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Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which free schools are pre-approved to open; and what the planned admission number is for each school in the first year of opening. [208474]
Mr Timpson: A list of the free schools that are currently approved to the pre-opening stage is provided as follows, together with the proposed planned admissions number (PAN) for the first year of opening.
These planned admission numbers may change prior to opening in some cases.
| Name of free school approved into the pre-opening stage | Proposed PAN |
|
ARK Byron Primary Academy (formerly ARK Ealing Primary Academy) | |
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Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which free schools that had planned to open in September 2014 have had their opening delayed (a) since they were pre-approved and (b) since 1 March 2014. [208475]
Mr Timpson: Free school projects are not approved to open in any specific year. The ‘planned opening date’ may change during pre-opening, sometimes at the request of proposers. These changes are part of the normal process of setting up new schools.
10 free schools that planned to open in September 2014 were deferred before 1 March 2014:
1. Burlington Danes Primary Academy
2. City Gateway Hackney
3. City Gateway Newham
4. NAS Church Lawton School
5. NAS Vanguard School
6. The Bridge Integrated Learning Space
7. The Kingston Academy
8. The University of Birmingham School and Sixth Form
9. Walthamstow Primary Academy
10. West Reading Education Network (WREN) Secondary School
14 free schools that planned to open in September 2014 were deferred after 1 March 2014:
1. ARK Byron Primary Academy
2. ARK North Enfield Academy
3. ARK Pioneer Academy
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4. Falcons Primary School
5. Gateway Academy
6. Gladstone School
7. Harperbury Free School
8. Harris Primary Academy Beckenham
9. Khalsa Engineering Academy
10. Milton Keynes Free School
11. Oasis Academy Romford
12. Pentland Special School
13. The Legatum Academy
14. Turing House School
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which free schools that had planned to open in (a) September 2011, (b) September 2012, (c) September 2013 and (d) September 2014 have had their funding withdrawn between their intended day of opening and 1 March in that year. [208476]
Mr Timpson: The free school projects that have been cancelled or have asked to withdraw from pre-opening between 1 March and the planned day of opening in that year are listed below.
| School | |
Health Education: Sex
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the current provision for sex and relationship education in schools in England; if she will update her Department's sex education guidance to reflect the effects of children being exposed to pornography over the internet; and if she will make a statement. [208399]
Mr Gibb: Sex and relationship education (SRE) is compulsory in maintained secondary schools. Academies are expected to provide SRE as part of a broad and balanced curriculum. Following the Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education review, which concluded in March 2013, the Government decided that the current Sex and Relationship Education Guidance (2000) offers a framework for schools to build upon the delivery of high quality SRE.
The SRE guidance makes it clear that teachers should refer to expert organisations for well-informed advice and resources. The PSHE Association, the Sex Education Forum and Brook published supplementary advice in 2014 addressing changes in technology and legislation since 2000. This equips teachers to help protect children and young people from inappropriate online content,
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and from online bullying, harassment and exploitation. The Government encourage schools to make use of this guidance.
Pay
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the (a) highest and (b) lowest full-time equivalent salary paid by (i) her 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 she will make a statement. [208280]
Mr Gibb: The information requested for the Department for Education is set out in the table. The Department does not hold salary information for its public bodies.
To preserve individual confidentiality, a band rather than an amount has been provided for the highest salary.
| £ | ||
| Highest Full-time Equivalent Salary Paid | Lowest Full-time Equivalent Salary Paid | |
Pupils: Attendance
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what sanctions are available to local authorities to encourage parents to ensure that children begin school on time each day. [208376]
Mr Gibb: A pupil who arrives for a morning or afternoon session after registration has closed is marked absent for that session. For pupils of compulsory school age (5 to 16 years), local authorities can address such absences if a parent has failed to secure their child’s regular school attendance through use of the sanctions of penalty notices or prosecution leading to a fine. Before prosecuting parents, a local authority should consider whether it would be appropriate to apply for an education supervision order to ensure that the child is properly educated.
Other legal measures available to local authorities and schools to tackle irregular attendance are parenting contracts and parenting orders. A parenting contract is an agreement between a parent and either the local authority or the governing body of a school for the parent to comply for a given period with whatever requirements are set out in the contract to improve their child’s attendance at school. A parenting order may be imposed by a court requiring a parent to comply with requirements specified in the order to improve their child’s school attendance.
Information about these sanctions and measures is included in the Department for Education’s statutory guidance “Parental responsibility measures for school attendance and behaviour”. This is published online at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/parental-responsibility-measures-for-behaviour-and-attendance
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Schools: Homophobia
Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what targets the Government have set for tackling homophobia in schools; and what steps have been taken to achieve those targets in the last 12 months. [208535]
Mr Gibb: All schools are required, by law, to have a behaviour policy with measures to address all forms of bullying, including homophobic bullying. We trust schools and teachers to decide what measures they should use to address homophobia based on their particular circumstances.
Schools are held to account by Ofsted for their effectiveness in managing pupil behaviour and safety, which includes homophobic bullying. Inspectors must consider pupils’ freedom from all forms of harassment, bullying and discrimination. As part of the inspection, schools are asked to make available evidence of records and analysis of bullying, in particular homophobic bullying.
We have issued advice to schools on preventing and tackling bullying in which we link to national organisations such as Stonewall, who can provide specialist advice to schools. This advice is available online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying
In addition, we are working closely with the Government Equalities Office on a research project looking at effective ways of preventing and tackling homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools. The results of the first phase of this work are expected to be published in autumn.
The Government have not set any national targets for tackling homophobia in schools as targets can lead to perverse incentives with schools doing the minimum required to fulfil the target rather than tackling the issue.
Schools: ICT
Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the significance is of the award of an ICT Mark to a school; and how many schools received such an award in 2013. [208621]
Mr Gibb: The ICT Mark was launched by the National Association of Advisers for Computers in Education (Naace) in 2007 and was accredited by Becta until 2011. Following the closure of Becta in 2011, Naace took full responsibility for awarding the ICT Mark independently of Government, and the Department for Education ceased to have any involvement. According to Naace, 379 schools in the United Kingdom received the award in 2013.
Teachers: Qualifications
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how may teachers in state-funded schools did not hold a degree in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013. [208477]
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Mr Laws: The following table provides the information available for the percentage of teachers in publicly funded schools in England who do not hold a degree and the percentage of teachers for whom qualifications data were provided.
| Percentage recorded with no degree level qualification | Percentage for whom qualification information was provided | |
| Source: School Workforce Census | ||
Teachers: Training
Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when the National College of Teaching and Learning will publish the final initial teacher training allocations for 2014-15. [208627]
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Mr Laws: We intend to publish the final allocation of initial teacher training (ITT) places for the 2014/15 academic year as management information in the coming weeks. Data on the initial allocation of places are published online at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-allocations-for-academic-year-2014-to-2015
Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the final number of trainee teachers recruited in each region was in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14. [208628]
Mr Laws: The following table shows the total number of trainee teachers in each region from 2010/11 to 2013/14.
This is taken from the initial teacher training (ITT) census, which is taken on the second Wednesday of October each academic year. Further information is published online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/initial-teacher-training-trainee-number-census-2013-to-2014
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | |||||
| Provider region | No. | Proportion (%) | No. | Proportion (%) | No. | Proportion (%) | No. | Proportion (%) |
| Notes: 1. The Census excludes trainees on the ‘Teach First’ programme and those that may take up post after the census date. 2. Figures include both actual and forecast trainees. 3. Region is based on the ‘provider region’. Region is not known in all cases. Unknown cases have been excluded. 4. Figures are revised from published figures based on census updates in January and July. | ||||||||
Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate her Department has made of the number of trainee teachers required through the School Direct programme in 2014-15. [208629]
Mr Laws: There is no requirement for a particular number of trainee teachers to be recruited to School Direct places. We aim to recruit in line with the number of trainees needed across all routes, as estimated by our Teacher Supply Model.
The Teacher Supply Model figures for the academic year 2014/15 have been published as part of management information about initial teacher training (ITT) allocations. This is published online at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-allocations-for-academic-year-2014-to-2015
Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate her Department has made of the number of trainee teachers required in each region in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14 and (e) 2014-15. [208630]
Mr Laws: The requested information on the number of trainee teachers required in each region is not available.
Information on the number of initial teacher training (ITT) allocations and places requested for the 2014/15 academic year grouped by region is available in the “Initial teacher training allocations for academic year 2014 to 2015” publication (summary by region tab). This is published online at:
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/300720/itt_allocations_management_information_21_nov_2013.xlsx
Vocational Guidance
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment she has made of the effect on young people in (a) Wirral, (b) Liverpool City region and (c) England of devolving the duty to deliver careers guidance. [208499]
Nick Boles: The Department for Education does not hold information about the impact of devolving the duty on young people in Wirral or the Liverpool City region specifically.
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Since 2012, all maintained schools in England have been legally required to secure independent careers guidance for their pupils. The decision to devolve this responsibility to schools was made in light of evidence that the previous Connexions Service was not meeting young people’s needs.
In 2013, Ofsted’s study of the early implementation of this duty found that much of schools’ provision was not yet good enough. It also found that young people needed more opportunities to find out about careers from employers.
In response the Government published an Inspiration Vision statement and new statutory guidance and departmental advice on careers guidance and inspiration, which is effective from September 2014. This provides a clear framework and practical support for schools to help them inspire their pupils through more contact with the world of work. Ofsted is now giving careers guidance a higher priority in school inspections and we will work with it to monitor carefully the impact of the statutory guidance and the wider improvements that the Government have put in place.
Written Questions
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of named day written questions were answered by her Department within the prescribed period in the (a) 2012-13 session, (b) 2013-14 session and (c) 2014-15 session to date. [208422]
Mr Gibb: The information requested is as follows:
| Session | Proportion of named day parliamentary questions answered on time (percentage) |
| 1 The Department’s system for handling written parliamentary questions failed during the 2010-12 session. This led to a collapse in performance and a loss of some data. | |
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 HC 1046. The report covering statistics relating to performance during the 2013-14 session will be published very shortly by the Procedure Committee.
Communities and Local Government
Council Tax
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will estimate the number of local authorities that have held referendums on increasing council tax above the threshold set by his Department. [208146]
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Kris Hopkins: No local authorities have so far held a council tax referendum since the provisions were introduced through the Localism Act 2011.
Energy
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to reduce energy costs in his Department; and if he will make a statement. [208336]
Kris Hopkins: The Department for Communities and Local Government has already made excellent progress in reducing its energy costs by £1.1 million per annum to 2013-14 since 2009-10, despite the cost of energy increasing during the same period.
This has been achieved primarily through low and no-cost energy efficiency measures, a reduction in the size of the Department's estate and a small number of capital investments. This has contributed to a reduction in associated greenhouse gas emissions of 51% during the same period.
Plans to reduce energy costs further include continuing to refine Building (Energy) Management System programmes; conduct annual audits of all key plant and equipment to identify cost-effective options for asset replacement and enhancement; run staff awareness campaigns; monitor and target unexpected building energy profiles through automated meter reading devices across the estate; and estate rationalisation and co-location.
In addition, the Department purchases its energy through the Crown Commercial Service frameworks, which are let following extensive market competition and EU-wide tender processes to guarantee the best prices for energy. The bulk of central Government energy is aggregated under the Crown Commercial Service frameworks, which enable their Energy Team to engage directly with the energy markets to achieve best value and price for the taxpayer.
Fast Food: Planning Permission
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department issues on using the planning system to prevent concentrations of fast food outlets in deprived areas in order to reduce obesity. [208593]
Brandon Lewis: The planning system is primarily intended to control and mitigate the spatial impact of development. Hot food takeaways (Use Class A5) may cause particular issues to do with late night hours of operation, odours, highways/parking, waste storage, litter and anti-social behaviour. The cumulative impact of multiple premises in urban areas can also compound the problems and harm local amenity.
Councils can use their Local Plans to shape where retail development should go, ensure the right balance of use classes, and prevent cumulative impact. A planning application is required to change from any use to a hot food takeaway.
The Licensing Act regime also regulates the late night operation of hot food takeaways, in as far as it relates to the four specific licensing objectives.
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Notwithstanding, the planning system is ultimately not a means for the state to regulate the type of food that people eat. The issue of obesity is best addressed through public health policy and education policy.
Urban Areas: Kent
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to respond to the proposal submitted by Tenterden Town Council and Sevenoaks Town Council in February 2014 in relation to the Sustainable Communities Act 2007. [208158]
Stephen Williams: I responded to the proposal on 1 September. Sevenoaks Town Council, and others, wished to receive a share of the tax revenue raised from business rates.
This Government are committed to supporting local town and parish councils. However, it is a zero sum game. At present, town and parish councils do not receive central Government funding. Under the local retention of business rates, half of the revenue raised from business rates is retained by local government and half by central Government.
If part of this local share was diverted to town and parish councils away from principal local authorities and major precepting authorities, this would result in less spending on local services or an increase in council tax, or potentially a combination of both.
Similarly, a reduction in the national share would reduce the funding available to central Government to fund revenue support grant for principal authorities, thereby impacting on service delivery or council tax; or it would require cuts to other central Government spending outside local government; or it would necessitate increases in national taxation.
For these reasons, the Government do not support the proposal; I would add that these issues were carefully considered earlier in this Parliament when the new regime of local retention was established through the Local Government Finance Act 2012.
Notwithstanding, our broader reforms to local finance are already helping town and parish councils to benefit from local economic growth. Where a local planning authority implements Community Infrastructure Levy, 15 per cent of Levy receipts from a development must be passed to the town or parish council where development has taken place. To encourage local communities to be proactive in planning for their area, this rises to 25 per cent where a neighbourhood plan is in place. Where there is no town or parish council, the local planning authority will retain these funds to spend in consultation with the community.
Vacant Land: Urban Areas
Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many developments on designated urban green space have been approved under the National Planning Policy Framework, for which a local planning authority has not to set aside a five year supply of housing. [208081]
Brandon Lewis: This information is not centrally held.
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Electoral Commission Committee
Elections
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, if the Electoral Commission will postpone its proposals on (a) photo identification for voters and (b) limitations on the handling of postal ballots until after the introduction of individual electoral registration. [208204]
Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission recommended in January 2014 that voters at polling stations in Great Britain should be required to show some form of identification; it has proposed that any scheme for voter identification should be in place not later than the scheduled 2019 elections, which would be after the introduction of individual electoral registration.
The Commission intends to consult on proposed changes to the current Code of Conduct for Campaigners to reflect the recommendation that campaigners should not handle completed absent vote applications or postal ballot packs. The Commission aims to have agreed any changes to the Code in time for them to have effect for the May 2015 UK parliamentary general election, and has no plans to delay these changes.
Electoral Commission
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, which Electoral Commission reports have been (a) placed and (b) not placed in the Vote Office in each of the last five years. [208196]
Mr Streeter: Only the Electoral Commission’s statutory reports are placed in the Vote Office. However, all reports produced by the Commission are published on its website.
Electoral Register
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, when hard copies of the Electoral Commission's report into the completeness and accuracy of the electoral registers 2014 were placed in the Vote Office. [208195]
Mr Streeter: Only the Electoral Commission's statutory reports are placed in the Vote Office. However, all reports produced by the Commission are published on its website.
Copies of its report into the completeness and accuracy of the electoral registers 2014 are also available in the Library of the House of Commons.
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, which local authorities have contacted the Electoral Commission on the capabilities of their computer system to deal with individual electoral registration. [208201]
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Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission is in regular dialogue with all Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and their staff as part of their performance monitoring work to support the effective delivery of the transition to IER.
While electoral management software (EMS) is one of the areas routinely covered in the course of these discussions and correspondence, contact from EROs and their staff on EMS supplier issues is managed by the Cabinet Office. This reflects the joint working agreement in place between the Commission and the Cabinet Office relating to the provision of guidance and support to EROs and their staff throughout the period of the transition.
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, if the Electoral Commission will publish its original timetable for research, printing and publication of the report into the accuracy and completeness of electoral registers published on 22 July 2014; and what the original target date for publication of that document was. [208202]
Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that its target was to publish its report into the accuracy and completeness of electoral registers before the House rose for the summer adjournment, which it achieved. The final changes to the report were made on 21 July and it was then published on 22 July, and circulated to all MPs by e-mail.
The Commission does not produce paper versions of its reports, which are made available electronically on its website and are available for downloading, so no additional time was taken for the preparation of printed copies.
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, when the Electoral Commission will publish its report on the completeness and accuracy of the 2014 electoral register. [208203]
Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission published its report on the completeness and accuracy of the 2014 electoral register on 22 July 2014. The report was made available on the Commission’s website, and a copy was also circulated to all MPs, including the hon. member, by e-mail on the day of publication.
Copies of the report are also available in the Library of the House of Commons.
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission (1) what recent assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the changes in accuracy of the electoral registers between December 2010 and March 2014; [208450]
(2) what the (a) number and (b) proportion is of eligible people who are not registered to vote in each nation and region of the UK; [208604]
(3) what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the effects of (a) increased internal population mobility, (b) increased immigration, (c) electoral
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registration practices,
(d)
financial motivation and
(e)
any failure of electoral registration officers to conduct a full door-to-door canvass of non-responders on electoral registration levels. [208605]
Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the information requested can be found in the Electoral Commission’s recent reports into the accuracy and completeness of electoral registers.
The reports were published on 22 July and made available on the Commission’s website. Copies were also circulated to all MPs, including the hon. Member, by e-mail on the day of publication.
Copies of the reports are also available in the Library of the House of Commons.
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how much and what proportion of the Electoral Commission's annual budget the Electoral Commission Report into Completeness and Accuracy of the Electoral Register 2014 cost to produce. [208606]
Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that its work on electoral registration is only part of its overall activities and responsibilities. The budget for the research used to inform the 2014 accuracy and completeness reports was £344,400 (including VAT). The Commission does not routinely record staff time spent on specific pieces of work and there is no estimate of this for the project.
It is therefore not possible to accurately determine what proportion of the Commission’s total budget, a significant element of which is staff costs, was spent on the reports.
Electoral Register: Northern Ireland
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what estimate the Electoral Commission has made of the effect of a full canvass of electors in Northern Ireland in 2012 and 2013 on registration levels in Northern Ireland. [208311]
Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission conducted an evaluation of the 2013 canvass in Northern Ireland. The findings are outlined in its ‘Report on the Northern Ireland electoral registration canvass 2013’ published in April 2014 and available on the Electoral Commission website.
Copies of the report are also available in the Library of the House of Commons.
Electoral Register: Young People
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent estimate the Electoral Commission has made of the cost of Bite the Ballot. [206673]
Mr Streeter: The Commission has made no estimate of the cost of Bite the Ballot.
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European Parliament: Elections
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what proportion of votes was cast by postal ballot in each local authority area of the UK in the last European election. [208275]
Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that electoral data relating to the May 2014 European Parliament election will be made available on its website shortly.
Identity Cards
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what estimate the Electoral Commission has made of the cost including postage to (a) the voter and (b) the Electoral Commission, of producing and processing an identity card for the purpose of voting. [206672]
Mr Streeter: The Commission is currently undertaking work to estimate the cost of implementing and administering a proportionate and accessible scheme for verifying the identity of electors at polling stations. The Commission’s work will include estimating the potential costs of implementing an electoral identity card scheme, which would be available free of charge to electors in Great Britain who were not in possession of any other form of valid identification.
Television
Mr Bradshaw: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how much the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission spent on televisions in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date. [207144]
Mr Streeter: No such expenditure was incurred by the Committee in either 2013 or the current year.
Women and Equalities
Public Appointments: Equality
Philip Davies: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities what assessment she has made of the Equality and Human Rights Commission's publication entitled Appointments to Boards and Equality Law, published in August 2014. [208793]
Jo Swinson: The Government welcomed the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) legal framework on board appointments. The guidance was only recently published (July 2014), so it is still too early to assess its impact.
The EHRC guidance is clear that the deliberate use of all-women long-lists or shortlists is likely to constitute unlawful sex discrimination. However, where there is no predetermination to draw up an all-women shortlist
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and an objective and consistent assessment of all candidates demonstrates that the best qualified candidates are all women, an all-women shortlist will be lawful, just as an all-male shortlist would be in the same circumstances.
The framework is also useful in highlighting that there are many good practices that focus on positive measures that will help create an even playing field. This best practice has led to great progress being made in the number of women on boards. For the first time, every board of Britain’s top 100 companies have at least one woman and we now have over 22% women on the boards of our FTSE 100 companies (up from 12.5% in 2011).
We could not have got this far without the excellent work of the Executive Search Community to improve gender parity in our boardrooms.
Deputy Prime Minister
Electoral Register
Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what support his Department gives to private citizens who take legal action against electoral registration officers who do not conduct door-to-door canvassing of those households that do not return electoral registration forms. [208193]
Mr Gyimah: The Cabinet Office provides no such support.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which local authorities have (a) promoted online registration and (b) not promoted online registration since its introduction. [208194]
Mr Gyimah: Every local authority in England and Wales has sent out a letter alerting electors to the changes in the electoral registration system, promoting and encouraging the uptake of online registration.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) which local authorities have contacted his Department on the capability of their computer system to deal with electoral registration; [208199]
(2) which local authorities have contacted his Department on the capability of their computer systems to deal with individual electoral registration. [208200]
Mr Gyimah: The Deputy Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.
The Cabinet Office has ongoing discussions with all local authorities about the capability of their IT systems to deal with electoral registration.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) if his Department will ensure the key indicators for the effectiveness of the Electoral Commission include the actual number and proportion of UK citizens who are registered to vote; [208224]
(2) if his Department will discuss with the Electoral Commission that body changing its target performance for completeness of the electoral register between 2014-15 and 2018-19 from completeness does not deteriorate to completeness is improved. [208225]
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Mr Gyimah: As an independent body established by Parliament, the Electoral Commission is overseen by the Speaker’s Committee.
The Electoral Commission’s corporate plan includes measures which relate to its effectiveness and to registration and it is the duty of the Speaker’s Committee to examine and approve its corporate plan.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) how many people have registered to vote online in each week since individual electoral registration was implemented; [208230]
(2) how many and what proportion of electors have registered online in each local authority area since online registration was introduced. [208312]
Mr Gyimah: Data concerning the volumes of online and paper applications received are available on the following web page:
https://www.gov.uk/performance/register-to-vote
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the effectiveness in increasing the number of people registered to vote of the full canvass that took place in Northern Ireland between 2012 and 2013; and what guidance he provides to local authorities who do not conduct door-to-door canvassing for the purposes of electoral registration. [208273]
Mr Gyimah: In April, the Electoral Commission published a research report on the results of the Northern Ireland electoral registration canvass held in 2013. A copy of the report can be found here:
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/166999/Report-on-the-Northern-Ireland-electoral-registration-canvass-2013.pdf
The Electoral Commission provides guidance and resources to help electoral registration officers in the running of electoral registration. This includes guidance on door-to-door canvassing.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment his Department has made of the trends in the number of unregistered voters between 2010 and 2014; and what targets his Department has to ensure that (a) completeness does not deteriorate and (b) completeness is improved over the next five years. [208274]
Mr Gyimah: The Electoral Commission’s study on the completeness and accuracy of the electoral registers, published in July 2014, shows that levels of electoral registration have stabilised since 2011. The report can be found here:
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/169889/Completeness-and-accuracy-of-the-2014-electoral-registers-in-Great-Britain.pdf
The Government are committed to taking steps to ensure that completeness of the electoral register is as high as possible, including the introduction of online registration and investing £4.2 million to support the costs of activities aimed at increasing voter registration.
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Local Enterprise Partnerships
Mr Allen: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to permit Local Enterprise Partnership Growth Deals to fund revenue as well as capital spending; and if he will make a statement. [207995]
Greg Clark: Through Growth Deals the Government have devolved over £6 billion of funding to Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to invest in the key drivers of growth. While this investment is predominantly capital, up to £303 million in 15-16 is revenue funding. LEPs have also secured wider freedoms and flexibilities, which in some cases include additional revenue funding, or more influence over revenue funding streams. This is the first round of Growth Deals and the Government’s intention is to increase the flexibility of the Local Growth Fund in future years.
Attorney-General
Bail: Appeals
Philip Davies: To ask the Attorney-General how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful appeals against bail were made by prosecutors in Crown courts since 3 December 2012. [208542]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains no central record of the number or outcomes of appeals against bail conducted by the CPS in Crown courts. This information could be obtained only by examining all prosecution files maintained during the requested period, which would incur disproportionate cost.
Forced Labour: Prosecutions
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Attorney-General how many successful prosecutions for forced labour there were in each of the last three financial years. [208480]
The Solicitor-General: The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) indicate the number of offences charged, in which a prosecution was commenced at a magistrates courts rather than the identifying the number of people prosecuted or convicted.
Section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 creates the offence of holding someone in slavery or servitude, or requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour.
During each of the last three years the number of offences charged by way of section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act, and Section 1 of the Criminal Law Act as conspiracies to commit the offences, is as follows:
| 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | |
|
Criminal Law Act 1977 {1(1)}—Conspiracy to hold a person in slavery, servitude or perform forced or compulsory labour | |||
| Source: CPS Case Management Information System | |||
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There is no indication of the number of individual defendants prosecuted for these offences or the final outcome of the prosecution proceeding, or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at the time of finalisation. It is often the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence against the same victim.
In addition to the offence of trafficking for forced labour, the CPS will also prosecute for offences of trafficking.
Gangmasters: Licensing
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Attorney-General how many times prosecutions have been brought against those who have had their licence revoked by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority in each of the last three years. [208482]
The Solicitor-General: No prosecutions have been brought by the Crown Prosecution Service against those who have had their licence revoked by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority in any of the last three years.
Indecent Displays (Control) Act 1981
Helen Goodman: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions of offences under the Indecent Displays (Control) Act 1981 there have been in each year between 2009-10 and 2013-14. [208553]
The Solicitor-General: The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) indicate the number of offences charged in which a prosecution was commenced at a magistrates court, rather than identifying the number of people prosecuted.
During each of the last five years the number of offences charged by way of the Indecent Displays (Control) Act 1981 is as follows:
| 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | |
|
Indecent Displays (Control) Act 1981 {1(1) and 4}: Make/cause/ permit display of indecent matter | |||||
| Source: CPS Case Management Information System | |||||
There is no indication of the number of individual defendants prosecuted for these offences or the final outcome of the prosecution proceeding or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at the time of finalisation. It is often the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence.
Helen Goodman: To ask the Attorney-General when the Crown Prosecution Service last (a) issued and (b) reviewed guidelines for prosecutions under the Indecent Displays (Control) Act 1981; and whether a further review of those guidelines is planned. [208554]
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The Solicitor-General: The CPS issued legal guidelines in relation to Obscene Publications in June 2001. The legal guidance was last reviewed in July 2011 and, at that time, guidance was added for the offence under section 1 of the Indecent Displays (Control) Act 1981. There is currently no intention to further review those guidelines.
Cabinet Office
Alcoholic Drinks: Crime
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of (a) violent and (b) other crime was attributable to alcohol in the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [208552]
Mr Newmark: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson, dated September 2014:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for the proportion of (a) violent and (b) other crime that was attributable to alcohol in the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. (208552)
The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) provides the best measure of crime experienced by the population that is perceived by the victim to be attributable to alcohol.
The CSEW asks respondents who were victims of crime in the previous 12 months, whether they perceived the offender to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of committing the offence. Information is available only for victims of ‘violent’ crime and the data in the table refer to the last five survey years.
Being a survey of the household population, the CSEW does not cover all crimes (such as crimes against businesses) or all victims and thus cannot provide an estimate of all crime that is perceived to be attributable to alcohol. For example, alcohol fuelled criminal damage against non-residential property will not be covered by the survey, as well as offences for which a fatality results.
Furthermore, for crime types other than violent crime, the victim is typically less likely to have information about the offender (such as in cases of criminal damage) and so sample sizes are too small for robust estimates to be made.
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These data have been published by the ONS and have been extracted from the ‘Nature of Crime Tables, 2012/13—Violence’ file, available at:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-328149
Big Society Network
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) with reference to the National Audit Office report, Investigation into grants from the Big Lottery Fund and the Cabinet Office to the Big Society Network and the Society Network Foundation, HC 572, paragraph 3.13, for what reason his Department did not request details of the actual expenditure incurred on the Get In project; [208556]
(2) what discussions he has had with the Prime Minister's Office about the decision to fund the Big Society Network and its charity arm, the Society Network Foundation, by the Social Investment Business and the Big Lottery Fund; [208555]
(3) what representations the Social Investment Business made to his Department about its proposal to alter the criteria which ensured that the Get In project of the Society Network Foundation received funds when they already had been turned down; [208557]
(4) for what reason a second payment to the Society Network Foundation for the Get In project was made when the Get In project had a surplus of £60,800 in October 2012. [208598]
Mr Newmark: The Department received confirmation from Society Network Foundation (SNF) in October 2012 that the funds had been spent in line with the grant agreement.
The Cabinet Office and Social Investment Business (SIB) worked together to ensure that a good range of projects was funded through the Social Action Fund.
It is a long-standing convention that details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.
Charities
Lady Hermon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what estimate he has made of the number of charities registered in the UK primarily or substantially funded from Middle Eastern sources; and if he will make a statement; [208181]
(2) whether any charities registered in the UK are donating funds or other support to Islamic State militants; and if he will make a statement. [208329]
Mr Newmark: Charity regulation is a devolved matter in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The annual accounts of charities in England and Wales are available on the Charity Commission’s website, but the data requested on funding sources are not routinely held. Some charities may include information about the source of their donations in their accounts, but they are not required to do so.
The Charity Commission is alert to the potential abuse of humanitarian aid efforts through facilitating travel for individuals for other purposes, particularly to conflict zones where terrorist groups are known to operate or exert control, including in Syria and Iraq.
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There is a risk that charities working in certain areas, including those where so-called Islamic State militants operate, may be abused for non-charitable purposes. This is of serious concern to the Charity Commission. The Charity Commission has issued alerts to charities operating in these areas and advice to members of the public of how to give safely to ensure that their donations reach the intended charitable target. This information is available on the Charity Commission’s website.
Where there are concerns about suspected terrorist or extremist abuse connected to a charity, the Charity Commission will support the Police in conducting criminal investigations.
Civil Servants: Work Experience
Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what university each intern on the Summer Diversity Internship Programme attended in each year since that programme started; [208530]
(2) how many interns each Department has accepted as part of the Summer Diversity Internship Programme who were (a) from each black and minority ethnic background, (b) socio-economically disadvantaged and (c) disabled in each year since that programme started; [208562]
(3) what monitoring his Department carried out on the Summer Diversity Internship Programme; [208563]
(4) what town or city each intern on the Summer Diversity Internship Programme was from in each year since that programme started; [208564]
(5) how many interns each Department has accepted as part of the Summer Diversity Internship Programme; and how many such interns have been (a) women and (b) men in each year since that programme started. [208565]
Mr Maude: We will publish information on the Summer Diversity Internship Programme in due course.
Government Departments: Apprentices
Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many apprentices each Department has accepted as part of the Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme; and how many such apprenticeships were taken up by (a) women and (b) men in each year since that scheme started. [208566]
Mr Maude: The pilot cohort of 100 civil service fast track apprentices began their apprenticeships in September 2013. Eight Government Departments across England are participating in the pilot over a two-year period. The table below shows the number of fast track apprentices who took up post in each Department in September 2013.
| Department | Number |
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209 apprentices are due to take up in September 2014, on the second cohort of the scheme. The number of fast track apprentices due to join in each of these Departments and agencies is given in the same table below.
| Department | Number |
|
UK Trade and Investment, part of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills | |
Information on the number of women and men on the scheme is available based on the initial offers made—in July 2013 for the pilot cohort and May 2014 for the second cohort.
The following numbers were those originally offered a place on the pilot Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme, in July 2013.
(a) 43 women
(b) 55 men
(c) 2 did not declare their gender
Since May 2014, 209 roles have been offered on the second cohort of the Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme, which will start this September.
(a) 91 women
(b) 109 men
(c) 9 did not declare their gender
Government Departments: Cost-effectiveness
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent steps he has taken to reduce waste across Government. [208558]
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Mr Maude: The Cabinet Office Efficiency and Reform Group was formed in June 2010 to drive reforms that improve public services, deliver savings and reduce wasteful expenditure.
On 10 June my right hon. Friend the Chancellor and I announced savings through efficiency and reform of central Government of £14.3 billion for 2013-14 against a 2009-10 baseline. These savings are both recurring and non-recurring items and include £5.4 billion from procurement and commercial savings, £3.3 billion in project savings and £4.7 billion from work force reform and pensions savings.
Marriage
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate his Department has made of the number of weddings conducted annually in (a) Hindu temples, (b) mosques, (c) synagogues, (d) unlicensed churches, (e) gurdwaras and (f) any other religious establishments. [208462]
Mr Newmark: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson, dated September 2014:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary question asking the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate has been made of the number of weddings conducted annually in (a) Hindu temples, (b) mosques, (c) synagogues, (d) unlicensed churches, (e) gurdwaras and (f) any other religious establishments. [208462]
Marriage statistics for England and Wales are based on the details recorded in the marriage register when marriages are solemnised. Although each marriage venue has a unique code, it is not possible to determine individual establishment types from this code.
Religious marriages cannot take place in unlicensed churches. Civil marriages can only take place in approved premises or register offices. Approved premises could include church buildings not registered for religious marriages; however it is not possible to separately identify these.
It is possible to provide the number of marriages solemnised in England and Wales by denomination for 2011. Final marriage statistics for 2012 are due to be published in February/March 2015 alongside provisional 2013 figures.
Marriage statistics by manner of solemnisation can be misleading as some religious marriages (such as Muslim and Sikh) can take place at unregistered premises. To be registered as a legal marriage the couple have a further marriage ceremony in a registry office or approved building. Such weddings are coded as civil marriages because only the civil marriage certificate is received. Given that marriage statistics can be misleading for some religions, ONS has only published religious denominations under broad groupings since 2011.
| Numbers of Marriages by Denomination, England and Wales, 2011 | |
| Denomination | Number of Marriages |
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| 1 'Other Christian denominations' include Methodist, Calvinistic Methodist, United Reform Church, Congregationalist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Society of Friends (Quakers), Salvation Army, Brethren, Mormon, Unitarian and Jehovah's Witnesses. 2 Includes Hindu marriages. |
Muslim Brotherhood
Ian Lucas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) when he plans to respond to the report by Sir John Jenkins on the Muslim Brotherhood; [208636]
(2) if he will publish the report by Sir John Jenkins on the Muslim Brotherhood. [208637]
Mr Maude: Work is under way across Government to consider the findings of the Muslim Brotherhood review. We will make the main findings of the review public in due course.
Public Sector: Procurement
Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance he issues to companies delivering publicly funded projects on taking the national interest into account when awarding contracts and sub-contracts. [905311]
Mr Maude: Any such requirements would be included in relevant contracts rather than in guidance.
Work and Pensions
Budgeting Loans
Mrs Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to record and publish the reasons for applications for budgeting loans. [208461]
Steve Webb: We have no current plans to do this.
Employment and Support Allowance
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people claiming employment and support allowance who were previously self-employed. [208597]
Mr Harper: The information requested is not readily available, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Employment: Disability
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the employment rate is for people (a) born with a disability and (b) disabled later in life. [208574]
Mr Harper: This information is not available.
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Food Banks
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department provides to benefit offices on referrals to food banks. [208567]
Steve Webb: Jobcentre Plus offices have freedom to make local arrangements to signpost claimants as appropriate to local authorities and any other local organisations that support families in financial difficulties, including local food banks.
Funeral Payments
Mrs Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of funeral payment decisions were made within his Department's target time in each of the last three years. [208463]
Steve Webb: The following table has been taken from the Social Fund Annual Report for 2012-13, which, provides the latest available published data and the Social Fund Annual Reports for 2011-12 and 2010-11.
The table shows that the average clearance time for funeral payment awards was 14.76 working days against a target of 16 working days in 2012-13, 13.8 working days in 2011-12 and 14.5 working days in 2010-11.
| Funeral payments | |||||
| Average actual clearance times (AACT) in working days | AACT achieved | AACT achieved | Percentage cleared within AACT standard | Percentage cleared within AACT standard plus 2 days | Percentage cleared within AACT standard plus 5 days |
Mrs Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) average and (b) total cost was of processing claims for social fund funeral payments in the last year. [208465]
Steve Webb: The costs of producing a social fund funeral payment across DWP in 2013-14 were as follows:
| £ million | |
| Note: This includes salary costs plus locally attributed non-staff costs. Source: ABM 2013-14 Model (10/9/14). | |
Members: Correspondence
Mr Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will reply to the hon. Member for Walsall North's letters of 6 August 2014 and 20 August 2014 on behalf of a constituent. [208486]
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Steve Webb: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), replied to the hon. Member on 9 September 2014.
Pay
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 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. [208295]
Steve Webb: All figures relate to base salary. 2014-15 figures are taken from year to date information.
The following tables show the highest and lowest salaries for each of the requested years for the Department for Work and Pensions and each of its public bodies. The highest salaries relate to a small number of individuals across these organisations.
In line with Cabinet Office guidance on publishing information, highest salaries are shown in £5,000 bands.
| Department for Work and Pensions | ||
| £ | ||
| Highest full-time equivalent salary | Lowest full-time equivalent salary | |
| Note: Includes Child Maintenance Group salaries. | ||
| The Pensions Ombudsman | ||
| Highest full-time equivalent salary | Lowest full-time equivalent salary | |
| The Pensions Regulator | ||
| £ | ||
| Highest full-time equivalent salary | Lowest full-time equivalent salary | |
| National Employment Savings Trust | ||
| £ | ||
| Highest full-time equivalent salary | Lowest full-time equivalent salary | |
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| Remploy Limited | ||
| £ | ||
| Highest full-time equivalent salary | Lowest full-time equivalent salary | |
| Independent Living Fund | ||
| £ | ||
| Highest full-time equivalent salary | Lowest full-time equivalent salary | |
| Pension Protection Fund | ||
| £ | ||
| Highest full-time equivalent salary | Lowest full-time equivalent salary | |
| The Pensions Advisory Service Ltd | ||
| £ | ||
| Highest full-time equivalent salary | Lowest full-time equivalent salary | |
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| The Office for Nuclear Regulation | ||
| £ | ||
| Highest full-time equivalent salary | Lowest full-time equivalent salary | |
| Note: ONR became a public corporation in April 2014. | ||
Personal Independence Payment
Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average waiting time was for a personal independent payment assessment by Atos in (a) England, (b) the South West and (c) Gloucester over the last 12 months. [208449]
Mr Harper: Statistics on the time taken to clear cases are intended for future publication and the Department's analysts are currently considering what information will be included in the release.