantity of payment errors identified during our review (0.0002%) highlighted that the internal controls used by DfT have been effective in limiting supplier overpayments. Overall the accounts payable function is well managed and controlled.”

In view of this advice, the DfT decided that formal appraisal of potential duplicate payments, either internal or external, did not represent a good use of public money for the years after 2011.

Correspondence

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the annual cost to his Department of (a) stationery and (b) postage incurred when sending a ministerial reply to hon. Members; and if he will make a statement. [206154]

Claire Perry: The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has any plans to increase the number of replies within his Department's working day standard; and if he will make a statement. [206482]

Claire Perry: The Department aims to maintain or improve upon the current high levels of performance. In 2013 Ministers responded to 97% of correspondence from MPs and Peers within the Department’s working day standard. Officials responded to 97% of correspondence from members of the public within the working day standard in 2013-14.

22 July 2014 : Column 1115W

First Transpennine Express

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to replace the Class 170 units transferred to Chiltern Railways from the Transpennine Manchester to Cleethorpes service. [206219]

Claire Perry: The Department for Transport continue to work with industry partners to develop a solution that will see more electric trains going into the North of England, in addition to the 14 already planned. We envisage that these electric trains will release diesel trains to be used on parts of the network in the North of England that are not yet electrified. The exact detail of this is subject to commercial negotiations and I will update the House as soon as these are concluded.

Procurement

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department paid to (a) G4S, (b) Serco, (c) Sodexo, (d) GEOAmey, (e) Capita, (f) Atos, (g) Mitie, (h) Working Links, (i) A4E, (j) MTC Amey, (k) GEO Group and (l) Carillion in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14. [205859]

Claire Perry: As part of the Department's transparency programme, any spend over £25,000 is available on the Department's website. Since January 2011, all contracts over £10,000 in value are published on Contracts Finder

http://www.contractsfinder.co.uk/

Rail North

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to whom and by what mechanism is Rail North accountable. [206389]

Claire Perry: The Rail North consortium has been formed by 30 Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) in the North of England to help deliver a vision for a strengthened role for rail in supporting economic growth in the region. The LTAs are currently formalising Rail North's governance. This will comprise:

an Association of Local Transport Authorities formed under the Local Government Act 1972, governed by a Leaders' Committee, which all 30 LTAs will be eligible to join;

a Special Purpose Vehicle (company limited by guarantee) called Rail North Ltd. All LTAs who are members of the Association would be entitled to be members of Rail North Ltd, with each of the geographical subgroups established by the Leaders Committee being able to appoint one elected member to the Board of Rail North Ltd. It is expected that the company will be formed in the next few weeks.

Railways: North of England

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the journey time from Cleethorpes to Manchester Airport on the service proposed in his Department's consultation document on the Transpennine franchise published in June 2014. [206307]

Claire Perry: The Department for Transport is currently conducting a joint public consultation with Rail North

22 July 2014 : Column 1116W

which will inform the specifications for both the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises. The consultation can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/future-of-northern-and-transpennine-express-rail-franchises

and concludes 18 August. No estimates of the possible journey time have yet been completed for any of the options set out in the consultation. Further work will be carried out, informed by the consultation, before any decisions are taken.

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the potential financial savings that would be incurred in his consultation document on TransPennine and Northern Rail franchises were implemented without change. [206383]

Claire Perry: The Department for Transport is currently conducting a joint public consultation with Rail North which will inform the specifications for both the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises. The consultation can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/future-of-northern-and-transpennine-express-rail-franchises

and concludes 18 August.

No estimates of the potential financial savings have yet been completed for any of the options set out in the consultation. Further work will be carried out, informed by the consultation, before any decisions are taken.

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which councillors represented on Rail North agreed to the consultation paper issued by his Department on the Transpennine and Northern Rail franchises; and what council each such councillor represented. [206390]

Claire Perry: Rail North's decision making process is a matter for them. The Department worked with Rail North representatives on the development of the consultation paper. The consultation itself seeks the views of individual councillors, councils, passengers, and all other interested parties to inform the specifications for both the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises. The consultation can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/future-of-northern-and-transpennine-express-rail-franchises

and concludes 18 August.

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what modifications Rail North made to the proposals recently put to his Department for the Transpennine and Northern Rail franchises. [206391]

Claire Perry: The Department worked with Rail North in the development of the consultation document and their views were represented in the options set out and the consultation as a whole. The consultation can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/future-of-northern-and-transpennine-express-rail-franchises

and concludes 18 August. No decisions have yet been taken.

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Railways: North West

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the potential effect on rail journeys in (a) Wales and (b) the North West of the upgrade of the Halton Curve. [205930]

Claire Perry: The exact service patterns have not yet been determined by Network Rail and stakeholders. Further announcements expected 2016-17.

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what works will be undertaken as part of the upgrade of the Halton Curve. [205931]

Claire Perry: This scheme involves the installation of new crossovers at Halton and Frodsham with a track upgrade enabling trains to operate in both directions. This work reinstates a rail link which will enable passenger services from North Wales and West Cheshire to directly access Liverpool City Centre and Liverpool John Lennon airport. Further details of the work to be provided by Network Rail early next year.

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what timescale the upgrade of the Halton Curve will follow. [205932]

Claire Perry: The Government are providing £10.4 million in support of the Liverpool City Region Growth Deal, to fund the reinstatement of the Halton Curve. The scheme is currently being developed by Network Rail and detailed proposals are expected to be available early next year. Final sign off of funding for the scheme will be for the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership and delivery is expected in 2016-17.

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Welsh Government and (b) Secretary of State for Wales on improving rail connectivity with north Wales utilising the Halton Curve. [205933]

Claire Perry: The Secretary of State for Transport met with Edwina Hart the Minister for Economy, Science and Transport, National Assembly for Wales on 16 July 2014, to discuss the rail connectivity in north Wales which included Halton Curve.

Railways: Standards

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last discussed Network Rail's punctuality performance in Control Period 4 2009-14 with (a) Network Rail, (b) the Association of Train Operating Companies and (c) other members of the Rail Delivery Group. [206432]

Claire Perry: The Secretary of State and ministerial colleagues meet regularly with senior officials from all three organisations, and issues concerning punctuality during Control Period 4 were frequently discussed during the course of that period.

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with the Office of Rail Regulation about the level of fine imposed on Network Rail for its punctuality performance in Control Period 4 2009-14; [206433]

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(2) what discussions he had with the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) about the fine imposed on Network Rail for punctuality performance in Control Period 4 2009-14 (CP4); and when he was informed that the ORR would be fining Network Rail for its punctuality performance in CP4; [206436]

(3) what mitigating factors the Office of Rail Regulation took into account in its calculation on the fine imposed on Network Rail for punctuality performance in Control Period 4 2009-14. [206437]

Claire Perry: The Office of Rail Regulation are an independent statutory body, with powers vested by Parliament in their board. As an independent regulator, the ORR operates within the framework set by UK and EU legislation and is accountable through Parliament and the courts.

As announced in 2012 see:

http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/13792/network-rail-monitor-2013-14-q4.pdf

for details.

[the] ORR’s Board issued an order that a reasonable sum of £1.5 million would be returned to funders at the end of CP4 for every 0.1 percentage point below the sector regulated target that Network Rail achieved. We have reviewed the available evidence and concluded that Network Rail did not do everything reasonably practicable to achieve the 2013-14 PPM target in the Long Distance sector, and determined that a reasonable sum of £76.8 million would apply. We adjusted the figure to take account of factors which were beyond Network Rail’s reasonable control including extreme weather, and external factors such as suicides and cable theft. The final sum is £53.1 million.

Ministers and Department officials were briefed by the ORR shortly before the issue of the 2012 order and the final decision on the amount payable, but were not party to either decision.

DFT Ministers and officials regularly meet with the Office of Rail Regulation to discuss Network Rail’s performance. ORR is the independent economic regulator accountable to Parliament and ORR’s board makes its regulatory decisions independently of Government.

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what criteria are used to establish whether delays over five minutes to a timetabled long distance train service are caused by (a) Network Rail, (b) the train operating company or (c) other factors; and what changes have been made to those criteria since January 2008; [206434]

(2) what his most recent estimate is of the annual number of timetabled passenger train services that arrived (a) within five minutes of and (b) five minutes or more after the scheduled time due to factors attributable to the franchised train operating company in each year since 2004. [206435]

Claire Perry: The criteria for establishing delay causes are to be found in the Delay Attribution Guide, issued by the Delay Attribution Board—a joint rail industry body remitted to provide guidance to the industry on delay attribution issues.

The current guide was issued in April 2014. Copies of the all the guides since 2007 can be seen at:

http://www.delayattributionboard.co.uk/delayattributionguides.htm

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The Department does not make estimates with regard to the attribution of delay in respect of the annual number of timetabled passenger train services that arrived, either within five minutes or not, of their scheduled arrival time.

The industry uses the Delay Attribution Guide to attribute delays by total minutes of delay, not by number of trains. The Office of Rail Regulation is beginning to publish such information; see (page11):

http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/13792/network-rail-monitor-2013-14-q4.pdf

for the 2013-14 figures as to how industry delay was apportioned for each operator and nationally.

South West Trains

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the punctuality of South West Trains' passenger rail services in each month since that company formally entered into a deep alliance with Network Rail in April 2012. [206196]

Claire Perry: The Public Performance Measure is a measurement of train punctuality against the planned services for the day. The Department regularly monitors each operator’s performance. This includes regular meetings with their senior management where performance figures are scrutinised and challenged.

Scotland

Correspondence

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the annual cost to his Department of (a) stationery and (b) postage incurred when sending a ministerial reply to hon. Members; and if he will make a statement. [206153]

David Mundell: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement of 13 May 2014, Official Report, column 17WS, by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General.

The information requested is not held in the form requested.

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has any plans to increase the number of replies within his Department's working day standard; and if he will make a statement. [206480]

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has a 15 working day target for responding to correspondence. Performance in meeting the target is kept under regular review by Ministers and senior management.

Sovereignty

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what (a) external organisations and (b) officials in the Office of the Advocate-General for Scotland he has engaged with as part of the Scotland analysis programme; and what was discussed at each such consultation. [206363]

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David Mundell: The Scotland analysis programme has been the most detailed examination ever undertaken of Scotland’s contribution to the UK and the benefits that Scotland gets from being part of the UK. The UK Government have engaged with a wide range of organisations in the development of and distribution of the analysis, including business organisations, academics and lawyers. The Office of the Advocate-General for Scotland provides the UK Government with advice on Scots law and has been involved throughout the production of all of the Scotland analysis papers, along with officials from across Whitehall.

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many officials of the Office of the Advocate-General for Scotland have been allocated to work on the Scotland analysis programme; and if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of that work. [206364]

David Mundell: Work on the Scotland analysis programme has been undertaken in the course of normal business across Government by policy and legal experts in relevant areas. In the Office of the Advocate-General, any work relating to the Scotland analysis programme and any associated costs have been absorbed by existing teams within the Office of the Advocate-General in addition to their day-to-day responsibilities and from existing budgets. Therefore there have been no additional costs involved in work of the Office of the Advocate-General on the programme.

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what meetings (a) he and (b) officials of the Office of the Advocate-General for Scotland have had with the right hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Mr Darling) as part of the Scotland Analysis programme; and what was discussed at each such meeting. [206365]

Mr Alistair Carmichael: As Secretary of State for Scotland, I have met the right hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Mr Darling) on two occasions where we discussed issues of importance to the people of Scotland. Officials in the Office of the Advocate-General have not had any meetings with the right hon. Member.

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what work the Office of the Advocate-General for Scotland has commissioned by external consultants in relation to work on the Scotland analysis programme; which consultants were used; and how much such consultancy has cost. [206366]

David Mundell: The Office of the Advocate-General, jointly with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Cabinet Office, instructed independent legal experts, Professor James Crawford and Professor Alan Boyle, to provide the legal Opinion “Referendum on the Independence of Scotland – International Law Aspects”, which was published as an annex to the UK Government’s paper “Devolution and the Implications of Scottish independence”. This consultancy was paid from existing budgets.

22 July 2014 : Column 1121W

Energy and Climate Change

Affordable Warmth Programme

Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department has made compensation payments to householders whose homes have suffered damage from work under the Affordable Warmth Obligation. [205828]

Amber Rudd: Consumer protection is an important aspect of any energy efficiency scheme. ECO is an obligation on the largest energy suppliers, and suppliers use in-house operation teams or contract third party installation companies to promote and install energy efficiency improvements in households. Compensation payments would therefore be provided through the energy suppliers or their contractors, not by Government.

However, we have recently consulted on additional warranty provisions under ECO Affordable Warmth. We will announce the outcome of that consultation shortly.

Consumers can also access the usual consumer protection routes such as Citizens Advice (08454 04 05 06) and Trading Standards.

Billing

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the value is of duplicate supplier payments identified by his Department since 2010; and what proportion of such payments have since been recovered in each of the last two financial years. [205970]

Amber Rudd: The Department has identified and recovered the whole of two duplicate supplier payments totalling £1,000 in this period.

Biofuels: Air Pollution

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to publish his final Biomass Emissions and Counterfactual calculator. [205947]

Amber Rudd: The Biomass Emissions and Counterfactual calculator is due to be published shortly.

Correspondence

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate the annual cost to his Department of (a) stationery and (b) postage incurred when sending a ministerial reply to hon. Members; and if he will make a statement. [206146]

Amber Rudd: The Department of Energy and Climate Change’s estimate of annual costs incurred for ministerial replies to hon. Members is (a) £60 for stationery and (b) £5,000 for postage.

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has any plans to increase the number of replies within his Department's working day standard; and if he will make a statement. [206474]

Amber Rudd: The target for replying to correspondence is 80% in 15 working days—we aim to meet or exceed that target.

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Cabinet Office guidance on correspondence handling states that individual Departments' targets for routine correspondence from MPs should be a maximum of 20 working days.

Economic Benefits of Offshore Oil and Gas Review

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will ensure that trade unions representing workers in the offshore oil and gas sector are included in official discussions about (a) establishing and (b) the regulatory powers of the Oil and Gas Authority recommended by the Wood Review. [206507]

Matthew Hancock: We will ensure discussions on the establishment and regulatory powers of the Oil and Gas Authority take place with interested parties as policy develops.

Energy Companies Obligation

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what conversations he has held with (a) energy companies, (b) cavity wall insulation companies and (c) local authorities on the effect of the Government’s changes to the Energy Company Obligation on the UK’s ability to meet its carbon-saving obligations. [205790]

Amber Rudd: Ministers and officials have had meetings with many interested parties in recent months, including energy suppliers, insulation companies and local authorities, at which the Government’s proposed changes to the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) were discussed.

These and other stakeholders, such as consumer organisations and Ofgem, are represented on the ECO Steering Group, which meets on a monthly basis. The terms of reference for the group, along with minutes of meetings and other papers, are made publicly available via Gov.uk:

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/energy-company-obligation-eco-steering-group

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will hold discussions with cavity wall insulation companies on potential job losses arising from changes in the Energy Company Obligation. [205792]

Amber Rudd: The Government will publish their response to the consultation on the future of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) shortly.

Energy: Meters

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many agencies will have access to data collected by smart meters. [205496]

Amber Rudd: In order to protect consumers and ensure that they have choices over who can access their energy data and for what purposes, the Government have established a data access and privacy regulatory framework

Energy suppliers will be able to access their own customers’ monthly consumption data for billing and

22 July 2014 : Column 1123W

for the purposes of fulfilling any statutory requirement or licence obligations. Consumers will be able to choose whether or not to permit energy suppliers to access data on their daily or half-hourly consumption of energy.

Network operators will be permitted to access monthly consumption data for the purpose of developing and maintaining efficient, co-ordinated and economical systems for the distribution of electricity and gas. They will also be allowed to access half-hourly data for regulated purposes, such as network design, but these data will be aggregated so that individuals cannot be identified from them.

A consumer may choose to permit a third party signatory of the smart energy code (such as an energy service company or switching sites) to access their consumption data but this access will not be permitted without explicit consumer consent.

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the compulsory installation of smart meters by homeowners. [205513]

Mr Davey: The Government's vision is for every home and smaller business in Great Britain to benefit from smart electricity and gas meters. The Government have placed an obligation on energy companies to take all reasonable steps to install smart meters at all domestic and smaller non-domestic premises by the end of 2020.

The rollout of smart meters will bring major benefits to consumers and the country and we expect consumers to welcome them. However, there is no obligation on customers to accept a smart meter if they do not wish to have one installed.

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many installed smart meters do not meet the SMETS 2 standard and will need to be replaced by the 2020 rollout deadline. [205576]

Mr Davey: Energy suppliers are required to install meters compliant with the Smart Metering Equipment Technical Specifications (SMETS) in domestic and smaller non-domestic sites by the end of 2020. Meters compliant with either SMETS 1 or SMETS 2 standards will not need to be replaced by the end of 2020. As the SMETS 2 standard is not yet in force, no installed smart meters currently meet it.

Each energy supplier reports the number of smart meters it has installed and is operating to DECC and includes both meters that are SMETS compliant and those it expects to upgrade to become SMETS compliant. The Department publishes Industry Aggregate statistics:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-energy-climate-change/series/smart-meters-statistics.

Suppliers have indicated that most of the smart meters they have already installed will need to receive software updates before they are fully SMETS compliant. In most cases they expect to provide the updates remotely and without needing to replace the meter physically.

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the average cost of installing (a) an electricity smart meter, (b) a gas smart meter, (c) an electricity

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advanced meter,

(d)

a gas advanced meter,

(e)

electricity smart-type meters and

(f)

gas smart-type meters in (i) domestic properties and (ii) small non-domestic properties. [205585]

Mr Davey: The following cost estimates are taken from the smart metering impact assessment from January 2014.

We do not have separate cost estimates for smart-type meters (i.e. non-SMETS-compliant meters installed in domestic premises) since they fall outside of the roll-out obligation.

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which companies that make smart meters are approved to fit them under the Government's rollout scheme. [205595]

Amber Rudd: Energy suppliers will determine which meter manufacturers to contract with and who should install the meters according to their own commercial procedures. The purchase and installation of smart meters is a matter for energy suppliers provided they are compliant with the smart metering equipment technical specifications (SMETS).

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the proportion of properties in which the costs of installing a smart meter will outweigh the benefits. [205668]

Amber Rudd: The Government’s Smart Metering Impact Assessment estimates a net present value benefit of £6.2 billion based on present value costs of £10.9 billion and present value benefits of £17.1 billion for an appraisal period up to 2030.

The modelling underlying the cost benefit analysis for smart metering considers the impact on the average household.

Our modelling approach does not allow us to estimate the proportion of properties where the costs of installation could exceed the benefits.

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the progress made by suppliers and installers of smart meters on finding a solution for hard-to-install properties. [205955]

Amber Rudd: The Government have mandated energy suppliers to have completed the rollout of smart meters to all domestic and smaller non-domestic premises by the end of 2020. Energy suppliers are undertaking site surveys and analysing installations completed during the current foundation stage of the programme to determine

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the most effective solutions to reach all premises. As part of the Smart Meter Implementation Programme governance arrangements, an Operational Delivery Group is identifying and agreeing common approaches to installations as a means of ensuring a consistently good consumer experience across the rollout.

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what contingency plans his Department has in place if the deadline for SMETS 2 is not met. [206034]

Amber Rudd: We published an update to the second version of the Smart Metering Equipment Technical Specifications (SMETS2) on 10 July 2014. This provides manufacturers with a stable baseline to proceed with development and testing of SMETS2 meters in time for initial DCC operations in Q4 2015.

Meters compliant with SMETS1 are currently being installed. SMETS1 installations will continue at least until SMETS2 meters are available. We will consult stakeholders before withdrawing SMETS1.

Green Deal Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) new, (b) pending and (c) live non-domestic Green Deal Plans there are. [203762]

Amber Rudd: Up to the end of May 2014, there were no non-domestic Green Deal Plans at any of these stages, because the focus of Green Deal to date has been on the domestic sector. The Government are, however, committed to encouraging energy efficiency in the non-domestic sector through a variety of schemes, with action not limited to the framework provided by the Green Deal. Other key policy instruments include the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme and Climate Change Agreements (providing financial incentives for energy efficiency), and the new Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (requiring energy audits of all large enterprises every four years).

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many green deal assessments there have been in the non-domestic sector. [203763]

Amber Rudd: Up to the end of May 2014, 63 non-domestic Green Deal assessments had been lodged in Great Britain. This is a relatively low number compared with the 234,050 domestic Green Deal assessments to the same date and demonstrates that the focus for Green Deal to date has been on households.

The Government are, however, committed to encouraging energy efficiency in the non-domestic sector through a variety of schemes, with action not limited to the framework provided by the Green Deal. Other key policy instruments include the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme and Climate Change Agreements (providing financial incentives for energy efficiency), and the new Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (requiring energy audits of all large enterprises every four years).

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Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many non-domestic customers have taken out a Green Deal loan. [204381]

Amber Rudd: There have been no non-domestic customers with Green Deal plans because the focus of Green Deal to date has been on the domestic sector. The Government are, however, committed to encouraging energy efficiency in the non-domestic sector through a variety of schemes, with action not limited to the framework provided by the Green Deal. Other key policy instruments include the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme and Climate Change Agreements (providing financial incentives for energy efficiency), and the new Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (requiring energy audits of all large enterprises every four years).

ICT

Mr Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many mobile telephones, BlackBerrys and laptops were lost by his Department in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date. [204470]

Amber Rudd: The following items were lost or stolen:

2013

computers (including laptops)—five

mobile phones—0

BlackBerry—seven

2014 up to 9 July

computers (including laptops)—three

mobile phones—0

BlackBerry—0

Natural Gas: Storage

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the effects of the changes made by the Valuation Office Agency to rates for gas storage facilities on security of supply and price stability in the UK. [206413]

Matthew Hancock: Business rates are only one part of a suite of costs faced by gas storage operators, and the impact of business rate changes on gas storage sites can only be understood when compared to commercially sensitive information about each gas storage site, to which the Government do not have access. It is not feasible to assess the impact of rate changes in isolation and for this reason we have made no such assessment.

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with the Valuation Office Agency about changes to the rates for gas storage facilities. [206414]

Matthew Hancock: There have been no discussions between DECC Ministers and representatives of the Valuation Office Agency regarding changes to the business rates for gas storage facilities.

It is for the Valuation Office Agency to set business rates in accordance with the relevant legislative framework.

Offshore Industry: Safety

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what assessment he has made of the potential effect of implementing the Government's strategy for maximising economic

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recovery from the UK continental shelf will have on safety of offshore oil gas workers; [206448]

(2) what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the introduction of (a) the Government's strategy for maximising economic recovery from the UK continental shelf and (b) the Oil and Gas Authority will have on the safety of offshore oil gas workers. [206508]

Matthew Hancock: The remit of the Wood Review on maximising economic recovery was to consider how economic recovery of oil and gas could be maximised from the UK continental shelf. In doing so, the review did not directly cover health and safety. In maximising economic recovery from the UK continental shelf, industry will continue to be required to fully comply with all health and safety legislation.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will publish an impact assessment of the principles of the Government's strategy for maximising economic recovery from the UK continental shelf; and what discussions he has had with (a) ministerial colleagues and (b) the Health and Safety Executive on the potential effect of the implementation of those principles and that strategy on the safety of offshore oil gas workers. [206506]

Matthew Hancock: A strategy for maximising economic recovery for the UK continental shelf will be developed as part of the Government’s implementation of the Wood Review, and discussions with interested parties, including on any implications for safety, will be part of that development.

Private Rented Housing: Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2014, Official Report, column 738W, on private rented housing: energy, what system his Department has put in place to ensure that landlords comply with provisions within the Energy Act 2014. [205061]

Amber Rudd: The Government expect to begin consultation on implementation of the Energy Act 2011’s private rented sector provisions shortly. The consultation will include proposals regarding compliance.

Procurement

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 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. [205189]

Mr Davey The Department of Energy and Climate Change entered into a contract for the provision of transactional HR and finance services in November 2013 and incurred expenditure of £0.5 million during 2013-14. This is equivalent to 0.01% of total departmental expenditure for the year. In previous years the equivalent services were provided to DECC by other Government Departments. Expenditure on these services in 2014-15 is forecast to be approximately £1.2 million and to account for a similar proportion of total expenditure.

22 July 2014 : Column 1128W

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many contracts (a) his Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies (i) have let and (ii) plan to let that are worth (A) between £1 million and £3 million and (B) over £3 million since 2010; how much his Department has spent on monitoring each such contract; and how many officials in his Department monitor each contract. [205367]

Amber Rudd: Contracts let in the core Department and non-departmental public bodies for which information is available centrally are summarised in the table below.

The information requesting how much his Department has spent on monitoring each such contract and how many officials in his Department monitor each contract is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Department of Energy and Climate Change has devolved procurement so that units within the Department monitor their own contracts.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department paid to (a) G4S, (b) Serco, (c) Sodexo, (d) GEOAmey, (e) Capita, (f) Atos, (g) Mitie, (h) Working Links, (i) A4E, (j) MTC Amey, (k) GEO Group and (l) Carillion in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14. [205685]

Amber Rudd: The following table details expenditure incurred by the Department of Energy and Climate Change for each of the financial years 2010 to 2014 with the firms listed. We do not have any record of expenditure with the firms of (d) GEOAmey; (g) Mitie; (h) Working Links (i) A4E; (j) MTC Amey; (k) GEO Group.

22 July 2014 : Column 1129W

Renewable Energy

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will discuss with the devolved Administrations measures to ensure that the proportion of renewable energy produced in each jurisdiction is in line with targets set nationally. [205643]

Amber Rudd: The Department is in regular contact with the devolved Administrations; all support the need to increase the proportion of our energy needs in the UK which are met from renewable sources. The UK as a whole is making good progress towards the 2020 target for 15% of our energy needs to come from renewables; we were in line with the 2011-12 interim target and are on course for the one in 2014-15.