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Written Answers

Volume 475: debated on Wednesday 7 May 2008

Written Answers to Questions

Wednesday 7 May 2008

Prime Minister

Engagements

14. To ask the Prime Minister if he will visit the UK Human Trafficking Centre in Sheffield to discuss trends in human trafficking into the UK from other EU member states. (203752)

The Government deplore all forms of human trafficking. The UK has led the way on human trafficking: the EU plan on preventing and combating trafficking in persons was adopted during the UK presidency in 2005; and, the UK and Poland are leading a project with a number of EU partners to undertake more practical co-operation on human trafficking.

The UK's action plan “Tacking Human Trafficking”, published in March 2007, sets out the Government's strategy. Copies are available in the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Domestic Visits

To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions he visited (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland in an official capacity in the last 12 months. (204389)

A list of my UK visits will be published in the usual way following the end of the financial year.

Speeches

To ask the Prime Minister who his Office has employed as a speechwriter since he took up office as Prime Minister. (203890)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 29 October 2007, Official Report, column 625W.

Duchy of Lancaster

Community Assets Programme

8. To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made on the community assets programme; and if he will make a statement. (203762)

The £30 million Community Assets programme is making excellent progress. Last month it announced 37 in-principle awards to refurbish assets that will be transferred to third sector ownership. The projects are imaginative and varied: from inner-city spaces offering alternative education for young people to cutting edge theatre and art, and health and keep fit services.

Charities and Community Groups

9. To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he is taking to reduce the burden of administration on charities and community groups. (203763)

The Government are tackling administrative burdens affecting the third sector in a number of ways. For example the Charities Act 2006 includes a range of de-regulatory measures that particularly help the smallest charities, and the Charity Commission has introduced a simplified annual return form which is already benefiting 65,000 charities.

Social Enterprise

10. To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he is taking to promote social enterprise amongst young people. (203764)

The Government are committed to promoting social enterprise among young people as part of the 2006 Social Enterprise Action Plan and the 2007 Third Sector Review. Programmes with a focus on young people include the Social Enterprise Ambassadors programme, raising the profile of social enterprise, and embedding social enterprise in the school curriculum, such as GCSE Business Studies.

Social Change

11. To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what guidance he provides to the third sector on campaigning for social change; and if he will make a statement. (203765)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Fiona MacTaggart).

14. To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the Government’s policy is on third sector organisations which campaign for social change. (203768)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart).

Social Inclusion

12. To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent steps he has taken to promote social inclusion in rural areas. (203766)

The Socially Excluded Adults Public Service Agreement and the Families at Risk Review will help to promote social inclusion in rural areas. They will support the Government’s wider work on building strong rural communities and ensuring that public services meet the needs of the most vulnerable rural residents. The Government are providing over £50 million a year to support rural bus services, are ensuring that 95 per cent. of the rural population are within three miles of a Post Office, and have committed to deliver over 10,000 affordable homes in settlements of less than 3,000 inhabitants by 2011.

Hospitality: Senior Civil Servants

13. To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent assessment he has made of compliance with the civil service management code’s rules on the registration of hospitality received by senior civil servants. (203767)

The rules on the registration of hospitality are set out in the “Civil Service Management Code”. The Government are committed to publishing, for the first time, an annual list of hospitality received during 2007 by members of departmental boards. The information is currently being compiled, and it will be published shortly.

Conditions of Employment

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made in removing the two-tier workforce. (203754)

In 2005 the Government introduced a Code of Practice on Workforce Matters designed to prevent the development of a two tier workforce in public services. The code’s implementation is currently being reviewed as part of the work programme of the Public Services Forum. The code also explicitly encourages employees and trade unions to alert Government to any problems with its implementation.

Departmental Press

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what weekly publications the Prime Minister's office subscribes to or purchases each week; and at what cost. (203891)

The Prime Minister’s office forms an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 9 October 2007, Official Report, column 530W.

Transport

Aviation: Noise

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) when the Government adopted the 57dBLeq contour as the threshold for problematic aircraft noise; (194002)

(2) if she will review the effectiveness of the 57dBLeq contour as a threshold for problematic transport-related noise.

In September 1990 the Department for Transport announced the replacement of the noise and number index (NNI) with Leq (16 hour) dBA as the daytime index for aircraft noise. 57 dBA Leq (measured over 07.00-23.00 period) was adopted as representing the onset of annoyance, although the Government acknowledged that there can be no absolute measure of disturbance from aircraft noise given the variation in individual reactions.

This decision followed publication of the report “United Kingdom Aircraft Noise Index Study” (ANIS) in 1985 and subsequent consultation on its findings.

In 2001 the Department commissioned the “Attitudes to Noise from Aviation Sources” (ANASE) study to update the ANIS research. The conclusions of this study (which were announced by the Secretary of State on 2 November 2007) indicated that whilst it is highly probable that annoyance with a particular level of aircraft noise is higher than found in the ANIS study, it showed no evidence of a particular threshold at which it becomes a serious problem.

However, in terms of making quantitative comparisons between the results from ANASE and the earlier ANIS study, expert peer reviewers of the ANASE study advised that “reliance on the detailed outcome of ANASE would be misplaced” and that they would “counsel against using the detailed results and conclusions from ANASE in the development of government policy”.

Although the report does not provide evidence for replacing the figure of 57 dBA Leq (16 hours) with a lower or higher figure, we believe it is right to retain this figure as a safeguard for those who are most affected by aircraft noise. In the “Future of Air Transport” White Paper the Government gave a commitment that further development of Heathrow could only be considered if it resulted in no net increase in the total area of the 57 Leq dBA noise contour compared with summer 2002, an area of 127 sq km. That commitment stands and the ability to meet it is a key consideration, in the “Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport” consultation.

Additionally, as we announced when the ANASE study was released, pending the availability of a better alternative we will apply existing valuation for road and rail noise when assessing the economic impact of noise in the cost- benefit analysis of future aviation projects. We have taken this approach in the case of “Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport” consultation.

The Department is taking forward work to follow up the ANASE findings with the Aircraft Noise Monitoring Advisory Committee (ANMAC), whose role is to advise the Department on policy relating to aircraft noise at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.

The significance of the 57 dBA (16 hours) contour—as representing the onset of annoyance—specifically relates to aircraft noise. Noise annoyance criteria from other transport sources will reflect research, as appropriate, specific to those modes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether training flight movements are included in data collected on air traffic management movements and consequential noise at UK airports. (200671)

The Civil Aviation Authority collects statistics on air transport movements at the larger UK airports and these are published on their website. The published statistics include a table:

(http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/80/airport_data/2007Annual/Table_ 03_1_Aircraft_Movements_2007.csv)

listing non-commercial movements amongst which are test and training flights.

The CAA also produces annual noise contours maps for the three London designated airports (Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted). However similar maps for other airports are not produced.

Biofuels: Asthma

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the likely effects on incidence and severity of asthma of increased use of biofuels. (202837)

Dartford Tunnel: Tolls

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what factors she took into account in deciding the level of discount to local residents for Dartford Crossing tolls. (203572)

Final decisions have not yet been taken on discounts from Dartford Crossing charges for local residents. Our proposals are currently out to consultation, and the rationale for our proposals is described in the consultation document.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what role her Department has in setting toll charges for (a) the Mersey Tunnel and (b) the Dartford Crossing. (203574)

The Mersey Tunnels are not directly a matter for central Government. The Mersey Tunnels Act allows Merseytravel to increase tolls based on a Retail Price Index formula. Charges at Dartford are established by Order of the Secretary of State in exercise of powers conferred by the Transport Act 2000.

Departmental ICT

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2008, Official Report, column 2533-34W, on departmental ICT, how many of the missing or stolen (a) laptops, (b) mobile telephones and (c) personal digital assistants have been replaced by her Department; and at what cost. (202439)

The cost for the replacement of the laptop computers, mobile telephones and personal digital assistants reported as lost, missing or stolen since 2002, as referred to in the answer of 5 March 2008, Official Report, columns 2533-34W, was:

£79,370 for lost, missing or stolen laptops;

£2,852 for lost, missing or stolen mobile telephones; and

£4,918 for lost, missing or stolen personal digital assistants.

For the purposes of this reply, it is assumed that all lost, missing and stolen mobile devices were replaced by the Department for Transport. Complete records of whether any single lost or stolen item was actually replaced are not available. Where accurate replacement costs are not available, the replacement costs for these items have been estimated.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Disclosure of Information

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make it her policy to require the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) to release information to companies making manual requests only if such companies are members of a DVLA-accredited trade association. (203951)

The requirement for private car parking companies who submit requests for vehicle keeper information via electronic channels to be a member of an Accredited Trade Association (ATA) was introduced following public consultation in 2006. The British Parking Association is the only existing ATA for the parking industry. Following the consultation, it was not considered necessary to extend this requirement to those who apply via the manual, paper-based channels due to the fact that each application is considered individually and additional to the evidence that must be provided.

The DVLA will shortly be undertaking a review of all the new measures introduced in 2006. This review will consider the effectiveness of the current requirements, and all other options available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many requests for information in respect of the registered keeper of a vehicle were made to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) in the last month for which figures are available; how many of those were received by (a) electronic and (b) manual requests from (i) DVLA-accredited trade associations, (ii) non-DVLA-accredited car park operators, (iii) individuals and (iv) others; and how many in each category were (A) accepted and (B) refused. (203952)

Regulation 27 of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 provides for the release of information from the DVLA’s vehicle register to the police, to local authorities for investigation of an offence or a decriminalised parking contravention, and to anyone who can demonstrate ‘reasonable cause’ for having the information made available to them.

The requirement for unregulated companies who submit requests for vehicle keeper information via electronic channels to be a member of an Accredited Trade Association (ATA) was introduced following public consultation in 2006.

Following the consultation, it was not considered necessary to extend this requirement to those who apply via the manual, paper-based channels due to the fact that each application is considered individually and additional to the evidence that must be provided.

The latest figures available for requests for information processed by the DVLA under the ‘reasonable cause’ provisions are for March 2008.

During March, 100,828 requests were received and responded to electronically. During the same month, 24,106 manual requests for information were received and processed and an additional 2,659 were refused.

The aforementioned figures show ‘all’ requests for vehicle keeper details under the ‘reasonable cause’ provisions. These include requests from insurance and finance companies, private car park enforcement companies, members of the public and solicitors, etc., for keeper details at a specific date of event. It also contains requests where the current keeper requires the full history of his vehicle and from mileage companies for investigations into vehicle ‘clocking’.

DVLA does not keep separate figures for each category of requests, so it is not possible to advise how many requests were made by individuals, members of DVLA Accredited Trade Associations (ATA), non-DVLA accredited car park enforcement companies, or others.

It is possible to confirm, however, that all electronic requests would have been made either by companies with a statutory regulator or members of an ATA.

Heathrow Airport

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how risks 2.1, 4.1, 6.2, 7, 5.1, 1.1 and 4.3 referred to in Item 3: Risks section of the Heathrow Project Board Meeting Note of 17 October 2006 are titled; and if she will make a statement; (201249)

(2) how risks 3.3, 4.3, 1.1 and 1.3 referred to in Item 4: Risks section of the Heathrow Project Board Meeting Note of 12 September 2006 are titled; and if she will make a statement;

(3) how risks 2.2 and 2.4 discussed in Item 3: Risks section of the Heathrow Project Board Meeting Note of 10 August 2006 are titled; and if she will make a statement;

(4) how risks 3.2, 4.2, 3.4 and 6.4 discussed in Item 3: Risks section of the Heathrow Project Board Meeting Note of 10 July 2006 are titled; and if she will make a statement;

(5) how risks 1.1.3, 1.1.5, 1.3.2, 2.1.4, 2.1.1, 1.1.6, 1.3.7, 2.1.6 and 2.1.7 discussed in Item 3: Risks section of the Heathrow Project Board Meeting Note of 17 July 2007 are titled; and if she will make a statement;

(6) how risks 1.3.4, 1.4.1, 1.6.1 and 2.1.3, discussed in Item 3: Risks section of the Heathrow Project Board Meeting Note of 22 June 2007 are titled; and if she will make a statement;

(7) how risks 1.2.1, 1.3.5, 2.1.5, 2.2.8, 1.3.1 and 2.2.11 discussed in Item 3: Risks section of the Heathrow Project Board Meeting Note of 18 May 2007 are titled; and if she will make a statement;

(8) how risks 1.3.6 and 2.1.2 discussed in Item 3: Risks section of the Heathrow Project Board Meeting Note of 16 April 2007 are titled; and if she will make a statement;

(9) how risks 1.6.3 and 3.3.7 discussed in Item 3: Risks section of the Heathrow Project Board Meeting Note of 20 February 2007 are titled; and if she will make a statement.

Risk registers are a routine feature of programme and project management and are used widely within the Department for Transport (DfT) to help ensure that potentially relevant issues are anticipated and addressed. The Heathrow Project Board regularly reviewed risks as part of the process leading to the recent Heathrow consultation, and the information requested is listed as follows, by date of meeting, risk number and descriptor:

10 July 2006:

3.2—loss of housing in Sipson;

4.2—AirTrack and Crossrail funding;

3.4—direct action by opponents;

6.4—communications planning.

10 August 2006:

2.2—treatment of air quality ‘hot spots’;

2.4—nitrogen dioxide exceedences.

12 September 2006:

3.3—opposition of residents;

4.3—meeting air quality targets;

1.1/1.3—airspace design for mixed mode and runway three operations.

17 October 2006:

2.1—mitigation measures to achieve air quality limits;

4.1—road congestion around Heathrow;

6.2—three runway airport operating measures;

7—adapting the ADMS air quality model;

5.1—price increases required to support additional capacity;

1.1—airspace design for mixed mode operations;

4.3—possible mitigation measures to achieve air quality compliance.

20 February 2007:

1.6.3—modelling air quality compliant scenario;

3.3.7—non-delivery of mixed mode.

16 April 2007:

1.3.6—Strategic Road Network air quality exceedences;

2.1.2—loss of housing in Sipson.

18 May 2007:

1.2.1—possible mitigation measures to achieve air quality targets;

1.3.5—road traffic modelling;

2.1.5—public consultation handling;

2.2.8—analysis of consultation responses;

1.3.1—road congestion around Heathrow;

2.2.11—ANASE study.

22 June 2007:

1.3.4—surface access modelling;

1.4.1—noise modelling;

1.6.1—BAA and DfT scheduling forecasts;

2.1.3—opposition of residents.

17 July 2007:

1.1.3—airport operations with a third runway;

1.1.5—interaction with Northolt airport;

1.3.2—possible mitigation measures to achieve air quality compliance;

2.1.4—direct action by opponents;

2.1.1—relationship between White Paper, London Plan and local development framework;

1.1.6—NATS Terminal Control North airspace change;

1.3.7—accommodating increase in surface access trips;

2.1.6—regulatory impact assessment information;

2.1.7—resources for regulatory impact assessment.

M20: Noise

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 21 April 2008, Official Report, column 1445W, on M20: noise, how many sites identified as being a high priority for resurfacing have been resurfaced in each of the last five years; and how many her Department plans to resurface in each of the next five years. (203881)

The resurfacing of the high priority sites commenced in financial year 2004-05. The number of high priority sites which have been resurfaced in each financial year to 2007-08 is:

Number

2004-05

2

2005-06

4

2006-07

3

2007-08

3

No information is available for the planned resurfacing of the remaining high priority sites by individual financial years. However, four sites are currently planned to be resurfaced before the end of financial year 2010-11. The remaining 10 sites are planned to be resurfaced after 2010-11.

Mersey Tunnel: Tolls

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations she has received on providing a discount for Mersey Tunnel tolls for local residents. (203573)

The Department for Transport is not aware of any representations relating to discounts for local residents for use of the Mersey Tunnels.

Passengers: Borders

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate she has made of the projected number of passenger movements across UK borders in (a) 2008 and (b) 2009. (203943)

The information requested is not available.

However, the Department for Transport’s latest forecasts of air passenger demand at UK airports are reported in “UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts” (November 2007), available at:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/environmentalissues/ukairdemandandco2forecasts/

Railways: Postal Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment her Department has made of the merits of reopening the MailRail postal transport system under central London for mail or other purposes. (203954)

The Department for Transport has not carried out any assessment into the merits of reopening the Post Office Underground Railway system. Decisions on the future of the system are a commercial matter for the Royal Mail.

Railways: Sales

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of dismantled railway track bed have been sold by the British Railways Property Board since 2001; and if she will make a statement. (202921)

BRB (Residuary) does not record the length of trackbed that it disposes of. However, since 2001, the number of sites containing trackbed that have been sold is limited as most disused railway lines that were owned by the British Railways Board had been disposed of by then.

Railways: Watford

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers used the Watford-Gatwick service operated by Southern in each year since the service began; what the Government's plans are for the service; and if she will make a statement. (199349)

A survey carried out during 2007 showed that some 8500 passengers per day use the Watford-Gatwick service, of whom fewer than 30 per cent. were making journeys from one side of Clapham Junction to the other, and fewer than 3 per cent. were making journeys to and from Gatwick airport.

I understand that Southern (the train operator) intend to make an announcement about plans for this service shortly.

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will take steps to ensure that fuel counting towards the renewable transport fuel obligation is sourced only from sustainable and local supply chains; and if she will take steps against those producers, wholesalers and retailers which do not meet these requirements. (203637)

Under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), which came into effect on 15 April, transport fuel suppliers are required to report on the sustainability of any biofuels in respect of which they wish to earn renewable transport fuel certificates. Details of the reporting requirements are available via the Renewable Fuels Agency's website at http://www.dft.gov.uk/rfa.

The Government have set various targets to encourage transport fuel suppliers to source sustainable, low carbon biofuels. The Renewable Fuels Agency will report regularly on the performance of different transport fuel suppliers against these targets.

In parallel, the Government are pressing for EU-wide mandatory sustainability standards for all biofuels: these could be in place by April 2010.

Roads: Tolls

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) plans to commission on enabling technologies for road pricing schemes; and what timetable is planned for such research in each case. (199522)

The Government have invited the private sector to demonstrate how they might run a system of charging for road use according to time of day and route chosen. On 12 March we issued, to eight pre-qualified bidders, the first invitation to tender in this two-year demonstrations project, for the framework for road user service providers. We expect that this framework agreement will be established during June 2008, with the first trials involving volunteers getting underway this autumn.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how her Department takes into account the average income of local residents when deciding on the level of tolls for river road crossings and tunnels for which it is responsible. (203582)

The only charging regime for which the Department for Transport is responsible is the scheme for the Dartford Crossing. Income of local residents is not specifically taken into account in setting charges.

Roundabouts

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will issue guidance on providing pedestrian crossings at roundabouts that at night can be decoupled from the traffic lights that control their operation to increase traffic flow and reduce noise at such junctions at night. (203700)

The type of crossing and use of traffic lights depends on the type of roundabout and its location. The local highway authority is responsible for deciding the most appropriate type of crossing and junction control.

Department for Transport advice on pedestrian crossings is given in two Local Transport Notes, LTN 1/95 The Assessment of Pedestrian Crossings and LTN 2/95 The Design of Pedestrian Crossings. LTN 2/95 provides advice on pedestrian crossings on the approaches to roundabouts and at traffic light controlled junctions. This advice includes the need to consider linking crossings with other nearby traffic lights to co-ordinate when the lights change and ease traffic flow.

The Department has commissioned research to examine options for traffic lights at roundabouts. We will consider the need for further guidance when that research is complete.

Traffic Management Act 2004

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects to issue guidance to local authorities in respect of the issuing of fixed penalty notices under the Traffic Management Act 2004. (201263)

The Traffic Management Act 2004 amends the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 to allow the use of fixed penalties for certain offences, as an alternative to prosecution in the magistrates court. The “Code of Practice for the Co-ordination of Street Works and Works for Road Purposes and Related Matters” which was released in July 2007 and re-issued in the 31 March 2008, included a chapter on fixed penalties.

Wales

Council Tax: Valuation

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what council tax band amendments in Wales were made subsequent to the 2005 council tax revaluation; and how many homes were moved into a higher band after the revaluation came into effect. (202920)

Departmental Carbon Emissions

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on carbon offsetting in each of the last three years; and to which companies payments for carbon offsetting have been made in each such year. (204096)

My Department has offset its carbon emissions for the last two years.

The costs, to the Wales Office, of offsets were:

April 2007—£4307.80

March 2008—£747.20.

On both occasions the carbon offsetting was through “PURE the clean planet Trust”.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Agriculture: Disease Control

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which animal disease preventative measures the Government plans to include in cost-sharing arrangements with farmers. (203488)

A consultation on responsibility and cost sharing for animal health and welfare closed on 15 April. Responses to that consultation will inform a further public consultation on specific proposals later this autumn.

Animal Welfare

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the devolved Administrations on a UK-wide animal health and welfare strategy. (203487)

An Animal Health and Welfare Strategy for Britain was launched in 2004. Northern Ireland has a similar strategy and is currently consulting on a draft all-island strategy. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has appointed an advisory body, the England Implementation Group, to oversee delivery of the strategy in England. This group maintains links with its Scottish and Welsh counterparts to review British wide strategy implementation issues.

Badgers

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cage traps for catching badgers his Department holds in store. (203082)

DEFRA does not hold in storage any cage traps for catching badgers. The traps that were used during the randomised badger culling trial have been disposed of.

The Central Science Laboratory (an agency of DEFRA) holds over 600 badger cage traps which are being used as part of DEFRA-funded research.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated badger population was in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years. (203083)

Surveys of badger populations in Great Britain were undertaken in the mid-1980s and mid-1990s. In the mid-1980s the badger population was estimated to be 250,000 and in the mid-1990s a survey estimated the population had increased by 77 per cent.

DEFRA is not aware of any national surveys which have attempted to estimate badger populations in England and Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice he has received on the potential effectiveness of a tuberculosis vaccine for badgers if given to an already infected animal. (203084)

Vaccination evokes an immune response to prevent an uninfected animal from contracting the disease. The effect of Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccination on already TB-infected badgers is unknown, but work is under way to determine this. It may have no effect, may delay or reduce excretion of TB bacilli, but is not expected to have any adverse effect.

Ecologists have advised that the turnover in a badger population is 30 per cent. per annum and modelling has shown that in a relatively short timescale there would be a mostly naïve uninfected population in which vaccine would become more effective.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information (a) is held by and (b) has been provided to each Divisional Veterinary Officer on the relocation of badgers from urban and suburban areas to rural areas. (203085)

This information is not collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost to the Department.

Biofuels: Environment Protection

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department is undertaking on the environmental impact of biofuels. (202824)

The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) includes a reporting mechanism under which any transport fuel supplier wishing to claim a certificate in respect of any biofuel must submit a report detailing its environmental impacts. These reports will enable the Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA) to report regularly on the progress that is being made towards meeting targets under the obligation, as well as on the carbon savings and sustainability impacts of the policy.

In response to Government concern about the indirect impacts of biofuel cultivation, the chairman of the Renewable Fuels Agency is leading a study commissioned by the Department for Transport (the Gallagher Review) which is looking at effects of biofuels on land use change and the consequences for greenhouse gas savings. It is also examining the effects on international food prices and food security. The results of the review will inform the development of future UK biofuel policies and targets, including proposed EU targets for future biofuel consumption.

Birds: Conservation

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received on the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds' plans for sites of special scientific interest land in Castle Point constituency; and if he will make a statement. (203665)

Natural England is DEFRA's delivery body for sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) and it has received no proposals from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in relation to plans for SSSIs in Castle Point.

Bluetongue Disease: Disease Control

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what procedures are used to ensure that imported exotic livestock which are susceptible to or may be infected with bluetongue disease are kept in an insect-free environment for the duration of their quarantine. (203079)

The UK fully implements EU legislation with respect to imports of exotic ruminant animals from outside the EU. These rules take into account the full range of disease risks and are consequently very restrictive. In practice, such imports rarely occur so the question of quarantine does not arise.

Movements of exotic ruminants within the EU are subject to the same rules as those for farm livestock. There are a number of options based on combinations of protection from insect vector attack, blood testing and vaccination, all of which are carried out before departure and certified by the official veterinary services of the exporting country. These rules are kept under constant review in the light of experience and emerging science.

Once animals have arrived in the UK, they are restricted to the premises of destination and tested for bluetongue within two days of arrival. In exotic species, testing is carried out on the basis of a risk assessment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with manufacturers of Bt8 vaccine other than Intervet on supplying the UK market. (203080)

Since the Government decided to place an order with Intervet for 22.5 million doses of BTV-8 vaccine following a tender issued last year, DEFRA officials have met representatives from Merial and Fort Dodge to give them feedback on the tender process.

We are considering with the farming industry how best to secure future supplies of vaccine and will keep our options under review in the coming weeks.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Compensation

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) from which individuals and organisations his Department has sought advice on modifications to the table valuation system for compensation for cattle culled as a result of bovine tuberculosis in the last 12 months; (203451)

(2) what options for modifications to the table valuation system for compensation for cattle culled as a result of bovine tuberculosis he has considered;

(3) when he expects to make modifications to the table valuation system for compensation for cattle culled as a result of bovine tuberculosis.

The Government recognise that the new compensation system, based on table valuations, which was introduced in February 2006, is not supported by many in the farming industry.

DEFRA has not ruled out the possibility of changes to the current compensation system, but any changes would need to be justified and take into account the interests of all parties, including taxpayers. They would also need to take account of the extensive evidence in the level of over-valuation experienced under the previous system based on individual valuations. DEFRA held discussions with members of the Cattle Compensation Advisory Group about possible modifications to the new system without reaching any consensus. Discussions have also taken place with representatives from the organic farming sector to consider their view that system enhancements are needed for organically produced cattle.

A Judicial Review challenge concerning the table valuation system will be heard in the High Court in early June and any decisions about modifications to the system will take into account the judgment in that case.

Burbots: Imports

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he will reply to the request from the University of Southampton, London Zoo and the Environment Agency for an import licence for burbots. (203816)

We are in dialogue with the University of Southampton, London Zoo and the Environment Agency and are working collaboratively to find a solution to this situation.

Climate Change

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) wildlife trusts and (b) gardening associations on their evaluation of the impact of climate change; and what encouragement he is giving to them to measure that impact. (198240)

I am in regular contact with a wide range of interest groups on the impact of climate change.

The England Biodiversity Group, chaired by DEFRA, oversees the delivery of the England Biodiversity Strategy which has several workstreams including Climate Change Adaptation. A number of national and local members of Wildlife Trusts are active members of different workstreams within the strategy and have the opportunity to offer their views on climate change and to influence the workstreams plans towards adaptation. In 2007 the UK Biodiversity Partnership Standing Committee published “Conserving Biodiversity—the UK Approach” a new strategic framework for the UK biodiversity action plan, which identified shared priorities for action for priority species and habitats, acknowledging the need to help biodiversity respond to climate change. The Wildlife Trusts belong to the Wildlife and Countryside Link who are members of the UK Biodiversity Partnership Standing Committee.

DEFRA has had discussions with members of the Growing Media Initiative (GMI), an industry-led group which has been set up to meet targets for the reduction of peat use in horticulture/gardening. A new project has also been funded by DEFRA to examine the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the extraction, production, processing, transport and use of growing media used by this sector and members of the GMI are involved in the Project Steering Group. In addition, DEFRA is aware that a number of growing media manufacturers and retailers are undertaking work to determine the carbon footprint of their products. DEFRA funds the UK Climate Impacts Programme, which will be hosting a stall at this year’s Chelsea Flower show to promote awareness of current and projected climate change impacts.

Departmental Manpower

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which offices of (a) his Department and (b) its agencies are outside London; how many staff were employed in each pay grade at each location on (i) 1 October 2001 and (ii) 1 April 2004; and how many are planned to be employed at each location on 31 March 2008. (180757)

DEFRA has offices outside London at the following locations: Alnwick, Aston Down, Belfast, Beverley, Boston, Bristol Burghill Road, Bristol Temple Quay House, Bury St. Edmunds, Cambridge Eastbrook, Cambridge White House Lane, Cardiff Cathays Park, Cardiff Llanishen, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Cheltenham, Chichester, Chorley, Crewe Electra Way, Edinburgh, Exeter, Felixstowe, Gatwick, Guildford, Heathrow AHO, Heathrow PHSI, Hereford, Kings Lynn, Leeds, Lewes, Lincoln, Newcastle, Northallerton, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Peterborough, Polwhele, Reading Coley Park, Reading Kings House, Reading Innovation Centre, Sheerness, Shrewsbury, St. Asaph, Stafford, Stevenage, Swansea, Taunton Quantock House, Taunton Riverside Chambers, Tilbury, Trowbridge, Truro, Tunbridge Wells, Weybridge, Winchester, Witney, Wolverhampton, Worcester, Workington, Wye and York.

DEFRA's agencies have offices outside London as follows:

Animal Health:

Aberystwyth, Ashford, Ayr, Bakewell, Beverley, Boston, Bristol, Bristol Temple Quay House, Bury St. Edmunds, Caernarfon, Cambridge, Cardiff, Carlisle, Carmarthen, Chelmsford, Chorley, Crewe, Dorchester, Dover, Dumfries, Elgin, Exeter, Galashiels, Gloucester, Hamilton, Heathrow, Inverness, Inverurie, Itchen Abbas, Kirkwall, Launceston, Leeds, Leicester, Lincoln, Llandrindod Wells, Llanishen, Luddington, Maidstone, Newcastle, Northallerton, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Oban, Oxford, Perth, Preston, Reading, Reigate, Shrewsbury, St. Asaph, Stafford, Stevenage, Stranraer, Taunton, Thurso, Trowbridge, Truro, Wolverhampton, Worcester, Wye and York.

Central Science Laboratory:

Sand Hutton York and Woodchester Park

Gloucestershire.

Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture:

Burnham, Lowestoft, Weymouth

Government Decontamination Service:

Crewe and Stafford.

Marine and Fisheries Agency:

Amble, Brixham, Fleetwood, Grimsby, Hartlepool, Harwich, Hastings, Holyhead, Kings Lynn, Lowestoft, Milford Haven, Newlyn, North Shield, Penryn, Penzance, Plymouth, Poole, Portslade, Portsmouth, Scarborough and Whitehaven.

Pesticides Safety Directorate:

York Foss House and York Mallard House.

Rural Payments Agency:

Reading, Carlisle, Exeter, Newcastle, Northallerton and Workington.

Veterinary Laboratories Agency:

Aberystwyth, Bury St Edmunds, Carmarthen, Langford, Lasswade, Luddington, Newcastle, Penrith, Preston, Shrewsbury, Starcross, Sutton Bonnington, Thirsk, Truro, Weybridge and Winchester.

Veterinary Medicines Directorate:

Addlestone

The number of staff in grade at each location for CSL and RPA are shown in the following tables. Information on the number of staff in each pay grade at each location for DEFRA, AH, CEFAS, GDS, MFA, PSD, VLA and VMD is not available for the dates requested.

Central Science Laboratory

Number

Staff by grade and location - 1 October 2001

SCS

Band 7

Band 6

Band 5

Band 4

Band 3

Band 2

Band 1

Total

Sand Hutton

4.00

16.61

43.00

68.45

120.93

125.40

164.96

36.61

579.96

Woodchester Park

0.00

1.00

1.00

1.00

3.00

3.81

6.00

0.54

16.35

Other

0.00

1.00

1.00

2.00

9.54

15.15

6.00

10.50

45.19

Staff by location and grade - 1 April 2004

SCS

Band 7

Band 6

Band 5

Band 4

Band 3

Band 2

Band 1

Total

Sand Hutton

4.00

17.00

54.25

83.11

123.86

157.25

159.14

39.76

638.37

Woodchester Park

0.00

1.00

1.00

1.00

3.00

7.81

3.00

0.54

17.35

Other

0.00

1.00

1.00

2.00

9.54

5.00

13.00

1.00

32.54

Forecasted staff by location and grade - 31 March 2008

SCS

Band 7

Band 6

Band 5

Band 4

Band 3

Band 2

Band 1

Total

Sand Hutton

4.00

13.00

55.22

87.53

117.58

149.22

127.02

29.78

583.35

Woodchester Park

0.00

0.00

2.00

1.92

6.00

7.00

10.00

0.43

27.35

Other

0.00

0.00

1.00

1.00

9.54

5.00

4.81

0.00

21.35

Note: ‘Other’ category contains home-based staff and others not based at either main CSL site.

Rural Payments Agency

Staff by grade and location - 1 October 2001

Location

SCS

G6

G7

SFO

SEO

HEO

EO

Bristol

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

3.00

19.00

Cambridge

0.00

1.00

0.00

0.00

1.00

6.00

34.00

Carlisle

0.00

0.00

2.00

0.00

5.00

14.73

70.69

Crewe

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.00

9.81

Exeter

0.00

1.00

1.00

0.00

3.00

14.00

57.17

Inspectorate

0.00

0.00

3.00

2.00

10.00

22.49

97.96

Newcastle

0.00

1.00

6.00

0.00

9.00

32.86

116.09

Nottingham

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

5.81

50.00

Reading

5.92

10.00

37.28

0.00

55.58

137.59

250.24

Worcester

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

19.00

Grand Total

5.92

13.00

49.28

2.00

83.58

238.49

723.96

Location

PS

AO

SGB1

AA

TYPIST

SGB2

Grand Total

Bristol

0.00

14.00

0.00

5.00

0.00

0.00

41.00

Cambridge

0.00

59.28

0.00

17.54

1.00

0.00

119.82

Carlisle

0.61

95.68

1.00

81.01

4.11

2.00

276.82

Crewe

0.00

59.67

0.00

20.00

0.65

0.00

92.13

Exeter

1.00

180.64

2.11

58.01

1.69

2.00

321.62

Inspectorate

1.00

14.54

0.00

6.00

0.00

0.00

156.99

Newcastle

1.00

298.68

3.00

90.66

6.81

11.00

576.10

Nottingham

0.00

86.11

0.00

27.00

2.00

0.00

170.92

Reading

11.54

632.60

4.68

131.72

7.89

13.95

1298.99

Worcester

0.00

4.00

0.00

4.00

0.00

0.00

27.00

Grand Total

15.15

1445.20

10.78

440.94

24.15

28.95

3,081.39

Staff by Location and Grade - 1 April 2004

Location

SCS

GR6

GR7

SFO

SEO

HEO

EO

Reading

9.00

7.00

27.81

0.00

59.56

124.77

163.28

Cambridge

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

Carlisle

0.00

1.00

3.00

0.00

5.86

15.94

51.37

Crewe

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.00

2.00

11.62

Exeter

0.00

1.00

2.00

0.00

5.00

16.86

55.43

Newcastle

0.00

1.00

2.00

0.00

7.00

23.68

55.26

Northallerton

0.00

1.00

2.00

0.00

5.00

16.46

39.68

Nottingham

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.00

3.81

13.62

Workington

1.00

0.00

3.00

0.00

6.00

18.83

71.34

Inspectorate

0.00

1.00

7.00

2.00

17.00

23.00

295.45

Total

10.00

12.00

46.81

2.00

107.42

245.35

757.05

Location

PS

AO

SGB1

AA

TYPIST

SGB2

Grand Total

Reading

6.00

356.54

2.00

4.00

27.39

7.81

795.16

Cambridge

0.00

2.00

0.00

0.00

0.74

0.00

2.74

Carlisle

0.68

155.02

0.00

2.50

95.74

1.00

332.11

Crewe

0.00

52.88

0.00

0.76

29.00

1.00

98.26

Exeter

1.00

225.61

1.55

0.00

107.22

5.00

420.67

Newcastle

0.86

229.12

1.00

0.81

78.21

5.41

404.35

Northallerton

1.00

221.44

1.49

0.93

135.98

4.00

428.98

Nottingham

0.00

99.35

0.00

2.59

41.43

1.00

162.80

Workington

2.00

311.63

15.34

0.00

41.58

0.00

470.72

Inspectorate

0.00

61.65

0.00

0.00

15.08

0.00

422.18

Total

11.54

1,715.24

21.38

11.59

572.37

25.22

3,537.97

Forecasted staff by location and grade - 31 March 2008

Location

SCS

GR6

GR7

SFO

SEO

HEO

EO

Reading

9.00

18.00

51.26

0.00

87.57

152.18

188.88

Carlisle

0.00

1.00

4.81

0.00

9.61

26.41

80.50

Exeter

0.00

1.00

4.00

0.00

6.94

24.60

89.57

Newcastle

0.00

1.00

5.00

0.00

15.39

30.83

100.58

Northallerton

0.00

2.00

5.93

0.00

12.80

33.68

91.95

Workington

0.00

1.00

6.00

0.00

9.41

25.31

110.00

Inspectorate

0.00

1.00

5.00

1.00

27.00

73.04

319.02

Total

9.00

25.00

82.00

1.00

168.72

366.05

980.50

SCS

GR6

GR7

SFO

SEO

HEO

EO

Reading

0.00

165.31

1.00

0.00

2.00

2.00

677.20

Carlisle

0.00

282.11

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

404.44

Exeter

0.00

217.50

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

343.61

Newcastle

0.00

245.79

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

398.59

Northallerton

0.00

237.89

2.68

0.00

0.00

1.00

387.93

Workington

0.00

584.56

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

736.28

Inspectorate

0.00

32.36

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

458.42

Total

0.00

1,765.52

3.68

0.00

2.00

3.00

3,406.47

Departmental NDPBs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people were serving on the boards of the non-departmental public bodies which his Department sponsors at the latest date for which figures are available. (203597)

[holding answer 6 May 2008]: The Cabinet Office publication “Public bodies 2007” lists the number of people serving on the boards of public bodies as at 31 March 2007. These figures are broken down by individual Departments. “Public bodies 2007” can be downloaded from

www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/public/bodies.asp.

Copies are also available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Temporary Employment

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many full-time posts were filled on a temporary basis for a period in excess of six months in his Department in each of the last three years. (200661)

Posts may be filled temporarily by a variety of means, eg using short-term appointments, temporary promotion, employment agency temporary staff or interims. Consequently, it is not possible to identify all posts filled temporarily for longer than six months without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Written Questions

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many days it took on average to answer written parliamentary questions tabled by each hon. Member for answer by him in the last six months. (201758)

Information to the level of detail requested is obtainable only at disproportionate cost.

The available information is set out in the following tables.

Total written questions received

Total number of PQs answered within five sitting days

Percentage

November

559

357

63.9

December

359

220

61.3

January

425

265

62.4

February

407

286

70.3

March

371

256

69

Total named day questions received

Total number of PQs answered on time

Percentage

November

133

49

36.8

December

67

27

40.3

January

143

61

42.7

February

69

33

47.8

March

71

20

28.2

My ministerial colleagues and I are committed to answering written parliamentary questions promptly. Unfortunately, this is not always possible.

Energy Saving Trust: Consultants

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what payments the Energy Savings Trust made to (a) Stratagem, (b) Weber Shandwick Public Affairs, (c) Consolidated Communications and (d) Positif Politics Ltd. in each of the last five years; and on what date and for what purpose the payment was made in each case. (202293)

Environment Protection: Housing

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to his Department's press release of 2 April 2008 on initiatives on greener homes, by what criteria green neighbourhoods will be selected; and what role he expects local authorities to play in the selection process. (202952)

The Energy Saving Trust are currently working with a range of stakeholders to develop the programme with an aim to launch the competition for funding proposals by the end of the year. We expect the first successful projects to be funded from April 2009.

The competition will call for local alliances between householders, community groups, local authorities, energy suppliers, private companies and banks to come forward with proposals to transform homes and streets into green neighbourhoods. By pooling their resources, and with additional money made available from the domestic Environmental Transformation Fund, we wish to see the environmental performance of up to 100 such neighbourhoods across England transformed, with the aim of reducing their carbon footprints by over 60 per cent.

Fisheries: Trade Competitiveness

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the fuel subsidy given by Spain to its fishing industry on the competitiveness of the British fleet. (203201)

[holding answer given 1 May 2008]: European Union (EU) state aid rules designed to prevent distortion to competition do not require the EU Commission clearance of an aid scheme or schemes which cumulatively pay less than £30,000 per recipient over three years. I understand that the Spanish Government are paying aid to its fishing fleet at a level below this “de minimis” limit and hence, no assessment has been made.

Flood Control

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Environment Agency will publish its Strategy for Flood Risk Management for 2009 to 2014. (202515)

Flood Control: Gloucestershire

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what analysis of critical infrastructure facilities has been undertaken in respect of Gloucestershire since July 2007; what additional protection has been put in place as a result; and what consideration has been given to the relocation of critical infrastructure. (201796)

During the Gloucestershire floods, electricity supplies were disrupted due to flooding of the Castlemeads electricity distribution substation. In addition, the larger Walham electricity transmission substation required urgent flood protection measures to be carried out to prevent the site from being flooded. Both of these substations now have permanent flood protection barriers in place.

A review into the resilience of electricity substations to flooding was initiated by the Energy Minister. It is being led by the Energy Networks Association with support from network owners, BERR, Ofgem and the Environment Agency. This review has made contributions to Sir Michael Pitt’s review into learning lessons from the 2007 floods and has developed a framework for assessing flood risk and mitigation measures that will be used to assess the situation at each of the major electricity substations during the remainder of 2008.

Severn Trent Water has been developing plans to secure alternative piped water supplies to Gloucestershire in the event of losing either Mythe or Mitcheldean Water Treatment Works. These plans are not limited to providing additional flood protection at the works and include such things as new pumping stations and improved interconnectivity between the works at Mythe and Strensham. The company presented outline proposals to Gloucestershire Overview and Scrutiny Management committee on 31 March 2008.

Fly Tipping: Enfield

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people were prosecuted for fly-tipping in the London borough of Enfield in each of the last five years. (202863)

Data are only available from 2004 onwards.

I have arranged for a table to be placed in the Library of the House showing the number of fly-tipping incidents and prosecutions recorded in each local authority by local authorities on Flycapture for 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07.

Following the release of the 2006-07 Flycapture statistics on 9 October 2007, this information has been sent to all MPs.

It is also available to download electronically on DEFRA's Flycapture website at:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/localenv/flytipping/flycapture-data.htm

Food: Prices

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received on the relationship between biofuels and rising food prices; and if he will make a statement. (202551)

We have received various representations on this issue from both hon. Members and the public.

The Government are concerned about the effect of rising food prices. Although not the main cause, the demand for biofuels is a contributing factor. Other factors include adverse weather conditions affecting recent harvests, the increasing demand for meat and hence for animal feed in developing countries, trade restrictions imposed by Governments on exports and higher production costs, such as a rise in fertiliser prices.

Horses: Exports

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his officials last raised with the European Commission the ban on the import of UK thoroughbred bloodstock by the Indian Government. (203077)

DEFRA has raised the issue of the ban on the export of breeding horses to India with the European Commission (and others) several times over many years, most recently in March this year. We will continue to do so as we and the Commission is very keen to resolve this long-standing issue in line with international protocol (World Animal Health Organisation) for Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM). The Commission has recently urged the Indian authorities to accept our invitation to visit the UK to see our CEM controls but the Indians have not so far taken up the offer. The Indian ban affects all countries in which CEM has occurred in the past three years, which includes other member states.

National Parks: Aviation

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to protect national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty from the effects of aircraft noise pollution. (203292)

DEFRA has no formal role to play in how airspace is utilised. The Civil Aviation Authority is charged with scrutinising airspace change proposals and reaching a decision on them, balancing all the competing interests. I understand that Department for Transport guidance requires the Civil Aviation Authority to be rigorous in identifying and reviewing all significant environmental effects of airspace changes, and to notify the Secretary of State for Transport should an airspace change have a significant detrimental effect on the environment.

However, I recently asked my officials to write to the Civil Aviation Authority to remind it of its duty to have regard to the purposes of the National Parks under the provisions of section 11A(2) of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, and the purpose of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty under the provisions of section 85 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

Nature Conservation: Wildlife

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps the Government has taken to increase the protection of endangered species. (202524)

[holding answer 1 May 2008]: Species protection has both national and international facets to it, and recent steps to improve protection have included the following:

Following advice from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, the water vole, short-snouted seahorse, spiny seahorse, roman snail and angel shark have now been given enhanced protection in England under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

On 28 August 2007, I announced a new UK list of priority species and habitats (containing 1,149 species), which provides a focus for conservation action over the next decade and will be used to inform statutory lists under legislation in each of the countries of the UK.

In August last year, we brought into force regulations that increased the protection of species listed on annex IV of the habitats directive.

On the wider international stage, at the 2007 Conference of Parties to the convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES), the UK fully supported the increased protection of a range of species affected by international trade including the slow loris, the European eel and brazilwood. During 2007-08, DEFRA provided funding of around £1 million towards the operation of CITES and other major conventions, most notably the convention on biological diversity (CBD) including targeted funding for specific projects to protect and conserve albatrosses and petrels, migratory sharks, African elephants, Indian ocean marine turtles and tigers. In addition, DEFRA provided £75,000 for the Flagship Species Fund, which included projects on endangered sea turtles, primates and conifers.

Office of Water Services: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what financial contributions water companies make to Ofwat. (200318)

Ofwat’s expenditure is entirely funded through licence fees paid by appointed and licensed water companies in England and Wales. The fees recovered in 2007-08 came to a total of £12.4 million.

Packaging: Supermarkets

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department has taken to encourage (a) supermarket shoppers to re-use plastic bags and (b) supermarkets to use less packaging; and if he will introduce schemes encouraging supermarkets to provide fewer plastic bags to shoppers. (202719)

The Government pledged in the “Waste Strategy for England 2007” to phase out free single-use carrier bags.

The UK retail sector set itself a shared objective with the Government and the Waste and Resources Action programme (WRAP) to reduce the environmental impact of carrier bags by 25 per cent. by the end of 2008.

The Prime Minister announced on 19 November 2007 that we needed to go further—to eliminate single-use carrier bags altogether in favour of long-lasting and more sustainable alternatives. The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Budget on 12 March that we will introduce legislation to impose a charge on single-use carrier bags in 2009 if we have not seen sufficient progress on a voluntary basis.

The management of packaging and packaging waste is covered by two sets of regulations in the UK: the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 and the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003 (as amended). The aim of both sets of regulations is to minimise the amount of packaging used in the first place, and therefore reduce packaging waste. An additional objective of the regulations is to encourage reuse of packaging and increase the recovery and recycling of packaging waste.

My Department continues to encourage supermarkets to take greater responsibility for the waste they place on the market and to encourage producers to reduce their waste. Apart from the two sets of packaging regulations described above, WRAP is currently working with retailers through the ‘Courtauld Commitment’, a voluntary agreement which aimed to halt packaging growth by March this year and make absolute reductions in packaging waste by 2010.

Pest Control: Fees and Charges

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the proportion of local authorities charging for pest control services at the latest date for which figures are available according to estimates of (a) his Department and (b) the Audit Commission. (202555)

DEFRA holds no information on either the number or proportion of local authorities which charge for pest control services. It is for local authorities to decide on the most appropriate pest control programme in their own area, whilst having regard to their duties for controlling rats and mice under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949.

Pests

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what statistics his Department collects on (a) the size of the rodent population and (b) incidences of vermin infestation in England. (202951)

DEFRA does not collect statistics on the size of rodent populations. DEFRA will shortly be publishing an interim report on rodent presence in domestic properties as revealed by the English House Condition Survey data for 2002-03 and 2003-04. Key findings are that the occurrences of rats inside and outside properties in these years are not significantly different from those observed in 2001.

Plastic Bags

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of plastic bags used (a) by supermarket shoppers in the last 12 months and (b) in England in the last 10 years. (202718)

The Waste and Resources Action programme (WRAP) estimates that over 13 billion carrier bags are distributed in the UK each year. Of these, the supermarket signatories to the WRAP's voluntary agreement on carrier bags accounted for 12.7 billion bags in 2006 and 11.6 billion in 2007, of which 89 per cent. were plastic in 2006 and 80 per cent. were plastic in 2007.

We do not have figures predating this, or for England only.

Seals: Canada

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he last discussed the seal hunt in Canada with the Canadian Government; and if he will make a statement. (203811)

The last meeting with the Canadian Government at ministerial level took place on 28 March 2007 when Ian McCartney, the then joint Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), together with officials from DTI, FCO and DEFRA, met with a delegation from Canada to discuss the seal hunt.

More recently, officials from my Department, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and FCO, met with a delegation from Canada on 31 March this year to discuss the Canadian seal hunt.

I also wrote to the Canadian High Commissioner on 22 April agreeing to a meeting with me, or Ministerial colleagues at BERR or FCO, once the EU-commissioned report on the impact of any regulatory or other EU-wide measures in response to seal hunting has been published.

Sheep: Electronic Tagging

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on the compulsory use of electronic identification for sheep; and if he will make a statement. (203078)

EC Council Regulation 21/2004 provides for the mandatory introduction of electronic identification (EID) of sheep and goats from 31 December 2009 for member states with flocks above a certain threshold number. In the UK only sheep will have to be electronically identified. We will be working in partnership with industry over the coming months to discuss how we can implement EID in a way which is practical and which the industry can make work.

Waste Disposal: Closed Circuit Television

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on the use of CCTV footage to monitor waste disposal. (202942)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 14 January 2008, Official Report, column 858W.

In addition, I can advise that local authorities are responsible for planning and monitoring their CCTV systems and that there has been no guidance issued by my Department on their use at municipal waste facilities or to monitor recycling.

Waste Management

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps the Government has taken to improve local waste management. (202985)

[holding answer 1 May 2008]: Waste Strategy 2007 outlines the role of local authorities in working towards improvements in local waste management.

My Department has recently announced that it has awarded PFI credits to four projects across England to improve local waste management. The projects will help local authorities deliver carbon benefits and divert over a million tonnes of waste from landfill. Each of the four projects will support the local authority’s waste ambitions. All aim to reduce the overall amount of waste created, and it is anticipated they all will deliver a minimum of a 50 per cent. recycling rate by 2020, with some aspiring to reach 60 per cent.

My Department is also consulting on draft regulations and draft guidance for proposals for establishing joint waste authorities in England. The consultation outlines that neighbouring local authorities, working together, can deliver better integrated and cost-effective waste services.

The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), which is partly funded by the Government, continues to support local authorities in their work to deliver better recycling services and more waste reduction.

World War II: Medals

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how long on average it took for a successful applicant for the Women's Land Army Award to receive their badge in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. (203467)

There have been over 28,000 applications for the Women's Land Army and Timber Corps badge. The badges are currently being manufactured and it is anticipated that they will be distributed to all applicants towards the end of June 2008.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applications his Department had received for the Women’s Land Army Award at the latest date for which figures are available; how many of those applications had been acknowledged; and if he will make a statement. (203471)

We have received approximately 28,200 applications for the Women’s Land Army and Timber Corps badge. Completed application forms have not been acknowledged due to the high volumes received. However, all other written correspondence, approximately 3,000 pieces, has been acknowledged.

Treasury

Council Tax: Valuation

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 10 September 2007, Official Report, column 1969W, on council tax: valuation, if he will place in the Library a copy of the agreement between the Valuation Office Agency and the IDeA in relation to Valuebill, redacting any commercially confidential elements. (203027)

The Valuation Office Agency does not have a formal agreement with IDeA in relation to Valuebill.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the Gate 4 review of the valuations project undertaken in relation to the Valuation Office Agency’s planned council tax revaluation in England. (203124)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for North-East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) on 24 July 2007, Official Report, column 1017W.

Excise Duties: Fuels

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount of duty paid by consumers on vehicle fuel sold in the UK in each of the last five years. (203815)

The total excise duty raised on the quantities of vehicle fuel released for consumption is published in table 3 of the Hydrocarbon Oils Bulletin. This can be found at:

http://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=bulloil.

Housing: Valuation

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 8 October 2007, Official Report, column 227W, on housing: valuation, what technical name or definition was given to the localities referred to for the purposes of the automated valuation model; what co-efficient value was given to each locality for regression analysis; and what unique reference number or other identifier was given to each locality. (203029)

There is no other technical name for localities as used by the Valuation Office Agency in the context of its automated valuation models. The Agency has defined a locality as being an area that is subject to the same, or similar, market forces. In the multiple regression analysis, coefficients generated for localities differ from locality to locality. The coefficient generated for each of approximately 10,000 localities in England could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Every ‘live’ locality within a Billing Authority area is allocated a unique number.

Income Tax

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the amount of income tax which would otherwise have accrued to the Exchequer from those who have (a) taken early retirement and (b) moved from full-time to part-time work at each year from age 55 up to the state retirement age in each of the last three years. (203481)

Taxation: Fuels

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how much VAT revenue was raised from the sale of road fuel in each of the last 60 months for which figures are available; (203945)

(2) if he will estimate the average percentage of average household disposable income accounted for by (a) the purchase of road fuel and (b) the duty and VAT payable on road fuel in each of the last (i) five years and (ii) 12 months;

(3) what projections his Department has made of the amounts of revenue that would be raised annually from (a) road fuel duty and (b) VAT on road fuel if the price of oil was (i) 120, (ii) 130, (iii) 140 and (iv) 150 US dollars per barrel;

HM Revenue and Customs does not collect data on VAT from individual goods and services.

Annual estimates of the percentage of disposable household income accounted for by road fuels and duty and VAT payable on road fuels can be calculated from data held in the House of Commons Library. Data on average household income and expenditure are available from the Expenditure and Food Survey, published by the Office for National Statistics. Data on average road fuel prices per litre and average duty rates are contained in the “Tax Benefit Reference Manual”. Data are not available on a monthly basis.

No projections of revenues at hypothetical levels of oil price have been made.

Valuation Office: Databases

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what use the Valuation Office Agency’s District Valuer Services makes of dwelling house coding for domestic properties. (203130)

District Valuer Services makes use of dwelling house codes to assist in the valuation of domestic property, and analysis of transaction information.

Valuation Office: Rightmove

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contracts have been awarded to Rightmove.co.uk plc by (a) the Valuation Office Agency and (b) HM Revenue and Customs and its predecessor on behalf of the Valuation Office Agency since 2001; at what cost; and for what purpose. (203125)

One such contract has been awarded, a copy of which has been placed in the Library following a request from the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), answered on 10 September 2007, Official Report, column 1969W.

Valuation: ICT

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2008, Official Report, column 508W, on valuation: ICT, how many localities are allocated to each billing authority area. (203028)

Working Tax Credit

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of those claiming the child care element of working tax credit have been reported as not using formal child care in each year for which figures are available. (202834)

This information is not held in the format requested. However, I refer the hon. Member to the Child and Working Tax Credit Error and Fraud Statistics available on HMRC’s website at:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/error-fraud.htm

Defence

Air Force: Labour Turnover

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people have (a) joined and (b) left the Royal Air Force since 2005. (203772)

The information requested is reported in TSP1—Strength, Intake and Outflow of UK Regular Forces, and TSP4—Quarterly Manning Report, which provide a full and detailed breakdown of the figures requested. Copies of these are available in the Library of the House. These publications are also available on the Defence Analytical Services and Advice website at:

http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tsp1/gender.html

and

http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tsp4/commentary.html

Air Force: Training

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of training a new Royal Air Force recruit to the level of a fully operational fighter pilot. (203674)

Royal Air Force pilots continue to train throughout their careers and are considered to be combat ready after they have completed Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) training and a period of post OCU training on an allocated squadron. Costs of this training are shown in the following table by fast jet type.

£ million

Aircraft

Cost of training a pilot up to Operational Conversion Unit

Cost of training a pilot in OCU and post OCU to combat ready status

Total

Harrier

3.1

7.51

10.61

Tornado F3

3.1

4.04

7. 14

Tornado GR4

3.1

3.59

6.69

Typhoon

3.1

9.22

12.32

Armed Forces: Cadets

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cadet forces were disbanded in each year since 1997. (199490)

The MOD sponsors four cadet forces: the Combined Cadet Force; the Sea Cadet Corps; the Army Cadet Force and the Air Training Corps. All four cadet forces have a long history and none have been disbanded.

Individual contingents/units/detachments/squadrons within each cadet force are formed and disbanded as the particular demands and aspirations of the communities they serve fluctuate. Information has not previously been held centrally. However, since 2007 the net change in cadet units is:

Combined Cadet Force—net gain 18 contingents.

Sea Cadet Corps—net loss nine units.

Army Cadet Force—net gain 22 detachments.

Air Training Corps—net gain two squadrons.

Armed Forces: Drugs

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British service personnel were dishonourably discharged for drug abuse in each of the last five years. (203676)

The following number of British servicemen have been discharged ‘Services No Longer Required’, which is a dishonourable discharge, in each of the last five years for failing compulsory drug testing.

Number

2003

476

2004

492

2005

632

2006

669

2007

665

Armed Forces: Insurance

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 21 April 2008, Official Report, column 1645W, on armed forces: insurance, for what reasons Territorial Army personnel are treated differently from the Regular Army for insurance cover while on deployment; and for what reasons the company Abacus refuses Territorial Army personnel cover during deployments. (202971)

As I explained in my answer of 21 April 2008, Official Report, column 1645W, MOD facilitates the PAX, RPAX and Service Life insurance (SLI) schemes by means of contracts with the commercial providers. The cover for SLI is the same for TA as for regulars and that for RPAX will replicate the PAX cover in the near future. I understand that my hon. Friend the Under Secretary of State will be writing soon, in response to an issue you raised during the recent debate on the commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the Territorial Army, to explain that the premiums for SLI are the same for the TA as for regulars and that RPAX will remain cheaper than PAX even when the premium increase has been applied.

PAX and RPAX have different insurers but the same brokers. They are intended to run in parallel with the same cover, but with RPAX premiums slightly cheaper. It was decided to implement the PAX changes first because PAX is the larger scheme.

In addition to PAX RPAX and SLI there are a number of private insurance schemes available to Service personnel which MOD does not facilitate; the scheme provided by Abacus is one of these. We do not have contracts with the providers of these schemes and are unable to comment on the cover which they provide.

Armed Forces: Pay

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) value of (i) under-payments and (ii) over-payments to service personnel in each month between January and November 2007; and if he will make a statement. (203501)

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my noble Friend, the Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support to the noble Lord, Lord Selkirk of Douglas, in another place, Official Report, columns WA2-4.

Armed Forces: Pensions

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many forces widows were in receipt of a pension from the Armed Forces Pension Scheme at the latest date for which figures are available. (202150)

The number of widows, widowers and surviving partners in receipt of a pension from the Armed Forces Pension Scheme as at 1 January 2008 is 63,496.

Armed Forces: Personnel Management

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many hours of Joint Personnel Administration training are required before personnel become qualified; (202354)

(2) how many people in his Department were trained in Joint Personnel Administration in each year since 2005;

(3) how much his Department spent on Joint Personnel Administration training in each year since 2005.

The amount of training required varies according to the individual or their role. All self-service users complete a mandatory three hour e-learning Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) training package, whereas a Human Resources (HR) administrator will receive at least 80 hours of training, with additional training given as they progress through the ranks or are assigned to different roles. Other administrators complete training of a type and length appropriate to their role.

To date, some 201,300 self-service users have undertaken the e-learning JPA training package. The number of HR administrators who have completed training in each financial year since 2005 are as follows:

Financial year

Number of personnel trained

2005-06

1,219

2006-07

7,072

2007-08

1,054

Note:

The high number of HR administrators trained during financial year 2006-07 was due to 6,835 Army HR administrators being trained in readiness for the roll out of JPA to the Army in March 2007.

The cost of JPA training in each year since 2005 is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Prisoners

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British service personnel were serving sentences in military prisons, at the latest date for which figures are available. (203671)

As at 1 May, there were 145 British service personnel serving sentences at the Military Corrective Training Centre, Colchester.

The Military Corrective Training Centre is not a prison. It is a military unit established for military corrective training. The majority of detainees are not sentenced for criminal offences, and return to their military duties on release; for example, a soldier would be sent there as a punishment for going absent without leave.

Armed Forces: Resignations

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel left (a) the Army, (b) the Navy and (c) the Royal Air Force prematurely in each of the last 10 years. (203673)

Voluntary outflow figures for the services in each of the last 10 years can be found in Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 5—Trained Outflow to Civil Life. Monthly figures show the number of personnel who have outflowed in the previous 12 month period. TSP 5 is published monthly. The most recent publication presents outflow for the 12 months to 29 February 2008 and can be found at http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tsp5/tsp5tab5.html. Copies of TSP 5 are available in the Library of the House and also at

www.dasa.mod.uk.

Armed Forces: Training

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 29 April 2008, Official Report, column 55W, on the armed forces: training, how many (a) crew personnel, (b) pilots and (c) each type of aircraft participated in Arctic flying training during the winter training period of 2007. (203468)

48 pilots and 10 other aircrew personnel took part in Arctic flying training, during the winter training period of 2007. The number and type of aircraft which also participated are shown as follows:

Number

Type

5

Sea King Mk 4

3

Lynx Mk 7

2

Gazelle

3

Puma HCl

Army: Officers

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the actual strength of Army officers of each rank is; and if he will make a statement on the position and retention of captains. (202970)

The Army officers’ strength as at 1 March 2008 is provided as follows:

Army Officers strength according to paid rank at 1 March 2008 1

Number

Major General to General

60

Brigadier

180

Colonel

580

Lieutenant Colonel

1,750

Major

4,710

Captain

4,690

Second Lieutenant and Lieutenant

1,710

1 All figures are provisional and are rounded in accordance with Defence Analytical Services and Advice conventions. Figures are for trained regular strengths only and therefore exclude Full Time Reserve Service, Gurkhas and Home Service Personnel of the Royal Irish Regiment.

Since 2004 there has been an increase in the number of Army Captains seeking Voluntary Outflow (VO) from service but the total number in service has actually increased, resulting in a reduction of the deficit against requirement.

The Army continues to monitor VO carefully, and is looking at a number of positive measures to improve retention and further reduce the deficit of captains. These include examination of the officer career management structure and conditions of service, and the commissioning of a greater number of officers both from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and from the non-commissioned ranks.

Departmental Energy

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department has taken to reduce its energy consumption in the last 12 months; and what his Department’s expenditure on energy was in (a) the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available and (b) the immediately preceding 12 months. (201778)

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has made significant progress over the past 12 months in reducing energy consumption by taking such steps as improving building energy management and energy efficiency; installing more energy efficient lighting, automated metering and biomass boilers; focussing resources on the top 220 energy consuming defence sites; conducting audits; improving data management; making central funds available for energy efficiency/carbon emissions reduction projects; and embedding pro-rata energy efficiency targets into Service Delivery Agreement between MOD the Under-Secretary and the Department’s management areas.

The Department has published figures for utilities expenditure since 2000. The figure for 2006-07 and 2005-06 have been published in the Department’s accounts and are the latest figures available. The figures are:

Utilities

Financial year 2006-07 (£000)

Heating oil

33,335

Utilities consumption—USF

2,781

Gas

92,244

Electricity

170,459

Water and sewage

20,772

Total

319,591

Utilities

Financial year 2005-06 (£000)

Heating oil

30,913

Utilities consumption—USF

3,132

Gas

100,151

Electricity

141,186

Water and sewage

15,965

Total

291,347

Departmental Written Questions

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many days it took on average to answer written parliamentary questions tabled by each hon. Member for answer by him in the last six months. (201757)

The information is not available in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

However, the following tables shows the number of ordinary written questions answered within five working and named day questions answered on the named day since October 2007.

Ordinary written questions

Month

Received

Answered within five working days

Percentage

October 2007

371

180

49

November 2007

373

139

37

December 2007

419

79

19

January 2008

353

141

40

February 2008

264

132

50

March 2008

374

162

43

Named day questions

Month

Received

Answered on or before the named day

Percentage

October 2007

77

23

30

November 2007

54

24

44

December 2007

53

17

32

January 2008

74

31

42

February 2008

48

26

54

March 2008

75

39

52

Total

Month

Received

Answered within five working days or on or before the named day

Percentage

October 2007

448

203

45

November 2007

427

163

38

December 2007

472

96

20

January 2008

427

172

40

February 2008

312

158

51

March 2008

449

201

44

Ex-servicemen: Unemployed

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of former service personnel who were unemployed in each year since 1997. (203454)

The Ministry of Defence does not collect statistics in such a form as to be able to make an estimate of the number of former service personnel who were unemployed in each year since 1997. Data do however show that 94 per cent. of service leavers looking for careers after service life are in employment six months after discharge.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel completed the Northern Ireland Surveillance Course as part of their predeployment training for deployment to (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan in each year since 2003. (203399)

No service personnel have completed the Northern Ireland (NI) Surveillance Course as part of their predeployment training for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. This course ceased to run in December 2006.

The Operational Training and Advisory Group runs a Static Covert Surveillance (SCS) Course which was developed from the NI Surveillance Course and has been adapted to meet the specific requirements of each operational theatre.

The Iraq SCS course was first delivered in January 2005 and as at 1 May 2008 a total of 630 soldiers have completed this training prior to deployment to Iraq. The Afghanistan SCS course was first delivered in March 2007 and 305 soldiers will have completed this training by the end of the current training year on 31 March 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British service personnel have been court martialled for offences relating to the treatment of civilians and prisoners in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan since 2001. (203670)

28 service personnel have been court-martialled for offences relating to the treatment of civilians and prisoners in Iraq.

No service personnel have been court-martialled for offences relating to the treatment of civilians and prisoners in Afghanistan.

Kosovo: Peacekeeping Operations

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the UK's commitment for NATO's Operational Reserve Force to arrive in Kosovo. (203216)

It is planned that the UK's commitment for the NATO Operational Reserve Force will be present in Kosovo and ready to begin its mission no later than 31 May 2008.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what vehicles he expects British forces to use while serving as NATO's Operational Reserve Force in Kosovo. (203218)

The vehicles to be used by British forces serving as NATO's Operational Reserve Force in Kosovo include Snatch armoured Land Rovers, standard Land Rovers, Saxon personnel carriers, 4-ton trucks, battlefield ambulances and various engineering vehicles.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the oral answer of 28 April 2008, Official Report, column 16, on what date his Department (a) began and (b) completed pre-positioning equipment for the UK's commitment for NATO's Operational Reserve Force in Kosovo. (203288)

The pre-positioning of equipment in Kosovo for potential use by the UK troops operating as the NATO Operational Reserve Force began in early November 2007. The transportation of equipment will be completed by 31 May 2008, the date when the UK Battalion is due to be in Kosovo ready to begin its task.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the oral answer of 28 April 2008, Official Report, column 16, what equipment has been pre-positioned in Kosovo for the UK's commitment to NATO's Operational Reserve Force. (203289)

As of 30 April 2008, equipment that has been pre-positioned in Kosovo includes Snatch Land Rovers, standard Land Rovers, Saxon personnel carriers, 4-ton trucks, engineering equipment, vehicle spares, ammunition, food, riot control equipment (including shields and batons) and fuel.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the oral answer of 28 April 2008, Official Report, column 16, how many (a) C-17 Globemaster, (b) C-130K Hercules, (c) C-130J Hercules, (d) Tristar and (e) VC-10 aircraft sorties were flown to pre-position the equipment required for the UK's commitment to NATO's Operational Reserve Force in Kosovo. (203290)

Two sorties were flown by C-130J Hercules in order to deliver ammunition. The C-17 Globemaster, C-130K Hercules, Tristar and VC-10 have not to date been used to pre-position equipment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the oral answer of 28 April 2008, Official Report, column 16, what estimate he has made of (a) the number of troops which can be sustained by the pre-positioned equipment provided for NATO’s Operational Reserve Force and (b) the length of time UK forces can be sustained with the equipment. (203291)

It is planned that the battalion assigned to the NATO Operational Reserve Force (approximately 600 troops) will be sustainable for 30 days from the date its mission in Kosovo begins. This is in accordance with the requirements of the NATO Operational Reserve Force high readiness commitment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he was first informed that NATO would make a request for the UK to deploy a high readiness battalion to Kosovo; and when the request was formally received by his Department. (203935)

This commitment began on 1 January 2008. Since then, Ministers have been kept informed of discussions between the UK and NATO on this subject. The Department received a formal request from NATO for the deployment of the UK element of the operational reserve force on 7 April 2008. I said in the House on 28 April 2008, Official Report, column 15 that we were responding to the request imminently. An announcement was subsequently made to Parliament on 29 April 2008 and a formal reply to NATO made on 2 May 2008.

Meteorological Office: Politics International

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what payments the Met Office has made to Politics International Ltd. in each of the last five years; on what dates; and for what purpose the payments were made in each case. (202255)

The Met Office has made the following payments to Politics International Ltd in each of the last five years:

2004

£

14 July

6,000.00

28 July

425.54

6 October

19.00

3 November

5,000.00

17 November

608.14

2005

28 January

1,941.86

24 August

4,300.00

28 September

3,750.00

26 October

7,250.00

30 November

3,750.00

14 December

1,177.30

21 December

3,750.00

2006

25 January

3,750.00

17 March

3,750.00

7 April

3,750.00

26 April

3,750.00

17 May

15.00

24 May

5,150.00

28 June

9,700.00

26 July

3,750.00

28 July

585.85

30 August

3,750.00

28 September

3,750.00

25 October

3,750.00

24 November

3,750.00

2007

5 January

4,875.09

24 January

3,750.00

28 February

3,750.00

28 March

7,595.45

25 April

3,807.17

25 May

3,750.00

27 June

6,710.21

28 September

10,252.06

10 October

3,220.92

24 October

12,214.52

28 November

800.00

2008

11 January

3,642.85

30 January

8,793.80

26 March

1,170.00

These payments relate to training for Met Office witnesses appearing before Select Committees; training for Met Office staff in stakeholder management; assistance with the development and strengthening of relationships with key stakeholders; and support for Met Office participation in stakeholder events relating to meteorology and climate science.

Military Decorations

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to amend the criteria for the award of the General Service Medal; and if he will make a statement. (203491)

Navy: Labour Turnover

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people have (a) joined and (b) left the Royal Navy since 2005. (203721)

The number of personnel joining the Royal Naval Service since 2005 can be found in Table 3 of Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 1 - Strength, Intake and Outflow of UK Regular Forces. The number of personnel leaving the Royal Naval Service since 2005 can be found in Table 4 of the same publication. TSP 1 is published monthly. The most recent publication shows figures for data from 1 April 2003 to 1 March 2008 and can be found at

http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tsp1/intake.html

for Table 3 and for Table 4

http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tspl/outflow.html

Copies of TSP 1 are available in the Library of the House and also at

www.dasa.mod.uk

Prince William

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2008, Official Report, columns 887-88W, on His Royal Highness Prince William, if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of training His Royal Highness Prince William as a pilot. (202762)

No specific calculation has been made of the individual cost of HRH Prince William’s flying training. However it is unlikely to exceed that of equivalent training undertaken by other trainees, given that basic flight training covers a series of set elements.

The cost of providing basic flying training for the RAF is detailed in the following table.

RAF flight training costs

Activity

Aircraft type

Cost (£000) at 2007-08 prices

Elementary Flying Training

Tutor

19.4

Basic Fast Jet Training

Tucano

93.5

Basic Rotary Wing Training

Squirrel

49.4

Total

162.3

Reserve Forces: Manpower

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people there are in the Volunteer Reserve Forces; and what proportion of them have seen active service in either Iraq or Afghanistan. (203678)

The latest manning figures for the Volunteer Reserves (VRs) are as follows:

Number

Royal Naval Reserve

2,220

Royal Marine Reserve

820

Territorial Army

30,000

Royal Auxiliary Air Force

1,280

Note:

Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10

The overall proportion of VRs who have seen active service in Iraq or Afghanistan is not available, and the steady turnover of the Reserves would render such a figure relatively meaningless, but over 17,000 VRs have been mobilised in support of operations since 2003.

Since 2006, over 2,160 VRs have served in Iraq, and over 2,010 in Afghanistan.

Royal Military Academy

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to the public purse of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst was in each of the last three years. (203669)

The cost to the public purse of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for the last three financial years for which validated figures are available is:

Financial year

Cost (£ million)

2004-05

47,041

2005-06

45,268

2006-07

47,065

Territorial Army: Officers

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Territorial Army officers there were in each year since 1997. (203213)

The data provided have been extracted from Tri-Service Publication 7; the following table shows the strengths of Territorial Army officers as at 1 April 1997 to 2007.

Officer strength

1997

6,130

1998

6,240

1999

6,250

2000

5,890

2001

5,380

2002

5,700

2003

5,740

2004

5,630

2005

5,550

2006

5,400

20071

5,150

1 2007 data are as at 1 March. Due to the ongoing validation of the new Joint Personnel Administration System Territorial Army Officer data from April 2007 are currently unavailable.

Notes:

1. Officer figures from April 1998 to April 2004 are provisional estimates which include Full Time Reserve Service Personnel.

2. TA Officers include Group A and B, Mobilised TA, and excludes Non-Regular Permanent Staff (from 1998) and Full Time Reserve Service.

3. Data have been rounded to the nearest ten for statistical analysis and presentation purposes only.

4. Numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid systematic bias.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officers in the Territorial Army qualified for their annual bounty in each year since 1997. (203214)

The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Weather: Forecasts

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the accuracy of weather forecasts provided by the Meteorological Office in respect of each region of the UK; and what plans he has to improve the accuracy of such forecasts. (201479)

The accuracy of weather forecasts provided by the Met Office is assessed through its performance in achieving its forecast accuracy key performance target (KPT). The KPT includes elements that measure the accuracy of forecasts for precipitation and maximum and minimum temperatures for 11 locations throughout the UK. The annual targets for these elements, which are agreed by me and laid before Parliament, have been met in each year since they were introduced in 2005.

Performance against the KPT is reflective of the continuous improvement in forecast accuracy made by the Met Office over the last twenty years. Today's forecasts for three days ahead are more accurate than forecasts for one day ahead 20 years ago.

The government provides the Met Office with significant funding to support its activities. MOD, for example, is planning to invest £30 million in new, state-of-the-art super-computers. While investment in supercomputing is not the only factor in improving the accuracy of weather forecasts, it is significant as it underpins, amongst other things, the production of more accurate local-scale forecasts.

Through increased supercomputing capability, the Met Office expects to make further substantial improvements in forecast accuracy over the coming years.

Northern Ireland

Crimes of Violence

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many crimes of violence against a person there were in each constituency in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years; and what each figure represents per thousand of the population. (203437)

Tackling serious violent crime is a priority for the Government. Both the NIO’s public service agreement to “Make Communities Safer” and this year’s Policing Plan contain targets aimed at reducing the level of these kinds of offences.

The Chief Constable has provided the following information:

“The three tables below reflect the number of violent crimes by offence and rates per 1000 population”.

Violent crime by parliamentary constituency, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 and rates per 1,000 population

2004-05

2004-05 rate per 1,000 population

Offences against the person

Sexual offences

Robbery

Total violent crime

2004 mid-year population estimate

Offences against the person

Sexual offences

Robbery

Total violent crime

Belfast East

1,152

77

96

1,325

77,732

14.8

1.0

1.2

17.0

Belfast North

2,230

232

171

2,633

82,406

27.1

2.8

2.1

32.0

Belfast South

2,481

306

158

2,945

92,834

26.7

3.3

1.7

31.7

Belfast West

2,257

190

107

2,554

85,706

26.3

2.2

1.2

29.8

East Antrim

1,014

38

82

1,134

85,292

11.9

0.4

1.0

13.3

East Londonderry

1,879

43

97

2,019

90,540

20.8

0.5

1.1

22.3

Fermanagh and South Tyrone

1,034

22

73

1,129

93,885

11.0

0.2

0.8

12.0

Foyle

2,222

68

142

2,432

106,889

20.8

0.6

1.3

22.8

Lagan Valley

1,586

79

83

1,748

104,604

15.2

0.8

0.8

16.7

Mid Ulster

1,200

13

52

1,265

89,657

13.4

0.1

0.6

14.1

Newry and Armagh

1,465

56

71

1,592

102,957

14.2

0.5

0.7

15.5

North Antrim

1,724

54

91

1,869

104,710

16.5

0.5

0.9

17.8

North Down

1,174

52

53

1,279

87,431

13.4

0.6

0.6

14.6

South Antrim

1,483

88

86

1,657

101,939

14.5

0.9

0.8

16.3

South Down

1,362

32

67

1,461

109,232

12.5

0.3

0.6

13.4

Strangford

1,123

54

54

1,231

99,588

11.3

0.5

0.5

12.4

Upper Bann

2,243

55

81

2,379

106,173

21.1

0.5

0.8

22.4

West Tyrone

1,591

20

78

1,689

88,747

17.9

0.2

0.9

19.0

Unknown1

119

8

44

171

Total

29,339

1,487

1,686

32,512

1,710,322

17.2

0.9

1.0

19.0

2005-062005-06 rate per 1,000 population

Offences against the person

Sexual offences

Robbery

Total violent crime

2005 mid-year population estimate

Offences against the person

Sexual offences

Robbery

Total violent crime

Belfast East

1,200

90

92

1,382

77,583

15.5

1.2

1.2

17.8

Belfast North

2,525

365

99

2,989

81,736

30.9

4.5

1.2

36.6

Belfast South

2,788

292

150

3,230

92,818

30.0

3.1

1.6

34.8

Belfast West

2,405

267

81

2,753

85,028

28.3

3.1

1.0

32.4

East Antrim

1,178

55

40

1,273

85,878

13.7

0.6

0.5

14.8

East Londonderry

2,066

36

123

2,225

90,712

22.8

0.4

1.4

24.5

Fermanagh and South Tyrone

1,289

26

53

1,368

95,402

13.5

0.3

0.6

14.3

Foyle

2,330

70

164

2,564

107,296

21.7

0.7

1.5

23.9

Lagan Valley

1,624

87

97

1,808

106,450

15.3

0.8

0.9

17.0

Mid Ulster

1,234

26

66

1,326

90,978

13.6

0.3

0.7

14.6

Newry and Armagh

1,497

51

66

1,614

104,482

14.3

0.5

0.6

15.4

North Antrim

1,640

50

109

1,799

105,983

15.5

0.5

1.0

17.0

North Down

1,234

49

88

1,371

88,199

14.0

0.6

1.0

15.5

South Antrim

1,480

93

92

1,665

103,260

14.3

0.9

0.9

16.1

South Down

1,576

30

76

1,682

110,692

14.2

0.3

0.7

15.2

Strangford

1,147

43

76

1,266

100,325

11.4

0.4

0.8

12.6

Upper Bann

2,099

76

97

2,272

108,111

19.4

0.7

0.9

21.0

West Tyrone

1,506

25

78

1,609

89,475

16.8

0.3

0.9

18.0

Unknown1

135

13

64

212

Total

30,953

1,744

1,711

34,408

1,724,408

17.9

1.0

1.0

20.0

2006-072006-07 rate per 1,000 population

Offences against the person

Sexual offences

Robbery

Total violent crime

2006 mid-year population estimate

Offences against the person

Sexual offences

Robbery

Total violent crime

Belfast East

1,189

89

77

1,355

77,583

15.3

1.1

1.0

17.5

Belfast North

2,649

283

123

3,055

81,736

32.4

3.5

1.5

37.4

Belfast South

3,103

308

176

3,587

92,818

33.4

3.3

1.9

38.6

Belfast West

2,380

246

112

2,738

85,028

28.0

2.9

1.3

32.2

East Antrim

1,135

37

78

1,250

85,878

13.2

0.4

0.9

14.6

East Londonderry

2,237

36

125

2,398

90,712

24.7

0.4

1.4

26.4

Fermanagh and South Tyrone

1,271

27

83

1,381

95,402

13.3

0.3

0.9

14.5

Foyle

2,449

79

175

2,703

107,296

22.8

0.7

1.6

25.2

Lagan Valley

1,527

66

82

1,675

106,450

14.3

0.6

0.8

15.7

Mid Ulster

1,231

15

71

1,317

90,978

13.5

0.2

0.8

14.5

Newry and Armagh

1,530

80

73

1,683

104,482

14.6

0.8

0.7

16.1

North Antrim

1,611

52

105

1,768

105,983

15.2

0.5

1.0

16.7

North Down

1,346

37

69

1,452

88,199

15.3

0.4

0.8

16.5

South Antrim

1,541

62

81

1,684

103,260

14.9

0.6

0.8

16.3

South Down

1,535

37

67

1,639

110,692

13.9

0.3

0.6

14.8

Strangford

1,240

29

62

1,331

100,325

12.4

0.3

0.6

13.3

Upper Bann

2,112

61

84

2,257

108,111

19.5

0.6

0.8

20.9

West Tyrone

1,610

25

102

1,737

89,475

18.0

0.3

1.1

19.4

Unknown1

150

5

58

213

Total

31,846

1,574

1,803

35,223

1,724,408

18.5

0.9

1.0

20.4

1 Offences are allocated to parliamentary constituencies via occurrence address postcode information. In some cases the postcode information is of poor quality and therefore cannot be allocated to a parliamentary constituency.

Source:

Central Statistics Unit, PSNI

Departmental Marketing

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on publicity and advertising in 2007-08. (199031)

The Department (excluding its agencies and Executive NDPBs) has spent £477,176.88 on publicity and advertising in 2007-08.

Departmental Public Participation

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) surveys, (b) questionnaires and (c) other services were provided by polling companies for his Department in financial year 2007-08, broken down by company. (200011)

The Northern Ireland Office and its Executive agencies conducted the following during the financial year 2007-08:

One survey using Millward Brown Ulster;

One survey and nine focus groups using SMR (Social and Market Research); and

One survey and three modules of a survey using NI Statistics and Research Agency.

House of Commons Commission

Parliament: Carbon Emissions

To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what estimate the Commission has made of the Parliamentary Estate’s carbon footprint in 2006-07. (202190)

The amount of absolute carbon being released into the atmosphere as a result of gas and electricity consumption on the Parliamentary Estate during 2006-07 was 4,015 tonnes. This figure was calculated from the monthly energy meter readings, with 10 per cent. of electricity consumption between April 2006 and January 2007 and 100 per cent. of electricity consumption between February and March 2007 derived from renewable sources.

The carbon emissions resulting from transportation have not been calculated so the direct/primary carbon footprint cannot be determined. The indirect/secondary carbon footprint cannot yet be determined either.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Clarence Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Mr. Clarence Mitchell was seconded by his Department to act as an official spokesperson for the family of Madeleine McCann. (202007)

Clarence Mitchell was seconded to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, from the Central Office of Information (COI), for a period of 25 days in May 2007 to provide assistance with the media to the family of Madeleine McCann. He resigned from the COI in September 2007.

Departmental Pensions

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his most recent estimate is of the unfunded liability in present value terms of each public sector pension scheme for which his Department is responsible; and on what assumptions for (a) discount and (b) longevity the estimate is based. (200691)

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not have responsibility for a departmental pension scheme. UK civil servants employed by the FCO belong to the central Principal Civil Service Pensions Scheme (PCSPS). The PCSPS publishes details of its unfunded liability in its annual resource accounts, copies of which are placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the unfunded liability in present value terms was of each public sector pension scheme for which his Department is responsible in each year since 1990-91. (200692)

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not have responsibility for a departmental pension scheme. UK civil servants employed by the FCO are members of the central Principal Civil Service Pensions Scheme (PCSPS). The PCSPS has published details of unfunded liabilities in present value terms in its annual resource accounts since 2000-2001. Because the assumptions underlying estimates of unfunded liabilities, for example life expectancy, vary, they are not directly comparable from year to year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the (a) rate and (b) cost was of employer contributions for each public sector pension scheme for which his Department has responsibility in each year since 1990-91; and if he will make a statement. (200693)

UK civil servants employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Schemes (PCSPS). The PCSPS has published details of employer contributions in its annual resource accounts every year since 2000-01. Copies of the PCSPS accounts are held in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the effect on his Department's expenditure would be of increasing the employee contribution to each pension scheme for which his Department is responsible by 1 per cent.; and if he will make a statement. (200694)

If the Principal Civil Service Pensions Scheme were to raise the level of employee contributions to each of its schemes by 1 per cent. of salary, this would generate additional contributions equivalent to 4 per cent. of the total employer contributions made by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the schemes. In theory therefore it might permit a 4 per cent. reduction in the Department's expenditure on pension contributions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cash equivalent transfer value is of the public sector pensions of the 10 highest paid members of staff in his Department and its executive agencies; and if he will make a statement. (200695)

The total cash equivalent transfer value of the public sector—Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme—pensions of the 10 staff with the highest salaries in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), and its Executive Agencies, at 31 March 2008 was £11,795,588.

The FCO discloses the cash equivalent transfer value of the pensions of each executive member of the FCO Board of Management in the remuneration report contained in the Department's annual resource accounts.

Diego Garcia: Detainees

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2008, Official Report, column 1188W, on Diego Garcia: detainees, what steps he has taken in response to the allegations received by his Department concerning US ships; whether those allegations related to (a) the USS Bataan and (b) the USNS Stockholm; and what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on this matter. (201896)

Our officials continue to work with their US counterparts on the details and implications of the new information passed to us on 15 February regarding two cases of rendition through Diego Garcia in 2002. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary wrote to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, further to his statement to the House of 21 February, to request clarification on a number of specific issues.

I can confirm that we are aware of non-governmental organisations' allegations relating to the USS Bataan and the USNS Stockholm.

Ethiopia: Qatar

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the political implications of Ethiopia breaking off diplomatic relations with Qatar. (201918)

We do not assess there to be any significant political implications flowing from this action that will affect UK interests.

Gaza

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what international status the Government ascribes to the Gaza Strip. (203698)

Members: Correspondence

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to respond to the letter of 25 March 2008 from the right hon. Member for Banff and Buchan regarding a constituent, Mr. Blackwood of Fraserburgh. (202219)

Nuclear Disarmament

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps have been taken by the Government towards nuclear disarmament under the terms of Article 6 of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. (203958)

The UK is strongly committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and we are fulfilling all of our Treaty obligations, including those on disarmament under Article VI. We have reduced our nuclear platform to one delivery system, Trident, and have significantly reduced the operational status of that system. We have recently met our commitment to a further 20 per cent. reduction in the stockpile of operationally available warheads, contributing to a 75 per cent. reduction in the explosive power of the UK nuclear arsenal since the end of the Cold War.

In addition the UK is pursuing a programme to develop expertise in verifying the reduction and elimination of nuclear weapons internationally. The aim of the study has been to examine and trial potential methodologies which could be used in a future multilateral nuclear disarmament regime. This work is continuing at the Atomic Weapons Establishment and will be presented to the 2008 NPT Preparatory Committee in Geneva.

Rendition

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the permissions system that operates on rendition flights through the UK; and if he will make a statement. (201951)

We would consider all the circumstances of a request for rendition through the UK or our overseas Territories and we would only grant permission if we were satisfied that it would accord with our domestic law and international obligations.

We continue to keep procedures under review to ensure that they meet the standards that we have set. Our officials are currently looking at the proposals of the all party parliamentary group on extraordinary rendition in light of the two cases of rendition through Diego Garcia in 2002. Once we have established more of the details and implications of these renditions we will take a decision on whether these proposals are necessary.

Somalia: Armed Conflict

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Ethiopian counterparts on the recent violence in Mogadishu, Somalia. (202753)

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no discussions with his Ethiopian counterparts on the recent violence in Mogadishu.

However, our ambassador in Addis Ababa raised the recent violence in Somalia at senior levels of the Ethiopian Government. Our officials in London and at the UN have also raised this issue with their Ethiopian counterparts.

The Government maintains close contact with Ethiopia on Somalia and we continue to urge Ethiopian forces to show restraint, proportionality and respect for the local population in Somalia.

We are working with Ethiopia and our international partners to find a way for Ethiopia to withdraw as soon as possible, as Ethiopia has said is its intention, without allowing a security vacuum to emerge.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with Ethiopian counterparts about the conduct of Ethiopian troops in Somalia; and what steps he is taking to support respect for human rights in Somalia. (202755)

My noble Friend the Lord Malloch-Brown raised the issue of human rights in Somalia with the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in late January.

Our ambassador in Addis Ababa has raised respect for human rights in Somalia at senior levels of the Ethiopian government. Our officials in London and at the UN have also raised this issue with their Ethiopian counterparts.

The Government maintain close contact with Ethiopia on Somalia and we continue to urge Ethiopian forces to show restraint, proportionality and respect for the local population in Somalia.

The UK continually insists that human rights are fully respected by all parties in Somalia and has joined its international partners in clearly saying so in UN Security Council Resolutions, Communiqués of the Somalia International Contact Group and Resolutions of the UN Human Rights Council.

Insecurity in Somalia means that monitoring human rights and gathering reliable information is very difficult. However, if breaches of international human rights law are proved then we will condemn them unreservedly and expect those responsible to be held to account.

Somalia: Children

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to uphold the rights of children in captivity in Somalia. (202754)

The Government are committed to improving children's rights through access to education. In this respect, the Department for International Development (DFID) is already actively engaged in the education sector in Somalia.

The UK is committed to playing an active role in the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, which includes a focus on children detained for alleged association with armed groups in violation of international standards. Somalia is one of the 18 situations of concern listed by the UN Secretary-General in his Seventh Report to the Security Council on Children and Armed Conflict. The work plans for this year include producing country reports and adopting conclusions on several countries including Somalia.

In recent years, the Government have funded the distribution of school textbooks through the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the establishment of an examination system in Somaliland with the Africa Educational Trust, as well as supporting basic primary education needs in the Hiraan region through Save the Children-UK. Last year DFID entered into a £6 million education partnership with the UN Children's Fund and UNESCO to strengthen access to basic education in Somalia.

South Africa: Chemical and Biological Warfare

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2008, Official Report, columns 1707-8W, on South Africa: chemical and biological warfare, whether the investigation conducted into the allegations that UK Government officials and scientists had contact with or knowingly provided assistance to any South African chemical and biological weapons programme or persons involved in Project Coast considered the evidence to the Truth and Justice Commission that Wouter Basson used a house in the home counties of England to meet UK scientists and to circumvent the sanctions regime against South Africa; and if he will make a statement. (192701)

[holding answer 17 March 2008]: The investigation into allegations that the Government was involved in providing information to personnel connected to South Africa’s Chemical and Biological Weapons programme considered information from a variety of sources, including evidence given to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It was the policy of successive Governments from the mid 1970s to have no military cooperation with South Africa. There was no blanket ban on scientific contacts with South Africa during the apartheid period, though they were discouraged if they might contribute to the support or promotion of apartheid.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2008, Official Report, columns 1707-8W, on South Africa: chemical and biological warfare, between what dates the full investigations were held into the allegations of UK assistance to Project Coast or other South African chemical and biological weapons programme; and if he will make a statement. (192703)

[holding answer 17 March 2008]: UK investigations were initiated in 1998 and continued into 2001, following allegations made during hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that the Government was involved in providing information to personnel connected to South Africa’s Project Coast. The investigations were thorough and included the relevant Government bodies. There was no evidence to suggest Government officials knowingly provided assistance to any South African Chemical and Biological Weapons programme.

Zimbabwe: Armed Forces

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government has taken to prevent the Zimbabwean military increasing its arms capacity. (202526)

[holding answer 1 May 2008]: We believe that, against a backdrop of increasing tension and state-sponsored violence against civilians, it is quite the wrong time for any arms sales to Zimbabwe. We have therefore, with our EU partners, been actively promoting the need for states to refrain from such sales. We raised this issue at the UN Security Council on 29 April. Our embassy in Beijing has also raised our concerns with the Chinese Government. We hope all states will be able to agree to a moratorium on arms sales to Zimbabwe until a democratic Government is in place.

Culture, Media and Sport

Conservation Areas

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of conservation areas in England at the latest date for which figures are available. (202838)

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 1 May, 2008, Official Report, column 663W, on conservation areas, by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Iain Wright).

Departmental Manpower

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff were employed in his Department in each year since 1997. (204144)

The table shows the staff in post in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 1 April each year from 1997 to 2008.

Staff in post

1997

352

1998

365

1999

359

2000

407

2001

403

2002

469

2003

488

2004

490

2005

525

2006

523

2007

527

2008

477

Staff in post rose significantly between 1 April 2001 and 1 April 2002 reflecting machinery of government changes and a resulting transfer of staff from the Cabinet Office and Home Office.

Departmental Pay

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his Department spent on wages and salaries in each of the last three years, broken down by departmental division. (203097)

The Department’s expenditure on wages and salaries, analysed by divisions, in financial years 2005-06 to 2007-08 is set out in the table. The figures relating to financial year 2007-08 are subject to finalisation of annual accounts.

During the three years shown, there have been numerous transfers of functions, projects and other pieces of work between divisions. For instance, in 2005-06, Information Systems was part of Human and Business Resources before becoming a division on its own right. It should not, therefore, be inferred that changes in the levels of expenditure necessarily represent shifts in resources to or from a particular function.

£

Division

2005-06

2006-07

12007-08

Director General Culture, Creativity and Economy

232,266.40

320,452.87

777,946.81

Director : Industry

230,408.17

258,741.79

186,279.64

Creative Industries

827,131.53

838,073.20

735,933.49

Tourism

1,232,875.47

1,243,611.32

1,156,568.64

Gambling and Lottery licensing

629,407.41

684,894.34

752,408.21

Lottery Distribution and Community

640,427.02

630,066.07

393,531.83

Broadcasting Policy

1,558,616.95

1,637,335.35

1,458,822.90

Active Generation

n/a

4,710.57

281,512.58

Director General Children and Young People

531,748.97

570,342.63

n/a

Director : Arts and Culture

394,673.34

293,311.14

273,690.44

Arts

797,209.16

860,177.06

864,344.58

Museums and Cultural Property

1,297,224.62

1,283,971.07

1,210,680.85

Government Art Collection

528,176.42

553,565.05

559,204.54

Architecture and the Historic Environment

1,280,254.15

1,325,700.07

1,245,157.18

Humanitarian Assistance

n/a

279,343.05

261,491.61

Local, Communities and International

1,011,508.79

725,577.75

707,462.24

Director : Sport

129,449.55

164,799.70

20,646.70

Sport

1,283,894.03

1,365,348.33

1,423,367.20

Director : Olympics

678,034.66

1,687,876.45

2,906,331.71

Director General: Chief Operating Officer

216,288.84

317,803.94

412,009.94

Director : Modernisation

251,274.10

n/a

n/a

Public Appointments, Honour and Modernisation

705,331.05

686,517.14

555,710.83

Strategy

1,310,172.09

1,360,607.88

1,167,115.78

Transformation Team

n/a

n/a

187,302.32

Human and Business Resources

1,601,738.93

1,081,145.88

1,113,099.48

Finance and Planning

695,058.47

686,852.10

734,342.25

Internal Audit

188,877.85

n/a

n/a

Secretary of State’s office

695,005.24

631,905.14

575,377.02

Minister Tourism. Film and Broadcasting

136,657.95

142,077.99

43,048.58

Minister for Culture

151,929.68

159,151.97

167,169.11

Parliamentary Branch

304,886.21

332,285.32

323,825.05

Permanent Secretary’s Office

381,581.32

345,129.25

373,183.91

Minister for Sport

172,679.39

185,090.43

167,971.70

Director : Strategic Communications

145,684.80

134,674.27

138,312.85

News and Communications—Information Centre

101,006.23

85,220.35

63,875.21

News and Communications—Promotion/Publicity

275,054.12

323,126.45

289,907.14

News and Communications—Press Office

579,152.50

827,712.48

769,875.01

Information Systems

n/a

717,359.72

724,640.13

Central Information Briefing Unit

n/a

436,261.28

489,077.74

Total

21,195,685.41

23,180,819.40

23,511,224.30

(i) 12007-08 figures subject to finalisation of annual accounts

(ii) All figures include wages, salaries, overtime, special bonus payments and inward secondee costs.

Departmental Public Participation

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of the funding provided to his Department by each of its non-departmental public bodies for (a) his Department’s joint research budget and (b) the Taking Part survey comes from (i) their departmental allocation and (ii) National Lottery income. (203096)

Funding provided to the Department by each of the participating non-departmental public bodies for (a) the Department’s joint research budget and (b) the Taking Part survey is as follows:

£ million

2008-09

Body

(a) Joint Research Budget

(b) Taking Part Survey

Total

Arts Council England

0.200

0.300

0.500

English Heritage

0.057

0.080

0.137

Museums, Libraries and Archives Council

0.007

0.080

0.087

Sport England

0.036

0.600

0.636

The proportion which comes from (i) their departmental allocation and (ii) National Lottery income, is as follows:

2008-09

Departmental Allocation (£)

Percentage

National Lottery Funding (£)

Percentage

Arts Council England

All

English Heritage

All

Museums, Libraries and Archives Council

All

Sport England

286,200

45

349,800

44

Departmental Research

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the annual research budget for (a) his Department, (b) Arts Council England, (c) Sport England, (d) the Big Lottery Fund, (e) English Heritage, (f) the Heritage Lottery Fund and (g) the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council was in each of the last three years; and how much he expects each to spend on research in 2008-09. (203089)

The annual research budget for the Department and the named organisations (as provided by those organisations) in each of the last three years, and planned spend for 2008-09, are set out in the table. All figures are inclusive of VAT:

£

Financial year

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

Planned spend 2008-09

DCMS

1,501,000

2,796,000

1,891,000

1

Arts Council

470,000

925,000

805,000

1

Sport England

3,700,000

3,100,000

2,500,000

21,800,000

BLF

100,000

125,000

130,000

166,000

English Heritage

7,451,000

5,561,000

5,731,000

5,579,000

Heritage Lottery Fund

563,000

561,000

493,000

552,000

MLA Council

461,000

475,000

590,000

485,000

1 To be determined

2 For the period 2008-09 this is an estimated figure as the budgets are being compiled and the figure quoted is for half a year.

Departmental Surveys

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost of conducting staff surveys was for (a) his Department, (b) Arts Council England, (c) Sport England, (d) the Big Lottery Fund, (e) English Heritage, (f) the Heritage Lottery Fund and (g) the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council in each of the last three years; and how much he expects each to spend on such surveys in 2008-09. (203088)

The annual cost of staff surveys for the Department and the named organisations (as provided by those organisations) in each of the last three years, and planned spend for 2008-09, are set out in the table. All figures include VAT. The figures include the costs of the main staff survey and do not include ad hoc requests for information.

Financial year

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

12008-09

DCMS

20,000

0

21,540

0

Arts Council

28,000

23,400

18,300

2

Sport England

13,543

15,897

3

4

BLF

5

8,500

9,000

9,500

English Heritage

0

0

39,550

0

Heritage Lottery Fund

0

0

0

0

MLA Council

0

3,173

0

0

1 Planned spend.

2 Figures not available.

3 None undertaken.

4 None planned.

5 No survey

English Sports Council: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the staff costs at each of Sport England's regional offices were in each of the last three year for which figures are available. (204150)

The costs were as follows:

Part 2: Regional staff costs for last three years1

Region

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

North East

774,564

829,290

825,850

Yorkshire

699,675

768,683

767,205

East Midlands

792,948

880,039

828,087

East

701,932

862,778

793,141

London

846,095

1,025,970

1,052,293

South East

871,171

937,940

797,033

South West

882,430

890,032

845,956

West Midlands

749,063

857,871

844,785

North West

823,453

988,692

877,793

Total

7,141,330

8,041,296

7,632,143

1 Includes salary, overtime, healthy life style benefits, employers pension and NI

Gambling Act, 2005

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the Scoping Study for a UK Gambling Act 2005 Impact Assessment Framework was (a) commissioned and (b) planned to be published at the time it was commissioned. (203936)

The Scoping Study for the UK Gambling Act, 2005 Impact Assessment Framework was commissioned in May 2006 and scheduled for completion in November 2006. DCMS did not stipulate a publication date. However, it was published on 26 February 2008 and has been placed in the House Libraries.

Lacrosse

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to encourage more young people to play lacrosse. (203636)

Lacrosse is one of 22 focus sports in the Step Into Sport programme (part of the Government’s PE and Sport Strategy for Children and Young People). Between April 2003 and March 2009 the English Lacrosse Association (ELA) will receive £78,000 from Sport England to develop volunteering and leadership opportunities as part of the Step into Sport programme. In addition, the ELA has been awarded £357,000 from Sport England’s club and coach funding to develop talent during the period 2008-11.

Lacrosse: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was allocated to British elite lacrosse players in each of the last five years. (203622)

Lacrosse was identified as a ‘development sport’, due primarily to its potential to help people to start and continue to participate in sport. The English Lacrosse Association (ELA) submitted its Whole Sport Plan and was awarded £1.26 million for the four year period 2005-09. While the funding was primarily provided to grow and sustain grassroots participation in the sport, the English Lacrosse Association could, and indeed has, utilised some of the funding to support its England teams. It is for the ELA to decide how to utilise and deploy its Whole Sport Plan funding.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Sport England spent on supporting the development of lacrosse in each of the last five years. (203623)

Sport England has spent the following amounts in the last five years supporting lacrosse.

Spent

2003-04

150,833

2004-05

299,000

2005-06

289,333

2006-07

297,000

2007-08

485,598

Total

1,521,764

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when (a) he and (b) a Minister in his Department last met the English Lacrosse Association to discuss (i) funding of and (ii) participation in the sport. (203624)

Since their respective arrivals in post, none of the current Ministers in DCMS have met with the English Lacrosse Association.

National Lottery: Wirral

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much lottery funding was awarded to projects in Wirral South constituency in 2007-08. (203704)

Approximately £349,000 was awarded in Wirral South during 2007-08. This figure is derived from the Department’s Lottery Grants Database, which uses information supplied by the Lottery distributors and is searchable at :

www.lottery.culture.gov.uk

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Big Lottery Fund’s outreach strategy in Wirral; and if he will make a statement. (203707)

No assessment has been made by DCMS on the effectiveness of the Big Lottery Fund’s outreach strategy in Wirral. This is an internal operational matter for the Big Lottery Fund.

I have asked Peter Wanless, chief executive of the Big Lottery Fund, to write to my hon. Friend on this matter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the ratio of lottery funding applications to grants in the last five years in Wirral South constituency; and if he will make a statement. (203831)

My Department does not collect data on the number of applications made to lottery distributing bodies and could obtain the information only at disproportionate cost, so no such estimate has been made. All lottery distributors are directed to make guidance on how to apply for lottery funds widely available.

Regional Cultural Consortiums: Standards

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of regional cultural consortia in meeting their objectives since establishment. (200300)

The aims, objectives and key activities for the Regional Cultural Consortia (RCCs) are agreed through their Funding Agreements with the Department. Their performance is monitored on an ongoing basis through regular feedback to my officials and reported on each year through the RCCs’ Annual Reports and Accounts.

The RCCs have also been periodically reviewed, in accordance with the business needs of my Department In early 2002, the RCCs underwent a review to assess the effectiveness of their operations. As recommended by the review, the Consortia were reconstituted as executive NDPBs and companies limited by guarantee in 2004.

My Department is currently conducting a review of all our regional arrangements with the aim of delivering a more effective and efficient regional infrastructure. The work of the RCCs is included in this review.

Regional Development Agencies: Tourism

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding his Department provided to the (a) Eastern, (b) East Midlands, (c) West Midlands and (d) South West regional development agencies in the last financial year; and what proportion of this funding to each agency was ring-fenced for tourism-related purposes. (201772)

[holding answer 25 April 2008]: Funding for regional development agencies (RDAs) is not ring-fenced for particular economic sectors, such as tourism. In 2007-08, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) contributed £3.6 million to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform’s (DBERR's) single programme budget (the “Single Pot”) in respect of the tourism responsibilities of the eight RDAs outside London. Tourism support expenditure by all the RDAs in 2007-08 is estimated at £43.5 million.

Regional Sports Boards: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the administrative budget of each regional sports board in England was in each of the last three years. (204151)

The budgets were as follows:

Part 3: RSB administration budget for last three years

Original budget for each year

Region

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

North East

16,000

16,000

15,000

Yorkshire

11,000

10,000

10,000

East Midlands

10,000

10,000

15,000

East

12,000

15,000

15,000

London

10,000

15,000

15,000

South East

12,000

15,000

15,000

South West

17,000

15,000

15,000

West Midlands

10,000

10,000

15,000

North West

20,004

17,500

15,000

Total

118,004

123,500

130,000

Taking Part Survey

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what changes are planned for the next Taking Part survey; and what the reasons for each change are; (202331)

(2) what changes he expects to be made to the Taking Part survey in 2008-09.

The Taking Part survey is run by DCMS in partnership with four of our NDPBs—Sport England, Arts Council England, English Heritage, and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. Together, we have committed to running the survey for a further three years, beginning in July 2008.

The survey enables us to understand and monitor people's engagement with DCMS sectors, and we are keen to maintain continuity with data already collected so that our knowledge builds over time. The survey methodology will therefore remain broadly similar to that of previous years, that is, continuous face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of adults aged 16 and above and children living in private households in England.

The new contract is currently being drafted and will determine the scope of the survey going forward. In response to the changing needs and strategic objectives of the survey's partners and stakeholders, our intention is to reduce the scale of the survey and revise the questions asked.

We have been interviewing around 28,000 people each year. However, this is likely to be halved as we no longer plan to measure small changes within sub-samples of the population. The reduction will also help to make cost savings.

We are also reviewing the questions that we ask respondents. Some questions will remain the same but through consultation with the survey's stakeholders and our own research and analysis we are identifying key questions that are necessary and relevant to DCMS and NDPB priorities.

The scope and questions will be finalised in the coming weeks and, following piloting, fieldwork for the new Taking Part survey will begin in July. The survey will continue to evolve throughout the contract period (2008 to 2011).

International Development

Departmental NDPBs

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many people were serving on the boards of the non-departmental public bodies which his Department sponsors at the latest date for which figures are available. (203730)

The Cabinet Office publication “Public bodies 2007” lists the number of people serving on the boards of public bodies as at 31 March 2007. These figures are broken down by individual Departments. “Public bodies 2007” can be downloaded from:

www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/public/bodies.asp

Copies are also available in the Library of the House.

Developing Countries: Malaria

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the Government has taken to reduce the number of children who die from malaria in developing countries since 1997. (203531)

Since 1997 the Department for International Development (DFID) has provided support for malaria control, targeted at both children and adults, through international organisations and partnerships, bilateral programmes and research. In April the Prime Minister announced that the UK will provide 20 million insecticide treated bed nets which are vital for protecting children from malaria and to prevent malaria deaths.

DFID is providing £1 billion by 2015 to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. To date the Fund has disbursed US$ 5.5 billion, 25 per cent. of which goes to malaria programmes. DFID has also provided £49 million to the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership which plays an important role in helping countries develop and secure finance for national malaria plans.

At the country level, DFID support in Kenya, Mozambique and Nigeria includes the treatment of children.

DFID provides over £16 million for new drug development through its support for the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, (DNDI) and the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV). Both are developing new malaria drugs.

Food: Prices

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the Government have taken to mitigate the effects of rising food prices on the populations of developing countries in the last 12 months. (203532)

The UK Government are very concerned about the effects of rising food prices on the poorest. There are already 850 million who do not get enough to eat, and as prices rise this number will increase. Our response has been short-term humanitarian aid to those most seriously affected as well as medium and longer-term strategies to assist the hungry.

Provisional figures for the 12 months up to March 2008 indicate that the Department for International Development (DFID) spent £342 million on humanitarian programmes, and much of this will have helped mitigate the effects of high food prices. A further £30 million was pledged to the World Food programme (WFP) last week. Our approach has prioritised protecting the extreme poor from the effects of high food prices. In Africa, DFID spent £50 million over the last year on social safety net programmes, which reach 10 million people in Ethiopia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Kenya. As part of our longer term work, DFID spends around £120 million a year directly on agriculture to help increase food production. Last week we announced an additional £400 million over the next five years to be spent on agricultural research.

International Assistance: Private Sector

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the Government have taken to involve private sector organisations in the facilitation of development in developing countries since 1999. (203533)

The UK Government work with developing country governments to support the growth of the private sector in their countries, and we fund a range of initiatives to encourage business to invest in key areas.

We are currently working with major companies on the business call to action and on May 6 we showcased concrete initiatives taken by leading companies to use their core business to promote growth and development.

The Department for International Development (DFID) has helped to establish and provides financing to the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa and the Private Infrastructure Development Group. Jointly with business we support the Investment Climate Facility for Africa, and recently announced the establishment of the International Growth Centre, which will deliver world class research and analytical and policy support to developing countries on growth.

DFID also works directly with individual companies and business organisations to maximise the impact of business on development. The UK Government launched the extractive industries transparency initiative in 2002 and are currently launching two new initiatives to promote transparency in the construction sector and the medicines sector—the construction sector transparency (CoST) initiative and the medicines transparency alliance (MeTA). DFID also supports the ethical trading initiative and the multi-fibre arrangement forum, both of which promote responsible and successful business practices.

Latin America: Children

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has discussed programmes which could be designed to reduce the flow of street children to Latin American cities with partner non-governmental organisations. (202700)

Neither I nor my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development have had discussions with partner non-governmental organisations about programmes which could be designed to reduce the flow of street children to Latin American cities. In Latin America we work through multilateral institutions such as the EC and World Bank and the plight of these vulnerable groups is an important priority in their programmes.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects are funded by his Department to assist street children in Latin America. (202701)

The Department for International Development is not currently funding any projects to assist street children in Latin America.

Overseas Aid

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of international aid requested from the UK by overseas countries was paid in each year between 1997 and 2007. (203814)

The Department for International Development (DFID) does not hold figures on the proportion of international aid requested from the UK by overseas countries that was paid in each year between 1997 and 2007.

However, the following was given by the UK in official development aid (ODA) in each year since 1997.

UK official development assistance, 1997 to 2007

£ millions

ODA

1997

2,096

1998

2,332

1999

2,118

2000

2,974

2001

3,170

2002

3,285

2003

3,834

2004

4,313

2005

5,925

2006

6,770

2007 (provisional)

4,957

Total 1997 to 2007

41,774

St. Helena: Airports

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made on the provision of an airport on the island of St Helena. (203725)

We have now completed the evaluation of the two bids received last November and are moving into a period of competitive negotiations with both contractors.

On the island, the formal procedure for applying to the Governor-in-Council for the granting of planning permission started on 5 May. A public information week will be held later in May as part of this process.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has made to the UNAMID force in Darfur on the numbers of women peacekeepers. (202498)

I have been asked to reply.

We have made representations to the UN and the African Union on the importance of an integrated mission plan to ensure that the civilian, police and military elements of the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) work closely together, including on gender issues. We have raised with international partners and the UN the need for the police component of UNAMID to be trained on community policing and gender-based violence. We continue to press all parties for the rapid deployment of an effective mission, and we welcome an increased representation of women peacekeepers within UNAMID.

Sudan: Sexual Offences

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what reports he has received of the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war in Darfur. (202497)

I have been asked to reply.

John Holmes, UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, briefed the UN Security Council on 22 April that there was evidence of high levels of sexual violence in West Darfur over the past two months.

The UK has called on the Government of Sudan, and the armed groups, to end the human rights abuses in Darfur. We are supporting the rapid and effective deployment of the UN African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) to protect internally displaced persons (IDP) and address the issue of violence against women. UNAMID has increased patrols to protect IDP gathering firewood and increased policing of IDP camps. We have raised with international partners and the UN the need for the police component of UNAMID to be trained on community policing and gender-based violence.

Children, Schools and Families

Antisocial Behaviour: Young People

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what authority police forces have to issue penalty notices for disorder to persons under 16 years of age. (203258)

The following legislation provides authority to police forces to issue penalty notices for disorder (PND) to persons under 16 years of age. Sections 1 to 11 Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 introduced PNDs. Section 87(2) Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 extended PNDs to 16 to 17-year-olds. Section 87(3) provided an order making power to extend the age range to no lower than 10 years of age. That power was exercised by statutory instrument 2004 No. 3166.

Assessments: Absenteeism

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools had over 5 per cent. absence levels from Key Stage 3 tests in the years 2005 to 2008; and if he will make a statement. (203145)

Information on schools’ Key Stage 3 (KS3) test absence levels for the years 2005-07 can be found on the Department’s Achievement and Attainment Tables website at:

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/performancetables/.

Information on schools’ KS3 test absence levels for the KS3 2008 tests will be published on the Achievement and Attainment Tables website in February 2009.

Cadets: Armed Forces

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many cadet forces were operating in maintained schools in the latest period for which figures are available. (201697)

I have been asked to reply.

There are currently 188 single Service Cadet Units, and 60 Combined Cadet Force (CCF) Contingents, in State (maintained) schools. The 60 CCFs represent 23 per cent. of the overall number of CCF contingents in schools.

Children in Care

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his most recent estimate is of the number of children in care in each local authority area (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of all children in the local authority area; and if he will make a statement. (201190)

Information on the number of children in care in each local authority area (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of all children in each local authority area has been placed in the House of Commons Library (table LAA1).

Table LAA1 is taken from the Statistical First Release entitled “Children looked after in England (including adoption and care leavers) year ending 31 March 2007”, which is located at:

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000741/index.shtml

and table LAA1 can be found within the first set of 10 additional tables supplementing SFR27/2007 on the website.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many cases of self-harm were diagnosed in children in care in each of the last 10 years; (203593)

(2) how many children in care were identified as gifted and talented in each year for which data is available;

(3) how many children in care had been separated from their siblings in each of the last 10 years.

Data on (a) the number of cases of self-harm that were diagnosed in children in care, (b) the number of children in care who were identified as gifted and talented and (c) the number of children in care that have been separated from their siblings are not collected centrally by the Department.

Local authorities have a legal duty to safeguard the children they look after and to promote their welfare. Discharging this duty includes making a full assessment of each individual child’s needs and ensuring that provision is put in place via the child’s care plan to meet those needs. This includes in relation to education and to mental health issues.

Local authorities are required by law to make arrangements for a looked-after child to live with their relatives (including siblings), so long as it is reasonably practicable and consistent with the child’s welfare to do so. Authorities are also required to promote contact between the child and their siblings, unless it is not reasonably practicable or consistent with their welfare to do so.

Children: Disabled

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when the implementation guide for Aiming High for Disabled Children's core offer will be published. (203689)

The implementation materials for the core offer, together with the national core offer, will be published on 15 May as part of the re-launch of the ‘Aiming High for Disabled Children’ section of the Every Child Matters website. The implementation materials, which pull together sets of existing guidance and examples of service delivery, will help local authority and primary care trusts implement the core offer locally.

Children: Prisoners

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what support the Government offers for children of prisoners; and if he will make a statement. (202992)

I have been asked to reply.

£5 million is spent each year to help offenders maintain positive ties with their children and families and to improve outcomes for the children of prisoners. Most prisons now have a visitor centre outside the gate, providing information and support for families. Over 100 prisons in England and Wales offer supervised play areas for some visits. Special visits are arranged which focus on the needs of the child. There is also provision for mothers to have young children with them in prison, where this is in the interests of the child.

Last year, the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Ministry of Justice conducted a priority joint review to improve support for the children of offenders. It concluded that parental imprisonment is a valuable opportunity to identify children at risk of poor outcomes and to offer them support. The findings, which were published in parallel with the “Think Family: Improving the life chances of families at risk” review, on 10 January 2008, can be found at:

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/~/media/assets/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/social_exclusion_task_force/think_families/offenders_review_080110%20pdf.ashx

As part of the “Think Family” approach, which includes the £16 million Family Pathfinder programme, the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Ministry of Justice are exploring better ways to meet a child’s needs when a parent goes to prison.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of children in (a) Basingstoke constituency, (b) Hampshire and (c) England had at least one parent who are in prison in each year since 1997. (202993)

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of children in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (b) Bexley borough had at least one parent in prison in each year since 1997. (203566)

I have been asked to reply.

Information on the number of children having a parent in prison is not collected centrally.

A 2003 resettlement survey of 1,945 adult British national sentenced prisoners showed the average number of children per prisoner was 0.87. Using this information it was estimated that during 2005, 160,000 children had a British national parent in prison at some time.

More detail on the 2003 survey is available in Home Office Research Findings 248 which is available on the RDS website:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/rfpubs1.html

Departmental Contracts

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what contracts were awarded by his Department to (a) KPMG, (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) McKinsey, (e) Deloitte and (f) other consultancy firms in each of the last 12 months; and what the (i) purpose and (ii) value was of each of these contracts. (196590)

The Department does not hold a comprehensive central record of contracts. Available records show the following contracts were awarded to the named organisations during the period April 2007 to January 2008. Further information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Organisation

Project/contract name

Start date

Estimated total value of contract (£)

KPMG

LCSB Priority Review

November 2007

1,000

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Teachers TV, Governance Review

April 2007

51,829

Evaluation of High Performing Specialist Schools

May 2007

239,930

Deputy Director for Educational Procurement Centre

May 2007

120,000

Evaluation of the Progression Pilot

August 2007

930,583

Educational Procurement Centre Events and Marketing Manager

August 2007

90,000

Teachers TV, Bid Evaluation (financial aspect)

August 2007

62,579

To carry out a review of the Languages Support Network

August 2007

66,000

Post-16 Statistical First Release review

September 2007

35,000

To gather a range of information from LA and schools in relation to contracts of employment, term time only formula, job descriptions and pay rates so that SSWG can move forward to develop a new pay and conditions framework for school support staff.

September 2007

112,746

State of the Market in Schools Improvement Services

October 2007

6,825

PWC Contact for Contact Point Centre for Excellence and Outcome grant, admin costs, running sourcing grant process

November 2007

103,107

End of Year Coaching

January 2008

23,500

Excel Training

January 2008

13,576

Ernst and Young

None recorded

McKinsey

None recorded

Deloitte

Staying Safe Good Practice Compendium

December 2007

34,870

Evaluation of Regional Commissioning pilots

October 2007

112,655

Contact Point Data Security Review

December 2007

140,999

Departmental Cost Effectiveness

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what Gershon savings his Department and its predecessor have made since 1 April 2005. (202107)

My Department is jointly committed with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), to the efficiency target set originally for the Department for Education and Skills (DfES).

The DfES target is 2.5 per cent. a year over the Spending Review 2004 period. This means being able to demonstrate cumulative gains against our baseline of £1.45 billion in 2005-06, £2.9 billion in 2006-07 and £4.35 billion in 2007-08.

Details of the specific initiatives which contribute to the joint DIUS/DCSF Gershon efficiency target are set out in the DfES Efficiency Technical Note, which is available on the DCSF’s website:

www.dcsf.gov.uk

My Department will be reporting progress towards the DfES Gershon target in the Departmental Report 2008. This is about to be published in May 2008. Progress towards the target was last reported in the DCSF Autumn Performance Report, published in December 2007.

Departmental Freedom of Information

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many freedom of information requests made to his Department were (a) answered (i) within 20 days, (ii) within 40 days, (iii) within 60 days, (iv) after 60 days, (b) not answered and (c) answered citing an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as a reason not to provide the requested information in each year since the Act came into force. (201719)

The Ministry of Justice has published two annual reports containing statistical information on freedom of information requests received by monitored bodies (including central Government Departments) in 2005 and 2006. These reports can be found at the following address:

http://www.dca.gov.uk/foi/reference/statisticsAndReports.htm

The 2007 annual report is currently being drafted for publication in June 2008. However, statistics on requests received in each quarter of 2007 have been published and can be found via the MOJ website:

http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/freedomof informationquarterlv.htm

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires public bodies to respond to written requests within 20 working days of receipt, but allows additional time for the consideration of the public interest in disclosing the requested information.

The published reports provide statistics on the number of “non-routine” requests received during each period where: an initial response was provided within 20 working days; an initial response was given outside this time but a public interest test extension had been applied; an initial response was given outside this time and no public interest test extension was applied, and where no initial response had been given at the time the statistics were collected.

The 2006 annual report provides statistics on the duration of the public interest test extensions in that year. Corresponding statistics for 2007 will be available when the 2007 annual report is published.

Information requests where deadlines were extended beyond 40 days is not collected in the form requested; however the proportion of resolvable requests the Department answered “in time” (i.e. meeting the deadline or with a permitted extension) in 2007 was 92 per cent.

For 2005 and 2006, the reports show the number of requests received by the Department which were withheld, either in full or in part, where an FOI exemption or EIR exception was applied. For 2007, the number of such requests was 66, based on aggregated quarterly statistics from 2007. Requests withheld solely under the exemption applicable to “information available by other means” are not included; statistics on these are not collected centrally because they are dealt with as routine business.

Females

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of permanent staff in his Department and its predecessors were female in each year since 1997. (202854)

The latest figures available (31 December 2007) show that my Department has 2,900 permanent staff, of which 1,693 are female representing 58 per cent. of all permanent staff.

The Department was formed as part of the Machinery of Government changes of 28 June 2007. It is therefore not exactly comparable to its predecessor, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), but figures for earlier years for DfES can be found in the Civil Service Statistics Archive:

http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/statistics/archive/index .asp

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of female permanent staff in his Department and its predecessors worked (a) part-time and (b) flexibly in each year since 1997. (202865)

The latest figures available (31 December 2007) record 2,900 permanent staff in my Department, of which 1,693 are female (58 per cent. of all permanent staff). Of these 411 worked part-time, representing 24 per cent. of all female permanent staff.

As well as part-time working, the Department encourages a range of other flexible working patterns for all staff, including flexitime. The Department was formed as part of the Machinery of Government changes of 28 June 2007. It is therefore not exactly comparable to its predecessor, the Department for Education and Skills, but it does build on a wide range of flexible working patterns first developed in the previous Department. Figures for earlier years can be found in the Civil Service Statistics Archive:

http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/statistics/archive/index.asp

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of female senior civil servants in his Department and its predecessors worked (a) part-time and (b) flexibly in each year since 1997. (202868)

At 31 December 2007 my Department had 48 female staff (45.3 per cent.) out of a total of 106 staff in the senior civil service. Four out of the 48 women (8.3 per cent.) in the senior civil service work part-time. In addition to part-time working, other flexible arrangements are available to staff.

The Department was formed as part of the Machinery of Government changes announced on 28 June 2007. Although not directly comparable due to staff changes, its predecessor was the Department for Education and Skills which had 131 staff in the senior civil service, of which 53 were female at December 2006. Seven out of 53 women (13.2 per cent.) worked part-time at that point. Figures for earlier years can be found in the Civil Service Statistics Archive:

http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/statistics/archive/index .asp

Foster Care

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what plans he has to implement multi-dimensional treatment foster care across England; what assessment he has made of the pilot schemes; and if he will make a statement. (203828)

Multidimensional treatment foster care (MTFC) is an intervention for looked after children and young people with complex needs who are already displaying severe levels of challenging and antisocial behaviour or who are experiencing high levels of placement instability. The first grant-funded pilot programmes were developed for adolescents and have been followed by those for younger children. The programme for adolescents is being rigorously evaluated through a randomised controlled trial (RCT). This is a complex evaluation as it is one of the first such trials to be conducted in services for looked after children and will report early in 2010. It will help us establish whether this treatment intervention is more effective and cost-effective than services as usual for this very vulnerable group of looked after children. Depending on the findings we will consider what further capacity should be developed to meet the needs of looked after children and young people. While waiting for the evaluation results we are conducting an annual audit of progress to provide feedback to pilot sites and learn from experiences to date.

Pre-school Education: Research

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department spent on research related to the education of children under the age of five in each of the last five years. (202875)

Figures on the Department’s expenditure on research on children and families, for each financial year since 2003, are given in the following table. These figures incorporate expenditure on research related to the education of children under the age of five.

£

2003-04

6,470,918

2004-05

10,709,782

2005-06

10,273,893

2006-07

12,073,234

2007-08

10,681,787

In 2007-08, approximately £5 million of this money was spent on research related to early years. Expenditure on research specifically related to the education of children under the age of five for earlier years could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

School Meals

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what regulations govern the supply of (a) subsidised and (b) free lunches by schools; and if he will make a statement. (202813)

There are no regulations governing the supply of subsidised school lunches.

Section 512ZA of the Education Act 1996, as amended by Section 201 of the Education Act 2002; The Education (Free School Lunches) (Prescribed Tax Credits) (England) Order 2003; and The Education (Free School Lunches) (State Pension Credit) Order 2005, covers free school lunches where a pupil has an entitlement.

Section 87 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 amended Sections 512ZA and 533 of the Education Act 1996, to change the duty placed on local authorities and school governing bodies to charge for school lunches into a power to charge. This enables them to provide school lunches free of charge if they choose to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what estimate he has made of margins of error in the collection of statistics on the take-up of school meals in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement; (203107)

(2) what methods have been used by the School Food Trust to assess the rate of take-up of school meals in (a) 2007 and (b) 2008 to date; and if he will make a statement.

We have made no estimate on the margin of error in the collection of statistics on the take-up of school meals in each of the last five years, as we do not collect these statistics. Since 2006, the School Food Trust (SFT) has undertaken an annual survey of local authorities, which has asked them to provide information about school lunch take-up, both primary and secondary, in their area.

Survey reports are available on the Trust’s website at:

http://www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/doc_item.asp?Docld=34&DocCatld=1

(2006) and

http://www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/doc_item.asp?Docld=55&DocCatld=1

(2007). The findings indicate the numbers of local authorities (LAs) and numbers of schools within those LAs to which the data on take up of meals relates.

The 2008 annual survey is under way. Questionnaires have been sent to all LAs in England. LAs have been asked to report take up data for all schools in their Authority. Results are expected in July.

Schools: Construction

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government has taken to reduce the administrative burden involved in the construction of new schools since 1997. (203733)

This Department does not determine the legislative framework for the construction industry. We are now providing record amounts of capital support for investment in schools, a sevenfold increase in real terms between 1997 and 2010. A key aim in providing this investment is to ensure the best value for money for the taxpayer. Some systems must be in place to ensure proper Government control of public finance. Areas which we must address include that local authorities have a robust strategic vision for the delivery of education in their areas, that the investment we are providing supports this and is prioritised to need, and that procurement efficiencies are achieved. Our aim is to keep requirements to a minimum commensurate with proper management.

Measures we have taken to keep bureaucracy to a minimum include:

reduction of bid-based capital allocations, with significant amounts allocated to schools and authorities each year by simple needs-related formulae, with three year certainty to support robust local planning and prioritisation;

local authority formulaic funding delivered through the Single Capital Pot to give local flexibility;

reduction of the amount of asset management data we require from authorities;

improvement and standardisation of Private Finance Initiative procedures;

setting up Partnerships for Schools to support the Department and local authorities in the delivery of Building Schools for the Future;

a new standardised procurement vehicle and processes for Building Schools for the Future investment, which Partnerships for Schools have reviewed and refined in consultation with stakeholders including the private sector;

significant simplification of the delivery of funding for the voluntary aided sector;

publication of innovative design guidance on many aspects of school buildings and facilities, including currently the development of Standard Specification Layouts and Dimensions guidance for components in school construction.

At all times, it is our intention to keep the management requirements for all programmes to a minimum, to provide effective guidance and support where it is needed, and to learn and improve continuously. For instance, by effective engagement with authorities about to enter Building Schools for the Future, Partnerships for Schools has shortened by six months their lead-in time.

SEEVIC College

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress has been made on the development proposals for SEEVIC College in Castle Point; and if he will make a statement. (203644)

I have been asked to reply.

SEEVIC college has prepared an application in principle for the redevelopment of its Benfleet campus. The application in principle is due to be submitted to the Learning and Skills Council local office before the end of May.

Teachers: Pay

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the minimum starting rate of pay was for a newly qualified teacher in each year since 1996, expressed in 2006-07 prices. (201043)

The information requested is given in the following table:

Comparison of teachers' pay 1996 to 2007—minimum starting pay for a newly qualified teacher

England and Wales

Inner London

Actual salary unadjusted for inflation (£)

Percentage increase in real terms since 1 April 1996

Actual salary unadjusted for inflation (£)

Percentage increase in real terms since 1 April 1996

1996

April

12,342

0.00

14,346

0.00

December

12,462

0.97

14,484

0.96

1997

April

12,711

0.06

14,772

0.04

December

12,873

1.34

14,961

1.32

1998

April

13,131

0.82

15,261

0.80

December

13,362

2.59

15,528

2.57

1999

April

14,658

10.31

16,899

9.41

2000

April

15,141

12.35

17,457

11.44

2001

April

16,038

16.22

19,038

18.69

2002

April

16,599

16.64

19,704

19.12

September

17,595

23.64

20,700

25.14

2003

April

18,105

23.64

21,522

26.44

2004

April

18,558

23.33

22,059

26.11

2005

April

19,023

23.75

22,611

26.54

September

19,161

24.65

23,001

28.73

2006

September

19,641

24.36

23,577

28.43

2007

September

20,133

23.46

24,168

27.50

Source:

Deflator series: 28 March 2008, 2006-07 prices

Teachers: Training

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government is taking to provide training in dealing with bereaved children to teachers. (202855)

The Qualified Teacher Status standards require that all trainees know how to identify and support children and young people whose progress, development or well being is affected by changes or difficulties in their personal circumstances and when to refer them to colleagues for specialist support.

Video Games: Violence

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent estimate he has made of the cost of implementing the recommendations of the Byron review. (203236)

The Government accepted all the recommendations made in the Byron Review report ‘Safer Children in a Digital World,’ published on 27 March 2008. In a written ministerial statement on the same date, we committed to producing a comprehensive action plan in response to the recommendations. In developing that plan, the cost of implementation, as well as lead responsibilities and key delivery milestones, will be given more detailed consideration. The action plan will be published in due course. Taking forward the Review’s recommendations will not always involve new or discreet action. In many areas Dr. Byron recommended building e-safety into planned activities and services for which funding has already been agreed, for example, that existing information services for parents should include advice on e-safety.

Written Questions: Government Responses

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he will reply to question 200315 on trust schools, tabled on 22 April 2008 by the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton. (203956)

Young People: Crime Prevention

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he is taking to engage young people and members of the public in the preparation of the Youth Crime Action Plan. (203235)

I have been asked to reply.

The views of the public and young people are central to the development of the Youth Crime Action Plan. Young people are often the group most concerned about crime and are frequently victims.

In May we are planning a series of seminars with young people to engage with them and ask for views on the work being done on the Youth Crime Action Plan.

The Home Office and Design Alliance are also consulting young people about staying safe as part of their joint work on the Technology and Design Alliance. The alliance is working with Government to raise the profile of the role that design can play in combating crime and antisocial behaviour.

We have also been taking into account views of both young people and members of the public through qualitative research being undertaken by the Department for Children, Schools and Families exploring how best to tackle negative perceptions of young people. The results are being used to ensure the Youth Crime Action Plan tackles issues of importance to members of the public and young people and helps to address concerns regarding young people’s behaviour.

Innovation, Universities and Skills

Departmental NDPBs

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people were serving on the boards of the non-departmental public bodies which his Department sponsors at the latest date for which figures are available. (203727)

The Cabinet Office publication “Public Bodies 2007” lists the number of people serving on the boards of public bodies as at 31 March 2007. These figures are broken down by individual Departments. As my Department was created by machinery of government changes in June 2007, its non-departmental public bodies are listed within those of its predecessor Departments, namely the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department for Education and Science.

For ease of reference, the relevant non-departmental public bodies are as follows:

British Hallmarking Council

Commission for Employment and Skills (Executive Non-Departmental Public Body and Company Limited by Guarantee)

Design Council

Higher Education Funding Council for England

Learning and Skills Council

National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts

Office for Fair Access

Research Councils

Student Loans Company

Technology Strategy Board

Council for Science and Technology

“Public Bodies 2007” can be downloaded from www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/public/bodies.asp. Copies are also available in the Library of the House.

Higher Education: Admissions

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people aged (a) over 25 and (b) over 30 years enrolled on a first degree course in a higher education institution in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. (202200)

The latest available information is given in the table. Comparable figures for the 2007-08 academic year will be available in January 2009.

UK domiciled entrants1 to first degree courses by age English higher education institutions, academic years 1997-98 to 2006-07

Academic year

25 and under

26 to 30

Over 252

Over 302

All entrants

1997-98

213,805

16,875

48,930

32,055

262,735

1998-99

210,985

15,530

46,475

30,950

257,460

1999-2000

212,465

14,100

43,900

29,800

256,365

2000-01

212,900

12,625

40,780

28,155

253,680

2001-02

223,035

13,080

43,520

30,445

266,555

2002-03

233,330

13,245

44,215

30,970

277,545

2003-043

241,180

17,970

65,135

47,165

306,310

2004-05

245,215

18,805

67,570

48,765

312,785

2005-06

261,970

18,900

67,115

48,215

329,085

2006-07

250,300

17,335

60,680

43,345

310,980

1 Includes entrants to both full-time and part-time courses.

2 These columns contain double counting as entrants aged over 30 are shown in both.

3 For years earlier than 2003-04, figures for the Open University have been excluded as they are not available separately for first degree entrants, only for all undergraduates. From 2003-04 onwards, figures for first degree entrants are available and have been included. Therefore, figures before 2003-04, and figures from 2003-04 onwards, cannot be directly compared.

Note:

Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December excluding those writing up, on sabbatical or dormant and are rounded to the nearest five.

Source:

Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Latest figures from UCAS, covering applicants to full-time undergraduate courses only, show that, after the small downturn in 2006, applicants who were accepted for entry in 2007 increased. For accepted applicants from the UK, figures show a rise of 5.5 per cent. to 364,500, with those from England showing a 6.1 per cent. rise to 307,000, the highest ever.

Latest figures for students applying for entry in 2008, show as at the end of March, applicants to full-time undergraduate courses show a year-on-year rise of 5.5 per cent., with those from England up by 6.2 per cent.

Students: Loans

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) if he will estimate the cost of raising the student loan repayment income threshold to £20,000 and introducing thresholds and rates of student loan repayments of (a) five per cent. on incomes of £20,000 to £29,999 and (b) 7.5 per cent. on incomes over £30,000; and if he will make a statement; (203154)

(2) if he will estimate the cost of raising the student loan repayment income threshold to £25,000 and introducing thresholds and rates of student loan repayments of (a) five per cent. on incomes of £25,000 to £29,999 and (b) 7.5 per cent. on incomes over £30,000; and if he will make a statement.

Introducing repayment thresholds of £20,000 and £30,000 with corresponding repayment rates of 5 per cent. and 7.5 per cent. would have an estimated one-off resource cost of £2 billion (for existing loans) and an ongoing resource cost of £700 million per year (for new loans).

Introducing repayment thresholds of £25,000 and £30,000 with corresponding repayment rates of 5 per cent. and 7.5 per cent. would have an estimated one-off resource cost of £3.2 billion (for existing loans) and an ongoing resource cost of £1.1 billion per year (for new loans).

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.

Olympics

Departmental Domestic Visits

To ask the Minister for the Olympics on how many occasions she visited (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland in an official capacity in the last 12 months. (204390)

Since my appointment in June 2007,1 have visited Scotland once and will be visiting Northern Ireland next month. I plan to visit Wales in the near future.

Olympic Delivery Authority: Manpower

To ask the Minister for the Olympics what proportion of staff working for the Olympic delivery authority are (a) women and (b) men. (204122)

As of March 2008 the percentage of women directly employed by the Olympic delivery authority was 47.8 per cent. and the percentage of men was 52.2 per cent.

Olympic Games 2012: Red Arrows

To ask the Minister for the Olympics whether she has invited the Red Arrows to perform at the 2012 Olympics. (203808)

It is not the job of the Government to make decisions about which organisations should perform at the 2012 Olympics. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic games and Paralympic games has the responsibility for deciding what to include in celebrations during the 2012 games. With four years to go, decisions are yet to be made on who will participate in the celebrations, but we want to make sure that they will be a spectacular showcase of Britain's best. I have made it clear many times that reports that the Government have banned the Red Arrows from being part of celebrations in 2012 are wholly without foundation.

Work and Pensions

Departmental Consultants

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consultancy contracts his Department issued in each year since 2005; what the (a) value, (b) purpose and (c) contractor was in each case; and whether the consultant's report is publicly available in each case. (181899)

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 13 December 2007, Official Report, columns 792-96W. New contracts entered into since that date are as shown in the following table.

Information on contracts entered into since 2005 but which were no longer current in December 2007 could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Reports are not necessarily produced for all consultancy commissions. The Department does not generally publish reports prepared by consultants that it has engaged.

Employment

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the performance has been of the City Strategy pilot programmes in improving employment and skills outcomes. (203349)

The evaluation of the City Strategy will consider the performance of the Pathfinders in improving employment and skills outcomes. The report is due in the autumn of 2009.

Income Support: Mortgages

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what proportion of recipients of income support mortgage interest (ISMI) were also (a) income support, (b) income-based jobseekers allowance and (c) pension credit recipients in each year since 1990; and what proportion of ISMI expenditure was on each group in each year since 1990, broken down by (i) parliamentary constituency and (ii) region; (196678)

(2) how many people on (a) income support, (b) income-based jobseekers allowance and (c) pension credit received income support mortgage interest in each year since 1995, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Information is not available in the format requested. Recipient information is not available for pension credit. The available recipient information for income support and jobseeker’s allowance has been placed in the Library. The requested information on expenditure is not available other than at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed income support mortgage interest in each year between 1990 and 1995; at what cost; what the average payment was; and what the average length of claim was. (196679)

Income: Graduates

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average income of graduates was in each region of England in each year since 1997. (201560)

Average (median) weekly gross income for graduates is shown in the following table.

Median weekly gross income for graduates (3-year averages), by Government office region, 1998-99 to 2005-06, in 2005-06 prices

£

Government office region

1998-99 to 2000-01

1999-2000 to 2001-02

2000-01 to 2002-03

2001-02 to 2003-04

2002-03 to 2004-05

2003-04 to 2005-06

North-east

411

402

423

441

459

448

North-west

430

434

448

455

456

454

Merseyside, Yorks and Humberside

411

406

421

441

441

440

East midlands

426

439

433

433

443

461

West midlands

454

450

445

455

456

446

Eastern

470

480

488

496

497

497

London

476

495

506

504

486

500

South-east

485

504

509

507

509

502

South-west

414

428

441

444

447

438

Wales

414

404

425

415

415

404

Scotland

440

451

451

458

457

462

Northern Ireland

430

432

Notes:

1. The information shown is for the United Kingdom from 2002/03 onwards. Earlier years are Great Britain only. Qualifications data are not available before 1998-99.

2. The results are based on survey data so are subject to sampling variability.

3. Graduates include anyone with educational and vocational degree level qualifications, in line with established definitions.

4. Weekly income amounts have been rounded to the nearest whole pound.

5. Median incomes have been presented. We have used median rather than mean as a measure of average incomes because they are less influenced by extreme values.

6. Three year averages of median incomes are presented as single year estimates are considered too volatile. These figures have been adjusted to account for the effect of inflation. This is consistent with the presentation of median incomes in the Households Below Average Income Publication.

7. The estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors that align the FRS to Government office region populations by age and sex. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining response bias.

Source:

Family Resources Survey, 1998-99 to 2005-06

Jobcentre Plus

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance is given to Job Centres on responding to those seeking to advertise vacancies for jobs in the so-called sex industry; and if he will make a statement. (203724)

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 Leslie Strathie, dated 7 May 2008:

The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the guidance given to Jobcentre Plus staff when responding to employers seeking to advertise vacancies in the so-called sex industry. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.

Jobcentre Plus is obliged to provide a free public employment service to help people seeking work and employers fill their vacancies. As part of this, Jobcentre Plus advertises all kinds of vacancies, including those from within the adult entertainment industry, provided they comply with civil and criminal law. To refuse to advertise vacancies that comply with civil and criminal law would place us at significant risk of legal challenge. To put this in context, adult entertainment vacancies make up less than 0.016% of all vacancies advertised by Jobcentre Plus.

Having said that, we recognise the sensitivities associated with working in the adult entertainment industry and have put in place a number of safeguards all of which are detailed in staff guidance to make sure customers are completely aware of the nature of specific vacancies and are able to make fully informed decisions about the suitability of a particular job. These include:

a strap line on the vacancy, stating it is unsuitable for people under the age of 18;

a detailed description of the vacancy and associated activities;

discussing these vacancies only with people who enquire about them or who have been employed previously within the industry; and

not obliging anyone to enquire about or apply for these type of vacancies (anyone is free to refuse to consider them without implications for their benefit).

These safeguards were strengthened recently by some additional checks for employers notifying vacancies where physical contact might be involved, for example escort work and working in a massage parlour or a sauna, to ensure that it is not of a sexual nature. These additional checks are as follows:

before a vacancy is advertised, employers must complete and return a statement, confirming the vacancy does not involve contact of a sexual nature;

once advertised, Jobcentre Plus will, as part of a routine 48-hour courtesy call to employers, confirm nothing illegal was subsequently found to be part of the job requirements;

Jobcentre Plus contacts people it knows have applied for such vacancies to see if anything illegal was subsequently found to be part of the job requirements;

the service is withdrawn from any employer and we will inform the police if we believe the employer is involved in the provision of an illegal service.

In addition to the above, if we receive a complaint from a jobseeker about the activities they have been asked to undertake, no further vacancies are accepted until an investigation into the exact nature of the work has been carried out. If it were found that an employer was involved in the provision of illegal activities, we would withdraw the service.

We take every care to make sure the vacancies we handle meet appropriate legal standards. Without a clear reason to believe a particular employer is engaged in anything unlawful, we are not able to refuse to handle their vacancies.

Jobcentre Plus: Standards

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the performance of Jobcentre Plus in finding employment for those who had previously worked with salaries of £50,000 or higher. (202775)

The information requested is not available. Jobcentre Plus does not categorise individuals by their previous salary when recording its performance in helping people back into work.

Personal Income

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average family income was in each region of England in each year since 1997. (201561)

Average (median) gross weekly income for families is shown in the following table.

Median weekly gross income for families (3-year averages), by Government office region, 1997-98 to 2005-06, in 2005-06 prices

£

Government office region

1997-98 to 1999-2000

1998-99 to 2000-01

1999-2000 to 2001-02

2000-01 to 2002-03

2001-02 to 2003-04

2002-03 to 2004-05

2003-04 to 2005-06

North-east

236

247

262

275

279

282

286

North-west

262

275

287

300

308

312

315

Merseyside, Yorks and Humberside

260

275

287

301

306

315

321

East midlands

284

290

306

314

328

333

335

West midlands

282

294

305

315

318

319

318

Eastern

341

357

374

387

386

385

388

London

311

333

350

368

372

373

381

South-east

359

380

396

407

411

419

421

South-west

299

310

322

337

346

356

363

Wales

251

256

268

281

295

305

309

Scotland

265

271

280

292

302

309

316

Northern Ireland

289

289

Notes:

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

2. The results are based on survey data so are subject to sampling variability.

3. Weekly income amounts have been rounded to the nearest whole pound.

4. Median incomes have been presented. We have used median rather than mean as a measure of average incomes because they are less influenced by extreme values.

5. Three year averages of median incomes are presented as single year estimates are considered too volatile. These figures have been adjusted to account for the effect of inflation. This is consistent with the presentation of median incomes in the Households Below Average Income publication.

6. A family is defined as ‘a single adult or a couple living as married and any dependant children’. From January 2006 same-sex civil partners are also included in the same benefit unit.

7. The estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors that align the FRS to Government office region populations by age and sex. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining response bias.

Source:

Family Resources Survey, 1997-98 to 2005-06

Social Security Benefits: Overseas Residence

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of (a) the disability living allowance care component, (b) incapacity benefit, (c) the state pension and (d) bereavement benefit he estimates are living in other European economic area (EEA) states and Switzerland. (201444)

The most recent available information is in the following table.

Cases in payment in the European economic area and Switzerland

Number

Disability living allowance care component (at 4 October 2007)

110

Incapacity benefit (at 8 April 2008)

10,180

State pension (at 8 April 2008)

374,120

Bereavement benefits (at 8 April 2008)

1,055

Note:

Figures have been rounded to the nearest five.

Source:

DMS MOP scan

State Retirement Pensions

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer, net of savings in means-tested benefits and additional tax revenues, of paying a full basic state pension to each individual, regardless of contribution record, at the rate of the guarantee credit, from the age of (a) 68, (b) 69 and (c) 70 years of age from 2010; and if he will estimate in each case the cost in each of the following four years on the assumption that the pension was then indexed to earnings. (200641)

The information requested is in the following table.

Estimated net additional annual cost of paying a full basic state pension to all individuals aged (a) 68 years or over, (b) 69 years or over, and (c) 70 years or over, regardless of their national insurance contribution records, at the rate of the guarantee credit, from 2010

£ billion—2008-09 prices

(a)

(b)

(c)

2010

12

11

10

2011

13

12

11

2012

13

12

11

2013

14

13

11

2014

15

13

12

Notes:

1. Estimates have been rounded to the nearest £ billion and are presented in financial years (e.g. 2010 refers to the financial year 2010-11).

2. Estimates relate to individuals living in the United Kingdom.

3. The guarantee credit level has been defined as the standard minimum guarantee for a single pensioner with no additional premiums (i.e. currently £124.05 per week), increased by average earnings in future years. Treasury economic assumptions have been used to model earnings uprating.

4. The estimates are presented net of savings in income related benefits and additional tax revenues, which have been estimated using the Department’s Policy Simulation Model.

Source:

DWP modelling

Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

Business: Females

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much funding his Department is providing to support women’s enterprise in 2008-09; and if he will make a statement. (203666)

The Government are determined that we maximise the untapped economic dividend for the UK from increasing female entrepreneurship rates. The US has 20 per cent. more businesses per head than the UK. A significant proportion of this gap is explained by much lower rates of women’s entrepreneurial activity in the UK. This goes to the heart of the UK’s productivity and competitiveness.

This Department’s funding for the delivery of support services for women’s and other enterprises, is channelled through the Regional Development Agencies, via the Single Programme Budget, to enable them to achieve their regional priorities identified in their strategies, including supporting the development and growth of women’s enterprise.

The RDAs are our key partners in promoting enterprise and we are working with them in implementing the measures on women’s enterprise announced as part of the Government’s Enterprise Strategy. Those measures include provision for: £12.5 million of Government capital through a women’s investment fund; women’s business centre pilots; enhanced mentoring support; a new national enterprise centre of expertise; and activity aimed at opening up procurement opportunities to women-owned businesses. More information on the Strategy is available at:

www.berr.gov.uk/enterprisestrategy

Carbon Emissions: Buildings

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what proportion of national aggregate carbon dioxide emissions emitted were attributable to energy consumption within buildings in each of the last five years; and what proportion of that figure comprised emissions from private households. (202996)

I have been asked to reply.

The information requested is provided in the following table. It is not possible to separate energy consumption for the purposes of heating and lighting in the industrial sector from energy consumption for other purposes (e.g. machinery, incineration). Therefore, the numbers given apply only to the commercial, public and residential sectors.

More details on the sources of UK CO2 emissions can be found in The Annual Report to Parliament 2007.

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Total UK carbon dioxide emissions (million tonnes)

543.8

555.9

557.0

557.3

556.5

Emissions from buildings in commercial sector (million tonnes)

52.0

55.1

54.5

54.5

56.2

Emissions from buildings in public sector (million tonnes)

20.7

20.8

21.6

21.5

21.5

Emissions from buildings in the residential sector (million tonnes)

146.3

149.5

150.7

147.3

146.7

Total Building Emissions

219

225.4

226.5

223.3

224.4

The total CO2 emissions from buildings accounted for about 40 per cent. of total UK CO2 emissions (26.4 per cent. from the residential sector) in 2006.

Emissions figures are provided on an ‘end user’ basis, while emissions from power stations are allocated to the buildings in which the electricity generated is consumed.

Certification Officer: Pay

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many people employed by the Office of the Certification Officer had salaries between (a) £20,000 to £30,000, (b) £30,000 to £40,000, (c) £40,000 to £50,000, (d) £50,000 to £60,000, (e) £60,000 to £70,000, (f) £70,000 to £80,000, (g) £80,000 to £90,000, (h) £90,000 to £100,000, (i) £100,000 to £110,000, (j) £110,000 to £120,000, (k) £120,000 to £130,000, (l) £130,000 to £140,000, (m) £140,000 to £150,000, (n) £150,000 to £160,000, (o) £160,000 to £170,000, (p) £170,000 to £180,000, (q) £180,000 to £190,000, (r) £190,000 to £200,000 and (s) over £200,000 in each year since it was established; and what the (i) mean and (ii) median salary of employees was in each such year. (198496)

The Certification Office has provided the following details dating back to financial year 2001-02. They do not contain information relating to the Certification Officer himself because he is an office holder. Details of his remuneration are published each year in his annual report.

The Certification Office was established in 1975. It is not possible to provide details for the period 1975 to 2000-01 without incurring disproportionate cost.

£20,000-£30,000

£30,001-£40,000

£40,001-£50,000

£50,001 +

2001-02

6

1

1

0

2002-03

5

2

1

0

2003-04

3

3

1

0

2004-05

3

5

1

0

2005-06

3

5

1

0

2006-07

3

5

1

0

2007-08

3

4

2

0

Median

Mean

2001-02

26,872

26,402

2002-03

27,997

27,905

2003-04

26,983

26,670

2004-05

32,158

29,526

2005-06

25,633

25,699

2006-07

26,282

27,068

2007-08

33,873

31,423

Export Credits Guarantee Department: Environment Protection

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what account the Export Credits Guarantee Department takes of (a) the social and environmental impacts of proposed projects, (b) the domestic policies of the partner government and (c) the partner government's international commitments on (i) climate change, (ii) biodiversity and (iii) sustainable development when determining its commitment to projects; and if he will make a statement. (201446)

ECGD's business principles state that ECGD will:

“screen applications for cover to identify, and then analyse, any adverse or beneficial environmental, social or human rights aspects of relevant projects”

and

“determine the acceptability of applications for cover, taking account of appropriate external standards”.

The implementation of the business principles in relation to environmental issues is described further in ECGD's case impact analysis process (CIAP), which is published on the ECGD website. The CIAP states that:

“In processing applications for support, ECGD will also take account of applicable (UK) Government policies and initiatives on the environment, sustainable development, and human rights.”

Host country requirements are taken into consideration in processing applications for ECGD support. ECGD will normally seek to apply the higher of relevant domestic requirements or international standards.

http://www.ecgci.gov.uk/ecgd_case_impact_analysis_process-may_2004-4.pdf

Legal Profession

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the value of the contracts awarded by his Department to (a) Christine Lee and Co. solicitors, (b) Ward Hadaway solicitors, (c) Dean and Dean solicitors and (d) Lawford Kidd solicitors was in each of the last five years for which figures are available. (201634)

Central records indicate that the value of contracts awarded by the Department to the providers listed in each of the last five years was:

Provider

Contract value (£)

2006-07

Ward Hadaway

4,877

2007-08

Ward Hadaway

22,532

2004-05

Lawford Kidd

2,250

Where a supplier is not listed there has been no expenditure. The Department has not made any payments to Christine Lee and Co. solicitors and Dean and Dean solicitors.

London Development Agency: Mandate Communications

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what payments the London Development Agency made to Mandate Communications and AS Biss in each of the last five years; on what dates; and for what purpose in each case. (202250)

My Department does not hold records of the payments that London Development Agency makes to individual companies.

Migrant Workers: Pay

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps his Department takes against employers who offer housing to immigrant workers and deduct more than the legally permissible offset from their salaries as payment. (200081)

Under the national minimum wage legislation, accommodation is the only benefit in kind which can count against the minimum wage. The amount that can count towards minimum wage pay is set by Government, and is currently £4.30 per day, rising to £4.46 in October 2008.

Arrears are due when an employer has not paid minimum wage as a result of a failure to properly apply the accommodation offset. We are strengthening our enforcement provisions through the Employment Bill, including providing for a penalty for all employers found to have underpaid their workers and a fairer system of calculating arrears.

Motor Vehicles: Fuels

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of litres, to the nearest million, of vehicle fuel sold in the UK in each of the last five years. (203813)

HM Revenue and Customs publish monthly clearances data (quantities released for consumption) on their website, http://www/uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=bulloil. Their latest figures are in the table as follows.

Consumption of Road Fuel

Million litres

Motor Spirit

DERV

2003

27,389

21,047

2004

27,025

22,160

2005

25,608

23,201

2006

24,629

24,117

2007 (provisional)

23,892

25,129

Note:

Biofuels are not included

Source:

HM Revenue and Customs

OECD: Seoul

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which Ministers will attend the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s internet governance meeting in Seoul in June 2008. (202895)

[holding answer 1 May 2008]: A UK Minister will not be attending the OECD Ministerial Conference on the Future of the Internet Economy in Seoul. The UK delegation will be led by Mr. David Hendon, Head of Business Relations, BERR.

Ordnance Survey

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the primary role of Ordnance Survey’s Shareholder Executive is. (203429)

[holding answer 6 May 2008]: The Shareholder Executive is responsible for advising Ministers from the Department for Communities and Local Government directly on the management of their shareholding and financial interests in Ordnance Survey, and managing the relationship with Ordnance Survey on all shareholder and financial issues.

Post Offices

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will place in the Library a copy of the datasets on road distance to a post office or sub-post office for lower layer super output areas provided by the Post Office to assist the compilation of the Index of Deprivation for (a) 2007 and (b) 2004. (202822)

This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of POL, to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many post office branches there were in each local authority area in England in each year since 1996-97. (202966)

This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of POL, to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Post Offices: Closures

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what proportion of post offices proposed for closure are run from (a) leasehold and (b) freehold properties. (202867)

This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of POL, to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Renewable Energy: Housing

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what maximum grant was available to individual households under the low carbon buildings programme for (A) solar photovoltaics, (b) wind turbines, (c) small hydro, (d) solar thermal hot water, (e) ground source heat pumps, (f) biomass room heaters and stoves and (g) wood-fuelled boiler systems in (i) 2006 and (ii) 2007. (202192)

The maximum grants available to individual households under the low carbon grants scheme in 2006 and 2007 were as follows:

Level of grant up to 31 March 2007

Product

Percentage grant available (Percentages relate to eligible costs)

Solar Photovoltaics

To 31 March 2007:Maximum 3,000 per kWp installed up to a maximum of £15,000 subject to an overall 50 per cent. limit of the installed cost (exclusive of VAT).

Wind turbines

Maximum £1,000 per kW installed, up to a maximum of £5,000 subject to an overall 30 per cent. limit of the installed cost (exclusive of VAT)

Small hydro

Maximum £1,000 per kW installed, up to a maximum of £5,000 subject to an overall 30 per cent. limit of the installed cost (exclusive of VAT)

Solar thermal hot water

Maximum £400 regardless of size subject to an overall 30 per cent. limit (exclusive of VAT)

Ground/water/air source heat pumps

Maximum £1,200 regardless of size subject to an overall 30 per cent. limit (exclusive of VAT)

Bio-energy:

1 .Room Heater/Stoves automated wood pellet feed

Maximum £600 regardless of size subject to an overall 20 per cent. limit (exclusive of VAT)

2. Wood fuelled boiler systems

Maximum £1,500 regardless of size subject to an overall 30 per cent. limit (exclusive of VAT)

The grant levels from May 2007 to date are as follows:

Levels of grant post 31March 2007

Technology

Maximum Amount of Grant

Solar photovoltaics

Maximum of £2,000 per kW of installed capacity, subject to an overall maximum of £2,500 or 50 per cent. of the relevant eligible costs, whichever was the lower.

Wind turbines

Maximum of £1,000 per kW of installed capacity, subject to an overall maximum of £2,500 or 30 per cent. of the relevant eligible costs, whichever was the lower

Small hydro

Maximum of £1,000 per kW of installed capacity, subject to an overall maximum of £2,500 or 30 per cent. of the relevant eligible costs, whichever was the lower

Solar thermal hot water

Overall maximum of £400 or 30 per cent. of the relevant eligible costs, whichever was the lower.

Ground source heat

Overall maximum of £1,200 or 30 per cent. of the relevant eligible costs, whichever was the lower.

Automated wood pellet fed room heaters/stoves

Overall maximum of £600 or 20 per cent. of the relevant eligible costs, whichever was the lower.

Wood fuelled boiler

Overall maximum of £1,500 or 30per cent. of the relevant eligible costs, whichever was the lower

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what maximum grant will be available to individual households under the low carbon buildings programme for (a) solar photovoltaics, (b) wind turbines, (c) small hydro, (d) solar thermal hot water, (e) ground source heat pumps, (f) biomass room heaters and stoves and (g) wood-fuelled boiler systems in (i) 2008, (ii) 2009 and (iii) 2010. (202193)

From May 2007 to date under the low carbon buildings programme household stream the current maximum grant per household is £2,500. The specific grant levels are set out on the low carbon buildings programme website:

http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/how/householders/

There are no plans to change the grant cap or the grant levels. The programme has been extended to June 2010 or until funds are exhausted whichever comes sooner. We will continue to monitor uptake to the domestic stream going forward.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what his Department's expenditure on grants for households under the low carbon buildings programme for (a) solar photovoltaics, (b) wind turbines, (c) small hydro, (d) solar thermal hot water, (e) ground source heat pumps, (f) biomass room heaters and stoves and (g) wood-fuelled boiler systems was in (i) 2006 and (ii) 2007. (202194)

Under the low carbon buildings programme household stream the total grants paid in 2006 was £1,012,021 and £5,218,922 in 2007.

Further information and breakdown of grants paid for each technology is available on the low carbon buildings programme website:

http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/info/stats/

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many grants were allocated to households by his Department under the low carbon buildings programme for (a) solar photovoltaics, (b) wind turbines, (c) small hydro, (d) solar thermal hot water, (e) ground source heat pumps, (f) biomass room heaters and stoves and (g) wood-fuelled boiler systems was in (i) 2006 and (ii) 2007. (202195)

Under the low carbon buildings programme household stream the total value of grant committed in 2006 was £4,560,706 and £2,662,791 in 2007.

Further information and breakdown of grants paid for each technology is available on the low carbon buildings programme website

http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/info/stats/

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what his Department's budget for household grants under the low carbon buildings programme for (a) solar photovoltaics, (b) wind turbines, (c) small hydro, (d) solar thermal hot water, (e) ground source heat pumps, (f) biomass room heaters and stoves and (g) wood-fuelled boiler systems is for (i) 2008 (ii) 2009 and (iii) 2010. (202196)

The Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) Phase 1 has a £36 million budget over three years. We did not set yearly allocations or specific amounts of funding for individual technologies.

The programme has been extended to June 2010 (or until funds are exhausted whichever comes sooner) with the remaining £10 million budget covering the range of technologies.

Justice

Convictions: Genetics

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to review the cases of those convicted of serious crimes on the basis of low template DNA evidence; and if he will make a statement. (201981)

The Government have no plans to review convictions involving the use of low template DNA evidence. A review of low template DNA techniques, commissioned by the Independent Forensic Science Regulator and led by Professor Brian Caddy, Emeritus Professor of Forensic Science at Strathclyde university, was published on 11 April. The overall finding of the review is that the science supporting the delivery of low template DNA profiling is sound. Any individual who alleges that he or she is the victim of a miscarriage of justice may apply to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, an independent body, for it to consider the case. The Commission has the power to refer any cases where there is a real possibility that the conviction or sentence will not be upheld to the appropriate court, which will treat the reference as a new appeal.

Courts

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will consider the merits of introducing a mechanism to measure levels of public confidence in the court system. (203313)

The British Crime Survey (BCS) has been used to measure public confidence in aspects of the Criminal Justice System since 2001. In October 2007, new questions were introduced into the survey which will provide information about public confidence in the fairness and effectiveness of the courts.

Crime: Victims

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 31 March 2008, Official Report, column 555W, on crime: victims, what form the recruitment exercise for a commissioner for victims and witnesses took; what steps his Department has taken to make an appointment since 2006; and what future options for the role of commissioner are under consideration. (203163)

The recruitment exercise for the role of Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses was carried out according to the code of practice for public appointments and used an executive recruitment agency (Veredus) who specialise in public appointments. This included public advertisements in relevant publications and an executive search targeting individuals perceived to be of the right calibre for the role.

We are still undertaking analysis to inform options for the role. The Office For Criminal Justice Reform is consulting with a number of relevant stakeholders (including the Victims Advisory Panel) and will be putting advice up to Ministers in due course.

Criminal Proceedings: Genetics

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what research his Department (a) has commissioned and (b) plans to commission on the use of DNA mixtures evidence in court proceedings; (201451)

(2) what guidance his Department has issued to the courts on the use of low-tech DNA evidence in cases before the courts.

The Ministry of Justice has not commissioned any research on the use of DNA mixtures evidence in criminal proceedings, and has no plans to do so. Nor is it our practice to issue guidance to the courts on how to evaluate the admissibility of different kinds of evidence. However, the Independent Forensic Science Regulator will shortly be publishing a full response to the independent review “A Review of the Science of Low Template DNA Analysis”, which recommended the development of guidance on DNA technology for the use of participants in the criminal justice system generally. Furthermore, guidance on low copy number DNA evidence was issued jointly by the Crown Prosecution Service, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Interim Forensic Science Regulator to Crown prosecutors on 28 January 2008. It is available on the CPS website at:

http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/prosecution/lcn_checklist.html.

Departmental Closed Circuit Television

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the extent to which closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) operated (a) by and (b) on behalf of his Department comply (i) with the Data Protection Act 1998, (ii) the CCTV Code of Practice published by the Information Commissioner and (iii) relevant BSI standards. (203246)

All CCTV systems installed in Ministry of Justice buildings are required to comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act and the CCTV Code of Practice published by the Information Commissioner, which has been adopted by the Ministry. MOJ CCTV systems are not currently required to conform with recently published BSI standards on digital CCTV recording, which are not a mandatory requirement. The Ministry's policy on CCTV compliance is reviewed bi-annually; the next review is due to be undertaken in December 2008.

Departmental Contracts

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2008 to the hon. Member for Fareham, Official Report, columns 1170-74W, on departmental contracts, to which property or properties the expenditure on GVA Grimley related; and what the conclusion of the non-domestic rating challenge was. (202814)

The expenditure on GVA Grimley related to their work, during 2007-08 in challenging National Non Domestic Rating assessments on the following properties:

Barnet Magistrates Court

Bristol Greyfriars

Bury County Court

Cambridge Magistrates Court

HMCS NE Regional Directors Office

Manchester County Court

Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court

N and W Greater Manchester MCC Offices

Northampton Bulk Issue Centre

Nuneaton County Court

Royal Courts of Justice

Stourbridge County Court.

The rating challenge exercise resulted in savings in rates payments of £567,908 recovered in 2007-08, with continuing savings of £418,303 per annum.

Departmental Freedom of Information

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many freedom of information requests made to his Department were (a) answered (i) within 20 days, (ii) within 40 days, (iii) within 60 days, (iv) after 60 days, (b) not answered and (c) answered citing an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as a reason not to provide the requested information in each year since the Act came into force. (201721)

The Ministry of Justice has published two annual reports

containing statistical information on freedom of information requests received by monitored bodies (including central government departments) in 2005 and 2006. These reports can be found at the following address:

http://www.dca.gov.uk/foi/reference/statisticsAndReports.htm

The 2007 annual report is currently being drafted for publication in June 2008. However, statistics on requests received in each quarter of 2007 have been published and can be found via my Department's website:

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

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires public bodies to respond to written requests within 20 working days of receipt, but allows additional time for the consideration of the public interest in disclosing the requested information.

The published reports provide statistics on the number of "non-routine" requests received during each period where: an initial response was provided within 20 working days; an initial response was given outside this time but a public interest test extension had been applied; an initial response was given outside this time and no public interest test extension was applied, and where no initial response had been given at the time the statistics were collected.

The 2006 annual report provides statistics on the duration of the public interest test extensions in that year. Corresponding statistics for 2007 will be available when the 2007 annual report is published.

Information requests where deadlines were extended beyond 40 days is not collected in the form requested; however the proportion of resolvable requests the Department answered "in time" (i.e. meeting the deadline or with a permitted extension) in 2007 was 89 per cent.

For 2005 and 2006, the reports show the number of requests received by the Department which were withheld, either in full or in part, where an FOI exemption or EIR exception was applied. For 2007, the number of such requests was 176, based on aggregated quarterly statistics from 2007. Requests withheld solely under the exemption applicable to 'information available by other means' are not included; statistics on these are not collected centrally because they are dealt with as routine business.

Figures prior to 9 May 2007 are for requests made to the DCA.

Departmental Public Participation

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 22 April 2008, Official Report, column 2012W, on departmental public participation, how many responses were received for each (a) survey, (b) questionnaire and (c) other service. (203102)

The information requested is detailed in the following table.

Type

Name of the survey etc

Name of firm carrying out work

(a) Survey

(b) Questionnaire

(c) Other

The Courts Experiences of Adults with Mental Health problems: Learning Disabilities and Limited Mental Capacity

British Market Research Bureau (BMRB)

26 Face to face interviews; 10 Telephone interviews; 16 questionnaires by email; Plus extensive desk research.

Victims Advocates Pilot Scheme Evaluation

British Market Research Bureau (BMRB)

74 interviews

Awareness of and development of offender management across prison and probation staff

Burns and Co.

36 responses

Focus groups—Victims of Crime, leaflet

Central Office of Information plus Burns and Co

62 participants over ten focus groups

Health and Social Care Professionals Awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (paper survey)

Distribution through Binleys. Survey conducted by Ipsos MORI

4,381 responses

The Pro Bono Work of Legal Executives

ECOTEC Research and Consulting

1,021 responses

Evaluation of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Social Security and Child Support Tribunals

ECOTEC Research and Consulting

98 Qualitative interviews at current as of 30 April

Salford Community Justice Initiative Evaluation

Evidence Led Solutions

156 Qualitative interviews

Tribunal Service Customer Satisfaction Survey

FDS International Ltd

2,672 responses

Testing of language and understanding of departmental strategic objectives with general public and staff

GfK NOP through Central Office of Information Communications

500 responses

48 participants over six focus groups

Sentencing and rehabilitation

ICM (via omnibus questions)

3,013 responses

HMCS Court User survey

Ipsos MORI

11,519 responses

Witness and Victim Experience survey

Ipsos MORI

30,936 responses in 2007-08

Inform, persuade, remind research

Ipsos MORI

6,513 responses

Nottingham Community Justice public opinion poll

Ipsos MORI

1,804 responses

Survey on Tackling and Preventing Sexual

Ipsos MORI

6,066 responses

Tribunal Service Customer Expectation survey

Ipsos MORI

730 responses

Customer Satisfaction questionnaire

Ipsos MORI

Nil responses. This questionnaire has not yet been used in the field.

Beacon Approach Evaluation

Ipsos MORI

54 responses

General Public Awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (Capibus survey)

Ipsos MORI

1,781 responses

Legal Professionals Awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (online survey)

Ipsos MORI

540 responses

Office of Public Guardian and Court of Protection Customer survey

Ipsos MORI

2,229 responses

Constitution Directorate tracker survey

Ipsos MORI

7,712 responses

Opinion Research, Merthyr Tydfil Community Justice Project

Lamajo

154 responses

35 participants in focus groups

Dedicated Drug Court Pilots: A Process Report

Matrix Knowledge Group

13 participants in focus groups; 78 structured interviews

Reporting restrictions in the Coroners Courts

Opinion Leader Research (OLR)

16 participants in one workshop

MOJ Staff Satisfaction Pulse Survey

Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) International

4,165 responses

Stocktake of attitudinal data

PA Consulting, Ipsos MORI

No responses—desk research

Public consultation for Community Justice Leicester

Perpetuity

Consultation. Further details currently unavailable

HM Prison Service Annual Staff survey

Snap survey

24,630 responses

Tracker survey of local residents, Community Justice Centre, North Liverpool

Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS)

2532 responses

Public Perception of Risk and Protection from Serious and Violent Crime

Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS)

32 participants in focus groups

Preparatory facilitation for MOJ Engagement Study Working Group

Towers Perrin-ISR

25 participants in working group

Staff Opinion survey/Engagement Study/Culture Audit for all MoJ staff

Towers Perrin-ISR

Nil responses. This survey has not yet been used in the field.

Employment tribunal mediation pilot

Westminster University, fieldwork sub-contracted to British Market Research Bureau (BMRB)

143 responses

Electoral Systems

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the Government plans to change the voting system used to elect hon. Members. (203137)

The Government published the Review of Voting Systems in January 2008 which considers the experience of the new voting systems introduced in the United Kingdom since 1997. The Review forms part of the continuing debate on electoral reform, and at this point the Government are not seeking to change the electoral system for the House of Commons.

Electronic Voting

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the Answer from the hon. Member representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission of 31 March 2008, Official Report, column 451W, on electronic voting, which recommendations of the Electoral Commission on e-counting his Department has undertaken to implement. (202815)

The Government are currently reviewing the Electoral Commission’s recommendations in response to the Gould report concerning the future use of e-counting. Along with the valuable lessons which we have learnt from previous e-counting pilots, these will help to inform our future policy for e-counting.

Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Act 2006

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions under the Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Act 2006 have been made since its introduction; and what the outcome of those prosecutions has been. (203336)

I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on 20 February 2008, Official Report, column 778W to the hon. Member for Teignbridge (Richard Younger-Ross).

The Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Act 2006 came into force on 20 February 2007. We do not yet have prosecution figures covering 2007. We would expect the number of prosecutions to be small. Any act involving violence against emergency workers would be covered by the general law on assault and the new offence is limited to obstruction only.

Peterborough Prison: Foreigners

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign nationals are detained at HMP Peterborough. (203683)

At the end of March 2008, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 155 foreign national prisoners (101 male and 54 female) detained in Peterborough prison.

This information is available at the following website where it is updated quarterly.

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

http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/population-in-custody-mar08.pdf

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.

Prison Service: Manpower

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people are employed in HM prison service in England and Wales. (203300)

As at 31 January 2008 there were 52,621 directly employed staff within HM Prison Service establishments in England and Wales, including privately managed prisons.

Prisoners Transfer: Young Offenders

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidance has been issued by the Youth Justice Board to secure units on the transfer of 15 year old boys into prisons. (203071)

The Youth Justice Board issued revised placements guidance in 2004 to all under-18 custodial establishments and youth offending teams. It includes a transfer protocol, which specifies that placements of boys aged 15 and older in secure children’s homes and secure training centres should be regularly reviewed to assess whether they still require the level of support provided by those establishments.

Boys aged 15-17 are normally placed in young offender institutions unless they are assessed as requiring the different environment and level of support that a secure training centre or a secure children’s home offers.

Prisoners: Females

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the recommendations to member states contained in paragraphs 19 to 29 of the European Parliament's resolution of 13th March 2008 on the particular situation of women in prison and the impact of the imprisonment of parents on social and family life; what plans he has to implement the recommendations; and if he will make a statement. (201294)

The recommendations will be considered in the context of implementation of the commitments set out in the Governments response to the Corston report, and within a joint priority review by the Department for Children Schools and Families and the Ministry of Justice to support the children of offenders to achieve better outcomes.

Prisoners: Internet

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department’s policy is on blogging by prisoners. (203938)

There is no policy on prisoners contributing to blogs. Prisoners do not have direct access to the internet, other than under controlled circumstances or for specific educational purposes, which is via controlled connectivity to secure NOMS accredited sites. NOMS policy on prisoner communications does, however, set out restrictions on material that prisoners may send if it is intended for publication.

Prisoners: Suicide

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many suicides within (a) adult prisons and (b) young offender institutions in (i) 2006 and (ii) 2007 took place within the first seven days of custody; and how many prisoners who committed suicide in their first seven days in custody had on one or more of those seven days been housed in police or court cells. (203195)

There were six self-inflicted deaths1 in adult prisons2 within the first seven days of prison custody in 2006 and 10 in 2007. There was also one self-inflicted death of an adult prisoner in each of 2006 and 2007 in prisoner escort custody prior to arrival in prison. There were no such deaths in young offender institutions in either 2006 or 2007.

Information regarding time spent in court or police custody prior to first reception in prison is not held centrally.

1 The Prison Service definition of self-inflicted deaths is broader than the legal definition of suicide and includes all deaths where it appears that a prisoner has acted specifically to take their own life. This inclusive approach is used in part because inquest verdicts are often not available for some years after a death (some 20 per cent. of these deaths will not receive a suicide or open verdict at inquest). Annual numbers may change slightly from time-to-time as inquest verdicts and other information become available.

2 Includes deaths where prisoner transferred to hospital following initial incident.

Prisons: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much the Government has budgeted for the construction of new Titan prisons. (203299)

The cost of construction of the Titan prisons has been estimated to be around £350 million each at 2007-08 prices.

The cost of building and operating the Titan prisons, which will be post 2011 spending review period, will be subject to the usual comprehensive spending review processes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much prisons in England and Wales received for work done by prisoners from (a) private and (b) public sector organisations in each of the last five years; and what assessment he has made of the potential to increase prison revenue from such sources. (203783)

The following table shows the value of both internal and external sales from work done by prisoners in public sector prisons in England and Wales. While the Prison Service would seek to receive revenue where possible it should also be acknowledged that prison industries have a number of other objectives including purposeful activity as well as skills and employment opportunities.

£000

Internal sales1

External sales2

2007-08

30,560

6,010

2006-07

27,571

6,370

2005-06

31,334

3

2004-05

37,919

43,673

2003-04

40,782

44,370

1 The total sales value of goods and services provided using prisoners for internal consumption, including sales to the Ministry of Justice. The general reduction over the period is predominantly due to the phased implementation of hard charging. 2 Total sales revenue from predominantly private sector organisations. 3 Reliable data are not available for 2005-06 due to a system failure. 4 Data extracted from internal (prison industry) monitoring and recording systems.

Prisons: Mental Health Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking in response to the comments of HM Inspector of Prisons that four out of five mental health in-reach teams in prisons feel unable to respond adequately to the range of needs they face. (203196)

The report, The mental health of prisoners thematic (HMIP, 2007) made a number of recommendations about improving mental health care in prisons. The Department of Health is preparing its response to all these recommendations.

Shoplifting

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions there were for shoplifting in each of the last three years. (202975)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 5 March 2008, Official Report, column 2631W.

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

The information requested covering cautions, convictions and penalty notices for disorder (PNDS) for the years 2004-06 is provided in the following table.

Number of offenders cautioned, defendants found guilty and penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) issued for shoplifting, England and Wales 2004-061,2

Cautioned

Found guilty

PNDs issued

2004

41,165

69,542

32,072

2005

44,012

64,076

21,997

2006

45,054

58,536

38,772

1 The cautions and found guilty data are provided on the principal offence basis. PND data is a count of all penalty notices for disorder issued during the year.

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 and courts. 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.

3 The offence of retail theft (goods of value under 200) was added to the PND scheme on 1 November 2004.

Source:

Court proceedings and penalty notices for disorder databases—Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Young Offender Institutions: Education

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many young offender institutions provide discrete (a) personal, (b) social and (c) health education courses. (203555)

An audit of education in secure accommodation carried out by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) in 2002 identified the need for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCOs), and funding was obtained by the YJB to ensure that each Young Offenders Institution has the support of a SENCO. This requirement is incorporated into the Offenders Learning Journey (Juvenile) which sets out the delivery of learning and skills services to young offenders in custody in England. The Learning and Skills Council are also currently undertaking a review process which will ascertain the level and range of educational need for offenders in each custodial and community setting, thus informing the range and types of provision to be commissioned. We expect the reviews to include an analysis of the level of need for learners with learning difficulties and disability.

Young Offenders: Sentencing

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what mechanisms are in place to reduce the number of people under the age of 21 years in prison for non-violent offences. (203303)

While sentencing in any individual case is a matter entirely for the court, the Government believe that prison should be reserved for serious and dangerous offenders. Other offenders are normally better punished in the community. The Government introduced the generic community order for adults in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and provisions in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill currently going through Parliament will create the youth rehabilitation order, a broadly similar sentence for juveniles. Such orders enable the courts to choose from a wide range of requirements so as to effectively meet the circumstances of the offence and the offender. They should enable the courts to have greater confidence in community sentences and to use them instead of custody in all cases other than when custody really is the only punishment that will meet the circumstances of the offence.

Home Department

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on the website www.knowyourlimits.gov.uk in each month since its inception; what the budget for the website is for 2008-09; how many staff are employed to maintain the website; and how many unique visitors there were to the website in each month since its inception. (200376)

We are unable to provide costs split out on a monthly basis for the www.knowyourlimits.gov.uk website, but can provide annual costs as follows on table 1.

Maintenance of this website is the shared responsibility of Department of Health and Home Office Know Your Limits Campaign teams and does not require a full time member of staff to maintain.

From the end of June 2008, the website will no longer exist, and visitors will be redirected to a new NHS units awareness site, which will be funded by the Department of Health. Therefore the forecast for 2008-09 is based on an estimated monthly maintenance fee for April, May and June and may be subject to change.

Table 2 shows the numbers of unique users there have been to this website by month.

Table 1

Financial year

Spend (£)

2006-07

50,000

2007-08

29,000

2008-09 (budget forecast)

7,250

Table 2

Year by month

Unique users

2006

October

10,684

November

16,087

December

8,273

2007

January

18,714

February

36,772

March

15,354

April

4,240

May

5,558

June

4,356

July

3,759

August

3,799

September

5,492

October

8,563

November

33,384

December

18,158

2008

January

45,119

February

75,387

March

9,458

Animal Experiments

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how substantial suffering, as set out in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 is measured; and what guidance her Department has issued to inspectors on the determination of substantial suffering. (202129)

Guidance on severity assessment is set out in paragraphs 5.40 to 5.49 of the Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (HC321). The Guidance sets out the factors that must be taken into account by inspectors in exercising their professional judgment in determining and advising on severity, whether mild, moderate or substantial.

British Nationality: Ireland

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has received recent representations from the government of the Irish Republic on the grant of British passports and citizenship to Irish citizens living in the United Kingdom. (203438)

[holding answer 6 May 2008]: The issue has been raised by individuals from both Houses, but there have been no recent representations from the government of the Irish Republic on this matter.

Closed Circuit Television

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she has taken to implement the National CCTV Strategy; and if she will make a statement. (203247)

A National CCTV Strategy Programme Board has been established. The programme board is reviewing the recommendations of the strategy and Ministers will have the opportunity to approve the work of the Board later this year.

Crime Prevention: Lancashire

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she was consulted in relation to the policy of Lancashire Police of giving free buttered toast to late night revellers to prevent violence; whether she plans to issue guidance to other police forces on the policy of giving food to deter potential troublemakers; and if she will make a statement. (202115)

[holding answer 28 April 2008]: There was no discussion between the Home Office and Lancashire Police on this issue. This is an operational matter for Lancashire Police. The Home Office has no plans to issue guidance on giving food to deter potential troublemakers.

Crime: Greater London

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) administration and (b) sanction detections there were in relation to crimes in London in each of the last 10 years. (192045)

The requested information is given in the following table.

Within the recorded crime statistics, administrative detections are referred to as non-sanction detections. The number of non-sanction detections decreased significantly in 2006-07. This reflects a significant shift away from the use of non-sanction detections, where no further action is taken. Sanction detections are now viewed as the preferred measure, providing a more meaningful comparison of police performance.

Some forces have made a policy decision to significantly limit their use of non-sanction detections in recent years. The greater focus on sanction detections was further emphasised by the move to the use of the sanction detection rate within the police performance assessment framework.

Recorded crime statistics for London region (metropolitan police & city of London)

Table 1: Offences detected by the police in London region: 1997

Offences recorded

Total detections

Sanction detections

Non-sanction detections

1997

796,862

203,692

1

1

1997-98

783,416

2

2

2

1 Not available

2 No detections data available for this period

Table 2: Offences detected by the police in London region: 1998-99 to 2001-02

Offences recorded

Total detections

Sanction detections

Non-sanction detections

1998-99

941,398

206,536

1

1

1999-2000

1,059,822

168,694

1

1

2000-01

1,001,861

150,759

121,290

29,469

2001-02

1,066,606

151,521

127,783

23,738

1 Not available

Notes:

1. The coverage was extended and counting rules revised from 1998-99. This will have had an effect on the number of detections recorded. Figures from that date are not comparable with those for 1997.

2. The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years.

Table 3: Offences detected by the police in London region: 2002-03 to 2006-071

Offences recorded

Total detections

Sanction detections

Non-sanction detections2

2002-03

1,089,903

159,717

138,810

20,907

2003-04

1,070,177

166,008

137,303

28,705

2004-05

1,023,806

217,142

151,359

65,783

2005-06

992,557

236,223

181,684

54,539

2006-07

929,752

199,630

197,449

32,181

1 The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

2 The large increases between 2002-03 and 2005-06 were as a result of positive action by the Metropolitan Police Service to increase the number of non-sanction detections. The issue of new rules from 1 April 2007, have severely limited the number of incidences when they can be applied. The Metropolitan police had anticipated these changes, issuing their own policy during 2006-07 that limited the use of non-sanction detections, this leading to a significant reduction in non-sanction detection numbers for that year.

3 It should be noted that non-sanction detections that contribute to the percentage change in detection rates have fallen in recent years reflecting a significant shift by many police forces away from recording detections of crime where no further action is taken. For this reason overall detections rates over time are not fully comparable. From April 1 2007 the rules governing recording of non-sanction detections were revised to reduce the scope within which they can be claimed to a very limited set of circumstances.

Departmental Closed Circuit Television

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the extent to which closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) operated (a) by and (b) on behalf of her Department comply (i) with the Data Protection Act (ii) the CCTV Code of Practice published by the Information Commissioner and (iii) relevant BSI standards. (203253)

No overall assessment has been made. It is the responsibility of the individual operators of the systems to ensure that they comply with the Data Protection Act, the CCTV code of practice and the relevant BSI standards.

Departmental NDPBs

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were serving on the boards of the non-departmental public bodies which her Department sponsors at the latest date for which figures are available. (203728)

The Cabinet Office publication ‘Public Bodies 2007’ lists the number of people serving on the boards of public bodies as at 31 March 2007. These figures are broken down by individual Departments. ‘Public bodies 2007’ can be downloaded from:

www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/public/bodies.asp.

Copies are also available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Public Expenditure

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether consideration has been given to applying gender responsive budgeting to her Department’s budget. (192116)

The UK Government are supportive of efforts to achieve gender equality and continues to work very closely with both the Women’s National Commission and the Women’s Budget Group on promoting gender equality within the UK.

The Home Office has a number of development programmes which support gender equality. These include Leaders of the Future—a positive action leadership programme aimed at the most talented staff. The aim is to prepare participants and maximise their potential for entry into the Senior Civil Service (SCS). It is designed for women, minority ethnic, disabled, lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) colleagues. More broadly a key aim of the new talent management system introduced for all Grade 6 and 7 staff is to improve SCS diversity.

The department has also established a Diversity Strategy Programme Board to bring together Directors from across the business areas and agencies. The Board closely monitors progress and delivery of our 3-Year Diversity Strategy. We ensure that when selecting search and recruitment consultants that they have a good track record on diversity and produce a diverse long list. We also run events targeting black and minority ethnic, women, disabled and LGB staff into the Home Office at a senior level.

We also fund on an ad hoc basis Home Office Women (HOW). HOW is the network for women and all those interested in women’s issues across the Home Office Group.

Departmental Recruitment

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department and its agencies paid to recruitment consultants in each year since 1997. (200490)

Recruitment costs in the Home Department do not fall to a central budget. The Home Office frequently uses the same companies for recruitment services as it does for other services, including for example the employment of temporary staff. Although it can identify the total paid to those companies, it cannot separately determine the costs solely relating to recruitment without disproportionate costs.

Departmental Temporary Employment

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time posts in her Department were filled on a temporary basis for a period in excess of six months in each of the last three years. (200664)

Genetics: Databases

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many new profiles have been added to the national DNA database since September 2007, broken down by police force; and if she will make a statement. (179094)

It is understood that this question refers to the number of crime scene sample profiles added to the National DNA Database, since a separate question has been asked on the number of people added in each month from October 2007 to date.

The number of crime scene samples added in each of the six months from October 2007 to March 2008 for all police forces is shown in the following table.

NDNAD—Crime scene profiles loaded by force and by month October 2007-March 2008

2007

2008

Force

October

November

December

January

February

March

Total October 2007-March 2008

Avon and Somerset

121

97

103

126

97

106

650

Bedfordshire

35

33

26

25

27

29

175

British Transport

42

40

21

36

54

70

263

Cambridgeshire

41

53

30

43

27

68

262

Cheshire

107

94

105

100

95

91

592

City of London police

4

11

6

9

6

3

39

Cleveland

23

23

14

29

26

32

147

Cumbria

36

34

24

38

30

33

195

Derbyshire

72

50

38

67

58

51

336

Devon and Cornwall

55

58

42

72

79

46

352

Dorset

27

25

18

30

34

20

154

Durham

43

24

29

38

33

32

199

Dyfed-Powys

12

6

8

7

4

7

44

Essex

82

92

81

75

101

104

535

Gloucestershire

10

15

11

11

11

16

74

Greater Manchester police

312

297

199

260

226

269

1,563

Gwent

50

40

27

49

43

48

257

Hampshire

85

98

74

93

93

89

532

Hertfordshire

47

49

41

52

56

49

294

Humberside

96

96

51

59

65

96

463

Kent

173

199

142

195

217

191

1,117

Lancashire

119

105

91

132

127

88

662

Leicestershire

61

42

51

29

54

54

291

Lincolnshire

44

42

41

24

31

41

223

Merseyside

129

134

118

133

114

132

760

Metropolitan police

634

691

488

709

566

649

3,737

Norfolk

52

55

40

75

56

71

349

North Wales

67

55

49

73

52

49

345

North Yorkshire

21

20

17

26

22

42

148

Northamptonshire

94

65

42

54

66

61

382

Northumbria

104

88

80

89

104

139

604

Nottinghamshire

67

46

47

78

47

33

318

South Wales Constabulary

93

73

68

115

81

87

517

South Yorkshire

91

92

52

88

105

116

544

Staffordshire

88

73

57

70

62

58

408

Suffolk

56

39

34

44

40

30

243

Surrey

70

73

60

87

73

65

428

Sussex

182

166

101

160

158

137

904

Thames Valley

130

110

102

147

139

140

768

Warwickshire police

32

19

23

18

19

13

124

West Mercia

78

61

64

55

67

59

384

West Midlands

234

182

160

180

196

208

1,160

West Yorkshire

173

175

128

181

205

207

1,069

Wiltshire

23

31

23

13

23

13

126

Other non-England and Wales forces1

146

679

143

137

227

186

1,518

Total

4,261

4,550

3,169

4,131

4,016

4,128

24,255

1Eight Scottish forces, PSNI, Jersey, Guernsey, Ministry of Defence Police etc.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of DNA profiles added to the DNA database in each year since it became operational are from samples taken at crime scenes; and if she will make a statement. (188155)

The following table gives the numbers of crime scene profiles added to the National DNA Database (NDNAD) in each year of its operation, and what percentage these were of the total profiles added that year.

Crime scene profiles loaded

Percentage of total profiles loaded (crime scene profiles and subject sample profiles)

1995-96

1,887

5.37

1996-97

5,084

6.01

1997-98

12,886

9.11

1998-99

13,202

4.94

1999-2000

18,037

7.63

2000-01

28,593

6.75

2001-02

40,984

7.53

2002-03

61,431

11.17

2003-04

60,226

11.25

2004-05

59,247

10.21

2005-06

68,774

8.77

2006-07

55,217

7.10

April 2007 to February 2008

44,946

7.83

Total

470,514

8.50

Notes:

1. The subject sample profile data used in the final column are for all United Kingdom police forces (i.e. subject sample profiles taken by police forces in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Jersey etc.)

2. The data on crime scene sample profiles are for all United Kingdom police forces, but do not include all Scottish crime scene sample profiles. Crime scene sample profiles taken by Scottish police forces are loaded to the Scottish DNA Database in the first instance. Only those crime scene profiles for which no match is found on the Scottish DNA Database are added to the NDNAD.

Identity and Passport Service: Fishburn Hedges

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what payments the Identity and Passport Service made to Fishburn Hedges in each of the last five years; on what dates; and for what purpose in each case. (202253)

The Identity and Passport Service has not made any payments to Fishburn Hedges during any of the last five years.

Identity Cards: Foreigners

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the cost of introducing identity cards for foreign nationals in the UK. (203941)

The latest estimate for the cost of introducing identity cards for foreign nationals is planned to be published on 6 May 2008 in the document ‘Identity Cards Act 2006—Section 37 Report to Parliament about the Likely Costs of the ID Cards Scheme’. The document will be available to Members in the parliamentary Libraries.

This report is published every six months and contains the most recent estimate for the costs of introducing identity cards for foreign nationals.

Immigration: Detention Centres

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are taken in relation to illegal immigrants detained in police or immigration custody in circumstances where there is a lack of capacity within the immigration detention estate. (202609)

Detainees can be held in police cells or Short Term Holding Facilities for a maximum of five nights, or seven nights if removal directions are in place. Within this period they are expected to be removed from the United Kingdom, transferred into suitable long term accommodation, or released.

Alternatives to detention are considered for those who are released from detention such as reporting conditions which restricts an individual’s place of residence, employment or occupation, physically reporting to a police or an immigration reporting centre and electronic monitoring.

Internet: Security

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions her Department has had with the European Commission on cyber-security; and what contribution the UK is making to Commissioner Reding's proposed cyber-defence plan. (201674)

My Department, as well as officials from several other Departments, have regular discussions with Commission officials on aspects of cyber-security. This year officials have taken part in workshops on the electronic aspects of the programme for European Critical Infrastructure protection. Officials have also worked with Commission officials on the ongoing work of the European Network and Information Security Agency and attended workshops to discuss ideas for the proposed Communication on Critical Information Infrastructure Protections that will be issued by Mrs Reding’s Directorate of the Commission.

Members: Correspondence

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Minister of State will reply to the letter, dated 25 March 2008, about visas for Chernobyl children. (203391)

[holding answer 6 May 2008]: The International Group of the UK Border Agency wrote to the hon. Member on 29 April 2008.

Offenders: Deportation

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals are being held in prisons in Wales beyond the end of their sentence awaiting deportation, broken down by (a) prison and (b) country of origin. (203589)

The information requested can be provided through the examination of individual case files only at disproportionate cost. The chief executive of the UK Border Agency advised in her letters of 20 November and 17 December 2007 to the Home Affairs Committee that there were 1,500 foreign national prisoners detained upon completion of their sentence. She also advised during her appearance before the Committee on 15 January this year that a significant number of foreign national prisoners come from Jamaica, Nigeria, China and Vietnam.

Peterborough Prison: Foreigners

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals held at HMP Peterborough were deported on completion of their sentence in each month since March 2005; and if she will make a statement. (203682)

The information requested can be obtained only through the detailed examination of individual casefiles at disproportionate cost in order to ascertain the number of individuals that had been detained at HMP Peterborough.

Police: Road Traffic Control

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average (a) number of police officers and (b) proportion of each police force employed in speed enforcement on roads was in each of the last five years. (198453)

While information is collected on the number of police officers primarily employed in the function ‘traffic’, it is not possible to show the number or proportion of police officers specifically employed in speed enforcement as this is only part of their duties.

The available data are for the number of full-time equivalent police officers primarily employed in the function ‘traffic’, and are given in the following table.

The deployment of police officers to speed enforcement activity is an operational matter for individual chief officers and police authorities.

Police officers (FTE)1 whose primary function is Traffic2 from 2002-03 to 2006-07

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-006

2006-007

Avon and Somerset

216

222

228

215

148

Bedfordshire

75

80

80

81

68

Cambridgeshire

85

99

101

99

96

Cheshire

194

200

194

85

91

Cleveland

64

73

61

72

Cumbria

107

110

108

111

114

Derbyshire

107

121

116

119

110

Devon and Cornwall

192

198

211

215

225

Dorset

91

86

82

81

80

Durham

111

119

108

105

100

Essex

241

242

243

243

231

Gloucestershire

62

66

67

73

67

Greater Manchester

406

392

359

342

352

Hampshire

248

246

244

240

237

Hertfordshire

150

151

149

149

145

Humberside

123

119

225

181

100

Kent

104

122

116

109

Lancashire

198

187

190

197

184

Leicestershire

92

95

85

77

72

Lincolnshire

90

89

96

102

100

London, City of

24

24

28

24

23

Merseyside

125

119

115

138

150

Metropolitan Police

583

592

1029

603

611

Norfolk

120

121

107

112

110

Northamptonshire

70

71

65

63

63

Northumbria

245

253

165

167

172

North Yorkshire

151

138

101

97

99

Nottinghamshire

121

133

134

139

South Yorkshire

180

127

134

141

143

Staffordshire

50

49

58

28

35

Suffolk

68

72

76

80

77

Surrey

108

110

107

99

87

Sussex

164

163

163

160

169

Thames Valley

259

259

245

236

237

Warwickshire

103

103

93

97

93

West Mercia

292

115

117

116

129

West Midlands

384

405

393

401

383

West Yorkshire

320

314

317

343

324

Wiltshire

91

96

93

89

Dyfed Powys

136

105

141

143

136

Gwent

93

95

96

102

95

North Wales

115

114

76

81

98

South Wales

243

245

243

243

252

1 This and other tables contain full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.

2. Staff with multiple responsibilities (or designations) are recorded under their primary role or function. The traffic function includes staff who are predominantly employed on motorcycles or in patrol vehicles for the policing of traffic and motorway related duties. The does not include officers employed in accident investigation, vehicle examination and radar duties.

Security Guards: Licensing

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what role her Department has in determining the fees charged by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) for licences; what plans she has to meet SIA representatives to discuss licence fees; and what assessment she has made of the effects of SIA licence fees on the security industry. (203578)

The Secretary of State, by using section 8(7) of the Private Security Industry Act 2001, sets the fee to be paid on application for an SIA licence. The fee is set by means of a statutory instrument made by negative resolution procedure. The current fee of £245 has been in place since 6 April 2007 and was set under the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (Licences) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/810).

The SIA is required to be self-funding. The fee is not set to make a profit. Home Office officials are regularly in touch with the SIA to discuss a range of financial matters including the licence fee.

Consideration of the impact of SIA licence fees on the security industry was contained in a regulatory impact assessment published in January 2007 in connection with an increase in the fee from £190 to £245 (Updated Regulatory Impact Assessment to Reflect New Licence Application Fee and Charges published in January 2007 and updated in March 2007 http://www.the-sia.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/8179D6CO-8B48-47CA-937D-DFB6A5COFF01/0/sia_licence_fee_ria.pdf).

Wildlife: Crime

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will instigate a joint review by the police and prosecution inspectorates into wildlife crime in England. (202680)

The work of the Inspectorates, both singly and jointly, is increasingly subject to risk assessment to ensure that it's targeted on those issues that are of greatest concern to the public and to local communities. In recent years this has included such issues as tackling serious and organised crime and addressing counter terrorism.

Wildlife crime is not one of the subjects for joint inspection agreed for 2008-09. The topics for inspection were subjected to comprehensive consultation and then prioritised through risk assessment. The issue of wildlife crime did not feature from any of the consultees and was not part of the long list for 2008-09 or the final list that has been decided.

For the Home Secretary to instigate inspection activity associated with wildlife crime it would have to be clear which aspects meet the threshold and how inspection would add value or improve performance in this issue.

The Home Office has recently announced that it will contribute £150,000 per year for three years to the National Wildlife Crime Unit. Government officials will be working closely with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the NWCU to monitor the outcomes achieved through this funding.

Health

Allergies

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the adequacy of the training undertaken by (a) medical students and (b) GPs in the diagnosis and treatment of allergies. (203190)

The Department is not responsible for setting curricula for health professional training. Each University determines their own curriculum in the light of recommendations from employers and the regulatory bodies. However, we do share a commitment with statutory and professional bodies that all health professionals are trained, so that they have the skills and knowledge to deliver a high quality health service to all groups of the population with whom they deal, whatever their condition.

Breast Cancer

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the relative prevalence of breast cancer among (a) black and (b) white women; and if he will make a statement. (201960)

The Department does not hold information on the relative prevalence of breast cancer among black women and white women. We are, however, working on models of assessing prevalence and we are developing techniques that will allow us to assess prevalence broken down by ethnic minority grouping.

Cancer

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the summary of the 2004 to 2007 national cancer peer review process. (201947)

A copy of the Handbook for the National Cancer Peer Review Process has been placed in the Library.

Cancer: Screening

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of expansion in cancer screening programmes on demand for the services of pathology laboratories; and what steps he is taking to monitor the capacity of Government laboratories to support such screening. (202736)

The extensions to the national health service cancer screening programmes outlined in the “Cancer Reform Strategy” are national requirements within the “Operating Framework. For the NHS in England 2008-09” as set out in “Operational Plans 2008-09 to 2010-11 (Implementing the 2008-09 Operating Framework, National planning Guidance and ‘vital signs’.)”, published on 31 January 2008. Primary care trust (PCT) operational plans will need to reflect the requirements, including the demand for the services of pathology laboratories. It is for strategic health authorities working in partnership with their PCTs, local screening services and stakeholders to provide appropriate cancer screening services for their local populations, including appropriate pathology services.

The Independent Review of NHS Pathology Services in England, chaired by Lord Carter of Coles, was set up in 2005, and published an interim report in 2006. The review is expected to make recommendations which build on those in its interim report, for example on the configuration of pathology services, workforce modernisation and information technology connectivity, to achieve greater efficiency and enable pathology services to meet increasing demand.

Cancer: Urinary System

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2008, Official Report, column 1454W, on cancer: urinary system, whether the Kent Cancer Network has agreed an Improving Outcomes Guidance implementation plan with the NHS Cancer Action Team; and if he will make a statement. (201625)

Kent Cancer Network has submitted a urological cancer improving outcomes guidance (IOG) implementation plan to the National Health Service Cancer Action Team (CAT). The plan is not yet fully compliant with the IOG and discussions between the CAT and Kent Cancer Network are ongoing.

Carbon Monoxide: Poisoning

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished episodes of care relating to carbon monoxide poisoning were provided by the NHS in the latest year for which figures are available. (202891)

The Information Centre for health and social care holds data on the number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) to hospital in which the patient had a primary or secondary diagnosis of “T58 Toxic effect of carbon monoxide”.

There were 626 FCEs in 2006-07.

Cardiovascular System: Screening

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms he plans to use to deliver free vascular checks to 40 to 74 year olds. (201484)

On 1 April 2008, the Department published “Putting Prevention First”, copies of this publication are available in the Library. This outlined the initial analysis which has confirmed that a programme to reach everybody between the ages of 40 and 74, to check their vascular risk and provide them with an individual assessment, would be both clinically and cost effective.

The next step is to develop an implementation and delivery programme with key stakeholders. Stakeholders will play a crucial role in helping to formulate proposals for the vascular check programme. We expect that general practice will have an important role in delivery but other organisations, such as pharmacies, are also likely to be involved.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects on services for children and young people with myalgic encephalopathy of the closure of specialist units in (a) Leeds, (b) the Lister hospital, Stevenage and (c) St. Thomas's hospital, London; and if he will make a statement. (201831)

We have made no assessment of the impact on services for children and young people by the closure of these specialist units. Local health bodies have a duty to commission health and social care services to meet the needs of their local population, including those living with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to (a) ensure implementation of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's guidelines on the treatment of myalgic encephalopathy (ME) published in August 2007, (b) reduce the time taken to diagnose ME, (c) increase the allocation of funds for research into ME and the delivery of effective care and treatment, (d) reduce inconsistencies in levels of ME care across primary care trusts and (e) assess the availability of services to (i) children and (ii) adults with ME. (201832)

Health professionals are expected to use their clinical judgement taking into account best practice and existing clinical guidelines, including those produced by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), to provide the most appropriate treatment for the individual living with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME).

Diagnosis for CFS/ME can be prolonged as there is no specific test for this condition and other diseases with similar symptoms must be ruled out before a diagnosis can be made. The NICE guidance provides a list of medical tests that should be used to rule out other conditions.

The Medical Research Council is responsible for allocating funding for medical research, and does not ring-fence funding for specific conditions. Funding for individual research proposals is based on an assessment of the quality of each proposal by an independent panel. Local health bodies are responsible for commissioning health and social care services to meet the needs of their local population living with CFS/ME.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps his Department is taking to ensure primary care trusts meet the recommendations of the new guidelines on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome produced in August 2007 by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence; (202244)

(2) what steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken to diagnose myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Health professionals are expected to use their clinical judgment taking into account best practice and existing clinical guidelines, including those produced by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), to provide the most appropriate treatment for the individual living with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME).

Diagnosis for CFS/ME can be prolonged as there is no specific test for this condition and other diseases with similar symptoms must be ruled out before a diagnosis can be made. The NICE guidance provides a list of medical tests that should be used to rule out other conditions.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when he expects to publish the National Service Framework for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; and if he will make a statement; (203817)

(2) whether he plans to include diagnostic testing for chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder in the proposed NHS Health MOTs; and if he will make a statement;

(3) what his estimate is of the financial assistance needed for primary care trusts in England to meet the requirements of the proposed National Service Framework for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; and if he will make a statement;

(4) what guidance he plans to give to primary care trusts on incorporating an awareness campaign for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in local pharmacy contracts; and if he will make a statement.

The Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) External Reference Group is finalising its advice to Ministers on the proposed markers of good practice from prevention through to end of life care. This advice will then be considered by Ministers and options developed for implementation. This will include options for diagnostic testing, considering how best we can utilise services provided by pharmacies to improve the care of people with COPD and estimates of the financial assistance needed to implement the recommendations. We plan to publish our conclusions by the end of 2008.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to address the regional variations in the promotion of screening for bowel cancer. (202737)

It is for strategic health authorities working in partnership with their primary care trusts, local screening services and stakeholders to provide appropriate cancer screening services for their local populations, including the promotion of local screening services.

Dental Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of units of dental activity in England carried forward to 2008-09 from 2007-08. (202925)

This information is not available. For dental activity reporting purposes the year 2007-08 has not yet ended. Dental providers have until the end of May to submit all their activity reports for activity delivered during 2007-08.

Dental Services: Children

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of schoolchildren in England between the ages of six and nine who have received treatment as part of a screening programme since his Department's guidance on dental screening (inspection) was issued in January 2007; what the effect on expenditure on salaried primary dental care resources or equivalent was in England as a result of implementing this guidance; and if he will make a statement. (202827)

One of the reasons why the National Screening Committee advised that dental screening in schools should be discontinued was that a large randomised controlled trial demonstrated that school dental screening was ineffective in reducing levels of untreated dental disease and increasing attendance at dental practitioners. Information is not held centrally from which we could make an estimate of the number of children which continue to be screened, but we understand that most primary care trusts have ceased to undertake screening. We did not make this change in policy to cut costs. Our guidance recommends that the resources freed up be used to reduce inequalities in oral health by, for example, boosting the capacity of salaried dental services to reduce waiting times for special needs groups or for those children and adults who are unable to receive treatment through general dental services.

Dental Services: Contracts

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the number of dental contracts allocating units of dental activity (UDAs) awarded in England since their introduction; and how many contract holders did not reach their targets for UDAs in 2007-08. (202826)

Information on the number of contracts awarded is not available in the requested format and could only be made available in this format at disproportionate cost. Information is available on the number of whole and part year contracts initially agreed in April 2006 at the start of the new dental system and on the number of contracts which ran for the whole year period of 2006-07. This information is set out in the following table.

Contracts

Numbers

Contracts agreed in April 20061

8,377

Contracts which were live for the whole of 2006-072

7,990

1 Source Department of Health

2 Source NHS Business Services Authority Dental Services Division.

Information on the number of contracts that delivered less than the activity contracted for in 2007-08 is not available. For dental activity reporting purposes the year 2007-08 has not yet ended, Dental providers have until the end of May to submit all their activity reports for activity delivered during 2007-08.

Dental Services: Negligence

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many actions for clinical negligence have been brought against dentists doing NHS work in each year since 2005. (202017)

The information requested is in the following table and was supplied by the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA). The data only covers claims made against NHS trusts, NHS foundation trusts or primary care trusts providing dentistry; information is not held centrally relating to dentists working under independent contracts.

Number of claims against NHS employed dentists by notification year to the NHSLA

NHSLA notification year

Number

2005-06

42

2006-07

44

2007-08

60

Total

146

Dental Services: Stroud

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to improve access to NHS dentistry in Stroud constituency; and if he will make a statement. (201483)

I refer my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud to the written answer I gave him on 24 April, Official Report, column 2168W.

Departmental NDPBs

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were serving on the boards of the non-departmental public bodies which his Department sponsors at the latest date for which figures are available. (203729)

The Cabinet Office publication “Public bodies 2007” lists the number of people serving on the boards of public bodies as at 31 March 2007. These figures are broken down by individual Departments. Copies of “Public bodies 2007” are available in the Library and also at:

www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/public/bodies.asp.

Diabetes: Peterborough

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on implementing the NHS Diabetes National Service Framework in Peterborough constituency; and if he will make a statement. (202435)

Responsibility for implementing the Diabetes National Service Framework rests with the national health service, and it is for primary care trusts (PCTs) to commission services that meet the needs of their local population.

Screening for diabetic retinopathy was a target in the Diabetes National Service Framework and has been included in the operating framework for the NHS in England 2008-09. Where (PCTs) are failing to deliver the standard set for diabetic retinopathy, they are obliged to agree recovery plans with their strategic health authorities to ensure improvement. From February 2008, Peterborough PCT began offering screening to all people with diabetes to national standards.

Eastern and Coastal Kent Primary Care Trust: Cleaning Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been allocated to (a) Eastern and Coastal Kent Primary Care Trust and (b) East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust for deep cleaning. (195139)

All trusts were required to submit and agree costed deep clean plans with primary care trusts in their area by 14 December 2007 and this process has been monitored and assessed by strategic health authorities (SHAs).

As set out in the written ministerial statement given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, on 21 April 2008, Official Report, column 93-94WS, information provided by SHAs shows that they have all made available the funding they promised for the programme. Further information on the implementation of the deep clean of the national health service is available from SHAs.

Eating Disorders: North West

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the (a) need for and (b) (i) current and (ii) planned future provision of treatment of eating disorders in each primary care trust in the North West. (202214)

Decisions on the planning and provision of treatment for eating disorders are a matter for individual primary care trusts (PCTs). Financial allocations are made directly to individual PCTs as these organisations are best placed to know the needs of the communities they serve and to commission services accordingly.

Embryonic Stem Cells

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many embryonic stem cells exist in the United Kingdom; and how much expenditure has been incurred in acquiring them. (202389)

We assume that the hon. Member's question refers to embryonic stem cell lines. The Department does not hold information on how many animal embryonic stem cell lines there are in the United Kingdom. As of the beginning of April 2008, 63 human embryonic stem cell lines had been deposited with the UK stem cell bank (UKSCB). The UKSCB does not pay to acquire these lines.

Eyesight: Testing

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the factors influencing the take-up rate of free sight tests for people aged 60 and over; and if he will take steps to increase the take-up rate; (203193)

(2) when he last met national professional and representative optical bodies to discuss free sight tests for people aged 60 and over.

The Department has not made an assessment of the factors influencing the take-up rate of free national health service sight tests for people aged 60 and over or met with the national professional and representative optical bodies to discuss free sight tests for people aged 60 and over. Sight tests continue to increase from 4.1 million sight tests for those aged over 60 in 2003-04 to 4.5 million sight tests for those aged over 60 in 2006-07.

General Practitioners: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether payments made by primary care trusts to general practitioners as part of the Access Directed Enhanced Services payments system are based on per head of population registered on the National Health Application Infrastructure Service (Exeter) system. (200891)

Payments made by primary care trusts to primary medical care contractors under the improved access scheme directed enhanced service, are based on per head of practice population registered on the National Health Application Infrastructure Service (Exeter) system.

General Practitioners: Public Participation

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of those registered on the National Health Application Infrastructure Service (Exeter) were surveyed as part of the GP patient survey, Your doctor, your experience, your say access survey in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05, (c) 2005-06, (d) 2006-07 and (e) 2007-08, broken down by primary care trust. (200890)

In 2006-07, the first year of the general practitioner (GP) patient survey, 9.8 per cent. of patients registered on the National Health Application Infrastructure Service (Exeter) were invited to take part in the GP patient survey. The breakdown by primary care trust (PCT) is shown in the following table .

The survey data for 2007-08 is currently being processed by Ipsos MORI, the appointed survey provider, and remains restricted and unavailable until official publication by the Information Centre for health and social care. Publication has been confirmed for the week commencing 14 July 2008.

Percentage of patients registered on the National Health Application Infrastructure Service (Exeter) surveyed in the GP patient survey 2006-07 by PCT

PCT name

Registered population

Distributed surveys

Percentage (registered population/distributed population)

Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT

327,779

33,537

10.2

Barking and Dagenham PCT

178,197

30,599

17.2

Barnet PCT

344,581

50,183

14.6

Barnsley PCT

261,936

26,948

10.3

Bassetlaw PCT

115,689

5,771

5.0

Bath and North East Somerset PCT

178,469

16,524

9.3

Bedfordshire PCT

394,989

30,512

7.7

Berkshire East PCT

380,919

30,631

8.0

Berkshire West PCT

436,117

30,701

7.0

Bexley Care Trust

207,699

20,294

9.8

Birmingham East and North PCT

460,911

61,286

13.3

Blackburn with Darwen PCT

167,670

20,444

12.2

Blackpool PCT

170,987

12,598

7.4

Bolton PCT

291,180

37,481

12.9

Bournemouth and Poole PCT

342,142

30,948

9.0

Bradford and Airedale PCT

531,448

62,480

11.8

Brent Teaching PCT

326,590

59,494

18.2

Brighton and Hove City PCT

288,158

31,404

10.9

Bristol PCT

431,329

37,890

8.8

Bromley PCT

302,618

30,299

10.0

Buckinghamshire PCT

486,305

31,652

6.5

Bury PCT

188,327

21,740

11.5

Calderdale PCT

203,488

16,721

8.2

Cambridgeshire PCT

572,193

42,992

7.5

Camden PCT

253,642

38,999

15.4

Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT

447,024

26,754

6.0

Central Lancashire PCT

460,618

53,067

11.5

City and Hackney Teaching PCT

278,587

45,015

16.2

Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT

550,731

43,961

8.0

County Durham PCT

581,477

39,433

6.8

Coventry Teaching PCT

352,455

39,096

11.1

Croydon PCT

337,807

44,884

13.3

Cumbria PCT

537,940

47,668

8.9

Darlington PCT

104,469

5,081

4.9

Derby City PCT

281,249

22,884

8.1

Derbyshire County PCT

713,240

55,016

7.7

Devon PCT

746,379

55,924

7.5

Doncaster PCT

328,163

24,560

7.5

Dorset PCT

403,090

26,027

6.5

Dudley PCT

304,568

27,112

8.9

Ealing PCT

341,707

62,986

18.4

East and North Hertfordshire PCT

527,054

35,822

6.8

East Lancashire PCT

401,009

38,567

9.6

East Riding of Yorkshire PCT

320,427

20,838

6.5

East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT

345,630

23,923

6.9

Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT

761,313

65,270

8.6

Enfield PCT

271,978

45,175

16.6

Gateshead PCT

227,066

19,708

8.7

Gloucestershire PCT

577,468

46,918

8.1

Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT

238,615

13,974

5.9

Greenwich Teaching PCT

259,476

41,332

15.9

Halton and St. Helens PCT

343,398

30,393

8.9

Hammersmith and Fulham PCT

183,915

26,630

14.5

Hampshire PCT

1,214,618

84,033

6.9

Haringey Teaching PCT

266,162

53,536

20.1

Harrow PCT

208,096

20,105

9.7

Hartlepool PCT

104,314

8,100

7.8

Hastings and Rother PCT

191,325

20,303

10.6

Havering PCT

241,372

32,153

13.3

Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT

315,211

66,114

21.0

Herefordshire PCT

183,004

12,063

6.6

Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT

227,434

20,482

9.0

Hillingdon PCT

254,322

34,620

13.6

Hounslow PCT

251,117

45,002

17.9

Hull PCT

287,979

33,021

11.5

Isle of Wight Healthcare PCT

147,030

9,641

6.6

Islington PCT

241,764

36,971

15.3

Kensington and Chelsea PCT

164,509

44,142

26.8

Kingston PCT

161,582

19,700

12.2

Kirklees PCT

398,952

47,863

12.0

Knowsley PCT

178,646

19,288

10.8

Lambeth PCT

344,309

47,237

13.7

Leeds PCT

769,537

68,064

8.8

Leicester City PCT

329,012

41,459

12.6

Leicestershire County and Rutland PCT

605,224

38,454

6.4

Lewisham PCT

279,555

41,649

14.9

Lincolnshire PCT

751,226

55,244

7.4

Liverpool PCT

543,478

73,107

13.5

Luton Teaching PCT

192,024

24,331

12.7

Manchester PCT

596,951

84,191

14.1

Medway Teaching PCT

257,399

40,750

15.8

Mid Essex PCT

328,559

26,478

8.1

Middlesbrough PCT

164,649

13,797

8.4

Milton Keynes PCT

216,672

19,486

9.0

Newcastle PCT

290,486

24,418

8.4

Newham PCT

311,286

64,975

20.9

Norfolk PCT

744,826

55,382

7.4

North East Essex PCT

319,211

27,807

8.7

North East Lincolnshire PCT

172,288

19,395

11.3

North Lancashire PCT

356,600

20,434

5.7

North Lincolnshire PCT

173,501

12,658

7.3

North Somerset PCT

200,501

12,666

6.3

North Staffordshire PCT

215,632

22,607

10.5

North Tees PCT

191,211

15,574

8.1

North Tyneside PCT

217,804

17,790

8.2

North Yorkshire and York PCT

773,032

54,639

7.1

Northamptonshire PCT

653,547

44,424

6.8

Northumberland Care Trust

336,229

25,543

7.6

Nottingham City PCT

324,298

43,908

13.5

Nottinghamshire County PCT

654,976

50,688

7.7

Oldham PCT

247,646

25,138

10.2

Oxfordshire PCT

596,465

42,571

7.1

Peterborough PCT

166,242

18,226

11.0

Plymouth Teaching PCT

261,429

26,610

10.2

Portsmouth City Teaching PCT

182,045

19,447

10.7

Redbridge PCT

234,835

31,737

13.5

Redcar and Cleveland PCT

159,596

11,904

7.5

Richmond and Twickenham PCT

179,273

17,185

9.6

Rotherham PCT

266,319

21,244

8.0

Salford PCT

260,179

35,318

13.6

Sandwell PCT

342,027

38,710

11.3

Sefton PCT

296,752

31,032

10.5

Sheffield PCT

542,219

58,818

10.8

Shropshire County PCT

294,199

25,323

8.6

Solihull PCT

207,680

18,018

8.7

Somerset PCT

517,491

41,180

8.0

South Birmingham PCT

387,551

42,208

10.9

South East Essex PCT

331,284

40,846

12.3

South Gloucestershire PCT

217,505

17,157

7.9

South Staffordshire PCT

580,641

56,810

9.8

South Tyneside PCT

168,988

14,548

8.6

South West Essex PCT

395,357

53,663

13.6

Southampton City PCT

241,405

18,503

7.7

Southwark PCT

293,245

46,869

16.0

Stockport PCT

284,478

33,070

11.6

Stoke on Trent PCT

290,022

28,131

9.7

Suffolk PCT

580,591

38,312

6.6

Sunderland Teaching PCT

314,301

32,297

10.3

Surrey PCT

1,064,244

76,547

7.2

Sutton and Merton PCT

363,391

36,604

10.1

Swindon PCT

190,519

17,719

9.3

Tameside and Glossop PCT

243,529

20,931

8.6

Telford and Wrekin PCT

157,431

14,209

9.0

Torbay Care Trust

145,592

10,658

7.3

Tower Hamlets PCT

239,528

36,931

15.4

Trafford PCT

224,714

17,024

7.6

Wakefield District PCT

368,085

12,448

3.4

Walsall Teaching PCT

271,949

36,696

13.5

Waltham Forest PCT

248,913

51,905

20.9

Wandsworth PCT

287,208

43,196

15.0

Warrington PCT

194,469

17,525

9.0

Warwickshire PCT

524,093

37,289

7.1

West Essex PCT

266,554

21,607

8.1

West Hertfordshire PCT

530,176

21,445

4.0

West Kent PCT

643,922

38,974

6.1

West Sussex PCT

793,053

58,106

7.3

Western Cheshire PCT

260,407

50,567

19.4

Westminster PCT

238,159

43,370

18.2

Wiltshire PCT

433,583

33,069

7.6

Wirral PCT

366,046

29,388

8.0

Wolverhampton City PCT

272,179

37,121

13.6

Worcestershire PCT

537,364

37,121

6.9

England

53,126,550

5,219,763

9.8

Genito-Urinary Medicine

To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons developing Payment by Results in the area of sexual health services was not chosen as a priority, as stated in his Department's document, Options for the Future of Payment by Results 2008-09 to 2010-11 response to consultation, published on 24 January 2008. (201336)

The response to the consultation that the Department published on 24 January is a summary of responses, and not a detailed work programme. This is made clear in the document.

The identification of five priority areas (mental health, community services, critical care, urgent and emergency care and long term conditions) for future work by the Payment by Results (PbR) team was based on responses received to the consultation and available development resources. The five areas referred to each received more than 24 responses identifying them as priorities. Sexual health services received only a fraction of this level of support.

However, the Government set a target to offer everyone who needs it an appointment at a genito-urinary medicine clinic within 48 hours by March 2008. In February 2008, 97 per cent. of patients were offered an appointment to be seen, and 84 per cent. were seen within 48 hours. In May 2005, only 45 per cent. were offered an appointment to be seen within 48 hours.

Although sexual health was not highlighted as a national priority for PbR in the recent consultation exercise, this does not preclude local work being undertaken. The consultation encouraged local areas to apply to be development sites to pilot and evaluate local currencies for services outside the scope of the national tariff.

As a result, there are two developments sites looking at sexual health issues. One project, supported by the Department's sexual health team, is working to develop a tariff for HIV outpatients. The other project involves Portsmouth City Teaching Primary Care Trust investigating appropriate funding models for contraception services.

Further information on the work of these particular development sites can be found on the Department's website at:

www.dh.gov.uk/en/Managingyourorganisation/Financeandplanning/NHSFinancialReforms/DH_083408

Health Services: Essex

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been allocated for public relations in the budgets of each primary care trust in Essex in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10. (202766)

[holding answer 1 May 2008]: This is matter for local primary care trusts (PCTs). There is no separate allocation made to PCTs for public relations, and information on the budgets for public relations for each of the primary care trusts in Essex is not held centrally.

Revenue allocations are made to PCTs on the basis of the relative needs of their populations. It is for PCTs to determine how best to use the funding allocated to them, and to commission services to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations.

The hon. Member may therefore wish to raise this matter locally.

Health Services: Hearing Impaired

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much funding was provided for support services for deaf people in each region in each of the last five years; (202739)

(2) what steps he is taking to improve health services for deaf people.

Information on funding provided for support services for deaf people is not held centrally. Funding for audiology and support services for deaf people, along with the majority of other services, is provided through the general allocations to national health service trusts and social services departments. It is their responsibility to allocate resources to audiology services based on their knowledge of the needs of their local populations and the resources available.

Primary care trusts are responsible for commissioning the full range of health services for their local populations including deaf people, and for ensuring that they meet their capacity needs through improving existing NHS services, and where necessary, by procurement of additional independent sector capacity.

Health Services: Pilot Schemes

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when he expects the NHS Whole System Demonstrator pilots in (a) Newham, (b) Kent and (c) Cornwall to go live; (202722)

(2) which parties are involved in the delivery of the NHS Whole System Demonstrator pilots in (a) Newham, (b) Kent and (c) Cornwall;

(3) which services will be offered to patients in the NHS whole system demonstrator pilots in (a) Newham, (b) Kent and (c) Cornwall.

Since summer 2007, the three successful whole system demonstrator (WSD) sites (Kent, Cornwall and Newham), have been engaged with a consortium of leading United Kingdom research institutions in a period of detailed methodology and process planning in order to define the evaluation design for the programme. In addition, the sites have been working to finalise their detailed implementation and delivery plans.

The WSDs are now undertaking work at a local level to inform, engage and recruit general practices to the programme and press ahead with implementation of their delivery plans. Eligible individuals are being written to in order to gain their consent to involvement in the trial. As people agree to involvement in the trial they are being assessed and enrolled on the programme.

From April 2008, people have started to provide their consent to involvement in the trial and implementation is now under way. Following the consent of an individual there are several steps before mainstream service begins, e.g. eligibility confirmation, home visit, base-line evaluation interview, installation of equipment and training. The roll-out is planned to build month by month over the first year, with the lessons learned in the early phase helping to optimise the process.

Each of three WSD sites (Newham, Kent and Cornwall) is working with a variety of parties to implement local delivery plans.

The key delivery partners, as set out in the plans from the sites, are listed in the following table. Each site however, has to work with a large number of stakeholder organisations. Age Concern, Breathe Easy and the Alzheimer's Society are also informing the roll-out. Similarly, a number of software suppliers provide the site legacy systems and are involved in the implementation.

Kent

Key delivery partners

Kent county council—Kent Adult Social Services (KASS)

East Kent and Coastal PCT

West Kent PCT

Viterion (supplier of TeleHealth)

Tunstall (supplier of Telecare)

Cornwall

Key delivery partners

Cornwall and Isle of Scilly PCT

Cornwall county council DASC

HTL/WebVMC (supplier of Telehealth)

Tunstall (supplier of Telecare)

Carrick Life Line

Caradon Life Line

Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust

Cornwall IT Services

Newham

Key delivery partners

London borough of Newham (LBN) and Newham primary care trust (NPCT). Service provision for LBN and NPCT is under the auspices of Integrated Adult Services (IAS).

Newham Homes

Newham University Hospital NHS Trust (NUHT)

Tunstall (supplier of Telecare)

Philips (supplier of Telehealth)

T+ Medical (supplier of Telehealth)

Serco

NHS Direct

The WSD Programme is driven by the need to understand the true benefit of integrated health and social care supported by advanced assistive technology (telecare and telehealth).

The research design for the evaluation of the programme is a cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT), with allocation to intervention or control group determined by randomisation of participating GP practices (the clusters). Those in the control group will continue to receive ‘usual care'. Participating users with the intervention group who meet the eligibility criteria will be offered Telehealth, Telecare or a combination of the two in addition to their ‘usual care’. The exact nature of the technology package that an eligible participant receives will be determined by the cluster to which they belong and by assessment.

The population groups who do not receive telecare/telehealth immediately will be reassessed to see if they are still eligible for these devices 12 months after their initial participation in the programme. In this way the control group have the opportunity to receive an intervention after a 12-month delay.

Health Visitors: Children

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of health visitors needed to deliver the Child Health Promotion programme. (202988)

It is the responsibility of local organisations to commission and develop services to respond to local needs, including the recruitment of health visitors. “The Operating Framework. For the NHS in England 2008-09” highlights the importance of children’s services and the need for local organisations to commission and provide the necessary services and workforce.

HIV Infection: Tunbridge Wells

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residents in Tunbridge Wells borough have been diagnosed with HIV and AIDS; and how many of those were diagnosed within the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available. (202238)

Epidemiological surveillance by the Health Protection Agency shows that there were 42 residents of Tunbridge Wells borough council in receiving HIV-related care in the United Kingdom 2006, latest year for which information is available. There were fewer than five individuals newly diagnosed with HIV in Tunbridge Wells borough council in 2007, although they were not necessarily resident there.

Human Embryo Experiments

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many human embryonic stem cell therapies have been developed in the UK; and how many clinical trials to develop such therapies are taking place; (200452)

(2) how many adult stem cell therapies have been developed in the UK; and how many clinical trials to develop such therapies are taking place.

The Department does not collect centrally information on clinical trials. There are advantages and disadvantages to using stem cells from a particular source, and it is still unknown which type will provide the most suitable material for a particular stem cell therapy. For this reason, researchers are continuing to explore the use of the full spectrum of stem cells in the hope of developing new clinical treatments, and this broad approach offers the greatest promise for medical advances.

Currently, stem cells are used in successful, well-tested therapies available in the United Kingdom. They include skin grafting, transplantation of bone marrow or umbilical cord blood stem cells to treat certain cancers and immune system disorders, and the use of stem cells from the eye to treat corneal disorders.

However, we are not aware of any clinical trials involving embryonic stem cells being carried out. One of the reasons is that no clinical grade, human embryonic stem cell-derived cell lines are available for use yet.

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the budget of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority is for 2008-09; and how much of this is provided (a) by central Government and (b) by pharmaceutical companies. (202388)

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's (MHRA's) operating income budget for 2008-09 is £97.9 million.

Of the total income, £11.1 million is provided by the Department to fund the MHRA's work in the regulation of medical devices.

The MHRA is a trading fund and the majority of its income is generated by fees for its medicines regulatory work which are mostly, but not exclusively, charged to the pharmaceutical industry. It monitors costs against fees charged and reviews its fee levels annually. Fees are set, in accordance with HM Treasury guidelines, with a view to achieving cost recovery for each activity for which it sets a charge. The MHRA is also expected to make a return of 3.5 per cent. of average capital employed paid as dividends to HM Treasury via the Department. For 2008-09 the MHRA's trading income budget is £86.8 million.

Mentally Ill: Community Care

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advocacy services will be made available for people subject to community treatment orders in the first six months of the operation of those orders. (203191)

Although there will be no statutory requirement for independent mental health advocacy for people discharged from hospital under supervised community treatment until April 2009, general mental health advocacy will continue to be available in every strategic health authority area.

Mesothelioma: Screening

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what timetable he has set for the UK National Screening Committee to (a) review the proposed screening programme for (i) mesothelioma and (ii) other asbestos-related illnesses and (b) advise primary care trusts on such screening programmes. (202931)

There are no proposals at present for the UK National Screening Committee to review and advise on screening for mesothelioma or other asbestos-related illnesses.

NHS: Anniversary

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to mark the 60th anniversary of the NHS (a) nationally and (b) locally; and how much this will cost (i) his Department and (ii) local trusts. (202843)

The Department plans to mark the 60th anniversary of the NHS in a number of ways. At a national level, activities include a service of celebration at Westminster Abbey, a history of the NHS publication, and focusing annual events including NHS Live and Health and Social Care awards around the 60th anniversary. Locally, NHS organisations are encouraged to celebrate in the most appropriate way for their staff, patients and local communities.

The Department has a budget of £300,000 for national activities and to support local NHS plans. As decisions for celebrating NHS 60 celebrations at a local level are not determined by the Departments we are unable to provide costs for local celebrations.

NHS: Cleaning Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to bring contracted-out NHS sterilisation services back in-house; and if he will make a statement. (202757)

Hospital trusts and all other healthcare providers are responsible for making their own decisions on decontaminating their instruments, based on local needs. Decontamination can be carried out from either onsite or offsite facilities

All organisations undertaking the decontamination reprocessing of surgical instruments—whether managed by the national health service or by the independent sector—must comply with the standards contained within the Medical Devices Directive (93/42/EEC), copies of which are available in the Library. Trusts are responsible for specifying the services required, in line with the Health Act 2006 Code of Practice for the Prevention and Control of Health Care Associated Infections. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is responsible for monitoring compliance with the standard for contracted-out national health service sterilisation services.

The Government have invested over £200 million in improving decontamination services in the NHS in England. We will continue to help hospital trusts to provide the highest standards of decontamination of instruments as part of their drive against healthcare- associated infection and to protect patient safety.

NHS: Conditions of Employment

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many organisations providing services to the NHS have direction employer status; and how many staff this covers. (203315)

The NHS Pension Scheme resource accounts for 2006-07, the latest year for which accounts are available, show there were 360 organisations with “direction body” status. Precise information on the number of staff covered by “direction body” status is not available.

NHS: Pay

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when officials in his Department were first informed of the NHS Pay Review Body's recommendations for 2008-09. (202935)

The NHS Pay Review Body's report for 2008-09 was submitted jointly to my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State on 4 April 2008.

Nurses: Students

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many students (a) applied for and (b) enrolled in returning to (i) nursing and (ii) midwifery courses in each of the last five years; (202841)

(2) what guidelines exist for the funding of returning to (a) nursing and (b) midwifery courses;

(3) how much was spent on the promotion of returning to (a) nursing and (b) midwifery courses in each of the last five years.

In the spring of 2004 and 2005, the Department ran a generic NHS careers campaign. Therefore, costs on promoting return to practice for nurses and midwives separately are not available.

Return to practice is managed locally. The initiative was funded centrally between February 1999 and March 2004. Over 18,500 former nurses and midwives had returned to work in the national health service as a result of the initiative during this period.

From 1 April 2004, responsibility for return to practice programmes was devolved to local NHS organisations, and information is not collected centrally. There are no specific guidelines on funding return to practice courses. NHS organisations fund courses from their overall training budgets to meet local workforce needs. Guidance about return to practice for employers is available on NHS Employers website at

www.nhsemployers.org.

On 25 February 2008, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State outlined plans to help former midwives to return to work in the NHS after a break in service. The incentives are worth up to £3,000, including free refresher training, and financial support during training for child care and travel expenses. The initiative will be launched jointly with the Royal College of Midwives in June.

Parkinson's Disease

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the number of people with Parkinson's disease in each of the last three years; and how many consulted a Parkinson's disease nurse specialist in each year; (202454)

(2) what estimate he has made of the percentage of people with Parkinson's disease not referred to a specialist for diagnosis in each of the last five years;

(3) what assessment he has made of the level of support given to carers of those with Parkinson's disease.

In “The National Service Framework for long term conditions”, published in 2005, we estimated that there were 120,000 people living with Parkinson's disease. That is the latest estimate available. The number of these patients who consulted a Parkinson's disease specialist is not collected. A copy of the publication is available in the Library

We have made no estimate of the percentage of people with Parkinson's disease who were not referred to a specialist for diagnosis.

We have made no assessment of the level of support given to carers of those living with Parkinson's disease.

Prostate Cancer

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2008, Official Report, column 1475W, on prostate cancer, in which primary care trust areas (a) local and (b) specialist urology teams did not review new patients presenting with urological cancer using a multi-disciplinary team. (201589)

The information requested is not held by primary care trust area. However, the following tables set out the relevant information by national health service trust area.

Local urology multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) non-compliant with “Manual for cancer services 2004” measure 2G-114—

“There should be an operational policy for the team whereby it is intended that all new cancer patients will be reviewed by a multi-disciplinary team”—

as reviewed in the first round of the National Cancer Peer Review 2004-07 are as follows.

Trust

Team

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

MDT—Lancashire Teaching Hospitals

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust

MDT—Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh

Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust

MDT—Aintree

Wirral Hospital NHS Trust

MDT—Wirral

James Paget Healthcare NHS Trust

MDT—James Paget

Ealing Hospital NHS Trust

MDT—Ealing Hospital

North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust

MDT—North Middlesex University Hospital

Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust

MDT—Royal Free

Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Trust

MDT—Guys and St. Thomas

Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS Trust

MDT—Milton Keynes General

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

MDT—East Surrey Hospital

East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust

MDT—Eastbourne

Specialist urology MDTs non-compliant with Manual for cancer services 2004 measure 2G-114—

“There should be an operational policy for the team whereby it is intended that all new cancer patients will be reviewed by a multi-disciplinary team”—

as reviewed in the first round of the National Cancer Peer Review 2004-07 are as follows.

Trust

Team

University College London Hospitals NHS Trust/Royal Free Hospital NHS Trust

MDT—North London Joint Cancer Centre

Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust

MDT—Plymouth

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2008, Official Report, column 1473W, on prostate cancer, what estimate he has made of the number of people who will have prostate cancer in (a) 2011, (b) 2016 and (c) 2021. (201909)

The Department has made the following estimates of the number of new cases of prostate cancer.

New cases (estimate)

2011

29,625

2016

33,026

2021

36,703

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) with reference to the answer of 23 March 2007, Official Report, columns 1203-4W, on prostate cancer, whether he has consulted on revised Prostate Cancer Risk Management programme materials; and when he expects a relaunch of the packs to take place; (201912)

(2) pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2008, Official Report, column 1214W, on prostate cancer, whether the Prostate Cancer Risk Management programme was discussed at the meeting with representatives of the Prostate Cancer Charter for Action of 7 November 2007; and if he will make a statement.

I can confirm that the revision of the Prostate Cancer Risk Management programme (PCRMP) was discussed at my meeting with representatives of the Prostate Cancer Charter for Action on 7 November 2007. Subsequently representatives of the Charter have been members of a small group convened by national health service cancer screening programmes to consult on and oversee the revision of the PCRMP materials. This revision is ongoing, and an exercise seeking the views of key stakeholders will take place on the revised materials in May 2008 prior to the relaunch of the PCRMP in June 2008.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people he estimates will die from prostate cancer in (a) 2008, (b) 2011, (c) 2016 and (d) 2021. (201946)

Psychiatric Nurses

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many psychiatric nurses there were in each primary care trust in each year between 1999 and 2007. (202727)

This information is not available in the format requested; such information as is available has been placed in the Library.

The Department only collects data for England. Owing to the large number of reorganisations in the national health service for the requested period, we have supplied three tables for 1999-2000-prior to the formation of the primary care trusts—for 2001-05 showing the old PCTs and for 2006-07, showing the current PCTs.

Social Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people of working age in each local authority area received state-funded social care support in each of the last 10 years. (202315)

[holding answer 28 April 2008]: Information on the estimated number of working-age people (aged 18-64) receiving state funded social care support from each council is shown in the following table. It should be noted that the data were first collected from all councils in 2000-01 and the latest year for which data are available is 2006-07.

There are some issues to be aware of when comparing the data over time involving clients who were formally in receipt of higher rates of income support under the Department for Work and Pensions preserved rights scheme and clients receiving services being reinstated in 2004-05.

Number of clients aged 18-64 receiving services during the period by year, England, 1 April to 31 March

Rounded number

Total number of clients receiving services

Councils with social services responsibilities

2000-01

2001-02

2002-031

2003-041

2004-051, 2

2005-061, 2

2006-071, 2

England

427,000

443,000

464,000

482,000

492,000

518,000

543,000

North East

19,585

23,810

26,450

30,140

28,000

31,000

34,000

Shire Counties

116

Durham

3,925

4,540

5,150

6,540

7,110

7,220

8,115

104

Northumberland

3,470

3,100

2,300

3,320

3,680

4,300

4,565

Unitary Authorities

117

Darlington

720

910

980

940

930

1,120

1,205

111

Hartlepool

1,000

1,200

1,190

1,240

1,140

1,120

1,890

112

Middlesbrough

1,900

1,910

1,470

1,430

1,770

1,890

2,015

113

Redcar and Cleveland

1,075

1,170

1,150

1,110

1,310

1,500

1,575

114

Stockton-on-Tees

3

1,590

1,570

1,640

1,650

2,050

2,090

Metropolitan Districts

106

Gateshead

1,165

1,200

1,770

1,960

2,310

2,250

1,975

107

Newcastle upon Tyne

4,160

2,320

4,340

4,440

2,160

3,600

3,220

108

North Tyneside

3

1,710

1,610

3,220

1,500

1,580

1,955

109

South Tyneside

3

1,900

3

3

1,740

1,850

1,800

110

Sunderland

2,170

2,260

2,330

2,260

2,300

2,400

3,275

North West

54,145

64,830

67,260

70,080

74,000

73,000

76,000

Shire Counties

320

Cheshire

4,980

4,430

4,560

5,620

5,430

6,380

6,470

102

Cumbria

2,440

3,310

3,660

3,420

3,930

5,140

5,115

323

Lancashire

10,895

9,140

9,460

10,200

10,680

11,000

10,965

Unitary Authorities

324

Blackburn

1,410

1,290

1,170

1,120

1,060

1,210

1,195

325

Blackpool

1,080

1,230

2,000

1,950

1,820

1,810

1,750

321

Halton

840

860

1,000

1,270

1,360

1,340

1,365

322

Warrington

1,680

3,590

2,120

1,940

1,670

1,780

2,025

Metropolitan Districts

304

Bolton

1,885

2,460

3,060

2,980

3,150

3,200

3,400

305

Bury

805

1,000

1,620

1,810

2,480

2,340

2,615

315

Knowsley

1,610

1,590

1,640

1,560

1,340

1,550

1,650

316

Liverpool

4,085

4,290

4,480

4,870

4,920

4,950

4,660

306

Manchester

3

3

3,260

3,770

3,810

4,450

5,110

307

Oldham

7,000

6,260

4,200

3,830

3,920

2,960

3,290

308

Rochdale

3

1,830

2,370

2,310

1,870

1,960

2,365

309

Salford

3

3,160

2,610

2,770

3,520

3,020

3,185

317

Sefton

3,150

3,230

1,990

2,100

2,210

2,710

2,805

318

St. Helens

1,480

1,580

1,860

2,210

2,360

2,090

1,975

310

Stockport

4,685

4,110

5,300

3,970

6,590

3,530

3,620

311

Tameside

2,370

2,820

3,220

5,100

3,950

3,640

3,600

312

Trafford

1,445

2,030

2,160

1,690

1,960

1,820

1,975

313

Wigan

3

2,330

2,450

2,360

2,390

2,920

3,620

319

Wirral

2,310

2,940

3,080

3,200

3,150

3,260

3,270

Yorkshire and the Humber

53,730

55,340

54,100

51,220

49,000

50,000

49,000

Shire Counties

218

North Yorkshire

4,450

4,770

4,580

4,240

4,700

4,950

5,040

Unitary Authorities

214

East Riding

1,680

3,090

3,430

3,330

3,650

3,210

3,045

215

Kingston-upon-Hull

3,065

3,430

3,560

4,160

4,240

3,170

3,415

216

North East Lincolnshire

725

1,250

970

1,380

860

1,620

1,890

217

North Lincolnshire

1,825

1,120

1,490

1,900

2,300

1,840

1,690

219

York

1,360

1,370

1,940

1,920

1,780

1,820

1,765

Metropolitan Districts

204

Barnsley

2,655

4,440

3,600

4,610

3,030

3,980

4,190

209

Bradford

3

4,020

4,160

4,770

5,030

4,870

4,585

210

Calderdale

3,355

3,150

2,760

980

1,820

1,850

1,920

205

Doncaster

6,620

1,300

2,150

1,760

1,720

1,560

1,605

211

Kirklees

3,480

4,260

3,760

3,490

3,530

3,620

3,540

212

Leeds

7,645

7,760

8,370

8,390

6,900

7,170

5,650

206

Rotherham

2,930

3,100

2,930

2,700

2,670

2,060

2,200

207

Sheffield

10,985

9,970

8,520

4,840

4,750

5,370

5,555

213

Wakefield

2,950

2,320

1,860

2,750

2,400

2,610

2,690

East Midlands

32,935

39,000

37,740

39,160

39,000

39,000

40,000

Shire Counties

506

Derbyshire

4,845

6,990

6,050

6,280

6,490

6,500

6,525

508

Leicestershire

3,515

3,940

4,290

4,360

4,330

4,790

4,450

503

Lincolnshire

9,945

8,760

8,060

8,550

5,410

5,110

5,910

504

Northamptonshire

5,150

5,770

5,000

5,320

8,370

7,480

7,155

511

Nottinghamshire

5,735

6,070

5,970

6,490

6,630

6,900

7,720

Unitary Authorities

507

Derby

2,015

2,440

2,360

2,290

2,400

2,470

2,785

509

Leicester

1,540

2,000

2,250

2,550

2,880

2,700

2,545

512

Nottingham

3

3

3,560

3,120

2,540

2,600

2,685

510

Rutland

180

210

220

210

220

220

280

West Midlands

34,320

39,690

46,610

46,560

49,000

51,000

51,000

Shire Counties

417

Shropshire

2,775

2,900

3,420

3,500

4,180

4,420

4,205

413

Staffordshire

7,040

5,860

7,000

7,060

7,170

7,200

6,485

404

Warwickshire

3,375

3,730

3,740

3,750

5,430

4,990

4,840

416

Worcestershire

3

2,860

4,820

4,230

4,990

5,120

5,000

Unitary Authorities

415

Herefordshire

1,165

1,220

1,380

1,620

1,540

1,710

2,075

414

Stoke-on-Trent

1,610

2,190

2,980

3,400

2,690

2,420

2,495

418

Telford and Wrekin

2,835

1,980

2,170

2,570

2,390

2,410

2,850

Metropolitan Districts

406

Birmingham

6,875

5,200

7,390

8,390

7,700

8,720

8,420

407

Coventry

3

3

3,250

2,060

2,640

2,730

2,830

408

Dudley

3,485

4,060

3,030

2,900

3,110

3,350

3,365

409

Sandwell

3

3

2,500

1,600

2,320

2,470

2,855

410

Solihull

1,210

1,180

1,290

1,390

1,520

1,510

1,600

411

Walsall

1,100

1,570

1,850

2,420

1,830

1,730

2,180

412

Wolverhampton

2,845

1,870

1,790

1,670

1,740

1,940

2,110

South West

42,735

44,720

47,300

51,670

52,000

57,000

60,000

Shire Counties

902

Cornwall

9,475

8,600

9,160

9,700

9,750

8,830

8,635

912

Devon

5,390

4,920

4,750

5,400

5,540

7,310

7,975

809

Dorset

2,855

3,690

3,190

4,400

3,580

4,190

3,470

904

Gloucestershire

4,775

3,960

3,930

3,960

4,370

4,820

5,245

906

Isles of Scilly

40

20

10

10

10

10

10

905

Somerset

3,850

3,980

5,740

5,100

5,790

9,160

9,895

817

Wiltshire

4,110

3,220

3,060

4,700

4,750

4,290

4,920

Unitary Authorities

908

Bath and North East Somerset

3

1,880

1,740

1,790

1,400

1,630

1,855

810

Bournemouth

2,240

1,370

1,550

1,730

1,860

1,450

1,695

909

Bristol

3,945

4,730

5,160

4,790

4,330

3,470

4,230

910

North Somerset

1,690

1,610

1,550

1,560

1,410

1,630

1,710

913

Plymouth

3

2,130

2,190

2,310

2,170

2,540

2,920

811

Poole

810

870

950

1,460

1,550

1,710

1,880

911

South Gloucestershire

1,540

1,350

1,490

1,630

2,200

2,460

2,415

819

Swindon

1,125

1,330

1,450

1,810

1,890

1,950

2,065

914

Torbay

880

1,080

1,370

1,340

1,240

1,380

1,320

Eastern

32,650

42,440

43,800

47,470

45,000

52,000

54,000

Shire Counties

610

Bedfordshire

1,510

1,630

1,490

2,540

3,550

3,470

3,600

623

Cambridgeshire

2,285

2,470

3,190

3,450

3,460

3,790

4,185

620

Essex

6,280

12,550

12,500

12,240

3—

16,230

16,240

606

Hertfordshire

7,320

10,270

9,240

9,240

8,850

6,290

7,770

607

Norfolk

7,475

7,890

7,710

8,070

5,840

9,540

9,265

609

Suffolk

1,060

1,240

2,810

4,350

5,080

5,860

5,860

Unitary Authorities

611

Luton

1,080

1,110

1,410

1,670

1,600

1,640

1,515

624

Peterborough

880

1,990

2,010

1,930

2,190

1,660

1,680

621

Southend

3,735

2,180

2,380

2,690

2,690

2,910

2,345

622

Thurrock

1,030

1,100

1,080

1,290

1,180

1,090

1,250

London

68,125

70,800

69,790

72,770

72,000

75,000

81,000

Inner London

702

Camden

3,390

3,420

3,500

3,450

2,280

2,240

2,360

703

Greenwich

1,800

1,530

2,470

1,630

1,850

1,610

1,865

704

Hackney

1,060

3

1,390

1,710

2,240

2,900

2,985

705

Hammersmith and Fulham

2,005

1,410

1,610

1,920

1,840

1,830

1,820

706

Islington

1,450

1,720

1,890

1,710

1,690

1,960

2,150

707

Kensington and Chelsea

1,465

1,850

2,410

3,810

4,120

2,550

2,740

708

Lambeth

2,360

2,810

2,490

2,570

2,480

2,870

2,840

709

Lewisham

2,145

2,130

2,480

2,420

2,370

2,370

2,205

710

Southwark

2,585

2,180

2,360

3,480

3,720

3,540

3,690

711

Tower Hamlets

1,810

2,550

2,460

2,350

2,260

2,860

3,005

712

Wandsworth

2,160

2,310

3,110

3,320

2,310

2,570

2,975

713

Westminster

2,140

2,070

2,040

1,980

1,980

2,450

2,655

714

City of London

340

140

140

180

160

170

145

Outer London

716

Barking and Dagenham

1,205

1,260

1,260

1,220

1,420

1,460

1,270

717

Barnet

3,070

3,630

2,510

1,440

1,770

2,500

2,660

718

Bexley

3,590

3,200

3,750

3,540

2,490

2,900

3,800

719

Brent

1,505

2,730

1,780

2,480

2,180

2,530

3,415

720

Bromley

2,375

2,450

2,930

2,840

3,040

3,490

3,600

721

Croydon

2,685

3,510

3,180

2,950

2,450

2,620

2,730

722

Ealing

2,115

2,570

2,170

2,190

2,450

3,050

3,065

723

Enfield

1,220

1,590

1,940

2,060

2,220

2,510

3,045

724

Haringey

2,920

2,250

2,280

2,320

2,240

2,730

2,795

725

Harrow

3,310

2,340

2,510

2,480

2,600

1,690

2,615

726

Havering

1,785

1,920

2,000

2,240

1,850

1,880

2,095

727

Hillingdon

2,875

1,920

1,570

1,730

1,860

1,740

1,880

728

Hounslow

1,420

2,080

1,770

2,230

2,740

2,540

2,375

729

Kingston-upon-Thames

3,975

3,630

1,940

1,640

1,680

1,750

1,520

730

Merton

1,675

1,440

1,170

1,370

1,550

1,910

2,050

731

Newham

1,260

2,360

2,110

2,130

2,450

2,620

3,295

732

Redbridge

1,870

2,220

2,510

2,620

2,630

2,400

2,635

733

Richmond upon Thames

1,110

1,120

1,170

1,320

1,290

1,330

1,620

734

Sutton

1,220

1,230

1,440

1,260

1,470

1,530

1,610

735

Waltham Forest

2,240

1,580

1,460

2,200

2,080

2,210

1,595

South East

41,945

61,950

70,940

73,150

85,000

90,000

98,000

Shire Counties

612

Buckinghamshire

1,630

2,100

2,600

2,800

2,570

2,790

3,035

815

East Sussex

3,405

2,570

3,750

4,170

3,920

3,820

4,180

812

Hampshire

8,715

17,120

15,670

18,870

28,390

27,830

30,105

820

Kent

7,835

8,900

11,860

12,340

12,400

13,530

14,885

608

Oxfordshire

3

3

3

3,570

4,000

4,880

5,045

805

Surrey

3

3

11,050

5,040

9,420

9,910

8,770

807

West Sussex

2,510

2,800

2,840

5,510

4,330

5,710

9,405

Unitary Authorities

614

Bracknell Forest

660

830

670

660

870

1,160

1,230

816

Brighton and Hove

2,170

2,980

2,630

3,200

2,740

2,890

2,710

803

Isle of Wight

3,910

3,080

3,690

2,740

1,700

1,750

2,305

821

Medway Towns

1,605

1,650

1,380

1,620

1,990

2,740

2,615

613

Milton Keynes

85

1,090

1,310

1,730

1,580

1,880

2,555

813

Portsmouth

2,665

2,980

2,730

2,500

2,310

1,630

1,825

616

Reading

1,210

1,150

1,370

1,660

1,460

1,600

1,625

617

Slough

850

940

1,060

1,130

1,100

1,260

1,410

814

Southampton

2,245

3,150

2,880

2,560

2,650

2,830

2,950

615

West Berkshire

785

800

910

970

1,200

1,400

1,390

618

Windsor and Maidenhead

825

910

950

1,200

1,380

1,330

980

619

Wokingham

850

720

820

880

890

1,080

1,015

1 Data includes clients formerly in receipt of preserved rights.

2 Guidance was restated in 2004-05. Figures from previous years are not comparable.

3 Missing data.

Notes:

1. The England and regional totals are estimates based on the figures from 150 P1 proformas.

2. Figures may not add up because of rounding.

3. Regional and national totals may not be equal to the sum of the council level figures due to the use of estimates when the council did not fully complete the return.

4. All figures presented are rounded to the nearest 10, 100 or 1,000. The precise rounding rules are:

For national and regional totals:

Data: Rounding rule

Over 10,000: Rounding to nearest 1,000

Between 100 and 10,000: Rounded to nearest 100

Under 50: Rounded to nearest 10.

5. There are some issues to be aware of when comparing the data over time:

Since 2002-03, clients who were formally in receipt of higher rates of income support under the Department for Work and Pensions preserved rights scheme and who transferred to council support on 8 April 2002 have been included in the referrals, assessments and packages of care return. Clients that were in receipt of preserved rights but who were already being partially supported by councils were previously included in the data and are not considered as clients formerly in receipt of preserved rights. This mainly effects clients in residential care.

Guidance relating to clients receiving services was restated for 2004-05 to only include clients who are assessed by social services and have a care plan. In previous years, some councils included clients receiving services from grant-funded organisations without a community care assessment and therefore the 2004-05 data is not comparable to previous years. Additional clarification was also given on the recording of some types of services. These amendments mainly affect clients receiving community–based services.

Source:

RAP proforma P1.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations were performed within (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four, (e) five, (f) six, (g) seven, (h) eight, (i) nine, (j) 10, (k) 11 and (l) 12 or more weeks of referral from a general practitioner, or specialist practitioner, in each quarter of each of the last five years, broken down by acute hospital trust; and if he will make a statement. (200371)

Referral-to-treatment data have been collected since January 2007. The information requested has been placed in the Library. These data show the number and percentage of admitted patients treated in each month up to and including January 2008, along with the quarterly totals. The figures include patients referred by general practitioners, specialist practitioners and other sources of referral.

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. Published data show that at a national level, performance for admitted patients increased from 49 per cent. in January 2007 to 69 per cent. in January 2008.

Working Conditions

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government has taken to help employers provide healthy working environments. (202983)

[holding answer 1 May 2008]: The Government have done a good deal to help employers provide healthy working environments in recent years: the publication of the White Paper “Choosing Health—making healthy choices easier” (2004) the cross-Government strategy “Health, work and well-being—Caring for our future” (2005), and, finally, the more recently published review of the health of the working age population, “Working for a healthier tomorrow” (March 2008) by Professor Dame Carol Black, National Director for Health and Work. In addition the Government have sponsored a number of workplace health awards for both public and private sectors, including the prestigious Business in the Community Health at Work awards.

As the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions set out in a written ministerial statement on 17 March 2008, Official Report, columns 50-52WS, the Government will consider Dame Carol’s findings carefully and, over the coming months, will develop detailed proposals to make a real difference to all working environments. Success in this agenda will benefit individuals, families, communities, businesses and the economy as a whole.

Communities and Local Government

Adoption: Standards

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities had performance targets in their local public service agreements or local area agreements on (a) adoption and (b) stability of adoption placements, where such performance was incentivised with reward grants; and what the target was in each case. (202621)

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 29 October 2007, Official Report, column 670W to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley (John Hemming).

Bus Services: Subsidies

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what level of local authority grant has been made to enable the subsidy of uneconomic bus routes for (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09 in (i) Plymouth and (ii) Devon. (203697)

I have been asked to reply.

Plymouth city council and Devon county council have received Rural Bus Subsidy Grant (RBSG) and funding from the Department for Transport’s Urban and Rural Bus Challenge and Kickstart schemes. These grants have provided financial support towards new and existing bus services including those which may have previously been uneconomic. The following table shows the amounts that the two authorities received in 2007-08 under these grant schemes; projected figures for 2008-09 are also shown:

Authority

2007-08

2008-09

Plymouth city council

133,848

116,760

Devon county council

2,531,770

2,557,972

1 The reduction as compared with the Plymouth figure for the previous year reflects the completion of funding in 2007-08 for the authority’s project under the Urban Bus Challenge scheme.

Local authorities may also use funding from the Government’s unhypothecated Revenue Support Grant to support local bus services.

Bus companies operating throughout Devon also receive Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) from the Department. This is a payment equivalent to about 80 per cent. of the fuel duty that operators incur in providing local bus services. However, as BSOG is paid directly to operators, statistics are not kept for payments by local authority or geographical area.

Caravan Sites: Council Tax

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether Traveller caravans are liable for council tax where the pitch is not charged business rates. (202592)

A pitch for a caravan which is a person’s sole or main residence will be liable for council tax.

Connect Public Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what payments her Department has made to Connect Public Affairs since her Department was created; on what dates; and for what purpose in each case; (203793)

(2) what payments the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Neighbourhood Renewal Unit made to Connect Public Affairs; on what dates; and for what purpose in each case.

The following payments have been made to Connect Public Affairs since the Department (as the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) was formed in 2002. These include payments made by the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit. Connect Public Affairs provided a range of conferences and events covering the delivery of neighbourhood renewal programmes, policies, and related themes including, in March 2008, a national conference on the future development of regeneration policy and community empowerment.

Date paid

Total amount

14 March 2003

11,750.00

1 June 2006

95,054.89

25 July 2006

10,791.07

22 August 2006

12,922.65

31 October 2006

12,922.65

9 November 2006

107,771.72

20 November 2006

12,922.65

21 December 2006

12,922.65

16 February 2007

12,922.65

22 March 2007

29,367.52

27 March 2007

22,630.81

10 May 2007

12,922.65

21 August 2007

6,271.56

12 September 2007

12,922.65

2 October 2007

6,271.56

14 November 2007

6,271.56

31 December 2007

28,135.38

4 February 2008

6,271.56

Construction Methods: Fire Prevention

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on the fire resistance standards to be applied to materials used in the construction of public and community buildings; (203708)

(2) what steps she is taking to inform local authorities about the fire performance of certain composite panels;

(3) whether she plans to revise, loss prevention standard 1181, relating to the fire performance of composite panels used in the construction of schools and other community buildings;

(4) if she will meet the Loss Prevention Certificate Board to discuss the fire performance of composite panels.

The Building Regulations 2000 (as amended) apply to building work in England and Wales, typically the erection, extension or material alteration of a building, including public and community buildings. For the purposes of securing reasonable standards of health and safety for persons in and around buildings, part B of the regulations sets out requirements for fire safety.

In support of these requirements, the Department issues technical guidance, known as Approved Document B, which sets out appropriate levels of fire performance and fire resistance for materials, products and structures, including composite panels, when tested to relevant British or European standards. The necessary level of performance that should be obtained will depend upon the type of building, the nature of the construction product and where it is located.

Specific guidance on meeting the fire safety requirements of the building regulations in the design and construction of schools is given in Building Bulletin 100, published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families. Information on hospitals in Health Technical Memorandum 02-05, published by the Department of Health.

In existing buildings, 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.

LPS 1181 is a loss prevention standard produced by the Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB) and used primarily by the insurance industry. This standard provides a method for assessing the fire performance of cladding systems with respect to potential economic loss in the event of a fire. Current statutory provisions and supporting standards for fire protection in buildings are made only for the purposes of securing the health and safety of people in and around buildings, not to reduce economic loss. As such the Department does not utilise LPS 1181 within its guidance on fire safety.

Officials within the Department do, from time to time, communicate with the LPCB on a wide range of issues. However, as LPS 1181 is not utilised in our guidance, it is not of direct relevance to the Department’s work.

Construction: Sustainable Development

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she has taken to improve sustainability within local government procurement with regard to construction. (202543)

Subject to their legal duties, including the duty of best value and public procurement law, local authorities are responsible for taking their own procurement decisions. There is a range of good practice guidance to which they can have regard to. For example, the Local Government Task Force, which is sponsored by the Department, recently published three guides on sustainable construction, which include specific advice for leaders, construction professionals and procurement managers.

Council Tax

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was raised in council tax for each precepting authority in 2006-07 in England. (202616)

Details of the level of council tax precepting authorities in England expected to raise 2006-07 were published in table 8 of the statistical release “Levels of council tax set by local authorities in England 2006-07”.

This release is available on the Communities and Local Government website at:

http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/ctax/ctax067.htm

Council Tax: Valuation

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2008, Official Report, column 613W, on Council Tax: Valuation, for what reasons the sections on (a) future council tax revaluations, (b) the hon. Member for Meriden and (c) consequentials were redacted from the minutes placed in the Library. (202471)

I refer the hon. Member to my previous answer of 19 February 2008, Official Report, column 613W. The reasons are stated in the redacted minutes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2008, Official Report, column 613W, and 2 April 2008, Official Report, columns 924-5W, on Council Tax: Valuation, if she will place in the Library the initial analysis of the number of consequentials that informed the discussions at the Council Tax Revaluation Programme Board (England); (202475)

(2) how many consequentials that were identified were subsequently corrected as part of the Valuation Office Agency’s normal duty; and how many households had their records amended.

Council Tax: Waste Management

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether joint waste authorities will levy a separate precept on council tax. (202612)

Joint waste authorities will not have precepting powers, and will need to agree funding structures with their constituent authorities.

Departmental Manpower

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) permanent Civil Service posts, (b) permanent non-Civil Service posts and (c) temporary or agency workers in employment there were in her Department in each month since May 2005. (199630)

Our workforce statistics are compiled quarterly and published by the Office for National Statistics. They are based on numbers of employees rather than posts, and do not reflect vacancy information.

The latest available figures are for 31 December 2007 and show that there were 5,280 permanent civil servants and 70 temporary employees in the Department for Communities and Local Government. The figures are on the full-time equivalent basis and are rounded to the nearest 10.

Historical records are available from the recently launched UK Statistics Authority website:

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/ReleaseCalendar/fundreleases.asp?releasetitle=Public+Sector+Employment&releaseorganisation=42&releasetheme=&daterange=3&sday=18&smonth=03&syear=2008&ShowHits=10&SortOrder=0&ShowYear=2008.

These figures will exclude temporary agency workers who are not employed directly by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Non-civil service permanent posts include special advisers. The Prime Minister gave details of special advisers to the House on 22 November 2007, Official Report, column 147WS.

Eco-Towns

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which of the shortlisted eco-town proposals involve development on (a) green belt and (b) greenfield land. (203065)

Eco-Towns: Motor Vehicles

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to promote the restriction of car (a) ownership and (b) parking spaces in eco-town developments. (203057)

We have set out in the consultation document “Eco-towns—living a greener future” what needs to be achieved in terms of sustainable transport and this includes a significant reduction in car reliance. This would mean, for example, locating major facilities and services within a 10-minute walk of homes within the eco-town and provision of frequent and reliable public transport. Through these measures and those set out in the consultation document, we would expect there to be less of a need for car parking spaces, but each location will need its own approach.

Eco-Towns: Planning Permission

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which bids to become eco-towns included plans for development on (a) green belt and (b) greenfield land. (202558)

On the basis of an evaluation of the shortlisted bids, I can confirm that no new homes will be built on green belt land. In terms of greenfield land, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 25 April 2008, Official Report, column 2303W to the hon. Member for Cotswold (Mr. Clifton-Brown).

Eco-Towns: Regional Planning and Development

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Infrastructure Planning Commission will consider planning applications for eco-towns or their associated infrastructure. (203036)

Under the proposals in the Planning Bill, the Infrastructure Planning Commission will consider nationally significant infrastructure projects, such as proposals for major new power stations. Planning applications for eco-towns will be submitted to the appropriate local authority.

Electronic Government

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether mechanisms are in place to monitor the extent to which her Department's (a) internal and (b) external (i) correspondence and (ii) distribution of publications are carried out electronically. (199195)

The Department is able to monitor the number of downloads from its website and intranet, and the volume of external e-mail correspondence. We have not set up the capacity to monitor the level of internal e-mail correspondence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her responsibilities in respect of the e-Government regional partnerships are. (202634)

The Local e-Government Programme concluded at the end of March 2006, having delivered against the Prime Minister’s pledge that 100 per cent. of services would be electronically enabled by December 2005. The e-Government regional partnership network has now become self-sustaining, with member authorities taking responsibility for the individual partnerships’ forward work programme within the devolved arrangements for regional improvement and efficiency.

Floods: EU Grants and Loans

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much of the £110 million received from the EU for emergency flood relief will be put at the disposal of (a) central Government, (b) local government and (c) Gloucestershire county council. (202625)

I refer the hon. Member to my parliamentary statement of 6 May 2008, Official Report, column 18WS.

Floods: Planning Permission

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many times the Planning Inspectorate overruled decisions to refuse planning permission for new developments proposed to be built in flood risk areas when the Environment Agency and the relevant local authority have advised against such a development in the last two years. (202969)

The Planning Inspectorate does not capture data to enable it to identify appeals that relate to development within flood risk areas. If a planning application for development in a flood risk area were to be referred to the Planning Inspectorate on appeal, it would be decided in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicated otherwise. All representations made would be taken into account, as well as Government policy set out in Planning Policy Statement 25, “Development and Flood Risk”. Each case would be determined on its merits.

Gardens: Valuation

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the presence of a roof garden is taken into account by the Valuation Office Agency during a council tax valuation. When undertaking a valuation to arrive at, or amend, a council tax banding, all material factors that affect the open market value of a dwelling will be taken into account, as required by the Council Tax (Situation and Valuation of Dwellings) Regulations 1992. (202614)

Home Information Packs

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her policy is on voluntary home condition reports; and if she will make a statement. (202640)

The Government remain convinced of the benefits of the Home Condition Report (HCR) and encourages sellers to include one in their pack. The Department continues to work with industry to promote and find solutions to increase the uptake of the HCR on a market-led basis.

Homelessness

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homeless households, where the household type was a (a) couple with dependent children and (b) lone- parent household with dependent children, were in temporary accommodation in England in each year since 1997. (203054)

Information about local authorities’ actions under homelessness legislation is collected quarterly at local authority level on the PIE statistical return. This information includes the number of households accepted by local authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty. The duty owed to an accepted household is to secure suitable accommodation. If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority may secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available.

Data on the number of households in temporary accommodation are provided in our quarterly statistical release on statutory homelessness, published on our website and placed in the House Library. The latest release was published on 10 March 2008.

Data on household type was first collected on the main PIE form from June 2006. Figures showing a breakdown by household type, including (a) couples with dependent children and (b) lone parent households with dependent children, are available for each quarter from June 2006 onwards and are provided in Table 10c, available on the website at:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/714966.xls

A summary of data from the table is provided as follows. It shows the number of households in temporary accommodation, by household type, as at the last day of December in 2006 and 2007.

Number of households in temporary accommodation, by household type, as at 31 December

Total in temporary accommodation1

Couple with dependent children2

Lone parent household with dependent children

Percentage of total

Percentage of total

20063

89,510

23,130

26

42,310

47

20073

79,500

20,450

26

37,860

48

1 This should be a “snapshot” of the numbers in accommodation on the last day of the quarter, not the numbers taking up accommodation.

2 Includes expectant mothers with no other dependent children.

3 Provisional data.

Note:

Totals may not equal the sum of components because of rounding.

Source:

CLG PIE Homelessness returns (quarterly)

Homes and Communities Agency: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what she estimates the running costs of the Homes and Communities Agency will be in its first year of operation. (202586)

The Homes and Communities Agency’s running costs will be brought together from a range of components, including the current running costs of English Partnerships, a percentage of the current running costs of the Housing Corporation that relate to those functions transferring to the HCA, the current running costs of the Academy for Sustainable Communities and costs associated with the delivery of a number of programmes currently delivered by my Department. Work to disaggregate the costs involved is under way.

Housing: Bournemouth

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the proposal to build 1,500 new homes next to the River Stour in North Bournemouth. (202084)

[holding answer 28 April 2008]: There have been no discussions between the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at ministerial level. However, discussions have taken place between officials of the two Departments as part of the consideration of the Secretary of State's proposed changes to the regional spatial strategy for the south west.

Housing: Chelmsford

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of housing allocations made by housing associations in the Chelmsford local authority area were made to people who had no previous direct or indirect links to the borough in each of the last three years. (202911)

Housing: Conservation Areas

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many domestic dwellings there are in conservation areas according to Valuation Office Agency property attribute records. (202593)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 21 April 2008, Official Report, column 1410W in respect of the Value Significant Code OS.

Housing: Construction

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new houses were built in the Easington constituency in each of the last five years. (203788)

Information on house building rates is not held on a parliamentary constituency basis, but for the Easington district as a whole the numbers of houses built (gross) over the last five years is as follows:

Units

2002-03

124

2003-04

382

2004-05

406

2005-06

402

2006-07

659

Total

1,973

Housing: Low Incomes

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers are available to local authorities to apply conditions to ensure that homes granted planning consent as affordable are retained within the affordable sector in perpetuity; and if she will take steps to ensure that local authorities use the powers available. (203175)

[holding answer 1 May 2008]: There are a number of methods by which homes that are sold can be retained in the social housing sector.

Local authorities which sell under the Right to Buy scheme properties located in

National Parks;

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty; and

40 areas designated by the Secretary of State as ‘rural’ for RTB purposes,

may impose covenants restricting the resale of these properties to people who have lived or worked locally for at least three years. ‘Locally’ means within a ‘region’ designated by the Secretary of State for this purpose. Alternatively, they may require that if the owners wish to resell such properties, they must first offer them back to the local authority.

In order to retain social rented properties in areas where replacement is difficult, the Right to Acquire scheme, under which housing association tenants may buy their rented homes at a discount, does not apply in small rural settlements.

In addition, providers have a right of first refusal to buy back properties sold under the Right to Buy and Right to Acquire schemes if they are resold within 10 years if it is essential to retain the homes for social rent.

Measures in the Housing and Regeneration Bill, which completed its second reading in the House of Lords on 28 April, will enable landlords of shared ownership houses to restrict the equity share that shared owners can buy in areas where replacement is difficult, thereby retaining the property within the affordable housing sector for future purchasers where it is essential to do so.

Housing: Valuation

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Valuation Office Agency’s policy is on whether the addition of an extension to a property will normally be assumed to entail an increase in the banding of the property when it is sold. (202567)

This is not a matter of policy. Whether an extension results in a banding increase when the property is sold is a matter of fact and valuation.

Ipsos MORI: Home Information Packs

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the full original dataset of polling information compiled by Ipsos MORI as part of its research study of the home information pack area trials. (202460)

No. The data include personal information which could not be checked and where appropriate removed except at disproportionate cost.

Local Authorities: Public Participation

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research her Department has conducted on the mechanisms and processes by which local authorities respond to petitions from local residents. (202562)

As part of the consultation on Local Petitions and Calls for Action, which closed on 20 March 2008, the Department commissioned a series of focus groups with the public on petitions, and received 149 consultation responses from local authorities, some of which detailed their processes for responding to petitions.

Local Authorities: Satisfaction

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average satisfaction rate with local councils according to (a) Audit Commission assessments and (b) performance against best value performance indicators was in each year since 1997. (202464)

Satisfaction with local authorities has been measured through the best value user satisfaction survey, which was undertaken by local authorities every three years from 2000-01 to 2006-07. The data from these surveys were collated and analysed by an external IT contractor on behalf of the Audit Commission and the Department. The latest general report is published on the DCLG website at:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/324639

Latest data for individual authorities can be found on the Audit Commission website at

http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/Performance/Downloads/2006_07UserSurveyBVPIswithDistricts.xls.

The satisfaction survey collects information on 13 attitudinal best value performance indicators. Overall satisfaction with each local authority is measured by best value performance indicator 3, and the averages for local authorities in England are as follows.

Percentage

2000-01

65

2003-04

55

2006-07

54

The Audit Commission assesses councils' performance through comprehensive performance assessment. It does not make separate assessments of customer service satisfaction with councils. In determining the overall CPA performance ratings and direction of travel statements of councils, the Audit Commission will take into consideration the results in the best value user satisfaction surveys, as well as other non-attitudinal evidence on performance.

Since the CPA (the performance management framework for councils in England) was introduced in 2002 councils throughout England have continued to significantly improve their overall performance, as the following table illustrates.

CPA 2002 results

CPA 2003 results

CPA 2004 results

cpa 2005 results

CPA 2006 results

CPA 2007 results

Number of single tier and county councils achieving excellent/good CPA rating1

76

82

101

n/a

n/a

n/a

Percentage

51

55

67

Number of single tier and county councils achieving 3 or 4 star rating1

n/a

n/a

n/a

102

119

123

Percentage

68

80

83

1 The Audit Commission introduced a new framework for CPA in single tier and county councils from 2005-08, CPA—‘The Harder Test’. This framework is a harder and different test to the framework used from 2002-04 and CPA categories were renamed from 2005 onwards to reflect this change.

Local Authorities: Translation Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding is provided by the Government for local authorities to provide translation and interpretation services, broken down by (a) local authority and (b) language. (202745)

The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Local Government Ombudsman: Manpower

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of employees of the Local Government Ombudsman have formerly worked in local government. (202582)

Some 55 per cent. of the employees working for the Local Government Ombudsman previously worked in local government.

London Connects: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what central funding London Connects (a) has received and (b) is due to receive for the Valuebill project. (202461)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 17 April 2007, Official Report, column 525W.

Non-Domestic Rates

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the business rates multiplier is for (a) businesses eligible for the small business rate and (b) other businesses in 2008-09. (202603)

The multiplier for properties eligible for small business rate relief in 2008-09 is 0.458, while the multiplier for other properties that are not liable for this relief is 0.462.

Non-Domestic Rates: Tax Allowances

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the value of small business rate relief was in each year since it was introduced. (202605)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 29 April 2008, Official Report, column 319W to the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton (Alan Duncan).

Pensions

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the current rate of employer contribution is to each public sector pension scheme for which her Department has responsibility. (202613)

The current average employer contribution rate for the local government pension scheme, based on available information, is some 15.7 per cent. of payroll.

The equivalent rate for the firefighters pension scheme 1992 is 21.3 per cent. of payroll and 11 per cent. for the new fire fighters pension scheme 2006.

Planning Permission: Appeals

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations have been made by respondents to the Housing Green Paper in relation to planning appeals made by developers on the grounds that insufficient land for development has been identified by a local authority. (203045)

I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing on 29 February 2008, Official Report, column 89WS.

Planning: Canvey Island

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received on the East of England Development Agency’s involvement in the bottling plant proposal for the Northwick Road/Canvey jetty area of Canvey Island; and if she will make a statement. (203633)

No representations have been received on the East of England Development Agency’s involvement in the bottling plant proposal for the Northwick Road Canvey jetty area of Canvey Island.

Planning: Castle Point

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will call in a planning approval granted by councillors at the corner of Oak Road and London Road in Hadleigh to assess its compatibility with the Castle Point local development framework. (203632)

The primary responsibility for development control within an area rests with the local planning authority. It is for the authority to decide in the first instance, with particular regard to the provisions of the statutory Development Plan and any other material considerations, whether a particular development should take place. The Secretary of State rarely intervenes in the consideration of individual planning applications and then only when planning issues of national or regional significance are involved. To do so more often would be to undermine the responsibility of local authorities for planning in their area.

Government policy in Planning Policy Statements 1 and 12 states that planning decisions should be taken in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Officers at the Government Office for the East of England (GO East) studied the Council’s Planning Committee Report for this proposal and were satisfied that the decision to grant planning permission would be made in accordance with local plan policy and, in view of the fact that the planning issues raised were of no more than local significance, it was considered that the Secretary of State’s intervention was not be appropriate.

Now that planning permission has been granted, there is no set procedure by which the Secretary of State can intervene. She does have certain powers which could be invoked if a development of land use was judged to be so grossly wrong as to do serious damage to the wider public interest. In this instance, and for the reasons given above, such action would not be justified. It is now for Castle Point borough council to monitor the development to ensure that it is carried out in accordance with the terms of the planning permission.

Planning: Floods

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities were directed to rescind planning consents owing to flood risk in each of the last five years; when each direction was issued; and in respect of which location. (201786)

Section 100 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 provides a mechanism for the Secretary of State to initiate proceedings for the revocation or modification of planning permission.

According to our records, no local authorities have been directed by the Secretary of State to rescind planning permissions owing to flood threats over the last five years.

Planning: Travelling People

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2008, Official Report, column 1902W, on Planning: Travelling People, what funding has been provided to assist local residents in challenging illegal or unauthorised developments by travellers. (202987)

The Government fund Planning Aid gives free, independent advice to individuals and community groups, including tenant and resident groups, on the full range of planning issues. The Government provided grant funding for Planning Aid of £1.7 million in 2007-08, which is rising to £3.2 million in 2008-09.

The Government have also published a guide to the effective use of enforcement powers against the unauthorised development of caravan sites. This informs interested members of the public how the planning enforcement system can prevent the stationing of caravans on land in contravention of planning control.

Unitary Councils

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers she has to impose a new unitary arrangement upon a two-tier area; what trial has to be observed; and what period of consultation she expects to be undertaken. (202487)

Our powers to create new unitary structures for an area are limited to implementing, with or without modification, proposals made by one or more councils for the whole or part of an area, or alternative proposals made by the Boundary Committee following a request to the Committee for advice on the councils' proposals.

Before implementing a proposal the Secretary of State must consult every authority affected by it (except the council or councils which made it) and such other persons as she considers appropriate, unless the proposal is made jointly by every council affected by it; and before making an alternative proposal the Boundary Committee must consult persons who may be interested.

We would expect any consultation by the Secretary of State or by the Boundary Committee to last at least the normal 12-week period for public consultations, unless the particular circumstances warrant a different period.

Unpaid Taxes

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much and what proportion of (a) council tax and (b) business rates was uncollected in each billing authority in the last year for which figures are available. (202600)

A table giving details of the amount and the proportion of (a) council tax and (b) non-domestic rates that was uncollected by each billing authority in 2006-07 has been deposited in the Library of the House.

Valuation Office

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2008, Official Report, column 121W, on the Valuation Office, if she will place in the Library a copy of the current version of the Valuation Office Agency's form Dwelling Survey V09072. (202479)

A copy of the current version of this form is available in the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Referencing Manual, and I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 18 October 2007, Official Report, column 1279W.

Valuation Office: ICT

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2008, Official Report, column 1033W, on Property: Databases, which local authorities submit billing authority reports to the Valuation Office Agency via the Valuebill electronic interface. (202468)

The following local authorities submitted electronic billing authority reports (eBARs) to the Valuation Office Agency between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2007:

Amber Valley

Arun

Barnsley

Barrow-In-Furness

Basildon

Berwick Upon Tweed

Bexley

Birmingham

Blackburn With Darwen

Borough of Poole

Bournemouth

Braintree

Breckland

Brent

Brentwood

Bristol City

Broadland

Bromley

Bromsgrove

Burnley

Caerphilly

Caradon

Carmarthenshire

Carrick

Castle Morpeth

Castle Point

Ceredigion

Chelmsford

Chester Le Street

City And County Of Kingston-Upon-Hull

Colchester

Congleton

Copeland

Coventry

Crewe and Nantwich

Denbighshire

Derwentside

Doncaster

Dudley

Easington

East Cambridgeshire

East Dorset

East Hampshire

East Riding Of Yorkshire

East Staffordshire

Eastbourne

Eastleigh

Eden

Ellesmere Port and Neston

Epping Forest

Epsom and Ewell

Fareham

Forest Heath

Gosport

Great Yarmouth

Greenwich

Gwynedd

Hackney

Haringey

Harlow

Hart

Hartlepool

Hastings

Havant

Havering

Hertsmere

Hyndburn

Isle of Wight

Kennet

Kensington and Chelsea

Kettering

Kings Lynn and West Norfolk

Kingston Upon Thames

Lambeth

Leeds

Lichfield

Macclesfield

Maldon

Manchester

Medway

Mendip

Merthyr Tydfil

Merton

Middlesbrough

Neath And Port Talbot

New Forest

Newham

Newport

North East Lincolnshire

North Shropshire

North Tyneside

North Warwickshire

Norwich

Nuneaton and Bedworth

Oswestry

Pembrokeshire

Plymouth

Portsmouth City

Powys

Preston

Redcar And Cleveland

Ribble Valley

Richmond Upon Thames

Rochford

Rossendale

Rotherham

Rugby

Rushcliffe

Rushmoor

Rutland

Salisbury

Sandwell

Sedgefield

Sevenoaks

Sheffield

Shrewsbury and Atcham

Solihull

South Bedfordshire

South Gloucestershire

South Norfolk

South Kibble

South Somerset

South Tyneside

Southwark

Stevenage

Stoke On Trent

Stratford On Avon

Suffolk Coastal

Sunderland

Sutton

Swansea

Tamworth

Taunton Deane

Teesdale

Teignbridge

Telford And Wrekin

Test Valley

Thanet

Thurrock

Tonbridge and Malling

Torbay

Torfaen

Tower Hamlets

Tunbridge Wells

Wakefield

Waltham Forest

Wandsworth

Wansbeck

Warwick

Waveney

Waverley

Wear Valley

Welwyn Hatfield

West Devon

West Lindsey

Westminster City

Wirral

Wolverhampton

Worcester

Worthing

Wrexham

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether local billing authorities are required to adopt the Valuebill interface; and what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on its adoption. (202633)

Valuebill is a voluntary initiative aimed at improving the electronic exchange of property information between local authorities and the Valuation Office Agency. It is up to local authorities to decide whether to adopt the Valuebill interface. Valuebill is mentioned in the ODPM 2005 publication “Delivering Efficiency in Local Services: Further Guidance for Local Authorities” as an initiative to assist local authorities in increasing efficiency.

Waste Disposal Standards

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities had performance targets in their local public service agreements or local area agreements on household waste collection, where such performance was incentivised with reward grants; and what the target was in each case. (202622)

Reward targets appear in local public service agreements and local area agreements.

All texts of LPSAs and LAAs are in the public domain via either the Communities and Local Government website or the IdEA website (LAA) or directly from individual authorities.

Zennor Consulting Ltd

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what payments her Department has made to Zennor Consulting Ltd in the last 12 months; and on what dates and for what purpose in each case. (203052)

Only one payment has been made to Zennor Consulting in the last 12 months. On 24 April this year the Department paid £7,500 including VAT in respect of financial services to ensure eligibility for European Regional Development Funding (ERDF).