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Written Answers

Volume 474: debated on Wednesday 26 March 2008

Written Answers to Questions

Wednesday 26 March 2008

Leader of the House

Members: Second Homes

To ask the Leader of the House how many hon. Members claim for a second home (a) in London and (b) in their constituency. (195741)

Hon. Members are entitled to claim the additional costs allowance when staying away from their main home on parliamentary business. The allowance may be used for help with the cost of purchase or rental of a property, or for hotel or other overnight costs. In 2006-07 441 Members claimed the allowance for staying in London and 148 in their constituency.

Olympics

Departmental Information Officers

To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many (a) press and (b) communications officers were employed to promote (i) the bid for and (ii) the hosting of the 2012 Summer Olympics in each year for which figures are available. (182511)

There were no press officers employed in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport solely to work on the Olympic bid. Subsequent to London winning the bid, the Department has employed the following numbers of press officers to work on the Olympics:

Press officers

2005-06

2

2006-07

3

2007-08

3

The Department does not have a “communication officer” grade. The “White Book” of contacts in Government Departments and agencies contains listings for the Department and the book is updated twice yearly.

Northern Ireland

Criminal Justice and Policing

8. To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made on devolution of criminal justice and policing to Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. (195504)

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh).

Fuel Smuggling

9. To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the level of fuel smuggling in Northern Ireland. (195506)

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Clwyd, West (Mr. Jones).

Policing Budget

10. To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the policing budget for Northern Ireland is in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement. (195507)

The allocation made to the Northern Ireland Policing Board in respect of policing in 2007-08 amounts to £1,231 million.

Security Situation

11. To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. (195508)

The security situation in Northern Ireland has been dramatically transformed, not least because of the historic agreement reached exactly one year ago today by the right hon. Member for North Antrim (Rev. Ian Paisley) and the hon. Member for Belfast, West (Mr. Adams).

Abortion

12. To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he plans to introduce new legislation on abortion in Northern Ireland. (195509)

Departmental Official Visits

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost was of overnight accommodation for (a) civil servants, (b) special advisers and (c) Ministers in his Department staying overnight in (i) mainland Great Britain, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) the Republic of Ireland and (iv) other countries in the last 12 months. (193536)

The Northern Ireland Office does not record the costs of overnight accommodation in the format requested. This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Driving Offences: Sentencing

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) arrests and (b) convictions for drink-driving offences resulted in a custodial sentence in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (i) specific offence, (ii) age and (iii) sex. (194756)

Table 1 sets out the number of arrests for drink driving offences from 1998 to 2007. Breakdown by gender is available from 2002-07. However, the only information recorded on age is the average age of those arrested.

Table 2 sets out the number of convictions for drink driving offences which have resulted in a custodial sentence in each of the last 10 years, 2006 being the latest available.

Table 3 sets out the number of convictions for drink driving offences resulting in a custodial sentence categorised by age in each of the last 10 years, 2006 being the latest available.

Table 4 sets out the number of convictions for drink driving offences resulting in a custodial sentence categorised by gender in each of the last 10 years, 2006 being the latest available.

Table 1: Breakdown of number of arrests 2002-07

Male

Female

Average age

2007

3,866

478

33

2006

4,145

512

33

2005

3,992

443

34

2004

3,489

388

34

2003

3,142

349

33

2002

2,145

283

32

Total number of arrests 1998 to 2001

Number

2001

4,271

2000

5,284

1999

5,025

1998

4,711

Table 2

Offence

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

In charge of vehicle while under the influence of alcohol/drugs

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Failing to provide specimen of blood/urine—major accident

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Driving with excess alcohol

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

4

1

0

In charge with excess alcohol

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

1

0

Driving with excess alcohol—blood/urine

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

In charge with excess alcohol—blood/urine

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Failing to provide specimen of breath—driving

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Failing to provide specimen of breath—attempting to drive

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Failing to provide specimen of blood/urine—minor accident

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Driving when unfit through drink or drugs

5

5

3

8

4

2

5

12

15

8

Attempting to drive when unfit through drink or drugs

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

In charge when unfit through drink or drugs

1

0

0

0

1

0

1

1

0

0

Driving with excess alcohol in breath

9

14

5

11

3

11

4

5

4

14

Attempting to drive with excess alcohol in breath

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

In charge with excess alcohol in breath

0

2

0

0

0

1

2

1

0

0

Driving with excess alcohol in blood

0

0

4

3

2

5

2

3

1

3

Attempting to drive with excess alcohol in blood

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

In charge with excess alcohol in blood

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

Driving with excess alcohol in urine

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

In charge with excess alcohol in urine

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

Failing to provide specimen of breath for preliminary test

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

1

2

0

Failing to provide specimen of breath for analysis

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

1

Failing to provide specimen of blood or urine for analysis

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

1

Failing to provide specimen when driving unfit

0

1

2

3

2

0

0

3

2

0

Failing to provide specimen when attempting to drive unfit

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Failing to provide specimen when in charge unfit

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

1

0

Failing to provide specimen when driving with excess alcohol

0

0

1

1

0

1

0

0

0

0

Failing to provide specimen when attempting to drive unfit

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Failing to provide specimen when in charge with excess alcohol

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Causing death by driving carelessly when unfit

1

1

1

0

1

0

0

1

0

0

Causing GBI by driving carelessly when unfit

3

1

2

1

1

1

3

1

0

0

Causing death or GBI by driving carelessly- excess alcohol

1

0

0

1

0

1

2

1

0

0

Causing death by inconsiderate driving with excess alcohol

1

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Causing GBI by driving carelessly with excess alcohol

3

3

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

Causing death—driving carelessly, failing to provide specimen

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Causing GBI—driving carelessly, failing to provide specimen

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Total

24

28

19

31

14

23

21

36

28

27

Table 3

Age (years)

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

0 to 17

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

18 to 24

3

10

2

9

7

7

3

12

12

12

25 to 39

16

6

9

11

4

11

15

15

9

14

40 to 59

3

12

8

11

3

5

3

6

6

1

60 +

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

Not recorded

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

3

0

0

Total

24

28

19

31

14

23

21

36

28

27

Table 4

Sex

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1990

1998

1997

Male

23

28

19

30

14

21

21

35

28

27

Female

1

0

0

1

0

2

0

1

0

0

Total

24

28

19

31

14

23

21

36

28

27

PSNI data on numbers of arrests are not directly comparable with statistics on convictions, as the offence recorded initially may differ from that which is used in court.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) when Mr. Phil Taylor formally ended his employment as a special adviser to the Northern Ireland Office; (191031)

(2) what the employment status was of special adviser to the Northern Ireland Office, Mr. Phil Taylor while working on a Labour Party deputy leadership campaign; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Phil Taylor ceased to be employed by the Northern Ireland Office on 28 June 2007.

Special advisers working in the Northern Ireland Office were aware of the Special Adviser Code of Conduct and the additional guidance issued by the Cabinet Secretary in December 2006.

House of Commons Commission

Fairtrade Initiative

To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if the Commission will provide for the stocking of Fairtrade bananas in House cafeterias. (196223)

The House of Commons Catering and Retail service stocks Fairtrade bananas from time to time and in particular during Fairtrade fortnight, which ran from 25 February to 7 March 2007.

Despite extensive research of the market, however, it has proven exceptionally difficult to source a supplier able to supply Fairtrade bananas in the relatively small quantities required by the Catering and Retail service. Most Fairtrade bananas are purchased at source by the major supermarkets and those that are available on the wholesale fruit market in London generally have a minimum order level of one pallet (540 kg) per delivery, which is far more than we can reasonably use or store.

International Development

Africa: International Assistance

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the potential role of international companies in promoting development in Africa; and what steps he is taking to promote and co-ordinate such involvement. (194578)

International companies have a key role in contributing towards development and economic growth in Africa through investment, job creation and their contribution to Government revenues by paying taxes.

The UK Government work with developing country governments and international agencies to create an environment that supports the growth of business by supporting reforms that allow markets to work with greater efficiency and fairness. The UK Government also promote adherence to the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises which set out the standards on issues such as employment and industrial relations, the environment and corruption that OECD governments expect business to adhere to when they invest overseas.

Companies can also use their core business to deliver better development outcomes. The Department for International Development (DFID) is working with companies that have signed up to the Prime Minister's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Call to Action to develop concrete initiatives which apply core business, skills, and expertise to enhance growth and wealth creation to help meet the MDGs.

Developing Countries: Water

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department has taken to reduce conflict over water in developing countries. (196894)

The Department for International Development (DFID) recognises the importance of promoting co-operation over water resources to reduce the risk of conflict. DFID provides support to programmes in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia that reduce conflict over water resources. DFID is also increasing funding to support countries to manage the effects of climate change, which will improve the management of water and reduce the risks of conflict as resources become more scarce.

In the Middle East, DFID provides support to the EXACT programme (part of the multilateral track of the Peace process), to improve regional management of groundwater pollution. In Sudan, DFID is providing £1 million for the development of an integrated water resources management plan to improve co-operation over scarce water resources and help build sustainable livelihoods. We have provided £14 million to the Nile Basin Initiative that supports co-operation among the countries that share the waters of the Nile. DFID has also recently agreed to provide initial funding to the South Asia Water Initiative to promote co-operation over water in one of the world's most volatile regions. We continue to consider other requests for support to improve the management of water to help reduce conflict at regional levels and in countries.

EU Aid: Food

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions (a) he, (b) his officials and (c) UK representatives in Brussels have had with (i) members and (ii) representatives of the EU Commission on the additional €160 million funding announced to supplement EU food aid; what assessment his Department has made of the planned distribution of these additional funds; whether his Department was consulted in the process of reaching this decision; and if he will make a statement. (192972)

The European Commission’s €160 million operational plan for food aid to meet the food needs of approximately 18,675,000 people was discussed with member states at the Humanitarian Aid Committee (MAC) on 13-14 December in Brussels. DFID received the papers about the decision but was not represented at this meeting.

Following the Humanitarian Aid Committee in December the operational plan for food aid was adopted by the European Parliament on 19 February.

These funds form part of the €223 million food aid budget under the European Commission’s Humanitarian Regulation. They take account of expected increases in humanitarian demand due to climatic shock, the decreasing availability of food, the impact of recent food price rises and the reducing incomes of the most vulnerable groups.

DFID subsequently reviewed the operational plan and is confident that the allocation is appropriate and will be spent where there is genuine need.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions (a) he, (b) his officials and (c) UK representatives in Washington DC have had with (i) members and (ii) representatives of the US Administration on the possible matching of the increase in EU food aid by the US; and if he will make a statement. (192973)

Our UK representatives in Washington understand that there is no move to increase budgets or overhaul the structure of US food aid.

There are also no current plans to increase EU food aid. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him today (UIN 192972).

Global Plan to Stop TB

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has allocated to the Global Plan to Stop TB 2006-15 since the programme was launched; what progress has been made towards the targets in the Plan to Stop TB; and how much of the funding required to implement the Global Plan has been (a) identified and (b) spent. (194960)

[holding answer 17 March 2008]: The Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis (TB) lays out the actions and resources needed to achieve its target to halve TB prevalence and deaths by 2015. It does not receive funding directly but acts as an umbrella organisation for those involved in TB control.

The World Heath Organisation estimates that globally the number of new cases of TB is falling slowly (less than 1 per cent. a year) and the reported treatment success rate is now 85 per cent.

When launched in 2006, the Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis (TB) set the overall plan cost at US $56 billion, the estimated funding gap being US $ 31 billion. For its first three years, the Global Plan identified the need for about US $12 billion of which countries have reported US $7.6 billion in available resources.

Global Schools Partnership

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2008, Official Report, column 284W, on Global Schools Partnership, how many of the participating schools in Wales were from each local authority in Wales. (195032)

The breakdown, by local authority, of Welsh schools participating in the DFID Global School Partnerships (DGSP) programme in the period 1 April 2005 to 29 February 2008 is as follows:

Local authority

Eligible DGSPs

Blaenau Gwent

3

Bridgend

2

Caerphilly

6

Cardiff

8

Carmarthenshire

9

Ceredigion

7

Conwy

3

Denbighshire

13

Flintshire

2

Gwynedd

6

Isle of Anglesey

9

Merthyr Tydfil

4

Newport

2

Pembrokeshire

5

Rhondda, Cynon, Taff

8

Swansea

3

The Vale of Glamorgan

2

Wrexham

10

Grand total

102

Ipsos MORI

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what payments his Department has made to Ipsos MORI in the last 24 months; and for what purposes. (194313)

The Department for International Development (DFID) has not made any payments to Ipsos MORI during the past 24 months. DFID has recently contracted Ipsos-MORI through the Central Office of Information to research issues around the attitude of the UK public to international poverty.

Overseas Aid

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken to ensure that aid given by his Department is spent on the purposes for which it was intended. (196893)

The Department for International Development (DFID) always checks three points for each aid programme:

That the funds were paid to the intended recipient;

That the funds have been used for the purposes agreed; and

That the use of the funds has been audited.

DFID checks on the use of funds by requiring recipients to provide audited financial statements and by conducting annual monitoring reviews.

DFID’s programme management is supported by regular audits by DFID’s internal audit department and the National Audit Office, both providing further evidence of the correct use of aid funds.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Commonwealth Scholarship Commission

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 13 March 2008, Official Report, columns 22-4WS, on FCO scholarships and fellowships, what assessment he has made of the rigour and transparency of selection methods for the (a) Commonwealth and (b) Chevening Scholarship schemes. (195766)

The selection process for Commonwealth scholars is both rigorous and transparent. The changes we are making to the Chevening scholarship scheme, set out in my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary’s written ministerial statement of 13 March 2008, Official Report, columns 22-24WS, will improve the consistency of the selection of Chevening scholars.

Departmental Contracts

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the (a) objective and (b) value was of each contract placed with (i) Deloitte & Touche, (ii) Ernst & Young, (iii) KPMG, (iv) PricewaterhouseCoopers and (v) PA Consulting by his Department and its agencies in each year since 2004-05. (179022)

The information requested by my hon. Friend is as follows:

Company/Objective

Value of contract (£)

For the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)

Deloitte and Touche

Advice in relation to Private Finance Initiative options for various projects

2004-05

11,300

Ernst and Young

None

KPMG

IT Strategy Development, Shared Services Banking consultancy, Efficiency Health Check

2006-07

154,429

2007-08

118,518

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Provision of Accounting and Auditing services to FCO Resource Accounts and Internal Audit Departments

2004-05

5,000

2005-06

499,377

2006-07

112,300

2007-08

300,000

PA Consulting

UK Visas Biometric consultancy, Shared Services consultancy, Commercial Partnerships Consultancy and Change Management Support

2004-05

590,579

2005-06

5,125,928

2006-07

15,737,004

2007-08

11,763,173

FCO Services (an Executive Agency of the FCO)

Deloitte and Touche

None

Ernst and Young

None

KPMG

Accountancy services in respect of a Value Added Tax Review (VAT)

2007-08

128,912

PricewaterhouseCoopers

None

PA Consulting

General Management Consultancy Services including those related to the Future Vision and Strategy/Trading Fund Programme

2004-05

193,456

2005-06

47,400

2006-07

36,008

2007-08

3,840,879

The figures in the table represent FCO and FCO Services commitments (i.e. excluding VAT) to these companies during this period and not the actual expenditure against these commitments some of which may be made in subsequent periods. These figures are based on reports produced by Prism, the FCO's financial and management information system. The amounts actually paid against these commitments may differ where VAT is applied. The contracts/services detailed reflect the key services/contracts which these commitments have covered.

These figures also only cover commitments/contracts made in the UK and exclude those made by our missions overseas, which due to currency/exchange rate issues we are not readily able to include here.

Departmental Publications

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will publish the full strategic framework document Better World, Better Britain following his letter to right hon. and hon. Members of 29 February 2008 enclosing a leaflet setting out in brief the new strategy. (196307)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: The key points of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) new strategic framework were set out in my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary’s written ministerial statement of 23 January 2008, Official Report, columns 52-53WS. Additionally, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary wrote to all hon. Members and peers, enclosing a leaflet titled: “Better World, Better Britain”, with further information about the strategic framework. Further details will be available on the FCO website (www.fco.gov.uk) from 28 March 2008 and in the forthcoming FCO departmental report.

Departmental Scholarships

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 13 March 2008, Official Report, column 23WS, on FCO scholarships and fellowships, if he will publish the review. (195650)

I will arrange for a copy of our 2006 review of the Chevening scholarship scheme to be placed in the Library of the House.

Detainees

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2007, Official Report, column 1356W, on detainees, what subsequent assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of domestic legislation and international legal instruments and (b) future discussions of the Secretary General's proposals by the Committee of Ministers following the Oral Statement on terrorist suspects (renditions) of 21 February 2008, Official Report, columns 547-59. (197029)

Officials continue to work through the details and implications of the new information received from the US on renditions through Diego Garcia. Once this work is completed we will look again at the proposals of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will continue to take account of any discussions of rendition in the Council of Europe's, Committee of Ministers and will keep UK procedures under review to ensure that they meet the standards we have set and comply with UK domestic law and our international obligations.

Kenya: Politics and Government

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the power sharing agreement in Kenya. (196343)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: We welcome the power-sharing agreement signed by President Kibaki and the Leader of the Opposition, Raila Odinga, on 28 February 2008. We join the international community in thanking Kofi Annan and his team for their outstanding efforts in brokering this deal.

But the hard work must continue. Real leadership, patience and tolerance is necessary to ensure that the agreement sticks and is implemented in full. We welcome signs that this is happening, including the constitutional reforms passed on 18 March 2008 involving creating the office of Prime Minister.

Middle East: Broadcasting

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the effects of transmissions by al-Jazeera and al-Arabiyya on public perception of the UK in the Middle East. (195622)

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office employs two Arabic spokespeople: one in London and one in Dubai, both appear regularly on Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiyya to put forward the UK’s position. They monitor and report regularly on how UK issues are covered in the Arab media.

Pakistan: Politics and Government

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the recent report funded by the British High Commission into public attitudes within the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan; and if he will make a statement. (197114)

The recently published report “Understanding FATA” examines attitudes towards governance, security, religion and the wider society within the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). It was produced by Community Appraisal and Motivation Programme, a Pakistani non-governmental organisation, and funded by the cross-departmental conflict prevention pool. It is based on independent polling and research and forms an important contribution to our developing understanding of the FATA—particularly through acknowledging and examining the opinions of the tribal people themselves. A copy will be placed in the Library of the House.

PricewaterhouseCoopers

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department paid to PricewaterhouseCoopers in each financial year since 2000. (180816)

The amounts paid to PricewaterhouseCoopers in each year were:

£

2000-01

202,364.53

2001-02

9,350.52

2002-03

0

2003-04

221,801.00

2004-05

5,875.00

2005-06

254,798.76

2006-07

384,196.97

2007-08

1297,026.02

1 To December 2007.

These figures are based on reports produced by Prism, the FCO’s financial and management information system. The above include value added tax (VAT), some of which was recoverable VAT. The figures represent Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and FCO Services payments made during this period. Payments may be made in periods following those in which contractual amounts were previously committed.

The aforementioned figures given only cover commitments/contracts made in the UK and exclude those made by our missions overseas which, due to currency/exchange rate issues, were not readily available to include here.

Russia: TNK-BP

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the police search of TNK-BP and BP-Trading Limited in Russia in March 2008. (197095)

We are aware that on 19 and 20 March, the Russian authorities conducted searches at the Moscow offices of both TNK-BP and BP. Files and computer servers were seized, and company employees were questioned. None of them were UK nationals. We are in touch with the companies and continue to monitor the situation closely. Clearly, we expect any investigations by the Russian authorities to be conducted in full transparency and in accordance with Russian law.

Sudan: Politics and Government

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will encourage the representation of Arab militias in peace talks in Darfur. (196327)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: We have made clear to the UN and African Union (AU) envoys, most recently at the international meeting they hosted in Geneva on 18 March, that we believe civil society and Arab engagement in the political process are essential for an inclusive process and a sustainable settlement.

The UK has filled five key posts in the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation, which will be the main mechanism for civil society engagement in the political process and in longer-term reconciliation and rehabilitation in Darfur. We have also committed £1 million to support the AU and UN Joint Mediation Support Team, which is currently focused on encouraging rebel movements to unify further and agree on common platforms ahead of negotiations with the Government of Sudan.

Tibet: Politics and Government

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Tibet; and if he will make a statement. (196277)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: We do not have access to all the information needed to make an accurate assessment of the humanitarian situation in Tibet. However, we remain seriously concerned about the recent events in Tibet and the surrounding region and continue to closely monitor the situation. We have asked the Chinese authorities for permission for an official, from our embassy in Beijing, to visit Tibet. We have expressed our concern to Chinese authorities both in Beijing and London and have urged them to respect fully the human rights of those detained; to avoid use of excessive force in dealing with riots; and to respect freedom of expression and religion in Tibet.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Tibet; and if he will make a statement. (196278)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: We remain very concerned about the situation in Tibet and surrounding areas, including reports of loss of life, use of force and damage to property. We understand an uneasy calm has returned to the streets of Lhasa. We continue to urge the Chinese to respect fully the human rights of those detained; to exercise maximum restraint in restoring public order; and to respect freedom of expression and religion in Tibet. We also call on the protesters, in Lhasa and elsewhere, to desist from further violence. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister spoke to Chinese Premier Wen on 19 March urging the Chinese Government to address the underlying issues by re-engaging in dialogue without preconditions with the Dalai Lama and his representatives. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary also emphasised the need for dialogue when he spoke to Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on 21 March.

Scotland

Departmental Advertising

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which of his Department’s initiatives have been advertised to the public in each of the last 10 years; and what the cost of each such campaign was. (192221)

The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999; the Office spent the following on advertising:

£

1999-2000

26,861

2000-01

270,494

2001-02

186,564

2002-03

10,390

2003-04

0

2004-05

0

2005-06

0

2006-07

17,510

Most of the expenditure in 2000-01 and 2001-02 relates to electoral registration matters. Since 2001, this has been the responsibility of the Electoral Commission.

Departmental Data Protection

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether confidential or personal information has been compromised through the loss of property from his Department since 1997. (193446)

The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Except in exceptional cases, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on breaches of security. However, following the publication of the Data Handling Procedures in Government: Interim Progress Report on 17 December 2007, Official Report, column 98WS, all Departments will cover information assurance issues in their annual reports.

Departmental Pay

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the hourly rates of pay of all non-permanent staff working for his Department were in each of the last 12 months; and how many staff were receiving each rate in each of those months. (196443)

Solicitor-General

Crime: Victims

To ask the Solicitor-General what arrangements have been put in place to improve the level of service given to victims of crime by the Crown Prosecution Service. (195737)

The Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) commitments to victims of crime are contained within the Prosecutors’ Pledge, which was launched by the Attorney-General in 2005, and the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, which was introduced in April 2006.

The CPS has made significant progress in improving victim and witness care in recent years with the introduction of initiatives such as the Direct Communication with Victims scheme, the Victim Focus Scheme and the ‘No Witness No Justice’ initiative.

Under the ‘No Witness No Justice’ initiative, the CPS, working in partnership with the police, has introduced witness care units across England and Wales. From the point of charge until the conclusion of the case, a witness care officer provides a single point of contact for the victim ensuring that information about the case and support is provided to meet the needs of individual victims and witnesses.

Prosecutions

To ask the Solicitor-General how many cases the Crown Prosecution Service has prosecuted in the last three years; in how many instances a conviction was secured; and if she will make a statement. (196256)

The following table shows the number of defendant cases prosecuted in each of the last three years and the number that resulted in a conviction. Convictions are also shown as a proportion of cases completed in each year:

2005

2006

2007

Total prosecutions

1,156,325

1,098,627

1,071,738

Convictions

946,187

914,245

907,709

Convictions as percentage

81.8

83.2

84.7

The volume of cases has fallen as crime levels have reduced and as increasing numbers of lesser offences have been dealt with by way of a fixed penalty notice, rather than court proceedings. Against this background, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has achieved effective increases in conviction rates, from 81.8 per cent. in 2005 to 84.7 per cent. in 2007.

Culture, Media and Sport

Art Works: Intellectual Property

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made in obtaining the indefinite extension of the derogation of artists’ resale rights. (191313)

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether it is his policy to obtain the indefinite extension of the derogation which limits the artists’ resale rights scheme to the work of living artists only; and if he will make a statement. (191875)

I have been asked to reply.

We are in the process of considering the evidence on the impact of artist’s resale right on the UK art market, including the derogation. We will be continuing our discussions with the Commission on this issue.

Arts: Resale Rights Scheme

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make it his policy that artists should be required to register their names at the beginning of each year on a centrally available database if they wish to exercise their right to receive payment under the artists’ resale rights scheme; and if he will make a statement. (191874)

I have been asked to reply.

An artist’s resale rights under article 1 of Directive 2001/84/EC are inalienable and cannot be waived. It would not therefore be consistent with this Directive to make payments of resale rights dependent upon whether the artist has registered with a database.

Departmental Intranet

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2008, Official Report, column 1296W, on departmental intranet, what the (a) creations and (b) amendments were referred to in the Answer. (195854)

The following table shows all changes made by staff in DCMS to pages on Wikipedia.

Page title

Diff1

Comments2

A Brighter Summer Day

138119739

Adamski

9535361

corrected spelling of Tinley

American Revolutionary War

69983408

Germany did not exist until 1870 therefore reference to ‘Germans’ amended

Amersham

18665642

Amersham

18665719

Arthur C. Clarke Award

8510343

added external links

Arthur C. Clarke Award

81027462

Aryan race

70380391

/* Nazism */

Aryan race

70380431

/* Nazism */

Baron Phillimore

95701674

Baron Phillimore

100873930

/* See also */

Battersea Park railway station

1846151

Beeston, Nottinghamshire

1714319

Beeston, Nottinghamshire

1714332

Bjorn Lomborg

7796392

/* Miscellaneous trivia */ removed non-neutral characterisation

Boots Group

1714584

British Army

6936241

/* Major Actions and Deployments */ int links

British Science Fiction Association

6358875

new page

British Science Fiction Association

6378225

added ext links and extra content

British Science Fiction Association

13711021

new internal link replacing content

Brixton

1564257

Brixton

1564315

Brixton

1564323

Brixton

1588007

Brixton Hill

2467268

First entry

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

114771126

corrected first line to past tense “was a” to match past tense later in para

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

114771191

Colin Wells

66333259

Crash (1973 novel)

6927844

added detail

Crash (1973 novel)

6927894

revised for clarity

Crash (1973 novel)

9440306

fixed int links

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

6575717

add info

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

6825899

added info

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

39568170

DJ Shadow

7245168

/* Discography */ added releases

Douglas Hurd

22621605

Ruislip-Northwood link fixed

Ellie Levenson

77184331

Flickr

25743854

/* History */

Greg Rutherford

78884909

Hackney

6977423

Hard science fiction

6776829

corrected list of authors

Hector Monro, Baron Monro of Langholm

79607877

History of South Africa in the apartheid era

66118113

HTML

8288090

Iain Banks

6773059

/* Miscellany */ correction

J. G. Ballard

6927524

/* Novels and short story collections */

J. G. Ballard

7060557

created proper bibliography

James College

71813179

Jesse Boot, 1st Baron Trent

1714567

Jesse Boot, 1st Baron Trent

1760318

Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam

142228236

John Boot

1714471

Ken MacLeod

7060613

added information on critical studies

List of science fiction authors

6932349

/*R*/

LSRfm.com

139666304

/* Station Managers */

LSRfm.com

145186572

/* Station Managers */

Mahmoud Ahmed

50240163

/* See also */

Martin Callanan

19373013

/* External link */

Martin Callanan

19576435

Michael Todd

103163022

Michael Todd

103163479

Michael Todd

103163596

Michael Todd

103163712

Michael Todd

103164630

Michael Todd

103164660

Michael Todd

103164690

Michael Todd

103165164

Michael Todd

103165648

North London Lions

106310570

/* History */

North London Lions

106312118

/* International tour matches */

North London Lions

106312315

/* History */

Nottingham Playhouse

15069764

Performance art

56299783

Performance art

56300035

PS Publishing

6932132

added 2001 history

PS Publishing

7273036

/* 2002 */

Remembrance Day

27354408

Remembrance Sunday

33833547

Remembrance Sunday

33833618

Remembrance Sunday

40874224

Remembrance Sunday

45260044

Streatham

1585677

Streatham

1585792

Streatham

1587823

Streatham (UK Parliament constituency)

15693607

/* Politics and history of the constituency */

Streatham Hill railway station

1585938

Streatham Hill railway station

1585969

Streatham Hill railway station

1585971

Streatham Hill railway station

1586038

Talk:A Brighter Summer Day

138120049

Plot spoilers removed

Talk:James Fenton/Comments

131268154

[[WPAES|]]Created page with ‘This article is VERY POOR in terms of failing to h wide-ranging intellectual interests and a concer...”

Talk:Kennington Park

83900443

Talk:Peter F. Hamilton

6942226

Talk:Transformational Government

79026089

The Fourth Horseman

69614762

/* Part 2 */

The Guardian

6941893

/* Supplements */

User talk:Mailer diablo

116804531

deletion james hulme

West Yorkshire

7062291

/* Places of interest */added categories

Wiki

8264708

Wikipedia:Sandbox

20041140

/* A new title */

Wikipedia:Sandbox/History

10826753

Wikipedia.Tutorial (Editing)/sandbox

18659308

/* This is a Headline */

Wikipedia:Tutorial (Editing)/sandbox

19772543

/* Level 2 */

1 Diff is a file comparison utility that outputs the differences between two files. The number here refers to the page change in Wikipedia. This report was created using http://wikiscanner.virgil.gr/

2 The comments here were added by the editor making the change to the page and generated in the report referred to in 1.

Departmental Video Conferencing

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will set a target to increase the use of video-conferencing by his Department to reduce the need to travel to meetings. (195873)

My Department installed a new video-conferencing system as part of the recent refurbishment of our HQ building. This system is already widely used, and we are promoting the use of video-conferencing to staff with the aim of doubling use by 2010.

Heritage Lottery Fund

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the Heritage Lottery Fund's new mentoring scheme. (194743)

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) will launch its third strategic plan in April 2008, with changes and improvements to all its grant programmes. HLF will offer a mentoring service to applicants who need extra help in developing their projects, to increase the capacity and skills of groups applying for grants and to help improve the delivery of projects.

The role of a mentor is to help the organisation and individuals leading the project to achieve the project’s aims. Mentors may give general advice on how to carry out the project, specialist advice where a project team lacks particular experience, and guidance on good practice.

Wales

Departmental Sustainable Development

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when his Department plans to publish its sustainable operations policy statement. (195892)

My Department is currently establishing a sustainable operations policy.

We already have a robust recycling programme for paper, cans, glass, plastic, cardboard and shredding. We recycled 5,913 kg from April to September 2007. We have been successful in reducing both energy and water consumption, and 100 per cent. of our electricity is supplied from renewable sources.

As soon as the policy is in place the statement will be published on our website.

Departmental Video Conferencing

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will set a target to increase the use of video-conferencing by his Department to reduce the need to travel to meetings. (195893)

The Wales Office is always looking at ways to reduce the need to travel to meetings. Staff are encouraged to use video conferencing facilities, both in London and Cardiff, for meetings whenever possible and do so on a regular basis.

Defence

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Naval ratings are being retrained to act as HGV drivers in Afghanistan. (195954)

Currently, 36 Royal Navy ratings are being trained as HGV drivers in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan with three Commando Brigade Royal Marines later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of expenditure on British military operations in Afghanistan during (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09 and (c) 2009-10. (196114)

The MOD has requested £1.649 billion from the Treasury Reserve to cover the net additional costs of operations in Afghanistan for 2007-08. The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his Budget speech that we expect to spend over £2 billion supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2008-09. The highly changeable nature of operations means that we are not able to provide an accurate forecast for Afghanistan alone nor any indication of cost for 2009-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria he uses to assess the effectiveness of spending on British military operations in Afghanistan. (196115)

The success of British military operations in Afghanistan (for which the net additional cost is funded from the Treasury Reserve), is judged against military strategic objectives set by the Chief of the Defence Staff.

Progress is reported quarterly by the relevant commander through the Department's formal performance management process (the Defence Balanced Scorecard), which includes endorsement by the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Commitments). The Balanced Scorecard is reviewed by the Defence Board. The Defence Board's conclusions are submitted to Ministers and reflected in the Department's quarterly published public service agreement (PSA) reports and in the departmental annual report and accounts.

As part of its review of Departments' SR04 PSA reporting systems, the National Audit Office concluded that the MOD's data system is fit for the purpose of measuring and reporting performance against this target and that it found no weaknesses in the quality of disclosure of Ministry of Defence public performance reports.

Armed Forces: Mental Health Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions (a) he and (b) officials from his Department have had with representatives of Global Health Partners on contracts operated by the Priory Group; and if he will make a statement. (195391)

Neither I nor officials are aware of any recent discussions with Global Health Partners on contracts operated by the Priory Group.

Cyprus: Armed Forces

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints have been received from (a) service personnel and (b) dependents of service personnel about treatment received after referral by a service doctor to hospitals in Cyprus in each of the last 10 years. (194946)

The majority of complaints received by Commander Medical BFC concerning either The Princess Mary hospital (TPMH, based at RAF Akrotiri) or one of the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) medical facilities are resolved locally and to the satisfaction of the complainant. TPMH operate a robust complaints procedure which is based on the equivalent NHS processes.

Records are available for 1999-2007 concerning treatment received in civilian medical facilities in the Republic of Cyprus. In this period there have been a total of 22 complaints (six from service personnel and 16 from dependents) recorded.

Complaints recorded as being made by service personnel

Complaints recorded as being made by dependents

1999

0

1

2000

0

1

2001

0

2

2002

0

1

2003

0

0

2004

0

1

2005

2

5

2006

2

3

2007

2

2

During the same time frame 137 complaints were made against TPMH itself (58 by service personnel and 79 by dependents):

Complaints recorded as being made by service personnel

Complaints recorded as being made by dependents

1999

5

12

2000

5

3

2001

3

7

2002

5

10

2003

10

10

2004

7

9

2005

10

14

2006

7

7

2007

6

7

The incidence of complaints made by service personnel and their dependents concerning medical care in Cyprus (both complaints against RoC medical facilities and TPMH) is broadly comparable to the incidence of complaints received by the NHS in England when allowance for the very different size of patient population is made.

Departmental Public Expenditure

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will break down, by sub-head in (a) near cash and (b) non-cash terms his Department’s (i) gross resource outturn, (ii) operating appropriations in aid outturn, (iii) gross capital outturn and (iv) non-operating appropriations in aid outturn for financial years 2001-02 to 2006-07; (191679)

(2) what his Department’s (a) gross resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL), (b) operating appropriations in aid, (c) net capital DEL and (d) non-operating appropriations in aid outturn, broken down in (i) near cash and (ii) non cash terms, was for financial years 2000-01 to 2006-07.

I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to Gerald Howarth:

I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Questions on 4 March 2008, Official Report, column 2346W and 5 March 2008, Official Report, column 2284W, with details on various aspects of Departmental Public expenditure.

Attached at Annex A are tables which provide a detailed breakdown of the Department’s outturn for 2001-02 to 2006-07, together with a breakdown of the Department’s Spring Supplementary Estimate for 2007-08.

The figures are based on the accounting regime in effect at the time that those accounts were produced. Prior to financial year 2001-02, all Departmental expenditure recorded in the Estimates and accounts was on a cash basis. This data was published in the Estimates reports and end of year Appropriations Accounts, copies of which can be found in the Library of the House. Prior to the introduction of Stage 2 Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) in Financial Year 2003-04 non-cash DEL did not exist as a budgeting aggregate. The non-cash costs were scored to Non-Cash AME.

I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many road side bomb attacks there were in Basra in each year since 2003. (195382)

[holding answer 19 March 2008]: The number of reported improvised explosive device (IED) attacks in Basra in each year since 2003 is as follows:

Total

2003

31

2004

115

2005

82

2006

169

2007

296

2008

24

Data for 2003 covers the period after 6 May 2003. The figure for 2008 is for incidents up until 14 March 2008.

These data reflect reported attacks on both military and civilian targets where IEDs have detonated. The figures can only be an estimate of the actual number of such incidents, as, for example, we can never be sure that all attacks, especially against civilian targets, have been reported.

Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency: RAF Fairford

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with the US authorities on the level of policing at RAF Fairford by the Ministry of Defence Police. (196388)

Discussions are currently taking place between officials and the US authorities on the policing arrangements for RAF Fairford. This is part of a continuing review of security at bases used by the United States visiting force. Any changes in security would not take place without mutual agreement.

Porton Down: Human Experiments

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what settlement has been reached in respect of veterans’ claims relating to participation in trials at Porton Down; what the implications of the settlement are for veterans not represented in the claims made; and if he will make a statement. (189696)

I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Substantive answer from Derek Twigg to Mark Todd:

I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 28 February 2008, Official Report, column 1808W, about compensation for Porton Down veterans.

Solicitors on behalf of Porton Down veterans issued the Ministry of Defence (MOD) with a letter of claim on 8 March 2007 for alleged illnesses arising from non-therapeutic human experimentation conducted at Porton Down. 244 veterans claiming short term illnesses and 116 claiming long term illnesses formed a Group Action. The majority of claims relate to experiments involving nerve gas, mustard gas or riot control agents.

The matter has been resolved by way of mediation at which the MOD agreed to pay a global settlement of £3 million in full and final settlement to the entire group of 360 veterans and to make an apology by way of a written ministerial statement in the House, which I did on 31 January 2008, Official Report, column 26WS. The MOD has therefore paid all known claims from Porton Down veterans.

That said we recognise that more veterans, some of whom decided against joining the Group Action, might come forward. This is despite being assured by the Claimants’ solicitors that the Group Action had been publicised and that those who remained in the group had been carefully selected on the basis that each had a meritorious claim for personal injury said to have been caused by exposure to a specific chemical warfare or treatment agent which was supported by expert evidence. I should make clear that the MOD did not compensate individuals for mere attendance at Porton Down.

Against this background, the MOD has decided that it will consider any additional meritorious claims that are made on or before 30 June 2008; after that date, the MOD reserves the right to plead a defence based on the provisions of the Limitation Act 1980.

Any veteran now considering pursuing a claim for compensation might wish seek advice to establish whether they have a reasonable claim against the Department. One option would be to contact the solicitors involved in the Group Action who have considerable experience already in handling such cases. They are:

Leigh Day & Co.

Solicitors

Priory House

25 St. Johns Lane

London

EC1M 4LB

or

Thompson Snell & Passmore

3 Lonsdale Gardens

Tunbridge Wells

Kent

TN1 1NX

Duchy of Lancaster

Adventure Capital Fund: Contracts

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what criteria his Department used in the process which resulted in Adventure Capital Fund being awarded a contract to distribute grant funding; and if he will make a statement. (196228)

The criteria used to determine the new fund manager for the Futurebuilders programme were:

quality and efficiency of service;

quality of bidding organisation or consortium;

engagement with the Government's aims for the third sector; and

price.

The Cabinet Office used the European Union model known as the “competitive dialogue” process, which allowed the Cabinet Office to discuss its needs and requirements with a pool of potential bidders with the aim of selecting one or more solutions capable of meeting its needs.

The Adventure Capital Fund (ACF) submitted the tender that best met the set criteria for the re-tender and offered best value.

Futurebuilders England: Contracts

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster for what reasons his Department's contract with Futurebuilders England for the distribution of grant funding was not renewed. (196227)

The tripartite agreement between Cabinet Office, Futurebuilders England and Charity Bank expires on 31 March 2008. In recognition of its success to date, Ministers have decided to continue the programme into a second phase. The second phase of the programme will see the arrangement moving to a bipartite structure, between the Cabinet Office and the fund manager. Under new procurement rules, this required a new tender process. Following this process Cabinet Office have appointed the successful bidder to run the fund from April 2008 to April 2011.

Transport

Aviation: Exhaust Emissions

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what methodology for assigning international aviation emissions to the national emission inventories the Government are advocating in the international negotiations for a post-2012 framework to tackle climate change. (195034)

I have been asked to reply.

DEFRA commissioned a study, published in 2006, which examined what the different allocation methodologies proposed by the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body on Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA) would mean to greenhouse gas inventories (UK and all others). No judgement was made on which methodology the UK advocated.

The inventory includes domestic aviation and international aviation as a memo item (using bunker fuel sales to estimate the GHG emission). A recent workshop in Oslo looked at methodological issues with regards to the climate change impact of aviation—it was concluded that whilst it is technically feasible to include international aviation in a post-2012 agreement, there is a political barrier to this at present.

We continue to work with EU and international partners to seek a way through the current political impasse, and very much hope to see it included in future frameworks for tackling climate change.

Departmental Data Protection

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many confirmed security breaches of databases controlled by her Department occurred in each of the last five years; whether the breach resulted from internal or external sources in each case; how many records were compromised on each occasion; and what estimate was made of the total number of records accessible to the individuals concerned. (173688)

Except in exceptional cases, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on breaches of security. However, following the publication of the “Data Handling Procedures in Government: Interim Progress Report” on 17 December 2007, Official Report, column 98WS, all Departments will cover information assurance in their annual reports.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what mechanisms the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency uses to check the bona fides of private parking control companies before releasing personal data relating to vehicle owners and operators to them; what steps the Agency takes to assess the uses to which such data is put by such companies; and if she will make a statement. (175771)

[holding answer 7 January 2008]: In the Secretary of State for Transport's statement to Parliament on 17 December she outlined measures to improve the security of personal data in the context of the Cabinet Secretary's review of data across Government.

She also advised that, to ensure greater clarity of responsibility, the Permanent Secretary has written to senior officials in the Department, including Agency Chief Executives, drawing their attention to current guidance on the application of the Data Protection Act 1998. This includes the main principles of the Act, information on handling personal data appropriately and the role of the Information Commissioner.

New measures for companies requesting information manually were introduced on 1 November 2006, following the review of the release of information from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's (DVLA) records announced by the then Minister of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for South Thanet (Dr. Ladyman). The use of company headed paper has been replaced by the introduction of two new forms—V888/2 and V888/3. All applications must be supported with a business resume outlining details of the company's operations and provide details of why they want the information and how it will be used, as well as evidence to corroborate their request.

Car park enforcement companies have to confirm that a parking charge scheme is in operation, and provide evidence that they are operating on the instruction of the landowner. All forms contain a note that reminds applicants that it is a criminal offence under Section 55 of the DPA to falsely obtain personal information.

Companies that request and receive data via a secure electronic link do so under strict contractual terms and must firstly complete a six-month probationary period making manual requests, during which time their behaviour in the use of the information is monitored. The level and nature of any complaints is taken into account before an electronic link is established. Since 1 October 2007, all organisations that do not have a statutory regulator are required to be a member of a DVLA Accredited Trade Association (ATA).

An ATA must have a clear, enforceable code of practice (COP) governing the conduct and business practices of their members and will publish that COP on their website, along with a list of their members. ATAs that fail to enforce their COP will lose their accreditation and their members will forfeit their entitlement to request and receive DVLA data electronically.

The Agency has the right to carry out ad-hoc audits on companies to ensure that inquiries are appropriate. Any evidence of abuse will be referred to the Information Commissioner for investigation and, when appropriate, prosecution.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport under what circumstances the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency may release details of vehicle ownership to private companies; and if she will make a statement. (174659)

In the Secretary of State for Transport's statement to Parliament on 17 December, she outlined measures to improve the security of personal data in the context of the Cabinet Secretary’s review of data across Government.

She also advised that, to ensure greater clarity of responsibility, the Permanent Secretary had written to senior officials in the Department, including Agency Chief Executives, to draw their attention to current guidance on the application of the Data Protection Act. This includes the main principles of the Act, information on handling personal data appropriately and the role of the Information Commissioner.

Regulation 27(1)(e) of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 requires the DVLA to release information to any person who can demonstrate ‘reasonable cause’ to have that information.

The term ‘reasonable cause’ is not defined in legislation but the DVLA has always taken the view that release should normally be associated with road safety or events occurring as a direct consequence of the use of the vehicle. Everybody that applies for personal information is required to produce evidence that they have ‘reasonable cause’ for requesting the information.

A full list of the circumstances that the DVLA has, in the past, considered to meet ‘reasonable cause’ has been published on the DVLA and Direct.gov websites. The website also contains a list of bodies that it has released information to and the names of companies that have approved conditional access (ACA) which allows companies to request and receive information via an electronic link.

Heathrow Airport

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many responses have been received to the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport consultation; and how many of these were from (a) individuals, (b) organisations and (c) groups of individuals. (196311)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: The ‘Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport’ consultation ended on 27 February. We are not yet in a position to provide data on the numbers of responses received or provide any breakdowns.

M1: Bedfordshire

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration (a) her Department and (b) its agencies have given to widening the M1 between junctions 10 and 13; what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of such motorway widening; and when she expects such work on widening to commence. (194005)

A scheme to widen the M1 between junctions 10 and 13 is currently being prepared by the Highways Agency. Following the publication of the Advanced Motorway Signalling and Traffic Management Feasibility Study on 4 March 2008 we have also asked the Agency to examine whether active traffic management with hard shoulder running might be a cost effective alternative to widening on some sections. The scheme cost and the timetable for works to commence are dependent on the option that we decide to take forward.

M1: M62

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what her policy is on widening parts of the M62; what research her Department and its agencies have commissioned on M1/M62 widening and improvements in the last three years; what estimate she has made of the cost of such widening and improvements; and when she expects work to commence on the outstanding sections of the M1/M62 widening and improvements package. (194015)

It is our policy to provide targeted improvements on seriously congested sections of the road network, subject to schemes offering value for money and being affordable. The Highways Agency has carried out detailed investigations over the last three years into options for increasing capacity on the M62 between junctions 25 and 28 and on the M1 between junctions 30 and 42. A scheme to widen the M1 between junctions 31 and 32 was opened to traffic in December 2007 and fully complete in February 2008.

In light of the results of the Advanced Motorway Signalling and Traffic Management Feasibility Study published on 4 March, the Highways Agency will be examining whether Active Traffic Management including hard shoulder running would provide a cost effective means of providing additional capacity on the other sections. The scheme cost and delivery timetable are dependent on the options that we decide to take forward for each section.

M6: East Midlands

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what estimate she has made of the cost of widening the M6 between junctions 11a and 19; when she expects such work to commence; and whether plans for such widening include (a) a stretch of four-laned motorway through the East Midlands, (b) climbing lanes for lorries and (c) junction improvements; (194006)

(2) what progress has been made on the widening of the M6 between Manchester and Birmingham; and what account she has taken of the potential for hard shoulder running in developing those proposals;

(3) what steps she is taking on the widening of the M6 between junctions 11a and 19.

The Highways Agency has been preparing proposals for widening the M6 between junctions 11a and 19. However, in light of the findings of the Advanced Motorway Signalling and Traffic Management Feasibility Study published on 4 March, the Agency will carry out a detailed assessment of whether Active Traffic Management, including hard shoulder running, would be a more cost effective method of adding capacity than widening on sections of the M6 between junctions 11a and 19. The assessment will also include examination of the case for climbing lanes and junction improvements. The cost and delivery timetable for these improvements are dependent on the option selected. This section of the M6 does not run through the East Midlands.

Motor Vehicles

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she plans to publish the report of the study of longer, heavier road vehicles commissioned by her Department in December 2005; and if she will make a statement. (195930)

The study was actually commissioned in October 2006. We expect the report to be published shortly.

Motorcycles: Safety Measures

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of measures for improving the safety of motorcycle users established in the Government’s motorcycling strategy; and if she will make a statement. (196081)

The Government’s motorcycling strategy includes a wide range of actions. We regularly keep each of these under review, working with motorcycling industry and user groups through the National Motorcycle Council and its four sub-groups.

Railways

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the (a) cost and (b) time required to complete high speed rail links from London to (i) Birmingham, (ii) Manchester and (iii) Scotland. (195176)

[holding answer 19 March 2008]: In developing the July 2007 Rail White Paper, the Department for Transport commissioned work on various inter-urban capacity options. One element of this work suggested a high-speed line between London and Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow might cost £29 billion. It should be noted that, informed by this and other work, the White Paper made clear that a new line was not necessary in the period 2009-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what her policy is on committing to (a) network wide electrification, (b) a high speed line and (c) other all or nothing projects. (195642)

[holding answer 20 March 2008]: Electrification and new rail lines are not necessarily ‘all or nothing’ projects. We are beginning work with the rail industry to re-examine the long-term cases for electrification and new lines. Options identified may include incremental solutions such as electrifying short stretches of line where there is a strong argument in favour of doing so.

Railways: Consultants

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on consultants for work on high speed rail links from London to Birmingham, Manchester and Scotland in each of the last five years. (195182)

[holding answer 19 March 2008]: In developing the July 2007 Rail White Paper, the Department for transport commissioned work on various inter-urban capacity options.

In the year preceding the July 2007 Rail White Paper, work on the potential for new lines amounted to around £250,000. No substantial sums were spent by the Department in previous years.

Railways: Standards

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many delay minutes there were on the railway network in each year since 1993 for which (a) Railtrack and Network Rail and (b) a train operating company was responsible; and what the equivalent figures were for the most recent month for which data are available. (195976)

[holding answer 20 March 2008]: The Department for Transport holds the data requested only from 2005-06 when it took over responsibility for rail passenger franchises. These figures relate to delays caused to franchised passenger services, and are:

mins

2005-06

2006-07

(a) Network Rail

8,256,000

8,251,000

(b) Train operating companies

7,379,000

6,304,000

Total

15,635,000

14,555,000

The most recently available equivalent data (for the year ending 2 February 2008) is given in the following table.

(mins)

(a) Network Rail

7,689,000

(b) Train operating companies

5,506,000

Total

13,195,000

To seek historic data prior to 2005-06, the hon. Member is advised to contact Network Rail at the following address.

Chief Executive

Network Rail

40 Melton Street

London

NW1 2EE

Roads: Tolls

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons the amendments to the Road User Charging (Charges and Penalty) (London) Regulations due for completion by the end of 2007 have not yet been made. (196346)

The Department for Transport (DfT) expects to have the necessary resources available to complete consultation on the amendments to the road user charging regulations ready for implementation in 2009.

Treasury

Departmental Data Protection

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what occasions officials of (a) his Department and (b) HM Revenue and Customs were (i) disciplined and (ii) dismissed for (A) alleged breaches of data protection requirements and (B) inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data, broken down by (1) grade, (2) sex and (3) age in each of the last five years for which information is available. (169431)

Devolution: Finance

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) amount and (b) purpose of payments made to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland outside (i) block grants calculated under the Barnett formula and (ii) main departmental programmes in annually managed expenditure was in each year since 1997. (195803)

Figures for departmental expenditure limits and departmental annually managed expenditure for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are published in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses. Changes in DEL are determined as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy. Forecasts of annually managed spending are updated in the Budget and pre-Budget report in the normal way. Details of specific settlements for the devolved Administrations are set out in the relevant spending review White Paper. The devolved Administrations’ spending plans are set out in their own budget publications.

Income: Equality

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2008, Official Report, column 112W, on income: equality, what assessment he has made of trends in (a) national prosperity and (b) household income inequality in (i) England, (ii) the North East, (iii) Tees Valley district and (iv) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency. (195564)

The ONS publishes measures of regional gross value added (GVA) per head in current prices in the regional accounts publication. The lowest regional level available is the NUTS3 level (unitary authorities or districts). The published data show a significant increase in GVA per head in England, North East and Tees Valley since 1997. There are no published data for Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland as they are below the NUTS3 level.

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=7359

Currently there are no available statistics of household income inequality at regional level. Data at UK level are published by the DWP in “Households Below Average Income” and by the ONS in “The Effects of Taxes and Benefits on Household Income”. Available statistics show that the inequality at UK level has been stable since 1997.

Public Expenditure

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of Government spending per capita was in each of the last 10 years. (196461)

Total managed expenditure per head (total UK population) from 1997-98 to 2006-07 is provided in the following table:

Financial year

Total managed expenditure divided by UK population (£)

1997-98

5,521

1998-99

5,657

1999-2000

5,843

2000-01

6,183

2001-02

6,582

2002-03

7,097

2003-04

7,648

2004-05

8,232

2005-06

8,703

2006-07

9,074

Restricted Share Awards

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on the payment of bonuses through restricted share awards. (196286)

It is for employers to decide how and how much their employees are paid in the light of what is necessary to recruit, retain and motivate labour in the market conditions in which they operate. Government policy is to ensure that all employers and employees pay the proper amount of tax and national insurance contributions on these rewards of employment, however these rewards are delivered.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will reconsider again at whether Stamp Duty/Land Tax (SDLT) should be charged on shared equity properties for first time buyers when they reach the thresholds for SDLT because of changes to house prices especially, in southern England. (196295)

Stamp duty rates and thresholds, like all other taxes, are kept under review as part of the Budget process.

Taxation: Social Security Benefits

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's policy on the taxation of social security benefits is. (196873)

Social security benefits are taxable when they are paid as a substitute for earned income. Income related social security benefits, child allowances and disability allowances are generally not taxable.

VAT: Repayments

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average time taken by HM Revenue and Customs to process a value added tax refund was in each of the last five years. (196265)

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is committed to paying correct repayment claims without undue delay. It does not keep figures on average processing times, but operates to a published target to authorise at least 90 per cent. of correct repayment returns within 10 working days of their receipt. At the same time, HMRC makes clear to businesses that it will carry out checks and apply safeguards to ensure that claims are legitimate and accurate. In each of the past five years the target has been met.

Young People

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) men and (b) women in the age groups (i) 15 to 19 years and (ii) 20 to 24 years there were in the UK in each year since 1991. (196824)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 26 March 2006:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question on how many (a) men and (b) women in the age groups (i) 15 to 19 years and (ii) 20 to 24 years there were in the UK in each year since 1991. (196824)

The latest available population estimates are for mid-2006. The attached table shows the figures requested:

Mid-year population estimates: United Kingdom; estimated resident population at ages 15 to 19 and 20 to 24 by sex, 1991 to 2006

Thousand

Male

Female

15 to 19

20 to 24

15 to 19

20 to 24

1991

1,905

2,242

1,815

2,207

1992

1,802

2,193

1,729

2,157

1993

1,733

2,135

1,672

2,097

1994

1,721

2,053

1,666

2,021

1995

1,737

1,979

1,687

1,951

1996

1,763

1,889

1,716

1,863

1997

1,799

1,800

1,752

1,780

1998

1,829

1,741

1,780

1,729

1999

1,839

1,737

1,786

1,727

2000

1,850

1,757

1,783

1,750

2001

1,879

1,792

1,799

1,790

2002

1,935

1,823

1,822

1,820

2003

1,989

1,866

1,867

1,851

2004

2,018

1,935

1,903

1,882

2005

2,030

2,000

1,927

1,929

2006

2,060

2,048

1,936

1,976

Sources:

Office for National Statistics, General Register Office for Scotland and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

Work and Pensions

Child Support Agency: Payments

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals received consolatory payments from (a) his Department, (b) the Child Support Agency, (c) Jobcentre or Jobcentre Plus, (d) the Disability and Carers Service, (e) the Pension Service, (f) the Rent Service and (g) the Debt Management Service in each year since 1997; what the average value of payments made in each year was; and how much was paid in consolatory payments in each year in each case. (185931)

The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the tables.

Consolatory payments made by DWP

Total value of payments (rounded to nearest £000)

Number of individual awards made1

2006-07

850,000

11,389

2005-06

822,000

11,435

2004-05

752,000

10,946

2003-04

557,000

7,248

2002-03

773,000

9,725

2001-02

835,000

9,811

2000-01

758,000

7,553

1999-2000

575,000

5,211

1998-99

664,000

4,645

Consolatory payments made by DWP agencies

Total value of payments (rounded to nearest £000)

Number of individual awards made1

2006-07

TPS

43,000

509

JCP

109,000

1265

DCS

25,000

272

CSA

666,000

9,194

2005-06

TPS

38,000

414

JCP

125,000

1,294

DCS

35,000

323

CSA

608,000

9,208

2004-05

TPS

38,000

511

JCP

96,000

993

DCS

29,000

322

CSA

582,000

8,998

2003-04

TPS

23,000

304

JCP

90,000

932

DCS

24,000

289

CSA

407,000

5,561

2002-03

TPS

14,000

150

JCP

60,000

667

DCS

33,000

377

CSA

661,000

8,443

2001-02

BA

83,000

849

CSA

696,000

8,320

2000-01

BA

72,000

737

CSA

654,000

6,336

1999-2000

BA

82,000

682

CSA

485,000

4,469

1998-99

BA

80,000

300

CSA

565,000

4,235

1 Notes:

1. The Department has three main categories of consolatory payments. Where a person is found to have suffered gross inconvenience, embarrassment or severe distress as a result of maladministration a consolatory payment is made. Each case is judged on its individual merits and an award is made, as applicable, for each of these categories.

2. The Department does not retain details of the number of individuals who receive consolatory payments. Records are retained of the number of awards made under each of the above categories. Where, for example, a customer receives an initial award based on an early examination of a complaint he may later receive additional awards as a result of further investigation or under one of the other categories. The number of awards made therefore exceeds the number of individuals concerned.

3. The first table shows the entire sum awarded as consolatory payments by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and its predecessor, the Department of Social Security (DSS). The figures include those paid by agencies that were part of the Department at the relevant time.

4. The Pension Service, Jobcentre Plus and the Disability and Carers Service were formed in 2002, prior to this they were part of the Benefits Agency (BA).

5. Debt Management is not an Executive agency of DWP. A consolatory payment awarded because of maladministration by Debt Management is awarded by Jobcentre Plus.

6. The Rent Service (TRS) was formed in October 1999 as an Executive agency of the Department of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. TRS became an executive agency of the Department for Work and Pensions in June 2001. The Rent Service has not made any consolatory payments.

Departmental Disclosure of Information

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action has been taken in response to allegations of a breach of the Civil Service Code in respect of unauthorised publication of material on the internet by a member of his Department; what the cost to the public purse of this action has been; what the results were; and if he will make a statement. (196178)

The Department takes any allegation of a breach of the civil service code seriously. It would be inappropriate to comment on any investigation or disciplinary procedure.

Departmental ICT

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) mobile telephones, (b) personal digital assistants and (c) laptop computers issued to departmental staff were reported (i) lost, (ii) missing and (iii) stolen in each year since 2001. (184318)

The following table shows the numbers of (a) mobile telephones (b) personal digital assistants (PDAs), and (c) laptop computers which were issued to departmental staff and were reported as stolen, lost, or missing (presumed to be stolen) since 2001, together with the average number of staff in each year. The records do not differentiate between those items which were reported as lost, stolen or missing, respectively.

Total number of staff

Mobile phones

PDAs

Laptops

2001

186,806

1

0

23

2002

124,117

3

0

42

2003

131,409

30

0

42

2004

130,786

34

1

75

2005

126,988

31

0

46

2006

119,972

15

0

28

2007

114,500

14

19

15

1 Figure relates to the former Department of Social Security only.

Employment: Rural Areas

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the proposals contained in the Green Paper, In Work Better Off: Next steps to full employment on rural communities; by what process such an assessment was reached; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that rural communities receive in equitable benefit from the implementation of any proposals arising out of the Green Paper. (192824)

Most Department of Work and Pensions policies and programmes are aimed at individuals, with eligibility dependent on personal circumstances rather than where they live. This means that even without specific targeting the help provided by the Department is concentrated in areas facing labour market disadvantage. Over the last ten years, the biggest labour market improvements have been in the areas that started in the worst position.

In addition to national programmes there is also a range of locally flexible support, such as the Jobcentre Plus Adviser Discretion Fund, the Deprived Areas Fund and the new Working Neighbourhoods Fund.

When determining how to deliver its services, Jobcentre Plus also considers the implications for rural and other areas. For example, support is provided not only through the Jobcentre network but also by telephone through the Contact Centre and Benefit Delivery Centre network as well as the internet. This allows all customers to access key services regardless of where they live. Where there are issues about the ability of customers to access Jobcentre Plus support, provision can be made for additional or more flexible arrangements. These include the installation of jobpoints in libraries, surgeries in third party premises, partnering in local authority outlets and, where practical, some mobile services.

Taken together, the Department's approach helps to ensure that individuals in deprived communities across the country are able to get the help and support they need to move back into work. However, our new generation of employment programmes, including Pathways to Work and the flexible New Deal, will offer further scope for provision to be tailored to the needs of individuals in different geographical locations and those facing particular labour market challenges.

On 13 December 2007, we published ‘Ready for work: full employment in our generation’ which sets out the measures the Government will take to reach the goals of an 80 per cent. employment rate and working people with world class skills. The paper responds to the ‘In work, better off’ consultation exercise which ran from July to October 2007. A full assessment of the effects of those measures will be carried out as part of post-implementation evaluation.

A key feature of the measures is the need to provide more flexible, responsive and individually focused employment and skills support. For example, by extending our use of private and voluntary sector organisations we will be making use of their knowledge of the challenges faced by particular groups or localities. They will be able to provide the right kind of support to individuals based on their particular circumstances, which could include issues related to where they live. Each contract will be evaluated as to its effectiveness throughout the duration of that contract.

Hearing Impaired

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what provision is made for deaf people to access services provided by his Department through call centres. (194953)

Deaf people can use the typetalk service or our separate textphone numbers to access all our call centres.

Housing Benefit

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance is issued by his Department to local authorities on issuing discretionary housing payments to (a) all those in receipt of housing benefit and (b) those in receipt of the single room rent. (190307)

Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) can be made, subject to an annual cash limit, where a person is entitled to housing benefit or council tax benefit and the local authority considers that person is in need of further financial help to meet any shortfall in their housing costs or council tax. The scheme is discretionary so it is up to local authorities to decide how they operate it, with any decisions on its use being made on a case-by-case basis.

DWP cannot prescribe the circumstances in which an authority must make payments, but guidance has been issued to all local authorities setting out the conditions for entitlement to an award. In deciding whether to award a DHP local authorities should consider the circumstances that give rise to a shortfall.

In our revised guidance, due to be published shortly, we make it clear that a DHP can cover a shortfall resulting from rent officer restrictions such as the single room rent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the outcome was of his Department’s review of the operation of the single room rent; (190332)

(2) what his estimate is of the quantity of accommodation that meets the criteria for eligibility for the single room rent.

The Department’s recent review examined the shortfalls faced by many single room rent (SRR) claimants and considered why the majority of this group do not live in shared accommodation. Three aspects were examined—affordability, accessibility and availability of shared accommodation.

On affordability we found that there are gaps in the market evidence on which the Rent Service set SRR rates and this may impact on affordability. However, changes to the way the Rent Service gathers market evidence brought about by the introduction of the local housing allowance (LHA) from April 2008, and a change in the SRR definition, should overcome the current evidence gaps and lead to an increase in SRR rates.

On availability we found that some areas of the country, particularly rural areas, appear to have a shortage of shared accommodation that falls within the definition currently used for the SRR. However, the introduction of the national LHA will address some of these issues through the move to a median LHA rate and the new Shared Room Rate. The latter covers a wider definition of shared accommodation than under the current SRR and will better reflect the range of accommodation available to tenants.

The findings on accessibility from academic research and some anecdotal evidence suggest that young people and housing benefit tenants are unpopular with landlords in the private rented sector which may restrict SRR customers’ access to shared accommodation.

The Department plans to make an initial assessment of the impact of the rollout of the LHA on the SRR as part of the two year review of the LHA.

There are no data available to provide an accurate estimate of the quantity of accommodation that matches the definition of the SRR.

Industrial Health and Safety

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what resources his Department has made available for (a) enforcement and (b) advice and guidance on health and safety at work in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. (188365)

The annual gross expenditure for 2002-03 to 2006-07 on enforcement (including investigations) and advice and guidance on health and safety at work by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which is sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions, is provided in the following table.

HSE's gross expenditure1

£ million

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

Enforcement and Investigation2

39.9

40.2

38.8

41.4

51.0

Advice and Guidance3

18.1

21.7

21.8

34.2

33.7

1 To allow comparison across the years, the figures have been adjusted for years 2002-03 to 2004-05 to exclude HSE's Rail Safety function which transferred to the Office of Rail Regulation on 1 April 2006.

2 HSE measures the cost of enforcement from the point at which it decides to proceed with legal sanctions and the cost depends on a range of factors, many of which are not in HSE's control, e.g. whether a prosecution is defended. HSE investigates those incidents reported to it that fall within the Health and Safety Commission's incident selection criteria and this is one of the main activities from which enforcement is initiated and the costs are included in the table. Figures are based on historical work recording data from HSE's Field Operations Directorate, Hazardous Installations Directorate and Nuclear Directorate; and its Corporate Science and Analytical Services Directorate and Health and Safety Laboratory's expenditure in support of enforcement activities.

3 Advice and guidance includes that given by inspectors in Field Operations Directorate. Also included are resources that HSE spends on providing information e.g. through campaigns, guidance through publications, staff in other directorates and its Infoline service.

Industrial Training: Standards

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints his Department has received about the suitability of placements offered to people by Skills Training UK in the last 12 months. (195021)

My Department is not aware of any complaints in the last 12 months about the suitability of placements offered by Skills Training UK.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the (a) safety, (b) suitability and (c) value of placements offered to people by Skills Training UK; and if he will make a statement. (195022)

All welfare to work contractors, including Skills Training UK, are required to meet the quality and delivery standards set out in the contract specification, and are subject to contract management and monitoring by professional and trained procurement staff, in addition to any Ofsted inspection and audit.

The Department's contract management and supplier relationship processes aim to ensure that corrective measures are introduced if the provider does not achieve the level and standard of performance required. This includes the suitability and value of placements and contractual compliance issues, such as the safety of trainees during their placement.

Low Incomes: Children

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of (a) children and (b) pensioners lived in households with below 60 per cent. of median household income in (i) England, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Wales and (iv) each region of England, (A) before and (B) after housing costs and (1) including and (2) excluding the self-employed in each year from 1999 to 2000. (195390)

Maternity Benefits

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed maternity allowance in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. (192892)

Information is not available in the format requested. Information is not available prior to 2003. The available information is in the table.

Maternity allowance, new claim commencements in Great Britain

Number

2003-04

47,100

2004-05

50,300

2005-06

55,300

2006-07

51,000

Note:

Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.

Source:

DWP Maternity Allowance Quarterly Statistics

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people had claimed maternity allowance but had yet to receive payments as of 28 February 2008; and if he will make a statement; (192893)

(2) what the average length of time was between the point at which an individual claimed maternity allowance and the start date of their payment in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 26 March 2008:

The Secretary of State has asked me to reply direct to your questions asking how many people had claimed maternity allowance but had yet to receive payments as of 28 February; and what the average length of time was between the time an individual claimed maternity allowance and the start date of their payment in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. This is something that falls within my responsibilities as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.

As of 28 February we have 6,233 maternity allowance claims outstanding. We aim to clear maternity allowance claims within 20 days. We clear on average 350 claims per day, so this outstanding figure equates to 18 days of work, which is below the normal stock of work.

From March 2007 to February 2008 we received 89,626 maternity allowance claims and have cleared 86,563. The yearly average of cleared claims is 18.16 days to the end of February.

I hope this is helpful.

Personal Income

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average income was of the (a) top and (b) bottom quartile of households with dependent children in each year since 1997. (173891)

The information is in the following table.

Average (median) weekly equivalised incomes of the top and bottom quartile of households with dependent children since 1997

£

Before housing costs

After housing costs

Bottom quartile

Top quartile

Bottom quartile

Top quartile

1996-97

155

512

103

412

1997-98

157

520

105

419

1998-99

160

535

108

433

1999-2000

166

538

112

443

2000-01

174

562

118

466

2001-02

183

589

128

485

2002-03

185

584

130

493

2003-04

187

599

132

506

2004-05

191

596

135

510

2005-06

191

606

134

524

Notes:

1. The information shown is for the United Kingdom from 2002-03 onwards. Earlier years are Great Britain only.

2. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication ‘Households Below Average Income’ (HBAI) series, which uses disposable household income, equivalised for household size and composition, as a proxy for standard of living.

3. Median incomes within the relevant quartiles have been presented. We have used median rather than mean as a measure of average incomes within the quartile. This is in line with the HBAI publication, where medians are used because the mean will be heavily influenced by the small number of households having very high or very low incomes.

4. Figures have been presented on both a before housing cost and an after housing cost basis. For before housing cost, housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, structural insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are not deducted from income, while for after housing cost they are. This means that after housing cost incomes will generally be lower than before housing cost.

5. Amounts in the tables have been rounded to the nearest pound sterling.

Source:

Family Resources Survey, 2005-06

The figures show that households with dependent children in the lowest quartile and highest quartile of incomes have both seen their incomes grow over the last decade. Those families with dependent children in the lowest quartile have seen their incomes grow by a greater extent than those in the highest quartile.

Social Security Benefits: Ireland

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2008, Official Report, column 1388W, on social security benefits: Ireland, whether discussions took place on the time migrants have to be resident before claiming benefit in the meetings referred to. (190910)

[holding answer 29 February 2008]: The meetings referred to in the answer of 26 February 2008 to question 186429 were to discuss measures to prevent benefit fraud. No discussions took place at those meetings on the time migrants have to be resident before claiming benefits.

Social Security Benefits: Overpayments

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost of incorrect benefit payments was, excluding those payments resulting from fraud, in each of the last 10 years. (189296)

Reliable estimates regarding the total cost of incorrect benefit payments are not available from 1997-98 to 1999-2000. The available information is in the following table.

Estimated cost of incorrect benefit payments (not including fraud)

£ billion

Cost of incorrect payments

Total amount of benefit paid

Customer error

Official error

2000-01

101.3

0.7

0.4

2001-02

106.6

0.7

0.4

2002-03

110.2

0.6

0.6

2003-04

105.7

0.7

0.8

2004-05

111.1

0.9

0.9

2005-06

115.8

1.0

0.9

2006-07

119.1

1.0

0.9

We have had great success in reducing benefit fraud, and we are now applying the same drive and determination to reduce the level of overpayments caused by error in the benefit system. We have:

established a task force to reduce official error in the benefits most vulnerable to error;

launched the first ever long term error reduction strategy which addresses both official and customer error across the whole benefits system;

created a Benefit Simplification Unit to direct our work on reducing complexity in the benefit system.

Sunbeds

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many instances of burning from sunbed use have been reported to the Health and Safety Executive since January 2006. (195373)

Winter Fuel Payments

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under what circumstances a retrospective claim for a winter fuel payment may be made. (195568)

The vast majority of winter fuel payments are made automatically without the need for a claim. However a small number of people who are not in receipt of a benefit administered by DWP or who have not received a payment before need to make a claim.

For people who need to claim, claim forms are available from July for the oncoming winter and can be submitted up to the 30 March cut off date the following year. Payment cannot be made for claims received after the cut off date.

Winter Fuel Payments: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent estimate is of the cost to the public purse of extending winter fuel payments to all those eligible for the cold weather payment. (195438)

Approximately £320 million a year.

Notes:

1. Cold weather payment caseload extracted from Work and Pensions Longitudinal Survey, 100 percent data.

2. Cold weather payments to people under age 60 are made to those awarded income support or income based jobseeker's allowance who have a disability premium or a child under age five. The caseload for these benefits can go up or down from month to month. This estimate is based on those meeting the cold weather payment eligibility as at May 2006.

3. This estimate is based upon the assumption that individuals now eligible for a winter fuel payment under the cold weather criteria do not live in the same household as any other individual eligible for a WFP (therefore they are awarded the full winter fuel payment).

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Climate Change: Population

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consideration his Department has made of the effects of global population growth on climate change. (195742)

DEFRA ensures that UK greenhouse gas emissions projections include the impact of predicted population growth.

Global emissions scenarios contained in the IPCC Third and Fourth Assessment Reports take into account global population growth when predicting future greenhouse gas emissions.

Crops: Biofuels

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effects the production of biofuels has had on the production of food crops. (196199)

The impact in the EU has been very limited as less than 2 per cent. of total cereal consumption will be used for biofuels this year. The current high level of cereal prices is mainly due to a mix of short and long term factors as set out in the DEFRA briefing note “Implications of rising agricultural commodity prices” available on the DEFRA website.

The Government are very eager to ensure that biofuel production is sustainable, and has commissioned Professor Ed Gallagher, chairman of the Renewable Fuels Agency, to lead a study on the wider economic and environmental impacts, including the impact on food prices, of different forms of biofuel production. The terms of reference for the review were published on the Department for Transport’s website on 13 March.

Energy: Housing

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment he has made of the effects the provisions of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 on the energy efficiency of (a) local authority housing stock and (b) privately rented homes; (195659)

(2) what changes the operation of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 has produced in levels of carbon dioxide emissions from residential housing stock;

(3) what estimate he has made of the changes in residential accommodation energy efficiency which have resulted from the provisions of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995;

(4) what estimate he has made of the tonnage change in carbon dioxide emissions as a result of the implementation of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995;

(5) what estimate he has made of the terawatt hour energy savings resulting from the implementation of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995;

(6) what assessment he has made of changes to levels of energy efficiency within residential accommodation as a result of the operation of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995.

The Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 requires local authorities with housing responsibility to prepare a strategy for improving energy efficiency within residential accommodation in their areas and report annually on progress. Since 1996, authorities have reported an average total improvement of approximately 19 per cent. to 31 March 2006. Results for the period up to 31 March 2007 will be published shortly.

A number of programmes are likely to have contributed to this improvement in energy efficiency, particularly the Energy Efficiency Commitment, Warm Front and Decent Homes. It is important to note that Home Energy Conservation Act strategies and monitoring techniques differ, and that the figures reported have not been independently verified.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent efficiency directions have been issued to authorities that have not met the targets resulting from the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995. (195681)

The Sustainable Energy Act 2003 provides a power for the Secretary of State to issue an Energy Efficiency Direction to local authorities. This power has not been exercised.

The Government’s policy to support and incentivise increased local authority action on climate change is outlined in the 2006 UK Climate Change Programme and the 2007 Local Government White Paper.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many local authorities achieved the improvement targets resulting from the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 in each year since the Act was implemented; and how many he expects to achieve the targets in the next 12 months. (195683)

The Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 requires local authorities with housing responsibility to prepare a strategy for improving energy efficiency within residential accommodation. These are aimed at achieving a voluntary 30 per cent. improvement within 10 to 15 years, though authorities identify their own specific targets. Most authorities have set 15 year targets, giving them until 2011 to meet them. However, annual progress reports suggest that 4 per cent. of authorities had met their targets by 31 March 2006.

Floods: Insurance

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole of 5 March 2008, Official Report, columns 2510-11W, what progress is being made in his discussions with the insurance industry on the availability of insurance cover for homes in flood risk areas; and if he will make a statement. (194588)

A statement from the Government and Association of British Insurers (ABI) was issued on 13 February confirming joint working to carry out the regular review of the statement of principles.

The scope of the review includes joint working groups looking at: assessing the information and mapping currently available and ensuring better understanding of flood risk; the approach to a long term strategy in order to provide effective flood risk management; promoting increased resilience, preventing inappropriate development in high flood risk areas, and addressing the interim conclusions from the Pitt Review on the availability and uptake of insurance.

The review is expected to be finalised in the summer. In the meantime ABI members will continue to adhere to the existing statement of principles.

Forestry: Borneo

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has held with the Governments of Indonesia and Malaysia on deforestation on the island of Borneo; and if he will make a statement. (196272)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: The Malaysian and Indonesian Governments signed the tri-Government (with Brunei) declaration on trans-boundary co-operation to preserve the Heart of Borneo in February 2007. The UK supports the development of a tri-national action plan to be completed in the first half of 2008. This will be important in shaping the future protection and sustainable use of forests on Borneo. DEFRA is currently funding 16 projects in Indonesia and Malaysia under the Darwin Initiative, including forest related projects on Borneo.

DEFRA Ministers have met several times in the last year with their Indonesian and Malaysian counterparts, and discussed the importance of tackling deforestation in general in these countries.

I met with Indonesian Environment Minister Witoelar on 21 February 2008, and discussed forest carbon, among other issues. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Hilary Benn) met with the Indonesian Minister of Agriculture on 1 October 2007 and discussed the problems of deforestation, and the related issues of illegal logging. He also discussed the need for a balanced approach to palm oil production. My hon. Friend the Member for Brent, North (Barry Gardiner) met with the Malaysian Minister for Plantation Industries and Commodities in May 2007, explaining the UK's concern that palm oil production is increasing the pressure on forests.

Hazardous Substances

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the toxic equivalence quote is, as the maximum allowable level of dioxin contamination permitted before some form of corrective action must be taken, in the UK; what the evidential basis for this level is; and if he will make a statement. (193734)

Maximum limits for dioxins and total toxicity equivalence (dioxins plus PCBs) in fish and fatty foods are set out in Regulation (EC) 1881/2006 and any food found to contain levels above these limits must be withdrawn from sale. Recommendation 2006/88/EC defines separate action levels for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in the same food categories. When a sample is found to exceed these levels, prompt action is taken to reduce the levels.

Legislation and abatement technologies have led to a significant reduction in environmental releases and human exposure to dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs. There is no single threshold set for dioxin emissions into the environment. Directive 2000/76/EC on waste incineration set an emission limit for dioxins of 0.1 nanogram I- Toxicity Equivalence (TEQ) per cubic metre of gaseous releases to air, and emission limit values for discharges to water are set at 0.3 nanogram per litre. The Persistent Organic Pollutants regulation (EC-850/2004) brought in additional controls on the disposal of waste containing dioxins above a trigger level of 15ug/kg TEQ.

Heating: EC Law

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will ensure that the views of UK industry are sent to the European Commission officials drafting the impact assessment for the Energy-using Products Directive implementing measure for heaters and boilers. (196165)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: My officials are in the process of preparing a submission to the Commission which sets out our view of the proposals. This has been developed following extensive consultation with industry. I would also encourage industry to submit their views directly to the Commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultations the Energy-using Products Board plans to hold with industry on the working document on boilers and water heaters. (196166)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 19 March 2008, Official Report, column 1133W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultations the Energy-using Products Board plans to have with the European Commission on the matter of boilers being outside the scope of the Energy-using Products Directive. (196167)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: DEFRA officials regularly meet and have discussions at EU level, including on energy efficient products, and have held a number of meetings with the Commission on the Energy-using Products Directive, including an informal meeting on the Commission’s proposed implementing measure on boilers and water heaters. No specific discussions have been held on the matter of boilers being outside the scope of this directive as my Department supports their inclusion due to the high energy use of these products.

The Commission is currently analysing responses from the boiler and water heater industry on its proposals for boilers and water heaters. DEFRA officials attended a Consultation Forum (comprising the Commission, European trade associations and other member state representatives) on these proposals on 29 February.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many complaints his Department has received from hon. Members on the operation of the Warm Front scheme. (197039)

Since 1 April 2007, DEFRA has received in the region of 340 letters from hon. Members wishing to make representations on behalf of constituents or discuss issues relating to scheme delivery.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Advertising

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on advertising the Warm Front Grant scheme by (a) his Department, (b) EAGA plc and (c) local authorities in the financial years (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05, (iii) 2005-06, (iv) 2006-07 and (v) 2007-08. (195127)

Eaga plc has responsibility for generating awareness of Warm Front as part of their contract as Scheme Manager.

DEFRA does not hold information on the amount spent by Eaga plc on advertising the scheme or on the cost of any activities performed by local authorities to advertise Warm Front.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Expenditure

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on measures carried out in households under the Warm Front Scheme in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05, (c) 2005-06, (d) 2006-07 and (e) 2007-08, broken down by local authority area. (195119)

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Social Security Benefits

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many benefits entitlements checks were carried out under the Warm Front Scheme in each of the last five financial years; and how many households were found to be eligible for a Warm Front qualifying benefit following a benefit entitlement check, broken down by local authority area. (195128)

Data are not recorded in a manner that will allow a breakdown by local authority. The following table illustrates the number of benefit entitlement checks carried out over the last five financial years, and, based on the information provided, how many were subsequently found to be eligible for a Warm Front qualifying benefit.

Number of benefit entitlement checks carried out

Number subsequently eligible for Warm Front

2003-04

1,772

689

2004-05

16,771

5,347

2005-06

14,674

5,699

2006-07

22,761

9,607

2007-08

16,712

4,845

Total

72,690

26,187

The total number of benefit checks carried out only includes households found to be ineligible for assistance when presented to the scheme.

2007-08 figures cover work completed between 1 June 2007 and 1 March 2008.

Litter

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps the Government have taken to reduce the levels of litter on streets. (196168)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: The tools available to local authorities were enhanced considerably by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. This provided the ability to issue notices to tackle litter hotspots on private land as well litter problems attributable to a particular business activity, including the recent extension of street litter control notices to eating and drinking establishments.

In addition, DEFRA continues to support the work of the charity ENCAMS (Environmental Campaigns) on awareness raising and behaviour change campaigns; for example, on cigarette, chewing gum and fast food-related litter, as well as a web-based training resource to help drive up standards of street cleansing and environmental services.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme: Grants

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to double the maximum grant available under the domestic low carbon building programme. (195292)

I have been asked to reply.

We have recently reviewed progress on the low carbon buildings programme household stream, consulting key stakeholders on a wide range of issues including grant levels. We are currently finalising plans and will announce shortly how we intend to take the household stream forward.

Recycling: Lancashire

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department has taken to encourage businesses in Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency to recycle waste in the last 12 months. (194714)

I am not aware of any specific DEFRA initiatives in Morecambe and Lunesdale. However, the Government's Waste Strategy for England 2007 sets out the aim of encouraging local authorities to take on a wider role (in partnerships) to help local (particularly smaller) businesses reduce and recycle their waste with cost savings through more integrated management of different waste streams; and encouraging regional development agencies and other regional bodies to coordinate business waste and resource management in partnership with local authorities and third sector organisations. Small and medium sized enterprises can also get information on recycling from Government and Waste and Recycling Action Programme (WRAP) websites.

DEFRA supports businesses to improve their efficient use of resources and to reduce their carbon emissions. This work forms an important part of the Government's drive towards a sustainable consumption and production economy. By cutting their waste and reducing material use, businesses of all sizes can boost profits and create jobs by reducing environmental impacts.

The Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) Programme has delivered much of the above support to businesses. The programme has returned additional landfill tax to business over three years through resource efficiency and waste minimisation programmes, including recycling projects. Good results have been achieved from the intervention.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which local authorities have expressed an interest in the pilot scheme for charging for refuse collection; and if he will make a statement. (196694)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 10 January 2008, Official Report, column 754W.

Wind Power

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to which wind farm proposals his Department lodged objection in each of the last three years; and for what reasons in each case. (191117)

For onshore windfarms under 50 megawatts, planning decisions are taken by local planning authorities. For windfarms above this threshold, decisions are taken by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform under the Electricity Act 1989. DEFRA is not consulted in either case but Natural England will have a chance to comment as a statutory consultee. Natural England and its founding bodies have objected to three onshore wind farms in three regions, and seven offshore wind farms adjacent to four regions.

The Environment Agency is not a Statutory Consultee for windfarms, but is consulted on some windfarm developments for other statutory reasons. Between 2005 and 2007 (inclusive) the Environment Agency objected to a total of five planning applications for windfarms for reasons including flood risk, impact on biodiversity and groundwater. In all five cases after further work by the developer the Environment Agency were able to withdraw their objections.

The Marine and Fisheries Agency (MFA) has a direct role in licensing offshore renewables under the Food and Environment Protection Act. An application could be rejected if assessment of the detailed environmental statement, submitted with the application, and other information showed that the proposed development would have a negative impact on the marine environment. To date, the MFA has not rejected an application for an offshore wind farm.

Health

Accident and Emergency Departments: Admissions

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions to accident and emergency departments there were for (a) knife-related injuries and (b) gunshot wounds in each of the last five years, broken down by primary care trust. (195427)

Information is collected on the number of finished admissions to hospital via accident and emergency. Tables have been placed in the Library which provide a breakdown of the data by primary care trusts (PCT). However, the tables only provide information on those PCTs where the number if admissions is more than five, due to the need to ensure that data remains anonymous.

It is worth noting that finished admission episodes do not represent the number of patients admitted, as a patient may be admitted more than once.

Allergies: Medical Treatments

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will request the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to undertake a review of allergy services and treatments. (193348)

The Department and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) are currently working together on some focused proposals for guidance relating to allergy. These proposals will be fed into the NICE topic selection process for consideration alongside other possible topics for NICE's work programme.

Blood Transfusion Services: Greater London

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff posts will be (a) discontinued and (b) moved to other sites from the Tooting Blood Processing and Testing centre as part of the planned consolidation of processing and testing centres following the Review of the National Blood Service Strategy. (195117)

The National Blood Service (NSB) is an operational division of NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). NHSBT plans to move processing and testing services from the Tooting centre during 2009-10. All other services will remain at the centre, including the issue department (from which blood is issued), so that local hospitals will continue to receive blood as and when they need it.

It is anticipated that these changes will result in the reduction of approximately 70 posts at the Tooting centre. NHSBT intend to deliver this reduction through non-compulsory means, such as voluntary redundancy, staff turnover and vacancy control. Staff affected by change will be given a range of support, including training and help with redeployment both within and outside NHSBT.

Breast Cancer: Essex

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the ability of breast cancer care facilities in South Essex to respond to changes in demand for services. (193067)

This is a matter for the local national health service and the Essex Cancer Network. Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible within the NHS for commissioning and funding appropriate health services for their resident populations. The hon. Member may therefore wish to raise this issue with the chief executives of South East and South West Essex PCTs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 18 February 2008, Official Report, column 281W, on breast cancer: Essex, if he will investigate the factors behind the recent increase in breast cancer diagnoses in Essex; and if he will make a statement. (193197)

This is a matter for the local national health service and the Essex and the North London cancer networks. Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible within the NHS to assess the needs and priorities of their local populations and commission health services accordingly. The hon. Member may therefore wish to raise this issue with the chief executives of the PCTs in Essex.

Breast Cancer: Health Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to (a) promote for the early diagnosis and fast treatment of breast cancer and (b) ensure adequacy of breast cancer services in each primary care trust area. (193068)

The Cancer Reform Strategy, published last December, contains a number of initiatives under the National Awareness and early Diagnosis initiative to promote early diagnosis and improve the treatment of breast cancer. These include:

patients with breast problems being referred to a cancer specialist within two weeks, whether or not cancer is suspected;

the breast-screening programme being extended to women aged 47 to 73 years;

working at a community level to promote better public awareness of cancer symptoms;

carrying out a regular national survey of cancer symptom awareness to gain a better understanding of the delays in patient diagnosis; and

carrying out a national audit in primary care of all patients diagnosed with cancer.

To ensure equality of treatment of all cancers we are developing a national cancer equality initiative involving key stakeholders.

More detailed information on these initiatives can be found at:

www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_081006

Breast Cancer: Screening

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many breast cancer screenings there were in (a) Tamworth and (b) Staffordshire in each of the last five years. (193624)

The information requested is not available in the format requested. However, data for the national health service screening programme: coverage of women aged 53-64 for Staffordshire based primary care trusts (PCTs), at 31 March 2003 to 2007 has been set out in the following table.

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

North Staffordshire PCT1

Eligible population2

16,178

16,322

16,480

16,690

16,885

Women screened (less than 3 years since last test)

12,291

12,902

12,971

13,404

13,654

Coverage (less than 3 years since last test) (percentage)

76.0

79.0

78.7

80.3

80.9

South Staffordshire PCT1

Eligible population2

45,554

46,029

46,623

47,245

48,008

Women screened (less than 3 years since last test)

37,594

35,493

36,721

36,857

39,364

Coverage (less than 3 years since last test) (percentage)

82.5

77.1

78.8

78.0

82.0

1 Data prior to March 2007 have been mapped to the current PCT structure

2 This is the number of women in the registered population less those recorded as ineligible

Notes:

1. The coverage of the breast screening programme is the proportion of women resident and eligible that have had a test with a recorded result at least once in the previous three years.

2. Coverage of the screening programme is currently best assessed using the 53-64 age group as women may be first called at any time between their 50 and 53 birthdays.

3. The breast screening programme covers women aged 50-64 but it was extended to invite women aged 65-70 in April 2001.

4. The last unit began inviting women aged 65-70 in April 2006 and full coverage should be achieved by 2008-09.

Source:

KC63, the Information Centre for health and social care.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the national standards for the uptake of (a) breast cancer and (b) cervical cancer screening have been achieved in (i) Tamworth and (ii) the West Midlands. (193629)

Uptake of cervical screening is not measured as women make their own appointments following receipt of a reminder letter. Therefore, to provide consistency all the figures given as follows are for coverage rather than uptake.

The national standard for breast screening coverage is 70 per cent. and the national standard for cervical screening coverage is 80 per cent. The following tables give coverage figures for the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority (SHA) and South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT), which covers Tamworth, as at 31 March 2007 for breast and cervical screening.

NHS Breast screening programme: coverage of women aged 53-64 for specified organisations, at 31 March 2007

Eligible population1

Women screened (less than 3 years since last test)

Coverage (less than 3 years since last test) (%)

West Midlands SHA

395,515

311,203

78.7

South Staffordshire PCT2

16,885

13,654

80.9

1 This is the number of women in the registered population less those recorded as ineligible.

2 Data prior to March 2007 have been mapped to the current PCT structure.

Notes:

1. The coverage of the breast screening programme is the proportion of women resident and eligible that have had a test with a recorded result at least once in the previous three years.

2. Coverage of the screening programme is currently best assessed using the 53-64 age group as women may be first called at any time between their 50th and 53rd birthdays.

3. The breast screening programme covers women aged 50-64 but it was extended to invite women aged 65-70 in April 2001.

4. The last unit began inviting women aged 65-70 in April 2006 and full coverage should be achieved by 2008-09.

Source:

KC63, the Information Centre for health and social care.

Cervical screening programme: coverage of the Target Age Group (25-64) for specified organisations, at 31 March 2007

Eligible population 1

Coverage (less than 3.5 yrs since last adequate test) (%)

Coverage (less than 5 years since last adequate test) (%)

West Midlands SHA

1,350,787

71.2

79.3

South Staffordshire PCT2

148,521

76.6

82.4

1This is the number of women in the resident population less those with recall ceased for clinical reasons.

2 Data prior to March 2007 have been mapped to the current PCT structure.

Note:

National policy for the cervical screening programme is that eligible women aged 25 to 64 should be screened every three or five years (women aged 25 to 49 are screened every three years, those aged 50 to 64 every five years).

Source:

KC53 Parts A2 and A3, the Information Centre for health and social care.

Cancer: Screening

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken in Staffordshire to increase the uptake of screening for cancer. (193627)

It is important to remember that no screening method is perfect and anyone invited to be screened for cancer must be aware of both the benefit and harm of being screened and be able to make an informed decision on whether to take part or not.

However, we do recognise the important role that screening plays and, as set out in the “Cancer Reform Strategy”, we are taking steps to build on and improve our existing screening services.

This includes extending the age ranges for both breast and bowel screening, so that as many people as possible have the opportunity to be screened. We estimate that this will mean that an extra 3 million men and women will be screened over the next five years.

In the Staffordshire area, it is the responsibility of the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority working in partnership with its primary care trusts (PCTs) including South Staffordshire PCT, local screening services and stakeholders to provide appropriate cancer screening services for their local populations. This includes promotion of local screening services.

Chronically Sick: Lancashire

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in implementing the targets for the National Service Framework for Long-Term Conditions in South Ribble. (192810)

It is for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), including Central Lancashire PCT, within the national health service to develop locally the levels of service described in the ‘National Service Framework for Long-term (Neurological) Conditions’ (the NSF). The NSF has a 10-year implementation programme from its publication in March 2005, with flexibility for organisations to set the pace of change locally to take account of differences in local priorities and needs. A copy of the NSF is available in the Library.

Information on the progress that has been achieved locally with regard to the implementation of the targets set out in the NSF can be obtained direct from Central Lancashire PCT.

Dental Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that oral health is maintained in England. (196866)

Oral health in England has improved considerably during the last 30 years and the Government wish to see this improvement maintained.

In 2003 the Government enacted new legislation which gives communities a real option of having their water fluoridated should this be needed to reduce oral health inequalities and improve oral health. A number of areas across the country are now actively considering the possibility of new water fluoridation schemes.

Recognising that it may not be feasible to fluoridate all these high need areas, the Government developed the Brushing for Life programme. Brushing for Life involves health visitors giving families with young children in high need areas advice on preventing dental decay and a free pack containing a tube of fluoridated toothpaste, a toothbrush and a leaflet on oral hygiene. In many areas it is run in close association with Sure Start.

In October 2005 the Government published Choosing Better Oral Health: an oral health plan for England which set out a strategy to reduce oral health inequalities. In September 2007 the Department published Delivering Better Oral Health: An evidence-based toolkit for prevention, which contains guidance to dentists and other dental care professionals on how to promote oral health and prevent dental disease and provides information to primary care trusts on what preventive care they should be commissioning.

Dental Services: Staffordshire

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the adequacy of NHS dentistry provision in (a) Tamworth and (b) Staffordshire; (193620)

(2) what steps he is taking to extend provision of NHS dentistry in (a) Tamworth and (b) Staffordshire.

The numbers of dentists on open national health service contracts, in England, as at 30 June 2006, 30 September 2006, 31 December 2006, and 31 March 2007 are available in Table El of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2006-07 report. This information is provided by primary care trust (PCT) and by strategic health authority (SHA).

This report, published on 23 August 2007, is available in the Library and is available at:

www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental0607

The numbers published are headcounts and do not differentiate between full-time and part-time dentists, nor do they account for the fact that some dentists may do more NHS work than others.

The methodology for reporting dental workforce information since the introduction of the new dental contractual arrangements, on 1 April 2006, is currently under review. The review is to ensure that the figures provide an appropriate measure of the workforce, given the way that the payments system is being used by PCTs. The workforce data within the report will therefore remain the latest available until this review is complete.

The number of people seen by an NHS dentist, in England, are available in Table C1 of Annex 3 of the “NHS Dental Statistics for England: Quarter 2, 30 September 2007” report. Information is available for the 24-month periods ending 31 March 2006, 31 March 2007, 30 June 2007, and 30 September 2007. The information is provided by PCT and by SHA.

Information on the number of courses of treatment performed, by treatment band, between 1 July 2007 and 30 September 2007, is available in Table Al of Annex 3 of the report. Information on the number of units of dental activity performed, by treatment band, for the same time period is available in Table B1. Information is provided by PCT and by SHA in both tables.

This report, published on 28 February 2008, is available in the Library and is available at:

www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstatsq20708

Information by constituency under the new contractual arrangements is not available.

Both reports have been published by The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.

Increasing the number of patients seen within NHS dental services is now a formal priority in the NHS operating framework for 2008-09 and we have supported this with a very substantial 11 per cent. uplift in overall allocations to PCTs from 1 April 2008.

Departmental Data Protection

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether confidential or personal information has been compromised through the loss of property from his Department since 1997. (193445)

Except in exceptional cases, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on breaches of security. However, following the publication of the “Data Handling Procedures in Government: Interim Progress Report” on 17 December 2007, Official Report, column 98WS, all Departments will cover information assurance issues in their annual reports. A copy of the Interim Progress Report is available in the Library.

Health Professions: Crimes of Violence

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people were successfully prosecuted for physically abusing doctors and nurses in each of the last five years for which figures are available; (193630)

(2) what estimate he has made of the number of nurses physically abused by patients in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

In April 2003 the National Health Service Security Management Service (NHS SMS) was created and assumed responsibility for tackling violence against NHS staff.

Since 2003-04 the NHS SMS has collated data on the number of criminal sanctions following assaults against NHS staff in England. The numbers are in the following table. The numbers of prosecutions following assaults against doctors and nurses are included within these figures and are not available separately.

Criminal sanctions

2003-04

51

2004-05

759

2005-06

850

2006-07

869

Criminal sanctions include:

cautions and conditional cautions;

community rehabilitation or punishment orders;

imprisonment (including suspended sentences);

conditional discharges; and

fines.

Since 2004-05 the NHS SMS has collected data on the number of physical assaults reported against NHS staff in England for the categories shown in the following table. The numbers of nurses physically assaulted by patients are included within these figures and are not available separately.

Reported assaults by sector

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

Ambulance service

1,333

1,104

1,006

Acute/foundation trusts

10,758

11,100

9,685

Primary care

5,192

5,145

3,445

Mental health/learning disability

43,097

41,345

41,569

Other (special health authority)

5

1

4

Total

60,385

58,695

55,709

Health Services: Royal Household

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements funded by his Department are made for the provision of primary healthcare services to staff of the Royal Households. (196363)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: Staff of the royal households are entitled to register with a general practitioner practice for primary medical services just like any other United Kingdom resident.

The Department is not aware of any special provision of primary health care service to staff of the royal households.

Health Services: Scanning

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will investigate the (a) effects on health of services offered by the body-scanning industry and (b) the appropriateness of the level of exposure to x-ray technology of those services; and if he will make a statement; (196356)

(2) what steps he plans to take following the Twelfth COMARE report on the use of computerised tomography (CT) to (a) improve regulations of the private CT scan industry and (b) investigate the advertising of private asymptomatic scans in relation to radioactive content; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: In 2005 the Department asked the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) to include radiation protection aspects of medical practices in its work programme and as a first consideration to report on computerised tomography (CT) scanning of the asymptomatic individual. COMARE produced its 12th report entitled “The impact of personally initiated computer tomography scanning for the health assessment of asymptomatic individuals” in December 2007. The report has been placed in the Library and is also available on the COMARE website at:

www.comare.org.uk/documents/COMARE12thReport.pdf.

COMARE recommended that regulation of these commercial CT services should be reviewed. It also recommends that clients should be provided with comprehensive information regarding dose and risk of the CT scan, as well as rates of false negative and false positive findings. Among its detailed recommendations (nine in all) COMARE noted there is a regulatory requirement that all medical exposures using ionising radiation should be optimised, and that it is not possible to optimise exposure parameters for CT scans of the whole of the body. It has strongly recommended that services offering whole body CT scanning of asymptomatic individuals should discontinue. In addition, CT should not be used in assessment of spinal conditions, body fat and osteoporosis in asymptomatic individuals.

The Department will be consulting widely on implementation of these recommendations.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people (a) successfully and (b) unsuccessfully claimed compensation in relation to a MRSA or clostridium difficile infection contracted in an NHS hospital by (i) themselves and (ii) a family member in each of the last five years. (193817)

The information requested is shown in the table. The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) provided the information. The year given is the year in which the NHSLA was notified of the claim.

All closed claims where the injury is meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus or Clostridium difficile as at 31 December 2007

NHSLA notification year

Status

Claimant is patient

Claimant is family member

Total

2002-03

Closed—nil damages

9

6

15

Settled—damages paid

18

6

24

Total

27

12

39

2003-04

Closed—nil damages

23

11

34

Settled—damages paid

21

7

28

Total

44

18

62

2004-05

Closed—nil damages

38

9

47

Settled—damages paid

12

3

15

Total

50

12

62

2005-06

Closed—nil damages

41

9

50

Settled—damages paid

9

3

12

Total

50

12

62

2006-07

Closed—nil damages

16

10

26

Settled—damages paid

7

5

12

Total

23

15

38

Total

Closed—nil damages

127

45

172

Settled—damages paid

67

24

91

Total

194

69

263

Hospitals: Telephones

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2008, Official Report, column 1462W, on hospital telephones, what estimate his Department has made of the average cost of an incoming telephone call to a child's bedside telephone; and what assessment he has made of the effect of telephone charges for incoming calls on parents' ability to contact their children while they are in hospital. (190518)

The Department recognises how stressful a child's hospital stay can be, which is why the average length of stay has been reduced to two days. The most important issue is to ensure that a child's stay in hospital is kept to a minimum, consistent with achieving a good recovery.

The relevant national service framework for children states that children should have the comfort and reassurance provided by personal contact with close family members. Wherever practicable, hospitals make suitable provisions for parents to stay overnight with their children.

Where this is not possible or practicable for parents to stay, mobile telephones may be used in certain areas of the hospital and bedside telephone systems allow children to maintain contact with friends and relatives.

The cost of a telephone call to the bedside system in a children's ward varies, although, in most cases, it is 39 pence per minute off peak and 49 pence per minute peak rate.

Other options exist for people not wishing to use the bedside telephone systems. These include the traditional payphones and hospital switchboard facilities and mobile telephones which ensure parents can be kept up to date on their child's progress.

No assessment has been made of any effect of telephone charges for parents calling a child while in hospital.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the median number of days, wait was for patients to receive hospital treatment following GP referral in England in each month since January 1997 based on hospital episodes statistics. (196395)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: By December 2008, patients who want it, and for whom it is clinically appropriate, can expect to start their treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral.

Referral to treatment (RTT) waits were not monitored centrally prior to January 2007. Measurement of referral to treatment waiting times for admitted patients commenced in January 2007 and for non-admitted patients from April 2007. The following table shows median referral to treatment waits for both admitted and non-admitted patients since January 2007 and April 2007 respectively.

Average (median) RTT times (commissioner based) for completed pathways

Days

Admitted patients

Non-admitted patients

January 2007

136

February 2007

135

March 2007

132

April 2007

122

57

May 2007

117

58

June 2007

115

54

July 2007

116

52

August 2007

109

51

September 2007

107

53

October 2007

102

47

November 2007

94

43

December 2007

79

49

Source:

Monthly RTT data collection

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were waiting more than six months for an NHS in-patient operation in each month since October 2005. (196396)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: The figures are shown in the following table.

Number of patients waiting over six months (26 weeks) for inpatient admission

Month ending

Provider based

Commissioner based

2005

October

25,679

24,847

November

12,744

12,297

December

1,021

108

2006

January

1,014

129

February

954

165

March

939

222

April

928

162

May

888

85

June

884

67

July

913

59

August

834

122

September

1,043

206

October

1,089

353

November

892

212

December

756

138

2007

January

920

299

February

785

378

March

597

352

April

694

426

May

726

436

June

529

312

July

491

269

August

524

250

September

433

122

October

323

18

November

317

77

December

395

106

2008

January

379

99

Notes:

1. Provider based figures include patients treated in English hospitals but registered with general practitioners (GPs) outside England.

2. Commissioner based figures relate to patients registered with GPs in England, and include national health service funded patients treated outside England or in the independent sector.

Source:

Monthly monitoring return

Locums: Vacancies

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of vacant locum appointment, (a) training posts and (b) services posts in secondary care trusts in England; and if he will make a statement. (192879)

Data regarding locums are not held centrally. Workforce planning is a matter for local determination based on the healthcare needs of the local population, and this would include the appointment and training of locums.

Medical Records: Data Protection

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the report of the independent evaluation of the security of the care records system. (195840)

NHS Connecting for Health insists that penetration tests are conducted on suppliers systems that connect to the national infrastructure. Where weaknesses are identified that would lead to a breach of confidentiality, integrity or availability they are corrected before the systems are brought into service. The outputs from these tests are commercially confidential between the supplier, the evaluator and NHS Connecting for Health. NHS Connecting for Health does, in line with best practice, review the security infrastructure of the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) to allow it to be maintained in line with new technologies and emerging threats. These reviews are conducted on an ongoing basis by both internal security specialists and independent evaluators. The recommendations from these reviews are not made public to avoid compromising security arrangements and to avoid potential criminal exploitation of the information.

The NPfIT has adopted the highest levels of security. The NPfIT contracts require suppliers to comply with comprehensive and detailed security requirements in line with international standards (ISO-27001).

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether patient data contained in limited data sets of the secondary users service are fully anonymised. (195841)

Patient data contained in the limited, commissioning, data sets of the Secondary Uses Service are not fully anonymised, as the data are required for some core national health service business purposes.

Medical Records: Databases

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether the secondary users service will provide data on a commercial basis; (195205)

(2) what steps have been taken to prevent data made available to organisations through the secondary users service giving an unfair advantage in bidding procedures;

(3) whether patients will be able to opt out of having their data used in limited data sets in the secondary users service.

There are no plans for the secondary users service (SUS) to provide data on a commercial basis. The current proposals for pseudonymised data extracts from the SUS will be available for any supplier who agrees the terms and conditions. Information from the SUS is used for commissioning purposes, and it is therefore not expected that patients would be able to opt out.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether each accession of the care records system will be monitored by a Caldicott Guardian. (195208)

NHS Connecting for Health cannot comment on the specific monitoring process that each Caldicott Guardian within the NHS will employ. However, alerts where there is any potential irregular access will be sent to Caldicott Guardians. There are audit trails of any access to the NHS Care Record Service records which can be made available to Caldicott Guardians.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the mechanism for monitoring any illicit access to the care records system through the full audit trail will be. (195209)

There are a number of mechanisms available to monitor access to the NHS Care Record Service. These mechanisms include:

network based intrusion detection and prevention;

network based access controls, audit and alerting;

user authentication recording and monitoring;

system level security audit trails;

application level security audit trails;

security audit trail reports; and

alerts to the Caldicott Guardian on specific accesses that may indicate unjustified access.

These technology mechanisms are dependent on Caldicott Guardians and Information Governance staff carrying out their roles and responsibilities in conjunction with the policies and processes that national health service organisations are required to adhere to. NHS Connecting for Health has regular communications with the NHS to gain feedback and discuss the various mechanisms for monitoring access provided by the NHS Care Record Service.

Mental Health Services: Security

To ask the Secretary of State for Health which secure mental health units in England are categorised as (a) low, (b) medium and (c) high security. (195569)

Information about the applicable security rating for each low and medium secure psychiatric unit in England is not held by the Department. An unvalidated contact list for medium secure mental health units has been placed in the Library. Low secure mental health services are not consistently defined and there is no central list.

There are three secure units which offer high security services: Ashworth, Broadmoor and Rampton hospitals.

NHS Questionnaires

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 7 March 2008, Official Report, column 2860W, on NHS questionnaires, what the (a) subject and (b) cost was of each survey conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Department in 2007-08. (196231)

Ipsos MORI were contracted by the Department to carry out four surveys in 2007-08. These, and their associated costs, were:

In 2007-08, the Department has budgeted a total of £10 million for both components of the ‘General Practitioner (GP) Patient Survey—Access and Choice’.

Access

The purpose of the Access survey is to measure and reward GPs based on the patients reported experience in accessing their GP in the preceding six month period; and

Choice

The purpose of the Choice survey is to measure and reward GPs based on the proportion of patients whose referring GP discussed the choice's available when referring a patient to hospital.

In 2007-08, the “What Matters to Staff” survey cost £65,800. The purpose of the survey was to identify the major factors pertaining to staff engagement and motivation to provide high quality care so as to establish a clear picture of practical ways senior managers in the national health service can improve how staff feel about their workplace, their colleagues and their roles. The results of the survey are also informing the next stage review.

In 2007-08, the cost to date of the “National Patient Choice” survey is £367,043. The survey asks patients about their experience of choosing and arranging their hospital appointment.

In 2007-08, the cost to date of the “18 Weeks Patient Experience Pilot” is £42,400. The aim of the pilot is to develop a possible survey technique to measure the experience of patients from their referral to treatment under the 18 week waiting initiative.

NHS: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons planned NHS spending over the years from 2008-09 to 2010-11 set out in the 2008 Budget report has been reduced from the planned spending set out in the 2007 pre-Budget report for those years. (196730)

Planned national health service spending over the years from 2008-09 to 2010-11 as set out in the 2008 Budget report has not been reduced from the planned spending set out in the 2007 pre-Budget report.

The apparent difference in published figures was due to an error in the NHS revenue expenditure reported in the Budget Red Book. The correct revenue figures were presented to Parliament and published on the HM Treasury website on Friday 14 March 2008 at:

www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/A/7/bud08_corrections.pdf.

The correction makes it clear that the planned resource delivery expenditure limit (DEL) for NHS England is £97.1 billion in 2008-09, £103.6 billion in 2009-10 and £110.7 billion in 2010-11. Compared to the plans published at the Comprehensive Spending Review and payment by results, these updated figures reflect decisions to allocate more resources to social care within the Department's DEL, including as a result of transfer of functions from the NHS to social care, and minor revenue transfers to other Government departments. The resources involved are £166 million in 2008-09, £236 million in 2009-10 and £230 million in 2010-11.

NHS: Foreigners

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reclaim monies owed by foreign national visitors to the UK for services delivered by the NHS; and what his most recent assessment is of the amount of outstanding payments during their visits owed to the NHS for such services at the latest date for which figures are available. (196219)

Under the national health service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989, as amended, it is for national health service trusts to determine which overseas visitors should pay for any hospital treatment provided to them and to make and recover charges. Where charges are found to apply they cannot be waived for any reason and trusts must take reasonable measures to recover any outstanding debts, which can include the use of debt collection agencies. The Department has issued comprehensive guidance to the NHS on this matter.

Successive governments have not required the NHS to provide statistics on the number of foreign visitors seen, treated or charged under the provisions of the charging regulations nor any costs involved. Therefore, it is not possible to provide information on the value of outstanding payments owed to the NHS.

NHS: ICT

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the progress of (a) iSoft and the Lorenzo system, (b) Cerner and the Millennium system and (c) IDX and the Carecast system against the (i) development and (ii) implementation timetable of each; and if he will make a statement. (195799)

The development of Lorenzo software by iSOFT under a sub-contract to Computer Sciences Corporation has been regularly assessed by NHS Connecting for Health. It is understood that the development plans will enable the deployment of Release 1 of Lorenzo into early adopter sites in the North, Midlands and East Programme for information technology, formerly North West and West Midlands, North East and the East Midlands, in the summer. Release 2 of Lorenzo is due to be ready for deployment in the autumn.

The development of the Cerner Millennium software by Fujitsu in the South of England, where eight hospitals are using the Release 0 version of the software is the subject of a current contract reset. The development of Cerner Millennium software by BT in London has seen the deployment of Release 0 into two hospitals since July 2007 and a further deployment is now due. The next Release LC1 is due to be implemented in the summer.

Agreement on the software requirements and deployment plans became a responsibility of local national health service trusts from April 2007 to provide greater local ownership of the planning and deployment process. It is the responsibility of the local service providers to manage the delivery of the NHS Care Record Service to the contracted timetables and for the management of their sub-contractors and suppliers. NHS Connecting for Health routinely assesses progress against plans and manages the relationship and commercial arrangements with suppliers to ensure that NHS requirements are being met.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date deployment of 130 picture archiving and communications system was achieved; and if he will make a statement. (195830)

The final picture archiving and communications system (PACS) deployment as part of the national programme for information technology took place on 10 December 2007. This deployment, involving Leeds teaching hospitals trust, marked the completion of a three year process that saw 127 trusts across England receive PACS.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated of the impact on the NHS IT programme of the purchase of iSoft by IBA Healthcare, with particular reference to the (i) financial stability and (ii) cash conversion rate in recent healthcare projects of IBA Healthcare; and if he will make a statement. (195839)

It is the responsibility of the local service provider (LSP) with whom the national health service has entered into contract, to assure itself of the financial stability of its sub-contractors and suppliers, and to deliver the NHS Care Record Service solution in accordance with its contractual obligations. NHS Connecting for Health regularly monitors the performance of all information technology prime contractors, including LSPs and sub-contractors, for financial stability. Computer Science Corporation as the relevant LSP, has confirmed the financial stability of IBA Healthcare as its sub-contractor and that the purchase of iSoft by IBA has not adversely impacted on the delivery timescales for the Lorenzo solution to the NHS.

NHS: Internet

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pages of content are available on the NHS Direct website; what the cost of operating the NHS Direct website was in 2007; and how many unique visitors to the NHS Direct website there were in each month between June 2007 and February 2008. (195805)

The NHS Direct website contains 14,567 unique pages of content. Additionally there are six health tools, 42 self-help guides, and 12 videos.

The total cost of the team of dedicated content authors and editors that work on the NHS Direct website was £212,000 in 2007.

The total number of unique visitors to the NHS Direct website for each month between June 2007 and February 2008 is shown in the following table.

Number of unique visitors

June 2007

1,426,991

July 2007

1,528,356

August 2007

1,947,373

September 2007

1,929,542

October 2007

2,324,815

November 2007

2,390,630

December 2007

2,174,692

January 2008

2,905,369

February 2008

2,654,651

Over the next year NHS Direct will be working with colleagues at NHS Choices to provide a more integrated health information service for the public. The aim is to not only make online delivery more efficient and effective for government, but also, more importantly, improve the public's experience of health service provision via the internet, phone or television.

NHS: Negligence

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the 100 largest clinical negligence payments were for compensation claims against his Department by award or settlement in the last five years; and what the nature of the complaint was in each case. (196328)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: The information requested has been placed in the Library, the table shows the top 100 damages payments last five years. The NHS Litigation Authority supplied the information.

The size of award for cases is the total amount paid on closed claims, or for the sum of the outstanding damages reserve and the damages already paid for open claims. Open claims are claims where settlement has been agreed but final payments have not yet been made.

Nurses: Training

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses in England have received training in (a) asthma and (b) respiratory diseases over the last five years, broken down by primary care trust. (193864)

The information is not collected centrally.

The annual national health service work force census does not separately identify the number of nurses who have received post-registration training from the rest of the nursing work force.

The Government have supported the development of a range of specialist roles within nursing. However it is for local NHS organisations to commission training places and to deploy specialist nurses in accordance with their local needs.

Nursing and Midwifery Council: Disclosure of Information

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures exist for members of the Nursing and Midwifery Council to raise issues of concern (a) internally, (b) externally and (c) with his Department; what guidance his Department provides on these procedures; under what circumstances his Department intervenes in such proceedings; and if he will make a statement. (191964)

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is an independent regulatory body and as such is responsible for its own internal management practices.

Council members may raise any issue of concern with individuals or bodies they feel might be able to assist, providing they comply with any requirement of confidentiality and codes of conduct of the NMC or the Charity Commission that might apply.

While the Department remains open for discussion with NMC Council members at all times, the Department does not have any specific powers in relation to complaints raised about the NMC or formal procedures for Council members to raise issues of concern.

The Department provides no guidance to Council members on complaints procedures. It is a matter for the NMC, as an independent statutory body, to inform Council members of its own procedures.

The Secretary of State has no powers to intervene in the internal management of the NMC. However, we have asked the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence to consider expediting its annual performance review, including addressing the central question of whether the NMC is fulfilling its statutory functions.

Obesity: Health Education

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2008, Official Report, column 1979W, on obesity: health education, for what reasons part of the budget allocated to obesity campaigns was unspent in 2006-07. (194737)

The reason for the underspend in 2006-07 allocated to obesity campaigns was due to the Government reviewing their approach alongside the development of the Foresight report.

Occupational Health: Cardiovascular System

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to support employers in improving the cardiovascular health of their workforces. (195376)

The Government recognise the importance of health promotion in the workplace, including cardiovascular health.

Last year the Government asked Dame Carol Black, the National Director of Health and Work, to conduct a review of the health of the working age population.

Dame Carol's report, “Working for a healthier tomorrow”, was published on 17 March and contains specific recommendations for Government, health care professionals and employers in this area. There will be a cross Government response to the recommendations later in the year. A copy of this report is available in the Library.

The Government have invested £800,000 in to the Well@Work programme, which aims to assess the effectiveness of health promotion interventions in the workplace, including physical activity. Physically active people have up to 50 per cent. reduced risk of major chronic disease such as coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer.

Organs: Donors

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many organ donors were registered in (a) Tamworth and (b) Staffordshire in each of the last five years. (193623)

The numbers joining the NHS Organ Donor Register from the Tamworth and Staffordshire areas for the years 2003 to 2007 are shown in the following table:

Tamworth

Staffordshire1

2003

1,249

12,875

2004

1,436

16,419

2005

1,622

16,418

2006

1,897

17,493

2007

1,562

15,835

Total

7,766

79,040

1 Includes Stoke-on-Trent (unitary authority).

Source:

NHS Blood and Transplant.

Palliative Care: Cheshire

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data are used by commissioners to determine accurately the need for specialist palliative and neurological care in Eddisbury. (195318)

It is for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), including Western Cheshire PCT and the Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT, within the national health service to commission services for their resident population, including end of life care and neurological care, based on an assessment of local needs and priorities. Strategic health authorities are responsible for monitoring PCTs to ensure they are effective and efficient.

The NHS operating framework for 2007-08 asked PCTs, working with local authorities, to undertake a baseline review of their end of life care services. These will allow local commissioners to assess current services, identify gaps and obtain a much clearer view of local need, which will inform local commissioning.

Regarding neurological care, the information strategy published alongside the National Service Framework for Long-term (Neurological) Conditions outlines commissioners' information requirements and a series of local and national actions designed to meet those needs. A copy of the National Service Framework for Long-term (Neurological) Conditions is available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's guidance on supportive and palliative care has been fully implemented in Eddisbury. (195319)

It is for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), including Western Cheshire PCT and the Central and Eastern PCT, within the national health service to commission services for their resident population, including end of life care, based on assessments of local needs and priorities. The NHS has been required to set out action plans to achieve compliance with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommendations on supportive and palliative care. Implementation is being monitored by strategic health authorities (SHAs).

Information on the rate of progress locally can be obtained through the North West SHA.

Patients: Nutrition

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2008, Official Report, column 2527W, on patients: nutrition, what information is available on the cost of treating patients for nutritional deficiencies. (195339)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 12 March 2008, Official Report, column 477W.

Polyclinics: Rural Areas

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromsgrove of 18 March 2008, to Question 194632, on polyclinics (rural areas), if he will write to primary care trust chief executives to clarify that there is no requirement for each primary care trust to have a polyclinic in each primary care trust area. (196347)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: The Department wrote to strategic health authority chief executives in December to confirm the core criteria that will underpin the development of new general practitioner-led health centres. This letter clarified that local commissioners should determine whether or not to go beyond these criteria to achieve more integrated service models such as polyclinics. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.

Pregnancy: Smoking

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of women have continued to smoke through pregnancy in each year since 1997 for which figures are available, broken down by (a) region and (b) primary care trust. (195749)

The information requested is not available in the format requested.

Information on the percentage of mothers nationally who smoked during pregnancy in 1995, 2000 and 2005 is available from the editions of the Infant Feeding Survey as follows.

‘Infant feeding 1995: A survey of infant feeding practices in the United Kingdom’, Table 3.8 on page 37 which was published on 1 January 1997. This publication is available in the Library.

‘The Infant Feeding Survey 2005’, Table 10.7 on page 355 which was published on 14 May 2007. This publication has been placed in the Library.

Figures for regional and primary care trust are not available.

Prescriptions: ICT

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many and what proportion of prescriptions were issued in each month since the inception of the Electronic Prescriptions Service; and by how many and which (a) GP sites and (b) community pharmacies; (195201)

(2) how many and what proportion of prescriptions were transferred via the electronic prescriptions service between (a) prescribers and dispensers and (b) dispenser and the NHS Business Services Division in each month since the inception of the electronic prescriptions service;

(3) whether the electronic prescriptions service can process prescriptions other than FP10 prescriptions.

In Release 1 of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS), an electronic message is transmitted to the EPS in parallel with a paper FP10 prescription form which is handed to the patient. This is necessary while a patient may take a prescription to a pharmacy in the transitional period that is not yet using the electronic prescription service. The current scope of Release 1 and Release 2 is prescriptions generated by general practitioner (GP) practices, either GPs, nurse or pharmacist prescribers, and dispensed in the community.

Electronic prescriptions are not planned to be transmitted to the NHS Business Service Authority until Release 2 is in operational use.

The following table provides the total number of electronic messages transmitted through the service between prescriber and dispensers since its inception in February 2005.

Month

Total number of EPS R1 prescription messaged generated by GPs

Total number of EPS R1 dispense notification messages sent by pharmacy

February 2005

607

158

March 2005

3,442

1,110

April 2005

2,887

1,284

May 2005

3,576

1,624

June 2005

3,394

700

July 2005

6,135

1,176

August 2005

6,432

1,118

September 2005

14,400

1,504

October 2005

46,039

1,485

November 2005

69,823

1,844

December 2005

68,365

2,451

January 2006

87,074

1,594

February 2006

153,771

809

March 2006

260,898

3,476

April 2006

262,952

2,458

May 2006

439,427

2,227

June 2006

662,362

7,594

July 2006

816,584

4,248

August 2006

1,083,300

7,793

September 2006

1,362,209

8,955

October 2006

1,361,877

17,110

November 2006

1,539,616

22,396

December 2006

1,607,737

23,308

January 2007

1,988,882

31,708

February 2007

2,223,368

44,690

March 2007

2,617,552

59,528

April 2007

2,493,531

51,913

May 2007

3,351,179

89,128

June 2007

3,575,681

126,382

July 2007

4,454,930

158,129

August 2007

4,982,637

191,288

September 2007

4,935,859

226,683

October 2007

6,291,931

273,948

November 2007

5,855,981

276,397

December 2007

5,573,366

255,016

January 2008

6,897,355

370,909

February 2008

6,623,597

428,500

1 to 17 March 2008

4,890,086

243,144

Total

17 March 2008

75,003,880

2,951,526

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of repeat prescriptions were transferred via the electronic prescriptions service in each month since its inception. (195213)

Repeat electronic prescriptions will be transmitted through the electronic prescriptions service with the enablement of Release 2. At present, the system is unable to distinguish practice instigated repeat prescriptions compared to other prescriptions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many and what percentage of GP sites were technically live on the Electronic Prescriptions Service system in each month since its inception; and how many and what percentage of GP sites were using the Electronic Prescriptions Service system in each month since its inception; (195257)

(2) how many and what percentage of community pharmacies were technically live on the electronic prescription service system in each month since its inception.

The information requested is shown in the following table.

Technical go live—general practitioner

Percentage based on 8,480 sites

Technical go live—pharmacy

Percentage based on 10,363 sites

February 2005

2

0.0

1

0.0

March 2005

2

0.0

1

0.0

April 2005

2

0.0

1

0.0

May 2005

17

0.2

2

0.0

June 2005

61

0.7

3

0.0

July 2005

118

1.4

3

0.0

August 2005

167

2.0

5

0.0

September 2005

179

2.1

7

0.1

October 2005

198

2.3

7

0.1

November 2005

468

5.5

10

0.1

December 2005

610

7.2

11

0.1

January 2006

650

7.7

12

0.1

February 2006

739

8.7

17

0.2

March 2006

998

11.8

219

2.1

April 2006

1,083

12.8

243

2.3

May 2006

1,226

14.5

1,404

13.5

June 2006

1,408

16.6

1,425

13.8

July 2006

1,536

18.1

1,493

14.4

August 2006

1,864

22.0

1,809

17.5

September 2006

1,987

23.4

2,195

21.2

October 2006

2,185

25.8

3,395

32.8

November 2006

2,289

27.0

3,544

34.2

December 2006

2,335

27.5

3,626

35.0

January 2007

2,375

28.0

3,950

38.1

February 2007

2,402

28.3

4,132

39.9

March 2007

2,815

33.2

4,340

41.9

April 2007

3,885

45.8

4,587

44.3

May 2007

5,023

59.2

4,933

47.6

June 2007

5,924

69.9

5,527

53.3

July 2007

5,980

70.5

6,036

58.2

August 2007

6,028

71.1

6,605

63.7

September 2007

6,177

72.8

6,971

67.3

October 2007

6,462

76.2

7,326

70.7

November 2007

6,552

77.3

7,652

73.8

December 2007

6,612

78.0

7,833

75.6

January 2008

6,649

78.4

8,052

77.7

February 2008

6,664

78.6

8,154

78.7

March 2008

6,667

78.6

8,159

78.7

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deployments of the general practitioner system for the electronic prescriptions service have been made, broken down by (a) local service provider and (b) practice. (195263)

Existing general practitioner (GP) system suppliers have developed systems that support release one of the electronic prescriptions service (EPS). The EPS has been deployed to 6,663 (79 per cent.) GP practices in England. Through the local service providers, a number of alternative GP systems have been provided to 699 GP practices.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of dispensing appliance contractors were technically live on the electronic prescriptions service system in each month since its inception; and how many and what percentage of dispensing appliance contractors were using the electronic prescriptions service system in each month since its inception. (195276)

There are no dispensing appliance contractors participating in release one of the electronic prescription system.

Prostate Cancer: Screening

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prostate screenings there were in (a) Tamworth and (b) Staffordshire in each of the last five years. (193625)

The national health service, including the South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust, does not operate a prostate cancer screening programme. There is currently insufficient evidence from any country in the world to show that screening would reduce deaths from prostate cancer. The Government are committed to introducing a national screening programme for prostate cancer if and when screening and treatment techniques are sufficiently well developed. The United Kingdom National Screening Committee keeps screening for prostate cancer under review.

The prostate cancer risk management programme was established in 2002 to ensure that men considering a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test are given information concerning the benefits, limitations and risks associated with having a test. Figures on the number of PSA tests taken as a result of the programme are not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what percentage of male prisoners eligible for prostate cancer screening have been screened in the last three years; (193634)

(2) what percentage of males eligible for prostate cancer screening have been screened in the last three years in England.

The national health service does not operate a prostate cancer screening programme. There is currently insufficient evidence from any country in the world to show that screening would reduce deaths from prostate cancer. The Government are committed to introducing a national screening programme for prostate cancer if and when screening and treatment techniques are sufficiently well developed. The United Kingdom national screening committee keeps screening for prostate cancer under review.

The prostate cancer risk management programme (PCRMP) was established in 2002 to ensure that men considering a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test are given information concerning the benefits, limitations and risks associated with having a test. Figures on the number of PSA tests taken as a result of the programme are not collected centrally.

Radiography: West Midlands

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what forecasts he has made for the future requirements for (a) radiographers and (b) radiologists in (i) Tamworth and (ii) the West Midlands. (193628)

Local national health service organisations are best placed to assess the health needs of their local health community and plan the work force they need.

The Department does collect the number of radiographers and radiologists working in the NHS. Data for the West Midlands and the NHS organisations which cover the Tamworth area have been set out in the following table, including figures for 1997 and the three most recent years for which data are available.

NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified diagnostic radiography staff and medical staff within the radiology group of specialties in England by strategic health authority (SHA) area and specified organisation as at 30 September each specified year

Headcount

1997

2004

2005

2006

England

12,428

15,058

15,775

15,739

Diagnostic Radiographers

10,364

12,147

12,700

12,535

Radiologists

2,064

2,911

3,075

3,204

of which:

West Midlands SHA area

1,274

1,601

1,638

1,625

Diagnostic Radiographers

1,082

1,312

1,345

1,324

Radiologists

192

289

293

301

of which:

Mid Staffordshire General Hospitals NHS Trust

45

60

70

72

Diagnostic Radiographers

40

54

65

65

Radiologists

5

6

5

7

South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT)1

n/a

13

13

13

Diagnostic Radiographers

n/a

13

13

13

Radiologists

0

0

0

0

n/a = Not applicable

1 In 2006 Burntwood, Lichfield and Tamworth PCT, Cannock Chase PCT, East Staffordshire PCT and South Western Staffordshire PCT merged to form the South Staffordshire PCT. Figures prior to 2006 are an aggregate of these four predecessor organisations.

Note:

More accurate validation processes in 2006 have resulted in the identification and removal of 9,858 duplicate non-medical staff records out of the total work force figure of 1.3 million in 2006. Earlier years’ figures could not be accurately validated in this way and so will be slightly inflated. The level of inflation in earlier years’ figures is estimated to be less than 1 per cent. of total across all non-medical staff groups for headcount figures (and negligible for full time equivalents). This should be taken into consideration when analysing trends over time.

Sources:

The Information Centre Non Medical Workforce Census.

The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census.

Radiotherapy

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2008, Official Report, columns 2105-6W, on radiotherapy, how many patients had (a) part funded and (b) fully funded proton therapy abroad; in which countries patients have received proton therapy treatment; and if he will make a statement. (193112)

Information on the number of patients who have funded or part funded proton beam therapy abroad is not collected centrally.

Patients have been referred to Switzerland for proton beam therapy.

From April 2008 proton therapy for suitable cancers other than eye cancers, which can be treated in the United Kingdom, will be nationally commissioned from overseas. In the longer term, the Department will consider options for providing modern proton therapy services in this country.

Secure Psychiatric Units: Capacity

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the maximum capacity of provision for (a) NHS and (b) independent sector secure mental healthcare places has been, broken down by establishment, in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. (196072)

The information is not available in the form requested. The available data are collected on the numbers of mental health and learning disability secure unit beds in national health service units, and do not include independent sector beds. The data are not broken down by establishment.

Data on the average daily number of mental health secure unit beds, and learning disability secure unit beds in NHS units in England over the last ten years are set out in the following table.

Average daily number of mental health and learning disability secure unit beds in NHS units

1997-98

1998-99

1999-2000

2000-01

2001-02

Available mental illness

1,921

1,747

1,882

1,952

1,848

Occupancy mental illness

1,566

1,578

1,750

1,792

1,699

Available learning disability

439

422

404

431

407

Occupancy learning disability

404

326

359

408

381

Average daily number of mental health and learning disability secure unit beds in NHS units

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

Available mental illness

2,064

2,569

2,696

2,807

2,993

Occupancy mental illness

1,867

2,378

2,472

2,545

2,722

Available learning disability

508

514

503

526

516

Occupancy learning disability

482

470

484

502

489

1 The definitions of mental health and learning disability secure unit beds, for the purposes of the KH03 annual beds collection, are:

Mental illness—Other ages, secure unit

an AGE GROUP INTENDED of National Code 8 ‘Any age’, a BROAD PATIENT GROUP CODE of National Code 5 ‘Patients with mental illness’ and a CLINICAL CARE INTENSITY of National Code 51 ‘for intensive care: specially designated ward for patients needing containment and more intensive management This is not to be confused with intensive nursing where a patient may require one to one nursing while on a standard ward’.

Learning disabilities—Other ages, secure unit

an AGE GROUP INTENDED of National Code 8 ‘Any age’, a BROAD PATIENT GROUP CODE of National Code 6 ‘Patients with learning difficulties’ and a CLINICAL CARE INTENSITY of National Code 61 ‘designated or interim secure unit’.

Source:

Department of Health Dataset KH031.

These figures do not represent the full level of secure services available to the NHS. “Low secure” mental health services are not consistently defined and may well fall outside the definitions used for this data collection. This means that the figures above mainly show the numbers in high and medium secure mental health services in NHS units. These figures also only show NHS beds and not those commissioned by the NHS and provided by independent sector providers.

Secure Psychiatric Units: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on (a) NHS and (b) independent sector secure mental healthcare places for offenders in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (i) primary care trust and (ii) local health board; and if he will make a statement. (196069)

The information is not available in the form requested. Information on spending on low and medium secure services is not collected in this format, and is not broken down by establishment.

Information is available on the total spend on high secure services for the last five years, based on service level agreements between the high security hospitals and commissioners1. This is set out in the following table. The spending figures include offenders and non-offenders.

1 The figures exclude Dangerous and Serious Personality Disorder programme patients.

Total spend on high secure services in £000

2002-03

178,967

2003-04

190,854

2004-05

201,574

2005-06

212,489

2006-07

218,817

Seroxat

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) use in the UK of negative results from Seroxat trials; and who the (a) UK and (b) non-UK based professional registrants were who had (i) managerial and (ii) clinical responsibility for GSK's nine seroxat trials involving children between 1994 and 2002. (196847)

A detailed criminal investigation was undertaken by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), into whether GlaxoSmithKline withheld information from paediatric clinical trials of their drug Seroxat. The report on the outcome of the investigation has been published and is available in the Library and also on the MHRA website at:

www.mhra.gov.uk/NewsCentre/Pressreleases/CON014152

The MHRA does not normally release personal data, supplied in an expectation of confidence, in accordance with Sections 38 and 40 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Seroxat: Children

To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 8 March 2008, Official Report, column 121WS, on GlaxoSmithKline (MHRA investigation), what discussions he has had with the Chief Executive of the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority on its investigation of the trials of Seroxat involving children between 1994 and 2002. (196777)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: Departmental Ministers were briefed on a regular basis on the progress of the investigation into the compliance of GlaxoSmithKline with relevant legislation, and on the conclusion of the investigation, in advance of the written ministerial statement.

Suicide: Young People

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent discussions he has had with appropriate agencies on suicides amongst young people; and if he will make a statement; (196525)

(2) whether the subject of assistance to suicide prevention amongst young people was on the agenda of recent Ministerial level meetings with the Welsh Assembly Government; whether any cross-border services are envisaged; and if he will make a statement.

There have been no discussions with appropriate agencies nor have discussions taken place at ministerial level with the Welsh Assembly Government about suicides among young people. Officials responsible for implementing the National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England continue to engage with relevant agencies and organisations in considering appropriate measures to take to reduce the risk of suicide among the general population, including young people. In addition, the Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group, chaired by Professor Louis Appleby, meets twice yearly and provides leadership, expert advice and guidance on implementation of the suicide prevention strategy. Membership of this group includes researchers and representatives of Samaritans and PAPYRUS, an organisation committed to the prevention of young suicide.

In addition, the five nations, representing England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Republic of Ireland, have established a suicide prevention strategies coordinating group to share information, research and evidence on suicide prevention actions among the five nations. This group meets on a regular basis.

West Hertfordshire NHS Acute Trust: Manpower

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent (a) medical consultants, (b) other medical staff, (c) nurses, (d) other professional healthcare staff, (e) administrative and clerical staff and (f) auxiliary staff were employed by West Herts NHS Acute Trust in each year since 1996-97. (193400)

The information is set out in the following table. The most recent year for which data are available is 2006.

The numbers of full-time equivalent national health service staff in the West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust1 as at 30 September in each year since 1996

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Hospital and Community Health Services(HCHS) medical consultants

137

153

146

145

143

161

159

156

161

153

152

HCHS dental consultants

2

4

3

2

2

2

3

2

2

2

3

Other HCHS medical staff

254

291

269

276

264

267

271

267

332

320

344

Other HCHS dental staff

5

6

7

8

6

1

1

1

2

5

5

Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff

1,362

1,326

1,177

1,184

1,091

1,259

1,176

1,301

1,321

1,208

1,237

Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff

498

493

483

483

462

475

495

467

483

384

382

Support to clinical staff

1,016

855

879

790

740

900

919

1,132

1,171

1,050

960

NHS infrastructure support

677

512

525

359

366

481

539

574

583

583

518

Other staff or those with unknown classification

8

2

5

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1 In 2000, Mount Vernon and Watford Hospitals and St. Albans and Hemel Hempstead NHS Trusts merged to form the West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trusts. Figures prior to 2000 are an aggregate of these two predecessor organisations.

Note:

Full-time equivalent figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Data for 2007 are released on 14 March.

Sources:

The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census, The Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census

Justice

Antisocial Behaviour: Fixed Penalties

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent estimate he has made of the re-offending rate of recipients of penalty notices for disorder in the latest period for which figures are available. (195648)

Re-offending rates for recipients of penalty notices for disorder are not currently measured. Work is currently under way to assess the feasibility of reporting re-offending rates for recipients of penalty notices for disorder. The feasibility study is due to be complete in the summer.

Adult re-offending includes re-offending for offenders discharged from custody or commencing community sentences, while juvenile re-offending also includes offenders who received reprimands, final warnings and other court convictions.

Burglary: Sentencing

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what changes were made to the sentencing guidelines for (a) magistrates and (b) Crown courts on burglary offences in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. (196119)

Magistrates Courts Sentencing Guidelines, produced by the Magistrates Association with the support of the Lord Chancellor, cover the main offences dealt with in those courts, including burglary. The guidelines were revised in September 2000 and January 2004 and are currently under review by the Sentencing Guidelines Council.

The Court of Appeal issued guidance on domestic burglary in the case of R v. McInerney and Keating (2003) 2 Cr App R (S) 39, which incorporated and added to the guidance in R v. Brewster (1998) 1 Cr App R (S) 181. On 10 March, the Sentencing Guidelines Council issued a draft consultation guideline on theft and burglary (non-dwelling) and will issue a definitive guideline in due course. In December 2004, the Council issued guidelines on seriousness, “Overarching principles: seriousness, and Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea”, which apply in all cases. The latter guideline was revised in July 2007.

Courts: Security

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what minimum level of security staffing is required at (a) magistrates' courts and (b) other courts; and if he will make a statement. (197043)

There is no minimum level of security staffing required at any of the courts within HMCS. Security in courts is provided by designated court security officers (CSOs) appointed by the Lord Chancellor and the number of CSOs is arrived at by assessing the security needs of each court, taking into account the business of that court, existing vulnerabilities and the history of incidents.

Criminal Justice Information Technology

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what projects the criminal justice information technology unit has managed which began after 2002; what the (a) originally estimated and (b) actual costs were for each project; and what the (i) estimated and (ii) actual completion dates were for each project. (195612)

CJIT managed two projects: Secure eMail and the CJS Exchange.

In the business case issued in March 2003, Secure eMail was estimated to cost £23 million (including operating costs to the end of 2007-08) and be fully deployed by April 2004. Secure eMail was delivered in May 2004 and to date has cost £22 million.

In the business case issued in March 2004, CJS Exchange was estimated to cost £175 million to the end of 2007-08 (including operating costs) and to have completed the roll-out of the scope (as defined at that time) by March 2006. To date, CJS Exchange has cost £162 million. Deployment of the remaining elements from the original scope will be completed by December 2008 at an additional cost of £5 million.

The CJS Exchange is an asset that is designed to be utilised, developed and expanded by Criminal Justice Organisations who want to join their systems with other CJS systems or who want to provide access to information within their systems to staff across the wider CJS. The scope of the programme has therefore changed since its inception in order to meet new demands and changing requirements.

Criminal Justice Information Technology: Manpower

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people work in the criminal justice information technology unit; and what the unit’s budget is for 2007-08. (195611)

As of April 2007, the number of staff working at Criminal Justice IT was:

Staff on headcount

Service contract staff

Portfolio and Director’s Office

15

3

Programme Unit

23

46

Technology Unit

18

12

Service Delivery

11

1

Total

67

62

The staff on Service Contract included resources working on CJS IT ring fence funded projects. This figure fluctuated monthly, dependent on business demand, and significantly reduced in number over 2007-08.

The CJIT 2007-08 financial delegation from the CJS IT ring fence budget was £72.51 million.

Driving Under Influence: South Yorkshire

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) arrests, (b) prosecutions and (c) convictions for drink-driving there were in (i) Barnsley East and Mexborough constituency, (ii) Barnsley Metropolitan Borough and (iii) Doncaster Metropolitan Borough in each year since 2002. (195757)

The arrests collection held by my Department covers persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences), by main offence group (e.g. violence against the person, sexual offences, robbery, burglary, theft and handling stolen goods, etc) and police force area within England and Wales. Information on summary motoring offences including those of driving etc after consuming alcohol or taking drugs are non-notifiable and as a result are not covered by the collection.

Available information held on prosecutions and findings of guilt for offences of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs for the years 2002 to 2005 (latest available) is provided in the following table. 2006 data will be available later this year. The data provided cover both drink and drugs offences combined, as volumes of prosecutions and convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs cannot be accurately established.

Information is available at police force area level only.

Proceedings at magistrates courts and findings of guilt at all courts for offences of driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs1, within South Yorkshire police force area, 2002-05

Number of offences

Proceedings

Findings of guilt

2002

2,165

1,945

2003

2,397

2,089

2004

2,474

2,224

2005

2,430

2,220

1 Data provided cover summary offences of driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs (which cannot be reliably distinguished separately).

Notes:

1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete.

2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Drugs: Sentencing

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what changes were made to the sentencing guidelines for (a) magistrates and (b) Crown courts on drug offences in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. (196120)

Magistrates Courts Sentencing Guidelines, produced by the Magistrates Association with the support of the Lord Chancellor, cover the main offences dealt with in those courts, including drugs offences. The guidelines were revised in September 2000 and January 2004 and are currently under review by the Sentencing Guidelines Council.

The Court of Appeal provided guidelines on: supply and dealing in Class A drugs in the cases of R v. Diahit (1999) 2 Cr App R (S) 142, R v. Twisse (2001) 2 Cr App R (S) 37, and R v. Afonso and others (2004) EWCA Crim 2342; the importation of controlled drugs in the case of R v. Mashootlahi (2001) 1 Cr App R (S) 330; Class B drugs—amphetamine in the case of R v. Wijs and others (1999) 1 Cr App R (S) 181; cannabis (prior to its classification as a Class C drug) in the case of R v. Ronchetti (1998) 2 Cr App R (S) 100; possession with intent to supply—LSD in the case of R v. Hurley (1998) 1 Cr App R (S) 29; purity analysis of Class A drugs in the case of R v. Morris (2001) 1 Cr App R (S) 297; and cultivating cannabis in the case of R v. Herridge (2005) EWCA Crim 1410. In December 2004, the Council issued guidelines on seriousness, “Overarching principles: seriousness, and Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea”, which apply in all cases. The latter guideline was revised in July 2007. The Sentencing Advisory Panel is currently undertaking research and background work on drug offences, which is the first stage in the process of producing sentencing guidelines.

Email

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) webmail users and (b) server users in the criminal justice system use Secure eMail; and how many emails were sent across the system in each month since February 2004. (195609)

The information requested is as follows.

Web mail users

There are 5,070 web mail users (as of February 2008).

Server users

There are 9,731 server users known to the CJSM Directory (as of February 2008).

Emails sent in each month since February 2004

Figures for the number of messages sent across the service since February 2004 are not available. However, the figures from November 2004 to February 2008 are as follows:

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

January

34,441

133,308

264,557

466,102

February

27,972

194,532

273,838

488,577

March

31,806

229,088

365,198

April

38,130

189,311

285,628

May

34,115

223,441

315,779

June

48,184

246,448

350,629

July

30,404

261,010

353,964

August

44,042

243,846

374,764

September

60,898

251,408

357,493

October

78,524

255,386

424,841

November

20,100

115,529

262,626

431,158

December

21,452

118,465

218,003

371,335

The number of emails sent across the service has steadily increased over the period since 2004. The same is true for the web mail users and server users.

Judges: Transport

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent between April and November 2007 on vehicles contracted by the Government Car and Despatch Agency to transfer high court judges between their official residences and the courts. (195936)

The amount spent between April and November 2007 on vehicles contracted by the Government Car and Despatch Agency for use in the transfer of high court judges between their official residences and the courts was £289,000. This figure contains a small element of costs associated with other official visits related to the high court judges’ time out on circuit, including inspection visits to prisons, sites of crime and some official public functions and not just those between the lodgings and courts.

Legal Aid: Northern Ireland

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he plans to take to increase access to criminal legal aid in Northern Ireland. (195498)

In Northern Ireland the judiciary are responsible for determining applications for criminal legal aid applying the statutory tests of whether the applicant has insufficient means and the interests of justice.

In 2005, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 97 per cent. of defendants who applied were granted criminal legal aid. There is therefore no evidence to suggest that there is a need to increase access to criminal legal aid.

Legal Services Commission: Recovery of Costs

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much the Legal Services Commission received by way of (a) recovered costs and (b) interest on statutory charges in each year since 1997. (195956)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Guildford (Anne Milton) on 25 January 2008, Official Report, column 2206W.

National Offender Management Service: Expenditure

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost of the National Offender Management Service was in 2006-07. (196147)

The cost of the National Offender Management Service in 2006-07 was £4.3 billion resource and £0.4 billion capital expenditure. This includes expenditure on public and private prisons, 42 probation boards and the Youth Justice Board, as well as central policy and administrative functions. The capital expenditure was mainly on the prisons estate.

National Offender Management Service: Probation

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders are directly managed or supervised by staff of the National Offender Management Service. (196146)

At 30 June 2007 there were a total of 254,762 offenders in prison or being supervised in the community by the Probation Service in England and Wales. The number of offenders supervised by the Probation Service in the community (either under court orders or under post release licence) was 175,028. The number detained in prison was 79,734.

These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

National Offender Management Service: Standards

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of the National Offender Management Service management board received box A markings in their latest performance and development reviews; who was responsible for the award of these markings; and if he will make a statement. (196097)

The members of the National Offender Management Service management board are all Senior Civil Servants (SCS). As such, they do not receive box markings. Under current arrangements, members of the SCS are assessed by their line manager and a judgment is made of how well individuals have performed relative to their peers. All SCS are ranked in tranches. Three members of the NOMS management board received the highest tranche marking in the latest performance and development review.

Prison Service: Public Appointments

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recruitment process was used to fill the post of Deputy Director General of HM Prison Service following the retirement of Peter Atherton; where the post was advertised; how many applications were received; what selection criteria were used; and who comprised the selection panel. (195957)

The role of Deputy to the Director General of the Prison Service was re-introduced following the publication of the Prison Service Review in October 1997. The functions of this role are carried out by an existing member of the Prison Service Management Board. It is not, therefore, a separately advertised post.

Prisoners

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were held in prisons over 50 miles from their homes in the last 12 months. (195549)

As of September 2007, the latest date for which information is available, there were approximately 33,150 prisoners held over 50 miles from their home address.

Where no home address is listed for a prisoner the committal court has been used as a proxy address.

In the previous five years the level of prisoners in this circumstance is in the following table.

Snapshot of prisoners held over 50 miles from their homes (to nearest 100)

2002

25,700

2003

26,800

2004

27,300

2005

27,600

2006

27,800

The increase by September 2007 reflects increased pressure of numbers on the prison estate. Everyone involved is working hard to bring the level down.

Prisoners Transfers

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how much his Department spent on prison transfers in each of the last 10 financial years; and if he will make a statement; (196135)

(2) how many prisoners have been transferred between prisons during their sentence since April 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Details of expenditure on inter-prison transfer services by the inter-prison transfer contractor for each financial year since 2001-02 are set out in the following table. Data are not available for financial years 1997-98 to 2000-01.

Financial year

Cost (£)

2001-02

5,390,061

2002-03

5,390,061

2003-04

5,147,078

2004-05

5,798,057

2005-06

5,786,057

2006-07

7,906,739

2007-08 (to February)

7,006,886

The following table shows the number of inter-prison transfers under the inter-prison transfer contract in each month since April 2007. A breakdown of the number of transfers of sentenced and unsentenced prisoners under the inter-prison transfer contract is not held separately.

Inter-prison Transfers

April 2007

5,302

May 2007

6,183

June 2007

6,028

July 2007

7,253

August 2007

6,341

September 2007

6,185

October 2007

6,504

November 2007

6,428

December 2007

5,297

January 2008

6,838

February 2008

6,256

In addition to this there are prisoner transfers that are managed locally. These are not recorded centrally.

Prisoners: Compensation

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many claims for compensation were made by inmates of each (a) prison and (b) young offenders institution in each year between 2000 and 2007; and how much was paid in compensation. (195547)

The following table details the number of compensation claims received from prisoners over the last three financial years and the total amount paid in compensation, whether by way of out of court settlement or by a court award. The figures exclude private establishments. Compensation figures prior to 2004-05 were not collated centrally and those for 2007-08 have not been finalised.

The claims received each year may not be the same as those that are settled in the same period, as litigation often takes several years to resolve.

Prisoner claims—excluding private establishments and judicial reviews

Prisoner compensation claims received

Total compensation paid(£)

Prison

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

Acklington

8

7

10

0

8,130

9,057

Albany

7

46

69

3,500

8,626

1,400

Ashwell

5

5

5

14,500

0

727

Askham Grange

0

2

0

0

0

0

Bedford

5

3

10

0

2,300

17,114

Belmarsh

11

19

11

0

20,000

28,140

Birmingham

13

11

22

11,000

6,500

23,713

Blakenhurst

22

10

16

4,659

2,500

32,956

Blantyre House

1

0

0

0

250

0

Blundeston

1

3

3

800

0

3,907

Brinsford

1

0

1

0

0

0

Bristol

13

10

7

4,545

13,520

115,400

Brixton

14

9

13

23,433

12,360

20,000

Brockhill

0

1

2

0

0

6,000

Buckley Hall

1

3

6

375

0

0

Bullingdon

17

10

12

18,850

500

8,392

Bullwood Hall

1

0

0

0

0

0

Camp Hill

2

4

4

750

150

8,500

Canterbury

0

1

0

1,100

0

0

Cardiff

8

4

6

0

3,000

46,614

Castington

4

1

1

3,000

700

1,350

Channings Wood

8

2

7

1,350

0

2,750

Chelmsford

6

2

9

1,145,005

0

12,421

Coldingley

3

2

0

5,000

0

0

Cookham Wood

1

1

1

0

0

0

Danesbury Approved School

0

0

1

0

0

0

Dartmoor

3

7

6

0

10,000

4,757

Deerbolt

3

3

2

300

500

2,500

Dorchester

3

1

1

825

20,000

3,807

Dover

1

0

0

0

0

0

Downview

0

2

0

1,800

1,000

0

Drake Hall

1

1

2

500

7,000

8,750

Durham

17

12

14

0

6,603

29,921

East Sutton Park

1

0

2

9,000

0

0

Eastwood Park

2

1

3

0

340,750

0

Edmunds Hill

0

2

2

0

0

6,750

Elmley

17

16

7

58,275

13,650

47,345

Erlestoke

7

4

4

0

0

5,500

Everthorpe

4

2

13

0

1,800

0

Exeter

15

6

5

0

5,000

37,014

Featherstone

3

6

4

0

0

0

Feltham

4

5

1

900

100

12,600

Ford

9

13

9

6,250

1,500

1,639

Foston Hall

2

0

5

0

0

0

Frankland

19

33

19

0

1,695

12,579

Full Sutton

17

29

22

0

1,383

10,232

Garth

8

14

10

0

30,250

7,657

Gartree

5

9

8

200

375

1,200

Glen Parva

1

3

1

97,500

0

0

Gloucester

4

1

5

0

6,600

1,500

Grendon/Spring Hill

3

4

6

600

7,894

1,000

Guys Marsh

5

5

4

0

200

5,660

Haverigg

4

4

12

2,000

0

8,400

He well Grange

3

2

2

0

0

1,000

High Down

8

6

10

4,300

400

0

Highpoint

6

5

6

7,000

850

14,727

Hindley

2

4

1

64,250

0

0

Hollesley Bay

2

2

3

5,000

0

24,250

Holloway

2

3

7

150

5,000

1,500

Holme House

13

5

7

14,935

150

11,421

Hull

19

11

12

8,509

2,800

46,051

Huntercombe

2

0

0

1,500

0

0

Kingston

2

2

3

0

2,225

0

Kirkham

8

17

15

5,850

5,000

27,550

Kirklevington Grange

1

1

0

0

0

0

Lancaster

11

4

4

0

625

6,557

Lancaster Farms

3

4

6

170

0

0

Latchmere House

1

1

2

0

2,500

0

Leeds

28

37

29

96,527

14,700

149,556

Leicester

16

3

6

0

1,750

17,087

Lewes

8

13

12

1,000

16,060

13,056

Leyhill

6

3

0

9,926

16,750

3,000

Lincoln

10

22

7

14,450

1,900

10,149

Lindholme

13

29

9

4,700

10,500

6,830

Littlehey

2

21

11

40

10,920

0

Liverpool

40

16

35

41,000

2,808,025

44,314

Long Lartin

35

30

30

25

6,898

11,317

Low Newton

3

4

2

0

2,000

12,614

Maidstone

8

14

9

12,150

40

5,177

Manchester

20

13

20

0

260,000

61,464

Medomsley

0

6

1

0

0

0

Moorland

7

10

12

0

3,500

6,157

Morton Hall

0

3

3

0

0

0

New Hall

4

2

6

0

2,925

15,228

North Sea Camp

6

5

2

5,750

0

1,750

Northallerton

2

1

1

0

575,000

7,614

Northendon Road Approved School

0

0

1

0

0

0

Norwich

14

3

8

1,650

10,000

23,028

Nottingham

7

13

9

0

652

33,771

Onley

2

2

2

2,000

0

70,000

Parkhurst

18

15

27

405

350

3,725

Pentonville

14

14

24

7,000

6,595

14,745

Portland

3

4

2

0

0

31,250

Preston

16

10

12

3,500

8,300

12,986

Ranby

10

10

11

0

200

1,300

Reading

0

1

0

0

0

2,100

Risley

32

9

6

325

1,350

14,064

Rochester

1

3

0

0

3,000

2,250

Send

3

1

2

0

850

2,200

Shepton Mallet

0

2

5

3,825

0

1,425

Shrewsbury

13

2

3

1,715

0

38,071

Stafford

4

1

8

1,350

0

8,714

Standford Hill

7

5

6

10,000

8,300

18,400

Stocken

6

8

3

17,000

0

1,180

Stoke Heath

2

1

5

0

0

0

Styal

8

3

6

0

4,700

12,021

Sudbury

5

2

1

200

0

3,807

Swaleside

14

12

4

264,550

2,300

10,462

Swansea

4

0

2

13,500

3,500

0

Swinfen Hall

1

2

0

0

0

0

The Mount

4

8

7

8,000

5,840

749

The Verne

8

9

6

23,015

16,500

22,847

Thorn Cross

1

0

1

0

0

0

Usk/Prescoed

2

1

4

0

0

0

Wakefield

12

27

35

8,000

28,342

11,840

Wandsworth

38

24

20

44,067

8,053

16,705

Warren Hill

0

1

0

0

0

0

Wayland

7

8

12

1,500

3,310

17,014

Wealstun

6

4

9

3,750

0

4,700

Weare

4

7

1

5,359

6,005

7,250

Wellingborough

10

2

10

1,774

10,600

6,000

Werrington

0

1

0

0

0

0

Wetherby

1

2

5

0

0

0

Whatton

3

4

11

2,000

0

0

Whitemoor

18

55

65

0

1,699

3,532

Winchester

17

6

8

425

500

46,294

Woodhill

10

17

10

0

10,721

8,364

Wormwood Scrubs

13

9

13

123,435

4,500

522,541

Wymott

19

27

14

29,683

525

17,315

Grand total

958

973

1034

2,291,277

4,432,046

2,036,271

Prisoners: Foreigners

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign prisoners from each country of origin there were in prisons in England and Wales on 1st March 2008. (195548)

The following table gives a breakdown by nationality of all foreign national prisoners in prison establishments in England and Wales as at 31 December 2007. It is available quarterly as table 5 within the Population in custody monthly published tables at the following website:

http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/populationincustody.htm

The latest edition containing table 5 is given at:

http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/population-in-custody-dec07.pdf

The following is the link to the publication schedule for RDS-NOMS publications:

http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/stats-pub-schedule.htm

The next bulletin on foreign nationals will be for March 2008, published at the end of April.

These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Information on the country of origin of individual prisoners is not available, and may not be the same as their nationality.

Population in prison by nationality and sex, England and Wales 31 December 2007

Nationality

Male

Female

Total

All nationalities

75,275

4,330

79,605

UK nationals

64,099

3,264

67,363

Foreign nationals

10,337

974

11,310

Not recorded

840

92

932

Total Africa

2,961

436

3,397

Algeria

161

1

162

Angola

76

4

80

Benin

5

0

5

Botswana

1

1

2

Burundi

8

0

8

Cameroon, United Republic

48

2

49

Cape Verde

1

0

1

Central African Republic

11

3

14

Chad

2

0

2

Congo

123

5

128

Congo, Democratic Republic

33

1

34

Djibouti

1

0

1

Egypt

16

0

16

Ethiopia

54

1

55

Gambia

48

4

52

Ghana

195

34

229

Guinea

18

1

19

Guinea/Bissau

2

0

2

Ivory Coast

35

1

36

Kenya

61

10

71

Liberia

26

9

35

Libya

16

0

16

Madagascar

0

1

1

Malawi

14

3

17

Mali

1

0

1

Mauritania

4

0

4

Mauritius

19

1

20

Morocco

45

1

46

Mozambique

4

1

5

Namibia

4

1

5

Niger

3

0

3

Nigeria

917

229

1,146

Rwanda

17

0

17

Senegal

7

1

8

Sierra Leone

84

6

91

Somalia

382

12

394

South Africa

167

49

216

Sudan

44

3

47

Swaziland

1

0

1

Tanzania

18

2

20

Togo

5

3

8

Tongo

1

0

1

Tunisia

22

2

24

Uganda

77

8

85

Western Sahara

2

0

2

Zambia

14

2

16

Zimbabwe

168

33

200

Total Asia

1,973

131

2,104

Afghanistan

109

1

110

Bangladesh

154

3

157

Burma

5

0

5

Cambodia

1

0

1

China

337

49

386

Hong Kong

4

0

4

India

318

5

323

Indonesia

4

0

4

Japan

0

1

1

Korea, Dem Peoples Rep (Nth)

1

1

2

Korea, Republic of (Sth)

6

0

6

Malaysia

38

7

45

Mongolia

8

0

8

Nepal

3

0

3

Pakistan

397

9

406

Philippines

18

3

21

Singapore

3

3

6

Sri Lanka

143

2

145

Thailand

4

7

11

Vietnam

420

40

460

Total Europe

2,957

207

3,164

Albania

147

2

149

Armenia

5

0

5

Austria

14

3

17

Azerbaijan

3

0

3

Belgium

33

1

34

Bosnia-Herzegovina

7

3

10

Bulgaria

26

15

41

Croatia

6

0

6

Cyprus

43

2

45

Czech Republic

56

3

59

Denmark

8

0

8

Estonia

17

2

19

Finland

3

1

4

France

153

14

167

Georgia

19

0

19

Germany

108

11

119

Gibraltar

3

0

3

Greece

15

3

18

Hungary

26

3

29

Irish Republic

609

30

639

Italy

88

7

94

Kazakhstan

5

0

5

Kyrgyzstan

3

0

3

Latvia

48

2

50

Lithuania

191

12

203

Macedonia

7

0

7

Malta

8

0

8

Moldova

18

3

21

Netherlands

105

11

116

Norway

4

0

4

Poland

339

20

359

Portugal

175

7

182

Romania

151

21

172

Russia

98

11

109

San Marino

1

0

1

Serbia and Montenegro

100

1

101

Slovakia

24

2

26

Slovenia

5

1

6

Spain

54

7

61

Sweden

10

5

15

Switzerland

6

1

7

Turkey

211

4

215

Turkmenistan

1

0

1

Uzbekistan

3

0

3

Total Middle East

584

5

589

Iran

205

2

207

Iraq

267

1

268

Israel

24

0

24

Jordan

9

0

9

Kuwait

9

0

9

Lebanon

27

1

28

Oman

1

0

1

Qatar

1

0

1

Saudi Arabia

14

1

15

Syrian Arab Republic

6

0

6

United Arab Emirates

8

0

8

Yemen, Republic of

12

0

12

Total North America

121

10

131

Canada

20

6

26

United States of America

101

4

105

0

0

Total Oceania

44

4

48

Australia

23

3

26

Canton and Enderbury Island

1

0

1

Fiji

9

0

9

French Southern Territories

2

0

2

Kiribati

1

0

1

New Zealand

8

1

9

Total Central and South America

294

42

335

Argentina

3

1

4

Belize

2

0

2

Bolivia

6

0

6

Brazil

57

7

64

Chile

10

0

10

Columbia

104

8

112

Costa Rica

2

1

3

Ecuador

12

1

13

El Salvador

0

1

1

French Guyana

3

2

5

Guatemala

4

0

4

Guyana

30

8

38

Honduras

1

0

1

Mexico

25

8

33

Panama

4

0

4

Paraguay

0

1

1

Peru

6

1

7

Surinam

8

1

9

Uruguay

1

0

1

Venezuela

15

2

17

Total West Indies

1,399

140

1,539

Anguilla

1

0

1

Bahamas

4

0

4

Barbados

34

2

36

Bermuda

3

0

3

Cayman Islands

1

0

1

Cuba

5

0

5

Dominica

10

2

12

Dominican Republic

8

2

10

Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis

2

0

2

Grenada

13

4

17

Haiti

3

0

3

Jamaica

1,185

93

1,278

Montserrat

20

1

21

Netherlands Antilles

7

5

12

St. Lucia

25

8

32

St. Vincent and The Grenadines

9

2

11

Trinidad and Tobago

69

21

90

0

0

Total other

4

0

4

Data Sources and Quality:

These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system and so although shown to the last individual, the figure may not be accurate to that level.

Probation: Community Orders

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect on Probation Service resources of an increase in the use of community penalties by magistrates' courts. (195665)

There is no simple relationship between the number of community penalties passed and their resource impact upon the probation service. The cost of community penalties is related to the number of such sentences, the risk profile of the offenders made subject to them, the number and nature of requirements included in them and their length. The impact of any rise varies with other changes in the mix of probation workload, such as the number of reports to be prepared and the number of offenders to be supervised on release from custody.

New community penalties to be supervised by the probation service rose by 5 per cent. between September 2006 and September 2007. The caseload of such cases under supervision at any one time rose by 3 per cent. over the same period.

An additional £40 million has recently been made available to the probation service for the specific purpose of supporting local plans to promote confidence in the use of community penalties.

Protection from Harassment Act 1997

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) arrests, (b) prosecutions and (c) convictions there were for offences under (i) the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and (ii) the Malicious Communications Act 1988 in each of the last 10 years. (195647)

The arrests collection undertaken by the Ministry of Justice provides data on persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, by age group, gender, ethnicity, and main offence group, i.e. violence against the person, sexual offences, robbery, burglary, etc. It is not possible to separately identify specific offences from within the main offence groups.

The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and the Malicious Communications Act 1988 can in England and Wales for the years 1997 to 2006 be viewed in the following table.

Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and the Malicious Communications Act 1988 in England and Wales for the years 1997 to 20061,2,3,4

Statute

Protection from Harassment Act 1997

Malicious Communications Act 1988 S.1(l)(a),1(1)(b)

Proceeded against

Found guilty

Proceeded against

Found guilty

1997

780

344

0

0

1998

6,189

3,031

0

0

1999

7,758

3,671

0

0

20005

8,162

3,940

0

0

2001

7,936

3,792

0

0

2002

7,955

3,976

66

38

2003

8,084

4,234

78

47

2004

8,148

4,675

99

64

2005

8,108

5,185

122

73

2006

7,805

5,333

182

121

1 These data are on the principal offence basis.

2 The data relates to the following Statutes and offence descriptions:

Malicious Communications Act S.l(l)(a), and 1(1 )(b):

Sending letter or other article conveying indecent or grossly offensive message

Sending letter or other article conveying threat

Sending letter or other article conveying false information

Sending article which is in whole or in part indecent or grossly offensive

Protection from Harassment Act 1997 S.2(l) and (2), 3(6), 4(1), and 5(5):

Infringing the terms of an injunction which restrains the offender from harassment

Putting a person in fear of violence

Breach of a restraining order under the Act

Harassment of another

3 The data excludes racially and or religiously aggravated harassment offences as covered by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

4 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

5 Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000.

Note:

Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table.

Source:

Court proceedings data held by RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice

Court proceedings data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.

Reoffenders: Secure Accommodation

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what proportion of (a) juveniles and (b) young adult offenders were reconvicted within two years of release from secure children's homes in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement; (196132)

(2) what proportion of (a) juvenile and (b) young adult offenders were reconvicted within two years of release from secure training centres in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;

(3) what proportion of (a) juvenile and (b) young adult offenders were reconvicted within two years of release from young offenders institutions in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Young adult offenders are not placed in secure training centres or secure children's homes. The Ministry of Justice statistical bulletin ‘Re-offending of Juveniles: results from the 2005 cohort’ (July 2007) found that 76 per cent. of young people aged under 18 discharged from custody in the first quarter of 2005 re-offended within a year. It analysed the figures in various ways: for example by age, by ethnicity and by offence sanctioned. However, there would be difficulty in attempting such an analysis by type of custodial establishment, because transfers occur between different types of establishment and the number of offenders given custodial sentences is very small compared to other disposals.

Robbery: Sentencing

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what changes were made to the sentencing guidelines for (a) magistrates and (b) Crown courts on robbery offences in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. (196122)

Robbery is an indictable only offence and therefore is not dealt with in the magistrates courts.

In July 2006, the Sentencing Guidelines Council issued a guideline on robbery. In December 2004, the Council issued guidelines on seriousness,

“overarching principles: seriousness, and reduction in sentence for a guilty plea”,

which apply in all cases, including robbery. The latter guideline was revised in July 2007.

Segregation of Prisoners

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were housed in segregation units in each of the last (a) five years and (b) 12 months. (195804)

The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, by surveying every establishment in England and Wales.

Vandalism: South Yorkshire

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) arrests, (b) prosecutions and (c) convictions there were for vandalism in (i) Barnsley East and Mexborough constituency, (ii) Barnsley Metropolitan borough and (iii) Doncaster metropolitan borough in each year since 2002. (195760)

The arrests collection undertaken by the Ministry of Justice provides data on persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences), by age group, gender, ethnicity, and main offence group. Information is given in table 1 for South Yorkshire police force area for the number of persons arrested for offences within the main offence group ‘criminal damage’.

Table 1: Number of persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) of criminal damage1 in South Yorkshire police force area, by period

Period

Total

2001-02

3,523

2002-03

3,937

2003-04

4,138

2004-05

4,882

2005-06

4,936

1 Includes indictable offences for criminal damage and summary offences of criminal damage, £5,000 or less.

Note:

Every effort is made to ensure that figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Data for the same area showing the number of defendants proceeded against and found guilty of criminal damage, which includes cases involving vandalism, are given in the following table.

Data are not available at parliamentary constituency or metropolitan borough level and cases involving vandalism cannot be separately identified from the arrests and court proceedings data held by my Department.

Data for the same area showing the number of defendants proceeded against and found guilty of criminal damage, which includes cases involving vandalism, are given in the following table.

Data are not available at parliamentary constituency or metropolitan borough level and cases involving vandalism cannot be separately identified from the arrests and court proceedings data held by my Department.

Table 2: Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts of criminal damage1 in South Yorkshire police force area, 2002-062, 3

Proceeded against

Found guilty

2002

1,765

1,121

2003

1,876

1,164

2004

1,800

1,242

2005

1,831

1,353

2006

1,700

1,251

1 Includes indictable offences for criminal damage and summary offences of criminal damage, £5,000 or less, and in addition offences under section 19 of the Allotments Act 1922.

2 These data are on the principal offence basis.

3 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Young Offenders

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many persistent young offenders are registered; and how many and what proportion of total offences there were in which the offender was a persistent young offender in each police force area in England and Wales in each year since 1997. (195605)

Statistics on Persistent Young Offenders (PYOs) are available from 1997 to 2007. These figures are derived from police national computer data, and monitor the pledge to halve the average time from arrest to sentence for dealing with PYOs in England and Wales from 142 days in 1996 to 71 days.

The following table shows the number of PYOs in England and Wales in each year since 1997. It also shows the number of cases involving such offenders and the average time from arrest to sentence for dealing with them. Data in this table are published as national statistics by the Ministry of Justice.

Key statistics on persistent young offenders (PYO), 1997 to 2007

Number of PYOs

Number of PYO convictions

Arrest to sentence interval (days)

1997

9,868

16,010

141

1998

11,079

18,605

125

1999

12,014

21,151

108

2000

13,094

23,130

93

2001

13,854

25,393

76

2002

14,244

26,116

68

2003

14,242

26,083

66

2004

14,403

26,363

69

2005

14,725

27,037

68

2006

15,528

28,252

72

2007

16,512

30,683

65

It should be noted that the increase in the number of people who meet the definition of a PYO is partly a consequence of the large improvements in the timeliness of dealing with such offenders. The definition of a PYO relies on counting successive sentencing occasions for a single offender during a limited time period. Speedier operation of the youth justice system has markedly reduced the average time taken from arrest to sentence, and as a result the number of young offenders who fall within the scope of this definition has increased. This was a particular issue from 1997 to 2002, the period during which these timeliness improvements were taking effect.

Information is not available on the total number offences committed by PYOs. However, information is available on the number of convictions handed down to these offenders, and the following table therefore shows the proportion of total notifiable offences brought to justice that is attributable to court convictions of PYOs. Please note that data on the numbers of offences brought to justice are only currently available for the years 2000 to 2006 inclusive.

Persistent young offender (PYO) convictions as a proportion of notifiable offences brought to justice, 2000-06

Court convictions of PYOs

Offences brought to justice

Number

Percentage

2000

1,012.722

23,130

2.28

2001

1,001.301

25,393

2.54

2002

1,031.214

26,116

2.53

2003

1,059.663

26,083

2.46

2004

1,124.574

26,363

2.34

2005

1,276.969

27,037

2.12

2006

1,408.547

28,252

2.01

The Criminal Justice System area breakdowns are in the following table.

Persistent Young Offender (PYO) convictions as a proportion of notifiable offences brought to justice, 2000-06

Number of convictions of persistent young offenders

CJS area name

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

0

England and Wales1

23,130

25,393

26,116

26,083

26,363

27,037

28,252

1

Metropolitan

2,009

2,291

2,236

2,069

2,205

2,133

2,549

3

Cumbria

305

300

318

337

321

352

415

4

Lancashire

830

843

1,089

1,035

945

1,078

1,216

5

Merseyside

820

966

999

1,015

1,042

835

797

6

Greater Manchester

1,875

2,290

2,165

1,866

1,885

2,101

2,251

7

Cheshire

378

389

449

438

495

530

483

10

Northumbria

1,539

1,612

1,498

1,620

1,518

1,619

1,730

11

Durham

545

464

506

414

328

382

457

12

North Yorkshire

282

280

282

305

333

333

380

13

West Yorkshire

1,367

1,327

1,309

1,432

1,623

1,676

1,575

14

South Yorkshire

696

645

717

713

738

701

646

16

Humberside

412

494

419

501

626

647

653

17

Cleveland

496

506

557

389

396

382

419

20

West Midlands

1,663

1,839

1,759

1,807

1,743

1,456

1,401

21

Staffordshire

400

464

419

516

511

517

515

22

West Mercia

392

414

458

446

501

508

628

23

Warwickshire

145

193

172

145

142

177

225

30

Derbyshire

322

411

403

392

414

416

433

31

Nottinghamshire

669

689

687

671

581

703

709

32

Lincolnshire

228

242

229

260

221

171

199

33

Leicestershire

374

421

459

448

315

466

439

34

Northamptonshire

298

288

282

254

239

243

235

35

Cambridgeshire

267

245

283

342

273

315

310

36

Norfolk

268

278

256

294

258

220

271

37

Suffolk

213

285

363

390

446

491

423

40

Bedfordshire

160

142

127

160

225

189

172

41

Hertfordshire

199

209

246

276

339

362

356

42

Essex

455

479

470

451

514

654

736

43

Thames Valley

455

559

659

561

500

636

721

44

Hampshire

1,079

1,052

1,236

1,184

1,207

1,128

1,116

45

Surrey

175

235

219

194

239

249

258

46

Kent

480

614

619

715

654

673

686

47

Sussex

242

335

414

465

615

762

828

50

Devon and Cornwall

299

418

434

504

576

518

485

52

Avon and Somerset

314

449

496

482

456

564

612

53

Gloucestershire

135

183

188

194

199

215

285

54

Wiltshire

151

166

192

203

222

206

202

55

Dorset

109

141

183

219

215

243

274

60

North Wales

273

346

426

451

438

386

402

61

Gwent

341

336

325

372

420

396

409

62

South Wales

1,082

1,111

1,100

1,018

900

869

719

63

Dyfed Powys

158

212

225

242

199

228

264

Percentage

Proportion of convictions of persistent young offenders from all notifiable offences brought to justice

CJS area name

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

0

England and Wales1

2.28

2.54

2.53

2.46

2.34

2.12

2.01

1

Metropolitan

1.60

1.92

1.70

1.60

1.61

1.27

1.26

3

Cumbria

2.99

3.15

3.15

3.11

2.73

2.79

3.23

4

Lancashire

2.76

2.82

3.47

3.32

2.74

2.75

2.48

5

Merseyside

2.70

3.31

3.45

3.19

3.08

2.02

1.82

6

Greater Manchester

3.12

4.00

3.86

3.25

2.79

2.89

2.73

7

Cheshire

2.23

2.58

2.86

2.64

2.89

2.36

1.94

10

Northumbria

3.81

3.97

3.68

3.80

3.94

3.96

3.57

11

Durham

4.28

3.56

3.70

3.24

2.71

2.84

2.94

12

North Yorkshire

2.25

2.32

2.32

2.32

2.23

2.14

2.51

13

West Yorkshire

2.61

2.83

2.76

2.98

2.63

2.33

2.38

14

South Yorkshire

2.68

2.62

2.92

2.60

2.52

1.93

1.56

16

Humberside

2.23

2.82

2.47

2.66

2.87

2.69

2.51

17

Cleveland

3.39

3.45

3.67

2.61

2.67

2.32

2.03

20

West Midlands

2.31

2.43

2.21

2.25

2.48

2.06

1.84

21

Staffordshire

1.78

2.23

1.80

2.21

2.23

2.00

1.84

22

West Mercia

1.91

1.91

2.08

2.01

2.08

1.84

2.13

23

Warwickshire

2.10

2.38

2.23

1.68

1.55

1.69

1.82

30

Derbyshire

2.00

2.40

2.19

2.19

2.23

1.97

2.04

31

Nottinghamshire

2.54

2.76

2.97

2.72

2.35

2.56

2.36

32

Lincolnshire

2.63

2.35

2.11

2.44

1.97

1.19

1.31

33

Leicestershire

2.11

2.21

2.56

2.33

1.43

1.86

1.61

34

Northamptonshire

2.13

2.18

2.25

1.97

1.78

2.00

1.57

35

Cambridgeshire

2.24

2.25

2.32

2.64

2.20

2.02

1.77

36

Norfolk

1.93

2.19

1.95

2.15

1.70

1.38

1.46

37

Suffolk

1.82

2.47

3.03

2.93

2.97

3.21

2.44

40

Bedfordshire

1.55

1.24

1.10

1.45

1.89

1.43

1.26

41

Hertfordshire

1.49

1.53

1.65

1.70

1.76

1.93

1.32

42

Essex

2.28

2.27

2.14

1.92

2.03

1.97

1.95

43

Thames Valley

1.50

1.81

1.93

1.73

1.38

1.18

1.40

44

Hampshire

3.34

3.32

3.85

3.58

3.23

2.95

2.90

45

Surrey

1.67

1.93

1.91

1.51

1.35

1.58

1.47

46

Kent

1.80

2.44

2.53

2.53

2.24

1.99

1.87

47

Sussex

1.21

1.53

1.83

1.97

2.26

2.37

2.44

50

Devon and Cornwall

1.18

1.67

1.60

1.84

2.06

1.68

1.47

52

Avon and Somerset

1.21

1.73

1.83

1.80

1.74

1.64

1.60

53

Gloucestershire

1.06

1.40

1.43

1.46

1.65

1.51

1.76

54

Wiltshire

1.42

1.53

1.92

1.80

1.93

1.70

1.67

55

Dorset

0.97

1.26

1.63

2.02

1.37

1.50

1.63

60

North Wales

2.08

2.75

3.22

3.34

2.97

2.45

2.19

61

Gwent

2.00

1.92

2.00

2.21

2.65

2.64

2.30

62

South Wales

3.56

3.76

3.61

3.22

2.87

2.88

2.43

63

Dyfed Powys

1.44

1.87

1.91

1.93

1.83

1.75

1.92

1 The England and Wales totals include cases dealt with by the British Transport Police or else are not assigned to a local constabulary.

Further information on persistent young offenders can be found on the dedicated page of the Ministry of Justice website:

www.justice.gov.uk/publications/averagetimearresttosentencepyo.htm

Young Offenders: Restraint Techniques

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he will place in the Library a copy of the manual for control and restraint in young offenders institutions. (194876)

Control and restraint (C and R) techniques are used in all Prison Service establishments, including young offender institutions, as a last resort when all other de-escalation techniques have failed. The restraint methods involve a variety of defensive and disarming techniques ranging from simple breakaway techniques through to defensive strikes and defence against improvised weapons and firearms. For reasons of security the prison service does not disclose details of the individual techniques used in C and R.

Home Department

Access to Justice Act 1999

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under section 94 of the Access to Justice Act 1999 in each year since 2002; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (196021)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'Other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Adoption and Children Act 2002

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 in each year since its entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (196000)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the ‘Other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order 2001

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order 2001 in each year since 2002, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (195999)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the ‘Other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Asylum

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects a decision to be made on Yousef Ahmedali’s application for asylum (Reference A1142900). (194887)

[holding answer 17 March 2008]: The Border and Immigration Agency will make a decision in line with usual procedures, this is expected to be in the next four weeks.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2008, Official Report, column 1297W, on asylum, how many grants of indefinite leave to remain (ILR) under the 2003 family ILR exercise were for families in the categories (a) Africa other, (b) Middle East other and (c) Asia other, broken down by nationality. (196028)

[holding answer 20 March 2008]: The requested information is contained in the following table.

Copies of asylum statistics publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Grants of ILR issued under the family ILR exercise as at 7 December 2007, excluding dependants, for specified nationalities1,2,3,4

Country of nationality

Total

Africa Other

Benin

5

Botswana

*

Burkina Faso

5

Central African Republic

*

Chad

10

Gabon

5

Guinea

15

Guinea-Bissau

10

Malawi

10

Mali

5

Mauritania

*

Mauritius

15

Mozambique

*

Niger

5

Senegal

*

Seychelles

10

South Africa

40

Togo

40

Western Sahara

*

Zambia

25

Total Africa Other

200

Asia Other

Bhutan

*

Cambodia

*

Fiji

*

Indonesia

10

Malaysia

5

Mongolia

30

Myanmar (Burma)

10

Nauru

*

Nepal

50

North Korea

*

Philippines

15

Singapore

*

South Korea

5

Taiwan

*

Thailand

5

Total Asia Other

130

Middle East

Bahrain

*

Egypt

20

Israel

40

Jordan

10

Kuwait

10

Lebanon

100

Morocco

15

Oman

*

Palestine

155

Saudi Arabia

5

Tunisia

10

United Arab Emirates

*

Yemen

65

Total Middle East Other

440

1 Provisional figures rounded to the nearest 5 (* = 1 or 2 ). 2 Main asylum applicants (this is how the Family ILR exercise records those more often referred to as "principal asylum applicants"). 3 This information is based on internal management information. 4 Nationality recorded as at 7 December 2007 is not necessarily the applicant's nationality at the time of grant of ILR.

Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004 in each year since its entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (195996)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the ‘Immigration Acts’ offence classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Border and Immigration Agency

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the titles are of the Case Resolution Teams in the Border and Immigration Agency; how many full-time equivalent staff are allocated to each team; how many outstanding cases are allocated to each team; and how many older, unresolved asylum cases are assigned to each team. (195170)

[holding answer 18 March 2008]: Case Resolution Teams are identified serially by number and are abbreviated with a suffix CRT(S), CRT(M) or CRT(L) depending upon whether they are located in Croydon (S stands for South), Manchester or Liverpool.

There are currently around 60 case owner teams with a full time equivalent staff complement, ranging from seven to 15 per team.

In December 2007 we allocated 330,000 principal applicant cases to around 60 case owner teams so that each team has about 5,500 cases to conclude.

Border and Immigration Agency: Correspondence

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) letters, (b) emails and (c) telephone calls were received by the Border and Immigration Agency from hon. Members and their staff in each year since 2003; and if she will make a statement. (195436)

The Border and Immigration Agency have received the numbers noted in the following table of telephone calls, e-mails and letters from hon. Members and their staff since 2003. (The e-mail service did not start until 2005).

Number

Letters

2003

126,577

2004

38,015

2005

41,075

2006

41,534

2007

46,180

Total

193,381

E-mails

2005 (last four months)

98

2006

899

2007

2,325

2008 (to 29 February 2008)

567

Total

3,889

Phone calls

2003 (seven month total)

15,728

2004

31,393

2005

34,338

2006

31,749

2007

24,429

2008 (to date)

3,877

Total

110,121

1 Ministerial performance for 2003 does not include January-March figures.

Notes:

1. Figures for letters received do not include OGD transfers

2. These statistics come from local management figures not from any published source and may be subject to amendment.

Border and Immigration Agency: Visits

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many personnel from the Border and Immigration Agency made official overseas visits in each of the last five years; what the purpose and destination of each visit was; and what the cost of the visits was. (193211)

The agency does not hold a central record of the number, purpose and destination of overseas visits made by personnel from the Border and Immigration Agency.

Border and Immigration Agency: Expenditure

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on enforcement action by the Border and Immigration Agency and its predecessor in each of the last five years; and what proportion was attributed to activity against individuals involved in identity theft or identity fraud involving document abuse. (195093)

Enforcement action consists of many stages in the end-to-end process of resolving a case. It can include policy work, caseworking, inquiries abroad, intelligence work, legal advice, support costs, operations, detention, escorts the cost of charters and other flights used to effect removal, and ministerial and senior officials' time. Such costs are spread across a number of cost centres within the Agency and its predecessor and are not functionally recorded on a case-by-case basis. The information requested could therefore be provided only by the detailed analysis of individual case records at disproportionate cost.

The Border and Immigration Agency's budget allocations are not made or recorded on a detailed activity basis and therefore it is not possible to give a definitive figure for the proportion of budget attributed to activity against individuals involved in identity theft or identity fraud involving document abuse. However, action against such theft or fraud is an important part of our Enforcement Strategy, published in March 2007.

Copies of the document are placed in the Libraries of both Houses. It is available to view at:

http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/managingourborders/enforcementstrategy/

Latest published statistics on the total spend in the Home Office are set out in the Home Office report a copy of which has also been placed in both Houses. It is also available to view at:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/ho-annual-report-07?view=Binary

Borders: Personal Records

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the FBI terrorist screening database will be among the multi-agency watchlists used as part of the e-borders programme to check persons flying into the UK. (195151)

The e-Borders system will contain a number of agency owned watchlists against which traveller’s details will be checked to identify those of interest to UK authorities, including subjects linked to terrorism. It is a matter for the responsible agencies to identify individuals suitable for inclusion in their watchlists; this may include those identified through international liaison.

British Amusement Catering Trade Association

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations her Department has received from the British Amusement Catering Trade Association; and if she will make a statement. (186201)

[holding answer 18 February 2008]: The Department has received no recent representations from the British Amusement Catering Trade Association.

BSE Monitoring (England) Regulations 2001

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the BSE Monitoring (England) Regulations 2001 in each year since 2002, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (195995)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the ‘Other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Care Act 2000

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under section 89 of the Care Act 2000 in each year since 2002, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (195994)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the ‘other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Civil Partnership Act 2004

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Civil Partnership Act 2004 in each year since its entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of those offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (196009)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in either the ‘disclosure, obstruction, false or misleading statements’ classification or in the ‘other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within those classifications. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Civil Service Appeal Board

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of appeals by employees of (a) her Department and (b) its agencies were (i) heard and (ii) upheld by the Civil Service Appeal Board in each of the last 10 years; how much was awarded in compensation by the Board to each successful appellant in each year; what the reason was for each compensation award; how many appellants were reinstated by the Board in each year; and what the reason was for each (A) dismissal and (B) reinstatement. (192564)

Statistics on the number of appeals heard during the last 10 financial years can be found in Appendix 2 of the Civil Service Appeal Board's Annual Reports.

These are available on the board's website at:

www.civilserviceappealboard.gov.uk/publications.aspx

The further information requested is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost to the Department.

Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 in each year since its entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (196012)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the ‘other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Communications Act 2003

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Communications Act 2003 in each year since its entry into force; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (196007)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the ‘other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Compensation Act 2006

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Compensation Act 2006 in each year since its entry into force; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (196010)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the ‘other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Corruption: Juries

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of embracery were recorded in each year since 1997; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (195988)

The information requested is not available. Offences of ‘embracery’ are recorded in the ‘attempting to pervert the course of justice’ offence classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that offence classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Crimes Against Public Morality

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of committing an act outraging public decency have been recorded in each year since 1997; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (195990)

The information requested is not available. Offences of ‘committing an act outraging public decency’ are recorded in the ‘other offences against the state and public order’ offence classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Crimes of Violence

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of incidents of violence against the person resulted in the victim suffering (a) no injuries, (b) a minor bruise or black eye, (c) severe bruising, (d) scratches, (e) cuts, (f) broken bones, (g) a broken nose, (h) broken or lost teeth, (i) concussion and (j) facial or head injuries in each police force area in England and Wales in each year since 1997. (195599)

The information requested is not collected centrally. It is not possible to determine the nature of the injury from the police recorded crime statistics collected by the Home Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of incidents of violence against the person resulted in the victim needing (a) medical attention from a doctor, (b) another form of medical attention and (c) a hospital stay in each police force area in England and Wales in each year since 1997. (195600)

The information requested is not available.

While the British Crime Survey asks victims of violent incidents whether or not they required medical attention or a hospital stay, it is not possible to provide robust estimates by police force area.

Criminal Proceedings

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any criminal proceedings have been brought against (a) her Department's employees and (b) contractors’ employees including immigration removal centre staff and immigration escort staff; and if she will make a statement. (195181)

This information is not held centrally and to search through all records would incur a disproportionate cost. However CRB checks are carried out on all prospective employees of both the BIA and its contractors prior to offers of employment being made.

Departmental Complaints

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any complaints investigated by (a) her Department and (b) the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration resulted in findings of wrong-doing by Home Office employees or its contractors’ employees, including immigration removal centre and immigration escort staff in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. (195039)

BIA does not currently hold these data, and the cost of extracting them from records would be disproportionate. However, of the 52 serious complaints investigated since 1 October 2006 in relation to escorting contractors, only one has been substantiated and seven have been partially substantiated.

Departmental Hearing Impaired

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provision is made for deaf people to access services provided by her Department through call centres. (194948)

The Home Office provides textphone facilities in all of its contact centres. The numbers are:

Central Home Office: Textphone 020 7035 4742.

Border Immigration Agency: Textphone 0800 389 8289.

Identity and Passport Service: Textphone 0870 240 8090. Typetalk is also available through the 24-hour Passport Adviceline 0870 521 0410

Criminal Records Bureau: Textphone 0870 909 0811.

Departmental Public Expenditure

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will break down her Department's (a) main estimate, (b) winter supplementary estimate and (c) spring supplementary estimate by subhead in (i) near cash and (ii) non-cash terms for the 2007-08 financial year. (190757)

Near cash/non cash splits relate to departmental expenditure limit resource budget controls and are not compatible with supply estimates which relate to voted resource expenditure. Voted expenditure for the Home Department at the spring supplementary estimate 2007-08 is some £1,082,543,000 higher than the resource budget departmental expenditure limit. A high level reconciliation between the different bases is provided within the estimate.

The following table assigns non-cash within resource DEL budgets to the related subhead at the main estimate 2007-08, winter supplementary estimate 2007-08 and spring supplementary estimate 2007-08. All other DEL provision is near cash.

£000

Subhead

As at main estimate

As at winter supplementary estimate

As at spring supplementary estimate

Total DEL

13,524,956

8,662,912

8,659,454

o/w

Non cash:

C

Criminal Records Bureau

717

717

717

D

Counter Terrorism and Intelligence

21,319

16,719

9,046

F

Criminal justice reform

16,338

0

0

G

National Offender Management Service HQ

383,983

0

0

H

Prisons—private sector

23,720

0

0

I

Prisons—public sector

(4,900)

0

0

J

Probation HQ

457

0

0

K

Border and Immigration Agency

72,136

72,446

72,446

L

Identity and passport Service

22,563

44,563

44,563

M

Central services

3,439

(15,528)

(15,830)

W

Independent Police Complaints Commission

2,626

2,626

2,626

X

Security Industry Authority

2,583

2,583

2,583

Y

Serious and Organised Crime Agency

16,016

16,016

16,016

AA

National Policing Improvement Agency

29,780

29,780

37,453

AB

Youth Justice Board

3,000

0

0

AC

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority

(3,740)

0

0

AD

Criminal Cases Review Commission

513

0

0

AE

Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner

110

0

0

590,660

169,922

169,620

Departmental Temporary Employment

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the average number of agency workers employed in her Department in the latest period for which figures are available. (194726)

The actual numbers of agency staff on 31 December 2007 were:

Total FTE staff

Agency staff

HO headquarters

3,622

368

Border and Immigration Agency (BIA)

19,554

779

Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)

458

0

Identity and Passport Service (IPS)

3,513

222

Total

27,147

1,369

Departmental Working Hours

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hours (a) in total and (b) on average per employee were worked by civil servants in her Department in the last year for which records are available. (195813)

Detention Centres: Complaints

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what means her Department monitors trends in allegations of assault by its staff and its contractors, with particular reference to immigration removal centre and immigration escort staff; and if she will make a statement. (195040)

Allegations of assault are recorded and monitored by the Border and Immigration Agency’s Detention Services. All such allegations are investigated by an independent, trained investigator from the Agency’s Professional Standards Unit and are additionally referred to the police for their own investigation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what penalties have been imposed on her Department’s contractors in relation to upheld complaints regarding assaults on detainees by their staff in immigration removal centres and in transit in the last four years; and if she will make a statement. (195041)

In the last four years, there have been two instances of performance measures being imposed against contractors in relation to complaints of assaults on detainees by staff in immigration removal centres or in transit being upheld. Financial penalties are considered to be commercial in confidence and it is not BIA policy to release this information.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints of alleged assault of immigrants by her Department's staff or its contractors’ staff have been reported by (a) the alleged victims, (b) their befrienders, (c) witnesses, (d) solicitors, (e) independent monitoring boards and (f) immigration removal centres over the last four years; and if she will make a statement. (195180)

Driving Offences

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motoring offences were dealt with by police in each police force area in each year since 1997. (195601)

Available information on the number of motoring offences dealt with by official police action in England and Wales from 1997 to 2005 (latest available) is given in the following table.

2006 data will be available later this year.

Motoring offences1 dealt with, by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2005

Number of offences

Police force area

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

Avon and Somerset

167,200

185,600

192,000

166,700

147,100

170,500

229,700

219,500

183,900

Bedfordshire

79,400

76,100

47,400

56,400

54,900

75,900

103,500

90,500

90,600

Cambridgeshire

78,300

69,800

69,300

61,800

58,000

66,500

72,700

53,900

75,000

Cheshire

80,000

90,600

81,100

74,300

72,400

70,400

87,100

109,500

82,800

Cleveland

80,400

92,200

81,100

85,300

76,800

84,100

74,600

65,200

59,300

Cumbria

58,200

57,400

44,600

34,000

32,500

30,400

52,300

59,000

53,700

Derbyshire

97,700

107,100

105,800

98,200

96,600

139,900

154,300

108,500

80,800

Devon and Cornwall

198,900

192,200

185,500

187,700

166,100

182,000

234,700

231,700

172,800

Dorset

93,300

84,800

88,400

97,400

87,200

71,600

112,300

116,000

125,700

Durham

43,700

50,500

54,200

58,400

58,000

52,800

42,200

36,400

31,200

Essex

193,800

157,600

191,200

219,200

268,000

299,800

138,400

150,500

173,300

Gloucestershire

73,800

79,600

72,100

72,700

70,800

65,500

64,800

57,500

54,100

Greater Manchester

449,200

426,000

373,800

366,400

338,000

308,000

316,000

309,800

298,500

Hampshire

205,800

207,300

202,800

150,100

159,200

145,800

150,200

150,000

143,200

Hertfordshire

115,600

94,900

113,500

102,500

102,200

93,100

88,600

125,900

112,900

Humberside

75,700

78,100

78,600

89,400

80,300

73,900

91,600

122,400

119,500

Kent

149,200

140,700

113,200

80,600

80,300

97,400

126,300

147,600

128,200

Lancashire

227,700

223,300

211,300

195,000

173,200

294,200

324,600

170,100

151,500

Leicestershire

125,000

132,400

132,800

115,300

116,700

131,200

157,200

112,200

49,600

Lincolnshire

78,700

85,500

79,500

85,400

87,700

82,500

95,600

105,200

98,400

London, City of

34,300

34,400

30,600

29,200

24,600

28,500

29,200

33,100

33,000

Merseyside

196,600

197,700

179,000

127,400

108,800

98,700

98,200

99,300

111,700

Metropolitan Police

583,800

549,300

476,600

503,600

436,100

428,500

574,300

574,800

437,400

Norfolk

75,700

67,500

69,200

57,900

61,800

61,300

75,500

65,300

61,700

Northamptonshire

65,400

69,100

63,300

118,500

106,500

78,400

87,000

92,900

85,700

Northumbria

202,900

202,200

214,400

203,500

227,900

214,800

216,800

244,300

176,200

North Yorkshire

70,100

65,700

61,000

50,200

48,600

39,700

37,800

43,200

38,300

Nottinghamshire

106,900

106,200

90,100

101,400

90,600

89,200

108,500

110,600

103,700

South Yorkshire

144,000

137,000

124,700

120,100

130,200

115,200

148,000

134,600

147,000

Staffordshire

140,300

124,100

105,500

88,900

64,600

75,600

99,600

105,300

112,200

Suffolk

61,300

69,400

76,400

66,400

65,700

66,900

79,600

109,100

94,800

Surrey

62,200

65,000

63,800

66,800

68,200

61,000

53,000

44,300

59,800

Sussex

220,800

206,500

177,900

196,900

138,100

112,000

146,900

118,800

142,600

Thames Valley

210,400

225,900

196,800

205,600

269,200

231,300

233,700

217,900

213,600

Warwickshire

61,800

63,800

62,400

52,400

55,400

75,600

103,100

91,300

84,400

West Mercia

104,300

107,600

105,400

99,900

101,000

97,400

141,200

114,400

120,400

West Midlands

376,700

364,500

300,800

256,300

228,100

257,500

304,900

320,600

273,100

West Yorkshire

250,800

249,600

237,200

227,600

204,100

205,000

266,900

316,400

269,100

Wiltshire

66,200

76,700

70,200

72,300

67,100

80,100

92,800

97,000

101,500

Dyfed-Powys

56,800

59,000

61,800

60,000

53,300

64,100

50,500

39,200

43,000

Gwent

67,600

67,800

58,900

71,900

63,200

51,500

53,600

49,900

44,800

North Wales

68,200

63,100

62,500

68,300

65,400

95,000

168,300

111,100

126,100

South Wales

237,400

250,400

228,400

251,300

254,900

251,300

256,500

240,600

224,400

England and Wales

6,136,100

6,054,200

5,635,100

5,493,200

5,259,400

5,414,100

6,142,600

5,915,400

5,389,500

1 Includes written warnings, VDRS notices, fixed penalty notices, court proceedings.

Notes:

1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences may be less than complete.

2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Driving Offences: Fines

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of fines for motoring offences were issued after (a) an offence was recorded on a traffic camera and (b) a fixed penalty notice was issued by a police officer in each year since 1997. (195602)

The information requested is shown in the following table.

Data for 2006 will be available later this year.

Number and proportion of motoring offences fixed penalty notices issued where (a) the offence was detected by camera1,2; and (b) the fixed penalty notice was issued by a police officer3, England and Wales 1997 to 2005

Fixed penalty notices issued

Following detection by camera1,2

Directly by police officer3,4

Total

1997

Number

323,200

3,104,600

3,427,800

Percentage

9

91

100

1998

Number

370,500

3,069,400

3,439,900

Percentage

11

89

100

1999

Number

460,100

2,673,600

3,133,700

Percentage

15

85

100

2000

Number

642,400

2,355,900

2,998,300

Percentage

21

79

100

2001

Number

923,000

1,995,000

2,918,000

Percentage

32

68

100

2002

Number

1,206,300

1,791,100

2,997,400

Percentage

40

60

100

2003

Number

1,784,500

1,672,200

3,456,700

Percentage

52

48

100

2004

Number

1,899,800

1,534,900

3,434,700

Percentage

55

45

100

2005

Number

1,886,700

1,316,300

3,203,000

Percentage

59

41

100

1 Automatic cameras until 1998, all camera types from 1999. 2 Covers speeding and traffic light offences only. 3 Including traffic wardens. 4 Covers all motoring offences where a fixed penalty notice can be given. Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Driving: Insurance

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) successful prosecutions, (b) cautions and (c) issues of fixed penalty notices there were relating to uninsured drivers in each police force area in each of the last 10 years; and what the average penalty was. (195603)

The available information relates to the offence of 'use of a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks’. Tables A and B provide data on successful prosecutions (findings of guilt) and cover court imposed fines from 1997 to 2005 (latest available). Table C covers fixed penalty notices issued as from 1 June 2003, when a fixed penalty became available for the offence, to 2005.

The written warnings (including formal cautions) collection, held by the Ministry of Justice, is unable to identify this offence from others within the offence group “vehicle insurance offences”. None of the Ministry’s collections separately identify uninsured drivers involved in other motoring offences.

2006 data will be available later this year.

Table A: Proceedings and findings of guilt at magistrates courts for the office of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks1 by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2005

Number and percentage

1997

1998

1999

Total findings of guilt

Total findings of guilt

Total findings of guilt

Police force area

Total proceedings [=100%]

Number

Percentage

Total proceedings [=100%]

Number

Percentage

Total proceedings [=100%]

Number

Percentage

Avon and Somerset

15,354

9,424

61

16,892

9,875

58

15,098

9,357

62

Bedfordshire

4,724

2,951

62

4,449

2,992

67

3,479

2,328

67

Cambridgeshire

3,440

2,395

70

3,425

2,507

73

3,058

2,233

73

Cheshire

4,838

3,499

72

4,961

3,658

74

5,463

3,872

71

Cleveland

3,925

2,798

71

4,204

2,908

69

4,331

3,027

70

Cumbria

4,223

3,089

73

3,787

2,866

76

3,597

2,772

77

Derbyshire

5,565

3,830

69

5,137

3,522

69

5,120

3,613

71

Devon and Cornwall

8,422

4,967

59

7,232

4,263

59

7,493

4,681

62

Dorset

5,271

3,458

66

4,198

2,777

66

4,776

3,013

63

Durham

3,992

2,912

73

4,261

3,086

72

5,899

4,475

76

Essex

7,161

4,507

63

7,025

4,635

66

7,336

5,035

69

Gloucestershire

3,577

2,115

59

4,465

2,885

65

4,443

2,867

65

Greater Manchester

30,655

20,548

67

30,836

21,430

69

33,228

23,697

71

Hampshire

11,768

7,844

67

11,557

8,028

69

11,553

8,123

70

Hertfordshire

4,580

2,573

56

5,799

3,056

53

4,748

2,789

59

Humberside

4,408

3,479

79

4,279

3,501

82

4,894

3,920

80

Kent

6,935

4,755

69

6,958

4,808

69

6,151

4,232

69

Lancashire

20,334

11,577

57

18,794

11,198

60

18,111

10,800

60

Leicestershire

9,706

5,990

62

9,481

6,265

66

11,054

7,281

66

Lincolnshire

4,589

3,001

65

5,000

3,466

69

5,345

3,744

70

London, City of

2,671

1,382

52

3,127

1,431

46

2,521

1,141

45

Merseyside

10,896

8,435

77

9,747

7,694

79

8,932

6,920

77

Metropolitan Police

42,283

25,873

61

35,064

22,874

65

31,285

20,893

67

Norfolk

3,932

3,456

88

3,434

3,060

89

3,468

3,000

87

Northamptonshire

4,999

3,083

62

4,849

3,271

67

5,571

4,151

75

Northumbria

12,470

8,064

65

11,837

8,079

68

13,296

9,299

70

North Yorkshire

3,926

2,778

71

3,744

2,538

68

4,003

2,656

66

Nottinghamshire

8,078

6,149

76

8,726

6,658

76

7,957

6,156

77

South Yorkshire

11,228

7,346

65

11,553

7,831

68

11,763

8,424

72

Staffordshire

8,180

5,251

64

8,210

5,379

66

8,021

5,725

71

Suffolk

3,258

2,202

68

3,743

2,283

61

4,189

2,547

61

Surrey

4,942

2,439

49

3,908

2,051

52

4,436

2,278

51

Sussex

9,333

4,726

51

8,202

4,150

51

7,415

4,198

57

Thames Valley

11,887

6,258

53

11,948

6,311

53

13,543

7,291

54

Warwickshire

4,316

2,595

60

3,769

2,394

64

3,523

2,192

62

West Mercia

7,082

4,848

68

8,207

5,624

69

7,450

5,224

70

West Midlands

29,878

18,484

62

30,928

18,969

61

27,409

16,407

60

West Yorkshire

23,980

15,042

63

23,549

14,682

62

25,776

15,903

62

Wiltshire

3,463

2,311

67

4,820

2,712

56

4,708

2,558

54

Dyfed-Powys

3,079

1,953

63

2,852

1,952

68

3,017

2,044

68

Gwent

4,097

2,899

71

4,478

3,344

75

4,451

3,452

78

North Wales

4,859

3,280

68

4,452

3,309

74

4,102

3,097

75

South Wales

14,829

9,936

67

16,187

10,629

66

15,406

10,467

68

England and Wales

397,133

254,502

64

390,074

254,951

65

387,419

257,882

67

Number and percentage

2000

2001

2002

Total findings of guilt

Total findings of guilt

Total findings of guilt

Police force area

Total proceedings [=100%]

Number

Percentage

Total proceedings [=100%]

Number

Percentage

Total proceedings [=100%]

Number

Percentage

Avon and Somerset

14,609

9,515

65

13,022

8,393

64

15,124

9,700

64

Bedfordshire

3,594

2,307

64

4,651

2,895

62

4,731

3,147

67

Cambridgeshire

2,929

2,216

76

2,508

1,967

78

2,875

2,266

79

Cheshire

5,729

4,075

71

4,975

3,885

78

5,765

4,540

79

Cleveland

4,793

3,573

75

4,789

3,606

75

5,994

4,282

71

Cumbria

3,507

2,684

77

3,595

2,887

80

3,540

2,876

81

Derbyshire

5,318

3,914

74

5,429

4,218

78

5,614

4,670

83

Devon and Cornwall

9,234

5,872

64

8,648

5,723

66

9,598

6,354

66

Dorset

6,035

3,540

59

5,262

2,965

56

6,176

3,371

55

Durham

5,470

4,328

79

5,394

4,343

81

5,840

4,614

79

Essex

7,898

5,328

67

7,708

5,388

70

7,811

5,359

69

Gloucestershire

4,174

2,539

61

4,683

2,677

57

4,417

2,286

52

Greater Manchester

33,783

23,865

71

37,088

26,399

71

36,337

27,527

76

Hampshire

10,559

7,535

71

10,349

7,614

74

10,912

8,063

74

Hertfordshire

5,258

3,310

63

5,816

3,672

63

6,612

4,191

63

Humberside

5,024

4,043

80

4,730

3,641

77

4,464

3,551

80

Kent

9,033

6,408

71

9,592

7,042

73

10,059

7,697

77

Lancashire

18,354

10,981

60

16,280

9,748

60

17,555

11,020

63

Leicestershire

10,263

6,713

65

10,475

6,792

65

10,699

7,372

69

Lincolnshire

4,500

3,307

73

4,083

2,956

72

4,242

3,057

72

London, City of

1,738

776

45

1,826

1,020

56

2,353

1,330

57

Merseyside

10,054

7,708

77

9,467

7,693

81

10,360

8,551

83

Metropolitan Police

29,649

20,117

68

32,032

22,566

70

36,485

27,116

74

Norfolk

3,951

2,844

72

4,744

3,033

64

5,563

3,590

65

Northamptonshire

3,949

2,971

75

2,028

1,626

80

1,211

885

73

Northumbria

13,195

9,385

71

12,504

9,184

73

12,309

9,286

75

North Yorkshire

3,905

2,548

65

3,545

2,171

61

3,340

2,096

63

Nottinghamshire

7,748

6,034

78

7,856

6,181

79

7,460

5,922

79

South Yorkshire

12,690

8,871

70

14,623

10,079

69

13,859

9,975

72

Staffordshire

8,777

6,740

77

6,027

4,678

78

7,056

5,723

81

Suffolk

3,923

2,319

59

4,123

2,373

58

4,759

2,845

60

Surrey

4,941

2,571

52

5,101

2,804

55

5,554

3,145

57

Sussex

6,796

3,777

56

6,814

3,995

59

6,413

3,698

58

Thames Valley

12,816

7,426

58

11,728

7,092

60

12,842

8,283

64

Warwickshire

4,135

2,309

56

4,204

2,665

63

3,711

2,389

64

West Mercia

7,686

5,512

72

7,787

5,731

74

7,849

5,812

74

West Midlands

28,148

17,896

64

27,010

18,066

67

32,339

22,010

68

West Yorkshire

26,529

15,476

58

27,618

15,842

57

24,873

13,952

56

Wiltshire

4,901

2,620

53

5,292

3,264

62

5,326

3,162

59

Dyfed-Powys

3,072

2,073

67

2,953

1,906

65

3,316

2,275

69

Gwent

4,680

3,777

81

4,758

3,817

80

4,508

3,660

81

North Wales

3,697

2,839

77

3,376

2,551

76

4,048

2,987

74

South Wales

14,615

10,273

70

13,805

9,721

70

16,499

11,488

70

England and Wales

391,659

262,915

67

388,298

264,869

68

410,398

286,123

70

Number and percentage

20032

2004

2005

Total findings of guilt

Total findings of guilt

Total findings of guilt

Police force area

Total proceedings [=100%]

Number

Percentage

Total proceedings [=100%]

Number

Percentage

Total proceedings [=100%]

Number

Percentage

Avon and Somerset

17,163

10,558

62

17,489

10,862

62

14,625

8,688

59

Bedfordshire

5,041

3,490

69

4,534

3,190

70

4,776

3,334

70

Cambridgeshire

3,301

2,694

82

3,120

2,654

85

3,371

2,827

84

Cheshire

6,385

5,354

84

6,515

5,372

82

4,592

3,871

84

Cleveland

5,575

3,980

71

6,597

5,080

77

4,611

3,819

83

Cumbria

3,488

2,849

82

3,446

2,753

80

2,855

2,199

77

Derbyshire

5,793

4,888

84

6,326

5,505

87

5,869

5,190

88

Devon and Cornwall

9,676

6,608

68

8,943

6,178

69

7,404

5,241

71

Dorset

7,034

4,263

61

6,075

3,618

60

5,752

3,584

62

Durham

5,802

4,518

78

5,300

4,029

76

4,454

3,186

72

Essex

7,489

5,440

73

7,132

5,323

75

7,035

5,413

77

Gloucestershire

4,412

2,579

58

3,695

2,438

66

3,500

2,042

58

Greater Manchester

38,208

29,559

77

34,942

26,722

76

30,280

22,869

76

Hampshire

10,619

8,095

76

9,750

7,467

77

7,882

6,251

79

Hertfordshire

7,216

5,078

70

7,463

5,382

72

7,763

5,716

74

Humberside

5,509

4,411

80

5,170

4,298

83

4,840

4,136

85

Kent

9,788

7,452

76

10,673

8,347

78

8,535

7,050

83

Lancashire

21,229

13,689

64

16,065

9,948

62

17,960

10,945

61

Leicestershire

11,304

8,066

71

10,833

7,790

72

7,306

5,340

73

Lincolnshire

5,883

4,269

73

6,621

4,766

72

5,644

3,907

69

London, City of

2,563

1,605

63

2,812

1,122

40

1,499

1,068

71

Merseyside

12,776

10,627

83

13,023

10,385

80

10,728

8,757

82

Metropolitan Police

43,100

31,463

73

47,806

36,465

76

47,223

36,033

76

Norfolk

6,322

4,461

71

5,084

3,734

73

4,442

3,436

77

Northamptonshire

4,157

3,242

78

5,804

4,641

80

4,441

3,606

81

Northumbria

12,951

9,826

76

11,685

9,106

78

11,728

9,348

80

North Yorkshire

3,774

2,353

62

4,065

2,508

62

3,865

2,569

66

Nottinghamshire

9,224

7,609

82

9,224

7,755

84

7,358

6,299

86

South Yorkshire

13,745

9,882

72

11,416

8,497

74

11,246

8,484

75

Staffordshire

7,214

6,072

84

7,439

6,317

85

7,224

5,959

82

Suffolk

5,808

3,579

62

5,718

3,541

62

4,279

2,738

64

Surrey

4,657

2,880

62

3,927

2,581

66

4,491

2,874

64

Sussex

5,808

3,665

63

4,371

3,068

70

4,569

3,370

74

Thames Valley

14,516

9,718

67

12,920

9,144

71

11,255

7,887

70

Warwickshire

3,756

2,899

77

4,160

3,433

83

3,469

2,958

85

West Mercia

7,735

6,014

78

7,249

5,498

76

7,144

5,604

78

West Midlands

36,409

25,370

70

39,696

27,453

69

34,786

24,890

72

West Yorkshire

26,966

16,967

63

32,404

20,175

62

26,667

16,220

61

Wiltshire

4,794

3,006

63

4,641

2,778

60

4,599

2,814

61

Dyfed-Powys

3,094

2,236

72

2,244

1,645

73

2,639

1,890

72

Gwent

4,083

3,448

84

3,474

2,961

85

3,241

2,761

85

North Wales

5,968

4,523

76

6,022

4,773

79

4,211

3,331

79

South Wales

16,932

11,650

69

15,946

11,143

70

12,605

8,694

69

England and Wales

447,267

320,935

72

441,819

320,445

73

392,763

287,198

73

1 An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2)

2 As from 1 June 2003, ‘driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks’ became a fixed penalty offence.

Notes:

1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences may be less than complete.

2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Table B: Average fine imposed1 at magistrates courts for the offence of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks2 by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2005

£

Police force area

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

20033

2004

2005

Avon and Somerset

259

204

165

182

130

133

138

154

154

Bedfordshire

314

293

274

226

164

169

137

143

156

Cambridgeshire

221

209

215

182

119

118

131

152

171

Cheshire

274

248

237

211

149

153

167

179

190

Cleveland

162

167

170

179

167

173

171

189

202

Cumbria

150

171

220

265

152

151

159

169

171

Derbyshire

270

279

283

296

337

355

367

367

376

Devon and Cornwall

184

185

178

179

133

132

127

134

145

Dorset

295

302

301

261

121

114

125

158

171

Durham

181

177

194

160

118

122

121

116

123

Essex

174

149

140

123

101

104

112

164

182

Gloucestershire

154

202

247

240

91

86

133

147

143

Greater Manchester

245

226

236

232

152

151

157

167

176

Hampshire

132

135

138

136

119

122

124

131

138

Hertfordshire

193

164

173

204

155

166

181

198

208

Humberside

159

148

143

137

122

132

137

150

180

Kent

246

241

227

271

209

192

191

197

204

Lancashire

332

296

237

219

111

113

141

156

169

Leicestershire

318

318

276

254

134

135

138

150

145

Lincolnshire

159

197

209

188

133

134

148

179

185

London, City of

332

314

346

375

369

368

334

230

198

Merseyside

200

203

200

207

163

167

148

137

141

Metropolitan Police

202

185

184

169

139

140

143

147

165

Norfolk

242

256

265

210

99

107

139

152

152

Northamptonshire

243

286

310

280

280

339

245

183

156

Northumbria

136

146

148

144

130

135

135

137

142

North Yorkshire

249

236

230

211

130

136

141

166

177

Nottinghamshire

164

165

153

150

152

156

152

188

138

South Yorkshire

194

206

191

170

128

137

146

125

147

Staffordshire

251

228

234

198

152

163

166

186

230

Suffolk

193

192

192

183

128

138

133

136

156

Surrey

243

242

215

218

201

215

221

197

195

Sussex

218

186

181

167

118

117

138

162

170

Thames Valley

292

257

268

250

134

135

158

198

206

Warwickshire

228

175

177

188

156

168

164

210

200

West Mercia

268

282

282

263

176

180

165

193

208

West Midlands

207

190

189

201

169

192

200

206

207

West Yorkshire

255

242

242

209

120

123

134

144

144

Wiltshire

152

182

186

204

283

286

280

200

208

Dyfed-Powys

183

182

175

169

155

166

172

187

184

Gwent

253

225

225

208

148

154

171

157

171

North Wales

210

226

272

230

144

150

149

154

163

South Wales

190

180

183

188

159

173

158

154

149

England and Wales

224

214

212

203

150

155

160

169

177

1 Magistrates courts data only. Fines given at the Crown court total nationally (England and Wales) less than 10 each year.

2 An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2)

3 As from 1 June 2003, ‘driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks’ became a fixed penalty offence.

Notes:

1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences may be less than complete.

2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Table C: Fixed Penalty Notices issued for the endorsable offence of ‘driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks’1 by police force area, England and Wales, 20032 to 2005

Police force area

20033

2004

2005

Avon and Somerset

5

47

63

Bedfordshire

62

Cambridgeshire

63

53

Cheshire

40

101

Cleveland

48

70

159

Cumbria

Derbyshire

Devon and Cornwall

42

Dorset

—-

Durham

7

Essex

6

Gloucestershire

Greater Manchester

9

44

13

Hampshire

111

125

Hertfordshire

11

177

389

Humberside

Kent

10

12

31

Lancashire

42

91

174

Leicestershire

34

62

19

Lincolnshire

London, City of

2

21

9

Merseyside

Metropolitan Police

43

147

490

Norfolk

Northamptonshire

5

40

93

Northumbria

38

7

4

North Yorkshire

33

95

92

Nottinghamshire

21

42

101

South Yorkshire

Staffordshire

36

122

152

Suffolk

Surrey

0

Sussex

Thames Valley

—-

Warwickshire

31

50

70

West Mercia

32

West Midlands

37

West Yorkshire

3

46

104

Wiltshire

Dyfed-Powys

Gwent

North Wales

87

139

297

South Wales

England and Wales

458

1,463

2,688

1 An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2)

2 As from 1 June 2003, ‘driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks’ became a fixed penalty offence.

Notes:

1. Offenders are subject to a £200 fixed penalty However this can be increased to a maximum of £5,000 if the matter goes to court.

2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Education Act 2005

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Education Act 2005 in each year since its entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (196013)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in either the ‘Disclosure, Obstruction, False or Misleading Statements’ classification or in the ‘Other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within those classifications. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 in each year since its entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (196008)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the ‘other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Genetics: Databases

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total costs were of running and maintaining the National DNA Database in each year since it began operation; and if she will make a statement. (182622)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Ruffley) on 19 February 2008, Official Report, column 584W.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which organisations and companies analyse DNA samples in order to produce profiles for the national DNA database; and if she will make a statement. (188145)

The organisations that are at present accredited to provide DNA profiling services to the police forces of England and Wales are:

Forensic Science Service Ltd;

LGC Forensics;

Orchid Cellmark; and

Forensic DNA Services Ltd.

The Channel Islands use the same suppliers as England and Wales. Northern Ireland samples are processed by Forensic Service Northern Ireland (FSNI). The forensic DNA analysis service for Scottish police forces is provided by four forensic science laboratories within the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA). The SPSA and FSNI laboratories are accredited to NDNAD Custodian standards, so that DNA profiles from Scotland and Northern Ireland can be loaded to the NDNAD as well as to the Scotland and Northern Ireland databases.

Grave Robbing

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of removing corpses from graves have been recorded in each year since 1997; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (195992)

The information requested is not available. Offences of ‘removing corpses from graves’ are recorded in the ‘other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Heathrow Airport: Customs Officers

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Border and Immigration Agency staff were allocated to the EU channel at Heathrow airport on average each day (a) in 2003-04, (b) in 2006-07 and (c) in 2007-08. (194541)

Immigration Officers are not allocated a duty at a particular channel of the Primary Arrivals Control at Heathrow airport; they serve the Border Control as a whole. Shift managers decide how many of the available staff should work in the EU or non-EU channels at any particular time in order to deal with approaching passengers as quickly and effectively as possible. The only constraint is that one officer must be on duty in each channel at all times when flights are landing. This flexibility makes the best use of available resources.

Immigration

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were granted (a) limited and (b) indefinite leave to remain in the UK in each of the last 10 years. (195251)

The latest available information on grants of limited leave and indefinite leave to remain in the UK can be found in the 2006 Command Paper “Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom”. This publication, and previous years, may be obtained from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2008, Official Report, columns 799-800W, on immigration, in how many of the 9,500 cases closed because of error the individual concerned had (a) been granted status, (b) been removed or (c) died. (196209)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Immigration Officers

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department permits immigration officers to work (a) six-day weeks and (b) double shifts. (193129)

Immigration Officers do work double night shifts where necessary to meet operational demands. Six day weeks are performed on an exceptional basis.

Note:

“Immigration Officers” are purely those who held that particular grade during the period.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate her Department has made of the average number of hours worked per week by immigration officers in each year since 1997. (193131)

The information requested could be obtained by the detailed examination of individual pay records only at disproportionate cost.

Immigration Officers: Conditions of Employment

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department has taken to monitor the views of (a) immigration officers and (b) other Border and Immigration Agency staff on their working practices and conditions; and if she will make a statement. (193121)

All Border and Immigration staff are currently being invited to participate in the Home Office staff survey. This is an attitudinal survey covering a range of issues including working practices and conditions. A random cross section of staff from the Border and Immigration Agency are asked to participate monthly in a pulse check survey that covers issues related to reform and working practices.

Immigration Officers: Heathrow Airport

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigration officers were in post at (a) Heathrow and (b) Gatwick airport on 31 December (i) 2007, (ii) 2006, (iii) 2005, (iv) 2004, (v) 2003, (vi) 2002 and (vii) 2001; and if she will make a statement. (180677)

Immigration Officers: Sick Leave

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigration officers were granted sick leave for stress in each of the last five years. (193118)

The numbers of Immigration Officers1 who have taken sick leave for stress in each of the last three calendar years, recorded on our personnel system (Adelphi) are shown in the following table.

We are unable to provide accurate data previous to 2005 as these were not recorded centrally.

1 “Immigration Officers” are purely those who held that particular grade during the period.

Immigration Officers taking sick leave

Number

2005

109

2006

91

2007

141

Immigration: Fees and Charges

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will permit the fee for applying for indefinite leave to remain to be paid in instalments in exceptional circumstances. (195557)

Under the Fees Regulations, there are no circumstances in which the fee for a valid application for indefinite leave can be paid for in instalments.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will waive the requirement to pay the fee to apply for indefinite leave to remain in (a) cases where someone was brought to the UK from a Commonwealth country as a child prior to 1981 but whose parents omitted to apply on their behalf for nationality and (b) other exceptional cases. (195558)

We currently have no plans to waive the fee for application for indefinite leave to remain in cases where someone was brought to the UK from a commonwealth country as a child prior to 1981 or in other exceptional circumstances.

Immigration: Housing

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2008, Official Report, column 806W, on immigration: housing, what the cost of providing assistance to local authorities through the transitional costs fund was; which local authorities have received such assistance; and how much was received in each case. (196268)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: A ‘transitional costs fund’ has been made available where unavoidable, additional expenses have occurred. Local authorities need to submit claims to this fund. Claims will then be assessed on an individual basis and local authorities will be reimbursed appropriately. As yet, this work is not complete.

Medicines (Homoeopathic Medicinal Products for Human Use) Amendment Regulations 2005

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Medicines (Homoeopathic Medicinal Products for Human Use) Amendment Regulations 2005 in each year since their entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (196001)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the ‘Other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Medicines (Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products for Human Use) Regulations 2005

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Medicines (Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products for Human Use) Regulations 2005 in each year since their entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (196002)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the ‘Other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Members: Correspondence

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to answer Question 175239, tabled by the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden on 13 December 2007. (186991)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will ensure a response is provided urgently to the letters sent by the hon. Member for Castle Point to Mr. I. Teale of Managed Migration Liverpool, dated 18 February 2008 and 4 March 2008, regarding confirmation of right of abode. (194959)

[holding answer 17 March 2008]: The Border and Immigration Agency wrote to the hon. Member on 10 March 2008 in response to the letter of 18 February. The letter of 4 March has not been received.

Ministers: Official Residences

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to the public purse has been of the ministerial residence in South Eaton Place since the property was unoccupied. (194995)

Official Secrets Act 1911

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Official Secrets Act 1911 in each year since 2002, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (196016)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the ‘Other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Passports: Glasgow

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of post office deliveries have been diverted to other passport offices from the Glasgow office since January 2008. (187573)

The requested is shown in the following table.

Glasgow applications

Number/percentage

Diverted

28,258

Total intake to Glasgow

73,462

Percentage of intake leaving Glasgow

38.5

Pensions Act 2005

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Pensions Act 2005 in each year since 2005, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (196014)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the ‘Other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Plant Protection Products Regulations 2005

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Plant Protection Products Regulations 2005 in each year since their entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (196005)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the ‘Other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Police

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) regulations and (b) guidance documents were issued to police forces by her Department in England and Wales in each year since 1997. (176102)

Since 1997 the Government have enacted 12 pieces of police legislation which have effect in England and Wales, and several statutory instruments consequential to these, containing police regulations where appropriate. 65 Home Office circulars have also been issued in respect of these Acts.

A document has been prepared with a full list of these statutory instruments and Home Office circulars, and will be placed in the Library of the House.

Police: ICT

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police forces (a) have fully implemented and (b) are piloting ExISS r1; how much has been spent on the programme in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. (195610)

I have been asked to reply.

ExISS release 1 (which comprises both the police-CPS link and the police to magistrates court link) is currently being rolled out nationally and, as such, there are no pilot forces. As of the 19 March 2008, the police to CPS link had been rolled out to 13 police forces, while the police to magistrates court link had been rolled out to 17 police forces. The planned completion date for roll-out to all forces is December 2008.

The Exchange Links programme (which delivers a number of links including release 1) commenced in July 2007 and the expected costs to December 2008 are £15.54 million, exclusive of ongoing run costs and costs associated with capital charges and depreciation.

Ports: Industrial Health and Safety

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which UK ports of entry do not have local health and safety policies in place for immigration officers and other Border and Immigration Agency staff in circumstances where those staff are not permanently based at the ports. (194607)

The Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) Health and Safety Unit provide a Health and Safety Policy for the whole of BIA, most recently published in September 2007. The large number of sites and the diverse activities within BIA necessitate directors to formulate local arrangements that ensure the requirements of the health and safety policy are met. Local arrangements are in place covering all UK ports and cover all staff as well as contactors and visitors.

Prisoner Escapes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded for rescuing a prisoner in custody in each year since 1997; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (195989)

The information requested is not available. Offences of ‘assisting prisoners to escape; are recorded in the ‘other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Protection from Harassment Act 1997

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 in each year since 2002, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (196026)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the ‘Harassment’ or the ‘Racially or religiously aggravated harassment’ offence classifications and cannot be separately identified from other offences within those classifications. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Representation of the People Act 1983

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Representation of the People Act 1983 in each year since 2002, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (196018)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the ‘Other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Tax Credits Act 2002

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under section 59 and Schedule 5 of the Tax Credits Act 2002 in each year since 2002; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (196003)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the ‘Disclosure, Obstruction, False or Misleading Statements’ offence classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Trade in Goods (Control) Order 2003

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Trade in Goods (Control) Order 2003 in each year since its entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators, (b) led to a conviction and (c) resulted in a sanction detection. (196004)

The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in either the ‘Disclosure, Obstruction, False or Misleading Statements’ classification or in the ‘Other indictable or triable either way offences’ classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within those classifications. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Wind Power

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to which wind farm proposals her Department lodged objection in each of the last three years; and for what reasons in each case. (191118)

My Department holds no central records of objections that have been lodged by the Home Office with regard to wind farms. My Department is fully committed to meeting all the Government’s targets on renewable energy.

Written Questions: Government Responses

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to answer Question 184044, on binge drinking, tabled by the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden on 30 January 2008. (193696)

[holding answer 13 March 2008]: I replied to the right hon. Member on 10 March 2008, Official Report, columns 70-71W.

Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

Coal Fired Power Stations: Combined Heat and Power

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (1) what recent representations he has received from industry bodies on the effect of combined heat and power technology on the fuel efficiency of coal-fired power plants; (189637)

(2) what representations he has received from environmental non-governmental organisations on the effects of combined heat and power on the fuel efficiency of coal-fired power plants.

Coal Fired Power Stations: Kingsnorth

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the volume of carbon dioxide likely to be emitted per annum from the proposed Kingsnorth power station and associated operational activities; what discussions he has had on such estimates with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) other Government offices and agencies; what representations he has received on this matter and from whom; what estimate he has made of the effect of such emissions on performance against Government targets for greenhouse gas emissions; and on what evidential basis such estimates of potential carbon dioxide emissions from Kingsnorth were founded. (190187)

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made no such formal estimate. We remain committed to meeting the UK’s emissions targets. The EU Emissions Trading Scheme ensures that total carbon emissions across EU industry and power generation sectors are restricted by a cap. Any new coal plant in the UK would have to buy allowances to emit, ensuring that equivalent carbon savings are made elsewhere, which count under the Government’s approach to carbon budgeting.

No such discussions of the kind described have taken place. The Department has received many representations from a range of various groups and individuals on the issue of emissions to the atmosphere.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he expects that the proposed power station at Kingsnorth in Kent to become operational in terms of (a) power generation and (b) carbon capture and storage; and what representations he has received on this matter, and from whom. (190232)

The Environmental Impact Assessment which accompanied the application estimates that it would take approximately four years from the granting of any consents and licences before the proposed station started operating.

It is not possible to say if or when carbon capture technology would be operational at the proposed station. Numerous representations from a range of various groups and individuals have been received on this matter.

Companies: Billing

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will commission an investigation into the policy of some major companies of extending their standard payment terms and its possible impact upon small business. (196326)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: The Department published research, commissioned from the Credit Management Research Centre, on payment trends in the UK earlier this month. The research suggested uncertainty about the timing of payments from trade debtors is more damaging for small firms than situations where the payment delay is long but certain. The Enterprise Strategy published on 12 March announced that the Department will, over the next six months, explore non-legislative approaches to tackling late payment issues.

Companies: Data Protection

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of UK businesses which have transferred data centres offshore in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. (185512)

The Government do not collect data about the extent of offshoring and have not made any estimate of the extent of offshoring of data centres. However, research that has been conducted and data about the relocation of businesses, such as the European Reconstruction Monitor, suggests that offshoring has been relatively limited in recent years and has not had an adverse impact on overall UK employment.

It is, of course, important that companies carefully consider the business case for relocating activities, including all the costs and risks of offshoring. This includes ensuring that data is kept secure; companies that offshore activities remain bound by the requirements of the UK’s Data Protection Act. Companies also have a responsibility to engage in a transparent dialogue with employees affected by relocation decisions. But, companies must be allowed to decide the best course of action to remain competitive.

Departmental Consultants

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which external consultancy received the largest number of contracts from his Department in each of the last 10 years; and what the value of those contracts was. (185209)

Central records indicate the external consultancies receiving the highest payments by value in each financial year are:

£

Consultancy

Payment

2003-04

Fujitsu Services Ltd

241,380

2004-05

Fujitsu Services Ltd

2,081,201

2005-06

Deloitte and Touche LLP

4,606,297

2006-07

Deloitte and Touche LLP

3,424,964

2007-08

Serco Ltd

15,006,857

1 To date

Further information prior to 2003-04 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental ICT

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many of his Department's personal digital assistants were (a) lost and (b) stolen in each of the last five years; and what the value of those items was. (185284)

A breakdown of lost/stolen PDAs is provided in the following table for the past five years.

My Department's records do not readily differentiate between items reported as lost or stolen.

£

PDAs reported missing

Approximate cumulative value1

2007

2006

1

270.00

2005

3

900.00

2004

1

300.00

2003

1

300.00

1 January to December

Departmental Recruitment

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether the policy of British jobs for British workers will affect his Department’s recruitment policy. (179877)

The Department will apply the civil service nationality rules in respect of eligibility for employment in all recruitment and appointment procedures. These rules are statutorily based and supported by the Civil Service Commissioners’ Rules.

Departmental Travel

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much his Department and its agencies spent on first class travel in the last 12 months for which figures are available, broken down by staff grade of traveller. (187530)

The amount spent on first class travel by BERR, and previously by DTI in the period February 2007 to January 2008 was £1,376,675.

Travel undertaken by BERR staff is not recorded separately by grade. To obtain the requested information would entail disproportionate costs.

All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code, and is made in the most efficient and cost effective way.

Digital Broadcasting

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of (a) the impact of the digital dividend review on (i) wireless microphones and (ii) in-ear monitors on completion of digital switchover and (b) the potential to encourage licensed usage. (193912)

The matter raised is the responsibility of the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which is accountable to Parliament rather than Ministers. Accordingly, I have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Energy: Meters

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (1) what his most recent assessment is of the (a) costs and (b) benefits of a national delivery plan for smart metering; (195582)

(2) what conclusions were made following the review of smart metering conducted for his Department by Mott MacDonald; and if he will publish the outcomes of the review.

[holding answer 20 March 2008]: My Department is finalising its impact assessment of smart metering, including costs and benefits. We are testing our assessment and the assumptions underpinning it with interested parties, and will publish our assessment when that process has been completed. We will also publish the analysis undertaken by Mott MacDonald.

Eurostar

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much his Department and its agencies spent on (a) first class and (b) other travel by Eurostar in the last 12 months for which figures are available. (187669)

The amount spent on travel by Eurostar by BERR, and previously by DTI in the last 12 months was:

February 2007 to January 2008—£528,329

The proportion of this expenditure on first class travel was 77 per cent. (£407, 276).

All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code.

Fuel Poverty: Elderly

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many pensioners aged (a) 60 to 70, (b) 71 to 80, (c) 81 to 90 and (d) 90 and over were classified as living in fuel poverty in (i) Ribble Valley constituency, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) nationally in each of the last five years. (194963)

[holding answer 17 March 2008]: Splits of the level of fuel poverty by the age of the Household Reference Person (HRP) or age of the youngest/oldest member of the household are not available at a sub-national level. The detailed tables which accompany the “Fuel Poverty Strategy Report” hold information on household composition split by HRP and age of the youngest/oldest member of the household on national level only. These data are published annually with the earliest figures covering 2003, the latest figures cover 2005. It is available online through http://www.berr.gov.uk/energy/fuel-poverty/index.html. The following table holds extracted details:

Fuel poor households in group

Thousand

2003

2004

2005

Household composition (of primary benefit unit)

Couple, no dependent child(ren), aged 60 or over

138

134

210

One person aged 60 or over

463

450

551

Age of youngestperson in household

60-74

287

278

390

75 or over

302

292

357

Age of oldest person in household

60-74

306

286

383

75-84

245

223

307

85 or more

83

95

104

Fuel Poverty: Lancashire

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many (a) households including at least one child and (b) households were classified as living in fuel poverty in (i) Ribble Valley constituency, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) nationally in each of the last five years. (194964)

[holding answer 17 March 2008]: Splits of the level of fuel poverty by the household composition of the primary benefit unit or age of the youngest/oldest member of the household are not available at a sub-national level. The detailed tables which accompany the “Fuel Poverty Strategy Report” hold information on household composition of the primary benefit unit and age of the youngest/oldest member of the household on national level only. These data are published annually with the earliest figures covering 2003, the latest figures cover 2005. They are available online through http://www.berr.gov.uk/energy/fuel-poverty/index.html. The following table holds extracted details:

Fuel poor households in group

Thousand

2003

2004

2005

Household Composition (of primary benefit unit)

Couple with dependent child(ren)

53

54

83

Lone parent with dependent child(ren)

98

91

116

Regional estimates of fuel poverty are available only for England in 2003 and are taken from the Fuel Poverty Indicator (FPI) dataset available online at http://www.fuelpovertyindicator.org.uk/. This estimates that there were 2,400 fuel poor households in Ribble Valley and 39,300 in Lancashire.

National fuel poverty rates are published annually and are again available online through the BERR website at http://www.berr.gov.uk/energy/fuel-poverty/index.html.

The report shows the following table outlining national level of fuel poverty since 1996:

Number of households in fuel poverty (million)

1996

19981

2001

20021

2003

2004

2005

England

5.1 (5.5)

3.4 (4.0)

1.7 (2.3)

1.4 (2.0)

1.2 (1.5)

1.2 (1.5)

1.5 (1.8)

Scotland

0.7

0.3

0.4

0.4

Wales

0.4

0.1

Northern Ireland

0.2

0.2

UK estimate (approx.)

2

2

(7½)

(5¾)

(3½)

(2¾)

(2½)

(2½)

(3)

1 Figures for England in 1998 and 2002 are estimates based on movements in energy prices, incomes and energy efficiency.

Figures in brackets do not include housing benefit/ISMI as part of income.

Internet: Fraud

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent estimate he has made of the cost to business of (a) internet fraud and (b) malicious computer security breaches. (193806)

BERR does not collect information in this way. The Department works with business to produce a biennial Information Security Breaches Survey. The Survey is intended to raise awareness of the importance of effective information security management. The Surveys do not set out to survey or measure the costs of internet fraud or malicious computer security breaches but to research the costs of all information security breaches. Based on information gathered for the 2006 Survey, the figures indicated that serious security incidents cost on average between £8,000 and £17,000 per incident in 2005.

Work is almost complete on the 2008 Information Security Breaches Survey and the results will be announced at Infosecurity Europe on 22 April. The Survey will present up to date information on the costs of information security breaches.

Joint Frequency Management Group: Conditions of Employment

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what arrangements will be made for the handling of employment contracts of employees of the Joint Frequency Management Group following the introduction of a commercial bank manager; and if he will make a statement. (194151)

The matter raised is the responsibility of the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which is accountable to Parliament rather than Ministers. Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Members: Correspondence

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire dated 5 February on premium rate SMS services. (194161)

[holding answer 14 March 2008]: I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member. A letter was sent to the hon. Member on 17 March 2008.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to the announcement of 6 March on market engagement of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, what discussions he has had with the Authority on the assets to be included in the list of assets and activities in which interested parties are invited to express an interest. (195075)

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no discussions with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) about potential market interest in its assets and activities.

As stated in the announcement on 6 March, the NDA is trying to gauge the market interest in its assets, consistent with its requirement to ensure maximum value to the taxpayer. Interested parties should respond to the NDA by 3 April, but no final decision has been taken on whether any assets will be sold.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions he has held with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on the inclusion of the (a) thermal oxide reprocessing plant and (b) Sellafield MOX plant in the list of assets to be offered for sale by the Authority. (195078)

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no discussions with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) about the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP) and the Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP) in relation to the market engagement announcement.

As stated in the announcement on 6 March, the NDA is trying to gauge the market interest in its assets, consistent with its requirement to ensure maximum value to the taxpayer. Interested parties should respond to the NDA by 3 April, but no final decision has been taken on whether any assets will be sold. THORP and SMP are not included in the list of assets for sale.

Nuclear Power Stations: Security

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the likely security of future generation of nuclear power stations against accident or deliberate attack. (195743)

As part of the consultation on the Future of Nuclear Power, the Government carefully considered the security and safety of new nuclear power stations. Having reviewed the arguments and evidence put forward and based on the advice on independent regulators, and the advances in the designs of power stations that might be proposed by energy companies, the Government set out in their White Paper that they continues to believe that nuclear power stations pose very small risks to safety and security.

We also believe that the UK has an effective regulatory framework that ensures these risks are minimised and sensibly managed by industry. The White Paper said that we will work with the independent regulators to explore ways of further enhancing the transparency and efficiency of the regulatory regime, without diminishing its effectiveness in dealing with the challenges of new build.

Offshore Drilling: Nature Conservation

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will take steps to prevent oil and gas extraction from affecting the Moray Firth Dolphin Sanctuary; and if he will make a statement. (195796)

[holding answer 20 March 2008]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Ceredigion (Mark Williams) on 3 March 2008, Official Report, column 2236W.

Offshore Industry: Natural Gas

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the Government’s policy is on the reduction of offshore gas flaring. (195734)

BERR restricts flaring of UK offshore gas where it is technically possible and economically sensible to do so. All offshore flaring is tightly controlled by the issue of flaring consents and, since the start of this year, flaring is also included in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. We continue to look for ways to keep offshore flaring to a minimum.

Through the European Union, the UK supports the World Bank-led Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership which, by sharing global best practices and implementing country specific programmes, facilitates and supports national efforts to use currently flared gas by promoting effective regulatory frameworks and tackling the constraints on gas utilisation, such as insufficient infrastructure and poor access to local and international energy markets, particularly in developing countries.

Radio: Illegal Broadcasting

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there were in 2006 in relation to pirate radio stations and illegal radio broadcasts. (193807)

I am informed by the Office of Communications (Ofcom) that in 2006 they brought forward 62 prosecutions and secured 62 convictions under the Wireless Telegraphy Acts 1949 and 2006 for illegal broadcasting.

Statistics on prosecution cases concluded in the courts may be found on the Ofcom website at:

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/ifi/enforcement/

Radioactive Materials: Shipping

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what minimum safety and security requirements apply to vessels carrying nuclear material by sea for a distance of (a) less and (b) more than 500 miles. (195858)

[holding answer 20 March 2008]: The security of nuclear material on board a UK-flagged vessel is regulated by the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) in accordance with the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003 (NISR). These regulations, which ensure that the UK’s obligations under the Convention on the Physical Protection on Nuclear Material (CPPNM) are met and which take full account of international recommendations in this area, are supplemented by a Technical Requirements Document which details minimum security standards. This document is protectively marked; it is not Government policy to release precise details of security measures since this information could be of use to those with malicious intent.

In terms of security arrangements for the transport of nuclear material, distance is not the factor which sets the level of security. The overall security posture will be dictated by the category of the material being carried and the threat pertaining. The mode(s) of transport, packages to be used and other physical, procedural and administrative measures based on the principles of defence-in-depth and graded approach will also be relevant in designing a security system combining deterrence, detection, delay and response measures, complemented by other measures for mitigating the consequences of malicious acts, including recovery and for minimizing the radiological consequences of any theft, sabotage or other malicious act.

Vessels transporting nuclear material by sea are required to operate in compliance with the requirements of prevailing international law on the safety of ships, most notably the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS, found at http://www.imo.org/Conventions/contents.asp?topic_id=257&doc_id=647). Additionally they are required to comply with supplementary measures contained in the International Code for the Safe Carriage of Packaged Irradiated Fuel, Plutonium and High Level Radioactive Wastes on board ships (the INF code, found at http://www.imo.org/Safety/mainframe.asp ?topic_id=354) which deal specifically with the carriage of nuclear material.

Radioactive Materials: Transport

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what guidance he has issued to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on the arrangements for the transportation of plutonium dioxide powder by (a) land and (b) sea; and if he will make a statement. (195859)

[holding answer 20 March 2008]: It is a regulatory requirement that any transport of category I civil nuclear material is conducted in accordance with a Transport Security Plan (TSP) to be submitted by the approved carrier in accordance with the requirements of the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003. The TSP must be approved by the regulator, the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS). These plans take full account of all relevant national regulations, international standards and obligations regarding the carriage of nuclear material and OCNS approval will not be given until it is satisfied that all security measures are adequately robust.

Packages for transporting plutonium oxide powder are approved by the Department for Transport to a standard that is set by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Vessels for transporting plutonium oxide are approved to a standard set by the International Maritime Organisation.

Renewable Energy: Rural Areas

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions he has had with Ofgem on connection charges for green energy projects in remote areas; and if he will make a statement. (188764)

My officials met with Ofgem on 3 October 2007 and 29 January 2008 to discuss connection charges for renewable energy projects in the Scottish Islands—these discussions covered Ofgem’s consultation on delivering island connection infrastructure, National grid’s review of security standards (the SQSS review) and the power to adjust transmission charges for renewable projects in remote areas provided in section 185 of the Energy Act 2004.

Sellafield

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions he has had with the consortiums bidding for the Sellafield nuclear clean-up on the timetable for selecting the preferred bidder and awarding the contract; and if he will make a statement. (195168)

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no discussions with the bidders on any aspect of the competition for the Sellafield Parent Body Organisation (PBO). To do so would be completely inappropriate.

On 21 December 2007, as planned, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) announced that invitations to submit final tenders had been issued for the Sellafield PBO. This followed the completion of eight months of competitive dialogue with the four bidders. Responses are scheduled to be returned to the NDA in spring 2008, and an announcement of the winning PBO bidder is expected to be made in summer 2008.

Sexual Harassment

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many complaints of (a) sexual harassment and (b) sexual discrimination have been made by staff in (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies in the most recent year for which figures are available. (184694)

In the calendar year 2007, the most recent for which figures are available, there have been less than five sexual harassment and sexual discrimination complaints made by staff. Further information cannot be provided on grounds of confidentiality.

Supermarkets

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether he plans to implement the recommendation of the Competition Commission to establish a supermarket ombudsman. (196404)

The Competition Commission has not yet published its final findings and remedies in regard to its inquiry into the UK grocery market. A supermarket ombudsman is just one proposal currently under consideration. The Government will reflect on and respond to the Competition Commission’s final report which is expected in May.

Telephone Numbering: Data Protection

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which public authorities, other than police forces and the ambulance service, have access to the ex-directory telephone database. (192408)

Ex-directory telephone information is available on the databases that are maintained on behalf of the emergency services namely the police, fire and ambulance services and the maritime and coastguard services. Such information may also be accessed using the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) by a variety of public authorities and through the Social Security Fraud Act 2000 (SSFA) by the Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies.

Utilities: Prices

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps his Department has taken to regulate utility bill price increases for low income households over the last three years; and if he will make a statement. (194832)

Neither the Government nor Ofgem regulate overall prices in the energy supply markets, which are competitive markets.

In the Energy White Paper, we called for suppliers to increase their help to vulnerable customers. The level of help has now increased from £40 million to £56 million during winter 2007-08 with around 700,000 households benefiting.

However, the Government believe that, given recent rises in energy prices coupled with a growing global demand for fossil fuels, vulnerable households need further help. We will continue discussions with the energy companies and Ofgem with the aim of delivering a fair programme of assistance for vulnerable households. Our aim is to increase the level of assistance from £56 million a year to £150 million a year. The Government are prepared to introduce legislation, if necessary, designed to enable it to require energy companies to make a fair contribution.

Waste Management

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will take steps to investigate the dumping of Chinese air compressors in the EU. (189528)

On 17 March the Council of Ministers agreed a proposal from the European Commission to impose anti-dumping duties on imports of certain types of air compressor originating in the People’s Republic of China. The measures will come into force on 20 March and last for two years.

Innovation, Universities and Skills

Adult Education

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many adults are currently enrolled in (a) part-time and (b) full-time level 3 courses. (195313)

There were 242,100 adults on LSC-funded full level 3 courses in 2006/07, the latest year available. The following table provides breakdowns by further education, work-based learning and Train to Gain. Full-time and part-time breakdowns are only relevant to learning in further education.

Learners aged 19+ in 2006/07

Number

Total

242,100

Further education

Total

155,600

Full-time

60,300

Part-time

95,200

Work-based learning

73,600

Train to Gain

12,800

Source:

Learning and Skills Council Statistical First Release ILR/SFR14, December 2007

Apprentices: West Midlands

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps his Department has taken in Staffordshire and the West Midlands to increase the number of apprenticeships. (193607)

West Midlands Learning and Skills Council works with employers across the region to increase the number of people starting and completing Apprenticeships. It plans to increase Apprenticeships by around 4 per cent. in 2008/09. Projections are for 12,550 Apprenticeship starts with 8,415 completions and a further 5,620 Advanced Apprenticeship starts with 3,385 completions in 2008/09. The overall completion rate will be 65 per cent. which represents a rise of 3 per cent. on the projected 2007/08 level.

The increase in Apprenticeships in the West Midlands will be achieved by re-directing funding to high performing providers, introducing the Apprenticeship matching service, developing closer employer engagement, removing support for poorly performing provision and introducing new opportunities for young people to prepare to undertake an Apprenticeship.

Aviation

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department and its predecessor spent on (a) business and (b) first class air travel in the last 12 months. (171256)

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created as a result of Machinery of Government changes in June 2007. Information on travel expenditure to this detail is not collected centrally in the Department. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, year to date, the Department has spent £276,455 on air travel.

Civil Service Appeal Board

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what percentage of appeals by employees of (a) his Department and (b) its agencies were (i) heard and (ii) upheld by the Civil Service Appeal Board in each of the last 10 years; how much was awarded in compensation by the Board to each successful appellant in each year; what the reason was for each compensation award; how many appellants were reinstated by the Board in each year; and what the reason was for each (A) dismissal and (B) reinstatement. (192510)

It is not possible to provide the response for the period prior to the creation of this Department as part of the Machinery of Government changes on 28 June 2007. However, since then there have been no instances of appeals by employees being lodged with the Civil Service Appeal Board for decision.

Departmental Accountancy

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what items of his Department's (a) revenue and (b) expenditure are uprated using (i) the consumer prices index, (ii) the retail prices index and (iii) other measures of inflation. (179937)

The Department uses a range of indices in order to uprate payments. Decisions on the appropriate indices to use are devolved to the individual business units within the Department and this information can be gathered only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Cost Effectiveness

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what progress his Department has made in its zero-based budget review under the Comprehensive Spending Review. (191487)

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the Annex pertaining to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills in “Meeting the aspirations of the British people: the 2007 Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review” (Cm 7227).

Further detail on the “Value for Money” gains described in the Annex were published on the Department's web site in December 2007 in the “Value for Money Delivery Agreement”.

Departmental Empty Property

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the sums to be paid by his Department in unoccupied property rates in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09. (193767)

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills does not expect to pay anything in respect of unoccupied property rates for 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Departmental Internet

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if his Department will (a) follow the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA) guidelines and (b) display ICRA's label on the websites for which it is responsible. (191773)

The Government are committed to safety online for all users, including children. The Central Office for Information is preparing a new set of guidance for many aspects of the Government web estate and we will implement what they mandate.

Departmental Manpower

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when his Department's whistleblowing procedures were reviewed to reflect the provisions in the revised civil service code. (162458)

DIUS have not yet established their own whistleblowing procedures. Ex DfES staff in DIUS raise whistleblowing concerns with DCSF. Ex DTI staff raise concerns with BERR.

Departmental Plants

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department has spent on pot plants since it was established. (192060)

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created as a result of machinery of government changes in June 2007. Since its establishment the Department has not spent any money on pot plants.

Departmental Public Expenditure

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what changes have been made to his Department's budget since the publication of the comprehensive spending review conclusions on 9th October. (173161)

Since the publication of the comprehensive spending review conclusions on 9 October there has been no change in the Department's budget.

Departmental Public Participation

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department has spent on (a) citizens' juries, (b) focus groups and (c) other deliberative forms of public opinion research in each month since January 2006. (166588)

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created at the end of June 2007. Since then, the Department has paid to Sciencewise projects (Sciencewise is a programme funded by the Government to help policy makers find out people's views on emerging areas of science and technology so that they can take these into account when making national policy decisions) the following amounts, broken down by month:

£

Month

Spend

July 2007

98,652.19

August 2007

6,378.22

September 2007

60,000.00

October 2007

36,067.93

November 2007

3,177.92

December 2007

19,847.47

January 2008

0

February 2008

22,437.64

The Department has also held five student juries as preliminary work to the National Student Forum which took place on the following dates and locations:

Date

Location

30 November 2007

London

28 January 2008

Manchester

31 January 2008

London

1 February 2008

Bristol

4 February 2008

Sheffield

The costs for these juries totalled just over £30,600.

Departmental Publicity

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much (a) has been spent and (b) is planned to be spent on establishing his Department and its corporate identity. (164204)

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was created as a result of Machinery of Government changes in June 2007. The cost of creating the Department and its corporate identity has been met from the existing baseline. From this baseline, a budget of £60,000 was earmarked for the task, of which £33,557 has been spent.

Departmental Recycling

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what weight of paper his Department recycled in each of the last five years. (179455)

As the Department was only formed on 28 June 2007 we do not have five years of waste recycling to report on.

Departmental Redundancy

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) what the cost was of redundancies in his Department in the 12 months preceding (a) 30 June 2004, (b) 30 June 2005 and (c) 30th June 2006; (175332)

(2) when he will answer Question 175332 on the cost of redundancies in his Department tabled by the hon. Member for Fareham on 13 December 2007.

The Department was created as part of the Machinery of Government changes on 28 June 2007. In the period since it was formed there have been no redundancies affecting employees of the Department.

Departmental Sick Leave

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many staff in his Department (a) were disciplined and (b) had their employment terminated as a result of a poor sickness record in each of the last five years. (163699)

The information requested is as follows:

Staff disciplined

Employment terminated

2006

1

1

2005

1

1

2004

2

1

2003

0

0

2002

0

0

Departmental Temporary Employment

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what average hourly rate his Department paid to employment agencies for agency staff in each year since 1999, broken down by employment agency. (187796)

It is not possible to provide this information without incurring disproportionate costs of collection. Since the Department was formed by machinery of government changes on 28 June 2007 it has continued to make use of the services of temporary staff from agencies. Preferential rates of pay and terms of engagement have been negotiated with certain selected agencies under an over-arching framework agreement. This procurement process has the purpose of achieving best value for money and is used across Government.

Eurostar

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department has spent on (a) first and (b) other class travel by Eurostar since establishment. (187747)

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created as a result of Machinery of Government changes in June 2007. Information on travel expenditure to this detail is not collected centrally in the Department. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, since establishment, the Department has spent £117,940 on rail travel.

Fair Trade Initiative

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will take steps to promote Fairtrade Fortnight 2008 amongst staff within his Department; and if he will make a statement. (189494)

This Department’s accommodation, facilities management, catering and events hospitality are provided on our behalf as a shared service by the Department for Children Schools and Families and the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. The answers given by those Departments will therefore cover this Department also.

Foundation Degrees: Admissions

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people have applied to join foundation degree courses in each year since 2001; and how many such applications were successful in each such year. (194398)

The latest available published figures from UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) are shown in the table. The figures relate to numbers of applications rather than applicants and numbers of accepted applicants to full-time foundation degree courses and exclude applications to part-time courses and direct to institutions. Each applicant can apply to up to six courses.

Number of UK and overseas domiciled applications and accepted applicants to foundation degree courses in the UK—years of entry 2002 to 2007

Year of entry

Applications1

Accepted applicants

20022

n/a

2,699

2003

12,391

5,596

2004

17,246

8,853

2005

30,812

12,511

2006

40,818

14,673

2007

48,366

18,194

n/a = Not available

1 As each applicant may apply to up to six different courses/institutions, these applications figures will be larger than those for applicants.

2 Figures for the number of applications to foundation degree courses in the 2002 year of entry have not been published by UCAS.

Source:

Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

Currently, there are almost 71,000 people studying foundation degrees. We are therefore making good progress towards achieving our target participation rate of 100,000 by 2010. We are committed to foundation degrees as a key vehicle for HE expansion as they are precisely the type of business-facing, demand-led provision which is helping employers to address higher level skill needs.

Higher Education: Admissions

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2008, Official Report, column 2434W, on high education: admissions, if he will provide a break down of the information in the Answer by (a) full-time undergraduate students taking a first degree, (b) part-time undergraduate students taking a first degree, (c) full-time undergraduate students taking a second degree, (d) part-time undergraduate students taking a second degree, (e) full-time students taking a postgraduate degree and (f) part-time students taking a postgraduate degree. (194390)

[holding answer 17 March 2008]: The latest available information is given in the following tables. Table 1 covers full-time entrants and table 2 covers part-time entrants. Comparable figures for the 2007/08 academic year will be available in January 2009.

Table 1—full-time entrants1 to higher education courses at English higher education institutions2 by age3 and level of study—academic years 2001/02 to 2006/07

17 to 21

Over 21

First Degree

First Degree

Academic year

On 1st Degree4

On 2nd Degree5

Other UG6

Post graduate

Total

On 1st Degree4

On 2nd Degree5

Other UG

Post graduate

Total

2001/02

223,515

1,740

28,000

13,305

266,565

47,460

4,105

23,645

89,685

164,890

2002/03

234,640

1,885

26,135

14,260

276,915

50,550

5,260

25,375

103,075

184,260

2003/04

238,230

2,150

25,410

14,385

280,175

51,585

6,405

26,190

111,715

195,895

2004/05

242,625

2,545

25,075

14,435

284,680

50,420

7,200

26,370

112,850

196,835

2005/06

259,250

2,720

24,965

14,815

301,745

50,365

7,800

27,200

114,490

199,850

2006/07

251,845

2,770

25,290

15,790

295,695

47,605

6,800

24,730

117,560

196,695

1 Includes students from the UK and overseas.

2 Excludes the Open university.

3 Excludes a small number of students with an unknown age or an age less than 17 (this was less than 0.6 per cent. in 2006/07).

4 Includes entrants to first degree courses who do not already have qualifications of first degree level or higher.

5 Includes entrants to first degree courses who already have qualifications of first degree level or higher.

6 Figures for entrants to other undergraduate courses (such as HMD, HNC) have been included for completeness.

Note:

Figures are given on a HESA Standard Registration Population and are rounded to the nearest five.

Source:

Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Table 2—part-time entrants1 to higher education courses at English higher education institutions2 by age3 and level of study—academic years 2001/02 to 2006/07

17 to 21

Over 21

First Degree

First Degree

Academic year

On 1st Degree4

On 2nd Degree5

Other UG

Post graduate

Total

On 1st Degree4

On 2nd Degree5

Other UG

Post graduate

Total

2001/02

2,825

50

13,165

1,320

17,360

24,370

2,860

152,860

82,480

262,570

2002/03

2,925

110

13,420

1,070

17,525

24,820

2,935

157,640

84,930

270,320

2003/04

2,770

185

13,490

1,315

17,765

23,345

3,455

159,985

86,330

273,115

2004/05

3,040

210

15,385

1,425

20,055

22,360

3,960

158,395

87,710

272,425

2005/06

3,310

160

16,175

1,395

21,045

22,645

4,330

158,865

87,880

273,720

2006/07

3,925

220

20,115

1,655

25,920

20,300

3,745

150,720

88,445

263,210

1 Includes students from the UK and overseas.

2 Excludes the Open university.

3 Excludes a small number of students with an unknown age or an age less than 17 (this was less than 0.6 per cent. in 2006/07).

4 Includes entrants to first degree courses who do not already have qualifications of first degree level or higher.

5 Includes entrants to first degree courses who already have qualifications of first degree level or higher.

Note:

Figures are given on a HESA standard registration population and are rounded to the nearest five.

Source:

Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Higher Education: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of (a) part-time and (b) full-time students enrolled on full-time level 3 courses have their fees paid for by their employers. (195314)

Through the Train to Gain Programme, we are committed to ensuring that FE colleges are increasingly responsive to employers’ needs and provide training in which employers will increasingly choose to invest. We do not currently routinely collect information on payment of fees by employers, but some information is available from surveys of learners. The last such survey was of learners who completed an FE course in 2003/04. It found that 30 per cent. of the learners doing full level 3 courses said their course fees were paid for by their employer, compared with 18 per cent. of non-full level 3 FE learners.

Members: Correspondence

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when he plans to reply to the letter of 11 December 2007 from the right hon. Member for Banff and Buchan regarding his constituent L. Flack of Cruden Bay. (183961)

Ministers: Official Residences

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether any ministerial residencies are allocated to Ministers in his Department. (194656)

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Watson) on 19 February 2008, Official Report, column 688W.

Science and Technology Facilities Council

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what subscription payments to which organisations the Science and Technology Facilities Council is expected to make in financial year 2008-09. (191867)

The STFC informed me that they expect to make the following subscription payments in financial year 2008-09:

£ million

European Southern Observatory (ESO)

24.3

European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association (EISCAT)

0.3

European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)

81.6

Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT)

0.4

European Science Foundation (ESF)

0.1

European Space Agency (ESA)

72.4

European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)

7.3

Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL)

14.9

Gemini Observatory

3.6

Total

205.2

Sign Language: North East Region

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he has taken to increase the availability of basic and advanced sign language training in the North East region for adults, children and young people. (183723)

The Department is working closely with the Learning and Skills Council to ensure that there are opportunities available to meet the needs of learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. This is a priority identified in the Learning and Skills Council’s Statement of Priorities for the funding period 2008/09 to 2010/11.

Building on this the Learning and Skills Council North East region indicate that there are 250 courses in Sign Language at various levels being delivered in the region. The region has given a commitment within its regional strategy for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities “Meeting Need: Raising Aspiration”, to ensure that provision that equips learners, or people who support learners, to communicate or develop their specialised skills eg British Sign Language, is protected within the balance and mix of provision. In addition there are several projects being undertaken aimed at raising awareness of hearing impairment issues, to build capacity of staff in meeting the needs of learners with hearing impairments and to increase the support to learners.

Students: Disabled

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many equal and lower qualification students with disabilities were studying less than 50 per cent. of a full course in the latest period for which figures are available. (195099)

About 6,300 students recorded as having a disability were studying at less than 0.5 of a full-course for equivalent or lower level qualifications (ELQ) to ones they already hold in 2005/06—the latest year for which data are available. All existing ELQ students will continue to be supported but the progressive redistribution of funding away from ELQ students will enable us over time to support more of the 5 million people of working age with a disability but without a first higher education qualification than would otherwise be possible, especially the 900,000 or so with level 3 qualifications who have not progressed to level 4.

Students: Females

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what proportion of equal and lower qualification students were female in the most recent period for which figures are available. (195090)

About 70,000 women were studying for equivalent or lower level qualifications (ELQ) to ones they already hold in 2006/07—the latest year for which data are available. This represents a little under 60 per cent. of the total number of ELQ students, and that proportion is broadly the same as the overall male/female balance within higher education. The progressive redistribution of funding away from ELQ students will enable us to support more of the 10 million women without a first higher education qualification than would otherwise be possible, especially the two million women with level 3 qualifications who have not progressed to level 4.

Students: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of students for equivalent and lower qualifications as an additional degree who will no longer receive funding in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11. (175802)

All existing students doing equivalent and lower level qualifications will continue to receive funding during the years in question.

Students: Identity Cards

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the financial impact upon young people of requiring them to pay for identity cards prior to applying for a student loan; and if he will make a statement. (192729)

There are no plans to require students to have an ID card to apply for a student loan or any other form of student support, therefore no estimates of the cost have been made.

The policy on the introduction of identity cards on a voluntary basis rests with the Home Office. Currently either a passport or a birth certificate (accompanied by an identity confirmation form signed by a person of good standing) is required as proof of identity for students applying for a Government student loan. We have no current plans to change this, although the process for verifying the identity of applicants is kept under review.

Students: Loans

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people who graduated in (a) 2001, (b) 2002, (c) 2003, (d) 2004, (e) 2005, (f) 2006 and (g) 2007 have repaid the whole of their student loan. (188038)

Available data are shown in the table.

English domiciled borrowers who have fully repaid their student loan (up to February 2008) by loan type1

Date repayments due to start2

Mortgage-style loan

Income-contingent loan

All loans3

April 2002

25,800

3,900

29,700

April 2003

2,800

6,000

8,800

April 2004

600

6,300

6,900

April 2005

100

6,200

6,300

April 2006

4

6,200

6,300

April 2007

4

5,200

5,200

April 2008

4

2,500

2,500

1 Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Publicly-owned student loans.

2 Repayment begins from the April following the year of graduation, when income reaches

the threshold.

3 Borrowers with both types of loan may be counted twice.

4 = nil or less than 50

Source:

Student Loans Company

Borrowers who graduated in 2007 are not required to begin repaying their loans until April 2008; consequently the April 2008 figures in the table cover only those borrowers who have chosen to fully repay their loans before any repayments are due. The table reflects the change from mortgage-style to income-contingent loans. The figures relating to 2001 graduates, who started to repay their loans from April 2002, are significantly higher because the normal period for repaying mortgage-style loans is five to seven years.

Borrowers with up to four mortgage-style loans repay over five years when their income exceeds the repayment threshold; those with five or more loans repay over seven years. The threshold for borrowers with mortgage-style loans is 85 per cent. of national average earnings, currently £25,287 from 1 September 2007. Borrowers are able to apply for deferment of repayments if their income is below this. Income-contingent loans replaced mortgage-style loans from 1998. Borrowers with income contingent loans repay at a rate of 9 per cent. of earnings above £15,000 a year. Repayments are usually collected through the tax system by employers, in the same way as income tax and national insurance contributions. Self-employed borrowers make repayments through the self assessment system.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many cases of multiple applications from individuals for student loans were recorded in each of the last five years for which figures are available. (192338)

The responsibility for assessing student support applications in England rests with local authorities and therefore complete information is not centrally available about the number of multiple applications identified. From 2009-10 the SLC will assess all new applications for student support, and records will be held centrally.

Where local authorities suspect fraud at the application stage, they will not process the application until they are completely satisfied with the documentary evidence. Where payments have been made, the local authorities may prosecute the students, or report the matter to the police for prosecution, and recover any overpayments.

The Student Loans Company (SLC) run a range of checks using industry-standard software systems which pick up potential multiple applications. Payments are suspended by the SLC until students contact their local authority and the case is thoroughly checked. Since 2004, 388 cases such cases have been identified, though not all are fraudulent applications.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of raising the student loan repayment income threshold to (a) £18,000, (b) £20,000, (c) £21,000, (d) £22,000, (e) £23,000, (f) £24,000 and (g) £25,000; and if he will make a statement. (196031)

The estimated additional resource cost for each £1,000 increase in the current £15,000 repayment threshold is an initial £200 million (for existing loans) plus an ongoing cost of £80 million per year (for new loans). Increasing the threshold to £25,000 would therefore cost an estimated £2 billion plus £800 million per year.

The income threshold is one of the main features of the income contingent loan scheme. This protects borrowers when they need it as they only pay their loan back once they earn over the threshold. Borrowers currently repay nothing until they earn over £15,000. This strikes the right balance, making payments affordable to the individual and student loans affordable to the public purse. We are committed to maintaining the repayment threshold at £15,000 until 2010 when we will review it.

Vocational Education: Peterborough

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he is taking to increase the provision of technical and vocational training and education in Peterborough; and if he will make a statement. (179270)

The Learning and Skills Council for Cambridgeshire have undertaken a review of their provision of technical and vocational training and education. As a result they have increased their apprenticeship contracted in-learning volume by 10 per cent. in 2007/08 and introduced apprenticeships for people aged 25 years plus. The LSC is already planning further increases in provision for 2008/09 based on the needs identified in their review. The Government have laid out their plans for improving the quality of technical and vocational education training for both young people and adults in apprenticeships in “World-class Apprenticeships: Unlocking Talent, Building Skills for All”.

To support this challenging agenda the Government are increasing apprenticeship funding by a quarter to £1 billion by 2010/11.

Written Questions: Government Responses

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when he expects to answer Question (a) 181532 and (b) 181601 on departmental travel, tabled on 21 January 2008 by the hon. Member for Taunton; and what the reason for the time taken to respond is. (191404)

The questions referred to were answered on 17 March 2008, Official Report, columns 855-56W.

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created by machinery of government changes at the end of June 2007. A consequence of these changes is that DIUS relies on management information supplied by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) to answer questions relating to departmental matters, which impacts on the speed of response.

Communities and Local Government

Buildings: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) capital, (b) revenue funding and (c) other support, including donation of land or buildings, (i) the Government and (ii) the European Union has provided for (A) the Scottish Exhibition Centre and Scottish Conference Centre in Glasgow, (B) the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Edinburgh, (C) the Arena and Conference Centre, Liverpool, (D) the International Conference Centre and the Symphony Hall, Birmingham, (E) the Bournemouth International Conference Centre, Bournemouth, (F) the Brighton Centre, Brighton, (G) the Riviera Centre, Torquay, (H) the Excel Centre, the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, (I) the Manchester Central, Manchester and (J) the Harrogate International Centre, Harrogate; and if she will make a statement. (197139)

The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Councillors: Complaints

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which council had the highest number of complaints made to the Standards Board of England from its councillors about its councillors according to records held by the Standards Board in the latest period for which figures are available. (194341)

In 2007-08, the council whose members had the largest number of misconduct allegations made against them by fellow councillors was Somerset county council, where there were 30 such allegations, 29 from a single councillor.

Eco-Towns: Pochin Group

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have had with representatives of Pochin Group plc on eco-towns. (194344)

Neither the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government or officials have held meetings with representatives of Pochin Group plc on eco-towns.

Electoral Register: Fraud

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 5 March 2008, Official Report, column 2886W, on electoral register: fraud, to which local authorities the legal advice has been circulated; and if she will place a copy in the Library of the advice. (194837)

Legal advice was offered to all local authorities who are council tax billing authorities.

I have placed a copy of the legal advice in the Library of the House.

Empty Property

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 6 March 2008 to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps), Official Report, column 2775W, on empty property, what the locations were of each of the properties for which public requests were received; and for what reasons each request was refused or accepted. (194826)

The following table lists the land or properties involved in the 24 public request to order disposal cases referred to in the answer of 6 March 2008; whether a direction was issued; and the reason why a direction was or was not issued.

2006

Site

Direction to order disposal

Reason

Edge Lane, Liverpool

Non direction

The council had intention to bring the properties into active use as part of their comprehensive regeneration of the Edge Lane Corridor.

Land at Upper Campfield Market, Manchester

Non direction

Land is being used in accordance with the council's functions.

70, Birtles Road, Macclesfield

Non direction

Council had firm intention to deal with the property.

53 Lutterworth Road, Leicester

Non direction

Leicester city council intend to develop the site as part of a bypass scheme in 2009-10.

Land off Manners Avenue, Ilkeston, Derbyshire

Non direction

Land in question is being sufficiently used for the purpose of recreation, walking and cycling.

Property in Chinnor, Oxfordshire

Non direction

Property is still required for police operational purposes.

Housing in Maidenhead

Invalid

Owned by MOD—not covered by PROD since owned by a Government Department.

Farnham, Surrey

Non direction

Council had a firm intention to bring it back into use.

Palace House Stables and Yard Palace Street Newmarket Suffolk

Non direction

Council had a firm intention to bring the land into active use as a working yard for the retraining of retired racehorses.

61 Caernarvon Road Norwich Norfolk

Withdrawn

Council put the land up for auction

13 Lea Walk Harpenden Herts

Invalid

Land not owned by local authority

151-159 Wells Road, London

Invalid

National Health Trust land, not covered by Part 10 of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980.

2007

Site

Direction to order disposal

Reason

Prescot Road, Liverpool

Non direction

Council proposes to deal with the land through a mixture of refurbishment and demolitions. Will review the situation late August 2008.

Prescott Drive, Liverpool

Under review

Maple Grove, Fern Grove, Liverpool

Maple Grove - SoS minded to make a direction, now within 42 days for representations.

Maple Grove—local authority had no firm proposals to deal with these properties.

Fern Grove—non direction.

Fern Grove—no direction as local authority had firm intentions to develop the sites.

9 Pinfold Street, Darlaston Wednesbury West Midlands

Non direction

Satisfied that the Council intend to develop the land for housing.

177 Weston Street Walsall West Midlands

Invalid

Immediate local authority does not hold an interest in the property.

9 Marlborough Road, Castle Bromwich, Birmingham B36 OEH

Invalid

Immediate local authority does not hold an interest in the property

Empty property at Alfreton Park, Alfreton, Derby

Non direction

Derbyshire county council and Amber Valley borough council are reviewing use/access.

Hythe and Lydd-on-Sea, Kent

Invalid

In private ownership and thus not covered by PROD.

59 properties in Phoenix Street and Richard Cooper Street, Goole.

Non direction

East Riding of Yorkshire Council (EROYC) and its Partners due to commence year three of the 10 year programme.

35 Mitcham Park, Merton

Direction issued

No firm plans to sell/develop/bring into use within a reasonable timescale

240 Lordship Lane, London

Unable to pursue

Applicant did not disclose identity, despite correspondence from Government Office.

12 Lord Holland Lane, London

Unable to pursue

Applicant did not disclose identity, despite correspondence from Government Office.

Fire Prevention: Construction Methods

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to ensure that the fire safety standards of composite panels are maintained; and what guidance she has issued to fire authorities on the topic. (196302)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: Fire safety risk assessment undertaken under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 should take account of the type of construction used in any building. The Department has issued technical fire safety risk assessment guidance which includes reference to composite panels (also known as insulated core panels). This guidance is available on the Department's website at:

www.communities.gov.uk/firesafety

Fire Services: ICT

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fire and rescue services had taken delivery of information technology infrastructure specifically earmarked for use as part of the FiReControl project by 31 December 2007. (186432)

None. However, as part of the FiReControl project new mobilising equipment will be delivered to around 1,500 fire stations over the next 2.5 years. On receipt of a mobilisation message from a regional control centre, this new equipment will trigger station end components to effect a mobilisation. This includes sounding alarms, triggering retained alerters, switching on lights, opening doors and printing mobilisation messages.

In March this year new mobilising equipment has started to be installed in fire stations in Staffordshire and North Yorkshire. Infrastructure to enable FRA's to prepare data to support the FiReControl system will also start to be fitted in FRA buildings in April.

Government Offices for the Regions: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which of her Department's programme budgets were administered by the Government Offices of the Regions in each of the last five years. (195172)

[holding answer 18 March 2008]: The Government offices have directly administered the European Regional Development Fund, the New Ventures Fund and the new deal for communities programme throughout the last five years.

Housing Low Incomes

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new homes were completed by registered social landlords in (a) Telford and Wrekin and (b) the West Midlands in each of the last 10 years. (193905)

The following table shows the new build figures for registered social landlords in Telford and Wrekin district, West Midlands region and England from 1996-97 to 2005-06:

Telford and Wrekin

West Midlands

England

1996-97

173

3,185

33,156

1997-98

71

2,457

27,887

1998-99

19

2,532

26,372

1999-2000

103

2,782

22,302

2000-01

84

2,212

20,760

2001-02

49

1,945

21,676

2002-03

118

2,453

20,897

2003-04

128

1,980

23,703

2004-05

81

2,759

26,670

2005-06

72

3,762

34,199

Source:

Housing Corporation and Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix return from local authorities

The table excludes acquisitions of existing stock and new build affordable housing provided by local authorities. For example, in 2005-06, total supply including acquisitions and local authority figures was 44,923 in England, 4,487 in West Midlands region, and 88 in Telford and the Wrekin district.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when her Department will publish the findings of Brian Pomeroy’s review of the shared equity market; and if she will make a statement. (196629)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: The Government appointed Brian Pomeroy to help it follow up on the Shared Equity Task Force report and advise us on ways to develop the private sector shared equity market. This work is expected to finish shortly and we will make a statement when it is complete.

Housing: Thames Gateway

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to receive figures for the number of dwellings built on brownfield land in the Thames Gateway area in 2007. (189390)

The Government have a target that 80 per cent. of new housing in the Thames Gateway should be built on previously developed 'brownfield' land. The Thames Gateway Delivery Plan, published in November 2007, confirms that, since the inception of the Sustainable Communities Plan in 2003, that target has been exceeded and the Government are committed to keeping to the target over the next three years at least. Figures for the number of dwellings built on brownfield land in Thames Gateway for 2007 as a whole will not be available until later in 2008.

Intimidation

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her most recent assessment is of (a) levels of staff concern over and (b) the level of (i) bullying, (ii) harassment and (iii) discrimination in her Department. (193835)

We take this issue very seriously. Our most recent assessment is set out in the Government Response to the Select Committee’s Report on the Department for Communities and Local Government’s Annual Report 2007 (Cm 7335), a copy of which can be found on the Department’s website at:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/responseannualreport2007

The results of the Department’s 2007 staff survey are also on the website.

Local Authorities: Standards

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she issues to local authorities on best practice in (a) the management of public money and (b) the liabilities of elected councillors in respect of joint venture partnerships. (195955)

Local authorities are independent bodies responsible for the proper administration of their financial affairs within the framework set by legislation and codes of practice issued by professional bodies, such as the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. Communities and Local Government and its predecessor Departments have issued guidance to authorities under statutory powers on specific aspects of financial management, including their power of investment and the new powers of trading and charging introduced in the Local Government Act 2003. These are available on the Department's website at:

http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/capital/data/lginvest2.pdf

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/133628

http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/guidprop.pdf

Communities and Local Government has issued no guidance on the liabilities of elected councillors in respect of joint venture partnerships.

Mayor of London

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the Answers to the hon. Member for Beckenham of 9 October 2007, Official Report, column 569W, and to the hon. Member for Meriden of 11 December 2006, Official Report, column 898W, on the Mayor of London, what the final cost to the public purse of the Standards Board case in relation to Mr Ken Livingstone was, including the costs to (a) the Standards Board, (b) the Adjudication Panel, (c) her Department and (d) the Government Office for London, including legal fees, advice, staff time and costs payable to the Mayor. (193915)

The Standards Board’s own costs in respect of the case against the London Mayor amount to £64,000. The costs payable by the board to the Mayor in connection with the case are £130,000. The cost to the adjudication panel in respect of the case is £14,000. Neither the Department nor the Government office for London were parties to the case, so that no costs were incurred by them on legal representation in respect of it.

Mobile Homes

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the legal status of mobile homes is; what legislation governs the occupying of such homes; what definition she uses of a mobile home; whether she plans to bring forward measures to change this status; and if she will make a statement. (196715)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: The status of a mobile home is that of a personal moveable property. Occupation of mobile homes is governed by the Mobile Homes Act 1983 (as amended) and the Caravan Sites Act 1968. Such homes have by virtue of section 5 (1) of that Act the same definition as a caravan under Part 1 of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960. There are no plans to change the status of mobile homes.

Playing Fields: Planning

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) with reference to the answer of 17 July 2007, Official Report, column 226W, on playing fields: planning, for what reason the consultation paper on the review of statutory consultees was not published in 2007; when it was (a) commissioned and (b) originally due for publication; and when it is expected to be published; (194944)

(2) with reference to the answer of 17 July 2007, Official Report, column 226W, on playing fields: planning, how many members of staff in her Department are working on the consultation paper on the review of statutory consultees.

(3) what progress has been made in bringing forward the changes to the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995 announced in her Department’s press release, “Planning to Safeguard Open Spaces and Playing Fields”, of July 2002. [Official Report, 24 April 2008, Vol. 474, c. 11MC.]

We announced in the Planning white paper “Planning for Sustainable Communities” that we would review arrangements for statutory consultees on planning applications and would consult on proposals in due course. This work is being taken forward, our aim is to publish a consultation paper shortly. Meanwhile, as I mentioned in the reply I gave to the hon. Member on 17 July, we are committed to reducing the threshold for statutory consultation on the sale of playing fields from 0.4 ha to 0.2 ha and we will seek an opportunity to make the necessary amendment to the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995.

Press

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many press office staff were employed by (a) her Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies (i) in each year since 1996-97 and (ii) at the latest date for which information is available. (189670)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. Browne) on 18 February 2007, Official Report, column 14W.

Information on agencies and non-departmental bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Sewage: Energy

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2008, Official Report, column 48W, on sewage: energy, if she will make it her policy to make urine separation systems mandatory in all new developments where discrete sewerage infrastructure is possible. (195241)

The Government do not currently propose to make the use of urine separation systems mandatory in all new developments where discrete sewerage infrastructure is possible.

Part H (drainage and waste disposal) of the Building Regulations currently requires an adequate system of drainage to be provided to carry foul water from appliances within the building to a suitable sewer, septic tank, waste water treatment system or cesspool.

This means that where mains drainage cannot be provided and an applicant wishes to use an appliance such as a composting toilet there may be benefits in using urine separation as this can improve overall efficiency. However, there is a risk that urine separation and the subsequent discharge of a mixture of urine and water from washing appliances to the ground may cause pollution and damage water resources. People who plan to use urine separation and subsequently discharge direct to ground should undertake a robust site investigation and consult the appropriate authorities such as Building Control or the Environment Agency before finalising plans.

Guidance of the provision of toilets is contained in the Approved Document G (Hygiene) of the Building Regulations. This guidance is under review and we expect to consult on the proposals shortly. It will include improved guidance on the location and use of composting toilets.

Social Services: Inspections

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost of Commission for Social Care inspection was in each of the last three years. (187329)

I have been asked to reply.

We have been informed by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that the information requested is not available in the form requested. CSCI is funded via a combination of registration fees charged to providers of care and grant in aid from the Department. It is not possible to specify the source of funds spent on inspection activities. The available information on CSCI funding is shown in the following table.

£ thousand

Source of funding

Departmental revenue

Departmental capital charges

Other income

Total budget

Departmental capital

2003-04

94,320

10,752

46,290

151,362

3,000

2004-05

98,005

10,000

44,402

152,407

2,000

2005-06

86,430

14,490

56,755

157,675

6,000

2006-07

80,984

15,840

64,500

161,324

19,978

2007-08

65,371

12,261

58,600

136,232

18,707

Notes:

1. CSCI was being set up in 2003-04. Its predecessor organisation was National Care Standards Commission.

2. Figures for revenue and capital are grant-in-aid issued by the Department and are the start of year figures. Figures for income are derived from CSCI annual accounts.

3. ‘Other income’ represents income largely from regulatory fees.

4. Figures for CSCI up to 2006-07 include the cost of children’s social services functions transferred to Ofsted on 1 April 2007.

Source:

Department of Health.

Children, Schools and Families

Bookstart Scheme

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what the cost of Bookstart has been since the programme began; and how many books have been purchased under the scheme to date; (196569)

(2) how many books purchased under the Bookstart programme have been (a) delivered to and (b) collected by parents; and how many are awaiting collection.

Bookstart is a public/private partnership which is supported by publishers, sponsors, local and national government. Booktrust have informed me that, to date, the total cost of the Bookstart programme in England has been around £110 million: £74 million worth of books donated by publishers, sponsorship of £5 million and £30.7 million from local and national Government agencies including DCSF.

Since 1992 around 14.7 million books have been given to parents of children under three in England via health visitors, libraries and early years settings and it is estimated that a further 500,000 books are held by local authorities to maintain a continuous supply to eligible parents in England.

Children

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what the cost of (a) production and (b) distribution of the Children’s Plan Toolkit was; (196980)

(2) how many Children's Plan Toolkits were produced; and to whom they were distributed.

The total cost of the packs was £30,534. This included the design, production and distribution of the packs. 1550 packs have been produced. The distribution was as follows (one each): 550 packs to English MPs, 150 packs to Directors of Children's Services, 500 packs to our stakeholders, 300 packs for the events held on 8 March with parents, young people and practitioners , 50 packs for internal use.

Children: Day Care

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when the findings from the 20 authorities involved in the flexible extended free entitlement pathfinder projects will be published. (196172)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: Findings from an evaluation of the pathfinder authorities will be published in late 2008. Lessons learned from the pathfinder authorities will also form a key part of the new statutory guidance, which we will consult on in 2009. The guidance will come into force from September 2010 when all local authorities will be delivering the extended flexible entitlement to all their eligible children.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of private, voluntary and independent nurseries surveyed in each of the 20 authorities involved in the flexible extended free entitlement pathfinder projects reported that the nursery education grant they receive does not meet the costs of running their nursery. (196174)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: This information is not held centrally.

In June 2007 as part of the wider Schools Funding Reforms, we asked all local authorities to complete an analysis into the cost of delivering the free entitlement in private, voluntary and independent settings, in the run up to agreeing local budgets for April 2008 onwards. These reforms are designed to support the extension of the free entitlement and to address the inconsistencies in how the offer is currently funded across the maintained and private, voluntary and independent sectors. These reforms are part of the requirement for local authorities to use a single local formula for funding early years provision in both sectors from 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many childcare information kiosks were installed by his Department and its predecessor in each year since 2000. (196185)

The Department has not installed any childcare information kiosks since 2000. However, some local authorities have installed kiosks in children’s services locations, such as CIS and children’s centres, and these have been paid for by the relevant authority (including using delegated funding such as the Sure Start grant).

Children: Depressive Illnesses

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of children diagnosed with depression in each of the last 10 years. (195968)

I have been asked to reply.

The Office for National Statistics 2004 survey Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain looked at the prevalence of mental health disorders. It found that 10 per cent. of young people aged five to 16 years had a clinically diagnosed mental disorder. This includes four per cent. with an emotional disorder (1 per cent. depression and 3 per cent. anxiety disorders). The results of the survey are only available in terms of percentages of children rather than numbers.

There were no differences in prevalence between 1999 and 2004 in overall proportions of children with a mental disorder. The 1999 figures were captured in the 2000 “Mental health of children and adolescents in Great Britain”.

Information is not collected by this Department on the number of people diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Copies of both publications are available in the Library.

Children: Protection

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent discussions he had with the Home Office on strengthening the law to protect children who have been groomed. (191442)

There have been no specific discussions recently on this matter. However, Home Office is a key member of the new Child Safety PSA Board, which will monitor delivery of the PSA to improve children and young people's safety, for which the Department has lead responsibility. The PSA Board will consider all issues relating to children's safety. DCSF has also attended meetings of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Sexual and Domestic Violence, the group led by Home Office which co-ordinates the Government's joint action to tackle these issues.

In addition, the Byron review, which reports shortly, will make recommendations about how to support children to use the internet safely. This will help address a range of online risks to children, including the risk of grooming by online predators.

Children: Reading

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate his Department has made of the number of children in schools with dyslexia-type reading difficulties in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) Tees Valley district and (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency. (195536)

The available information has been placed in the Library.

Information was collected from schools on pupils who are supported at “School Action Plus” and those pupils with statements of special educational needs (SEN) about their main or primary need and, if appropriate, their secondary need for the first time in 2004.

Information on the number of pupils with dyslexia alone is not collected centrally. Figures relating to pupils with specific learning difficulties have been provided. Pupils with specific learning difficulties have a particular difficulty in learning to read, write, spell or manipulate numbers and this includes pupils with dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.

Tables showing the number of pupils by type of SEN in each local authority area have been placed in the Library. This information has not been analysed lower than local authority level because there are a number of sensitivities about categorising pupils by their type of SEN. It is important that anyone using the data should be aware of the concerns and also understand the limitations of the data's reliability and validity. There are a range of factors which may affect the data recorded, including:

Local interpretation of definitions

Classification of children with multiple needs

Statistics are based on school and local authority identification of need rather than a diagnosis by medical of psychological staff

Availability of special school provision in authorities.

Departmental Marketing

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much designing the Department’s new logo cost; and who undertook the work. (196270)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: The Department’s new logo cost £5,460 (excluding VAT) to design. This design work was undertaken by our framework supplier, The Team.

Employment: Havering

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to maximise job and training opportunities during the Olympics for those attending schools, colleges and youth services in the London borough of Havering. (168420)

I have been asked to reply.

Further to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Skills, to the hon. Member's question 168417 on 26 November 2007, Official Report, column 271W, the legacy of our investment for the games goes beyond more houses and better transport. It must strengthen London's skills base and boost job prospects for London's residents in a lasting way. To help young people to gain skills and improve their employment prospects, the ODA has publicly committed to get at least 2,000 people into trainee apprenticeships and work placements (up to 2012) at the Olympic park and other venues that the ODA is working on or building. The first phase is the training centre at Eton Manor fields based at the Olympic site.

In addition, the Major Contractors Group, which represents some of the UK's largest construction companies, has pledged:

to make available 1,000 job placements to young people enrolled on FE construction courses;

to work with the Construction Youth Trust to sponsor 50 undergraduates to obtain a construction-related degree;

make available 1,000 training placements for local people over 21 who do not qualify for apprenticeships.

London LSC is also signed up to a target of 4,000 public sector apprenticeships by 2012, and is working closely with the Mayor's office to increase the number of apprenticeships across the GLA family (police, fire service, TFL). The LSC is also funding a range of community engagement activities to inspire people about the games and raise their aspirations. This includes:

Funding a series of theatre tours to visit 130 schools across London to raise awareness of ‘Olympic opportunities’ for young people;

Building an Olympic/Paralympics element into the training of London teachers;

Providing skills advice and materials for a series of road-show events throughout 2007-08 to visit communities across all 33 London boroughs.

In total, London Learning and Skills Council is planning to spend a further £7 million in 2008/09, up from the previous years £5 million which will contribute to improving both the volume and quality of work based learning in the four key sectors: construction, sport; audio-visual and customer service. In addition, the LSC will provide a further £12.2 million for demand-led investment in training at the NSA centre on the Olympics site in the period between now and 2012.

English Language: Education

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of children receive English as an additional language teaching; and what forecasts there are for the likely percentage in future years. (196262)

The percentage of pupils whose first language is other than English (EAL pupils) is published in table 6 of the Statistical First Release number 30/2007 titled Schools and Pupils in England, January 2007. The SFR can be accessed at:

http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000744/index.shtml

A copy of this SFR is available in the House Libraries.

In January 2007, there were 13.5 per cent. of EAL pupils in maintained primary schools and 10.5 per cent. of EAL pupils in maintained secondary schools. Provisional figures based on the January 2008 School Census are expected to be published at the end of April 2008.

All EAL pupils receive classroom teaching appropriate to their status. Information on the percentage of EAL pupils receiving additional specialist language instruction is not collected centrally.

The Department has not made estimates for the percentage of EAL pupils in primary and secondary schools in forthcoming years.

General Certificate of Secondary Education

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils examination results were exempted from appearing in GCSE result tables in 2007. (195196)

All pupils have their GCSE results reported in the national attainment figures although pupils who have arrived from overseas within the last two years do not have their results attributed to a particular school. In 2007, this affected 1,973 such pupils from 523 schools.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in how many schools did less than 30 per cent. of pupils obtain five A* to C GCSE grades including English, mathematics and science. (195214)

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many pupils achieved no grade higher than X at GCSE in 2007; (196321)

(2) how many pupils were awarded no grade higher than U at GCSE in 2007.

7,200 pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 achieved no passes. This is 3 per cent. of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. The figures include pupils achieving ‘U’, ‘Q’, or ‘X’ grades.

A ‘U’ is the last recognised grade at GCSE. ‘X’ and ‘Q’ are used to indicate why a grade has not been awarded. An ‘X’ means a pupil is absent or the exam paper has been lost. A ‘Q’ means result pending or late award. It is therefore not appropriate to rank these against other grades.

Independent Schools: General Certificate of Secondary Education

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many mainstream independent schools do not enter pupils for GCSEs. (196320)

The information required is not readily available. The Secondary Schools Achievement and Attainment Tables give the percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 achieving at least one qualification. Looking at the number of mainstream independent schools with 0 per cent. of students achieving at least one qualification will provide the best estimate that is readily available. In 2006/07 there were three such schools published in the Achievement and Attainment Tables.

International General Certificate of Secondary Education

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils sat iGCSEs in each year for which figures are available. (196323)

Pupil Referral Units: General Certificate of Secondary Education

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils in pupil referral units taking GCSEs did not obtain a single GCSE at C grade or above in 2007. (196324)

There were 5,543 15-year-old pupils in pupil referral units who did not gain a GCSE at grades A* to C in 2007. This is 88.3 per cent. of the total of 6,280 15-year-old pupils.

These figures include GCSEs and other equivalent qualifications approved for use pre-16.

Pupils: English Language

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effect on the school league table position of schools of a high proportion of pupils with English as second language; and if he will make a statement. (179956)

The annual school Achievement and Attainment tables show actual performance of pupils, including a measure of the progress pupils have made based on their prior attainment and adjusting for other characteristics which are known to affect pupil performance. One of the factors used in this calculation of contextual value added is whether a pupil has English as an additional language. Thus this factor is already taken into account within the tables, for all pupils for whom there is a record of attainment at the previous key stage.

Pupils: Personal Records

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the relationship will be between the Unique Learner Number and the Unique Pupil Number. (193837)

I have been asked to reply.

There is no direct interface between the Unique Learner Number and Unique Pupil Number, other than the fact that both numbers are held on the National Pupil Database.

The Unique Learner Number is designed to support better processing of data and improve services to individuals undertaking learning. The ULN will in time be used across the education sector, and will support much improved data sharing between third parties, for example school to college, school to awarding body, school to careers service, school/college to university. It will directly enable the aggregation of qualification awards and the creation of a learner record showing participation and achievement, which the individual will control.

The Unique Learner Number is assigned to learners over the age of 14, using an on-line learner registration service, which is accessible to learners and those who are supporting them, for example, education providers and careers advisers. This service also confirms how individuals want their information shared.

The Unique Pupil Number was designed specifically for the school sector to facilitate a smoother movement of pupil information between schools, local authorities and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), and lapses when a pupil leaves the maintained school sector. When designed it was agreed with the Data Protection Registrar that the Unique Pupil Number should be held by schools on the pupil’s electronic record, and only used when required to provide information to the local authority, to the DCSF or National Assessment Agency (NAA), or to another school to which the pupil is transferring.

Schools

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Reading, East of 8 October 2007, Official Report, column 406W, on schools, how many maintained schools there were in each local education authority at the end of each year since 1997; what the capacity in terms of pupil numbers was in each case; and what the actual number of pupils was in each year. (190752)

The available information on the number of schools and pupils in each local authority is derived from data collected via the School Census and is published annually by the Department. From 2005 the figures can be found in the Statistical First Release ‘DCSF; Schools and Pupils in England’, the latest of which can be accessed at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000744/index.shtml. Figures for 2004 and earlier were published in the Statistical Volume ‘Statistics of Education, Schools in England’ which can be accessed at:

http://www.dfes.gov.uk/gateway/DB/VOL/v000459/index.shtml

Equivalent publications are available for earlier years.

Copies of school and pupil numbers are shown in tables which will be placed in the House Library. I will write to the hon. Member, and place in the House Library, information on school capacity.

Schools: Community Relations

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools have applied for departmental funding to allow them to open their facilities to community groups. (187725)

Opening school facilities to the community is one of the elements of the extended schools core offer. We are committed to all schools providing access to the core offer of extended services by 2010 with at least half of all primary and a third of secondary schools doing so by September 2008.

The Department has committed significant investment in extended schools, and will make available more than £1 billion over the next three years to support the establishment of inclusive and sustainable extended schools. This funding is passed to local authorities to distribute directly to schools to help them deliver the core offer. The Department centrally does not hold extended schools funding to which schools can apply.

Schools: Playing Fields

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many school playing fields were sold in England in each of the last five years. (196184)

In each of the last five years the numbers of applications approved to sell a school playing field in England are as follows:

Number approved

2003-04

18

2004-05

10

2005-06

13

2006-07

7

2007-08

15

Total

63

Secondary Education: Admissions

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many children living in the Furtherwick school catchment area of Canvey Island have not secured a place at their first option for a secondary school in 2008; (196933)

(2) how many children did not secure a place at their first option for a secondary school on Canvey Island in each of the last five years;

(3) how many children living in the Furtherwick secondary school catchment area of Canvey Island have not secured their second choice of school for September 2008; and if he will make a statement.

This is the first year that local authorities have been required to provide data to the Secretary of State on secondary school offers made to parents on national offer day. These data were published on the DCSF research gateway (www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway) on 11 March 2008 at local authority, regional and national levels. Data have not been collected at constituency or school levels. Figures for Essex local authority, in which Canvey Island is situated, show that 80.8 per cent. (12,986) of children resident in that authority who are eligible to transfer to secondary school in September 2008 were offered a place at their parents’ first choice of school and a further 10 per cent. (1,601) were offered a place at their parents’ second choice of school.

Specialised Diplomas

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of (a) academies, (b) comprehensive schools and (c) independent schools he expects to be offering the new diplomas in September (i) 2008, (ii) 2009 and (iii) 2010. (188396)

From September 2008, 25 per cent. of maintained mainstream secondary schools will be offering diplomas, along with 41 per cent. of colleges, and 54 per cent. of academies. From September 2009, we anticipate that 72 per cent. of mainstreamed maintained secondary schools will be offering diplomas, along with 88 per cent. of colleges, and 75 per cent. of academies. We do not expect any independent schools to be delivering diplomas from 2008, and expect two independent schools to be delivering diplomas from 2009. Complete figures for 2010 will not be available until the completion of the next Diploma Gateway process next spring.