House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 09 Sep 2014 (pt 0002)

Horsemeat

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she intends to publish the official report examining the causes of the 2013 horsemeat scandal; and what the reason is for the delay in publication. [208030]

George Eustice: On 4 June 2013 the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced that Professor Chris Elliott would lead an independent review of Britain’s food system in light of the horsemeat fraud. The ‘Review into the Integrity and Assurance of Food Supply Networks’ focused on consumer confidence in the authenticity of all food products and any weaknesses in food supply networks which could have implications for food safety and public health. The review started in June 2013 and the final report was published on 4 September 2014.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many quadcopters or similar remote controlled devices her Department has purchased; for what purpose such quadcopters were so purchased; and at what cost to the public purse such quadcopters were so purchased. [208032]

Dan Rogerson: Core DEFRA has not acquired or used any quadcopters or similar remote controlled devices.

Transport

A65

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if there are any plans to widen the A65 which connects Cumbria and North Lancashire to Yorkshire. [207895]

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Mr Goodwill: The A65 runs from the M6 in Cumbria to Leeds in Yorkshire and is the responsibility of the five local authorities along its route. I am not aware that any of the local authorities have plans to widen the section of route that runs through their area.

Crewe-Derby Railway Line

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the need for extra capacity on the Crewe-Derby rail line. [207817]

Claire Perry: I have made no such assessment. Network Rail is currently undertaking a Long Term Planning Process in consultation with industry, local and other stakeholders to identify the strategic priorities for future development of the rail network following the 2014-19 Control Period.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many complaints his Department has received from people in Northern Ireland about the DVLA since July 2014. [208059]

Claire Perry: Since 1 July, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has received 38 complaints from Northern Ireland residents.

East Croydon Station

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to increase capacity at East Croydon station; and if he will make a statement. [208154]

Claire Perry: Network Rail’s Sussex Route Study is considering options to enhance capacity right along the Brighton Main Line. A draft report for consultation will be published later this year, and a final report will be publish in 2015 setting out options for potential schemes beyond 2019.

Energy

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to reduce energy costs in his Department; and if he will make a statement. [208348]

Claire Perry: The Department for Transport has introduced a number of measures across its organisations to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs. These include:

An overarching Operations Sustainability Strategy which enables the identification, management and delivery of energy-efficiency measures;

The development and implementation of the Carbon Trust- endorsed organisation-specific Carbon Management Plans by the Central Department and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (former Driving Standards Agency estate);

Rationalisation of offices to maximise the efficient and effective use of office space;

Relocation of staff to more appropriate sites where functions have diminished or changed;

Partial closing of buildings during low occupancy periods (i.e. Christmas, new year);

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Optimising building management systems to minimise the use of heating and cooling;

Installation of boiler optimisation controls to improve boiler efficiency;

Installation of voltage optimisation equipment at large administrative buildings to reduce electricity consumption;

Lighting improvement programmes (including the installation of LED lights where appropriate and passive infrared (PIR) controls);

Optimisation of IT servers;

Improvements to building insulation;

Updating desktop IT with more efficient models;

Rationalisation of peripheral IT equipment such as printers and faxes with the introduction of multi-functional devices (MFDs);

Installation of renewable energy sources such as wind turbines, air source heat pumps and photovoltaic cells where appropriate and cost-effective;

Motorway lighting switch off scheme between midnight and 5 am in pre-assessed areas of the motorway network.

The Department for Transport is committed to achieving all its sustainability targets and lowering energy costs through improving energy efficiency is seen as a key element in attaining that goal.

Level Crossings: Accidents

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were killed on unmanned rail track crossings in each year since 2011. [208113]

Claire Perry: The following table sets out the number of accidental fatalities at unmanned level crossings each year:

Accidental fatalities
	2011	2012	2013	2014¹	Total
Total	5	7	9	7	28
¹ 2014 is a part year; this figure refers to January to March.

Network Rail

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to sell Network Rail to the train operating companies following the failure of the signalling system on the Great Western Rail line between Hereford and London Paddington on 21 July 2014. [207848]

Claire Perry: On 1 September Network Rail was reclassified to the public sector and the Department and Network Rail published a Framework Agreement setting out their new relationship. Reclassification is an independent statistical decision that does not change the structure of the rail industry. The Framework Agreement represents Government policy on Network Rail and there are no plans to change this.

Following its reclassification, Network Rail is now an arm’s-length public sector body. The reliability of the signalling systems on its Western Route remains an operational matter for the company.

Network Rail advises that a signalling failure at Worcester in the early morning of 21 July caused considerable delay to both First Great Western services to London and to London Midland services to Birmingham. Normal working was restored around midday. To address issues

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with the reliability of the mechanical signalling in the Worcester area, Network Rail has provided an additional maintenance team based at Worcester which is working to address underlying causes of poor reliability.

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the National Rail framework agreement published on 1 September 2014, when the National Audit Office will have access to Network Rail's accounts. [208092]

Claire Perry: The Comptroller and Auditor General will audit Network Rail’s Annual Report and Accounts.

It is intended that the appointment of the Comptroller and Auditor General as external auditor to Network Rail will take effect from April 2015 to time with the start of the new financial year. Until then, Network Rail will continue to ensure that another appropriate auditor will carry out a statutory audit under the Companies Act 2006 and that its annual regulatory financial statement is also suitably audited.

Paragraph 5.5 of the Framework Agreement explains that to enable the Comptroller and Auditor General to exercise his or her function as the statutory auditor, Network Rail will make available relevant information, documents and access to staff as necessary, including in the period prior to appointment, to develop a sound understanding of the Network Rail business and accounts.

Railway Stations: Accidents

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were injured as a result of staff negligence at railway stations in each year since January 2010. [208101]

Claire Perry: The Department does not hold this information as it is a matter for the individual train operators.

Railways: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of whether the new Northern Franchise will take account of increased connectivity to Reddish South and Denton arising from the better use of existing infrastructure through those stations. [208033]

Claire Perry: The Department for Transport is currently working with Rail North in the development of the specifications for the TransPennine Express and Northern franchises. In doing so we will take account of all relevant data and the views expressed in responses to the consultation.

Railways: Kingsnorth

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to provide a new rail halt at Kingsnorth in Ashford, Kent; and if he will make a statement. [208299]

Claire Perry: In line with our localism agenda, it is for local authorities to decide whether they want a new station that meets local transport needs. It is for Kent county council to decide on whether building a new station in Kingsnorth meets local transport needs.

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Railways: North of England

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are being taken to ensure safety on Northern Rail and TransPennine Express trains running driver-only operations. [207965]

Claire Perry: There are currently no services on either the TransPennine Express (TPE) or Northern franchises that use driver-only operation (DOO). In the consultation on the future of these franchises, which concluded on 28August, we stated that:

“on the Northern franchise, we expect to require bidders to set out how DOO may be introduced onto suitable services. On TPE, this will be left at bidders' discretion.”

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Driver-only operation is a safe method that is already the working practice on around 30% of existing franchise services (including for instance many commuter services in London and Glasgow).

Roads: Accidents

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pedestrians who are (a) male, (b) female, (c) children and (d) aged over 65 suffered (i) fatal and (ii) serious injuries in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [207929]

Mr Goodwill: The numbers of reported pedestrian casualties (killed, seriously injured and slightly injured) in Great Britain who were male, female, children (aged 0 to 15) and aged over 65 in the years 2004 to 2013 are given in the following table:

Reported pedestrian casualties by gender, selected age and severity: GB, 2004-2013
	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Male
Killed	450	421	452	422	362	324	275	308	290	270
Seriously injured	4,208	3,889	3,867	3,838	3,626	3,344	3,115	3,211	3,345	2,947
Slightly injured	15,654	15,028	13,505	13,192	12,278	11,643	11,449	11,528	10,736	10,406
All casualties	20,312	19,338	17,824	17,452	16,266	15,311	14,839	15,047	14,371	13,623

Female
Killed	221	250	223	224	210	176	130	145	130	128
Seriously injured	2,597	2,568	2,508	2,440	2,439	2,200	2,085	2,243	2,214	2,050
Slightly injured	11,737	11,095	10,420	10,053	9,540	9,197	8,780	8,763	8,502	8,228
All casualties	14,555	13,913	13,151	12,717	12,189	11,573	10,995	11,151	10,846	10,406

Child: 0-15 years
Killed	77	63	71	57	57	37	26	33	20	26
Seriously injured	2,262	2,071	1,954	1,842	1,727	1,623	1,620	1,569	1,525	1,332
Slightly Injured	9,895	9,116	8,106	7,628	6,864	6,323	6,283	6,205	5,454	5,038
All casualties	12,234	11,250	10,131	9,527	8,648	7,983	7,929	7,807	6,999	6,396

Aged over 65 years
Killed	221	234	240	251	211	176	130	151	161	131
Seriously injured	1,000	957	926	990	981	889	803	890	936	860
Slightly Injured	2,358	2,255	2,124	2,069	1,991	1,949	1,727	1,840	1,886	1,845
All casualties	3,579	3,446	3,290	3,310	3,183	3,014	2,660	2,881	2,983	2,836

Data for 2014 will be available in June 2015.

Written Questions

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of named day written questions were answered by his Department within the prescribed period in the (a) 2012-13 Session, (b) 2013-14 Session and (c) 2014-15 Session to date. [208432]

Claire Perry: Departmental performance information, for ordinary and named day parliamentary questions, is collated by the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons and submitted to the Procedure Committee. This is published on a sessional basis by the Committee, and includes evidence regarding departmental performance. The monitoring report relating to the 2012-13 Session was published on 13 February 2014 as HC1046. The report covering statistics relating to performance during the 2013-14 Session will be published very shortly by the Procedure Committee.

The Department for Transport has answered all named day parliamentary questions in the 2014-15 Session within the prescribed period.

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House of Commons Commission

Carol Mills

Michael Fabricant: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the selection panel for the new Clerk of the House and Chief Executive was informed by Saxton Bampfylde of the Australian Senate investigations into the conduct of Ms Carol Mills; and when the panel became aware of those investigations. [207728]

John Thurso: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer of 8 September 2014, Official Report, column 430W, to the right hon. Member for Chelmsford (Mr Burns).

The panel was not made aware of the investigations before reaching its conclusion.

Pay

Mr Frank Field: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many (a) direct, (b) outsourced and (c) agency employees on the Parliamentary estate are (i) paid less than the London living wage and (ii) employed on a zero-hours contract. [208038]

John Thurso: The House of Commons is an accredited London Living Wage Employer. In order to obtain our licence the House had to satisfy the Living Wage Foundation that no directly employed or contracted workers engaged to work on the Parliamentary estate are paid less than the London Living Wage (LLW). The House of Commons has gone further than its obligations under this licence by adopting a policy of assuring that all contractors supplying a service to the House, regardless of whether they work on the Estate, are paid at least a living wage.

The House is committed to offering guaranteed minimum hours contracts to all directly-employed staff on call-off (zero-hours) contracts and has recently completed a process of offering guaranteed minimum hours contracts to all affected staff. The only call-off contracts that remain relate to two employees who have yet to accept or who preferred not to accept our offer.

We do not have information on whether or how many contracted workers are employed on zero-hours contracts.

Speaker's Commission on Digital Democracy

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the total cost has been of the Speaker's Commission on Digital Democracy; and how many people are employed to work on the Commission. [208179]

John Thurso: The total cost assigned to the Commission on Digital Democracy's budget to the end of July 2014 is £146,512.

There are currently four people employed to work on the Commission, although one of these spends 20% of his time working on other matters.

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Mr Simon Burns: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, who authorises expenditure for the Speaker's Commission on Digital Democracy; and out of which budget-heading such funding has been allocated. [208217]

John Thurso: Expenditure for the Speaker’s Commission was authorised by the Director General, Information Services. The Commission on Digital Democracy has a separate budget heading within the Department of Information Services budget.

Cabinet Office

Cybercrime

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what role the National Security Adviser has in relation to cyber-security. [208223]

Mr Maude: The National Security Adviser is the Head of the National Security Secretariat within the Cabinet Office, which supports the National Security Council and the Prime Minister in the full range of national security issues across Government, including cybe-security, and ensures that departmental work is effectively co-ordinated. The Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance sits within the National Security Secretariat and has responsibility for coordinating work to achieve the aims of the UK Cyber Security Strategy and oversees the National Cyber Security Programme.

Immigrants: Russia

Lady Hermon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of Russian citizens resident in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [208331]

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

Letter from Caron Walker to Lady Hermon, dated September 2014:

On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question to ask what estimate he has made of the number of Russian citizens resident in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [208331]

The latest estimates that are available for the number of Russian citizens resident in the UK are derived from Annual Population Survey (APS) data for the 12 month period of January to December 2013.

The estimated number of Russian citizens resident in households in the UK was 35,000, with a corresponding margin of error of +/- 8,000. The margin of error refers to the 95 per cent confidence interval and is a measure of the uncertainty associated with making inferences from a sample. In this case we expect the true number of Russian citizens resident in households in the UK to be within the range 27,000 to 43,000 in 19 out of 20 possible samples drawn.

The APS is the Labour Force Survey (LFS) plus various sample boosts. It is a household survey and so does not include people living in most types of communal establishment.

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Pay

Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what the (a) highest and (b) lowest full-time equivalent salary paid by his Office was in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement; [208279]

(2) what the (a) highest and (b) lowest full-time equivalent salary paid by No. 10 Downing Street was in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement; [208290]

(3) what the (a) highest and (b) lowest full-time equivalent salary paid by (i) his Department and (ii) its public bodies was in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12, (C) 2012-13, (D) 2013-14 and (E) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement. [208302]

Mr Maude: The Deputy Prime Minister’s Office and the Prime Minister’s Office are integral parts of the Cabinet Office.

The following tables set out the highest and lowest full-time equivalent salaries paid by my Department and its public bodies, during the years specified:

Cabinet Office
£
	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
Min	15,938	16,229	16,229	16,229	16,807	16,807
Max	238,526	238,526	238,526	190,000	191,813	193,923

Big Lottery Fund
£
	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
Min	13,459	12,632	13,853	13,853	13,853
Max	140,000	140,000	141,400	140,000	140,000

Written Questions

Hilary Benn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of named day written questions were answered by his Department within the prescribed period in the (a) 2012-13 session, (b) 2013-14 session and (c) 2014-15 session to date. [208418]

Mr Maude: Departmental performance information for ordinary and named day Parliamentary Questions is collated by the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons and submitted to the Procedure Committee. This is published on a sessional basis by the Committee, and includes evidence regarding departmental performance. The monitoring report relating to the 2012-13 session was published on 13 February 2014 as HC1046. The report covering statistics relating to performance during the 2013-14 session will be published very shortly by the Procedure Committee.

Prime Minister

National Security Council

Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Prime Minister whether the National Security Council has reviewed the collective strategic impact of policy changes since its creation in 2010. [208171]

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The Prime Minister: Shortly after its creation in 2010, the National Security Council (NSC) approved a new National Security Strategy (NSS) to ensure a strong Britain in an age of uncertainty. There have been no fundamental changes to our policy on national security issues since then. The NSS has provided a sound basis to guide our response to subsequent challenges to our national security. Whitehall Departments are brought together through the NSC to take collective decisions at a time of increasing strategic uncertainty.

Radicalism: Wales

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister of Wales on tackling extremism; and whether he plans to discuss the issue of tackling extremism at his next Joint Ministerial Council meeting. [208166]

The Prime Minister: I regularly meet the First Minister of Wales to discuss a range of issues and will continue to do so.

Business, Innovation and Skills

Biofuels: Imports

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information he holds on the proportion of wood pellets imported from North America that were derived from roundwood in the latest year for which figures are available. [207891]

Matthew Hancock: The Government do not hold any information on the proportion of imported wood pellets from North America from roundwood.

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information he holds on the level of wood pellet imports from (a) the USA and (b) Canada in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [207892]

Matthew Hancock: Data on the value and net mass of imports of wood pellets are published by HMRC in Overseas Trade Statistics. Data for the year 2011 to 2013 are shown in the following tables. Due to routine updating of the commodity codes by EUROSTAT, wood pellets were coded as ‘44013020—sawdust and wood waste and scrap, agglomerated in pellets’ in 2011, but then classified to the new code ‘44013100—wood pellets’ in 2012 and 2013. For this analysis, we have combined these two headings to provide a consistent series.

Wood pellet imports to the UK from the USA
	2011	2012	2013
Value wood pellets imports (£)	32,516,769	59,993,226	196,894,259
Net mass of wood pellet imports (kg)	274,453,183	475,336,518	1,684,810,418

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Wood pellet imports to the UK from Canada
	2011	2012	2013
Value wood pellets imports (£)	77,712,194	108,073,728	168,603,061
Net mass of wood pellet imports (kg)	591,780,847	854,602,676	1,355,464,003
Note: Wood pellets were classified as ‘HS 44013020—sawdust and wood waste and scrap, agglomerated in pellets’ in 2011 and as ‘HS 44013100—wood pellets’ in 2012 and 2013. Source: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics.

Business: Billing

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the effect of late payments on small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs); and whether his Department plans to bring forward any further measures to assist in SMEs with cash flow. [207890]

Matthew Hancock: In the May 2014 Government Response to our discussion paper, ‘Building a Responsible Payment Culture’, we set out measures to create greater transparency of payment practices and a more responsible payment culture. Through the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill we are developing a requirement for large firms to publish their payment practices and a measure to prohibit contractual barriers to finance.

In addition, we have committed to working with the Institute for Credit Management and signatories to strengthen the Prompt Payment Code. And the British Business Bank aims to address long standing, structural gaps in the supply of finance to businesses and provide diverse sources of funding for small and medium-sized businesses.

Construction

Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the level of construction output in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each of the last five years. [208173]

Nick Boles: Data on construction output are published by the ONS, in their statistical bulletin ‘Output in the Construction Industry’. This includes information on construction output for the regions of England, plus Scotland and Wales. No data for individual cities are published. This information has not been adjusted for inflation.

Value of Construction Output: current prices (£ million)
	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
England	97,068	102,005	106,456	102,195	106,468
West Midlands	8,243	9,158	8,927	8,329	9,347
Source: ONS

Higher Education: Admissions

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the recent trends in the number of university applications from students from disadvantaged or minority ethnic backgrounds. [207993]

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Greg Clark: The latest figures published by UCAS for the 2014 application cycle show that, as at the main UCAS deadline of 15 January, the application rate for young people from the most disadvantaged areas in England had risen to the highest ever level (20.7%). The detailed figures can be found at:

http://www.ucas.com/news-events/news/2014/2014-cycle-applicant-figures-january-deadline-2014

The latest data on ethnic background show that application rates for all ethnic groups rose in 2014, reaching new highs for most groups. The figures can be found at:

http://www.ucas.com/data-analysis/analysis-notes

Local Enterprise Partnerships: East of England

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for what reasons the new Anglia LEP has received an extension on its loan facility but the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough LEP was refused a similar request. [207492]

Greg Clark: Growth Deals were bespoke to each LEP area and negotiated with Government based on each LEP’s multi-year Strategic Economic plan, taking into account their priorities for which interventions would drive economic growth in their area. Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough LEP submitted two proposals to support existing business support initiatives. GCGP LEP prioritised one of the proposals, the Agri-tech fund, during negotiations, which received £1.55 million in 2015/16 in their Growth Deal.

Pay

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the (a) highest and (b) lowest full-time equivalent salary paid by (i) his Department and (ii) its public bodies was in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12, (C) 2012-13, (D) 2013-14 and (E) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement. [208300]

Jo Swinson: The following table shows the highest and lowest full-time equivalent salaries paid by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in bands of £5,000 between 2010 and 2014.

	Lowest full-time equivalent salary	Highest full-time equivalent salary
2010-11	10,000 to 15,000	220,000 – 225,000
2011-12	15,000 to 20,000	200,000 – 205,000
2012-13	15,000 to20,000	185,000 to190,000
2013-14	15,000 to20,000	170,000 to175,000

As we have not competed the financial year 2014-15 we are unable to provide figures for that period at this time.

This information is not held by BIS in respect of non-departmental public bodies.

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Students: Loans

Sir Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when his Department plans to make a decision about future funding of students and recognition of courses at the 23 private colleges which it suspended from recruiting further students in November 2014. [207043]

Greg Clark: The Department required all alternative providers to reapply to have their courses designated for student support for the 2014/15 academic year. All alternative providers, including those that had their designations suspended for the remainder of the 2013/14 academic year, are being reviewed against the new criteria, and have already received a final decision or have been invited to submit additional information.

Sir Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what guidance his Department has issued to the 23 private colleges which it suspended from recruiting further students in November 2013 on their ability to advertise and recruit students to commence courses in September 2014. [207044]

Greg Clark: The Department required all alternative providers to reapply to have their courses designated for student support for the 2014/15 academic year. All alternative providers, including those that had their designations suspended for the remainder of the 2013/14 academic year, were told that they should not advertise their courses as attracting student support until such time as these course had been redesignated.

Textiles

Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which projects have received how much funding under the Textile Growth Programme to date. [207546]

Greg Clark: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold the data in the format requested.

Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the key objectives are of the Textile Growth Programme. [207547]

Greg Clark: The key objectives of the Textile Growth Programme are to:

Stimulate private sector enterprise by investing in work force skills, design and innovation capacity and modern plant and machinery in small and medium-sized enterprises.

Strengthen local supply chains, support reshoring of textile manufacturing and promote sustainable growth.

Create or safeguard over 1,000 private sector jobs at all skill levels in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and West Yorkshire.

Trade Agreements

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information his Department holds on whether the proposed Trade in Services Agreement treaty is likely to contain provisions to prevent increased regulation of the financial services sector. [207177]

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Matthew Hancock: The UK Government are a strong supporter of the Trade in Services Agreement, which provides an opportunity to address barriers to trade in services through seeking to deepen services trade rules and regulatory disciplines and to address market access objectives. Given the crucial role of financial stability to overall economic stability, governments and regulator need to have the ability to closely monitor and regulate banks, insurance companies and other financial services providers. The TiSA text will contain a prudential carve-out which will fully protect the ability of UK and international financial regulators to regulate and take any prudential actions for the sake of financial stability or to protect investors, depositors, policy holders or persons to whom a fiduciary duty is owed by a financial service supplier.

Communities and Local Government

Affordable Housing: Construction

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of the proportion of affordable homes delivered through section 106 agreements on sites of fewer than 10 homes in each of the last five years. [208220]

Brandon Lewis: The Government do not hold statistics on the proportion of affordable homes delivered through section 106 agreements on sites of fewer than 10 homes in each of the last five years.

The Government's public consultation on proposed changes to national policy on section 106 planning obligations agreements closed on 4 May. Interested parties were invited to submit evidence on the impact of the proposed measures, both in terms of developer contributions to local infrastructure and affordable housing, and on unblocking stalled sites and increasing the pace and scale of small site development. Unrealistic Section 106 agreements result in no housing development, no regeneration and no community benefits. Over 300 responses were received and the Government are now carefully considering the evidence submitted before announcing the outcomes of the consultation.

Affordable Housing: Rural Areas

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of removing section 106 planning obligations from sites of fewer than 10 houses on the provision of affordable housing in rural areas. [208221]

Brandon Lewis: The Government's public consultation on proposed changes to national policy on section 106 planning obligations agreements closed on 4 May. Interested parties were invited to submit evidence on potential local impacts of the proposed measures both in terms of developer contributions and on increasing the pace and scale of small site development. Over 300 responses were received and the Government are now carefully considering the evidence submitted before announcing the outcomes of the consultation.

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Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will issue guidance to the Planning Inspectorate on decisions where the location of a planning appeal is within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. [207849]

Brandon Lewis: Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, along with National Parks and the Broads, have the highest status of protection in national planning policy in relation to landscape and scenic beauty. This is set out in the National Planning Policy Framework, which must be taken into account in the preparation of local and neighbourhood plans, and is a material consideration in planning decisions.

In March 2014 we issued web-based planning guidance to support the policies in the Framework. This guidance is available to all decision makers at:

http://planningguidance.planningportal.gov.uk/blog/guidance/natural-environment/landscape/

Council Tax

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the cost to local authorities of holding council tax referendums. [207133]

Kris Hopkins: Further to the passage of the Localism Act, the Government published an impact assessment on the council tax referendums policy. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

Notwithstanding, the costs will be significantly lower if a referendum is held at the same time as another election. Given a general election will be held in May 2015, the marginal cost to the public purse of holding a referendum next year alongside this would be minimal, other than the small costs of printing and counting the extra ballot papers.

Council Tax Reduction Schemes

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) with reference to the answer of 27 February 2014, Official Report, column 442W, on council tax benefits, when he expects to (a) begin and (b) publish the findings of an

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independent review into council tax support schemes; and if he will make a statement; [207597]

(2) what progress he has made in identifying the right data sources for an independent review into council tax support schemes; and with which local authorities his Department has been working. [207596]

Kris Hopkins: The Department is currently working with the Council Tax Partnership Forum and local authorities to identify appropriate and proportionate data for the review. The Council Tax Partnership Forum consists of representatives of local authorities, fire and rescue authorities, the Society of County Treasurers, the Society of District Council Treasurers, the Police Authority Treasurers Society, the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Society for Information Technology Management, Unitary Treasurers, London Councils, the Local Government Association, the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation, and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

The timetable, coverage, process for data collection and detailed terms of reference for the review will be agreed and published in due course.

Spending on council tax benefit doubled under the last Government, costing taxpayers £4 billion a year—equivalent to almost £180 a year per household. Welfare reform is vital to tackle the budget deficit by the last Administration.

Our reforms to localise council tax support now give councils stronger incentives to support local firms, cut fraud, promote local enterprise and get people to into work. We are ending the last Administration's 'something for nothing' culture and making work pay.

Fire Services

Mr Spencer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will estimate the Government spend per head of population on fire and rescue services in (a) Nottinghamshire, (b) the East Midlands and (c) England in each of the last three years. [201779]

Penny Mordaunt: The following table shows local authority expenditure on fire and rescue services, as well as the number of fire incidents attended, over the last decade. It illustrates the significant fall in the number of incidents attended, whilst average spending has remained broadly the same over that long-term period.

	Expenditure per head (£)		Fire incidents attended (number)
	Nottinghamshire	England	Nottinghamshire	England
2003-04	31.98	34.82	13,800	473,600
2004-05	35.83	38.36	9,000	342,000
2005-06	35.40	40.56	8,700	336,100
2006-07	36.85	43.03	8,600	336,200
2007-08	38.61	43.46	7,700	293,900
2008-09	38.61	40.60	6,300	249,200
2009-10	39.54	41.71	6,200	241,400
2010-11	38.48	41.12	5,600	228,400
2011-12	37.64	39.87	6,100	223,900
2012-13	36.98	39.61	3,300	154,400
Sources: Revenue Outturn forms and Office for National Statistic’s mid-year population estimates.

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My Department does not publish statistics by the former Government Office Regions.

Last year, Sir Ken Knight’s independent review of the fire and rescue services found huge variations in the way that local fire and rescue authorities operated. Services continue to spend according to the budget they are given, rather than to the risks they have to manage. Huge variations exist between how the 46 different fire authorities operate, with the cost per head of providing a service almost double in some areas to that of others. This did not seem to be related to whether they are large or small, rural or urban, deprived or affluent.

Sir Ken concluded that there were significant opportunities for sensible savings such as through: sharing of senior staff, reforms to flexible staffing and crewing arrangements, better procurement, shared services, collaboration with emergency services and other organisations on service delivery and estates, sickness management, locally-led mergers and operational collaborations, new fire-fighting technology, preventative approaches and working with local businesses.

Fire Services: Pensions

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will provide additional funds to Essex fire and rescue service to cover the cost of payments to the firefighters injury pension scheme incurred in each financial year since 2006. [207773]

Penny Mordaunt: The regulations governing the firefighters’ pension schemes set out which payments are eligible for annual pension top-up grant claims by fire and rescue authorities and is paid by the Department. The statutory “Guidance for fire and rescue authorities on new financial arrangements for firefighter pensions with effect from April 2006” issued by the Department in 2006 provides guidance for fire and rescue authorities to implement the finance arrangements, including setting out which specific payments are eligible for top-up grant expenditure and which are not eligible. The guidance sets out that injury awards are not eligible expenditure for the top-up grant.

We understand that, since the changes were implemented in 2006, Essex fire and rescue authority has incorrectly claimed certain injury payments as eligible expenditure through the top-up grant. We are in discussions with the fire authority on this issue.

Piers: Eastbourne

Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government under what cost heading Eastbourne pier has been granted money to help in its reconstruction. [207426]

Penny Mordaunt: The Government announced that up to £2 million will be made available to Eastbourne council to help them recover from the fire at Eastbourne pier. HM Treasury will provide additional funding as required and this will be agreed as part of the 2014-15 supplementary estimates. The £2 million funding to Easbourne council will be used to support local businesses and traders. None of the funding will be provided for the rebuilding of the pier itself, which, I understand, is covered by the pier owner’s insurance.

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Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the money allocated by his Department to Eastbourne pier is covered in full or in part by insurance. [207776]

Penny Mordaunt: The £2 million of funding to Eastbourne council will be used to help counter the impact of the loss of the pier on local businesses and the community. None of the funding will be provided for rebuilding of the pier itself, which, I understand, is covered by the pier owner’s insurance.

Planning

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of village or neighbourhood plans; and how many such plan have been lodged and accepted. [207990]

Brandon Lewis: Neighbourhood planning, for the first time, gives residents and individuals in businesses the opportunity to produce neighbourhood plans that have real statutory weight in the planning system and grant planning permission for development they want to see through neighbourhood development orders (including community right to build orders). Over 1,100 communities have taken the first steps towards producing a neighbourhood plan for their area and there has been overwhelming support for neighbourhood plans at the 27 local referendums held so far. The first 19 neighbourhood plans are now in force (made) and are part of the development plan for the area. Planning applications will be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

Right to Buy Scheme: North East

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many tenants exercised the right to buy in each local authority in Northumberland, Durham and Tyne and Wear in each of the last five years. [207969]

Brandon Lewis: The number of Right to Buy sales made by each local authority can found in Table 685 at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-social-housing-sales Figures for sales by private registered providers (housing associations) are not available at a local authority level.

Solar Power

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many planning applications were made for solar energy generation on farmland in each of the last three years. [207710]

Kris Hopkins: In publishing our new planning guidance in March, we took the opportunity to make clear to local councils the factors they should consider in relation to solar farms. These include making effective use of brownfield land and steering proposals away from good quality agricultural land. We also underlined that visual impacts need particular attention.

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To help focus these developments on brownfield sites, we are consulting on increasing the amount of solar that can be installed on commercial and industrial buildings without the need for a planning application.

This Department does not gather statistics on the number of planning applications for solar energy developments by land use type. However, the Department of Energy and Climate Change's Renewable Energy Planning Database (RESTATS) includes information on a range of renewable energy projects above 0.01 megawatts, including applications for solar energy developments. The database tracks the progress of potential new projects from inception, through planning, construction and operational stages, and can be accessed at:

https://restats.decc.gov.uk/cms/planning-database

International Development

West Africa

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action her Department is taking to help tackle the ebola epidemic in West Africa; and if she will make a statement. [208061]

Lynne Featherstone: The current outbreak of Ebola poses a serious public health risk to West Africa and is deeply concerning. The UK is taking a leading role in working with the countries affected and with the international community to ensure that the outbreak is contained and help reaches those in need. In total, over £25 million of British funding is supporting the global effort to contain this disease. This includes £5 million of new direct funding to help partners working on the ground like the WHO, Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières to treat victims and prevent the spread of Ebola in West Africa. Over £20 million of UK support is helping contain Ebola through commitments to multilateral institutions (the World Bank and the African Development Bank) and the EU.

Home Department

British Nationality

Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date section 65 of the Immigration Act 2014 will be brought into force. [207807]

James Brokenshire: Section 65 of the 2014 Act will insert new registration provisions into the British Nationality Act 1981 for people born to British fathers before 1 July 2006.

The 2014 Act is being implemented in phases to ensure the provisions are brought into force in an orderly and effective manner. We have not yet set a commencement date for section 65.

Extradition

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of extraditions of British nationals from the UK under the European arrest warrant that would not have proceeded had the proportionality test that

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has been introduced by the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 been in force at the relevant time. [207063]

James Brokenshire: A full impact assessment has been conducted on Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA. Details of this assessment can be found in Command Paper 8897 at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/326698/41670_Cm_8897_Accessible.pdf

published on 3 July 2014.

The Commission has been clear during negotiations that a bilateral treaty between the UK and the EU on any matters falling within the scope of the block opt-out is not feasible. Furthermore, on 16 January 2013, President Barroso responded to a European parliamentary question from Daniel Hannan MEP on this matter and stated that

“the Commission sees no room for the conclusion of international agreements between the EU and the United Kingdom on such matters.”

The Government have not undertaken an assessment of the number of extraditions of British nationals from the UK under the European arrest warrant that would not have proceeded had the proportionality test been in place at the relevant time. The proportionality bar is intended to ensure extradition is barred in the most minor cases, irrespective of the nationality of the person concerned.

Extradition: EU Countries

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 14 May 2014, Official Report, column 620W, on arrest warrants, in addition to Slovakia, Latvia, Belgium and the Czech Republic, which other EU member states retain an absolute bar on extraditing nationals in non-European Arrest Warrant extradition cases. [201018]

James Brokenshire: In non-European arrest warrant cases, the following EU member states have an absolute bar on extraditing their own nationals:

Austria

Belgium

Czech Republic

France

Germany

Greece

Latvia

Luxembourg

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

In addition, Finland and Sweden have an absolute bar to extraditing their own nationals to countries other than Norway and Iceland.

Extradition: EU Law

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the possibility of the UK concluding a bilateral

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treaty with the EU on extradition instead of remaining bound by Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA. [207061]

James Brokenshire: A full impact assessment has been conducted on Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA. Details of this assessment can be found in Command Paper 8897 at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/326698/41670_Cm_8897_Accessible.pdf

published on 3 July 2014.

“the Commission sees no room for the conclusion of international agreements between the EU and the United Kingdom on such matters.”

Human Trafficking

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme operated by the Salvation Army in July 2014; in which (a) region and (b) county, each of the suspected victims was found; which agency referred each person to the scheme; in which town the shelter was in which they were placed for the relevant period; and what contact is maintained with each victim after he or she leaves the shelter to ensure he or she is not re-trafficked. [207591]

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

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

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

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

Immigration

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals have been granted limited leave to remain with no recourse to public funds in each year since 2003. [207459]

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James Brokenshire: The specific information that has been requested is not held centrally.

The Home Office does publish statistics on extensions of stay in tables ex_01 to ex_02_o within the ‘Immigration Statistics’ release. A copy of the latest release, “Immigration Statistics April to June 2014” is available from the Library of the House and at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter to her dated 14 July 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Dr M. Naz. [207851]

James Brokenshire: A Home Office official wrote to the right hon. Member on 28 July 2014.

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter to her dated 22 July 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Mr Kenny Edobor Friday Ake. [207852]

James Brokenshire: We understand that this question relates to correspondence dated 2 July 2014. A Home Office official wrote to the right hon. Member on 18 July 2014.

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter to her dated 12 June 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Mr E. M. Bendoki. [207853]

James Brokenshire: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 4 September 2014.

Police: Training

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the cyber skills of police forces; and what steps she is taking to improve those skills. [207635]

Karen Bradley: Tackling cybercrime is one of the key objectives of the UK's Cyber Security Strategy. The Government have supported this with £860 million of investment over five years through the National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP). We have so far committed £70 million of NCSP funding in improving law enforcement agencies' ability to respond to this threat, including setting up the National Cyber Crime Unit in the National Crime Agency, and cyber teams in each of the Regional Organised Crime Units. We are also supporting the training of police officers and investigators in local forces in England and Wales, through the development of new online and classroom-based training packages by the College of Policing for 5,000 officers.

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Radicalism

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many organisations have received funding from her Department to deliver the Channel programme in each of the last five years; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the programmes delivered by each such organisation. [207904]

James Brokenshire: Channel exists in every local authority area in England and Wales—the programme was rolled out nationally in April 2012. Each of the nine police regions receives funding to support the Channel programme. In most areas, the local authority and other partners work effectively together to support people at risk of radicalisation and getting drawn into terrorism. In order to ensure that all partnerships work consistently well, we are placing Channel on a statutory footing to secure the effective local co-operation that is required in all areas.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many quadcopters or similar remote controlled devices her Department has purchased; for what purpose such quadcopters were so purchased; and at what cost to the public purse such quadcopters were so purchased. [208031]

Karen Bradley: No quadcopters or other designs of unmanned air vehicles have been purchased by the Home Office.

Wales

Energy

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to reduce energy costs in his Department; and if he will make a statement. [208350]

Alun Cairns: The Department has a number of energy- efficiency measures in place and all staff are made aware of our sustainability requirements. The Department’s Cardiff office is a modern building with built-in energy- efficiency measures.

NATO: Newport

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the benefits to the Welsh economy of holding the NATO summit in Newport. [208313]

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the potential financial benefits to Wales arising from holding the NATO Summit in Newport and Cardiff. [208174]

Stephen Crabb: The NATO summit has shown the world that Wales is an excellent location to invest, set up a business or host world-class events. Many Welsh businesses, including those in the tourism and hospitality sectors, have benefitted from Wales’ successful hosting of the summit.

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A recent report from Barclays that looked at the NATO summit and its impact on Wales concluded that:

“A successful Summit will create direct and indirect business opportunities for Welsh companies for many years to come”.

I want to build a lasting legacy for Wales following the summit. As part of this, the Celtic Manor will host a UK investment summit in November which will showcase Wales as a great place to invest.

Pay

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the (a) highest and (b) lowest full-time equivalent salary paid by his Department in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement. [208294]

Alun Cairns: The following figures (which include allowances) are all full-time equivalent salaries. As the Wales Office has a relatively small staff complement, to protect the confidentiality of individuals, the highest and lowest full-time equivalent salaries are shown via reference to a range.

2010-11: