Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 12 November 2008
Communities and Local Government
Council House Transfers
We expect that gap funding grant payments of up to £120 million will be made to registered social landlords (RSLs) in support of large scale voluntary transfers in 2008-09. Gap funding grant letters for 2009-10 have yet to be issued, and there are a number of schemes that require a review to take place in accordance with gap funding grant terms. The outcome of these will determine the amount required to be set aside.
There have been no new housing transfer applications requiring gap funding from local authorities in 2008-09.
Eco-Towns: Essex
(2) what assessment she has made of the effect on local emissions levels of developing an eco-town at north-east Elsenham.
As set out in the written statement on eco-towns on 4 November 2008, Official Report, column 10WS, we have published an ‘Eco-towns Sustainability Report’ (SA). This has been carried out by Scott Wilson and evaluates the likely impact of proposals, including north-east Elsenham, on the environment, local economy and community. Copies of the SA will be deposited in the House Library shortly and are available on the Department's website at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingsupply/ecotowns/
For each location we are considering whether any further issues need to be evaluated at the strategic level as part of the Stage 2 consultation, which runs until 19 February 2009.
Homelessness
Annual rough sleeping figures have been collected since 1998 and are shown in the following table. These show the significant reductions in rough sleeping over the past 10 years.
Number 1998 1,850 1999 1,633 2000 1,180 2001 703 2002 596 2003 504 2004 508 2005 459 2006 502 2007 498 2008 483
Housing Companies
The local housing company (LHC) model is being developed through the pilot programme of 14 local authorities, which is being led by English Partnerships, the national regeneration agency. The pilots are based in Leeds, Sheffield, Wakefield, Nottingham, Newcastle, Sunderland, Dacorum, Harlow, Peterborough, Bristol, Plymouth, Wolverhampton, Manchester and Barking and Dagenham.
The programme will provide the basis for assessing the scope for individual local authorities to set up LHCs, as well as the range of benefits that they may be able to secure for their local communities, such as increased housing provision across a range of tenures and wider regeneration benefits. We anticipate that the first LHC will be established as a result of the programme in the near future.
Housing: Construction
Through the Housing Corporation's affordable housing programme for 2007-08 the average total scheme cost was £150,200 for a social rented unit of which £59,700 was social housing grant. The remainder of the total cost is generally covered by borrowing or through registered social landlords' own resources. We have made no estimates on the costs of borrowing to finance the building of these homes.
We hold no central records on costs of building social rented homes by local authorities or on estimates of borrowing costs.
Records are held of local authority new build homes but not those built by their arms length management organisations.
The following table shows the number of new affordable homes built in England by registered social landlords (RSLs) for each year since 1997-98. The figures include social rent and intermediate affordable new build homes; they exclude acquisitions.
New homes built by RSLs 1997-98 27,890 1998-99 26,360 1999-2000 22,260 2000-01 19,560 2001-02 19,550 2002-03 18,920 2003-04 20,580 2004-05 23,500 2005-06 28,470 2006-07 30,690 Source: Housing Corporation Investment Management System (IMS).
Not all RSL housing is provided by new build completions as some supply can come from acquisitions. In 2006-07, an additional 5,500 RSL homes in England were provided by acquisitions which are not included in the aforementioned figure.
The following table shows the number of new social rented homes built in England by registered social landlords (RSLs) each year since 1997-98. The figures exclude acquisitions.
New homes built by RSLs for social rent 1997-98 23,690 1998-99 22,430 1999-2000 19,520 2000-01 17,300 2001-02 17,510 2002-03 16,590 2003-04 16,600 2004-05 16,830 2005-06 18,350 2006-07 19,080 Source: Housing Corporation Investment Management System (IMS)
Not all RSL social rented housing is provided by new build completions as some supply can come from acquisitions. In 2006-07, an additional 2,360 social rented homes in England were provided by RSL acquisitions which are not included in the aforementioned figure.
Housing: Low Incomes
Table 19 on page 50 of the report ‘England's Seaside Towns—A Benchmarking Study’, published by CLG in early November, shows the percentage of households that were in (a) social housing and (b) the private rented sector in each of the 37 principal seaside towns in England in 2001. This is the most up to date information on housing tenure for the seaside towns. The report can be found at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/citiesandregions/englishseasidetowns.
A copy of the table follows for information.
Percentage of households Owner-occupiers Social rented Private rented sector Whitley Bay 84 9 7 Sidmouth 81 10 9 Whitstable/Herne Bay 80 8 12 Southport 79 8 14 Clacton 79 9 13 Greater Worthing 78 10 12 Burnham-on-Sea 78 11 11 Isle of Wight 77 10 13 Swanage 76 11 13 Exmouth 76 11 13 Greater Blackpool 75 9 16 Bognor Regis 75 10 15 Deal 75 12 13 Greater Bournemouth 74 11 15 Dawlish/Teignmouth 74 9 17 Minehead 74 12 13 Torbay 74 8 18 Weymouth 73 13 14 St Ives 73 11 15 Southend-on-Sea 73 12 15 Weston-super-Mare 73 12 16 Morecambe/Heysham 73 8 20 Newquay 71 10 19 Lowestoft 70 16 14 Thanet 70 13 17 Bridlington 69 14 17 Hastings/Bexhill 69 14 18 Eastbourne 69 16 16 Folkestone/Hythe 68 14 19 Falmouth 67 15 18 Whitby 66 18 16 Scarborough 66 15 19 Ilfracombe 66 11 23 Greater Brighton 63 15 22 Penzance 62 18 20 Skegness 62 15 23 Great Yarmouth 62 24 15 Seaside towns 72 12 16 North East 64 28 9 North West 69 20 11 Yorkshire and the Humber 68 21 11 East Midlands 72 18 10 West Midlands 70 21 10 East 73 17 11 London 57 26 17 South East 74 14 12 South West 73 14 13 England 69 19 12 Source: Census of Population
Neither HM Revenue and Customs nor the Valuation Office Agency currently have access to data from the National Register of Social Housing (NROSH). Any request for access to NROSH from a Government Department would be considered on its specific and individual merits.
Multiple Occupation: Coastal Areas
The information requested is not held centrally.
Justice
Community Orders
The following table shows the number of community sentences that terminated in England and Wales for 2005-07. It also provides the percentage split for the reason of termination, including the percentage that completed successfully (those that ran their full course and that terminated early for good progress).
The improvement in positive terminations for non-community orders reflects the fact that these are pre-Criminal Justice Act 2003 sentences and were only given for offences committed before 4 April 2005. Negative terminations tend to occur earlier in the life of an order, leaving a higher proportion of these orders to terminate successfully over the course of time.
The information contained in this table can be found in chapter 5 of Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2007 located online at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonandprobation.htm
Number of persons and percentages 2005 2006 2007 Community order Ran their full course 1— 39 47 Terminated early for: Good progress 1— 13 10 Failure to comply with requirements 1— 24 22 Conviction of an offence 1— 14 12 Other reasons 1— 10 10 All community orders (=100%) (number) 1— 70,577 113,829 Drug treatment and testing order Ran their full course 32 50 59 Replaced by conditional discharge order 0 0 0 Terminated early for: Good progress 7 9 8 Failure to comply with requirements 23 19 17 Conviction of an offence 33 18 12 Other reasons 6 5 4 All DTTOs (=100%) (number) 8,088 3,992 630 Community rehabilitation order Ran their full course 58 69 77 Replaced by conditional discharge order 1 1 0 Terminated early for: Good progress 10 8 6 Failure to comply with requirements 8 7 6 Conviction of offence 19 11 6 Other reasons 5 4 4 All CROs (=100%) (number) 50,745 31,216 9,380 Community rehabilitation order element of community punishment and rehabilitation order Ran their full course 45 59 65 Replaced by conditional discharge order 1 0 0 Terminated early for: Good progress 12 11 6 Failure to comply with requirements 13 10 12 Conviction of offence 23 14 10 Other reasons 6 5 7 All CPROs =100%) (number) 12,607 9,000 3,171 Community punishment order Specified hours completed 68 62 46 Failure to comply with requirements 11 14 21 Conviction of an offence 11 12 10 Other change in circumstances 3 3 3 Warrant unexecuted 2 3 5 Other reason 5 6 16 All CPOs (=100%) (number) 49,081 23,762 9,967 Community punishment order element of community punishment and rehabilitation order Specified hours completed 60 54 40 Failure to comply with requirements 13 15 20 Conviction of an offence 18 18 14 Other change in circumstances 3 4 3 Warrant unexecuted 2 2 3 Other reason 5 7 19 All CPROs(=100%) (number) 13,919 6,288 2,510 1 Community orders that commenced in 2005 had not had sufficient time to terminate normally since they were only introduced on 4 April 2005. Note: The 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.
Departmental Information Officers
The information requested is shown in the following table.
Press and communications officers cover a wide range of tasks including internal communications, intranet and internet operations, event organisation, marketing, publication production and stakeholder relations.
£ Communications officers Press officers Total 2005-06 Ministry of Justice HQ 1— 1— 12,626,355.00 HMCS 1— 1— 1217,420.90 OPG 1— 1— 1139,662.29 National Archives 104,306.00 130,250.00 234,556.00 Tribunals2 n/a n/a — Boundary Commission for England3 — — — Boundary Commission for Wales3 — — — JAC4 — — — JCO2 n/a n/a — LSC 678,410.80 132,797.41 811,208.21 Land Registry 453,013.00 95,310.00 548,323.00 2006-07 Ministry of Justice HQ 1,736,925.00 723,488.00 2,520,413.00 HMCS 400,527.39 112,492.00 513,019.39 OPG 1— 1— 1167,863.53 National Archives 184,966.00 139,325.00 324,291.00 Tribunals 210,009.70 37,415.74 247,425.44 Boundary Commission for England3 — — — Boundary Commission for Wales3 — — — JAC4 — — — JCO 198,332.12 95,715.23 294,047.35 LSC 628,223.17 164,631.60 792,854.77 Land Registry 451,883.00 110,993.00 562,876.00 2007-08 Ministry of Justice HQ 2,286,346.00 1,560,439.00 3,846,785.00 HMCS 438,671.88 158,653.00 597,324.88 OPG 1— 1— 1173,205.50 National Archives 166,115.00 135,398.75 301,513.75 Tribunals 190,223.24 55,455.34 245,678.58 Boundary Commission for England3 — — — Boundary Commission for Wales3 — — — JAC4 — — — JCO 211,776.20 107,582.31 319,358.51 LSC 668,696.22 175,230.95 844,92717 Land Registry 481,017.00 99,994.00 581,011.00 1 Joint budget 2 Formed in April 2006 3 No press office and all queries are dealt with by its secretariat 4 No dedicated resource
Electoral Commission: Powers of Entry
The Political Parties and Elections Bill provides two powers for the Electoral Commission to enter premises. The first power is contained in paragraph 1(5) of schedule 1 to the Bill, and replicates, with one important change, the existing power in section 146(3) of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. This provides that, at any reasonable time, the Commission may enter premises for the purposes of carrying out its functions. Having entered under the power, the Commission may inspect documents relating to the income and expenditure of the individual or organisation whose premises the Commission has entered. It may also make copies.
The existing power in section 146(3) enables the Commission only to enter the premises of registered political parties, recognised third parties who campaign in elections, and permitted participants who campaign in referendums. In addition to these categories of people, paragraph 1(5) will allow the same power also to be used in relation to regulated donees (including MPs, candidates and their election agents).
Paragraph 3 of schedule 1 to the Bill provides that the Electoral Commission may apply to a justice of the peace for a warrant to enter premises. In order to obtain a warrant the Commission must demonstrate, on oath, to a justice of the peace that there are reasonable grounds for believing that a person has committed an offence or contravened a restriction or requirement and that an earlier request for documents has been made and not complied with. If these requirements are satisfied a justice of the peace can issue a warrant allowing a constable, together with any other person named in the warrant, to enter premises. Such a warrant may authorise the use of reasonable force, the searching of premises and taking of documents and may require a person named in the warrant to provide an explanation about any of the documents that are the object of the search.
No prior notification of the Commission’s intention to enter premises would be required. The person would be notified at the time of the Commission’s entry to the premises.
As my right hon. Friend the Member for North Swindon (Mr. Wills) and I have made clear, we have heard the force of opinion in the House on the issue of the Commission’s powers and we have proposed measures to address these concerns for debate at Committee stage on 11 November.
HM Courts Service: Per Capita Costs
The cost to the public purse of 5,800 hours of court time is estimated to be approximately £1,700,000. This is based on current costings for court time in the magistrates courts.
Legal Aid
The information in the following tables shows the average time taken to process applications in working days.
For civil legal aid, the figures include the overall average time to process civil applications from the point of receipt to final decision. This time will include any appeal activity in the event of any refused applications. It will also include time taken to deal with any pre-certificate representations and/or the involvement of the LSC’s Special Investigations Unit should the applicant be listed as the director of a company or their means assessment be particularly complex.
For criminal legal aid, the figures include the average time taken by the LSC itself to process applications and the time taken by Her Majesty’s Court Service (HMCS) to process applications for legal aid in the magistrates courts on behalf of the LSC under a service level agreement.
The average number of days to process applications for civil legal aid in England and Wales overall, for each quarter of the most recent years for which information is available, is shown in table 1 as follows. This includes applications for a legal aid certificate only. Applications for legal help are considered by the service provider. The average processing time for applications for legal help is not recorded centrally.
April to June July to September October to December January to March 2003-04 7.4 8.2 7.7 8.1 2004-05 9.3 8.6 8.4 8.1 2005-06 8.5 5.8 4.6 4.5 2006-07 4.8 6.3 8.3 5.5 2007-08 6.5 5.8 6.7 7.4
The average number of days taken to process applications for criminal legal aid is available only for applications made in the magistrates courts since the introduction of means testing in October 2006 and is shown in table 2 as follows.
April to June July to September October to December January to March 2004-05 n/a n/a n/a n/a 2005-06 n/a n/a n/a n/a 2006-07 n/a n/a 3.1 2.6 2007-08 2.8 2.4 2.7 1.8 2008-09 1.6 1.5 n/a n/a
LSC bid zones are the smallest geographical areas by which the average number of days taken to process applications for civil legal aid for each quarter of the most recent years for which information is available and is shown in table 3, which has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Individual magistrates courts are smallest areas by which the average number of days taken to process criminal legal aid applications is available. The average time taken to process the applications for each quarter available since means testing was introduced in October 2006 is in table 4, which has also been placed in the Libraries of the House.
There are a small number of irregular figures contained within the tables. This could be for reasons such as one-off human error or where the application received data links back to a reopened case. These anomalous entries do not have a significant effect on the data overall and have been included for the sake of completeness.
Penalty Notices: Shoplifting
The number of persons aged 16 and over, issued with PND for shoplifting (of goods up to a value of £200), from 2004 to 2006 in England and Wales can be viewed in the following table. Data for 2007 will be available at the end of November 2008. The offence of theft (retail) was added to the PND Scheme in November 2004.
Theft (retail under £200) 2004 2,072 2005 21,997 2006 38,772 1 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 police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 2 Offence is a notifiable offence included within OBTJ figures. 3 The offence of theft (retail) was added to the PND Scheme in November 2004. Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform: Evidence and Analysis Unit.
Prince Charles: Marriage
The advice in question is subject to legal professional privilege. On 24 February 2005, Official Report, House of Lords, columns WS87-88, the then Lord Chancellor made a written statement on the Government’s view of the lawfulness of the marriage between HRH the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.
Prison Service: Cost Effectiveness
(2) what cashable efficiency savings were made by HM Prison Service in each of the last five years;
(3) what cashable efficiency savings HM Prison Service made in 2006-07; and from what areas these savings were delivered.
HM Prison Service delivered cash savings of £16 million during 2006-07. This was achieved through the merger of administrative functions at a new shared service centre in Newport South Wales, improvement in the level of professional expertise in procurement activities and also consolidating national procurement contracts. Additionally, the Prison Service delivered improvements in energy efficiency and waste management and produced savings from headquarters.
During 2007-08 HM Prison Service delivered cashable efficiencies of £52 million against a target for the year of £50 million. The cashable efficiencies delivered by HM Prison Service each year for the past five financial years are:
£ million 2007-08 52 2006-07 16 2005-06 30 2004-05 34 2003-04 38
Prison Service: Manpower
(2) how many posts in the Probation Service there are; and what projections he has made of the number of jobs in the service in 2011.
There is currently a requirement across the Prison Service, including vacancies, for 53,717 posts. This figure does not include the National Offender Management Service headquarters. Projections for 2011 are under consideration.
The National Probation Service comprises 42 boards and trusts each of which functions as a separate employer. Employment data is supplied to NOMS in the form of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff and vacancies rather than posts since this is considered to be the most accurate workforce measure. The latest available figures show there were 20,894 FTE staff in post in the National Probation Service on 31 December 2007. In addition, there were 343.11 FTE vacancies. These figures do not include the National Offender Management Service headquarters.
NOMS is currently rolling out an IT based HR Data Warehouse to the 42 probation boards and trusts. When this is fully implemented early in 2009, NOMS will be in a position to collate FTE workforce information on a monthly basis.
Projections of staffing requirements for 2011 will be determined by the individual probation boards and trusts based on local workforce requirements and available resources. Efficiency initiatives will impact by the year 2011, however it is too early to project accurate figures.
Prisons: Crimes of Violence
Table 1 shows incidents of prisoner on staff assaults in each of the last five years by prison.
The information set out is subject to important qualifications. The NOMS Incident Reporting System processes high volumes of data which are constantly being updated. The numbers provide a good indication of overall numbers but should not be interpreted as absolute.
Assault information is recorded at establishment level in four categories: prisoner on prisoner, prisoner on officer, prisoner on other and other (which may include non-prisoner perpetrators). The recorded incidents of assaults on prison officers are not completely exclusive to officers; establishment recording sometimes includes assaults on other prison staff in this category. Rises or falls in reported numbers from one year to the next are not a good indicator of an underlying trend for a particular prison. Additionally there have been improvements in reporting over the years, and this is reflected in the tables.
Assault data are complex and the numbers need to be interpreted with caution. Information recorded as assault incidents may involve one or many prisoners as some assault incidents may involve more than one assailant or more than one victim. Additionally in a proportion of incidents only the victim is known.
The numbers supplied refer to the number of individual assault incidents. The numbers refer to all incidents recorded as assaults; these may also include threatening behaviour, projection of bodily fluids and other non-contact events and allegations.
The category “Prisoner on Other” contains few entries but these may include prison staff as well as visitors, legal visitors, etc. For the purpose of this response the categories “Prisoner on Officer” and “Prisoner on Other” are used.
Ministers, NOMS and the Prison Officers’ Association are collectively committed to ensuring that violence in prisons is not tolerated in any form. Since 2004, a national strategy has directed every public sector prison to have in place a local violence reduction strategy and since mid 2007 this has been applied to the public and contracted out estate. A whole prison approach is encouraged, engaging all staff, all disciplines and prisoners in challenging unacceptable behaviour, problem-solving and personal safety.
Prison name 2003 2004 2005 2006 20071 Acklington 3 3 5 8 9 Albany 3 — — 3 n/a Altcourse 48 51 47 39 53 Ashfield 70 90 180 136 100 Ashwell 1 — — 5 3 Aylesbury 15 6 17 18 14 Bedford 14 11 15 31 13 Belmarsh 52 43 35 22 22 Birmingham 59 85 99 81 78 Blakenhurst 27 56 46 34 38 Blundeston 3 4 7 7 1 Brinsford 39 34 19 10 17 Bristol 26 48 28 41 15 Brixton 52 72 50 37 41 Brockhill 6 10 14 9 3 Bronzefield — 20 87 81 43 Buckley Hall 38 19 25 14 11 Bullingdon 23 16 17 23 24 Bullwood Hall 1 — 9 6 3 Camphill 13 9 12 5 n/a Canterbury 9 4 4 3 4 Cardiff 11 16 19 14 6 Castington 56 57 50 46 46 Channings Wood 4 10 10 8 16 Chelmsford 16 22 37 53 21 Coldingley 1 — 1 3 8 Cookham Wood 14 5 3 1 2 Dartmoor 9 5 12 7 10 Deerbolt 6 28 33 22 34 Doncaster 28 23 26 47 29 Dorchester 4 2 10 9 9 Dovegate 48 80 35 59 43 Downview 6 8 29 9 12 Drake Hall — — 1 1 Durham 34 31 42 46 58 East Sutton Park 1 1 — — — Eastwood Park 13 7 21 28 8 Edmunds Hill 9 23 9 13 2 Elmley 25 21 30 17 28 Erlestoke — 2 2 2 10 Everthorpe 2 2 10 14 13 Exeter 12 3 7 12 9 Featherstone 8 21 8 9 17 Feltham 103 173 138 118 107 Ford 3 7 5 3 4 Forest Bank 63 78 88 54 34 Foston Hall 18 8 13 28 27 Frankland 5 15 12 10 21 Full Sutton 13 12 17 14 9 Garth 11 5 7 9 9 Gartree — 1 2 3 1 Glen Parva 29 39 31 45 56 Gloucester 17 6 13 15 6 Grendon/Spring Hill — — — — 1 Guys Marsh 6 5 3 14 16 Haverigg 7 2 1 5 18 Hewell Grange — — 2 — 1 High Down 51 59 40 71 67 Highpoint 22 19 16 23 22 Hindley 27 14 32 58 48 Hollesley Bay 4 3 — 1 — Holloway 104 108 89 111 104 Holme House 21 19 27 24 20 Hull 32 30 33 25 33 Huntercombe 19 15 15 33 24 Kingston 1 — 2 2 — Kirkham — 1 — — 2 Lancaster — 3 1 2 1 Lancaster Farms 9 28 47 56 39 Leeds 79 40 36 17 18 Leicester 11 6 7 18 7 Lewes 22 11 21 17 17 Leyhill — 1 1 — 3 Lincoln 12 23 22 15 23 Lindholme 19 6 13 13 20 Littlehey 13 10 10 5 4 Liverpool 46 38 24 21 31 Long Lartin 5 5 15 12 15 Low Newton 16 27 31 21 20 Lowdham Grange 5 13 17 36 39 Maidstone 6 5 1 — 5 Manchester 61 63 73 65 78 Moorland 22 13 20 16 15 Morton Hall 1 3 3 5 1 Mount 13 8 12 15 21 New Hall 23 19 29 60 48 North Sea Camp 2 1 — — 1 Northallerton 19 22 14 9 8 Norwich 25 18 18 18 1 Nottingham 16 33 15 25 47 Onley 98 15 29 32 25 Parc 59 61 50 51 53 Parkhurst 18 15 16 3 n/a Pentonville 91 97 123 61 69 Peterborough — — 75 141 115 Portland 16 39 40 42 39 Preston 11 18 25 29 45 Ranby 9 3 3 17 17 Reading 7 16 16 12 9 Risley 19 27 32 29 23 Rochester 16 18 23 13 4 Rye Hill 21 39 65 48 43 Send 4 — 2 3 1 Shepton Mallet 1 — 1 — 2 Shrewsbury 14 5 4 7 7 Stafford 13 7 13 14 10 Standford Hill — — — 1 1 Stocken 10 8 12 7 9 Stoke Heath 20 39 56 69 76 Styal 7 12 13 32 46 Sudbury 2 — 1 1 — Swaleside 17 16 9 11 8 Swansea 8 4 4 6 — Swinfen Hall 9 4 10 10 9 Thorn Cross 4 1 1 4 1 Usk/Prescoed — — — 1 1 Verne 1 6 4 — — Wakefield 8 8 9 8 15 Wandsworth 78 86 87 38 36 Warren Hill 12 21 34 42 50 Wayland 11 9 3 9 10 Wealstun 2 — 3 2 6 Weare 11 6 4 — — Wellingborough 1 2 16 14 5 Werrington 24 19 19 22 12 Wetherby 14 77 72 60 37 Whatton 1 1 — 4 12 Whitemoor 15 16 19 11 22 Winchester 13 15 12 10 4 Wolds 8 13 4 9 3 Woodhill 36 39 71 68 52 Wormwood Scrubs 40 74 60 58 70 Wymott 2 — 4 4 4 Total 2,541 2,799 3,171 3,148 2,916 1 The 2007 figures do not include the three prisons Albany, Camphill and Parkhurst where the incident recording has transferred to the NOMIS system.
Reoffenders
There are positive indications that accredited programmes may be effective in reducing re-offending for offenders in the community. The re-offending rate for all offenders who had undertaken interventions was 55 per cent., based on a two-year reconviction rate. Programme completers did statistically significantly better than those who did not start or who dropped out of programmes. The rates were 38 per cent., 61 per cent. and 64 per cent. respectively.
A recent prison-based study showed that the one-year reconviction rate for both adult men and young offenders who had completed enhanced thinking skills (ETS) and reasoning and rehabilitation (R+R) interventions in prison represented a positive 2.5 percentage points difference in reconviction for adult male completers (17.0 per cent. vs. 19.5 per cent.) and a 4.1 percentage point difference for young offender completers (31.4 per cent. vs. 35.5 per cent.) compared to matched comparison groups. There was no difference in reconviction rates between programme starters and comparison groups. See tables 3 and 4:
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/r226.pdf
Whitemoor Prison
No representations have been received on staff morale in the last three months by the governor of Whitemoor.
Whitemoor Prison: Islam
All visitors to Whitemoor are searched on entering the prison to ensure that unauthorised items are not being brought in. In conducting searches, staff are aware of religious and cultural issues and make special arrangements to accommodate these, while not compromising security. All visitors are required to confirm their identity.
The allocation of prisoners at Whitemoor follows a careful risk assessment, taking into account individual needs, matters such as safety and security, as well as the availability of accommodation. Prison Service policy is for prisoners to be allocated to prisons appropriate to their security category; safety and security; individual needs in respect of sentence planning; as well as taking into account matters such as the continuation of family contact. It is not policy to locate prisoners in particular prisons or any part of a prison on the grounds of religion.
Olympics
Olympic Games 2012: Contracts
Landscaping contracts are the responsibility of the Olympic Delivery Authority and are awarded following a competitive tendering process. The Authority is a public body whose procurements are subject to the Public Contracts Regulations.
Olympic Games 2012: Health
An assessment of the potential health benefits of staging the 2012 Games in London was carried out in 2004 on behalf of the London Health Commission and the London Sustainable Development commission. The report is available at
http://www.londonshealth.gov.uk/PDF/Olympic_HIA.pdf
I am arranging for the report to be deposited in the Libraries of the House.
The Department of Health regional teams have commissioned Canterbury Christ Church university to conduct a systematic review to assess the potential for the games to improve public health. Findings from the research will inform the development of the wider health legacy.
Scotland
Departmental Conditions of Employment
All staff in the Scotland Office are on loan from the Scottish Executive or the Ministry of Justice. Any member of staff can request a change to their working pattern and line managers consider requests in line with the policy and guidance of the parent Department.
Staff below the senior civil service (94 per cent.) can work to a flexi-time agreement and local records are kept of hours worked; 6 per cent. of all staff work part-time; and 6 per cent. work compressed hours. No staff work on job share or work from home for more than four hours per week.
Departmental ICT
The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. The Office has no recorded losses of memory sticks, hard drives or desktop computers; the following have been reported as lost or stolen:
Item Lost Stolen 1999-2000 Laptop — Yes 2000-01 None — — 2001-02 None — — 2002-03 Mobile Phone Yes — 2003-04 None — — 2004-05 None — — 2005-06 BlackBerry Yes — 2006-07 Mobile Phone Yes — BlackBerry Yes — 2007-08 None — —
Departmental Procurement
The Scotland Office is unable to distinguish between different sizes of business in the payment records; the size of a business does not influence the payment process. As indicated in its annual report, in 2007-08, the Office paid 99.53 per cent. of its invoices within 30 days. The Office welcomes the recent announcement by the Prime Minister that the Government should aim to pay invoices within 10 days and is working towards this target.
Solicitor-General
Members: Correspondence
A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 6 November 2008.
Women and Equality
Departmental Internet
The Government Equalities Office is responsible for one website:
www.equalities.gov.uk.
Since January 2008, it has received a total of 22,783 unique visitors. The cost of maintaining this site since January was £891.83, which includes web hosting and design changes.
Transport
Aviation
(2) what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of aircraft using the continuous descent approach at (a) Heathrow and (b) all designated UK airports in each of the last four years;
(3) what assessment his Department has made of the use of the continuous descent approach (CDA) at (a) Heathrow and (b) all designated UK airports, with particular reference to (i) the distance from the airport at which CDA begins and (ii) the altitude at which CDA begins.
Aircraft landing at Heathrow have been required for a number of years, wherever practicable, to operate a continuous descent approach (CDA).
This is in line with the Government's policy of encouraging, together with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and NATS, the use of CDA, where airspace and safety considerations allow. The procedure seeks to reduce the noise of arriving aircraft by ensuring that aircraft remain as high as possible for as long as possible and that segments of level flight during descent, which increase engine noise, are avoided. Guidance in the form of an arrivals code of practice on the use of CDA, developed in partnership with the industry, was originally issued in February 2002. This guidance has been kept under review and a revised code was published in November 2006. The code can be accessed on the departmental website at:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/environmentalissues/arrivalscodeofpractice/arrivalscodeofpractice.
The original focus of the arrivals code was to promote CDA at the three London designated airports (Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted). Following the successful implementation of the code at these airports, the code has been used by NATS as a basis to promote and encourage greater use of CDA at other airports nationally and internationally. However it has to be acknowledged that local operational circumstances and restraints can vary from airport to airport. CDAs are agreed by air traffic controllers and pilots on a flight-by-flight basis, according to weather and traffic conditions. In all cases, NATS' overriding consideration is the safe and efficient operation of air traffic control (ATC) operations.
CDA performance and developments are monitored. Reports are regularly presented for review by the consultative and technical sub-committees at the three London designated airports Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. Current CDA performance consistently averages 80 per cent. throughout the 24-hour period of operation.
Aviation: Excise Duties
I have been asked to reply.
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friends, the Members for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer) and for Derby, North (Mr. Laxton) and to the hon. Member for Manchester, Withington (Mr. Leech) on 27 October 2008, Official Report, column 789W.
Biofuels
(2) what research his Department is carrying out into bacterial contamination of biodiesel fuels; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what advice his Department has issued, and to whom, on the prevention of bacterial contamination in biodiesel fuels.
It is well known that there is a greater tendency for bacterial growth in biodiesel compared to fossil diesel. Fuel suppliers are well aware of this issue and the importance of maintaining good housekeeping practices, such as the cleaning of fuel storage tanks and the use of bacterial growth inhibiting additives. The Department has not seen any evidence that bacterial growth is, in practice, creating fuel quality problems in the UK. The petroleum industry itself would have conducted the original research to develop effective additives and best housekeeping practice, and promulgates advice on this topic.
Birmingham International Airport
[holding answer 11 November 2008]: Birmingham International Airport submitted in January this year a planning application for a 405 metre extension to the existing runway, which would enable the airport to handle larger aircraft and access to more long haul destinations, including West Coast USA and the Far East.
The application is currently being considered by Solihull metropolitan borough council. Department for Transport Ministers have a quasi-judicial role in the planning process with regard to transport-related applications raised on appeal. It could, therefore, be prejudicial to comment on matters that are subject to a planning application and may come before a planning inquiry.
Bus Services: Concessions
The Disabled Persons’ Transport Advisory Committee did not undertake formal consultation. However, the Committee is aware of the particular concerns of people with mental illness with regard to eligibility for concessionary travel and has been in correspondence with the Mental Health Action Group on this issue.
Cycling
We announced an award of £140 million to Cycling England in January this year to support local authorities and others to improve cycle provision. This raised Cycling England's budget from £10 million in 2007-08 to £20 million in 2008-09 and £60 million for each of the next two years.
This information is no longer requested of local authorities by the Department. In 2006-07, the last year for which we can supply any information, local authorities’ (outside of London) best estimate of expenditure on cycling was around £36 million. Spending on cycling in London for the same period was, I understand, around £25 million.
The first six towns have demonstrated that while the level of investment is important, political leadership is equally vital in ensuring delivery of the right package of measures to enable cycling to take its place as a real option for many journeys. Effective links with wider policies such as the health agenda and integration with planning so that cycling is designed in from the start are also important. In just over two years cycling has increased in the towns by 25 per cent. on average.
Departmental Older Workers
I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 3 November 2008, Official Report, column 42W.
Heathrow Airport: Carbon Emissions
Given present arrangements, the average additional annual carbon dioxide emissions arising from the use of additional capacity at Heathrow for the 60-year period 2020 to 2080 was set out in Annex B of the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport: Consultation Document, page 178. This was estimated at 3.0 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (MtCO2) per year.
This would mean that for the 30-year period 2020 to 2050, the average additional annual carbon dioxide emissions arising from the use of a third runway at Heathrow is 3.4 MtCO2, assuming no other changes.
The Government are, however, strongly committed to achieving reductions in carbon dioxide emissions and aims to do so in the most effective way. This is why we have led the debate within Europe to include all flights arriving at and departing from EU airports in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012 onwards.
Newcastle International Airport Company
The Department for Transport has received no such reports. These are matters for the local authorities concerned.
Official Cars
Ministers were not involved in decisions on the shortlisting of companies bidding to provide lower carbon and all-electric vans to the public sector under the Low Carbon Vehicle Public Procurement Programme.
Olympic Games: Road Closures
Any measures required on the roads around Olympic venues during the Games will be designed, consulted on and delivered by the Olympic Delivery Authority following the designation next year of the Olympic Route Network (ORN): a network of roads that will connect competition and key non-competition venues and will be used to transport athletes, officials, accredited media and other key Olympic partners to and from venues. The Department for Transport will be consulting on the roads we propose to designate as part of the Olympic Route Network later this year.
Private Roads
Under the Highways Act 1980, local highway authorities may adopt roads that they are not currently responsible for maintaining; this is a matter for local decision. Adoption of highways brings with it liability for future maintenance including the provision of surface water drainage or street lighting, as well as claims arising from the condition of the street.
The owners of properties on an unadopted road are responsible for its maintenance and the cost of bringing it up to standards suitable for adoption.
Railway Network: Greater London
The Department for Transport does not publish information on passengers travelling into London stations. The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) does, however, publish station usage statistics. These are available on the ORR website:
http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1529
Taxis: Disabled
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 gave the Government the power to introduce accessibility regulations for several land-based modes of transport. Regulations have been introduced for trains and trams and for buses and coaches. However, no regulations have yet been developed and put in place for licensed taxis. Accessible taxi policies are currently a matter for individual local licensing authorities in line with general advice that the Department for Transport has issued to licensing authorities in 2002, 2004 and 2006.
However, there remains a need to improve access to taxis for disabled people and we are committed to resolving this matter in a way that delivers the outcomes that disabled people, local authorities and the taxi industry would like to see. The Department will be publishing a consultation package very shortly that will look closely at the issues involved and will seek views on the way forward.
Tolls: Greater Manchester
On 9 June 2008 my predecessor awarded Programme Entry for the Greater Manchester Transport Innovation Fund proposals for a £2.78 billion package of public transport investment and a twin-cordon congestion charging scheme. In this context departmental officials have regular ongoing contact with representatives of the Greater Manchester authorities.
Walking to School Initiatives
Nearly 3,300 state-funded primary schools in England applied for a Walking to School Initiatives grant and 3,249 were successful. They were awarded a total of £2.58 million, which represented 51.6 per cent. of the Walking to School Initiatives budget in 2007-08.
Defence
Armed Forces: Alcoholic Drinks
Studies indicate that 67 per cent. of men and 49 per cent. of women in the armed forces are consuming alcohol at levels deemed hazardous to health. For both sexes, hazardous drinking was most associated with being young, single and of lower rank. All three services are well aware of the potentially harmful effects that alcohol can have and have comprehensive programmes to promote the message of sensible drinking as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Armed Forces: Deployment
Officials are collating the information requested. I will write to the hon. Member when the work is complete and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to Liam Fox:
I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 20 October 2008, (Official Report, column 121W) about Regular and Territorial Army personnel who have been mobilised overseas (ie deployed on operations) within six months of completing their basic training.
Our investigations have established that this information cannot be provided for the period prior to the introduction of the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system for the Army in March 2007 without incurring disproportionate cost, as it would require the interrogation of thousands of individual service files. The figures for the period since the introduction of JPA are being validated by DASA (Defence Analytical Services Agency) after which it should be possible to provide a fuller answer. This validation will, however, take some months to complete.
I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Armed Forces: Health Services
(2) what feedback he has gathered from participants in decompression on its merits.
The decompression process is designed to be a brief ‘wind-down’ period for troops returning from operational theatres, and is aimed at facilitating the adjustment from the operational to the UK environment. It is not intended that it should play a major role in the prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a chronic disabling illness distinct to the more short-term adjustment issues that we can expect individuals to encounter in making the change from the operational to the home/family/non-operational environment.
However, if during the process an individual demonstrates any indicators of possible mental health problems, then appropriate follow-up action will be taken.
The King’s Centre for Military Health Research is currently undertaking research into the merits of decompression, the results of which will be published on completion.
Armed Forces: Housing
[holding answer 10 November 2008]: Schemes are currently in place at Innsworth and Woodbridge to rent out, on the commercial market, vacant accommodation for which there is a long-term but no medium-term requirement.
Armed Forces: Injuries
I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statements made in the House by my predecessor, the hon. Member for Halton (Derek Twigg), on 15 January 2008, Official Report, columns 23-24WS, and 1 July 2008, Official Report, columns 48-49WS.
Armed Forces: Insurance
In the last two months, Ministers have received two parliamentary questions and three letters from right hon. and hon. Members about the provision of insurance for members of the armed forces.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 November 2008, Official Report, column 477W, to the hon. Member for North Devon (Nick Harvey) and the answer my noble Friend for International Defence and Security gave in another place on 21 October 2008, Official Report, House of Lords, columns WA89-90.
Two letters asked for details of the insurance cover available to service personnel on operations and whether they are charged higher insurance premiums than those not deployed. The responses explained that personal insurance is optional and additional to the benefits MOD provides under the Armed Forces Pension and Compensation schemes, which have recently been increased; however, MOD facilitates through commercial providers the PAX and service life insurance schemes which cover war risks and do not increase premiums for personnel on operations. In addition, MOD’s Service Risks Insurance Premium Refunds Scheme contributes towards the inflated life insurance premiums which some insurers charge personnel serving on operations.
The third letter expressed concern that young members of the armed forces pay higher vehicle insurance premiums than civilians of the same age. The response explained that some brokers have special arrangements with insurers for providing motor insurance for service personnel. In particular, the Services’ Insurance and Investment Advisory Panel, who are a panel of independent insurance and investment advisers specialising in advising service personnel, can arrange motor insurance cover without premium loading and offer rates that are competitive with the rates available to civilians and in many cases are cheaper. They also provide some benefits that are not normally found in policies sold to civilians.
Armed Forces: Mental Health Services
Within the north of England there is one military Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH), located in Catterick. DCMH Catterick is responsible for treating both regular and reserve service personnel, as out-patients, following a referral from their military general practitioner or the Reserve Mental Health Programme (RMHP) based at Chilwell. In-patient care, when necessary, is provided under contract by the Priory Group at facilities located in Darlington, Stockport, Altrincham and Bartle.
Figures on attendances at DCMHs have only been centrally recorded since the beginning of 2007 as part of the work carried out by DASA, on the Armed Forces Psychiatric Morbidity Report; figures for 2008 are currently being verified and are not available for release. In 2007 there were 720 new attendances at DCMH Catterick, of whom 521 were assessed at their first appointment to be suffering from a mental health condition. Of those 521, 10 personnel were diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Information on the numbers of service personnel to be admitted as in-patients to the facilities named above for any cause between 2005-07 is shown as follows. Information is not held centrally on the specific diagnosis leading to their admittance.
Admittances to in-patient care 2005 40 2006 30 2007 27
The treatment of veterans is the responsibility of the NHS and as such, with the exception of those eligible under RMHP, they do not receive treatment at DCMHs. However, the MOD does recognise that it has an expertise to offer in the diagnosis and treatment of service related mental health conditions. The Department of Health, in conjunction with the MOD, has launched five community mental health pilots targeted at veterans. Each site has a trained community veterans’ mental health therapist. Veterans can access this service directly or through their GP, ex-service organisations, the Veterans’ Welfare Service, or social service departments, the initiative is NHS-led and reflects NHS best practice. This will address assessment and treatment of veterans’ mental health problems in the longer term. Within the north of England, a pilot is in operation at NHS Bishop Auckland General Hospital. Subject to the outcome of the evaluation, best practice will be identified and rolled out more widely across the UK.
In addition, to assist those veterans not in the catchment areas of one of the pilots, we have expanded our Medical Assessment Programme (MAP) based at St. Thomas’ Hospital, London, to include assessment of veterans with mental health symptoms with operational service since 1982. The clinician in charge also provides support and advice to GPs and other civilian health professional requiring advice on the military aspects of treatment.
Armed Forces: Safety
The procedures for consideration and acting upon recommendations following Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Investigations are contained within Ministry of Defence policy documentation Joint Service Publication (JSP) 815—Defence Environment and Safety Management, Annex L and JSP 375—The MOD Health and Safety Handbook, Volume 2 Leaflet 14.
Information about HSE reports received in 2007 and the actions taken is not held centrally and officials are collating the details. Once this work has been completed I will write to my hon. Friend.
Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to Joan Humble:
I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 29 October (Official Report, column 1029W) about Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigations and reports.
In answering your question I have interpreted the phrase ‘HSE Reports’ to mean Crown Censures1 or Crown Improvement Notices. None of the latter has been reported. The Ministry of Defence received two Crown Censures during January to December 2007.
The first Crown Censure followed the fatality of a Corporal as a result of injuries sustained from being crushed between two armoured personnel carriers being unloaded from a low loader at Teesport, Cleveland in March 2007. The second Crown Censure was a fatality as a result of crushing between a Multiple Launch Rocket System vehicle and a large fork lift truck at Albemarle Barracks, Northumberland also in March 2007.
As a result of these tragic incidents, investigations were carried out which have led to a revision of arrangements for assessing workplace transport risks in the MOD; specifically, improvements have been made in the following areas:
1. Safe systems of work are now in place, including carrying out risk assessments and taking action on the resulting recommendations before any work is undertaken.
2. All staff involved are properly trained and have access to sufficient information and instruction to enable them to carry out the work safely.
3. Staff with supervisory duties now receive improved training on those responsibilities.
4. Interfaces between the MOD internal organisations responsible for the delivery of vehicles and those operating the vehicle fleets have been improved.
5. Equipment maintenance practises have been reviewed and improved systems have been put in place.
1 Crown Censure is an administrative procedure, whereby HSE may summon a Crown employer to be censured for a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act, or a subordinate regulation, which, but for Crown Immunity, would have led to prosecution with a realistic prospect of a conviction.
Army Benevolent Fund
MOD officials have regular formal and informal contact with the ABF on a range of issues, but the subject of rehabilitation has not been formally raised.
Defence Estates: Olympic Games 2012
Discussions between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) and the Ministry of Defence on hosting the shooting events at the Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich are continuing. A priority is to minimise any disruption to the army units, soldiers and their families based at Woolwich but as yet no firm decision has been made on the design of the venue so it is too early to say if any areas will need to be closed.
The current Secretary of State for Defence has not had any such discussions. His predecessor had several discussions with the Minister for the Olympics about the 2012 games that included the use of Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich.
It is a priority for the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Culture Media and Sport, and the London Organising Committee for the Olympic games to minimise any disruption to the army units, soldiers and their families based at Woolwich. However, until a decision is made on the final design of the venue, I cannot give an estimate of the number of families, if any, who may have to vacate their accommodation.
Defence Medical Services
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 21 July 2008, Official Report, column 842W. Manning statistics for the Defence Medical Services are updated twice a year, in April and October. The October figures are currently being collated, and I will write to the hon. Member when these have been completed.
Departmental Civil Servants
I have placed the information requested in the Library of the House.
Departmental Consultants
Summaries for the years 1997-98 to 2007-08 of MOD expenditure on external assistance, of which consultancy is a part, are available in the Library of the House.
Departmental Health Services
The vast majority of healthcare for service personnel is provided, both at home and overseas, by the Defence Medical Services (DMS). However, there will be times when it is necessary to employ private sector health specialists, such as when a particular specialism is not available within the DMS, or when it would be impractical to provide the service using internal resources (for example, aspects of healthcare for personnel posted overseas in places such as Germany and other smaller bases and detachments).
In practice, the departmental spend on such private sector health provision is drawn from a number of individual budgets across the MOD, including at local unit level within the single services, and disproportionate effort would be required to provide the information requested.
However, we have been able to obtain a breakdown of costs from the MOD central budget and British Forces Germany which provide an insight into the figures and areas on which costs are incurred.
FY £ 2004-05 4,702,662 2005-06 5,802,167 2006-07 4,892,840 2007-08 6,561,094 2008-09 (up to 27 October) 3,282,269
These figures are inclusive of the contract costs the MOD has with the Priory, Alliance Medical etc.
FY £ 2004-05 45,755,000 2005-06 43,790,000 2006-07 43,720,000 2007-08 45,450,000
These figures include secondary healthcare contacts with German hospitals, non-contracted extra-contractural costs, primary care contract costs with SSAFA Forces Help, and Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, non contracted primary care costs, and costs related to isolated detachments in European theatre.
Departmental Manpower
As at 5 November 2008, there were some 525 MOD civil servants who were in the civilian redeployment pool because their substantive posts had reached an end, or because they were returning from overseas or extended absence. A further 446 were in the redeployment pool because their posts were due to end within six months. Those staff receive preferential consideration for posts. While in the redeployment pool, staff whose substantive posts have ended remain in their posts and continue to be funded and managed by their previous management, who assist them with their development and job search and employ them on appropriate temporary tasks. Central records of posts and their occupants, and of membership of the redeployment pool, are held by the People Pay and Pensions Agency (PPPA) for all MOD civil servants (other than employees of trading fund agencies for whom separate arrangements are made).
Departmental Mass Media
Media monitoring costs for the whole Department are not held centrally. The costs for the central Media and Communications unit which is responsible for management of media issues across defence including the armed forces are as follows:
£ 2004-05 514,363 2005-06 539,407 2006-07 678,929 2007-08 730,390
These costs include press cuttings, online media monitoring and of national and regional broadcast footage; these products are used across the whole of defence from MOD Head office to our headquarters on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The costs reflect the quantity of stories and level of interest in defence stories.
We have recently reviewed our contracts to assure ourselves that this represents value for money.
Departmental Paper
The percentage of paper used for photocopying and printed publications from recycled sources in the last two years is as follows:
For the first year, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 9 May 2007, Official Report, column 218W.
From October 2007 to date, 2,072,455 reams of paper have been purchased for photocopying and computer printing; 688,163 reams (33.21 per cent.) of which complied with the recycled content standard. 100 per cent. of paper used in copiers and printers in the MOD head office buildings complies with the minimum recycled content standard. The MOD is committed to improving this figure and the paper framework catalogue highlights and recommends the use of recycled paper. Also when MOD staff order non-recycled paper from the Office Depot help desk, they are challenged on why they could not order recycled paper.
From April 2007 to date, 2,185.84 tonnes of paper has been purchased for printed publications; 2,149.66 tonnes (98 per cent.) of which complied with the recycled content standard.
Fuels
The petroleum product storage facilities for active sites, comprises 2.04 million cubic metres capacity. Additionally, a number of sites are held in reserve for contingency use as part of the United Kingdom’s critical national infrastructure. I am withholding information on the current utilisation of strategic storage capacity for the purpose of safeguarding national security.
The Ministry of Defence does not own any natural gas storage facilities.
The Ministry of Defence owns 1,620 miles of pipeline for petroleum products. Current utilisation of the core network that connects import locations and refineries from which spur pipelines are connected to military establishments is approximately 80 per cent. of capacity.
The Ministry of Defence does not own any natural gas pipelines.
Kenley Airfield
The monetary value of the fencing stored at Kenley airfield, which will not be used in the new planning application, is in the region of £87,000. No decision has yet been made on the future use of the surplus fence.
Mentally Ill Staff
Under the disability equality duty introduced by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, the Department and its public sector bodies listed in the associated regulations are required to publish and implement disability equality schemes. In April 2008, the Ministry of Defence published a revised overarching equality and diversity scheme 2008-11, encompassing the armed forces, civilian and Ministry of Defence police, which incorporated our respective disability equality schemes (DES). The armed forces scheme includes the specific exemption from the employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. These plans set out how we will carry out the disability equality duty, monitor and report on progress. In particular, they include our arrangements for gathering information on the effect of our policies and practices on the recruitment, development and retention of our disabled civilian employees, including those with mental health conditions, and making use of that information.
The following arrangements are set out in the Department’s disability equality scheme:
We have developed an equality and diversity impact assessment tool (EDIAT) to assist service, civilian and MDP policy makers when initiating and developing new policies and procedures, and when reviewing exiting policies to ensure that they fully comply with the duties placed upon us.
We gather analyse and evaluate a range of civilian employment information on the effect of our policies on the development and retention of disabled staff.
The public sector bodies sponsored by the Department that are subject to these requirements are responsible for publishing and implementing their own disability equality schemes.
Navy
(2) what assessment his Department has made of the complementary roles in support of the Royal Navy which can be fulfilled by (a) the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and (b) commercial vessels.
The MOD uses a combination of commercial, auxiliary and military vessels. It does so after considerable consultation and analysis of the most efficient and effective means of meeting the requirement to ensure that we deliver value for money, taking into account of factors such as the potential threat level and the availability and capability of suitable assets including crews. While commercial vessels have expertise and equipment to suit their own specific trades, they do not have the training and skills for military operations and consequently there are limitations to their use, particularly in higher threat environments.
Culture, Media and Sport
Airwave Service
None of the organizations for which my Department is responsible currently use Airwave. Discussions about the potential use of Airwave to support 2012 are under way but no decisions have yet been taken.
BBC
I met the director general once, on 5 November.
BBC: Internet
I have regular meetings with the BBC at which we discuss a range of issues. This has included the local video proposal.
The BBC's plans for local video sites are a matter for the BBC Trust. There is no provision for the Government to intervene in the day-to-day operational or editorial matters.
officials in my Department and from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform meet from time to time with representatives from the newspaper industry who have raised this issue on a number of occasions.
Departmental Manpower
In DCMS only three staff out of 424 received a ‘needs to improve' assessment in the latest reporting year (2007-08).
Digital Switchover Help Scheme: Gwent
Digital switchover does not take place in Islwyn until the first quarter in 2010 and the Digital Switchover Help Scheme roll out has therefore not yet reached the stage where these data are available. The Digital Switchover Help Scheme has estimated however that about 5,000 people aged 75 and over and 3,000 disabled people in Islwyn are potentially eligible for assistance.
Gambling: Internet
[holding answer 6 November 2008]: The Gambling Commission publishes two public registers of all remote and non-remote gambling operators licensed by the Commission. These provide details of the licences granted and category of licence they hold.
These registers are updated daily and can be found at the Gambling Commission’s website:
www.Gamblingcommission.gov.uk
The Gambling Act 2005 (the Act) enabled internet gambling, as well as other forms of gambling and betting provided remotely, to be licensed and regulated effectively in Great Britain for the first time. Any operator who wants to offer remote gambling facilities and has remote gambling equipment located in Great Britain, must obtain a ‘remote operating licence’ from the Gambling Commission.
To secure the three licensing objectives of the Act, the Gambling Commission is responsible for setting the licence conditions and codes of practice that all licensees, including remote licensees, must meet.
Gambling: Regulation
Ministers and officials have had discussions with a number of jurisdictions whose operators are allowed to advertise gambling in the United Kingdom. In some cases those discussions included an assessment of the regulatory regimes of those jurisdictions.
I have not had any specific discussions with the Gambling Commission with regards to the levels of failure of the mystery shopper test.
As the independent regulator for most commercial gambling in Great Britain, the Gambling Commission is best placed to assess the measures required where deficiencies are identified. However, to date, there have been no serious failures or complaints. Should the Commission find evidence of such failures, it has a wide range of regulatory sanctions that it may apply to an operating licensee in addition to its normal compliance activity. Such sanctions include warnings, additional conditions, financial penalties, suspension or revocation of licence and prosecution.
If the Gambling Commission's mystery shopping exercises reveals failings in respect of operators licensed in overseas jurisdictions permitted to advertise gambling in Great Britain, I may consider making regulations to remove those jurisdictions from the list.
Gambling: Young People
It is not a specific requirement of the Government’s published criteria that jurisdictions have in place procedures where age verification checks are conducted within 72 hours. However, they must have in place measures to prevent under-age gambling and be able to demonstrate that their licensing and regulatory regime is sufficiently robust to protect children and vulnerable adults.
It is an offence under the Act for any operator to invite, cause or permit children to gamble, punishable by a large fine or imprisonment. Operators of internet gambling sites which are licensed by the Gambling Commission must comply with tough social responsibility measures to prevent underage gambling. If operators fail to comply with these requirements they are subject to regulatory action from the Gambling Commission. At present, the Government have seen no evidence that warrants changing the new protections brought in by the Gambling Act 2005.
Mass Media
The UK Film Council provides funding to nine regional screen agencies in England to support film making and media activities within their area with funding and vital specialist expertise and advice.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan: Overseas Aid
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) make a vital contribution to the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan. There are significant risks working in Afghanistan, as recent tragic events have demonstrated. The travel advice provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is regularly updated and gives our best general assessment of the conditions on the ground. We regularly update NGOs who have registered with our embassy in Kabul on threats to security—it is then up to them to make their own judgments regarding their operations, often in consultation with the umbrella security organisation, the Afghanistan NGO Safety Office.
Arms Trade
Together with Argentina, Australia, Costa Rica, Finland, Japan and Kenya, we have been pressing for an International Arms Trade treaty (ATT) to be agreed at the United Nations. At this year’s First Committee of the UN General Assembly, the UK together with these six other states co-authored a resolution proposing further work at the UN in 2009 aimed at establishing an ATT. The resolution was adopted on 31 October by an overwhelming majority (147 states in favour, and only two votes against (the US and Zimbabwe). Achieving an ATT is a complex process, which will take time, but we have made good progress, and we will continue to work actively towards achieving our goal.
On the domestic front, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary launched a new phase of the UK’s campaign towards an ATT by hosting a meeting of key stakeholders from industry, civil society, academia and the media in London on 9 September. In addition, I hosted a briefing on 9 October for the London-based Diplomatic Corps, setting out the UK’s support for an Arms Trade treaty and encouraging active international engagement in the UN process.
British Nationality: Detainees
Officials in my Department are reviewing our records so that we can provide an accurate answer to the hon. Member’s question. I will write to him with details as soon as possible.
Burma: Human Rights
The Government maintain a regular dialogue with all UN bodies working in Burma, both in New York and in country, and frequently discuss Burma with partners on the Security Council, the Human Rights Council and in the two informal groupings of countries acting in support of the Secretary-General’s Good Offices Mission. Our embassy in Rangoon is relied upon by a number of international institutions as a source of advice and insights on the situation in Burma.
Through these contacts, we encourage a coherent and consistent approach to Burma aimed at improving the lives of its people, including by providing substantial humanitarian assistance and working towards a credible transition to democracy and respect for human rights.
Burma: Storms
Access to the areas affected by Cyclone Nargis improved significantly after the visit of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on 23 May and the United Nations/Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) conference in Rangoon on 25 May. The rate of delivery of aid has now been good for several months. A Tripartite Core Group (TCG) made up of the UN, ASEAN and the Burmese Government was set up after the Conference. It has played a significant role in ensuring that aid gets through and that international experts have access to the affected areas. In late July, UN Emergency Relief Co-ordinator John Holmes declared the operation was now a “normal international relief operation”. However, important challenges remain over the coming months, particularly in providing clean water during the dry season in areas where traditional sources of supply are still contaminated by salt water, and in helping poor rural families restore their livelihoods.
We continue to work with the UN, ASEAN and international partners to press the regime to live up to its commitments to allow unfettered access to the worst affected areas.
Departmental Pay
The Government’s pay policy is guided by the following principles. Public sector pay settlements should be consistent with maintaining the necessary levels of recruitment, retention and staff engagement needed to support service delivery; ensure that total pay bills represent value for money and are affordable within Departments’ overall expenditure plans; and be consistent with the achievement of the inflation target. Timing of pay decisions for a particular work force depends on pay-setting arrangements for that work force.
Departmental Public Participation
The Department does not collect centrally information on all the (a) surveys, (b) questionnaires and (c) other services it commissions in the format requested. To do so would incur disproportionate cost.
Heathrow Airport: Official Visits
The Windsor Suite at Terminal 5, which is owned and operated by BAA, is available for use by eligible diplomats and politicians. As with the other VIP suites serving terminals 1 to 4 at London Heathrow airport, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office pays only for use of the suites by those visiting the UK on state visits or as guests of the Government.
Libya: State Visits
In light of an increasingly busy summit schedule through to the end of the year, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has decided to recast the energy summit scheduled for December as a ministerial meeting. Libya is expected to be represented by its Oil Minister, Shokri Ghanem and not Colonel Gaddafi. The opportunity for a meeting will therefore not arise.
Lost Working Days
Working days lost due to industrial action for the 31 January and 1 May 2007 strikes were 38 and six respectively. Prior to 2007, the FCO has not recorded these figures. To answer this question would therefore incur a disproportionate cost.
Middle East: Armed Conflict
The Annapolis process has been a first step to restoring trust between Israel and the Palestinian people. We should seek to build on it to create a process which can deliver a broader peace, in which all exercise their rights and fulfil their responsibilities. This would be a true settlement between Israel and all Arab states. I hope it will be given new momentum from the beginning of the new American administration.
Nepal: Human Rights
Through our embassy in Kathmandu, we have monitored the situation of Tibetan refugees in Nepal closely since protests began earlier this year. On 23 June, our ambassador to Nepal joined a démarche on the Nepalese Foreign Secretary to raise concerns of the international community about the arrest of three prominent Tibetans in Kathmandu and the use of arbitrary detention under the Public Security Act. Staff from our embassy in Kathmandu have also accompanied officials from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights when they observed police action against protests by Tibetan refugees. We have encouraged the Nepal police to ensure that all officers act with restraint when handling protest groups and urged that action is taken against any officers accused of using excessive force. Together with our EU and other international partners, we will continue to monitor the situation in Nepal closely.
Official Cars
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 16 July 2008, Official Report, column 414W by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Jim Fitzpatrick).
Somalia: Peacekeeping Operations
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has made a significant contribution to security in Mogadishu since its deployment. AMISOM soldiers from Uganda and Burundi protect key locations, including the port, airport, presidential palace and a key road junction. The security provided in Mogadishu has enabled the Somali leaders to concentrate on the political processes that are needed to secure peace in the long term.
AMISOM soldiers have also been actively involved in providing humanitarian assistance to the Somali population, providing medical assistance and distributing water. These activities have made a positive impact on the situation of ordinary Somalis and help to support peace and security.
Duchy of Lancaster
Social Exclusion
This Government have a strong track record of intervening early to address the root causes of social exclusion, not just the symptoms. Since 1997 we have invested over £21 billion in Sure Start children centres and extending the provision of child care.
The 2006 Social Exclusion Action Plan underlined the Government's commitment to early intervention and launched a series of new evidence based programmes such as the Family Nurse Partnership which intensify even further our focus on prevention.
Taxation
I meet with Treasury Ministers regularly to discuss a range of issues that affect the Third Sector.
Social Inclusion: Rural Areas
Ministers receive representations on social inclusion in rural areas as part of their day to day work.
The Government's Strong Rural Communities Programme supports people living in rural areas to achieve the same kinds of outcomes we want for all citizens—good health, decent homes, high quality education, and access to work.
In addition, every local authority in both rural and urban locations will report on outcomes for disadvantaged groups, as part of our public service agreement for socially excluded adults.
Public Relations
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan).
Social Exclusion: Young Women
Social exclusion is a priority for the Government. The Social Exclusion Task Force is leading the way through a PSA on socially excluded adults and by developing new approaches to tackling disadvantage.
These approaches include the Family Nurse Partnerships, launched in April 2007, which have helped over 1,000 young women under the age of 20, and the £6 million Adults Facing Chronic Exclusion Programme, designed to test new approaches to tackling chronic social exclusion among the most marginalised people in society—including young women at risk of exclusion and associated problems such as abuse, crime and addiction.
The Government are committed to ensuring that all young people are on the path to success—cross-cutting work which is driven primarily through PSA 14. Co-ordinated support for all young people, including women, covers initiatives such as targeted youth support, the commitment to reduce the proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET), the recently announced £13 million Intensive Intervention Projects, £140 million investment in targeted parenting programmes, and the expansion of whole family support initiatives such as Family Intervention Projects though a commitment to put one in every local authority by 2011. At the same time as strengthening our efforts to help young girls have the best start in life, the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy aims to ensure that young parents receive the support they need to make successful futures for themselves and their children.
This work is supported by a range of other cross-government initiatives such as positive activities and the £190 million investment in improving youth facilities, and Government strategies on Youth Alcohol, Youth Crime, Youth Volunteering and Drugs.