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23 Jan 2012 : Column WA169



23 Jan 2012 : Column WA169

Written Answers

Monday 23 January 2012

Afghanistan

Question

Asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead

Baroness Northover: The UK is committed to helping civil society engage more effectively with the Government of Afghanistan. During the Secretary of State's visit to Afghanistan in October he launched a major new civil society programme that will provide grants to Afghan organisations to help them hold their Government to account on a range of issues, including human rights, access to justice and peace building. The programme will also have a strong focus on women's rights and it is hoped that many women's organisations will directly benefit. The first call for proposals has resulted in over 200 applications, which are now being assessed.

Armed Forces: Aircraft

Questions

Asked by Lord West of Spithead

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever): In accordance with the Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) Lift Transition Plan, the current intention is that the second Merlin Mk 3 conversion course will commence in September 2012. Similar to the initial course, there will be 12 Royal Navy personnel on this course, comprising three aircrews. The majority of conversion training is forecast to be completed in late 2016.

Under current planning, Merlin Mk 3 will transfer to the Commando Helicopter Force (CHF) when the Commanding Officer CHF assumes the responsibility as Support Helicopter Merlin Delivery Duty Holder, anticipated to be in financial year 2014-15.



23 Jan 2012 : Column WA170

Armed Forces: Medals

Question

Asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town

Baroness Rawlings: The Diamond Jubilee medal will be issued using broadly the same criteria as the Golden Jubilee medal in 2002. Medals will therefore be awarded to those in key front line services (Armed Forces, the police, the prison service, ambulance service and fire and rescue services) who have completed five years of service on, and inclusive of, the anniversary of the Queen's accession on 6 February 2012.

Banking

Questions

Asked by Lord Myners

The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given on 5 December 2011 (Official Report, col. WA 107).

Businesses: Multinational Companies

Question

Asked by The Lord Bishop of Derby

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox): The Government encourage all UK-registered multinationals fully to respect agreed standards and voluntary instruments for responsible business conduct, such as the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the UN global compact and the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, and to comply with their obligations under the laws of the countries in which they operate.

We are also supporting EU action to improve transparency and reporting in the extractive industries to match the standards in the US.

The UK listing regime requires UK and overseas companies to comply with the EU company reporting directive, which includes providing a corporate governance statement, in order to obtain a standard listing, and to

23 Jan 2012 : Column WA171

meet the "comply or explain" standard of the UK Corporate Governance Code to obtain a premium listing.

Civil Service: Private Health Care

Question

Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Under the terms and conditions of civil servants, the provision of private healthcare as a matter of course is precluded.

In managing sickness absence and the health and well-being of their staff, departments may however determine that there are certain exceptional circumstances where the provision of private healthcare is reasonable. This is a matter for departments to determine on a case-by-case basis.

Copyright

Question

Asked by Lord Smith of Finsbury

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox): The Government are currently seeking detailed evidence on the costs and benefits to all parties who could be affected by the proposals to modernise copyright, through public consultation. The Government have published initial impact assessments based on evidence currently available. These are published on the website of the Intellectual Property Office.

Cyprus: Sovereign Bases

Question

Asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever): On 2 January 2012, a demonstration took place outside the gates of Akrotiri station protesting against the continuing British presence in Cyprus. While there have been previous demonstrations at this time of year, on this occasion the protest

23 Jan 2012 : Column WA172

appears to have been organised by a group calling itself the "National Anti-Colonial Platform" based outside the sovereign base areas (SBA). We estimate that some 100 protesters arrived, some of whom were prepared for and resorted to violence when asked to clear the road. Two protesters were arrested, subsequently charged and released on bail to appear before the SBA court.

Thirteen SBA police officers and one reporter received minor injuries. Subsequent local media reports suggest that four protesters may also have incurred minor injuries.

Lettering was removed from a sign outside Akrotiri station and there was minor damage to property in Akrotiri village, with a shop having its window frame and external lamps broken.

Developing Countries: Taxation

Question

Asked by The Lord Bishop of Derby

The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The Government have not produced estimates of costs to developing countries as the controlled foreign companies rules are designed to prevent artificial diversion of UK profits. The Government work through a variety of channels to deliver high-quality capacity building in developing country tax administrations to ensure that these countries are in a position to collect the tax they are owed.

Education: English Baccalaureate

Question

Asked by Lord Harrison

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): The Government recognise the importance of good quality music education for all students. The Importance of Music-a National Plan for Music Education was published in November; the plan sets out how children of all ages, abilities and backgrounds can receive the best possible music education in the future.

The English Baccalaureate has been designed to give pupils the opportunity to study a core group of academic subjects-English, mathematics, the sciences, history or geography and a language. We also encourage all pupils to study non-English Baccalaureate subjects

23 Jan 2012 : Column WA173

as well as those within the core in order to benefit from a well-rounded education, which the range of subjects within the Baccalaureate is small enough to allow for. Schools are in the best position to work with pupils to make choices that will allow them to achieve and progress, recognising the importance and value of achieving in these core areas, and also of study in other areas where they have an aptitude and interest. In December 2010, we set out the subjects which will count towards the English Baccalaureate measure and have no current plans to change its composition.

We will continue to monitor the impact of the English Baccalaureate on GCSE subject choices, including by reviewing GCSE entries in 2012.

Education: ESOL

Question

Asked by Lord Greaves

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox): Learners in receipt of jobseeker's allowance or employment support allowance (in the work-related activity group) are eligible for full fee remission where English language skills have been identified as a barrier to entering employment. Further education colleges and training organisations also have local discretion to provide fully subsidised courses for people on a wider range of benefits where the training is to help them enter employment. The Government continue to contribute 50 per cent towards English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) course fees for people who are settled here and not eligible for full Government funding. We will no longer fund ESOL courses delivered in the workplace.

Further education (FE) colleges and training providers are responsible for meeting the needs of their local community, and the increased freedoms and flexibilities that we have introduced will help them respond and determine within their funding where this is prioritised.

Education: Literacy

Question

Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): The Government welcome the rising trends in the number of young people aged 16 to 18 who achieve level 2 and above in literacy, but we know there is more work to do.



23 Jan 2012 : Column WA174

The Government recognise the importance of young people starting adult life with the literacy and numeracy skills that will allow them to progress into employment, training and further or higher education. That is why we accepted the recommendations from the Wolf review of vocational education in May 2011 to introduce coherent study programmes for 16 to 19 year-olds, including provision for young people to continue to study post-16 English and mathematics, ideally to GCSE A* to C, until they achieve good attainment in those subjects. We recently consulted on the proposed study programmes for 16 to 19 year-olds and we will set out the Government response to consultation later in spring 2012.

Energy: Wind Turbines

Question

Asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Lord Marland): The Government believe that noise impacts of wind farm proposals, including low frequency noise, should be assessed within the planning process on a case-by-case basis. There is government guidance to help make these assessments.

DECC published an independent report in July 2011 on the consideration of noise impacts when determining wind farm planning applications in England. A copy of the report is available on the DECC website at: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_ energy/windionshore/comms_planning/noise/noise.aspx.

This found that current guidance is appropriate for assessing the noise impacts from wind farms, and recommended that good practice advice should be produced to confirm, and where necessary, clarify the way the guidance should be implemented in practice. The Institute of Acoustics is taking forward work to develop such advice.

Ethiopia

Question

Asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): We are aware of the recent arrests of a large number of opposition leaders and independent journalists under Ethiopia's anti-terrorism proclamation. While we respect the sovereign right of Ethiopia to defend its citizens from terrorism, it is important that in doing so, freedom of expression and other democratic rights are protected. Our embassy

23 Jan 2012 : Column WA175

in Addis Ababa has attended the trials of four Ethiopians arrested under the anti-terrorism legislation and will continue to monitor the trials of those recently arrested.

On 31 October, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) wrote to Prime Minister Meles, to raise our concerns. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right honourable friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) raised similar points with Prime Minister Meles when he saw him in Busan on 30 November.

Human rights will remain an important and regular part of our dialogue with the Ethiopian Government.

EU: Administrative Control

Question

Asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon

Baroness Garden of Frognal: No powers or administrative control were transferred to EU institutions, as a result of any measures contained in the Statements concerning the EU Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council, General Affairs Council or Transport Council. While measures at these councils are subject to parliamentary scrutiny by the EU Committee, there is no requirement for parliamentary approval under the European Union Act 2011 or any other Act.

Export and Re-export Control

Question

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox): The Management Team of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) consists of the Permanent Secretary and Director Generals. The current members and their appointment dates can be found on the department website in their biographies:

23 Jan 2012 : Column WA176

http://www.bis.gov.uk/about/management-team. Since the department was formed in June 2009, the Management Team has discussed the issue of export controls once.

The minutes of this discussion, which formed the basis of a submission to a Minister, will not be provided as to do so would be likely to prejudice the free and frank nature of the advice that Ministers receive from officials. It is in the public interest that officials are able to provide balanced and, where necessary, extensive briefing to ensure that Ministers are able to fully respond to questions and discharge properly their duties to account for government policy to Parliament. If the content of briefings to Ministers and discussion of current policy issues were released, officials would be more circumspect in drafting such briefing and Ministers' ability to respond to questions would be compromised as a result.

The BIS Management Team has not discussed the Re-Export Controls Bill.

Export Control

Question

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox): The Export Control Act is the UK's primary legislation on export controls. The Export of Goods Control Order 2008 is the current principal secondary legislation made under the powers of the Export Control Act. Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 setting up a Community regime for the control of exports, transfer, brokering and transit of dual-use items, as amended by Regulation (EU) No 1232/2011, is an EU regulation that is directly applicable in UK law. There are also several EU regulations imposing sanctions, including measures applying to exports, and UK secondary legislation providing for enforcement of the same. A number of amendments to secondary legislation have been made under the Act and these are published on the Government's Business Link website at: http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/exportcontrol under the "Current UK strategic export control legislation" and the "Export Control Act 2002" headings. Details are also given in the Government's annual reports on Strategic Export Controls found at http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/export-control-organisation under the Strategic Export Controls-reports heading. Updates to secondary legislation and to the regulation on dual-use items are, and continue to be, necessary on an ongoing basis.

Finance: Payday Loans

Question

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox): The Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs, Edward Davey, who has responsibility for this policy area, has had a number of meetings with stakeholders where the regulation of payday loans has been discussed. These have included meetings with consumer organisations, ministerial colleagues, business representatives and MPs. The Minister has recently written to representatives of the payday loan industry to stress the importance of the ongoing work to strengthen consumer protections in existing and future codes of practice and to highlight those areas of concern that the Government believe need to be addressed.

The department for business has received numerous representations regarding payday lending including from MPs, members of the public, business and business representatives, consumer organisations and charities.

The Government acknowledge that there are real concerns about this type of lending and some of the practices that appear to blight this market. Payday lending is a key area of regulatory focus for the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and it monitors the market for evidence of consumer detriment. The OFT has taken enforcement action against a number of companies in the payday loan market but as the market has increased in size it has seen an increase in reported consumer harm. In light of these concerns, the Government welcome the recent announcement by the OFT that they will be launching a comprehensive compliance review of its Irresponsible Lending Guidance that will specifically target the payday lending market. The review will focus on identifying those practices that are the cause of most harm to consumers and the findings will be used to take further enforcement action and drive up standards in this market. The OFT will also be increasing its scrutiny of applications for consumer credit licences by those wishing to engage in this form of lending.

BIS has recently commissioned Bristol University's Personal Finance Research Centre to carry out research to assess the impact of introducing a cap on the total cost of credit that can be charged in the short-to medium-term high-cost credit market. This research will include the payday lending market and is due to report in summer 2012.

Finance: Regulation

Question

Asked by Lord Myners



23 Jan 2012 : Column WA178

The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The Government have no plans at present to review the operation in the United Kingdom of the securities repurchase market.

The securities repurchase market is international and any review would need to take this into account. In its paper titled Shadow Banking: Strengthening Oversight and Regulation-Recommendations of the Financial Stability Board, dated 27 October 2011, the Financial Stability Board suggested setting up a workstream under its task force that would focus on, among other things, securities repurchase.

Financial Services Authority

Question

Asked by Lord Barnett

The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): This is a matter for the Financial Services Authority (FSA), whose day-to-day operations are independent from government control and influence. This question has been passed on to the FSA, which will reply to you directly by letter. A copy of the response will be placed in the Library of the House.

Fire Safety

Questions

Asked by Lord Harrison

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Hanham): My department is considering research on the incidence and impact of fire in the future, in particular in relation to an increasingly ageing population, and the relationship between mental health and deliberate and accidental fires.

Asked by Lord Harrison



23 Jan 2012 : Column WA179

Baroness Hanham: In 2004, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister commissioned research on the comparison of the propensity of fire-safer cigarettes and conventional cigarettes to ignite textile materials used in a domestic environment. The report produced was published in 2006, and is available on the DCLG website at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/fire/pdf/160414.pdf.

A copy has also been placed in the Library of the House.

Government Departments: Bonuses

Questions

Asked by Lord Laird

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Lord Marland): The Department of Energy and Climate Change currently awards both non-consolidated end-of-year performance awards and in-year special awards.

The department and its non-departmental public bodies use non-consolidated performance-related payments to help drive high performance in the organisations as they:

encourage continuous high attainment because the payments are dependent upon continuing strong performance;prevent a permanent rise in salary and an increase in pension on the basis of one-off performances while still allowing good performance to be rewarded;have no long-term costs-in particular, it does not increase future pension payments;focus the work of employees more directly on the priority goals of the organisation;motivate employees by linking an element of compensation to the achievement of objectives rather than offering payment for time served; andtarget money at those who make the biggest contribution.

End-of-year non-consolidated performance awards are used to reward the department's highest performers as assessed in their end-of-year appraisal reports.

Non-consolidated in-year special awards are used to recognise performance or behaviours which might not be fully reflected in an end-of-year performance appraisal. These may be used to reward staff for exceptional pieces of work or taking on additional responsibilities.



23 Jan 2012 : Column WA180

It has not been possible to produce the information by grade without incurring disproportionate costs. Details of such payments for the years specified have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Asked by Lord Laird

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox): The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has a non-consolidated pot available for performance-related pay and special bonus schemes. This is set at a maximum of 1.3 per cent of paybill. How this is distributed and awarded in the next three years will be subject to management decisions and trade union negotiations. Therefore the information is not available.

Government Departments: Staff

Question

Asked by Lord Inglewood

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: This information is not collected centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The Government Communication Network is responsible for setting performance standards and supporting the skills development of press officers and all other specialist government communicators.

The GCN is actively engaged with a range of professional bodies including the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

Housing

Question

Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Hanham): The prospectus was published on 22 December and the closing date for expressions of interest forms is 30 January.

23 Jan 2012 : Column WA181

The fund could unlock the building of up to 16,000 new homes and the creation of up to 30,000 jobs through commercial loans and equity stakes on sites.

The document is available to download from the Homes and Communities Agency website at: www. homesandcommunities.co.uk/get-britain-building. Since 22 December 2011 there have been over 4,200 unique visitors to the relevant pages.

In order to reduce costs we have not produced printed copies of the prospectus.

India

Question

Asked by The Lord Bishop of Derby

The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The Government strongly support exchange of information for tax purposes. Automatic exchange of information has an important role to play.

Insolvency

Question

Asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox): An impact assessment has been prepared and published for the Government's proposed new controls on pre-packaged insolvency sales. The impact assessment, Improving Confidence in Pre-packaged Administration BIS0296, shows positive yet unquantified benefits to business, and is available at: http://www.ialibrary. bis.gov.uk/ImpactAssessment/?IAID= 88a1fd7588274e728dcdd6bcac719642

The Government will make an announcement shortly in relation to this issue.

Israel and Palestine

Question

Asked by Lord Judd

Baroness Northover: The UK Government regularly hold discussions with development, humanitarian and human rights non-governmental organisations on a range of issues relating to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) at official level. There are currently no plans to hold any specific discussions on issues

23 Jan 2012 : Column WA182

relating to trade with Israeli settlements. While there is no ban on trade with Israeli settlements, we believe consumers should be able to make informed decisions concerning the products they buy. In December 2009, the Government introduced guidelines for retailers on how to label produce from Israel and the OPTs more accurately.

Meat Plants

Question

Asked by Baroness Byford

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): The Food Standards Agency will publish the impact assessment on charges for official controls at meat plants, together with the Regulatory Policy Committee's opinion, when this is available.

Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan

Question

Asked by Lord Lamont of Lerwick

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): The UK has repeatedly, clearly and publicly condemned the unlawful killing of civilians wherever it takes place, including in Iran, and stressed the desire to find a peaceful, negotiated solution to the nuclear issue. This point was made by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt), during a Westminster Hall debate on 11 January. On the same day he expressed publicly his concern about the killing of Mr Roshan in a BBC Persian interview that was widely picked up by Iranian state media.

Music: Youth Orchestras

Question

Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark



23 Jan 2012 : Column WA183

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): I visited the London Schools Symphony Orchestra on 28 September 2010 and also attended the Music for Youth School Prom on 10 November 2010. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Education attended the Music for Youth School Prom on 7 November 2011. The Minister of State for Children and Families attended the Music for Youth School Prom on 8 November 2011. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Children and Families attended the Music for Youth School Prom on 8 November 2010 and on 9 November 2011.

The department's Ministers often visit schools, children's centres and other venues, and some of these visits include the opportunity to see and hear young people playing in orchestras, bands and choirs.

Official Veterinarians

Question

Asked by Baroness Byford

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): The 2011-12 hourly charge-out rate before discount for a Food Standards Agency (FSA) official veterinarian (OV) is £37.60. Of this amount 16 per cent relates to overheads for front-line support and other essential support costs, such as finance and human resources. Eighty-four per cent consists of the costs to the FSA for all OVs of which 80 per cent relates to the cost of contracted OVs not directly employed by the FSA and 4 per cent relates to the cost of OVs employed by the FSA.

These and further details on FSA charges are available at: www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2011/feb/costs.

Overseas Stability

Questions

Asked by Lord Chidgey

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The National Security Council sets the Government's objectives for national security and considers how best to deliver them. In this respect, it sets the overall strategic context for the Government's work on post-conflict and transitional states. The Building Stability Overseas Board is responsible for the strategic direction of the Stabilisation Unit. The Government will, through these mechanisms, continue to direct the activities of the Stabilisation Unit towards conflict resolution and capacity building in priority

23 Jan 2012 : Column WA184

countries. As set out in the Building Stability Overseas Strategy, there will also be an increased role for the Stabilisation Unit in conflict prevention.

The Building Stability Overseas Board recently agreed to a review of the Stabilisation Unit, which will examine the functions and capabilities required in the unit to meet the challenges ahead.

Asked by Lord Chidgey

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever): The integrated approach has already been facilitated by new Whitehall processes and structures. The National Security Council meets regularly in order to ensure that decisions are made based on cross-Whitehall considerations. Beneath this, the governance of HMG activities on instability and conflict overseas has been rationalised, as announced in the strategic defence and security review. Instead of three separate structures dealing with conflict, peacekeeping and stabilisation, there is now a single, cross-government board to deal with conflict overseas: the Building Stability Overseas Board. The tri-departmental Stabilisation Unit reports to this board and remains key to delivering expertise on the ground.

The integrated approach is broader than cross-government-it is also multi-agency and multinational. Among others, HMG work with:

United Nations/North Atlantic Treaty Organisation/ European Union/African Union;Foreign Governments;the International Committee of the Red Cross;intergovernmental organisations (IGOs);non-governmental organisations (NGOs);international non-governmental organisations (INGOs); andlocal nationals.

Pensions

Questions

Asked by Baroness Byford

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The employer pension contribution percentages for 1997, 2001 and 2011 are broken down and set out below. The mechanism for calculating the contribution percentages changed on 1 April 1998 and moved from a grade-based approach to a salary-banded approach.



23 Jan 2012 : Column WA185

01.04.1997

Grades

Administration Officer and below

11.0%

Executive Officer to Senior

13.5%

Executive Officer

Grade 7-6 and Senior Civil

17.5%

Service Pay Band1+2

Senior Civil Service Pay Band

19.5%

and above

Industrial Staff

13.0%

Prison Officers (PO)

21.0%

01.04.2001

Band 1

£16,000 and under

12.0%

Band 2

£16,001 to 32,500

13.5%

Band 3

32,501 to -56,000

16.5%

Band 4

56,001and over

18.5%

PO

Pre-Fresh Start Prison Officers (ie Prison Officers in post before

20.5%

September 1987)

01.04.2011

Band 1

£21,000 and under

16.7%

Band 2

£21,001 to 43,500

18.8%

Band 3

£43,501 to 74,500

21.8%

Band 4

£74,501 and over

24.3%

PO

Pre-Fresh Start Prison Officers

25.8%

Asked by Lord Laird

The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): On 2 November 2011, the Government set out their preferred public service pension scheme design in the command paper, Public service pensions: good pensions that last, Cm 8214. The Government's preferred scheme design was based on recommendations made by Lord Hutton's Independent Public Service Pensions Commission. This includes a recommendation that active members' benefits should be revalued in line with average earnings, rather than inflation. Trades unions were then invited to put forward their preferred pension scheme designs, within the cost limits set out on 2 November 2011.

On 20 December 2011, the Government set out the headline agreements reached with the majority of trades unions on public service pension reform in the NHS, teachers, Civil Service and local government pension schemes. For the NHS Pension Scheme, the heads of agreement reached mean active members' benefits will be revalued in line with the consumer prices index plus 1.5 per cent per annum. This reduced revaluation rate has been offset by a higher accrual rate compared to the Government's preferred design, with no overall increase in cost to the taxpayer.



23 Jan 2012 : Column WA186

The heads of agreement reached are consistent with the offer that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury set out in Parliament on 2 November 2011. This means that no changes to scheme design, benefits or contribution rates should be necessary for 25 years outside of the processes agreed for the cost cap.

Asked by Lord Laird

Lord Sassoon: One North East is still undergoing the transition and closure of its business and specific details should be available directly from the agency or its sponsoring department, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, as they are finalised.

There is no overriding policy of amalgamation of pension schemes of defunct public sector bodies, as the specific arrangements when bodies are closed vary, as do the pension arrangements when they are operational.

People Trafficking

Question

Asked by Baroness Goudie

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): The pilot has yet to be evaluated so at this stage the benefits have not been clearly established. High-quality social workers, independent reviewing officers and skilled carers are key to ensuring that all looked-after children in England, including those who have been trafficked, are well supported and achieve the best possible outcomes. Looked-after children are entitled to the services of advocates as well as independent visitors. It is vital that local authorities commission advocacy and independent visitor services that meet the needs of those in care.

Public Bodies

Question

Asked by Lord Lucas

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Government are committed to reducing the burden of unnecessary red tape on businesses, individuals, and the voluntary and community sectors. Through the Red Tape Challenge we are thoroughly reviewing the stock of regulation, including implementation and associated paperwork.



23 Jan 2012 : Column WA187

The Government have also committed to examining the performance of every regulator. As part of this process, we will use a web-based tool to enable businesses and individuals to provide feedback on their experience of interaction with regulators.

We have also launched the Tell Us How initiative, where front-line workers across the public sector can highlight burdens and bureaucracy which make their jobs difficult. The best ideas for removing bureaucracy will be taken forward.

Questions for Written Answer

Question

Asked by Lord Jopling

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: I refer my noble friend to the reply I gave the noble Lord Barnett on Wednesday 18 January 2012 (Official Report, col. WA 133).

Railways: Infrastructure

Question

Asked by Lord Bradley

Earl Attlee: The table below provides a regional breakdown of rail infrastructure investment.



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Description% of total investmentTotal spend (£m)

North East

0.29%

Accelerate NEXUS (Tyne and Wear metro) modernisation programme

4

North West

10.43%

Trans Pennine electrification (spend arbitrarily split between regions)

145

Yorkshire and the Humber

11.17%

Leeds rail growth*

10.3

Trans Pennine electrification (spend split between regions)

145

West Midlands

0.70%

Coventry-Nuneaton rail upgrade*

9.8

East Midlands

N/A

East

N/A

South West

N/A

London

South East

22.66%

East-West rail project

270

Flexible commuter rail tickets

45

New Southern rail carriages

80

Not Region Specific

39.21%

Tackle local problems on the rail network more quickly (network rail discretionary fund)

100

Metal theft taskforce

5

Rail winter resilience

10

Access for all station accessibility improvements

26

Bridge renewals

250

Total

1390.1

* These schemes were funded through the Department for Transport's local authority major schemes budget

Roads: A14

Question

Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark

Earl Attlee: The Highways Agency is working up detailed timescales for schemes announced in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement to identify the most efficient start of work dates. All of the schemes named in the Autumn Statement are expected to start construction and make significant progress in the next three years.

We will make announcements on the timescales for each scheme in due course.

Schools: Music

Question

Asked by Lord Harrison

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): The Government have shown a clear commitment to music and broader cultural education by commissioning reviews by Darren Henley, Managing Director of Classic FM, of both music and cultural education. Following the publication of Mr Henley's music education review, we published a National Plan for Music Education and committed to invest £202 million from 2012, covering the remainder of the spending review period, to improve provision.

We asked Darren Henley to undertake this work because these subjects are important in developing an appreciation and understanding of the arts in all their forms, and because we believe this will ultimately benefit the economy and young people's employment prospects in the creative industries.



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Research provided by the sector skills councils shows that the skills most pertinent to future growth in the creative and cultural industries will be business, managerial and technical skills associated with the digital sectors of the creative economy.

The Government are therefore spending £938,800, as part of a wider package for higher apprenticeships, to enable Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for the creative industries, to develop a level 4 apprenticeship to meet skills needs in advertising, creative and digital media and fashion and textiles.

We have also established a Creative Industries Council, with leading figures from across the creative and digital sectors, so that we can work to ensure that the UK continues to be a world leader in this area.

We have no plans to research the links between the economic and employment prospects of pupils studying music or other creative subjects in schools. Our priority is to implement the National Plan for Music Education and to respond to Darren Henley's forthcoming review of cultural education.

Schools: Sport

Question

Asked by Lord Moynihan

Baroness Garden of Frognal: Primary schools are part of the School Games. The Youth and Community Sport Strategy announcement made on the 10 January includes £150 million funding for the School Games (including funding from Sport England, Department for Education and Department of Health) with additional sponsorship from Sainsbury's. The School Games is a four-level (intra-school, inter school, county festivals and national finals) competition for school children in England. It is hoped the national finals will be a UK event. The Games are designed to build on the magic of 2012 to enable every school and child to participate in competitive sport including meaningful opportunities for disabled youngsters. By December 2011, over 7,000 primary schools had registered to take part in the event. Primary schools are benefiting from support from the network of School Games Organisers and also from the PE Teachers released for one day each week from secondary schools to work with primary schools through funding from the Department for Education. In terms of the community youth activity, this will reach down to 14 year-olds.

Schools: Teachers

Questions

Asked by Lord Quirk



23 Jan 2012 : Column WA190

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): From its foundation up to and including 2011, the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) investigated 2267 teachers in respect of professional misconduct, and 229 for unsatisfactory teaching performance.

Asked by Lord Quirk

Lord Hill of Oareford: The following table shows the number of teachers in England who were investigated by the GTCE from foundation up to and including 2011 who were found to be (1) guilty of professional misconduct, and (2) unsatisfactory in their teaching performance. The action taken is in the left hand column.

DecisionMisconductIncompetence

Prohibition Order

207

17

Suspension Order

161

2

Suspension Order (with conditions)

50

12

Conditional Registration Order

197

31

Reprimand

323

6

No sanction

60

0

Totals

998

68

Asked by Lord Quirk

Lord Hill of Oareford: From 1 April, the new Teaching Agency, an executive agency of the department, will operate as the national regulator for all teachers in England. Teacher performance will be managed locally by employers. Employers will have a duty to consider whether to refer cases of serious misconduct to the Teaching Agency and, where appropriate, an independent professional conduct panel will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State regarding whether or not to bar the individual from teaching. A teacher may appeal against a prohibition order to the High Court within 28 days and, in certain circumstances, a prohibition order may be reviewed after a minimum period of time has elapsed. Teachers who are subject to a prohibition order will be placed on a new prohibited list which will be available online to employers. The Teaching Agency will uphold all GTCE sanctions.



23 Jan 2012 : Column WA191

Sport and Recreation

Question

Asked by Lord Moynihan

Baroness Garden of Frognal: We do not hold figures for local authority spend. However, Sport England provide significant investment in local sports facilities through exchequer and lottery funding. A breakdown of this funding, for the period requested, can be found in the following table:

YearExchequer Funding (£000's)Lottery Funding (£000's)

2006-07

39,367

5,491

2007-08

40,104

16,852

2008-09

46,075

14,620

2009-10

49,438

6,542

2010-11

38,717

16,945

2011-12 (Forecast)

29,070

26,300

Sport: Young People

Questions

Asked by Lord Moynihan

Baroness Garden of Frognal: The £1 billion investment for Sport England's new Youth and Community Sport Strategy will come from the National Lottery plus £200 million Exchequer funding from the current Comprehensive Spending Review settlement.

The new strategy benefits from the Government's decision to return the share of Lottery proceeds to the original four "good causes". The increase in funding due to this change is projected to be £181 million over the five years (this figure is dependent on Lottery sales and is based on current projections).

There is also additional funding to the School Games, from the Department of Health and Sainsbury's sponsorship, announced by the Secretary of State on the 10 January.

Asked by Lord Moynihan



23 Jan 2012 : Column WA192

Baroness Garden of Frognal: This information is not held by the department or Sport England. However, as part of 2009-13 Whole Sport Plan awards, 34 sports receive targeted funding to deliver on children and young people interventions. The funding develops school-club links and volunteering opportunities to increase the number of junior club participants and volunteers aged between five and 19. The latest data show that there are 1.975 million junior club participants and 88,381 young volunteers aged between five and 19 across the 34 funded sports. The breakdown for each sport can be found in the following tables.



23 Jan 2012 : Column WA193

Club Links
SportAnnual funding2011-12 Baseline2011-12 Target2011-12 6 Month Progress% of Year target achieved at 6 month stage

Archery

25K

1,169

700

1,169

167%

Athletics

275K

35,412

36,000

36,250

101%

Badminton

200K

18,964

20,250

17,953

89%

Baseball and Softball

50K

2,660

2,435

3,517

144%

Basketball

150K

11,547

11,800

10,517

89%

Boccia

25K

735

171

735

430%

Boxing

50K

18,967

19,985

5,596

28%

Canoeing

127K

6,136

7,000

7,878

113%

Cricket

200K

178,324

181,702

184,266

101%

Cycling

200K

8,073

9,771

10,139

104%

Equestrianism

31.2K

7,734

7,400

15,882

215%

Fencing

33K

4,423

750

4,267

569%

Football

200K

598,890

537,495

621,390

116%

Golf

150K

8,380

6,600

9,453

143%

Gymnastics

135K

104,626

92,253

118,656

129%

Hockey

150K

36,824

46,500

44,571

96%

Judo

130K

22,123

23,319

22,079

95%

Lacrosse

50K

30,867

27,000

32,409

120%

Netball

200K

27,381

33,443

42,570

127%

Orienteering

25K

3,819

3,200

2,891

90%

Rounders

50K

668

1,350

2,007

149%

Rowing

150K

4,275

3,000

4,141

138%

Rugby League

200K

24,039

25,745

22,635

88%

Rugby Union

200K

192,209

221,449

204,467

92%

Sailing RYA

150K

14,395

19,345

18,868

98%

Snowsport

17.5K

2,227

2,200

2,227

101%

Squash and Racketball

150K

5,910

7,320

7,386

101%

Swimming

275K

139,208

153,349

139,208

91%

Table Tennis

200K

44,717

38,713

32,895

85%

Tennis

200K

293,583

314,723

315,547

100%

Triathlon

50K

21,320

22,500

23,218

103%

Volleyball

150K

7,843

7,000

7,564

108%

Waterskiing

25K

799

1,049

1,481

141%

Wheelchair Basketball

14.9K

696

800

1,443

180%

Volunteering
Sport2011-12 Baseline2011-12 Target2011-12 6 Month Progress% of Year target achieved at 6 month stage

Archery

48

130

48

37%

Athletics

4,000

3,350

4,350

130%

Badminton

4,145

4,100

5,345

130%

Baseball and Softball

214

125

255

204%

Basketball

493

525

382

73%

Boccia

449

325

449

138%

Boxing

413

860

498

58%

Canoeing

732

750

767

102%

Cricket

10,392

12,132

11,821

97%

Cycling

1,053

798

1,360

170%

Equestrianism

305

500

518

104%

Fencing

The sport has no volunteering target but has reported 818 young volunteers

Football

3,696

4,961

4,879

98%

Golf

424

325

278

86%

Gymnastics

652

650

1,058

163%

Hockey

3,888

4,050

4,553

112%

Judo

192

170

283

166%

Lacrosse

1,092

975

1,117

115%

Netball

7,401

5,865

8,055

137%

Orienteering

1,273

800

964

121%

Rounders

120

270

746

276%

Rowing

605

800

785

98%

Rugby League

18,114

16,000

19,189

120%

Rugby Union

3,229

4,284

4,157

97%

Sailing RYA

570

235

570

243%

Snowsport

76

58

76

131%

Squash and Racketball

198

336

288

86%

Swimming

7,000

8,500

8,010

94%

Table Tennis

58

100

257

257%

Tennis

4,716

3,500

5,514

158%

Triathlon

565

600

619

103%

Volleyball

350

625

372

60%

Waterskiing

0

10

Not reported

n/a

Wheelchair Basketball

The sport has no volunteering target



23 Jan 2012 : Column WA194

Steel

Questions

Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox): The department works closely and holds regular discussions with the steel industry on a range of issues related to maintaining an internationally competitive steel sector in the UK. This includes seeking to minimise unnecessary regulatory burdens by involving the sector in discussions on better regulation and taking steps to reduce the impact of government policy on energy costs. As part of the Autumn Statement the Government announced measures worth around £250 million to help our energy intensive industries, including the steel industry, to reduce their energy bills.

The steel industry has opportunities to participate in collaborative R&D projects funded by the Technology Strategy Board, the EU Framework Programme and the EU Research Fund for Coal and Steel.

In addition, UK Trade & Investment has a programme of support for the UK manufacturing sector, including materials, in partnership with numerous stakeholders. This includes organising UK groups at overseas trade shows, leading targeted trade missions and bringing potential buyers, investors and decision-makers to the UK to see our manufacturing capability first-hand.

Any government support for the steel industry needs to be compatible with the EC state aid rules. Regional investment or operating aid may not be granted to the steel sector, however other forms of aid including aid for research, development and innovation, training and environmental investments is permitted.

Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark

Baroness Wilcox: BIS Ministers have had no specific discussions with Tata Steel about Corby, but as a result of my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills' most recent discussion in December with Karl Kohler, chief executive of Tata Steel Europe, we are fully aware of the tough trading conditions that the company is operating in and that they continue to take steps to maintain the competitiveness of all their plants.

Sudan

Question

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool



23 Jan 2012 : Column WA195

Baroness Northover: Debt relief will be an important element of Sudan's economic development, which in turn will be critical if Sudan is to become a stable and peaceful nation. As such, we have led international efforts to establish a technical working group on the issue, who are overseeing the necessary technical preparations for debt relief, meeting most recently in September 2011. However, as we have consistently made clear to the Sudanese Government, debt relief remains conditional on the need to see genuine progress toward inclusive peace and justice throughout the country, and resolving the outstanding issues from the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

Taiwan


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