Written Questions: Government Responses

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to provide a substantive answer to question number 204223, tabled for answer on 14 July 2014. [206963]

James Brokenshire: Prevent aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. The revised Prevent strategy published in June 2011 has three key objectives. These are to:

respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat we face from those who promote it;

prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure that they are given appropriate advice and support; and

work with sectors and institutions where there are risks of radicalisation which we need to address.

The delivery of Prevent requires strong partnerships with a range of local groups in the community, including British Muslims among others.

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The Prevent strategy we inherited from the last Government was flawed. It confused the delivery of Government policy to promote integration with Government policy to prevent terrorism, which was a source of mistrust. That is why we refocused the Prevent strategy in 2011, to separate Prevent from broader integration work.

Local Prevent co-ordinators across the country work with local services partners such as the police, Charity Commission and members of local faith communities, to understand local risks and needs, and deliver targeted projects and outreach work. We fund 30 Prevent priority areas to work on the frontline and with those vulnerable to extremism, including funding projects tailored to local needs. Prevent co-ordinators provide regular feedback to the Home Office, which helps shape the future development and implementation of the Prevent strategy.

Preventing terrorism means challenging extremist (and non-violent) ideas that are also part of a terrorist ideology. The Prevent strategy focuses on all forms of terrorism, but is clear that the most serious risk to our national security comes from al-Qaeda, its affiliates and like-minded organisations. For this reason, the report of the Prime Minister’s Extremism Task Force (ETF), published last December, set out a definition of Islamist extremism. It noted that this ideology should not be confused with traditional religious practice.

It is based on a distorted interpretation of Islam, which betrays Islam’s peaceful principles and also includes the uncompromising belief that people cannot be Muslim and British, and insists that those who do not agree with them are not true Muslims.

Written Answers to Questions

Monday 1 September 2014

Education

Academies

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much financial and in-kind support, including staff time, has been provided to each of the events entitled the Academies Show held in London and Birmingham since May 2010; and what the cost was of (a) venue hire, (b) catering, (c) promotion and advertising, (d) presentations, (e) work performed by officials in his Department in preparing, promoting and visiting these events and (f) other costs in respect of those events. [206999]

Mr Timpson: The Department for Education does not make any financial contribution to the Academies Show. The cost of venue hire, catering, promotion and advertising is covered by GovNet Communications, a private sector publisher and events organisation.

A Minister and a director from the Department make keynote speeches to open each Academies Show, and between five and 10 other senior staff give up to three one hour presentations each, during the day.

One member of staff from the Department works with GovNet Communications, for approximately one hour a week, to put together the events programme and to coordinate and manage the Department’s stand at the show. This stand is provided free of charge by GovNet. Up to 40 members of staff operate the Department’s stand on a shift basis, to answer questions that delegates have about the academies programme.

The Academies Show brings together headteachers, teachers, governors, school business managers and others involved in the world of education. The show provides an opportunity for delegates to increase their understanding of the academies programme and to hear presentations and case studies from a wide range of education experts. The last Academies Show, held in London in April 2014 attracted almost 2,400 visitors.

Academies: Sheffield

Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education who the approved Academy sponsors for primary and secondary schools are in Sheffield. [206858]

Mr Timpson: A list of all open academies is published online at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-academies-and-academy-projects-in-development

This information can be filtered to select open academies in Sheffield and their sponsors.

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Buildings

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will review her departmental estate in order to reduce costs; and if she will make a statement. [206686]

Mr Gibb: Since May 2010, the Department for Education has reduced the size of its estate from 30 properties, at a cost of circa £51 million per annum, to six properties costing circa £31 million per annum. This is a saving of £20 million per annum.

In 2012, the Department announced an ambitious programme to reduce its estate from 12 sites to six, while maximising the efficiency of the buildings retained. This has now been achieved by reducing the amount of space we use, by surrendering unwanted facilities to landlords and through sub-letting vacant space to other organisations.

We also plan to vacate Sanctuary Buildings at lease expiry in 2017 and relocate to a Government owned freehold building, which will generate a further saving of circa £8.5 million per annum.

The Department is always looking to maximise the efficiency of its estate and we are currently working with the Cabinet Office’s Government Property Unit to update our Strategic Asset Management Plan.

EU Law

Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many times the UK has lost EU infraction proceedings since May 2010 which relate to matters that fall within her Department's responsibility. [206654]

Nick Boles: The UK has never been fined for an infraction.

Since May 2010, the UK has not lost any EU infraction proceedings that relate to matters that fall within the Department for Education’s responsibility.

History: Curriculum

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will take steps to ensure that the national curriculum highlights the importance of British history. [207001]

Mr Gibb: The new national curriculum, to be taught in all maintained primary and secondary schools from September 2014, was published in September 2013. The new history curriculum sets out, within a clear chronological framework, the core knowledge that will enable pupils to know and understand the history of Britain from its first settlers to the development of the institutions that help to define our national life today, as well as understanding how this relates to key events in world history.

In addition, the new GCSE content criteria, published in April 2014, makes it a requirement that British history form a minimum of 40% of the assessed content over the full course; under current arrangements the requirement is 25%. The new GCSEs are to be taught from 2016, with first examination in 2018.

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IGCSE

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will make it her policy to retain the international GCSE on school league tables in order to encourage take-up of that qualification. [207008]

Mr Laws: The Government announced on 24 July 2014 that the only English and mathematics qualifications that will count in the 2017 secondary school performance tables will be reformed GCSEs in those subjects or qualifications reformed to meet the same standards and expectations. The decision was taken following advice from Ofqual, the independent regulator, about the specific challenges of the first awards of reformed GCSEs in summer 2017. That advice is published online at:

www.ofqual.gov.uk/news/advice-ministers-performance-tables-2017

The present arrangements for recognising current level 1/level 2 certificates, such as IGCSEs, will end with the introduction of reformed GCSEs in all subjects.

Following the first exams in the new GCSEs, exam boards will be able to propose alternative academic qualifications for inclusion in performance tables. Any such qualifications will need to be accredited by Ofqual and be at least as demanding as and share key characteristics with the new GCSEs. New alternative academic qualifications could be recognised in performance tables from 2018.

Mathematics: East Sussex

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will estimate the number of students studying mathematics in further education in (a) Brighton and Hove and (b) East Sussex; and if she will make a statement. [206606]

Nick Boles: The number of students studying mathematics is not published. However, the number of students entered for A level examination entries in mathematics is published in the “A level and other level 3 results: academic year: 2012/13”¹ statistical first release. This is not exactly the same as the number of students, as a student can be entered for more than one mathematics exam.

Nationally, we are reforming post-16 maths education and have set out our ambition for the majority of young people in England to study mathematics at least to age 18 by 2020. Students without at least a grade C at GCSE in mathematics are now required to continue to study this subject. We are reforming A Levels and are also introducing new ‘core maths’ qualifications for post-16 students from 2015 for those who achieve at least a C at GCSE, but do not progress to A level or AS level.

¹ https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-level-and-other-level-3-results-england-2012-to-2013-revised (Table 13a)

Pre-school Education: North Yorkshire

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many nursery places were available in (a) North Yorkshire and (b) Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency in each year since 2010. [206807]

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Mr Gyimah: I have asked Ofsted to respond using the data they hold on registered nursery places. Sir Michael Wilshaw, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, will write to the hon. Gentleman, and a copy of his response will be placed in the House Library. Some providers, such as schools with nursery provision for children aged three or over, are exempt from registration. The number of places therefore may not include the full range of early years provision available in the area.

The Department for Education’s Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey¹ collects data on all registered child care places, including those in maintained schools and nurseries. These figures are therefore more comprehensive than the Ofsted figures; however data are only available at a national and regional level and in this case only for the north east, Yorkshire and Humberside.

¹ https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2011

Primary Education: Admissions

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will make it her policy to allow a relaxation of up to four additional places in the maximum number of pupils in an infant class in areas where the demand exceeds the number of places available at the local catchment area school. [206793]

Mr Laws: There are no plans to raise the infant class size limit of 30 pupils per school teacher. The Department for Education believes that smaller infant classes have a positive effect on the progress of younger pupils.

However, there are already a small number of prescribed exceptions where the limit of 30 pupils per teacher can lawfully be exceeded. These exceptions exist to protect the most vulnerable children such as children in care, children with a statement of special educational needs or children who move into an area where there is no other suitable school place available for them.

Pupil Exclusions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children under the age of 16 have been excluded from school as a result of possession of illegal substances in the latest period for which figures are available. [206952]

Mr Gibb: In the 2011-12 academic year, there were 330 permanent and 7,740 fixed period exclusions due to drug or alcohol consumption. This is equivalent to 6.4% of all permanent exclusions and 2.5% of all fixed period exclusions respectively.

These statistics are published in the exclusions “Permanent and fixed period exclusions from schools in England: 2011 to 2012 academic year”¹ Statistical First Release and include pupils of all ages.

¹ https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-from-schools-in-england-2011-to-2012-academic-year (Tables 11 and 12)

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will publish all information her Department has collated on attainment at key stage 2

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to key stage 4 in all GCSE subjects for all pupils eligible for the pupil premium in maintained schools in the last four years. [206748]

Mr Laws: The Department for Education publishes national, local authority and school level data in relation to disadvantaged pupils (defined as those who attract pupil premium funding) at key stage 2 and key stage 4 in the school performance tables, which are published online at:

www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance

Data covering the last three years is available and shows attainment and progression as well as a comparison with the performance of other pupils.

A GCSE subject level breakdown is published at school level for all pupils and is available from the school performance tables, published online at:

www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/download_data.html

This information is not disaggregated further by pupil groups, including disadvantaged pupils, due to the small numbers that would result from such a breakdown. The majority of the data would need to be suppressed to ensure that no individuals could be identified.

The information requested could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

Schools: Admissions

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children secured a place at their top-choice school in (a) the UK, (b) Berkshire and (c) Windsor constituency in the latest period for which data is available. [206723]

Mr Laws: Data on the proportion of children that were made an offer of their first choice school for England were published on 24 June 2014 as part of the Statistical First Release ‘Secondary and primary school applications and offers: 2014’. This is published online at:

www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-applications

The latest data is for entry into school in September 2014. Data for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are produced by the devolved Administrations.

The figures for England and the local authorities of West Berkshire and Windsor and Maidenhead are given in the table. Data are provided by, and broken down as far as, local authority level. Therefore results by parliamentary constituency are not available.

Schools: Asbestos

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans she has to reduce levels of asbestos in school buildings. [206773]

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Mr Laws: Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, the employer, either the local authority or the school, has clear responsibilities to manage asbestos containing materials in schools safely. We expect schools to have an asbestos management plan in place and to manage it actively in line with legal requirements.

The Department for Education takes the issue of asbestos management in schools very seriously. Our policy, as in other aspects of school management, is to give schools the support that they need to fulfil their responsibilities effectively.

The Department has set up the Asbestos in Schools Steering Group to raise awareness and promote the effective management of asbestos in schools. We have also published guidance, which is available online at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/asbestos-management-in-schools

We are currently reviewing our asbestos policy and expect to publish the outcomes in the autumn.

Schools: Mental Health Services

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps her Department will take to consult specialists in the field of educational psychology before the publication of her Department's planned review of its guidance on mental health and behaviour in schools. [206790]

Mr Timpson: The mental health and behaviour advice was developed with input from a range of specialist academics and professionals including teachers, headteachers and educational psychology specialists from the Department of Health’s Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme (CYP IAPT). Early feedback is that the advice has been warmly received, including by schools, the mental health charity YoungMinds and mental health professors from University College London and the University of Roehampton.

Good mental health services for young people are absolutely vital and something families care a great deal about. Our advice to schools helps teachers separate poor behaviour from unmet mental health issues so that all pupils receive help appropriate to their needs. It also encourages schools to promote positive mental health through the curriculum and peer mentoring.

All guidance is kept under regular review to ensure that it is up-to-date and additions are made as necessary. Part of this involves meeting with relevant professionals to keep abreast of developments and we have plans in place to meet with specialists in the field of educational psychology which will inform the planned review in October.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps she is taking to assess the effect of her Department's guidance on managing mental health and behaviour in schools and ensure that schools identify and manage children with mental health problems. [206791]

Mr Timpson: In producing the Department for Education’s guidance on mental health and behaviour in schools a broad range of professionals were engaged, including the Department’s primary and secondary heads’

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reference groups, mental health specialists, special educational needs experts and professors from University College London and the University of Roehampton.

As part of our planned review in October, officials from the Department will continue to monitor feedback to ensure the advice remains up-to-date and useful for schools.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps her Department has taken to ensure that teachers, pastoral leaders, special educational needs co-ordinators and others working to support children in schools are able to support the identification and management of children with mental health issues. [206792]

Mr Timpson: In June 2014 the Department for Education published advice on behaviour and mental health in schools which aimed to help schools support all pupils’ mental health and wellbeing so that they can succeed in school. The guidance, which is published online¹ provides case studies, information and links to organisations that can be approached for advice including on making referrals to specialist services.

¹ www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2

The guidance also includes the new Mind Ed e-portal which is funded by the Department of Health and was launched earlier this year to provide training and information on mental health for all adults working with children and young people.

The new 0-25 Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice, due to be implemented from September, make it clear that schools should seek to identify underlying mental health conditions that their pupils have. The Code requires education, health and care services to jointly commission services for children and young people with SEND. It also requires the publication of a local offer in each local authority area, setting out all the services for children and young people with SEND, including mental health services. These should help schools to access the specialist support that they need.

The Department has funded a wide range of support for the implementation of the SEND reforms from local authorities and the voluntary and community sector. This includes Nansen’s new SEND Gateway which brings together a wide range of practical information, advice and training for school staff and others working with pupils with SEND. This information can be found online at:

www.sendgateway.org.uk

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what her policy is on providing psychiatric support for pupils aged between four and 11. [206794]

Mr Timpson: Teachers see their pupils on a daily basis and are often the first to notice changes in behaviour that may indicate a problem. The new 0-25 Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice, due to be implemented from September, makes it clear that schools should seek to identify underlying mental health conditions that their pupils have.

In June 2014 the Department for Education published advice on behaviour and mental health in schools, which is available online¹. This guidance is intended to

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help schools support all pupils’ mental health and wellbeing so that they can succeed in school. It provides case studies, information and links to organisations that can be approached for advice. The guidance also includes the new Mind Ed e-portal which was launched earlier this year and is funded by the Department of Health.

The behaviour and mental health in schools advice will help schools identify pupils whose behaviour suggests they may have an unmet mental health need and provide the support they need. The advice makes clear that teachers are not expected to be experts in mental health. Any support or intervention should be provided by staff with sufficient skills and knowledge, supported by the SEN Co-ordinator as necessary. Schools may also choose to involve external specialists at any point to advise them on identification of needs and the provision of effective support and interventions. For more severe problems, schools might need to refer pupils to medical professionals working in specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, voluntary organisations and local GPs.

¹ www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2

Schools: Sherford

Mr Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how the organisations which will run the proposed new schools in the new town in Sherford, Devon will be selected. [206457]

Mr Timpson: Where a local authority (LA) identifies the need to establish a new school, section 6A of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (the ‘academy presumption’) requires it to seek proposals, in the first instance, to establish an academy/free school. The LA must publish a new school specification, inviting proposals to establish and run the new school. The LA should assess all proposals received and send the outcome of their assessment to the Secretary of State. The LA may state its preferred proposer or ranking of proposers, which the Secretary of State will take into consideration when deciding whether or not to enter into a funding agreement with any of the proposers. However, the Secretary of State reserves the right to put in place a proposer of her own choice.

Guidance about the process is published online at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-and-free-school-presumption

Teachers: Dismissal

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teaching staff were dismissed as a result of unsatisfactory attendance in each year since 2010. [207000]

Mr Laws: The information requested is not held centrally.

Teachers: Offences against Children

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 9 June 2014, Official Report, column 63W, on teachers: offences against, what information her Department holds and in what format on cases considered by the National College for Teaching and Leadership. [206836]

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Mr Laws: From 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2014 the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) collected the information outlined below at the point of referral only and categorised as follows: state schools; academies and free schools; independent schools; Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS); police and public. At the point a case concluded at a panel hearing, cases were categorised by types of behaviour as follows: finance/dishonesty; drink/drugs related; exam misconduct; inappropriate relationships; inappropriate web access; violence; intolerance and other.

From 1 April 2014 NCTL has continued to collect the source of referral. In addition it now collects information relating to types of behaviour at both the point of referral and the conclusion of the case. NCTL has revised the categorisation in light of experience over its first two years of operation. Categories are now: breach of boundaries and/or trust, bullying, dishonesty, drink/drugs related, exam misconduct, false representation, indecent images of children, intolerance and undermining British values, sexual misconduct, violence, other financial misconduct, other serious criminal behaviour and other.

Full details of cases that progressed to a hearing where the panel found unacceptable professional conduct, conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute and/or conviction of a relevant offence, are published online at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?keywords =&publication_filter_option=decisions&topics%5B%5D=schools &departments%5B%5D=national-college-for-teaching-and-leadership&official_document_status=all&world_locations%5B% 5D=all

Teachers: Training

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what audit arrangements apply to schools in receipt of School Direct funding; and what steps her Department takes to ensure that such funding is used only to support teacher trainees. [206762]

Mr Laws: School Direct funding is paid to schools by the Education Funding Agency (EFA) on behalf of the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). EFA gains assurance on all funding transferred, including the NCTL funds. This is done using external auditors, audits and reviews of statutory annual accounts.

NCTL has a grant funding agreement in place with all grant recipients, including lead schools that deliver School Direct, under which schools are bound to spend funds for the purpose intended, i.e. initial teacher training.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education in which subject areas School Direct places have been relinquished. [206763]

Mr Laws: This year, as we have done every year, we allocated more initial teacher training (ITT) places than the number of required trainees estimated by the teacher supply model to take account of the likely level of recruitment in each subject.

As is normal, both lead schools and ITT providers have relinquished places since our initial allocation. Lead schools have relinquished places to train teachers in all subject areas with the exception of applied science.

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This is based on an analysis of our records using data extracted on 22 July 2014. We intend to publish full detail of the final allocations for the 2014/15 academic year in the coming months.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many initial teacher training places originally allocated to School Direct were offered to higher education providers in June 2014; and how many additional places have been allocated to those providers compared to their original allocations. [206810]

Mr Laws: No places originally allocated to lead schools for School Direct have been offered to higher education providers. Earlier this year, we made a number of places available for those schools that have proven popular with applicants and recruited well. We extended this offer to higher education providers in June.

Since they were initially agreed, we have agreed increases to higher education institution (HEI) allocations for a number of reasons. For example, we allocated more places in physics and mathematics throughout the year and we also allowed transfers between particular subjects. The additional places allocated as a result of our offer in June are just part of changes agreed to HEI allocations. We will publish data showing allocations by university and subject in the autumn.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate she made for planning purposes of the number of initial teacher training (ITT) places that would be offered by all ITT providers in (a) early years, (b) primary and (c) specialist subjects in 2014-15; and what estimate she has made of the number of people who will take up ITT places in those categories in that period. [206928]

Mr Laws: We use the teacher supply model (TSM) to estimate the optimum number of teacher trainees required to start in any academic year. The TSM models trainees across the primary phase; it does not distinguish between early years, primary specialists and other individual primary courses. A technical description of the TSM is published online at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-supply-model-a-technical-description

The number of places allocated is not a target and should not be regarded as one. This year, as we do every year, we have over-allocated initial teacher training (ITT) places above the number of required trainees estimated by the TSM. This helps us to ensure we train enough teachers, taking account of the likely level of recruitment in each subject.

We have published data showing the number of places allocated in each subject. There are published online at:

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/initial-teacher-training-allocations-for-academic-year-2014-to-2015

UCAS has published recruitment information for the 2014/15 academic year by subject. This includes data on primary courses and is published online at:

www.ucas.com/data-analysis/ucas-teacher-training-statistical-releases

It is important to note that the UCAS Teacher Training scheme is new this year and it is not possible to make a direct comparison with recruitment data from previous years.

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Recruitment figures from the 2013-14 ITT census are published online at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-allocations-for-academic-year-2013-to-2014-final

We will publish statistics from the census of 2014/15 trainees in November.

Vocational Education

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps she is taking to encourage the inclusion of employers in devising vocational education; and if she will make a statement. [206614]

Nick Boles: Employers are playing a vital role in the Government’s reform of vocational and technical education. From September 2014, 227 high-quality tech levels will be available to 16 to 19-year-olds, across a wide range of industry sectors. These are all backed by employers, trade or professional bodies and provide an excellent pathway to apprenticeships, skilled employment and technical degrees. From September 2016, all tech level courses will also involve employers in the delivery and/or assessment of the qualification. As regulator, Ofqual is strengthening its regulatory approach to ensure that vocational qualifications meet employers’ needs.

In addition, over 400 employers are involved in redesigning apprenticeships. Trailblazers are led by large and small employers, who are developing new apprenticeship standards and assessment approaches for key occupations in their sectors. By September 2017 all apprenticeship starts will be on the basis of our new employer-led standards.

Transport

Buildings

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review his departmental estate in order to reduce costs; and if he will make a statement. [206695]

Claire Perry: The Department for Transport reviews assets and land and property holdings on an ongoing basis. As and when appropriate any land or property holdings deemed surplus are promptly identified and disposed of in accordance with business needs.

This has resulted in reductions in the cost of the department estate and improved space efficiency as reported in the annual State of the Estate Report:

In addition the Department for Transport has contributed land capable of delivering 3,752 homes to the Public Sector Land Programme, we are continuing to rationalise our estate, delivering cost savings and better value for money for the taxpayer.

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Driving Offences: Insurance

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many prosecutions the DVLA has brought for (a) possessing and (b) driving an uninsured and untaxed vehicle in (i) Llanelli constituency, (ii) Wales and (iii) the UK since 2011. [206708]

Claire Perry: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not hold this information for individual parliamentary constituencies or UK regions. Between January 2011 and June 2014, there were 115,829 prosecutions throughout the UK for using or keeping an untaxed vehicle on the public road.

Prosecutions for the offence of keeping an uninsured vehicle began in November 2011. Up until the end of June 2014, 68,598 prosecutions for this offence had been taken forward across Great Britain.

The DVLA does not hold figures about prosecutions where the vehicle was both untaxed and uninsured.

EU Law

Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times the UK has lost EU infraction proceedings since May 2010 which relate to matters that fall within his Department's responsibility. [206662]

Claire Perry: In relation to matters that fall within the responsibility of the Department for Transport the UK has lost no EU infraction proceedings since May 2010.

Highways Agency

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) taking the Highways Agency out of public ownership and (b) rebranding the Highways Agency, including (i) the replacement of uniforms and equipment of the staff of the Highways Agency and (ii) the replacement of liveries on the vehicles operated by the Highways Agency. [206862]

Mr Hayes: There are no plans to take the Highways Agency out of public ownership. The Infrastructure Bill seeks to establish the Highways Agency as a Government-Owned Company. An Impact Assessment has been completed on these proposals. This estimates the transitional costs of reform at between £11 million to £15 million. These costs would be one off costs and would be outweighed by savings of at least £2.6 billion over 10 years. No specific assessment has been made of the costs of rebranding or replacement of uniforms and liveries.

Railways: North of England

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many responses he has had to date to the consultation on TransPennine and Northern Rail franchises; and in what area each respondent to that consultation is resident. [206625]

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. To date we have

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received 131 formal responses to the consultation from various people and organisations across the North of England. This number does not include responses to our online survey (which will be collected at the end of the consultation). These responses have not yet been fully analysed as the consultation is ongoing but they cover a wide range of themes. We will publish a stakeholder briefing document setting out a summary of responses to the consultation and how they were taken account of when we publish the Invitations to Tender (ITTs) for the franchises, expected in December 2014.

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.

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of job losses, station closures and cost savings that will result if the proposals in his consultation document on TransPennine and Northern Rail franchises are implemented without change. [206640]

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 impacts on station staffing, or cost savings have yet been completed for any of the options set out in the consultation. The consultation states that the Department is not considering station closures for either the Northern or TransPennine Express franchises as part of the specification. Further work will be carried out, informed by the consultation, before any decisions are taken.

Railways: Procurement

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the minimum and maximum (a) start-up and (b) annual running costs of establishing a Government-owned company to bid for rail service contracts. [206644]

Claire Perry: It is the policy of this Government, and has been for all Governments since 1993, that private sector companies compete to run passenger rail franchises. The Department for Transport has set out clearly how it will do this through its franchising programme. This programme is providing millions of pounds of benefits for passengers and billions of pounds for taxpayers across the network from franchise awards like the recent Essex Thameside and Thameslink, Southern Great Northern franchises. The Department is making good progress towards the award of the InterCity East Coast franchise, expected in March 2015 and continuing the development of the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises, which we expect to announce the shortlisted bidders for shortly. As such, no estimate has been made of the potential costs of establishing a public sector body to participate in these competitions.

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Railways: WiFi

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of annual private investment in (a) on train wif-fi services and (b) track side wi-fi infrastructure in each year of Control Period 5 2015 to 2019. [206431]

Claire Perry: The Department has not made any estimates for this type of investment.

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total annual public investment in (a) on train wi-fi services and (b) track side wi-fi infrastructure will be in each year from 2014 to 2019. [206438]

Claire Perry: The funding provided by the Department for wi-fi on-board trains is commercially sensitive information. Releasing it has the potential to impact the commercial arrangements between train operators and their suppliers. The Department does not fund any track side wi-fi infrastructure. Network Rail are looking to develop a commercial case for any service of this type.

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how (a) his Department and (b) the Office of Rail Regulation will distribute to train operating companies funds for investment in free passenger wi-fi on train services from the fine on Network Rail for punctuality performance; and whether those funds will be ringfenced. [206442]

Claire Perry: The funding will be ring fenced for investment into train borne wi-fi systems.

We are still developing the mechanisms by which we will administer the funding, and will be in a position to give further information in September 2014.

Justice

Alcoholic Drinks

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department's policy is on alcohol consumption on the premises (a) in general and (b) during parties held in his Private Office. [205387]

Mr Vara: The departmental policy sets out that when providing in-house hospitality, no alcohol is to be paid for from departmental funds. When providing hospitality to external stakeholders discretion can be exercised but only where there is a justification, where expenditure is modest, and only then with approval at director level. The same policy applies to parties held in Private Offices.

Employees are expected to behave in accordance with the standards set out in the Civil Service Code and the departmental Conduct policy.

Coroners

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the coroners' out-of-hours service; [206510]

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(2) what assessment his Department has made of the extent to which the recommendations of her Department's report, Reforming the Coroner and Death Certification Service, published in 2004, have been implemented; [206511]

(3) what steps his Department has taken to promote minimal invasive autopsies. [206514]

Simon Hughes: The Ministry of Justice has responsibility for coroner law and policy only. It does not have operational responsibility for the coroner service and has therefore neither made an assessment of the effectiveness of coroners’ out of hours services nor taken steps to promote minimal invasive autopsies. I am, however, aware of the requirements of faith communities both for timely funerals and to preserve a body after death and the Chief Coroner has issued guidance to coroners on both out of hours services and on less invasive post mortem examinations. I am working with the Chief Coroner to consider how the service for all those who come into contact with coroners’ services can be improved.

Part I of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and a suite of rules and regulations came into force in July 2013 with the aim of modernising the coroner system and improving the coroner service for bereaved people and others who come into contact with coroner services. This included the appointment of the first ever Chief Coroner to oversee the new system and drive improvement. The Ministry of Justice is committed to reviewing the impact of these reforms 18 months after their implementation. Reform of death certification is led by the Department of Health.

Correspondence

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 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. [206151]

Mr Vara: The Ministry of Justice does not hold information at the level of detail requested. We have however taken steps to reduce our overall spending on stationery by securing better value for money from our suppliers and reducing paper usage.

Courts: Buildings

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent each month on court buildings that were closed in the period up to their disposal since May 2010. [206199]

Mr Vara: The Department is committed to disposing of surplus property assets expeditiously and reducing holding costs. Spend for each month on court buildings that were closed in the period up to their disposal since May 2010 can be provided only at disproportionate costs.

The total cumulative gross benefits expected from the Court Estate Reform Programme (CERP) are £152 million over the Strategic Review (SR10) period, consisting of resource savings from court closures of £99 million and gross capital proceeds of £53 million from the sale of buildings.

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Courts: Staff

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many whole time equivalent staff were employed at each magistrates' and Crown court in England in each of the last five years. [206324]

Mr Vara: I regret I am unable to collate the information required to answer this request within the normal time constraints of an ordinary written Parliamentary Question.

Providing details for the requested period of five years requires an extensive manual search of legacy records and reports.

I will write again in due course with the information available.

Dartmoor Prison

Mr Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the efficacy of measures to prevent drugs being smuggled into HM Prison Dartmoor. [206459]

Andrew Selous: HM Prison Service operates an audit assurance mechanism to monitor prison security performance against national standards. On a yearly basis Internal Audit and Assurance Group visit each establishment to measure the effectiveness of local policies and procedures and award a rating according to the level of assurance gained.

HMP Dartmoor received a security audit between 24th and the 28th February 2014. The establishment was awarded the maximum possible green rating for all security modules assessed. Across recent audits HMP Dartmoor has received a green rating for all modules measuring the effectiveness of measures for preventing the conveyance of illicit articles.

Drake Hall Prison

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether all prisoners at HM Prison Drake Hall have access to a library and at what times of the day such access is given. [206550]

Simon Hughes: All prisoners at HM Prison Drake Hall have access to the prison library or its outreach service, in accordance with Prison Service Instruction 45/2011 on the Prison Library Service.

The opening times of the prison library are as shown in the following table:

Electronic Tagging

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on increasing the number of people tagged as a condition of a court order and supervised by community rehabilitation companies or successor bodies. [205127]

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Andrew Selous: There are a number of court orders which may result in the electronic tagging of individuals. While the law allows the electronic monitoring of compliance with these orders, at present it is primarily imposed to monitor compliance with curfew requirements.

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts, taking into account the circumstances of each case and imposing a sentence which is proportionate to the seriousness of the offence.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the capabilities are of the multi-purpose ankle tag; and what forms of surveillance and supervision it makes possible. [206133]

Andrew Selous: The multi-purpose ankle tags will support the monitoring of compliance with curfew, exclusion and inclusion zones, and subject location.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reasons the hardware and software providers in the new contract for electronic monitoring of offenders have been separated. [206135]

Andrew Selous: We divided the provision of electronic monitoring into discrete components, separating the supply of hardware and software, and competed these as separate lots because we consider this approach most likely to support the development and deployment of the best technology. This strategy also had the advantage of encouraging the participation of new entrants, SMEs and specialist companies, allowing them to bid for a particular component rather than the entire end-to-end service.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what reasons were given to him by Buddi for its withdrawal from the new electronic contract in March 2014. [206136]

Andrew Selous: MOJ was unable to agree on certain technical and commercial aspects of the proposed contract with Buddi. We therefore took the decision to discontinue discussions with Buddi and recompete this part of the competition.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on fitting tags and trackers at court or prison. [206137]

Andrew Selous: Tags are not currently fitted at court or prisons. There is provision in the new contract for tagging at court and prison; we will explore the circumstances where this might be appropriate during the life of the contract.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on devolving responsibility for tagging contracts to police and crime commissioners. [206138]

Andrew Selous: On 15 July the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice announced that the Ministry of Justice will be awarding contracts to four companies for delivery of the next generation of electronic monitoring services.

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These national contracts will be managed by the Ministry of Justice. Within the existing legislative framework, there are opportunities for police and crime commissioners to make use of the capability within national contracts to support their local priorities in order to ensure that the taxpayers money is used efficiently. Police and crime commissioners may however make local arrangements depending on local priorities.

Separate to these national contracts, the Secretary of State has agreed to allow the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime to enter into arrangements to pilot the effectiveness of the Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

Essex Community Rehabilitation Company

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what role his Department had in (a) recruiting and (b) assessing the suitability of the board and directors at Essex Community Rehabilitation Company. [206745]

Andrew Selous: The Chief Executive and the non-executive directors of the Essex Community Rehabilitation Company were appointed on the recommendation of selection panels comprising senior officials from the Ministry of Justice. The selection panel for non-executive directors also included an external assessor. Both panels made their recommendations on the basis of their assessment of candidates’ suitability for appointment. The second executive director was appointed by the CRC board in accordance with agreed appointment criteria.

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make it a condition of his Department's contract with Essex Community Rehabilitation Company that the salaries of the chief executive, deputy chief executive and non-executive directors do not in real terms exceed the salaries paid to holders of the equivalent posts in probation services in Essex before 1 June 2014. [206746]

Andrew Selous: We are currently in the midst of the process of awarding Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) contracts. We will announce the winners of these contracts in line with our commitment to roll out these important reforms by 2015.

Contractors are required to employ personnel who are competent and have the right skills to fulfil their role. It will be a matter for each individual organisation to decide how to pay and reward their employees.

European Convention on Human Rights

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on reforming the European Convention on Human Rights; and if he will make a statement. [206542]

Simon Hughes: The Government have no plans to reform the European Convention of Human Rights.

The Government are however committed to reform of the European Court of Human Rights and the process used by those invoking the European Convention on Human Rights.

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The Brighton Declaration, agreed under the UK Chairmanship of the Council of Europe in April 2012, was a broad package of measures to reform the Court. Key points agreed in Brighton to define better the boundaries when the Court should and should not be involved in cases are now being implemented. Protocol 15 to the Convention, which helps define these boundaries and shortens the timeframe for application to the Court, will help the Court fulfil the purpose for which it was intended: to deal with the most serious violations of human rights.

Magistrates Courts: Spalding

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has made an estimate of the number of people who will be resident 15 or more miles away from their nearest magistrates' court as a result of the closure of Spalding magistrates courts. [206417]

Mr Vara: HM Courts and Tribunals Service published a six-week consultation on the future of Spalding magistrates court on 1 July 2014 with an accompanying Impact Assessment. This court has been unoccupied and unused since January 2014. HM Courts and Tribunals Service has received no complaints from witnesses or parties travelling to other courts since this time.

The consultation, which closes on 12 August 2014, provides all court users with the opportunity to raise any concerns they may have about the proposals, including the impact the potential closure could have on travel distances.

The Lord Chancellor will take into account all responses before any decision is made on the future of the court.

Mesothelioma

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect that the coming into force of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 has had on the payment of costs incurred by claimants for mesothelioma compensation. [206517]

Mr Vara: The civil litigation funding and costs reforms in Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 have not yet come into force in respect of mesothelioma cases.

Parole

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he last intervened in a decision taken by a Parole Board; and if he will make a statement. [204994]

Andrew Selous: The Parole Board is an independent body with the statutory power to direct the release of recalled prisoners, indeterminate sentence prisoners whose tariff has expired and those determinate sentence prisoners who are subject to discretionary release arrangements.

Once the Parole Board has directed release, the Secretary of State must give effect to the direction. Exceptionally, the Secretary of State can apply to the High Court to have a Parole Board release direction quashed if he considered it to be irrational although to date he has not sought to do so.

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Police: Trials

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he has taken to tackle trials cracking due to police officers failing to attend court as witnesses. [205656]

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. On the occasions when non-attendance of a police officer is the cause, we would expect the prosecutor to raise the matter with the Police force in question. Issues with police witness non-attendance should be discussed by the relevant Local Criminal Justice Board as part of their performance discussions.

Prison Accommodation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many additional prison places have been purchased from private prison providers at each prison in each month since January 2014; and what the cost has been of such additional purchases. [201826]

Andrew Selous: The Ministry of Justice has purchased the following Additional Prison Places (APPs) in each privately run prison per month since February 2014. There were no APPs purchased in January 2014.

The total available places for each prison are as described for June 14, totals are not cumulative.

The average cost per place of the above is approximately £13,000 p.a.

This compares with the average Direct cost per place across all prisons in 2012-13 of £28,000.

Sensible measures have been taken to ensure that we have sufficient capacity to deal with any temporary increases in population. These include creating additional places in prisons in a safe and decent way and ensuring that prisons reflect the needs of the current population.

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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.

Prisoner Escapes

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the highest number of absconds from prison by an individual offender has been in the last 20 years; [204457]

(2) how many offenders have absconded from prison on more than one occasion in each of the last 20 years. [204502]

Andrew Selous: To identify how many prisoners have absconded on more than one occasion in the last 20 years, or the highest number of absconds by an individual, would require a manual examination of the prison record of every prisoner who had absconded in this time frame. This could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

As a result of improved risk assessment procedures the number of prisoners absconding from open prisons has reduced significantly over the last 10 years. There were 225 absconds in 2013-14 compared to 1,301 in 2003-04.

Prisoners: Musical Instruments

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the balance between benefit and risk of permitting prisoners to have access to steel strung guitars in their cells. [207013]

Andrew Selous: Following feedback from prison Governors, we have made some minor adjustments to the property prisoners are allowed to have under the revised Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) framework, including metal guitar strings. Governors were notified on 15 July 2014 that, with immediate effect, it was open to them to include full metal guitar strings on their local facilities lists. This allows eligible prisoners to purchase them for use on acoustic guitars kept in-cell.

Full metal strings are, as with the nylon and metal coiled strings which were already permitted, available by application only, issued on a one-for-one basis, and subject to local risk assessment. As with the nylon and metal coiled strings, Governors can make them available to prisoners on the Standard and Enhanced levels of the IEP framework.

Prisons: Drugs

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which prisons have held amnesties for needles used for drug taking in the last year. [203330]

Andrew Selous: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not record centrally whether prisons have held amnesties for needles for drug taking and could not do so without incurring disproportionate cost by conducting a survey of every prison establishment.

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We have a zero tolerance approach to drugs and other illicit items in prisons. Anyone caught trying to smuggle these into prisons will be dealt with severely and may be referred to the police for prosecution.

We are working hard to keep contraband out of prison, and NOMS deploys a comprehensive range of security measures to reduce the availability of drugs in prisons, including working closely with police forces and carrying out random mandatory drug tests. The Agency works closely in partnership with the NHS in England and Wales who commission a range of treatment services in prison to support those with a substance misuse problem out of addiction and into sustained recovery.

Prisons: West Yorkshire

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many books are stocked in the libraries at HM Prison (a) Leeds and (b) Wakefield. [206591]

Andrew Selous: The Prison Library Service aims to ensure that prisoners have access to a similar catalogue of books that are available to readers in the community, through a request and loans service.

At Friday 18 July 2014, HMP Leeds had a book stock of 12,720 and HMP Wakefield had a book stock of 12,469.

Probation: Essex

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which companies have entered the competition to run probation services in Essex. [206744]

Andrew Selous: The Transforming Rehabilitation competition has a strong mix of bidders from a diverse range of partnerships. Private firms, charities experienced in tackling issues affecting offenders and small and large businesses have joined together to compete for the work that will help turn offenders' lives around. Bids were received at the end of June and we have a healthy competition in all areas. The process to award Community Rehabilitation Company contracts is ongoing and the details of which bidders remain in the competition, in which regions, is commercially sensitive information, which I am not able to make public at this stage. We are committed to rolling out these important reforms by 2015.

Procurement

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 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. [205856]

Mr Vara: As part of my 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/

The private sector has an important role to play in helping deliver much needed reforms. We remain committed to promoting a diverse market including public, private

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and voluntary sector, as well as ensuring rigorous contract management and high standards of behaviour.

We have undertaken a major review of contract management to ensure that we have in place robust and accountable systems.

Railways: Fares

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of the offence of failing to produce a valid train ticket on demand in each year since 2010. [206958]

Mike Penning: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. However, not all offences are individually reported within the centrally held data. Data for offences under Regulation of Railways Act 1868 are reported as part of a related group of offences, and it is not possible to separately identify prosecutions for offences of failing to produce a valid train ticket from other offences under the Act. This information may be held by the individual courts in England and Wales and as such it can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Sexual Offences: Registration

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders convicted of failing to comply with the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register in each of the last five years were given each type of available sentence for the offence. [204660]

Mike Penning: It has not been possible to answer this question within the allotted timeframe. I will write to the hon. Member.

Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what assessment he has made of whether the bringing into force of the provisions of the Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill will lead to fewer successful claims for damages under the current negligence laws; [206449]

(2) what estimate he has made of the likely reduction in insurance premiums as a result of the Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill; [206453]

(3) with reference to his article of 2 June 2014 on the Conservative Home website, what the evidential basis is for his statement that time and again we see stories of a jobsworth culture or a legalistic culture that seems to stop common sense in its tracks. [206496]

Mr Vara: I have spoken to many business groups and employers who tell me about how the compensation culture is tying their business in knots. Employers often do the right thing, put sensible safety procedures in place, and then someone does something daft and the employer still finds himself facing a negligence claim. The Bill should reassure employers and others that the courts will always consider the context of their actions before making a decision on liability. It should also deter claimants from bringing unfounded claims in the

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first place thereby helping to reduce insurance premiums. We have published an impact assessment at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/social-action-responsibility-and-heroism-bill#impact-assessment

Training

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2014, Official Report, column 710W, on training, in which the Minister indicated that Ministers had received £3,000 worth of media training, which company provided media training in June 2010; what the nature of this training was; and which ministers received such training. [206536]

Mr Vara: The media training was provided by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in June 2010 to Crispin Blunt, Lord McNally and Jonathan Djanogly, who were Ministers in the Department at the time.

There is a high-level of interest in the work of the Ministry of Justice and this training was designed to aid Ministers to convey the work of the Department to the public and to clearly explain the reforms being undertaken across their policy areas.

There has been no spending on external media training since then.

Health

Cancer

Mr Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress he has made towards meeting the commitment in the Government's 2010 cancer strategy of saving an additional 5,000 lives from cancer each year. [207003]

Jane Ellison: It is too early to be able to assess progress against the ambition to save an additional 5,000 lives per year by 2014-15, to halve the gap between the survival estimates in England and those in the best countries in Europe. However, we do know that cancer survival and mortality rates continue to improve and we are developing proxy measures to assess progress in a more timely manner, particularly in terms of the proportion of cancers diagnosed at stages one and two and cancers diagnosed through emergency routes.

The National Health Service and Public Health Outcomes Framework indicators and the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Outcomes Indicator Set are starting to enable us to assess progress, at national and local level. For example, data on one-year survival from all cancers and one-year survival from breast, lung and colorectal cancer were published as part of the CCG outcomes indicator set for the first time on 19 June 2014. NHS England is continuing to monitor the progress of the national health service in reducing mortality from cancer in line with the NHS Outcomes Framework, and from 2014-15 there will be a range of new NHS Outcomes Framework indicators on stage of diagnosis which will provide a good proxy measure in future on progress in delivering earlier stage of diagnosis of cancer.

The Mandate for the NHS for 2014-15 sets out an ambition for England to become one of the most successful countries in Europe at preventing premature deaths.

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Tackling premature deaths from cancer will contribute to this. A range of work at national and local level is aimed at improving cancer survival. For example, results from the first national “Be Clear on Cancer” lung cancer campaign in 2012 showed that around 700 extra patients were diagnosed with lung cancer compared to the previous year. Approximately 400 of these patients had their lung cancer diagnosed at an early stage, with around 300 more patients having surgery, giving them a better chance of survival.

Clinical Commissioning Groups

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to make employment a clinical commissioning group outcome indicator; and if he will make a statement. [207022]

Jane Ellison: All of the clinical commissioning group (CCG) outcomes indicators are chosen on the basis that they contribute to the overarching aims of the five domains in the NHS Outcomes Framework.

The indicators are developed through three routes:

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence makes recommendations on indicators to NHS England;

NHS England and the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) also directly develop indicators; and

Where new indicators are introduced to the NHS Outcomes Framework, consideration is given by NHS England and the HSCIC as to whether these are measurable at CCG level.

The CCG Outcomes Indicator Set 2014-15 includes an indicator on the proportion of adults in contact with secondary mental health services who are in paid employment. The potential for other employment-related indicators will be considered as part of the future development of the CCG Outcomes Indicator Set.

Continuing Care

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to improve the reassessment process for people with progressive and non-improving conditions who are in receipt of NHS Continuing Care funding. [206724]

Norman Lamb: The ‘National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care’ states that individuals found eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare should have their case reviewed initially after three months, and then annually as a minimum. The diagnosis of a particular disease or condition is not in itself a determinant of eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare.

NHS England has recently worked closely with the Department and other key stakeholders in developing an Assurance Framework to ensure that clinical commissioning groups comply with the requirements of the National Framework.

In addition to this, the Department has supported the development of an electronic training tool for those who are involved in assessment and decision making for NHS Continuing Healthcare. The tool is available free of charge for use by all staff involved in this process.

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Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to routinely collect data on the number, outcome and details of applications for NHS Continuing Care. [206728]

Norman Lamb: The Department has no plans to collect data regarding NHS Continuing Healthcare (NHS CHC) applications.

Until 31 March 2013, quarterly data on the number of people in receipt of NHS CHC funding was collected and published on the Department’s website at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-continuing-healthcare

Since 1 April 2013, responsibility for the collection of data for NHS CHC has been transferred to NHS England. Data on the number of people who are eligible for NHS CHC is published quarterly at:

www.hscic.gov.uk/article/2021/Website-Search?q=continuing+healthcare&area=both

Correspondence

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 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. [206148]

Dr Poulter: The Department estimates that in 2013 it spent approximately £3,900 on stationery for ministerial replies to hon. Member correspondence.

All parliamentary post is delivered by a Departmental messenger, whose duties include, but are not limited to, delivering hon. Member correspondence. Any correspondence for constituency offices would be sent by post, when requested, but the Department does not record how many replies to hon. Members were sent to constituency offices.

Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 310W, on diabetes, what information his Department collects centrally about diabetics. [206283]

Jane Ellison: The Health and Social Care information Centre (HSCIC) collects data on diabetes through the National Diabetes Audit Programme, the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF), prescribing and Hospital Episode Statistics (HES).

The National Diabetes Audit (Adults) measures the effectiveness of diabetes healthcare against National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Clinical Guidelines and NICE Quality Standards, in England and Wales.

The National Diabetes Inpatient Audit collects information on the diabetes management that patients receive while in hospital and patients’ experience of the inpatient stay.

The National Pregnancy in Diabetes Audit which measures the quality of pre-gestational diabetes care against NICE guideline based criteria and the outcomes of pre-gestational diabetic pregnancy.

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The National Diabetes Foot Care Audit collects data which enable all diabetes foot care services to measure their performance against NICE clinical guidelines and peer units, and to monitor adverse outcomes for people with diabetes who develop diabetic foot disease.

The patient experience of diabetes services (pilot collection) measures the diabetes healthcare experiences of people with diabetes in England and Wales.

The QOF collates information across a range of measures on people aged 17 or over who have a diagnosis of diabetes at general practice level.

Data on prescriptions dispensed in the community in England are available for all drugs dispensed in England within the prescription cost analysis dataset which includes drugs used for diabetes. The HSCIC also produce a specific publication—Prescribing for Diabetes in England. The 2005-06 to 2013-14 data were released on 12 August 2014. Prescribing data are also available at clinical commissioning group and area team level within iView. GP practice level prescribing data are also available via the HSCIC website at:

www.hscic.gov.uk/gpprescribingdata

Providers of NHS services in England are required to supply information on activity to the Secondary Uses Services (SUS) database via commissioning datasets. Each month an extract from the SUS database is taken and moved into the HES database which is then made available for analysis. It is possible, therefore, to report activity on admissions to hospital for patients with a diagnosis of diabetes.

Like the majority of data collections for which the HSCIC is responsible, information collected focuses on activity that has taken place rather than where patients have missed appointments.

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes there were in the number of people diagnosed with diabetes between 2004 and 2014. [206839]

Jane Ellison: The Quality and Outcomes Framework has been collating data on the number of adults aged 17 years and older who have been diagnosed with diabetes and are on general practice diabetes registers. In 2005 there were 1,766,391 adults aged 17 years and older with diagnosed diabetes on general practice registers. In 2013 this number was 2,703,044.

Electronic Cigarettes

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when he plans to announce the implementation of industry standards for those e-cigarettes regulated as consumer products; [206978]

(2) what steps he is taking to ensure that no rogue batches of e-cigarettes and liquid reach the UK market. [206977]

Jane Ellison: The revised European Tobacco Products Directive (2014/40/EU), which has a transposition deadline of May 2016, establishes new rules for the safety, quality, ingredients and presentation of consumer electronic cigarettes, as well as refill mechanisms. The new regulations will require six month prior notification of a range of information before either e-cigarettes or refills are placed on the market.

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In the meantime, e-cigarettes are subject to general product safety regulatory requirements, which include powers for local trading standard officers to withdraw unsafe products from the market.

Food: Hygiene

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which local authorities in England publish on their websites (a) the names and addresses of individuals and businesses convicted under the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006, (b) details of the offences for which those individuals and businesses were convicted and (c) the penalty levied by the courts in each such case. [206316]

Jane Ellison: The information requested is not held centrally.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has confirmed that local authorities routinely issue press releases with details of the prosecutions that they take. Local authorities also provide details of the number of United Kingdom establishments prosecuted as part of their annual monitoring returns to the FSA. Based on these returns, 271 establishments in England were prosecuted for food hygiene offences during the period April 2012 and March 2013. The FSA publishes information on enforcement activity by individual local authorities, including the number of prosecutions taken, on an annual basis. This is available on the FSA website at:

www.food.gov.uk/enforcement/monitoring/laems/mondatabyyear/

The data for 2013-14 are not yet available.

Consumers can obtain information about hygiene standards in local food businesses from the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme website at:

http://ratings.food.gov.uk/

General Dental Council

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to respond to the British Dental Association's recent letter to him expressing concern at the regulatory ability of the General Dental Council and condemning its proposed annual retention fee increase of 64 per cent. [R] [207010]

Dr Poulter: A response was sent to the British Dental Association on 28 July 2014.

In my role as Parliamentary Under Secretary for Health, I have regular contact with regulators on a whole range of issues and I have a meeting scheduled with the General Dental Council in September at which these matters will be discussed.

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures his Department has put in place to deal with the consequences of a failure by the General Dental Council to meet key tests set by the Professional Standards Authority. [R] [207016]

Dr Poulter: The Professional Standards Authority (PSA) is an independent body and the Department does not have any input into the reviews or investigations it carries out. In its annual report the PSA has recommended to each of the regulators that they:

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review this year’s performance review report as a whole, taking account of the PSA’s views, and consider whether they can learn and improve from the practices of the other regulators;

address any areas of concern that are highlighted in this year’s performance review report; and

ensure that their Councils review and discuss the performance review report in a public council meeting.

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on top-level pay at the General Dental Council. [R] [207017]

Dr Poulter: The General Dental Council is an independent body, directly accountable to Parliament. It is therefore for the General Dental Council to determine its top-level pay. However the Department expects all regulators to show restraint and to set salaries which are appropriate.

Health Services: Private Sector

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to answer of 14 July 2014, Official Report, column 440W, on health services: private sector, whether there are requirements regarding what proportion of the surplus made by private companies by providing NHS services must be reinvested in those services. [206814]

Jane Ellison: Decisions on reinvestment are taken by providers individually and are not set centrally.

It is this Government’s policy that national health service patients should receive services from the best providers available. All providers need to reinvest in their services to ensure that they will continue to be chosen by commissioners or, where patients have a choice of provider, by patients themselves.

The Government are clear that where NHS commissioners decide to use competition this must always be as a means to improve the quality of NHS services and achieve best value, as opposed to being driven by price alone.

Horsemeat

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps he has taken in response to the discovery of horsemeat in other foods in 2013 to improve co-operation between Government Departments on public health issues. [206397]

Jane Ellison: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) continues to develop its capability in relation to food fraud, in response to recommendations made in the reviews of the horsemeat incident, working closely with other Government Departments, enforcement agencies, local authorities and industry to detect and deter food fraud. The FSA is building an intelligence gathering network to increase the opportunity to capture and act on intelligence which may be indicative of future risks, as well as producing strategic and tactical assessments to share with relevant enforcement agencies, particularly through the Government Agency Intelligence Network.

Learning Disability

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to support the establishment of charities that support people with learning disabilities working in communities throughout the UK. [206400]

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Norman Lamb: Government Departments do not establish charities, but do work with a wide range of organisations which are led by, represent or support disabled people, some of which are registered charities.

The Government are committed to enabling disabled people, including people with learning disabilities, to fulfil their potential and play a full role in society.

The Department for Work and Pensions is working with Mencap and the British Institute for Learning Disabilities to look at improving employment support for people with learning disabilities. Disabled People’s User Led Organisations (DPULOs) are run by and for disabled people. They have an important role in changing perceptions, giving disabled people a stronger voice, and providing peer support in areas such as social care, financial services, employment and volunteering. The Government are working to help strengthen existing disabled people’s user led organisations and help develop new ones. DPULOs in the United Kingdom have received funding for 178 projects from the DPULO programme; 13 of which are specifically for people with learning disabilities and a further 129 deal with a range of disabilities, including learning disabilities.

We will continue to work with all partners, including the voluntary sector, to change the culture and practice of services in order to improve the health and well-being of people with learning disabilities, including their employment.

Lung Diseases

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding his Department has designated for research into idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2014-15. [207028]

Dr Poulter: Total spend in the current and future financial years by the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) on research on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity. The usual practice of the NIHR is not to designate funds for expenditure on particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including IPF. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and the national health service, value for money and scientific quality.

In 2013-14, the NIHR spent £0.6 million on research on IPF through research programmes, research centres and units, and research fellowships. Total spend by the NIHR on research on this disease is higher than this because expenditure by the NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) on IPF cannot be disaggregated from total CRN expenditure.

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what processes are in place to ensure that idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients in the NHS and their families have access to high quality information about that condition; [207029]

(2) what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis among healthcare professionals. [207026]

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Jane Ellison: Information for both health professionals and patients about idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is available on the National institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) website at the following link:

www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/Conditions-and-diseases/Respiratory-conditions/Pulmonary-fibrosis

A guideline for IPF and a NICE Technology Appraisal for Pirfenidone as a treatment for IPF are available and an IPF Quality Standard is currently in development.

The British Lung Foundation also offers advice which can be found at:

www.blf.org.uk/Search?query=idiopathic+pulmonary+fibrosis

Patient and public voice members are represented on the Specialised Respiratory Clinical Reference Group. Details can be found at:

www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-a/a14/

The NHS standard contract for interstitial lung disease makes reference to the additional roles that specialist centres providing care have in relation to patient education and patient support groups.

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/a14-respiratory-inters-lung.pdf

Lung Diseases: Transplant Surgery

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in England and Wales are currently considered eligible for lung transplantation. [207027]

Jane Ellison: We are advised by NHS Blood and Transplant that, as at 24 July 2014, there were 72 patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis resident in England and Wales considered eligible for lung transplantation and currently listed for a lung transplant (where the primary disease is recorded as fibrosing lung disease).

Manufacturing Industries: Drugs

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to encourage international pharmaceutical companies to locate in the UK. [205633]

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

In December 2011, the Government launched the Strategy for UK Life Sciences which includes measures to improve the commercial, research and regulatory environment, with the aim of making the UK the location of choice for investment. Government have also taken steps to strengthen protection for intellectual property in the UK.

In 2012 a specific organisation was set up to promote life sciences to international companies: the Life Sciences Investment Organisation (now reformed as the Life Sciences Organisation (LSO), with responsibility also for UK trade promotion). LSO collects and distils information on the UK’s internationally competitive commercial offers in life sciences; these are marketed to potential investors via the UK Trade and Investment

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global network of investment advisors, with tailored support provided to those investors that choose the UK.

Medical Records: Databases

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to engage with the public about (a) care.data and (b) ways of opting-out of care.data before data is collected. [206189]

Dr Poulter: NHS England is currently listening to the views of patients, the general public, general practitioners (GPs) and stakeholders on how best to further build trust and confidence in the care.data programme. Local stakeholders, including GPs, patients, the general public and health and care representatives, are taking part in debates and workshops to air their views.

There will be a phased approach to implementation. NHS England intends to work with a number of GP practices, 'pathfinders', in the autumn to test, evaluate and refine all aspects of the data collection process ahead of national roll-out. This will include consideration of ways of objecting "opting out" to being included in the care.data programme.

A care.data advisory group has been established to support the programme and that group will also be involved in shaping the pathfinder stage. Ciaran Devane, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support and a non-executive director of NHS England, has agreed to chair the group.

NHS England

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who was involved in the recent NHS England consultation events on the prioritisation of funding; when the prioritisation of funding will be published; and what the outcome of those consultation events was. [205596]

Dr Poulter: The Government’s Mandate to NHS England sets the overall objectives for the national health service in England. It is then for NHS England and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to decide how to prioritise funding to meet those objectives.

NHS England has responsibility for CCG allocations and these decisions have been taken independently of Government. The allocations formula is based on independent academic research and the independent advice of a committee of experts, the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation.

Officials from the Department meet regularly with those from NHS England to talk to them on an ongoing basis on a range of issues relating to the NHS, including finance. Likewise, the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Nicky Morgan) meets regularly with both the chief executive and the chair of NHS England.

NHS England Publications Gateway function was established on 1 April 2013 to ensure that all NHS England national communications to NHS commissioners are fit for purpose in terms of content and policy governance. Review and approval from the Patients and Public Partnerships Lead and from the national stakeholder team for all publications is mandatory so that consultation

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proposals, any stakeholder engagement (internal and external), and responses accord with principles of better regulation and existing Government Code of Practice on Consultation. This is to ensure that the NHS England's extensive consultation exercises and responses follow best practice in terms of public consultation and engagement.

The prioritisation of funding was published on the NHS England website:

http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/bm-item7.pdf

for the NHS England board meeting in December 2013. The board paper entitled “Allocation of resources to NHS England and the commissioning sector for 2014/15 and 2015/16” summarises the consultation at paragraph 4:

“In light of NHS England’s commitment to transparency and the significant continuing interest in allocations policy reflected in correspondence and FOI enquiries, the review team has held four regional workshops on allocations over the last few months which have been attended by nearly 400 representatives from CCGs, local authorities and providers. There has also been ongoing dialogue with the Commissioning Assembly, and a Finance and Planning subgroup has recently been formed to collaborate with NHS England’s finance leadership on the linked topics of allocations and the proposed strategic planning programme”.

NHS: Complaints

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to improve the transparency and accountability of the NHS complaints process; and if he will take steps to prevent vexatious complaints being made. [206398]

Dr Poulter: The Government, as part of our response to the Francis and Clwyd/Hart reviews, have established a Complaints Programme Board to bring together a range of partners across the care system to implement actions that will lead to improvements in complaints handling by the national health service. A significant area of our work programme is to improve transparency, governance, and the sharing of good practice.

We do not consider it appropriate generally to seek to discourage any complaints about the NHS. However, individual NHS organisations would be expected to have published information on how they handle unreasonably persistent complainants, and to deal with such complaints in a proportionate and fair manner.

Opiates

Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training on the potential risks of opioid substitution treatment medications is provided to pharmacists, social workers and health visitors. [206228]

Jane Ellison: There is robust clinical guidance on substitute prescribing, which covers the timing and circumstances under which people with opiate dependency may be allowed to take home and be responsible for their opioid substitution medicine.

It is for the professional bodies of pharmacists, social workers and health visitors to set the standards that training equips professionals to meet, and for employers to ensure that staff who are involved in or might encounter opioid substitution treatment are trained in its potential risks, including to children.

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Opiates: Children

Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the recommendations in the report Medications in Drug Treatment: Tackling the Risks to Children published on 29 April 2014 by Adfam. [206273]

Jane Ellison: We welcome the valuable work of Adfam in producing this report.

Officials from the Department and Public Health England have regular contact with Adfam and will be discussing with them what actions would be appropriate.

Optical Express

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the NHS logo appears on the Optical Express website; what the relationship between Optical Express and the NHS is; whether NHS funding (a) is and (b) has been provided to Optical Express in order to carry out procedures on NHS patients; and how many NHS patients were referred to Optical Express by the NHS in each of the last 10 years. [206230]

Dr Poulter: The current NHS identity guidelines only allow opticians to use the NHS logo on a poster in their premises. The guidelines are available at:

www.nhsidentity.nhs.uk/all-guidelines/guidelines/opticians/introduction

NHS England is due to take over responsibility for managing the NHS identity from the Department shortly, and we will be carrying out a thorough review of NHS identity guidelines during 2014-15.

Optical Express receives NHS funding from NHS England for providing NHS sight tests and optical vouchers to qualifying patients. The choice of optician is a matter for individual patients who are able to use any optician offering NHS sight tests and they can also choose where they have their glasses dispensed.

Other eye health services, over and above the NHS sight test, are commissioned by clinical commissioning groups, formerly primary care trusts. Neither the Department nor NHS England holds data on the number of patients who have received such services from Optical Express.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) with reference to the advertising of Optical Express under the services section of the NHS choices website, for what reason his Department concluded that Optical Express does not fall under the excluded advertising categories set out in the NHS Choices terms and conditions for offering cosmetic surgery and procedures including Botox and sunbeds; and what assessment he has made of whether advertising Optical Express services is an appropriate use of NHS funding used to maintain the website; [206231]

(2) what payments have been received by the NHS in return for the advertising of Optical Express services on the NHS Choices website. [206198]

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Dr Poulter: NHS Choices does not advertise services on their website. Optical Express is included within the service directory published on NHS Choices on the basis that it is a provider of NHS services.

NHS Choices has neither sought nor received any payment from Optical Express in return for this inclusion.