Written Answers to Questions
Monday 20 April 2009
Home Department
Airguns: Young People
The Government have no objection to young people using air weapons provided it is done in a safe and responsible way. This is reflected in the law which makes it an offence for someone under 18 to have an air weapon with them unless they are supervised by someone aged 21 or over. Other than that, they may only use an air weapon for target shooting at an approved shooting club or at a miniature shooting gallery; or if they are aged 14 or over and are on private premises with the consent of the occupier.
The Government have the deepest sympathy for the family and friends of those who are killed by air weapons. Such tragic incidents are rare but we keep the law under review in case the controls on usage need to be tightened further.
Alcoholic Drinks: Crime
(2) how many (a) males and (b) females aged (i) under 10, (ii) 10 to 13, (iii) 14 to 17 and (iv) 18 years and over were convicted for alcohol-related offences in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.
The number of males and females cautioned, proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for alcohol-related offences, by age group (the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10) and Government office region (GOR), from 2003 to 2007 (latest available) is given in tables 1 and 2 respectively, which have been placed in the Library.
The number of persons issued with a penalty notice for disorder (PND) for alcohol-related offences from 2004 to 2007 by GOR, age group (data are available for persons aged 16 and over) and sex are given in table 3, which has been placed in the Library.
The PND scheme was implemented in all 43 police force areas in England and Wales in 2004.
Data collected centrally at police force area level are not available by parliamentary constituency area.
The information requested on arrests is not collected centrally. The arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, broken down at a main offence group level, covering categories such as violence against the person and robbery.
It is not possible to identify the individual circumstances of offences (such as whether they were alcohol related) from the data on arrests reported to the Home Office.
Data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
The number of men and women found guilty at all courts for alcohol-related offences, by age group (the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10) and Government office region (GOR), from 2003 to 2007 (latest available) is given in tables 1 and 2 respectively, which have been placed in the Library.
Data relating to those persons cautioned and proceeded against using the same conditions, have also been included as part of tables 1 and 2.
Data relating to the number of persons issued with a penalty notice for disorder (PND) for alcohol-related offences from 2004 to 2007 by GOR, age group (data are available for persons aged 16 and over) and sex are given in table 3, which has been placed in the Library. The PND scheme was implemented in all 43 police force areas in England and Wales in 2004.
Data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
The Government have made a number of such assessments. The main one is the British Crime Survey (BCS), a report into ‘The Impact of the Licensing Act 2003 on Levels of Crime and Disorder: An Evaluation (2008) by Hough et al' as well as ‘Violent Crime, Disorder and Criminal Damage Since the Introduction of the Licensing Act (2007) Babb et al'.
In addition to piloting alcohol arrest referral schemes, the Government are taking a number of steps to tackle alcohol-related crime. These include the provisions in the Policing and Crime Bill which will introduce a mandatory code for all alcohol retailers, and will give licensing authorities new powers to clamp down on specific problems in their areas. We have also given £3 million to Crime and Disorder Reduction partnerships (CDRPs) in order to undertake multi-agency enforcement activities on specific alcohol-related problems. We have made available a further £1.5 million to our top 50 priority areas which have the highest levels of alcohol-related crime and disorder and public concern about drunk or rowdy behaviour. This money has been used to tackle under age sales, to confiscate alcohol from under 18's and to run communications campaigns to tell local people what action is being taken in their area. We have also just finished the series of 13 alcohol training enforcement workshops for front-line practitioners.
Animal Experiments: Licensing
In July 2008, a review of the Nafovanny Centre against the published qualifying criteria confirmed the centre as category A (no issues or only minor issues noted). Nafovanny's suitability was reviewed again in February 2009 in the light of a recent campaign report, in which allegations were made about the use and condition of some small cages. As a result, the centre remains acceptable as a source of non-human primates, but has been reassigned as category B (issues identified that require further monitoring by the Inspectorate and/or action by the breeding centre). Accordingly, a visit by the Home Office Inspectorate to Nafovanny has been arranged and is scheduled to be completed before the end of May 2009. Since the date of the last assessment there have been no requests from users to acquire animals from Nafovanny.
Ashford Borough Council
The Department has not made any grant payments directly to Ashford borough council, and there are no plans to do so.
However, Ashford BC may have benefited indirectly under the Department’s funding of Kent county council for the following grant streams:
Basic Command Unit Fund
Area Based Grants
Drug Intervention Programme
Safer Stronger Communities Fund
Association of Chief Police Officers
The Home Office has provided funding for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) since 1997.
In addition to an annual grant in aid payment, the Home Office has made regular payments to the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to fund a number of specific projects or in support of initiatives that are best delivered by those with professional police experience. All the grants are prescribed only for the project or use specified. From the information currently held by the Department, the payments made to ACPO since 2006-07 have been listed as an annex to this response.
The Home Secretary and I meet Sir Ken Jones, the current President of ACPO, regularly to discuss a range of issues, including the projects in which ACPO are involved. This is in addition to frequent telephone conversations and joint attendance at conferences and events. Formal notes of these meetings are not available to place in the House Library.
Financial year Project 2006-07 (£) 2007-08 (£) 2008-09 (£) Detail1 Grant Aid 836,232 836,232 836,232 To meet the costs of the ACPO president and part of the ACPO office costs ACIST 2,988,115 — — To fund the ACPO Change and Implementation Support Team Criminal Records project 110,000 110,000 110,000 UK Central Authority for exchange of criminal records Operation Sycamore 700,000 — — Investigation into prostitution project Community Tensions project 60,000 60,000 82,172 To fund the ACPO National Community Tensions Team Domestic Extremism project 2,000,000, 2,000,000, 2,000,000, To fund the ACPO Domestic Extremism Team Disaster Victims Identification 253,128 314,296 216,060 To fund the ACPO UK DIVI Management Team Stockwell project — 230,000 — Learning lessons of the Stockwell incident Drugs Conference — — 10,000 Contribution to ACPO conference Cannabis cultivation — — 40,000 Funding part of the costs of a co-ordinator Wildlife crime 15,367 15,367 150,000 Funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit Vehicle Intelligence — — 100,000 Funding for ACPO Vehicle Intelligence Service Car Parking 200,000 185,000 130,000 Funding for ACPO Safer Car parking Scheme Co-ordination of Counter-Terrorism policing — 5,300,664 4,000,000 Funds the national co-ordination functions: the National Coordinator of Special Branch, media liaison work, CT training needs analysis and the police contribution to the Border Management programme. Prevent — 355,586 1,159,500 Prevent Channel project Prevent — — 4,705,810 Prevent policing Protective Services — 60,600 189,400 Co-ordination costs Level 2 — 2,000,000 — Level 2 project Operation Overt — 268,581 — PNICC work on the air terrorist action RIUs 8,000,000 8,000,000 — Setting up regional intelligence units Policing the Olympics — — 220,000 Co-ordinating work Prisoner Intelligence Network 948,665 3,841,899 4,598,961 Support funding for programme AVCIS (ACPO vehicle crime intelligence service) — 420,000 — Organised vehicle crime investigation AVCIS—TruckPol — 50,000 — Freight crime intelligence service ACPO Drugs CBA 10,000 10,000 — Contribution to ACPO organised drugs conference Operation Cube (ACRO) 450,000 0 0 DNA analysis Operation Element (National Community Tension Team) — 200,000 170,000 NCTT—Operation Element (2007-08 funding) Knife Crime 0 0 81,250 Knife Crime £100,000 funding approximately agreed for 8 months (mid-September 2008 to mid-May 2009) Domestic violence posters 0 0 4,690 Domestic violence awareness campaign. Grant agreement signed—funding awaited Total 14,571,507 22,258,225 16,804,075 — 1 Funding allocated for these purposes only.
Asylum
We have ramped up performance in dealing with the asylum legacy cases and are now resolving several thousand every month, however, we have not set quarterly targets because the mix of case types means that some will take very little time to resolve while others will take longer. We are confident that we will be able to conclude the cases by summer 2011, and are on track to do so.
The then Home Secretary made clear when he announced the programme of work in July 2006 that the case-load of legacy asylum cases was estimated to be around 400,000 to 450,000 cases. This remains the estimate. We continue to be on track to complete all those categorised as older legacy cases by the summer of 2011. Up to 9 January 2009 we had concluded 155,500 cases.
An asylum seeker may make further representations at any stage in the application process which may, in certain circumstances, be treated as a fresh asylum application.
The United Kingdom Border Agency’s asylum targets are based on case conclusion times and the agency is on target to fully conclude 90 per cent. of new asylum applications within six months by 2011.
The information requested in this question could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by undertaking an examination of individual case records.
The United Kingdom Border Agency's asylum targets are based on case conclusion times and the agency is on target to fully conclude 90 per cent. of new asylum applications within six months by 2011.
The information requested in this question could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by undertaking an examination of individual case records.
The United Kingdom Border Agency's asylum targets are based on case conclusion times and the agency is on target to fully conclude 90 per cent. of new asylum applications within six months by 2011.
The chief executive of the UK Border Agency has undertaken to update the Home Affairs Committee every six months on progress within the Case Resolution Directorate. She confirmed in her last update, on 8 December 2008, that the legacy cohort contains cases that the agency struggles to trace, including those where the applicant has died or left the country voluntarily. The agency makes every effort to trace such cases, checking a number of internal and external databases. If such tracing fails, the case is placed into a controlled archive. As of the end of November 2008 we reported that there were 1,850 cases in the controlled archive older than six months. This figure will be updated in the next letter to the Home Affairs Committee in the summer.
The number of Asylum Application Registration Cards issued was: 26,022 in 2008; and 7,233 in the first 13 weeks of 2009. The information is not collated on a monthly basis. These figures are not provided under national statistics protocols and have been derived from management information which is provisional and subject to change.
Asylum: Children
Statistics on numbers of children seeking asylum are published on an annual basis in the Asylum Statistics United Kingdom bulletin.
Information on the number of asylum applications and initial decisions broken down by age and the number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children is available in this publication. Information on the number of persons held in detention solely under immigration Act powers for those recorded as being under the age of 18 as at the last Saturday of the quarter are also available from the Control of Immigration Quarterly statistical bulletin.
These publications are available in the Library of the House and from the Home Office research, development and statistics website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
Binyam Mohamed
It is the policy of successive Governments not to discuss the immigration status of individuals. However, as with any foreign national, consideration will be given as to whether their presence in the United Kingdom is conducive to the public good and, as always, all appropriate steps will be taken to protect national security.
Biometrics
The IRIS scheme was operational at 10 locations on 28 February 2009.
Borders: Personal records
The e-Borders system will not apply to the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
We will continue to work closely with the Republic of Ireland to tackle the major issues that face us today, from trafficking and terrorism to illegal immigration and drug smuggling.
The UK Border Agency, Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Garda National Immigration Bureau work collaboratively and run regular intelligence led operations to counter potential risks to the intra Common Travel Area (CTA) borders. These joint operations have successfully prevented foreign nationals attempting to cross the boundary illegally in both directions.
The Government have committed to a full consultation period on the introduction of an authority to carry scheme. This consultation period will be launched in due course following the completion of on-going development work and initial discussions with stakeholders.
The Government have committed to a full consultation period on the introduction of an authority to carry scheme. This consultation period will be launched in due course following the completion of ongoing development work and initial discussions with stakeholders
The introduction of an authority to carry scheme will only be brought forward for parliamentary approval, once the full 12-week consultation period with all stakeholders has taken place.
The e-Borders Programme has engaged directly with several of the large coach operators involved in international coach travel. We recognise that their inclusion in the solution and the development of operational models, will support a more efficient implementation of e-Borders.
The programme is in regular contact with the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), the industry trade association, and articles on e-Borders have appeared in their journal, Route One. The programme has also delivered presentations on e-Borders to the 2007 and 2008 coaching conferences.
Furthermore, e-Borders was represented at the 2008 Eurobus Expo at the NEC.
British Nationality
The available data regarding persons attending a British citizenship ceremony for 2005, 2006 and 2007 by English Government region are given in the following table. Data for 2008 are scheduled for publication in May 2009.
Statistics on persons attending a British citizenship ceremony by region of the United Kingdom and authority are published in table 8 of the Home Office statistical bulletin “Persons Granted British Citizenship United Kingdom”. This publication may be obtained from the Library of the House and from the Home Office research, development and statistics website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
Ceremony attended1, 2 English Government office region 2005 2006 20073 North East 1,310 1,420 1,705 North West 6,120 6,345 6,770 Yorkshire and the Humber 4,630 4,790 4,850 East Midlands 4,635 4,625 4,925 West Midlands 7,030 7,775 7,595 East of England 7,000 6,715 7,975 South East 12,030 12,145 14,640 South West 2,985 2,810 3,875 Greater London 63,045 56,995 61,690 Total (England) 108,780 103,615 114,025 1 A ceremony organised by county or local authorities for successful applicants over 18 years of age as the final stage in the process of attaining British citizenship. 2 Data are rounded to the nearest five so may not sum to the totals. 3 Provisional data.
Cannabis
The Forensic Science Service (FSS) Ltd. is only one of a number of commercial forensic suppliers involved in cannabis testing. By no means all cannabis seizures are forensically tested. The Home Office publishes annual figures for the volume of cannabis seizures in the annual National Statistics bulletin “Drug Seizures England and Wales”. The latest one covering 2006-07 was published on-line at:
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb1208.pdf
the 2007-08 edition will be published on 7 May. The Home Office does not collect figures on the percentage of seizures analysed by individual suppliers. However, as the FSS is the largest forensic supplier, it is likely that it tests around two thirds of the total seizures referred for forensic analysis.
Cannabis seizures made by law enforcement agencies are usually submitted to the Forensic Science Service (FSS) Ltd. to provide only a confirmed identification and weight. Only a small proportion of cannabis seizures are further examined to determine the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content, as a result of a customer request; customer requests for cannabidiol content are extremely unusual.
The table sets out the number of records and total weight of herbal cannabis and cannabis resin examined in the last 10 years by FSS.
Data derived from the Home Office Cannabis Potency Study 2008, show that when measured, the cannabidiol content of herbal cannabis has consistently been found to be less than 0.1 per cent. The cannabidiol content of cannabis resin varied between 0.1 to 7.3 per cent., with a mean content of 3.5 per cent. In today’s market, seizures of cannabis resin are comparatively rare compared to herbal cannabis.
Herbal Cannabis Cannabis Resin Plant1 1999 Number of records2 4,499 5,433 — Total weight submitted (kg) 1,525.8 6,732.5 — 2000 Number of records 5,904 6,572 — Total weight submitted (kg) 972.9 6,618.6 — 2001 Number of records 6,429 5,591 — Total weight submitted (kg) 1,414.1 3,296.5 — 2002 Number of records 11,687 9,346 357 Total weight submitted (kg) 2,278.4 5,126.5 — 2003 Number of records 11,139 7,100 1,410 Total weight submitted (kg) 3,261.3 6,954.3 — 2004 Number of records 9,306 5,202 1,365 Total weight submitted (kg) 1,267.2 3,638.2 — 2005 Number of records 9,899 4,463 2,927 Total weight submitted (kg) 4,118.3 4,281.8 — 2006 Number of records 9,309 3,285 3,858 Total weight submitted (kg) 1,568 3,576.6 — 2007 Number of records 10,250 2,459 5,466 Total weight submitted (kg) 2,989 1,075.9 — 2008 Number of records 11,916 3,238 6,235 Total weight submitted (kg) 2,659.8 11,615.9 — 1 Prior to quarter three 2003 cannabis plants were mainly recorded as herbal cannabis. 2 A record approximately equates to an individual item or exhibit. A seizure of cannabis or cannabis resin made by a law enforcement agency can consist of one item, a few items, several items or occasionally more.
The Forensic Science Service (FSS) Ltd has provided data in the following table. Only data from 2001 are readily available. The company reports that it is asked to test for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content only in a small proportion of the seizures referred to them for analysis.
Data on average THC levels of cannabis have previously been published in the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs' Reviews of Cannabis up to the year 2007. Data for 2008 can be found in the Home Office Cannabis Potency Study 2008, published by the Home Office Scientific Development Branch, using test data prepared by the FSS. Another source of reference for 2005 is D. J. Potter, P. Clark and Marc B. Brown, Potency of D9- THC and other Cannabinoids in Cannabis in England in 2005: Implications for Psychoactivity and Pharmocology, J. Forensic Sci., 53(1), 90-94, 2008.
THC range1 Seizure year2 Data <=3 per cent. 4-6 per cent. 7-10 per cent. >10 per cent. Total per cent. 2001 Number of samples 2 11 13 19 45 2002 Number of samples 13 14 19 37 83 2003 Number of samples 22 21 33 88 164 2004 Number of samples 12 13 25 113 163 2005 Number of samples 10 8 33 178 229 2006 Number of samples 9 36 94 176 315 2007 Number of samples 21 71 120 137 349 2008 Number of samples 15 39 70 203 327 2009 Number of samples 1 3 11 34 49 1 THC = tetrahydrocannabinol 2 Data before 2001 are not readily available
Civil Servants: Incentives
For senior civil servants (“the SCS”) non-consolidated performance payments for 2008-09 have not been awarded yet as we are awaiting the recommendations of the Senior Salaries Review Body, the independent body which makes recommendations to the Government about SCS pay.
Under the current Home Office pay arrangements, up to 35 per cent. of staff below the SCS may receive non-consolidated performance payments for 2008-09 at a cost of up to £3 million: but these payments have not yet been determined. Non-consolidated performance payments are made to individuals who have made an exceptional contribution throughout the year.
There is also a scheme for awarding one-off non-consolidated special payments during the year. Up to 0.3 per cent. of the pay bill is allocated for this purpose. Special payments can be awarded for exceptional achievements by staff in particularly demanding tasks or situations at any time of the year.
All such non-consolidated performance-related payments are funded within existing pay bill controls, have to be re-earned each year against predetermined performance standards and, as such, do not add to future pay bill costs.
Closed Circuit Television
[holding answer 2 April 2009]: Since the end of the Home Office initiative under the Crime Reduction Programme in 2003, no further funding has specifically been provided for the installation of town centre CCTV security systems by the Home Office.
Although no new specific CCTV funding has been introduced, funding streams such as the building safer communities fund are available to local authorities through crime and disorder reduction partnerships to allow them to tackle their local crime priorities using a number of interventions, including CCTV.
Community Relations: Internet
The Home Office is working with a range of companies that provide filtering and/or parental control software which offer products that allow users such as parents and schools to voluntarily restrict access to certain categories of material that may be harmful or offensive. Our engagement with the filtering industry is an ongoing process and I do not propose to provide a list of those we have worked with to date. Some companies, such as Smoothwall, have chosen to announce their participation in this work.
These companies are now able to receive from the Home Office details of material which we consider to be unlawful under the Terrorism Act 2006 in order to enhance the protection their products offer against terrorist material.
These products offer end-users a tool to make the internet a safer place for children and young people.
Convictions
[holding answer 9 March 2009]: Information is not available in the form requested.
Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners
The original ministerial announcement of funding to the Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners (CRFP) in 1999 was expressly subject to the CRFP’s performance, particularly the condition that it became self-financing through registrant’s fees and there should not be a long-term reliance on grant.
By the time CRFP closed, this goal of a self-funding independent accreditation body had not been achieved and the company was facing a long-term shortfall of funding, because the registration income did not match the expenditure—and would not have matched it, irrespective of whether the Government grant had been continued or not. This was likely to become considerably worse because of the withdrawal of support for the registration process by police forces.
The grant was latterly provided by the National Policing Improvement Agency, who last year jointly commissioned with the CRFP an independent analysis of CRFP’s finances. Following this, the CRFP’s financial situation, as detailed above, was clear and further commitment of public money to CRFP would have amounted to a long-term commitment to funding the company without full public control, which would not have been a justifiable or sustainable approach. I, and ministerial colleagues, were kept fully briefed on this issue throughout.
Fear of Crime
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the Policing Green Paper: From the Neighbourhood to the National: Policing Our Communities Together which sets out the Government’s expectation that there will be a significant improvement in public confidence over the next three years.
Crime Prevention
The online scorecard has been designed so that each person who uses the tool will receive a number of suggestions on how to improve their home security, targeted specifically to any potential weaknesses in their current home security arrangements, as identified from their answers.
CCTV is a powerful crime fighting tool. Police operational experience and various research studies show that it deters and detects crime and helps secure convictions. It can also reduce fear of crime. CCTV works best as part of a package of measures to deal with specific events and crime problems.
A recent review of existing research was undertaken by the Campbell Collaboration, which was part funded by the National Policing Improvement Agency. The review found that CCTV has a modest but significant desirable effect on crime, is most effective in reducing crime in car parks, when targeted at vehicle crimes, and is more effective in reducing crime in the United Kingdom than in other countries. The main points of the review will be summarised and made available to police forces by the summer.
Crime Prevention: Coventry
Coventry was allocated £335,669 from the Police Basic Command Unit Fund by the Home Office in 2008-09 to deliver crime and disorder reduction, promote partnership working, and to assist in the delivery of the objectives set out in the Government's Public Service Agreements for 2008-11.
This funding has helped to fund two Business Improvement Districts in Coventry which work closely with Coventry's Community Safety Partnership with the aim of both improving relationships with business partners and also the response they receive in relation to tackling crime and disorder and antisocial behaviour. For example, deploying a business crime co-ordinator and working with businesses on prevention, education and target hardening advice/measures.
The information is as follows:
(a) The Home Secretary recently announced a £15 million initiative to tackle burglary in domestic properties. This comprises: a national, regional and local media campaign providing crime prevention advice; specific advice on securing your home including a web-based toolkit; a safer homes fund to target measures designed to increase home security for the most vulnerable groups in society; increasing the pressure on prolific offenders; an on-line and leaflet version of home security assessment; and burglary advice packs including discount vouchers for DIY stores on home security products.
(b) Coventry has received Government funding for a number of specific projects that will protect both the community and families; for example, an initiative under the "Think Family" banner to promote early intervention that will prevent or reduce the circumstances that may lead to criminal or antisocial behaviour in families, and a Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre. Coventry is also part of several national schemes, which will help protect families from crime: it has been designated as an Alcohol Priority area; it is part of the Tackling Knives Action Programme, which includes actions such as safety arches being used at schools and additional police patrols during home time; it is part of the tackling violent crime programme; and it has also been successful in its bid for Youth Crime Action Plan funding for the next two financial years.
Crime: Maps
The National Policing Improvement Agency is working towards the provision of a national crime map for England and Wales for the delivery to the public by the end of 2009. This will support and link the current 43 individual crime maps provided by forces since the end of December 2008.
Departmental Absenteeism
The disruption caused by the extreme weather conditions on 2 and 3 February this year caused severe difficulty for many Home Office staff travelling to and from work.
As a result guidance was provided to line managers to remind them that they should consider sympathetically circumstances where staff were unable to report for work or have had to leave early due to severe travel disruption. This guidance reflected existing departmental arrangements on travel disruptions set out in the Staff Handbook. These arrangements provide for situations where staff experience unavoidable travel delays due to travel disruption or other exceptional circumstances which may mean they are either late for work or are unable to attend work. In these circumstances those staff that use the departmental flexi time system may be given a credit to compensate for travel delays. Depending on circumstances, other staff might not be required to make up time lost.
It was left to managers to decide locally whether the provisions allowed for in the Staff Handbook should be applied in individual cases. Records of the number of staff who were not able to attend work on 2 and 3 February as a result of the disruption to the transport system were not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
For the same reason it is also not possible to provide an estimate of the cost to the Department or the total number of working hours that were lost.
Departmental Buildings
2 Marsham Street London SW1 is operated under a private finance initiative contract with Anne's Gate Property plc. The Department has no other PFI building contracts.
Departmental Consultants
The Home Office's expenditure on consultancy (including that of its Executive agencies) in the year 2007-08 was £95.6 million. This represents 7 per cent. of overall Home Office expenditure on third party goods and services. It is also 36 per cent. less than in 2006-07, reflecting a desire to reduce consultancy expenditure. The expenditure by Home Office NDPBs on consultancy in 2007-08 is tabled as follows:
£ Independent Police Complaints Commission 243,848 National Policing Improvement Agency 71,400,000 Security Industry Agency 81,967 Serious Organised Crime Agency 1,615,000
It is not possible to give a detailed breakdown by consultancy, but the majority of this expenditure is on major programmes (e.g. eBorders, national identity scheme) where most of the work is contracted out to specialist contractors.
Departmental Data Protection
No member of staff has been investigated, suspended or dismissed for losing memory sticks, laptop computers, desktop computers and mobile telephones in the last three years. Information prior to 2005 is not held centrally and to provide such information would incur disproportionate costs.
Identity and Passport Services are the only part of the Home Office that uses wireless functionality on their networks. IPS utilises the WPA2 protocol to protect this wireless network.
Good progress is being made on implementing the mandatory minimum measures set out in the data handling procedures in Government Report published in 2008 (a copy of which is in the House Library) following the review undertaken by Robert Hannigan. These and other mechanisms are being applied across the Home Office to reduce the risks to the security of personal and other sensitive information. These include:
Establishing a board-level senior information risk owner for the Home Office, and counterparts in each of our agencies and non-departmental public bodies;
Establishing an information assurance risk assessment and management process;
Creating a register of all information assets, identifying owners for all those assets and training those owners in managing information handling risks;
Carrying out training and raising awareness amongst all staff;
Setting up a bureau to allow any restricted or personal data that need to be sent, or received from, beyond the secure network to be encrypted;
Restricting the ability to write data to removable media to those that have a business need to do so;
Replacing existing USB sticks with encrypted ones, where they are required; and
Obtaining assurances from delivery partners that they will handle our data in line with the Hannigan requirements.
Departmental Detergents
My Department inclusive of its agencies does not generally contract directly for cleaning services, but procures them through wider Facilities Management (FM) or operational service contractors. Typically contracts between my Department and FM suppliers stipulate that the suppliers should consider environmentally preferable products and materials. Our key suppliers have confirmed that their policy is only to use cleaning products or ingredients tested on animals if required to meet legal requirements.
National and international regulatory bodies require that products, ingredients and chemicals are tested to ensure that they are not a danger to children, adults, household pets and the environment. Until reliable alternatives are developed, this means that procedures have to be performed using animals.
Departmental Empty Property
The Home Office including its Executive Agencies made budgetary provision in the financial year 2008-09 for an additional £65,377 as a result of the changes to empty rates relief that came into effect on 1 April 2008.
Departmental Energy
Central Government Departments and their executive agencies are required to report performance data on their energy consumption for their office estate annually as part of the Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG) reporting process, to assess performance against the target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from offices by 12.5 per cent. by 2010-11 against a 1999-2000 baseline.
The Department does not hold comprehensive information on how much electricity, gas and other fuel was used across the whole Home Office estate and its agencies for the last 10 years.
The latest assessment of Government’s performance against these targets was published by the Sustainable Development Commission on 12 December 2008:
http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/sdig2008/
Departmental Freedom of Information
The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly statistics on the number of FOI requests received by central Government Departments, the most recent of which relate to the third quarter (July to September) of 2008. The statistics show that during the period April to September 2008, the Home Office received 1,019 requests, of which 394 resulted in a full or partial release of information.
82 (8 per cent. of the number of requests received) of these responses have been published in the Freedom of Information disclosure log on the Department's website.
Departmental Manpower
At the end of February 2009 there were 53.82 headcount full-time equivalent permanent paid civil servants working in the Home Office departmental security unit.
Departmental Marketing
The Home Office allocated £13,183,000 for the financial year 2008-09. This was allocated to a range of public facing activity which includes advertising, public relations, events, leaflets and supporting literature. This figure excludes executive agency and NDPB expenditure, VAT, supplier fees, and recruitment advertising.
Departmental Procurement
Based on the purchase order data held in the Home Department’s financial database, the details of the payments made to (a) the Labour party, (b) Biometix (c) Information Risk Management plc, (d) Good Relations Ltd. and (e) Marks and Spencer Lunch to Go in 2007-08 are as follows:
Supplier/organisation Date Description of purchase Value (£) The Labour party 25 October 2007 Provision of Security at Annual Labour Conference 2006. This was a further payment in relation to costs that had not been submitted at the time of the initial conference 11,748.73 The Labour party 25 October 2007 Provision of security at Annual Labour Conference 2007 1,267,359.00
In accordance with section 170 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, the Home Office reimburses security costs incurred by political parties provided that this is accompanied by a letter from the Chief Officer of Police for the host area confirming that the security measures are justified.
Supplier/organisation Date Description of purchase Value (£) Biometix 25 March 2008 Tool for analyzing Biometric data. Performix PC Desktop Licence with 12 months support 4,990.00 Information Risk Management plc 26 March 2008 To conduct an IT Healthcheck on security of Criminal Justice Xhibit portal. This involved internal and external penetration tests to assess vulnerability 14,080.00 Good Relations Ltd. 13 April 2007 Provision of weekly news summaries to the Office of Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR) and Criminal Justice Technology (CJIT), now MOJ 46,978.00 Marks and Spencer Lunch to Go 18 June 2007 Working lunch 137.29 Marks and Spencer Lunch to Go 25 June 2007 Working lunch for external Swedish visitors attending meeting 77.87 Marks and Spencer Lunch to Go 23 July 2007 Working lunch for PSA/APACS event paid for by Police and Crime Standards Directorate (PCSD) 164.75 Marks and Spencer Lunch to Go 7 August 2008 Working lunch 331.20
In the last three years the Home Department and its Executive agencies have not incurred any nugatory bid costs from suppliers where tender processes have been cancelled prior to the award of contract.
Departmental Public Expenditure
As announced in the pre-Budget report on 24 November, £20 million of capital expenditure has been brought forward from 2010-11 to 2009-10 to improve the estates of the Serious Organised Crime Agency and the National Police Improvement Agency, developing and installing high technology systems and enhancing intelligence gathering against serious organised crime.
As published in the Pre-Budget report on 24 November 2008, the Home Office capital budget in 2008-9 is £0.9 billion, in 2009-10 £0.8 billion, and in 2010-11 £0.8 billion. The Government have not set Departments' Capital DEL budgets for years beyond 2010-11. Capital DEL budgets for 2011-12 and beyond are a matter for the next spending review. The Government do, however, publish projections for PSNI (Public Sector Net Investment) over the forecast period at Budgets and Pre-Budget reports.
The following tables set out the programmes which have incurred expenditure for the requested areas of work.
Budgetary headings are assumed to be the programme objects, sub-programmes and account descriptions as defined by HM Treasury, which inform HM Treasury financial management and reporting processes.
Business Sub-Programmes Wages and Salaries Purchases and sales of goods/services Grants to local authorities Grants to private sector EU grant income Depreciation, cost of capital and provisions NPIA NPIA Yes Yes — — — Yes SOCA SOCA Yes Yes — — — Yes OSCT Counter-Terrorism Yes Yes Yes Yes — Yes OSCT Other OSCT — — Yes — — — OISC OISC Yes Yes — — — — UKBA Core UKBA Yes Yes Yes Yes — Yes UKBA European refugee fund — — — Yes Yes — IPS IPS Yes Yes — — — Yes Central services Central services Yes Yes — — — Yes Research and Statistics Research and Statistics Yes Yes — — — Yes
Business Sub-programmes Capital expenditure net of sales Capital support to local authorities Capital grants to private Sector and overseas NPIA NPIA Yes — — SOCA SOCA Yes — — OSCT Counter-Terrorism Yes Yes Yes OSCT Other OSCT — — — UKBA Core UKBA Yes — — IPS IPS Yes — — Central services Central services Yes — — Research and Statistics Research and Statistics Yes — —
The tables set out the programmes which have incurred expenditure for the requested areas of work.
Budgetary headings are assumed to be the programme objects, sub-programmes and account descriptions as defined by HM Treasury, which inform HM Treasury financial management and reporting processes.
Business Sub-programmes Wages and salaries Purchases and sales of goods/services Grants to local authorities Grants to private sector Area Based Grant Crime Reduction and Drugs Crime Reduction Yes Yes Yes Yes — Crime Reduction and Drugs Crime Reduction—ABG — — — — Yes Crime Reduction and Drugs Drugs Yes Yes Yes Yes — Crime Reduction and Drugs Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Unit Yes Yes — — — ISA ISA Yes Yes — — —
Business Sub-programmes Capital expenditure net of sales Capital support to local authorities Capital grants to private sector and overseas Crime Reduction and Drugs Crime Reduction Yes Yes Yes Crime Reduction and Drugs Drugs — Yes —
The Independent Police Complaints Commission has incurred expenditure under the following budget headings:
Wages and salaries
Purchases and sales of goods and services
Depreciation, cost of capital and provisions
Capital additions, net of sales
Budgetary headings are assumed to be the programme objects, sub-programmes and account descriptions as defined by HM Treasury, which inform HM Treasury financial management and reporting processes.
Departmental Stationery
From best available information, the total expenditure in FY 2008-09 by the Home Department for both (a) branded stationery and (b) non-branded stationery was £3,011,000.
To separate stationery expenditure between (a) branded and (b) non-branded items would involve manually reprocessing source records and could be done only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Training
Ministers in the Home Office have taken the following personal training courses at public expense since 1 January 2008:
Induction workshop
Departmental leadership development
Media training
Training is provided to Ministers as necessary in order to carry out their duties effectively under the Ministerial Code.
Departmental Written Questions
The unique identification numbers (UIN) in respect of the nine questions referred to in my answer of 24 March are as follows:
248332
249216
241568
245482
245483
251937
244798
251292
240954
Deportation: Children
The following table shows the number of child asylum seekers, including dependants, removed or voluntarily departed from the UK in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
Number of departures4 2006 20075 20085 Total child asylum cases 1,645 905 705 1 Persons recorded as being under 18 on the date of their departure from the UK. 2 Persons who had sought asylum at some stage, including dependants. 3 Includes persons departing voluntarily after notifying the UK Border Agency of their intention to leave prior to their departure, persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organization for Migration and persons who it has been established left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. 4 Removals and voluntary departures recorded on the system as at the dates on which the data extracts were taken. 5 Provisional figures.
Deportation: Offenders
In March 2009 the quarterly National Asylum Statistics were published and it reported that there were 5,395 foreign national prisoners who had been removed or deported in 2008. The information on the numbers of those who had previously been convicted of firearms offences, or any other offence types, can only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. In order to obtain the full criminal history of such individuals it would be necessary to examine individual case files held by the UK Border Agency and cross-reference that information with police records.
Designated Public Places Orders
The Home Office has been informed that 707 Designated Public Place Orders (DPPO)s have been implemented throughout England and Wales. This figure is broken down by year as follows:
Number 2001 3 2002 68 2003 78 2004 109 2005 102 2006 122 2007 120 2008 84 2009 121 1 So far.
A full list of the councils which have implemented the orders can be accessed at the following internet link which includes commencement date:
http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/alcoholorders/alcoholorders09.htm
Detainees: Children
The requested information is not held centrally and would be available only through the detailed examination of individual case files at disproportionate cost.
The following table shows the numbers of children detained within the UK Border Agency detention estate solely under Immigration Act powers on a snapshot basis as at the last Saturday of each quarter of 2008, broken down by length of detention (i.e. of those detained on that particular day, the numbers of whom had been detained for the lengths of time specified).
National Statistics on children detained solely under Immigration Act powers on a snapshot basis are published quarterly. This information is published in Tables 9 to 11 of the Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary, United Kingdom bulletins which are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
Number of children1 Length of detention4, 5 29 March 28 June 27 September 27 December 7 days or less 10 15 30 5 8 to 14 days * 5 * 15 15 to 28 days 5 20 20 15 29 days to less than 2 months 15 15 5 5 2 months to less than 3 months 5 — — * 3 months to less than 4 months — — — — 4 months to less than 6 months — — — — 6 months to less than 1 year — — — — 1 year or more — — — — Total 35 55 55 40 1 People recorded as being under 18 on the last Saturday of each quarter. These figures will overstate if any applicants aged 18 or over claim to be younger. 2 Figures rounded to the nearest 5 (— = 0, * = 1 or 2), may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding and exclude persons detained in police cells, Prison Service establishments and those detained under both criminal and immigration powers. 3 Figures include dependants. 4 Relates to most recent period of sole detention. 5 2 months is defined as 61 days; 4 months is defined as 122 days; 6 months is defined as 182 days.
Detainees: Offenders
(2) how many foreign national prisoners were being held in prisons awaiting deportation on 12 January 2009.
The Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency has regularly written to the Home Affairs Committee in order to provide them with all of the most robust and accurate information available. In her letter of 23 July 2008 she advised the Committee that there were around 1,650 foreign criminals who had completed their sentence and were detained under immigration powers pending deportation action. A copy of this letter is available in the Library of the House. She also recently advised the Public Accounts Committee during her appearance before them on 5 March that, of those who are detained pending deportation action, around 1,200 are held within the UK Border Agency detention estate.
The information relating to the numbers of foreign national prisoners subject to deportation action who are either serving their sentence or are being detained under immigration powers in prisons is not centrally held. In order to obtain the information it would be necessary to examine individual case files at disproportionate cost.
Diplomatic Service: Firearms
Detailed records are not kept beyond three years, and for security reasons it would be inappropriate to disclose details of protection requests received and measures provided.
Dispersal Orders
Between January 2004 and 31 March 2006, the police have used the power in section 30 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 to disperse unruly groups in over 1,000 designated areas. Figures are not available broken down by year. Figures for 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2008 by police force area are due to be published shortly.
DNA: Databases
(2) when she expects to make a decision on steps to be taken in response to the European Court of Human Rights’ decision on the case of S and Marper.
I intend to consult on proposals for implementing the judgment as part of a wider Forensics White Paper. This is due to be published before summer 2009.
The following table shows the number and proportion of all subject profiles held on the national DNA database (NDNAD) by forces in Scotland, England and Wales, and Northern Ireland as at 30 March 2009.
The number of subject profiles held on the NDNAD is not the same as the number of individuals with a profile on the database. As it is possible for a profile to be loaded on to the NDNAD on more than one occasion, some profiles held on the NDNAD are replicates. This can occur, for example, if the person provided different names, or different versions of their name, on separate arrests, or because profiles are upgraded. The replication rate for the NDNAD is currently estimated at 13.5 per cent. although the rate may vary between forces.
Force Number of subject profiles Number of individuals (Estimated) Proportion of total subject profiles held on NDNAD England and Wales 5,258,779 — 93.67 Scotland 259,522 — 4.62 Northern Ireland 66,967 — 1.19 Other 29,143 — 0.52 Total 5,614,411 4,856,466 100
Drugs: Crime
A list of the most commonly encountered drugs currently controlled under the misuse of drugs legislation is available on the Home Office website at the following link:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/cdlist.pdf?view=Binary
The latest figures from the British Crime Survey, showing the estimated number of drug users for each drug covered in the survey are shown in the table.
Number (thousand) 2007-08 BCS Used ever Used last year Used last month Class A Any cocaine 2,441 740 330 Cocaine powder 2,408 734 320 Crack cocaine 276 44 31 Ecstasy 2,394 470 164 Hallucinogens 2,869 198 48 LSD 1,655 88 28 Magic Mushrooms 2,198 156 28 Opiates 263 53 35 Heroin 217 34 24 Methadone 134 41 28 Class A/B Amphetamines 3,741 329 113 Class B/C Tranquillisers 901 147 65 Class C Anabolic steroids 179 17 1 Cannabis 9,637 2,382 1,339 Ketamine 423 113 49 Not classified Amyl Nitrite 2,856 472 193 Glues 718 32 13 Any class A drug 4,469 949 421 Any drug 11,467 2,996 1,701 Notes: 1. Estimates are derived by multiplying the prevalence rate by the 2007 population aged 16 to 59 in England and Wales (based on mid-2006 estimates from the Office for National Statistics). 2. It is not possible to add estimated numbers of drug users together for different drug types as users may have taken more than one type of drug.
Entry Clearances
Visa services deploy a range of indicators and checks concerning the quality of decisions to issue a visa. These include sampling of decisions by Entry Clearance Managers, spot checks on whether applicants have left the UK, refusals of visa holders at ports of entry and monitoring of compliance when in the UK. In addition, the use of biometrics allows us to identify those who have entered the UK on a visa but subsequently destroyed their ID papers. This information is fed into risk profiles to inform future visa decisions. UKBA is also employing structured decision-making techniques to improve consistency in decision-making. The Independent Monitor for Entry Clearance scrutinises visa refusals not acceptances.
The total number of (a) visa applications received (b) visas issued and (c) visas refused in each year from 2004-08 is shown in the following table. Reliable data for prior years are not held.
Applications Issued Refused 2004 2,515,845 1,994,384 419,819 2005 2,575,518 2,075,781 459,958 2006 2,747,782 2,243,346 480,238 2007 2,551,890 2,071,878 472,418 2008 2,438,634 1,952,363 470,811
Entry Clearances: China
[holding answer 11 December 2008]: The visa fees for business visitors, students, family visitors, spouse or civil partners of a settled person, children of a settled person, prospective students and visits from China for the last three years are listed in the following table:
2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Business visitors 50 63 65 Students 85 99 99 Family visitors 50 63 65 Spouses or civil partners of a settled person 260 500 515 Children of a settled person 260 500 515 Prospective students 85 99 99 Visitors from China 50 63 65 Long term visitor visa—multiple entry visa valid for 1, 2, 5 or 10 years (available to business visitors, family visitors and visitors from China) 85 200 205
We recently ran a pilot in China from 3 March 2008 to 3 October 2008 for visitors applying as a group to travel to the UK with a known and trusted agent. It was only open to those applicants who intended to travel with an agent who is part of the Approved Destination Scheme. We set a fee of £44 during March which then increased to £45 from April.
Entry Clearances: East Sussex
The information requested is not held centrally.
Entry Clearances: Fees and Charges
We announced the visa fees for 2009-10 in a written ministerial statement on 12 February 2009, Official Report, column 91WS.
Entry Clearances: Overseas Students
I agreed the change to the policy change on length of student visas under Tier 4 of the points based system on 24 February 2009. On the 25 February I confirmed these changes in writing to my right hon. Friend the Minster for high education and intellectual property and to Baroness Warwick, chief executive of Universities UK.
The principal consultative body with which we engage in the education sector is the Joint Education Taskforce. The taskforce includes universities, further education colleges and independent schools as well as members of the relevant bodies such as UUK, UKCISA, UCAS and many others. Those on the taskforce have agreed to cascade communications to their members and to publish any correspondence from the UK Border Agency on their websites as soon as reasonably practicable.
We presented the policy change on length of student visas to the meeting of the Joint Education Taskforce on 26 February 2009. We also presented updates on the maintenance requirements under Tier 4. A letter was distributed to the taskforce on 27 February confirming the new arrangements and asking members to advise the sector of the changes and to draw attention to the newly-published draft policy guidance on Tier 4 on the UK Border Agency website. The publication of the draft guidance was highlighted by an accompanying news item on the UK Border Agency website.
On 6 March, a further letter was sent to the taskforce to inform them that the guidance for Tier 4 migrants would be published on the UK Border Agency website after the immigration rules were laid in Parliament on 9 March, which they were asked to circulate to their members.
On 10 March, I made a written ministerial statement introducing a statement of changes to the immigration rules (HC314) which was accompanied by an explanatory memorandum. A press release supported this announcement.
Additionally, the final migrant policy guidance for Tier 4 and HC314 itself were published on the website with a supporting news article.
On 31 March, Tier 4 came into effect. This was supported by a press release and updates to the UK Border Agency website on 31 March, as well as an article published on 2 April in The Times Higher Education Supplement. These all referred to the change in length of leave under Tier 4.
There are at present 1,496 colleges on the Register of Sponsors under Tier 4 of the points-based system. A full list of the establishments is available on the UK Border Agency website which is update twice weekly.
Entry Clearances: Overseas Visitors
Since the phasing out of embarkation controls in 1994 no Government have ever been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who are in the country illegally, including those who have overstayed on their visa. By its very nature it is impossible to quantify accurately and that remains the case.
As part of the Government's 10-point plan for delivery, by 2010 over 95 per cent. of non-EEA foreign nationals will be counted in and out of the country, rising to 100 per cent. by 2014. This is part of a sweeping programme of border protection which also includes the global roll-out of fingerprint visas, watch-list checks for all travellers before they arrive or depart from the UK and ID cards for foreign nationals.
Extradition: USA
The information requested is in the following table. The data are normally used for management information only and are not subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics publications. The data are provisional and may be subject to change.
UK extradition requests made to USA Persons returned by USA to UK 2001 4 3 2002 9 3 2003 5 2 2004 2 4 2005 7 1 2006 4 4 2007 16 7 2008 8 10 Note: Scotland makes and (until 1 April 2008) Northern Ireland made its own extradition requests. Statistics for such cases are not included in this table.
The information requested is in the following table. The data are normally used for management information only and are not subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics publications. The data are provisional and may be subject to change.
(a) Persons surrendered to USA (b) Persons discharged from US extradition requests (c) Extradition arrests pursuant to US requests 2001 8 0 14 2002 12 4 8 2003 6 2 5 2004 8 0 35 2005 14 1 6 2006 19 2 15 2007 9 1 10 2008 6 3 9 Note: Cases involving persons in Scotland and in Northern Ireland are handled by the Scottish Ministers and were handled until 1 April 2008 by Northern Ireland Ministers. Statistics for such cases are not included in this table.
Fingerprints: Databases
The latest published data for the United Kingdom's transactions with the Eurodac database are for 2007 and can be found in the European Commission's Annual Report to the Council and the European Parliament on the activities of the Eurodac Central Unit. This report can be accessed at:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?=COM:2009:0013:FIN:EN:PDF
and a copy will be placed in the House Library.
Information for 2008 and 2009 will be published in the annual reports for these years.
Firearms: Crime
Available data relate to offences involving firearms (excluding air weapons) recorded between 2003-04 and 2007-08, and were published in table 2.12 of ‘Homicides, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 2007-08' (HOSB 02/09), which can be found online at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb0209.pdf
Firearms are taken to be involved in a crime if they are fired, used as a blunt instrument or used as a threat.
Data on arrests relating to gun crime cannot be provided by the Home Office since (a) the centrally held firearm offences database does not record detection or suspect data, and (b) offences involving firearms cannot be identified on the centrally held arrests database.
Forced Marriage
We know that forced marriage is a hidden issue, where many victims are too afraid to come forward and seek help. Given this, it is difficult to assess the true scale of the problem. The Government’s Forced Marriage Unit deal with a significant number of cases every year. However, it is only possible to give figures for the whole of the UK, as opposed to specific regions.
In 2008, the FMU dealt with 420 cases (213 assistance cases, and 207 reluctant sponsor cases).
In 2007, the FMU dealt with 251 cases (165 assistance cases and 86 reluctant sponsor cases).
In 2006, the FMU dealt with 182 cases (99 assistance cases, and 83 reluctant sponsors).
In 2005, the FMU dealt with 152 cases (not broken down into assistance and reluctant sponsor cases).
In 2008, the FMU began keeping more detailed statistics on all reportings of forced marriage that were referred to the FMU. During the whole of 2008, the FMU received reports of over 1,600 possible forced marriage cases. Of those who gave a location, 15 per cent. were in the North West region. Unfortunately these statistics are not broken down by county.
Foreign Workers: Fixed Penalties
Between 1 January 2007 and 31 January 2009, a total of 99 fixed penalty notices for breach of the Accession (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations were issued to workers from Bulgaria, and 287 to workers from Romania.
These figures do not constitute part of National Statistics as they are based on internal management information. The information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols and should be treated as provisional and subject to change.
Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
Homicide
It is not possible to extract the requested information from databases centrally held by the Ministry of Justice.
Available data from the Home Office’s Homicide Index relate to offences currently recorded as homicides in England and Wales as at 4 November 2008. Latest analysis was published in “Homicides, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 2007/08” (Home Office Statistical Bulletin 02/09), which is available on the Home Office RDS website.
Between 1998-99 and 2007-08, there were 546 currently recorded homicides where the victim's relationship to principal suspect was ‘current or ex-partner’ and the principal suspect was sentenced to life imprisonment having been convicted of murder, section 2 manslaughter or other manslaughter. This figure excludes those persons for whom a Restriction Order (Mental Health Act 1983 s41) was imposed by the court, since the sentence is without limit of time, and those for whom a Hospital Order (Mental Health Act 1983 s37(1)) was imposed.
Human Trafficking
A report on the outcomes of Operation Pentameter 2 is planned to be published by Gloucestershire Constabulary in the spring.
There are no plans for the UKHTC to publish a report on its analytical work because of operational sensitivities.
A programme of 85 cross Government actions are outlined in the United Kingdom’s Action Plan which is updated annually with the responsible agencies listed against each action. Progress on all areas of work is overseen by the Inter Departmental Ministerial Group of which the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Tynemouth (Mr. Campbell) is Chair.
Human trafficking is core police business and all forces should have the capacity to deal with trafficking problems in their area. This will be reinforced by the joint UK Human Trafficking Centre and National Policing Improvement Agency programme to embed human trafficking within mandatory police training courses throughout 2009. Training on human trafficking issues within the UK Border Agency is mandatory for all staff up to grade 7 level.
The Serious Organised Crime Agency has tackling organised immigration crime as its second highest priority. SOCA co-ordinates two programmes of activity aimed at organised immigration crime, including human trafficking which are aimed at the reduction of such crime at source and key nexus points and to reduce the exploitation of migrants in the UK by organised criminal gangs.
We shall fund the UKHTC to the tune of £4.5million for the current spending review period and SOCA receives an overall budget of £400 million.
Ratification of the Council of Europe convention on action against human trafficking in December 2008 underlines the Government's commitment to protecting victims of trafficking.
The Home Office monitors UN and EU reports on human rights and criminal justice issues in other countries. Specific country information is available for consideration when any return is being instigated. We also work with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and have established partnerships with a number of charities to offer reintegration assistance to victims who are returned to their country of origin.
Where there is a real risk that a person would be re-trafficked and subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment in the proposed destination country, removal of that person would be contrary to the UK's obligations under the ECHR. In those circumstances the person concerned will generally be granted some form of leave.
The information concerning the deportation of trafficked individuals is not currently available in the format requested. As part of the implementation of the convention we are putting in place mechanisms for systematically capturing data relating specifically to victims of trafficking. We anticipate these data will start to become available in the summer.
Human Trafficking: Compensation
Compensation for victims of human trafficking can be sought in a number of ways. Prosecutors can request compensation orders upon a conviction or through the criminal injuries compensation scheme (CICS). We currently fund the charity Victim Support to assist in applications to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority and the Crown Prosecution Service has issued guidance to prosecutors on the matter of compensation orders.
Recently it has been highlighted in the media that four women trafficked into sexual exploitation received compensation through CICS of over £140,000 each.
Identity Cards: Costs
All operational resource costs associated with providing passports and ID cards to British and Irish citizens resident in the UK are expected to be funded through fee income. Initial set-up costs for this group will be funded by the Home Office.
The operational cost of issuing identity cards for foreign nationals, including capturing and registering biometric information, will be fully recovered through the application fees.
Identity Cards: Interviews
Whether an individual would be invited to attend an interview prior to registration on the National Identity Register will depend on the particular circumstances of the application but, as now with first time adult applicants for passports, it is likely that the Identity and Passport Service would need to interview an applicant where there is limited evidence of identity such as no previous passport history. An interview is one way of helping to establish identity.
Illegal Immigrants: Amnesties
The Government have ruled out an amnesty and this remains our position. An amnesty would be unfair to those who are here legally; it would act as a pull factor for even more attempts at illegal immigration; and it would counter the achievements by the UK Border Agency to improve our border and immigration system.
Illegal Immigrants: Prosecutions
The UK Border Agency records details of the number of individuals arrested as suspected immigration offenders, details of prosecutions, and the details of those removed on three separate systems. In order to achieve the required level of data quality, the cross-referencing of data between the three systems could be completed only by the detailed examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.
The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of persons removed and departed voluntarily from the UK on a quarterly and annual basis, as well as statistics on persons proceeded against for offences under Immigration Acts in England and Wales annually. National Statistics on immigration and asylum are placed in the Library of the House and are available from the Home Office’s Research, Development and Statistics website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
Immigrants: Fingerprints
The number of records held on the Immigration and Asylum fingerprint database for the week ending 28 March 2009 is 4.80 million.
The number of data subjects there are on the Immigration and Asylum fingerprint database for the week ending 28 March 2009 is 4.14 million
Immigration
[holding answer 2 April 2009]: In July 2006 the former Home Secretary informed Parliament that the UK Border Agency had a backlog of around 400,000 to 450,000 electronic and paper records, which were riddled with duplication and errors, and include cases of individuals who have since died or left the country, or are now EU citizens.
Due to the poor data quality of these cases, to identify how many cases will result in the granting of indefinite leave to remain that are currently under consideration would involve disproportionate cost.
The information requested regarding the longest time for a decision to be made on a legacy case is not collated and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost through the manual examination of individual case files.
The UK Border Agency is aiming to conclude the backlog of legacy cases by summer 2011 and is on track to do so.
I wrote to the hon. Member on 6 April 2009.
Immigration Controls
Guidance about the date of an entry clearance application is available in the points-based system policy guidance, which is published on the UK Border Agency website.
The current published version of the guidance says that the date an entry clearance application is made is
“the date that the fee associated with the application is paid and the applicant's biometric details taken”.
The UK Border Agency will shortly be publishing an amended version of the guidance which will say that the date of application is
“the date that the fee associated with the application is paid”.
[holding answer 2 April 2009]: Entry clearance officers received full Tier 1 training during April 2008 which encompassed PBS overview and how to consider applications under the new system.
UK Border Agency staff received awareness sessions (248 staff) which covered Tier 1 General. Specifically 70 caseworkers were trained during February/March 2008 to process in-country applications. This involved a three day training course which covered all elements of Tier 1. Further training has been provided as new caseworkers join the Agency.
Immigration Controls: Eurostar
All Border Force staff are required to complete a learning package on human trafficking which will teach them how to identify potential victims of trafficking.
In October 2007, a separate learning package was launched to ensure that staff have the right knowledge to safeguard children. This was designed in partnership with other organisations and is compulsory for all staff regardless of grade or Department.
A number of staff also receive specialised training in interviewing children.
Juxtaposed controls were introduced at France and Belgium in 2004. Since then, UK Border Agency staff, at the juxtaposed controls, have identified 110 cases involving children and vulnerable adults (up to the age of 30 years) suspected of being trafficked.
These figures have been sourced from locally collated management information and do not represent National Statistics.
Immigration: Biometrics
In November it was announced that a Process Improvement Fund of up to a maximum of £500,000 would be established to enable Wave One participants to take advantage of the opportunities identity cards provide in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of existing pre-employment checking processes, during the 18 month evaluation period.
The costs incurred to the Department for the maintenance and support of Iris Recognition Immigration System (IRIS), are as follows:
(a) 2008: £568,100
(b) January to March 2009: £149,600.
The Iris Recognition Immigration System is in use at ten locations, the five Heathrow Terminals, the two Gatwick Terminals, Manchester Terminals 1 and 2 and at Birmingham Airport.
Over the period from August 2008 to January 2009, the percentages of passengers at those ports passing through the IRIS gates are as follows:
Percentage Heathrow 1.11 Gatwick 0.53 Manchester 0.26 Birmingham 0.49
These data are normally used for management information only and are not subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics publications.
Immigration: Marriage
The information is not held or collated, and to obtain it would require examination of each individual case at disproportionate cost.
Immigration: Married People
We raised the minimum age at which someone can sponsor a spouse to come to the UK or be sponsored as a spouse from 18 to 21 on 27 November 2008.
We are continuing to look at what more can be done to strengthen the marriage route against abuse, and ensure that it assists a spouse's integration into the UK at an early stage. This includes work to develop our proposal, as set out in the document ‘Marriage Visas: The Way Forward’ published July 2008, to make it a requirement for sponsors to register their intention to sponsor a spouse to come to the UK and if needed attend a compulsory interview.
Immigration: Tibet
[holding answer 19 March 2009]: Tibetans, like all persons seeking entry to the UK, are required to produce a valid national passport satisfactorily establishing their identity and nationality, and are classified accordingly.
Immobilisation of Vehicles
The Home Secretary announced on 3 April her intention to launch a formal consultation in late April on the options for how best to regulate the wheel-clamping industry. The consultation document, which includes the results of the SIA’s feasibility study, will be published, and copies will be placed in the House Libraries.
The Government’s preferred option will be to introduce compulsory licensing by the Security Industry Authority of wheel-clamping companies.
We will launch a formal consultation in late April considering how best to regulate the wheel-clamping industry. The Government’s preferred option would be to introduce compulsory licensing for all wheel-clamping companies, to ensure they uphold standards of conduct, which will be enforced if they are not met.
The details of the scheme will be decided after the public consultation, but are likely to include maximum penalties that can be charged and standards on signage, including size and visibility.
Independent Safeguarding Authority
The commencement of new applications under section 24 of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 will take place in July 2010 to enable full implementation and testing of the new IT systems which are required to introduce the scheme effectively, including a contingency period. In the period from October 2009, the Independent Safeguarding Authority will be able to bar from the full range of regulated activities with children or vulnerable adults any cases referred to it in which it considers the individual referred to be unsuitable for such work.
The present monthly operating costs of ISA are budgeted at c. £1.075 million (£12.9 million for 2009-10).
The monthly operating costs of ISA once the scheme becomes fully operational in July 2010 are estimated to be £3.33 million.
The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) will operate a database maintaining the lists of those barred from working with children or vulnerable adults in accordance with section 2 of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. It will also operate two databases maintaining two lists of those who are ISA registered and able to work with children and vulnerable adults together with a casework management system.
It will be provided with relevant information by the Criminal Records Bureau, which has access to information recorded on the Police National Computer and other police systems.
Lunar House
The UK Border Agency is committed to improving the public queuing area outside Lunar House. The work is intended to provide an enclosed, safe and secure queuing area for customers attending both the Public Enquiry Office and the Asylum Screening Unit. Project managers have already been appointed to consider and specify work options and provide costs for these improvements. The project managers' report is due back within the next few weeks. Once this has been received it is hoped that a decision may then be made to start works on site with a provisional completion date in early 2010. This will be subject to receiving timely landlord's consent for the works to be undertaken and planning approval from the local authority.
Malicious Communications Act 1988: Prosecutions
Data provided by the Ministry of Justice, showing the number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts under the 1988 Malicious Communications Act in England and Wales, by police force area, sex and age, from 2002 to 2007 are in the following table. Court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009. The data provided cannot separately identify court proceedings relating to anti-Semitic material
The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
Earlier data on prosecutions under the Act are not available because before 2002, data on this offence were reported to the Ministry of Justice as a part of a miscellaneous group which could not be separated.
Force Sex Age 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Avon and Somerset Male 10 to 17 — — — — 2 1 18 and over 1 3 — 5 6 8 Total 1 3 — 5 8 9 Female 10 to 17 — — — 1 2 1 18 and over — — 1 — 2 4 Total — — 1 1 4 5 Total 1 3 1 6 12 14 Bedfordshire Male 18 and over — 3 3 — — — Total — 3 3 — — — Total — 3 3 — — — Cambridgeshire Male 18 and over — — — — 2 1 Total — — — — 2 1 Female 18 and over — — — — 1 1 Total — — — — 1 1 Total — — — — 3 2 Cheshire Male 18 and over — 1 — 1 3 4 Total — 1 — 1 3 4 Female 18 and over — — — — 2 — Total — — — — 2 — Total — 1 — 1 5 4 City of London Male 18 and over — 1 — — — 1 Total — 1 — — — 1 Total — 1 — — — 1 Cleveland Male 18 and over — — 2 1 2 — Total — — 2 1 2 — Total — — 2 1 2 — Cumbria Male 10 to 17 — — — — — 1 18 and over 1 1 2 1 4 2 Total 1 1 2 1 4 3 Female 10 to 17 1 — — — — — 18 and over 2 1 — 2 — 1 Total 3 1 — 2 — 1 Total 4 2 2 3 4 4 Derbyshire Male 18 and over — 1 — 1 2 6 Total — 1 — 1 2 6 Female 10 to 17 — 1 — — 1 — 18 and over — — — — — 1 Total — 1 — — 1 1 Total — 2 — 1 3 7 Devon and Cornwall Male 10 to 17 — — — 1 2 2 18 and over 2 3 3 1 5 9 Total 2 3 3 2 7 11 Female 10 to 17 — — — 1 — 1 18 and over 1 1 3 3 — 1 Total 1 1 3 4 — 2 Total 3 4 6 6 7 13 Dorset Male 10 to 17 — — — — — 1 18 and over — — — — — 1 Total — — — — — 2 Female 18 and over — — — 1 — — Total — — — 1 — — Total — — — 1 — 2 Durham Male 18 and over — — — — 1 3 Total — — — — 1 3 Female 18 and over — — — — — 1 Total — — — — — 1 Total — — — — 1 4 Essex Male 10 to 17 — — — — 1 — 18 and over 1 2 1 4 7 2 Total 1 2 1 4 8 2 Female 18 and over 1 — — — — 2 Total 1 — — — — 2 Total 2 2 1 4 8 4 Gloucestershire Male 18 and over 3 — 1 1 1 1 Total 3 — 1 1 1 1 Total 3 — 1 1 1 1 Greater Manchester Male 10 to 17 — 1 — 1 1 1 18 and over 1 3 3 3 7 7 Total 1 4 3 4 8 8 Female 18 and over — — — 1 2 2 Total — — — 1 2 2 Total 1 4 3 5 10 10 Hampshire Male 10 to 17 — — — — 1 1 18 and over — 1 3 1 2 7 Total — 1 3 1 3 8 Female 10 to 17 — — 1 — — — 18 and over — — — 1 — — Total — — 1 1 — — Total — 1 4 2 3 8 Hertfordshire Male 10 to 17 — 1 — 1 — 4 18 and over 1 5 1 3 10 9 Total 1 6 1 4 10 13 Female 10 to 17 — — — 1 — — 18 and over — — — — 1 3 Total — — — 1 1 3 Total 1 6 1 5 11 16 Humberside Male 10 to 17 — — — 1 1 — 18 and over 1 1 — 5 3 4 Total 1 1 — 6 4 4 Total 1 1 — 6 4 4 Kent Male 10 to 17 — — — 1 — — 18 and over — 2 1 1 — 2 Total — 2 1 2 — 2 Female 18 and over — — — — 1 — Total — — — — 1 — Total — 2 1 2 1 2 Lancashire Male 10 to 17 — — — 1 — — 18 and over 1 2 2 — 2 6 Total 1 2 2 1 2 6 Female 18 and over 1 — — — — 1 Total 1 — — — — 1 Total 2 2 2 1 2 7 Leicestershire Male 10 to 17 — — 1 — — — 18 and over — 2 2 7 13 1 Total — 2 3 7 13 1 Female 18 and over — 1 1 1 — — Total — 1 1 1 — — Total — 3 4 8 13 1 Lincolnshire Male 18 and over 1 — 1 1 5 4 Total 1 — 1 1 5 4 Female 10 to 17 — — — — 1 — 18 and over — — — — 3 1 Total — — — — 4 1 Total 1 — 1 1 9 5 Merseyside Male 18 and over — 1 — — — 5 Total — 1 — — — 5 Total — 1 — — — 5 Metropolitan Police Male 10 to 17 — 1 2 1 — 1 18 and over 14 14 20 16 15 26 Total 14 15 22 17 15 27 Female 10 to 17 — — — 1 — — 18 and over 4 3 2 3 — 1 Total 4 3 2 4 — 1 Total 18 18 24 21 15 28 Norfolk Male 10 to 17 — — — — — 1 18 and over 1 3 — — 3 — Total 1 3 — — 3 1 Total 1 3 — — 3 1 North Yorkshire Male 18 and over 1 1 — — — 10 Total 1 1 — — — 10 Female 10 to 17 1 — — — — — 18 and over — — — — — 1 Total 1 — — — — 1 Total 2 1 — — — 11 Northamptonshire Female 18 and over — — 2 — — — Total — — 2 — — — Total — — 2 — — — Northumbria Male 10 to 17 — — — — — 2 18 and over 1 1 2 3 5 10 Total 1 1 2 3 5 12 Female 10 to 17 — — — 1 — — 18 and over — — — — 2 5 Total — — — 1 2 5 Total 1 1 2 4 7 17 Nottinghamshire Male 10 to 17 — — — — 3 — 18 and over 1 1 3 4 1 4 Total 1 1 3 4 4 4 Female 18 and over — — — — — 1 Total — — — — — 1 Total 1 1 3 4 4 5 South Yorkshire Male 18 and over — — — 2 1 3 Total — — — 2 1 3 Total — — — 2 1 3 Staffordshire Male 18 and over — 1 3 4 3 3 Total — 1 3 4 3 3 Female 18 and over — — 1 — — — Total — — 1 — — — Total — 1 4 4 3 3 Suffolk Male 10 to 17 — — — 1 — 2 18 and over 2 — 3 — 5 3 Total 2 — 3 1 5 5 Female 10 to 17 — — — — — 1 18 and over — — 1 1 — — Total — — 1 1 — 1 Total 2 — 4 2 5 6 Surrey Male 18 and over — — 2 — 5 3 Total — — 2 — 5 3 Total — — 2 — 5 3 Sussex Male 18 and over — — — — — 1 Total — — — — — 1 Female 18 and over — — — — 1 2 Total — — — — 1 2 Total — — — — 1 3 Thames Valley Male 18 and over — 6 9 5 5 6 Total — 6 9 5 5 6 Female 18 and over — — 2 1 1 2 Total — — 2 1 1 2 Total — 6 11 6 6 8 Warwickshire Male 18 and over 1 — — — 2 2 Total 1 — — — 2 2 Female 10 to 17 — — — — 1 — Total — — — — 1 — Total 1 — — — 3 2 West Mercia Male 18 and over 1 2 3 4 — 9 Total 1 2 3 4 — 9 Female 18 and over — 1 1 1 — — Total — 1 1 1 — — Total 1 3 4 5 — 9 West Midlands Male 10 to 17 — 1 — 1 — 1 18 and over 7 3 5 5 10 7 Total 7 4 5 6 10 8 Female 18 and over — — — 2 2 1 Total — — — 2 2 1 Total 7 4 5 8 12 9 West Yorkshire Male 18 and over 3 — 1 — 6 11 Total 3 — 1 — 6 11 Female 18 and over — — — 1 — 2 Total — — — 1 — 2 Total 3 — 1 1 6 13 Wiltshire Male 10 to 17 — — — — — 1 18 and over — — — 1 — 5 Total — — — 1 — 6 Female 18 and over — — 1 — 1 — Total — — 1 — 1 — Total — — 1 1 1 6 Dyfed-Powys Male 10 to 17 — — — — — 1 18 and over 2 — — 2 1 1 Total 2 — — 2 1 2 Female 18 and over — — — — 1 — Total — — — — 1 — Total 2 — — 2 2 2 Gwent Male 10 to 17 — — — — — 1 18 and over 1 — — 3 3 5 Total 1 — — 3 3 6 Female 18 and over — — — 1 — — Total — — — 1 — — Total 1 — — 4 3 6 North Wales Male 18 and over 1 — 1 1 3 2 Total 1 — 1 1 3 2 Female 18 and over 2 — — — 2 — Total 2 — — — 2 — Total 3 — 1 1 5 2 South Wales Male 10 to 17 — — 1 — — — 18 and over 4 2 1 1 1 — Total 4 2 2 1 1 — Female 18 and over — — 1 1 — — Total — — 1 1 — — Total 4 2 3 2 1 — England and Wales Male 10 to 17 — 4 4 9 11 21 18 and over 53 66 78 87 144 194 Total 53 70 82 96 155 215 Female 10 to 17 2 1 1 5 5 3 18 and over 11 7 16 20 22 33 Total 13 8 17 25 27 36 Total 66 78 99 121 182 251 1 The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Evidence and Analysis Unit—Office for Criminal Justice Reform
Members: Correspondence
I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 24 March 2009.
I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 25 March 2009.
I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 25 March 2009.
I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 6 April 2009.
In September 2008, the High Court agreed that the 1997 cut-off date applied to retired Gurkhas was sound and not discriminatory. However, it did find that the policy guidance relating to the treatment of Gurkhas discharged before 1997 was not sufficiently clear and did not cover service-related factors. We are determined to get the revised guidance right to ensure that it is fair to all Gurkhas and this has involved consultation across Government.
The revised guidance for Gurkhas who retired before July 1997 and who wish to seek settlement in the UK will be published by 24 April.
We want to give Members the fullest possible information and we therefore plan to respond as soon as possible after that date with a full explanation of our revised guidance.
The Deputy Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency, Jonathan Sedgwick, wrote to my hon. Friend on 2 April 2009.
The letter referred to was received in the Home Office on 12 February 2009, and was transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions on 17 February. A letter advising the transfer was sent to my hon. Friend's office, also on 17 February.
I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 6 April 2009.
I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 2 April 2009.
Offences Against Children: British Nationality
[holding answer 24 March 2009]: Operation Koala involves the investigation of the sexual abuse and exploitation of children, including the making and sharing of images from that abuse across a number of countries worldwide. From the original data passed to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in the UK, 92 suspects were identified and intelligence packages sent to relevant UK police forces where the suspected offender was believed to reside. Operation Koala remains an ongoing inquiry. The information sought is not held centrally.
Offensive Weapons
Although routine statistics are not collected by the police on this issue, as part of the Tackling Knives Action Programme we are working with local forces to try to gain a better understanding of the origins of weapons used in serious youth violence.
Offensive Weapons: Convictions
The answer of the 17 March 2009 referred to a provisional 815 more convictions for the possession of a knife or offensive weapon in the 10 TKAP areas in the period June to November 2008 compared with the same period in 2007. Of this number, there were 777 more convictions for the possession of “an article with a blade or point” and 38 more convictions for the possession of an “offensive weapon”.
These figures are provisional and have been derived from the police's administrative IT system, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Offensive Weapons: Crime Prevention
Engaging young people has been a key element of the Tackling Knives Action Programme. All forces involved have delivered education programmes on the dangers and consequences of carrying knives. In addition, young people have been involved in youth forums, conferences and a range of events using drama, sport, music and dance. A National Youth Theatre tour, funded through the programme, has also given young people an opportunity to educate their peers on the risks and consequences of knife carrying.
The Home Office worked with a group of young people to develop the ‘It Doesn’t Have to Happen’ youth marketing campaign, which seeks to educate young people about the dangers of carrying a knife and encourage them to put the knife down and take up a more positive activity. Young people have contributed to the campaign’s development and are encouraged to share the campaign messages with their peers. The campaign has used a range of radio, viral, online and poster adverts as well as events and competitions to get the messages across. Over 10,000 people are also members of the campaign’s thriving Bebo community, providing young people with an online forum to share their views and take a stand against knife crime.
The Home Office is currently considering two reports it has recently received from the Children's Commissioner's organisation, 11 Million published on 16 March, which examine gun and knife crime. The first report sets out the results of a survey of young people. The second sets out the outcome of a literature review and provides a series of recommendations. I am shortly due to meet with the researchers of these reports to discuss their findings and proposals.
Offensive Weapons: Young People
The maximum punishment on conviction for selling a knife to a young person under age is six months imprisonment and a fine of £5,000. As of 1 October 2007, the definition of a young person was amended from anyone under the age of 16, to under the age of 18.
In each of the last 10 years, no one who was sentenced for selling a knife to a young person received the maximum sentence. Statutory maximums should be seen as just that: maximums, and reserved solely for the most serious of offenders and offences. The majority of offenders will, quite rightly, not be eligible for such a sentence.
Statistics on knife crime were published in annex A of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 01/09 “Crime in England and Wales: Quarterly Update to September 2008”, published on 22 January 2009. A copy of the publication is available at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb0109.pdf
Passports: Immigrants
[holding answer 23 March 2009]: The requested information is not held centrally in the format required and could be obtained by examination of individual case records only at disproportionate cost.
Passports: Lost Property
[holding answer 2 April 2009]: UKBA does not collate information about lost passports or files in the format requested. The number of files identified as lost on 31 March represents less than 0.2 per cent. of the Agency's total holding.
Police Custody: Death
Between 1 April 2004 and 28 February 2009 the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has reported on eight deaths that occurred ‘in or following police custody’ in custody suites operated by South Wales police.
In 2004-05 there were four deaths in or following police custody, involving police custody suites in Swansea Central police station and Barry police station.
In 2006-07 there was one death in or following police custody, involving police custody suites in, Swansea Central police station and Rumney police station.
There was one death on arrest but prior to arrival in a custody suite.
In 2007-08 there was one death in or following police custody, involving the police custody suite in Barry police station.
No deaths in or following police custody were reported in relation to South Wales police in 2005-06. Information for 2008-09 will be published in the IPCC annual report, which is due for publication in July 2009.
Police Stations: Barry
No discussions have taken place with the chief constable of South Wales police on the future of Barry police station. The management of the police estate and allocation of resources are matters for the police authority and chief constable for each force, who are responsible for assessing local needs.
Police: Animals
Police also use horses in policing operations, mostly concerning public order.
Police: Discrimination
The available information shows the overall number of compensation claims for discrimination in each police force area for each year between 2003-04 and 2007-08; and the numbers of claims brought, withdrawn, settled and awards made for sex discrimination, race discrimination and other discrimination by police force area over the five year period. These data appear in the following tables.
Figures on individual cases are not collected centrally.
These data are normally used for management information only and are not subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics.
These data are provisional and may be subject to change.
Under the Normington Review proposals, the compensation claims collection will cease from April 2009.
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Sex Race Other2 Sex Race Other2 Sex Race Other2 Sex Race Other2 Sex Race Other2 Avon and Somerset n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 14 0 3 3 1 9 Bedfordshire 1 0 1 1 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 Cambridgeshire n/a n/a n/a 3 2 2 1 3 2 2 0 1 4 4 2 Cheshire 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 Cleveland 3 0 0 2 0 3 2 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 1 Cumbria 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 Derbyshire 3 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 2 1 3 2 0 3 3 Devon and Cornwall n/a n/a n/a 1 0 4 0 1 2 6 0 0 4 0 9 Dorset 0 0 1 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Durham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 Dyfed-Powys 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 n/a n/a 2 0 4 Essex 2 0 0 2 1 1 3 0 0 2 1 4 2 2 5 Gloucestershire n/a n/a 4 0 1 0 2 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Greater Manchester 2 3 7 0 1 7 1 0 6 1 3 9 3 3 13 Gwent 3 0 3 2 0 2 0 0 1 3 0 2 0 0 3 Hampshire n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1 2 5 1 1 5 0 0 4 Hertfordshire 1 0 0 2 0 1 n/a n/a 2 2 1 1 1 2 3 Humberside 2 1 n/a 2 2 2 4 0 2 3 0 0 1 0 5 Kent 0 0 9 3 0 3 2 1 4 1 0 10 1 1 2 Lancashire 1 1 1 n/a n/a n/a 2 0 1 1 0 0 2 2 3 Leicestershire 3 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a 1 2 3 2 2 0 1 1 1 Lincolnshire 0 1 1 0 1 2 1 0 1 5 0 6 9 0 5 City of London 0 2 2 1 2 0 1 2 0 0 2 2 1 0 0 Merseyside 1 2 1 0 4 7 1 3 9 0 0 5 2 1 6 Metropolitan Police 23 20 27 21 22 12 25 25 28 12 23 27 9 18 71 Norfolk 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 1 5 1 0 5 0 0 1 Northamptonshire 2 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 7 3 1 3 3 2 1 Northumbria 1 0 4 2 0 0 2 0 2 1 0 2 2 2 3 North Wales 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 3 3 0 2 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 5 Nottinghamshire 0 4 0 0 4 4 3 1 4 1 1 4 4 1 7 South Wales 3 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 2 3 1 2 1 3 4 South Yorkshire 1 0 2 2 0 1 2 0 0 2 0 3 3 2 3 Staffordshire 3 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 1 2 0 1 1 2 0 Suffolk 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Surrey 3 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 3 0 4 6 1 3 4 2 5 Sussex n/a n/a n/a 0 0 0 3 1 3 0 0 0 3 1 3 Thames Valley 2 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 2 2 1 4 2 0 6 Warwickshire 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 West Mercia 2 1 1 3 2 2 2 1 0 n/a n/a n/a 0 0 3 West Midlands 13 3 0 10 2 1 4 2 8 3 4 8 n/a n/a n/a West Yorkshire 1 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 5 4 2 2 0 1 4 Wiltshire 1 1 2 1 1 0 2 0 5 1 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1 All data are unverified and are therefore provided on a provisional basis only. 2 Claims relating to more than one type of discrimination (e.g. sex and race) are included under ‘other’. n/a = Data unavailable.
Financial year to 31 March3 2003-04 2004-05 No. of awards made No. of claims dismissed No. of settlements made No. of claims withdrawn No. of awards made No. of claims dismissed No. of settlements made No. of claims withdrawn Avon and Somerset — — — — — — — — Bedfordshire 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 Cambridgeshire 0 0 1 0 Cheshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cleveland 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 Cumbria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Derbyshire 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 1 Devon and Cornwall n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 0 0 0 Dorset 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Durham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dyfed-Powys 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Essex 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 Gloucestershire n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 0 1 0 Greater Manchester 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 Gwent 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 Hampshire n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Hertfordshire 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 Humberside n/a n/a n/a 2 0 0 2 0 Kent 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lancashire 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Leicestershire 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Lincolnshire 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 London, City of 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Merseyside 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 Metropolitan Police 0 7 7 31 0 7 16 14 Norfolk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Northamptonshire 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 Northumbria 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 North Wales 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Nottinghamshire 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 South Wales 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 South Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Staffordshire 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 Suffolk n/a n/a n/a 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Surrey 0 0 2 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Sussex n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 0 0 0 Thames Valley 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 Warwickshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 West Mercia 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 West Midlands 0 0 2 2 3 0 6 9 West Yorkshire 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 Wiltshire 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
2005-06 2006-07 No. of awards made No. of claims dismissed No. of settlements made No. of claims withdrawn No. of awards made No. of claims dismissed No. of settlements made No. of claims withdrawn Avon and Somerset — — — — 0 4 7 3 Bedfordshire 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cambridgeshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cheshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Cleveland 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Cumbria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Derbyshire 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Devon and Cornwall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dorset n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Durham 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Dyfed-Powys 0 0 1 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Essex 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 Gloucestershire 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Greater Manchester 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Gwent 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hampshire 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hertfordshire 0 n/a n/a 0 1 0 0 0 Humberside 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kent 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lancashire 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 1 Leicestershire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Lincolnshire 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 London, City of 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Merseyside 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 Metropolitan Police 1 1 5 6 0 2 5 11 Norfolk 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 Northamptonshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Northumbria 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 North Wales 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Nottinghamshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 South Wales 0 0 9 0 0 0 4 1 South Yorkshire 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 Staffordshire 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Suffolk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Surrey 0 0 2 0 0 1 3 1 Sussex 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 Thames Valley 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 Warwickshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 West Mercia 0 1 2 1 n/a n/a n/a n/a West Midlands 0 2 2 3 1 0 2 1 West Yorkshire 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 5 Wiltshire 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
2007-08 No. of awards made No. of claims dismissed No. of settlements made No. of claims withdrawn Avon and Somerset 0 1 0 1 Bedfordshire 0 0 0 0 Cambridgeshire 0 0 0 1 Cheshire 0 0 0 0 Cleveland 0 0 0 0 Cumbria 0 0 0 0 Derbyshire 0 0 0 0 Devon and Cornwall 0 0 0 1 Dorset n/a n/a n/a n/a Durham 0 0 0 0 Dyfed-Powys 0 1 0 0 Essex 0 0 0 2 Gloucestershire n/a n/a n/a n/a Greater Manchester 0 0 0 0 Gwent 0 0 2 0 Hampshire 0 0 0 0 Hertfordshire 0 0 1 2 Humberside 0 0 0 0 Kent 0 0 0 0 Lancashire 0 0 0 0 Leicestershire 0 0 1 0 Lincolnshire 0 0 0 0 London, City of 0 0 0 0 Merseyside 0 0 0 0 Metropolitan Police 0 0 6 2 Norfolk 0 0 0 0 Northamptonshire 0 0 0 1 Northumbria 0 0 0 0 North Wales 0 0 0 0 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 Nottinghamshire 1 n/a 1 1 South Wales 0 0 0 0 South Yorkshire 0 0 1 1 Staffordshire 1 0 1 0 Suffolk 0 0 0 0 Surrey 0 0 0 0 Sussex 1 1 0 0 Thames Valley 0 0 1 0 Warwickshire 0 0 0 0 West Mercia 0 0 0 0 West Midlands n/a n/a n/a n/a West Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 Wiltshire n/a n/a n/a n/a
Financial year to 31 March3 2003-04 2004-05 No. of awards made No. of claims dismissed No. of settlements made No. of claims withdrawn No. of awards made No. of claims dismissed No. of settlements made No. of claims withdrawn Avon and Somerset n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Bedfordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Cambridgeshire n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 0 0 0 Cheshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cleveland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cumbria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Derbyshire 1 0 1 3 0 0 0 1 Devon and Cornwall n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 0 0 0 Dorset 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Durham 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dyfed-Powys 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Essex 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 Gloucestershire n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 0 0 0 Greater Manchester 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 Gwent 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Hampshire n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Hertfordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Humberside n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 0 0 0 Kent 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lancashire 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Leicestershire 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Lincolnshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 London, City of 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Merseyside 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Metropolitan Police 0 14 10 16 1 16 9 9 Norfolk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Northamptonshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Northumbria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 North Wales 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Nottinghamshire 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 South Wales 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 South Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Staffordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Suffolk n/a n/a n/a 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Surrey 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Sussex n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 0 0 0 Thames Valley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Warwickshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 West Mercia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 West Midlands 0 3 4 1 0 0 4 1 West Yorkshire 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Wiltshire 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
2005-06 2006-07 No. of awards made No. of claims dismissed No. of settlements made No. of claims withdrawn No. of awards made No. of claims dismissed No. of settlements made No. of claims withdrawn Avon and Somerset n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 0 0 0 Bedfordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cambridgeshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cheshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cleveland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cumbria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Derbyshire 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 Devon and Cornwall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dorset n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Durham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dyfed-Powys 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Essex 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gloucestershire 0 0 1 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Greater Manchester 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Gwent 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hampshire 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Hertfordshire 0 n/a n/a 0 0 0 0 0 Humberside 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kent 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lancashire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Leicestershire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Lincolnshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 London, City of 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Merseyside 0 4 2 2 0 0 0 2 Metropolitan Police 0 8 3 12 0 5 5 7 Norfolk 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 Northamptonshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Northumbria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 North Wales 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Nottinghamshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 South Wales 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 South Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Staffordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Suffolk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Surrey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sussex 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Thames Valley 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Warwickshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 West Mercia 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a West Midlands 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 West Yorkshire 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 Wiltshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2007-08 No. of awards made No. of claims dismissed No. of settlements made No. of claims withdrawn Avon and Somerset 0 0 0 0 Bedfordshire 0 0 0 0 Cambridgeshire 0 1 0 1 Cheshire 0 0 0 0 Cleveland 0 0 0 0 Cumbria 0 0 0 0 Derbyshire 0 0 0 0 Devon and Cornwall 0 0 0 0 Dorset n/a n/a n/a n/a Durham 0 0 0 0 Dyfed-Powys 0 0 0 0 Essex 0 0 0 0 Gloucestershire n/a n/a n/a n/a Greater Manchester 0 0 0 0 Gwent 0 0 0 0 Hampshire 0 0 0 0 Hertfordshire 0 0 1 1 Humberside 0 0 0 0 Kent 0 0 0 0 Lancashire 0 0 0 0 Leicestershire 0 1 0 0 Lincolnshire 0 0 0 0 London, City of 0 0 2 0 Merseyside 0 0 0 0 Metropolitan Police 0 0 1 6 Norfolk 0 0 0 0 Northamptonshire 0 0 1 0 Northumbria 0 0 0 0 North Wales 0 0 0 0 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 Nottinghamshire n/a n/a n/a n/a South Wales 0 0 1 0 South Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 Staffordshire 1 0 1 0 Suffolk 0 0 0 0 Surrey 0 2 0 0 Sussex 0 0 0 1 Thames Valley 0 0 0 0 Warwickshire 0 0 0 0 West Mercia 0 0 0 0 West Midlands n/a n/a n/a n/a West Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 Wiltshire n/a n/a n/a n/a
Financial year to 31 March3 2003-04 2004-05 No. of awards made No. of claims dismissed No. of settlements made No. of claims withdrawn No. of awards made No. of claims dismissed No. of settlements made No. of claims withdrawn Avon and Somerset n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Bedfordshire 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Cambridgeshire n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 0 1 0 Cheshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cleveland 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Cumbria 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Derbyshire 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Devon and Cornwall n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 0 0 0 Dorset 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Durham 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dyfed-Powys 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Essex 0 1 0 11 0 0 0 0 Gloucestershire n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 1 0 1 Greater Manchester 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 8 Gwent 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Hampshire n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Hertfordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Humberside n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 0 0 0 Kent 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 Lancashire 0 0 1 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Leicestershire 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Lincolnshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 London, City of 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 Merseyside 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Metropolitan Police 0 5 5 19 0 4 6 2 Norfolk 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Northamptonshire 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 Northumbria 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 North Wales 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Nottinghamshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 South Wales 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 South Yorkshire 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Staffordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Suffolk n/a n/a n/a 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Surrey 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Sussex n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 0 0 0 Thames Valley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Warwickshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 West Mercia 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 West Midlands 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 West Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wiltshire 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
2005-06 2006-07 No. of awards made No. of claims dismissed No. of settlements made No. of claims withdrawn No. of awards made No. of claims dismissed No. of settlements made No. of claims withdrawn Avon and Somerset n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 0 0 0 Bedfordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cambridgeshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cheshire 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Cleveland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Cumbria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Derbyshire 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Devon and Cornwall 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dorset n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Durham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dyfed-Powys 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Essex 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 Gloucestershire 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Greater Manchester 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 0 Gwent 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 Hampshire 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 Hertfordshire 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 Humberside 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kent 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 4 Lancashire 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 Leicestershire 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Lincolnshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 London, City of 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Merseyside 0 0 8 2 0 0 1 3 Metropolitan Police 0 4 5 9 1 5 10 5 Norfolk 0 3 2 3 1 5 1 3 Northamptonshire 0 1 3 3 0 3 1 3 Northumbria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 North Wales 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Nottinghamshire 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 South Wales 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 South Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Staffordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Suffolk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Surrey 0 1 3 0 0 1 1 2 Sussex 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 Thames Valley 0 0 1 0 0 3 2 1 Warwickshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 West Mercia 0 0 0 1 n/a n/a n/a n/a West Midlands 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 7 West Yorkshire 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 2 Wiltshire 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
2007-08 No. of awards made No. of claims dismissed No. of settlements made No. of claims withdrawn Avon and Somerset 0 0 0 0 Bedfordshire 0 0 0 0 Cambridgeshire 0 0 2 0 Cheshire 0 0 0 0 Cleveland 0 1 0 0 Cumbria 0 0 1 1 Derbyshire 0 0 2 0 Devon and Cornwall 0 0 0 2 Dorset n/a n/a n/a n/a Durham 0 0 0 0 Dyfed-Powys 0 0 0 2 Essex 0 0 0 1 Gloucestershire n/a n/a n/a n/a Greater Manchester 7 0 6 0 Gwent 0 1 1 0 Hampshire 0 0 1 0 Hertfordshire 0 0 1 1 Humberside 0 0 0 3 Kent 0 0 0 0 Lancashire 0 1 1 0 Leicestershire 0 0 0 0 Lincolnshire 1 0 0 0 London, City of 0 0 2 0 Merseyside 0 0 2 4 Metropolitan Police 0 5 15 26 Norfolk 0 1 1 0 Northamptonshire 0 1 0 0 Northumbria 0 0 0 0 North Wales 0 1 0 0 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 1 Nottinghamshire n/a n/a 1 3 South Wales 0 0 1 1 South Yorkshire 0 0 1 0 Staffordshire 0 0 1 0 Suffolk 0 0 0 0 Surrey 0 0 0 0 Sussex 0 2 1 0 Thames Valley 0 1 2 1 Warwickshire 0 0 1 0 West Mercia 0 0 1 0 West Midlands n/a n/a n/a n/a West Yorkshire 0 0 0 2 Wiltshire n/a n/a n/a n/a 1 All data are unverified and are therefore provided on a provisional basis only. 2 Claims relating to more than one type of discrimination (e.g. sex and race) are included under ‘other discrimination’. 3 Date relates to when the awards were made ore claims were dismissed, settled or withdrawn, even though the original claim may originally have been made in an early year. n/a = Data unavailable.
Police: Dogs
General purpose dogs are trained to deal with the location and recovery of stolen or lost property; the location and detention of offenders; the location of persons reported missing; the maintenance of public order, both in spontaneous outbreaks and pre-planned operations; and in high visibility patrols, both mobile and on foot to contribute to public reassurance.
Firearms support dogs are trained to work in company with, and in support of, teams of armed officers.
Pro-active drugs dogs are trained to search areas, buildings and vehicles to locate controlled drugs, and also firearms/component parts/ammunition and quantities of bank notes.
Passive scanning drugs dogs are trained to scan the air around people to indicate the scent of controlled drugs.
Pro-active scanning explosives dogs are trained to search areas, routes, buildings and vehicles to locate explosives.
Passive scanning explosive dogs are trained to scan the air around people to indicate the scent of explosives.
Crime scene investigation and victim recovery dogs are trained to search areas, buildings and vehicles to locate bodily fluids and human remains.
The information requested is tabled as follows:
Number 2004 1 2005 6 2006 4 2007 3 2008 3 2009 10 Total 17 1 To date.
According to information from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), no new police dog units have been established in any of the last five years.
Police: Finance
The total amount of money allocated to the promotion of and publicity for the policing pledge during the financial year 2008-09 is £3,427,521.
This expenditure covers:
Radio advertising
National and regional press advertising
Online advertising and online search marketing
High street posters
Police: Greater Manchester
The National Border Targeting Centre (NBTC) is a multi agency centre staffed with UKBA and police officers which is scheduled to open in late 2009. It is operated by the UK Border Agency and managed by Trusted Borders, which is responsible for providing 24-hour security as part of the e-Borders service contract.
The impact of the NBTC upon local policing resources is considered to be negligible. It is not expected that specific funding to the Greater Manchester Police Authority will be needed to pay for policing the new centre.
Police: Health
The available data are given in the tables placed in the House Library.
The Policing Green Paper announced that Sir David Normington, permanent secretary to the Home Office, would lead a review of the strategic data collection burden placed by the Home Office on police forces in England and Wales. Sir David’s report was published on 16 February.
Fitness tests data collection was one of the data streams cut. It was previously required by HMIC and recorded fitness test breakdown by gender, number of attempts, number taking the attempt and the fitness skill level tested. Given HMIC’s new mission after the publication of the Policing Green Paper, this data is no longer required by them. Forces have been informed not to provide the data in the 2009-10 annual data requirement notice thereby removing the burden on police support staff to collate and supply the data to the Home Office.
Police: ICT
(2) pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2009, Official Report, column 1166W, on police: electronic equipment, what proportion of patrol officers have been issued with a hand-held device.
All police forces in England, Scotland and Wales have received funding. A total of 31,607 hand held devices had been issued at 30 March 2009. All of the devices have been issued to officers performing front line roles, many of whom will be undertaking patrol duties. The operational duties of the officers receiving the devices are a matter for the chief officer of the force concerned.
Police: Marketing
The text back service has received 2,250 texts since it began on 2 March 2009 up until 1 April 2009.
The Home Office plans to spend £3 million on advertising and marketing the Policing Pledge in the financial year 2009-10. This campaign will increase awareness and understanding of the Policing Pledge. The public have a right to understand what service level they can expect from their local police and how to hold them to account if standards are not met.
Police: South West
The available data are given in the tables.
Avon and Somerset FTE 1988 3,013 1989 3,014 1990 3,094 1991 3,092 1992 3,081 1993 3,068 1994 3,033 1995 3,000 1996 2,981 1997 2,989 1998 2,976 1999 2,999 2000 2,934 2001 2,994 2002 3,096 20033 3,149 20043 3,401 20053 3,384 20063 3,389 20073 3,375 20083 3,339 1 Full-time equivalent. All officers less staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave (comparable with previously published figures) 2 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. 3 Comparable strength (excludes those on career breaks, or maternity/paternity leave). The Police Numbers Task Force (2001) recommended that a clear presentation was made of the numbers of staff employed by police forces including those seconded into the force and those on any type of long or short term absence. These new calculations were first used in 2003. and are not comparable with data prior to March 2003. The data from 2003 onwards used here are termed comparable because they have been calculated on the old basis to allow comparison.
Avon and Somerset police force FTE 2003 0 2004 45 20054 139 20064 130 20074 302 20084 377 1 This table contains 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 Full-time equivalent exclude those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. 3 Police community support officers were introduced in statute in 2002, therefore data are not available prior to 2002-03. 4 Strength figures as at 31 March 2005 onwards include those staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. Therefore these figures are not comparable with those provided for other years in the table.
Police: Stun Guns
Following the success of a 12-month trial in 10 police forces, the Home Secretary agreed on 24 November 2008 to allow chief officers of all forces in England and Wales, from 1 December 2008, to extend the use of Taser to specially trained units in accordance with current Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) policy and guidance. This sets out that Taser can only be used by specially trained units where officers would be facing violence or threats of violence of such severity that they would need to use force to protect the public, themselves and/or the subject(s). The number of specially trained officers in each police force is a matter for individual chief officers based on their own operational requirements.
Prosecutions: Costs
The amount of time spent by police officers on issuing a caution, issuing a penalty notice for disorder, or bringing charges is not collected centrally, and there are no general estimates of the average costs to police forces of undertaking these activities.
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
The Government's London estate has limited conference facilities and so from time to time the Home Office and other Departments are required to hire external venues for events.
We are not able to reveal the cost of the booking as this is a commercially sensitive issue between the Home Office and the QEII Centre.
The QEII Centre is owned by the Crown (Department for Communities and Local Government).
Repatriation
The following table shows the number of assisted voluntary returns run by the International Organisation for Migration in 2008, by country of destination.
Number of departures Country of destination3 Assisted voluntary returns4 Albania 100 Macedonia * Moldova 15 Russia 35 Turkey 40 Ukraine 30 EU Accession States5 — Other Former USSR 45 Other Europe 105 Total Europe 365 Bolivia 70 Brazil 485 Canada 10 Colombia 50 Ecuador 25 Jamaica 95 Mexico 5 USA 10 Other Americas 45 Total Americas 800 Algeria 35 Angola 15 Burundi * Cameroon 5 Congo 5 Dem. Rep. of Congo 20 Eritrea * Ethiopia 20 Gambia 5 Ghana 55 Ivory Coast 5 Kenya 35 Liberia 5 Libya 15 Mauritius 40 Nigeria 105 Rwanda 5 Sierra Leone 20 Somalia 5 South Africa 130 Sudan 25 Tanzania 10 Uganda 65 Zimbabwe 170 Other Africa 130 Total Africa 935 Iran 235 Iraq 430 Syria 5 Other Middle East 45 Total Middle East 715 Afghanistan 350 Australia 5 Bangladesh 80 China (including Taiwan) 265 India 185 Malaysia 25 New Zealand * Pakistan 305 Philippines 20 South Korea * Sri Lanka 125 Thailand 5 Vietnam 40 Other Asia and Oceania 70 Total Asia and Oceania 1,480 Other and not known * Grand total 4,295 1 Figures rounded to the nearest 5 (‘—’ = 0, ‘*’ = 1 or 2) and may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding. 2 Provisional figures. Removals and voluntary departures recorded on the system as at the dates on which the data extracts were taken. 3 Destination data as recorded on source database. 4 Persons leaving under the Assisted Voluntary Return and the Assisted Voluntary Return for Irregular Migrants Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration. May include some on entry cases and some cases where enforcement action has been initiated. 5 EU Accession States: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
Research, Information and Communication Unit
RICU costs were not separately identified until the 2008-09 financial year; formative team (salary) costs from June 2007 to March 2008 were counted against PREVENT. The RICU budget allocations for the CSR period are currently:
2008-09 2009-10 HO 0.66 1.2 FCO 2.00 3.0 CLG 1.00 1.5
In 2008-09 the FCO and CLG budget allocations were subsequently reduced in line with 2008-09 forecasts to £0.8 million and £0.7 million respectively; an outturn figure for 2008-09 is not yet available. Funding levels for 2010-11 have not yet been settled by FCO, HO and CLG. The current CSR period runs to 2010-11, funding for Departments outside this period has not been confirmed.
Salvia Divinorum
(2) if she will classify salvia divinorum as an illegal drug.
My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has recently written to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs requesting that it provide advice to Government on the availability and harms of psychoactive legal alternatives to illegal drugs, so called “legal highs”, with a particular focus on protecting young people. I fully anticipate that this work will include salvia divinorum. The Government's position on its control will be informed by Advisory Council's advice.
Sexual Offences
(2) how many (a) complaints and (b) items of correspondence (i) her Department and (ii) Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary has received in respect of historical investigations of allegations of sex abuse in each year since 2001.
The Home Office does not hold this information.
Sir Fred Goodwin
It is long established policy not to comment upon matters of personal protective security and their associated costs. Disclosure of such information could compromise the integrity of those arrangements and affect the security of the individuals concerned.
Terrorism
The United Kingdom Strategy for Countering International Terrorism contains several statements about funding. The £140 million referenced in the question relates to key deliverables for prevent 2008-09 managed by a number of Government Departments and bodies such as the police. Increasingly, spend by a much wider range of Departments, in particular the Home Office, cannot be broken down by activity without revealing sensitive information about our capabilities.
Terrorism: Ashford
A “Project Argus” event for members of the retail community in Ashford, which included local authority and emergency services representatives, was held on 12 February 2008. In addition, local police counter-terrorism security advisers have delivered counter-terrorist protective security advice to 13 businesses in Ashford during the last 18 months.
Discussions are taking place with business and community representatives to hold a “Project Argus” night time economy event in May this year.
Terrorism: Coventry
The Government have recently refreshed CONTEST, its counter-terrorism strategy, which has four strands: Pursue, Prepare, Protect and Prevent. The following work is being taken forward by local partners in Coventry with the support of national agencies:
Prevent
I understand that a Prevent Working Group has been developed in Coventry, made up of senior representatives from the police, council, universities, colleges and other public agencies, which will meet for the first time this month.
Coventry has recently developed a communications strategy to help mainstream messages to counter extremism. The local authority is also currently developing a programme of activities for young people from diverse communities, which explores issues of identity, challenging extremist ideology, and provides support to the most vulnerable.
Prepare
Prepare activity in Coventry is driven through the well established partnership of the Coventry Local Resilience Forum. This group is responsible for the development of the Local Community Risk Register which works to mitigate risks and threats within the area through prioritising planning, training and exercising activities.
Protect
Through NaCTSO (the National Counter Terrorism Security Office) and Project ARGUS we have provided advice and an awareness-raising programme to staff in all the main five shopping areas in Coventry (West Orchards, Cathedral Lane, Cross point, Lower Precinct and Tesco Arena), theatres and cinemas, the Transport Museum, Coventry FC and delegates from the night-time economy. For more information on NaCTSO and Project ARGUS visit
http://www.nactso.gov.uk/
There are two planned Project Griffin events at Warwick University on 7 May 2009 and 28 May 2009. Project Griffin is a police initiative bringing together and coordinating the resources of the police, emergency services, local authorities, business and the private sector security industry. For more information on Project Griffin visit
http://www.projectgriffin.org.uk/
More generally at all UK airports we are strengthening the arrangements for security planning, with clear proposals set out in the Policing and Crime Bill.
The key stakeholders at Coventry and other airports will have statutory responsibility for carrying out a joint threat and risk assessment and for preparing a comprehensive security plan setting out the actions being taken to address the risks at their airport. The costs of the police resources identified in that plan would then feature in a separate agreement about reimbursement between the operator, police force and the police authority.
Terrorism: Deportation
No one has been deported to the countries concerned on national security grounds since July 2008.
Theft
Quarterly information for the requested offences is only available from 2001-02 onwards and the available data for the October to December quarters are given in the table. Statistics for October to December 2008 will be available following the publication of the quarterly update on 23 April 2009.
Number of offences October to December each year Shoplifting Robbery of business property Theft by an employee 2001 77,536 3,653 4,414 20021 74,302 2,852 4,454 2003 73,998 2,873 4,481 2004 70,763 2,226 4,541 2005 74,970 2,437 4,377 2006 75,500 2,723 4,119 2007 70,196 2,518 4,102 1 Includes British Transport Police from this quarter onwards.
UK Border Agency: Finance
The Home Office met all costs for running the Advisory Panel on Country Information (APCI) until the function was transferred to the new independent chief inspector of the UK Border Agency in April 2008. The Chair and members of the APCI were unpaid and expenditure was limited to research costs for evaluating Home Office country information material, recruitment of members and the expenses associated with meetings. These were approximately as follows for the years 2005 to 2008:
2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Research 48,170 46,040 14,500 Meetings 1,120 3,360 760 Members’ expenses (estimate) 2,000 3,200 1,200 Recruitment 3,100 4,360 — Total 54,390 56,960 16,460 Notes: 1. Costs exclude VAT 2. Figures rounded to nearest £10
UK Border Agency: Manpower
The latest financial year for which accounts are available is 2007-08. Border Control was the operational directorate which included all frontline border staff in that year, and its pay costs were £161.2 million.
It is not possible to breakdown those costs into frontline operational staff and support staff.
Vetting
Data concerning the average time taken to complete a disclosure by police force area are not collated by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).
The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) does not collate data on the number of disclosures which contain comments from chief police officers but which do not contain any data from the Police National Computer (PNC), Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) or Department of Health (DOH).
Vetting: Maladministration
(2) how many of those incorrectly designated as having a criminal conviction by the Criminal Records Bureau since the Bureau's inception are (a) male and (b) female.
The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has issued over 18 million disclosures since its inception in 2002. The following table represents the number of disclosures issued to applicants that had been matched to a record held on the Police National Computer (PNC) which had been challenged and subsequently upheld, broken down by age groups and gender.
Age group Male Female Total Under 18 14 29 43 18 to 25 367 294 661 26 to 40 1,223 663 1,886 41 to 60 905 489 1,394 61 to 65 62 17 79 Over 65 60 18 78 Total 2,631 1,510 4,141
Vetting: Standards
Only enhanced disclosures are sent to police forces as part of the Disclosure Service. Data concerning the average time taken to complete a disclosure by police force area are not a performance target and are not collated by the CRB. Comparative police force performance data can be found on the CRB website at
www.crb.gov.uk
Average figures do not give an accurate indication of performance, since any force's performance can be affected by a number of factors; the volume of cases sent to a force to process in any given month, the number of staff available to process the checks and the IT resources on hand to forces. With these variables, performance can fluctuate within individual forces from one month to the next.
Written Questions: Government Responses
My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary (Mr. Campbell) replied on 26 March 2009, Official Report, column 650W.
Children, Schools and Families
Building Schools for the Future Programme
In Building Schools for the Future, funding is allocated to local authorities and not directly to schools. Local authorities take decisions on how to allocate this funding to their schools in accordance with local need. The following table shows the funding which has been allocated to authorities which have reached financial close in their BSF projects.
£000 Local authority project Conventional PFI credits Total Bristol ph 1 (Wave 1) 7,598 157,173 164,771 Manchester 201,644 0 201,644 Greenwich 57,226 183,510 240,736 Bradford ph 1 (Wave 1) 9,461 111,904 121,365 Lancashire ph 1 4,183 94,812 98,995 Lambeth 87,123 0 87,123 Leeds ph 1 37,877 143,500 181,377 Solihull 29,536 86,790 116,326 Newcastle ph 1 36,856 51,706 88,562 Sheffield ph 1 (Wave 1) 22,721 88,999 111,720 Waltham Forest ph 1 38,321 29,078 67,399 Knowsley 3,508 249,984 253,492 Lancashire ph2a 3,098 75,049 78,147 Leicester ph 1 33,977 63,233 97,210 Lewisham ph 1 (Wave 1) 17,793 118,968 136,761 STaG phl 14,042 31,504 45,546 Leeds ph2 48,688 42,243 90,931 Sunderland ph 1 60,193 0 60,193 Westminster ph 1 71,892 0 71,892 Nottingham 146,325 75,913 222,238 Lancashire ph2b 1,679 45,461 47,140 Islington ph 1 40,051 64,460 104,511 Kent ph 1 130,698 98,840 229,538 Liverpool 17,747 0 17,747 Hackney 63,062 0 63,062 Middlesbrough 44,340 0 63,062 Newham 35,002 66,484 101,486 Tower Hamlets 50,640 0 50,640 Tameside 40,371 49,706 90,077 Haringey 64,770 0 64,770 Total closed phases—as at 31 March 2009 1,420,422 1,929,317 3,349,739
The following table shows the latest estimate of expenditure on the Building Schools for the Future programme. These estimates may change as projects progress through the procurement phase and into construction.
2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 Capital grant 0.7 2.0 2.3 Notes: 1. These figures include estimated expenditure on academies delivered through the Partnerships for Schools national framework. 2. Capital grant payments are made following the financial close of the project in accordance with construction payment milestones.
In addition, we expect to allocate £3.9 billion PFI credits to projects in this period. Credits are allocated following approval of the project’s outline business case, but the revenue payments to local authorities to which they relate are not made until the new school building is completed.
The following list sets out (i) financial institutions that are involved in BSF schemes that have already reached financial close; and (ii) financial institutions who are in the market to finance BSF schemes that have not yet reached financial close.
Funding to BSF schemes that have reached financial close:
Bank of Ireland
Barclays
BNP Paribas
European Investment Bank
HBOS
Abbey National
HSBC
NIB Bank
Royal Bank of Canada
SMBC
Depfa
In the market to fund BSF schemes that have not yet reached financial close:
Nationwide
SMBC
Barclays
National Australia Bank
European Investment Bank
Aviva
Co-op
Helaba Landesbank
Lloyds
Norddeutsche Landesbank
RBS
Santander
NIB Bank
Westdeutsche Landesbank
Deutsche Postbank
On 2 March 2009, the indicative revised prioritisation of Building Schools for the Future (BSF) was published, based on the revised expressions of interest which authorities provided in November 2008. Partnerships for Schools (PfS) the body which assists local authorities procure their BSF investment, is already engaging with authorities to discuss their readiness to deliver. No project will formally enter BSF until PfS is satisfied that there is robust evidence that the authority is ready to deliver. It has therefore not yet been decided which will be the next authorities to enter the programme after 2010-11.
Children: Autism
I have been asked to reply.
This information is not collected centrally.
In 2001, the Medical Research Council (MRC) undertook the first comprehensive review of the UK research into autism, called the MRC Review of Autism Research and is still considered to be a leading source of information about the causes and epidemiology of autism and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).
The review report states at page 15:
“In a study of individuals aged 2 to over 40 years, the average age of diagnosis was 5 years for autism.”
Children: Databases
We have been working closely with all local authorities to ensure those records which need it are appropriately shielded. All local authorities have been regularly reporting progress and notifying us of any data issues they have encountered, during this pre-deployment phase, as we requested. As of 24 March, 13 local authorities have provided additional written feedback so far via letters or e-mails.
(2) what method will be used permanently to delete a person’s records from ContactPoint;
(3) how long on average he expects to elapse between the death of a young person and the removal of their data record from the ContactPoint database.
Six years is the accepted standard for retention of information in accordance with the provisions of the Limitations Act 1980. Once a person reaches age 18 their ContactPoint record will be moved into archive. Once in archive, the record will only be accessible by data managers for a period of one year. After that it is only accessible by our system suppliers in order to support investigations under section 47 of the Children Act 1989, any serious case review or investigation into a child death.
Once a record reaches the end of its archive period, an automatic batch process (purge) permanently deletes it from ContactPoint.
On receipt of notification of death of a child, ContactPoint retains the child record for one year before it is moved to the archive.
The ContactPoint budget includes an appropriate contingency element and any additional costs that arise from developments made to the system will be met from those contingency arrangements. It has always been anticipated that this would be the case. We do not anticipate the overall costs for implementing ContactPoint exceeding the original estimate of £224 million.
In answer to the question I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 2 April 2009, Official Report, column 1336W.
Children: Internet
The Byron Review Action Plan announced that the UK council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) would work with the Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and other council members to launch an e-safety week in 2009.
This year UKCCIS supported a Safer Internet Week (9 to 13 February) by assisting CEOP to run national newspaper advertisements throughout the week and circulating information to council members and interested parties, specifically promoting Safer Internet Day 2009 on 10 February.
Children: Protection
Lord Laming’s report ‘The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report’ was published on 12 March. The Government announced, on the same day, that all of the recommendations had been accepted, and undertook to provide a detailed response to all 58 recommendations by the end of April.
Recommendation 49 of the report said:
‘Ofsted should produce more regular reports, at six monthly intervals, which summarise the lessons from Serious Case Reviews’.
Ofsted will also be responding to this and other relevant recommendations by the end of April.
Ofsted has commenced the planning for its second report on the outcomes of its evaluations on serious case reviews. However, the report by Lord Laming recommended that Ofsted produce reports at six monthly intervals and they will consider whether they need to bring the next evaluation forward in the light of this.
The Government already commission biennial overviews of Serious Case Reviews to draw out their key findings and identify their implications for policy and practice.
The assessment in to the impact of the commercial world was launched on the 7 April 2008. It is being led by Professor David Buckingham from the Institute of Education. The work has involved stakeholders from many sectors including education, business and NGOs. The assessment is nearing completion but there is as yet no firm publication date.
Children: Protection
I have been asked to reply.
Data in relation to the number of police officers specially trained in child protection available to each local authority are not held centrally.
The Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families intends to publish a detailed action plan in response to Lord Laming's recommendations by the end of April.
Departmental Buildings
The following properties have been sold in the last five years:
(a) In 2004 the Department for Children, Schools and Families sold Letchworth Skillcentre in Hertfordshire and in 2008 it sold Middlesbrough Skillcentre Annex and Wales Bar in Rotherham. None of these sales was for housing development.
(b) The Department has no agencies.
(c) In 2006 The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) sold a property in Preston, Lancashire to a developer, although the property did not have a residential planning permission.
In 2004 the Children and Families Courts Advisory Service (CAFCASS) sold 5 Upper Park Road, Bromley, Kent.
In 2005 it sold 65 Alma Road, Windsor, Berkshire.
In 2006 it sold Darwen Health Centre, Blackburn, Lancashire and 90 Finkle Street, Cottingham, Yorkshire.
In 2007 it sold a property in Dudley in the West Midlands.
None of these sales were for housing development.
Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings
Information on sickness absence in the Department can be found on the DCSF website:
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/sicknessabsence/
Departmental Energy
The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has a target to reduce its energy consumption to 283.9 kWh per square metre by 2011/12.
The returns for the 2007-08 Sustainable Operation of the Government Estate (SOGE) showed that the DCSF estate consumed 325 kWh of energy per square metre. The full report can be found under the following link at:
http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/sdig2008/
This has reduced from 334 kWh/m2 in the baseline year 1999/2000.
Departmental Finance
The Department's 2010-11 capital Estimate, excluding the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, after the Spring Supplementary exercise are detailed by function in the following table.
£ million 2010-11 estimate Devolved Programmes 2,550 Targeted Programmes 980 Strategic Primary Capital (excl. BSF & Academies) 850 Less: Schools Fiscal Stimulus transferred to 2009-101 -770 Schools Sixth Form (via Learning and Skills Council) 100 Learning and Skills Council 14-19 Capital 140 Young People Capital 27 Children and Families Capital 20 Improving Information Sharing and Management 35 Sure Start 315 Activities to support all functions 146 Other Capital 12 Total (excludes PFI credits) 4,381 1 An additional £124 million has been provisionally approved by HMT to be transferred from 2010-11 to 2009-10 which will not be reflected in the Department's Main Estimate. Following the approval of the Winter Supplementary Estimate later in the 2009 calendar year, will see figures adjusted accordingly. A further small transfer will be requested, reflecting late applications from local authorities for accelerated funding.
Departmental Publications
The cost of production and printing for the Departmental Report and the Autumn Performance Report was £24,875 and £24,238.69 respectively.
Other costs relating to the reports can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Training
Training is provided to Ministers as necessary in order to carry out their duties effectively under the ministerial code.
Education
The Department provides funding support of £0.5 million to each local authority for local education partnership (LEP) establishment costs. The Department has incurred £9 million for the 18 LEPs currently established.
Education Act 2002
[holding answer 27 March 2009]: The number of notifications sent to schools inspectorates since April 2005 is 87. These relate to individuals who resigned or were dismissed from independent schools because they were considered unsuitable to work with children. Details are given in the following table. The hon. Member will recall from previous answers that in the case of maintained schools, Ofsted can approach the local authority concerned in respect of notifications from its schools.
Inspectorate 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Total ISI 5 27 17 16 1 66 Ofsted 2 4 7 7 1 21 CSCI1 2 4 1 0 0 7 1 The seven referrals made to the former Commission for Social Care Inspection (now Ofsted) were also referred to the relevant education inspectorate and are thus included in the totals for ISI and Ofsted above
Under the new vetting and barring scheme a supervisory authority such as Ofsted will be required to inform the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) if it has information that a person poses a risk of harm. In return, the ISA must inform them when it bars someone who is supervised or registered by them.
Where employers (including independent schools) in the education sector have ceased to use the services of a person because they consider that person is unsuitable to work with children, or they would have ceased to use the person's services where the person has left their employment, they are required to refer information to the Department or, from 20 January 2009, the ISA. In addition, the police also refer cautions and convictions, including for those who have been working in educational establishments in accordance with Home Office Circular 6/2006 (The Notifiable Occupations Scheme).
Identifying how many referrals and letters of notification were received from maintained schools would require detailed checks to be made of individual case records and this would incur disproportionate cost.
Education Maintenance Allowance
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of students who have experienced a delay in the payment of education maintenance allowance since September 2008.
This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Geoffrey Russell the LSC’s Acting Chief Executive, will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.
Education: Assessments
[holding answer 3 March 2009]: The most readily available analysis is given in the following table:
Number of pupils who achieved three A grades at A level in 2008NumberAchieved level 5 or more in all three KS2 tests17,965Took KS2 tests but did not receive level 5 in all three7,213Other163Prior attainment not available6,038Total31,379 Notes:1.Figures relate to 16-18 year olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August 2007) in all schools in England. Figures relate to achievements in GCENCE/Applied A level/Double Awards.2. Not all of these pupils will have taken their Key Stage 2 tests in 2001. Pupils who took their KS2 tests in 2001 and achieved at least 3 As in their A levels in a year other than 2008 are not included.3. 'Other' includes pupils working below the level of the test and those absent or with missing results. Some pupils have no prior attainment available (for example pupils who took their KS2 tests in Scotland or Wales).Source: National Pupil Database
Education: Ethnic Groups
(2) in how many primary schools the majority of registered students are black, Asian or other minority ethnic in (a) England, (b) Leicestershire and (c) Leicester East constituency.
The requested information is shown in the tables:
All Schools England Leicester LA Leicester city LA Rutland LA All Leicestershire Leicester East Parliamentary constituency Primary Schools 17,205 225 81 17 323 30 Secondary Schools 3,383 54 18 3 75 6
England4 Leicestershire LA Leicester city LA Rutland LA All Leicestershire Leicester East Parliamentary constituency Primary Schools 2,122 6 43 0 49 23 Secondary Schools 440 2 10 0 12 4 1 Includes middle schools as deemed. 2 Includes City Technology Colleges and Academies. 3 Where more than 50 per cent. of pupils of compulsory school age and above are classified as other than White British or Unclassified. 4 Five primary schools and one secondary school did not return ethnicity data. Source: School Census
Education: Finance
The Department's programme capital Estimates (as approved by Parliament) for the relevant programmes along with forecast spend for 2008-09 are provided in the following table:
£ million 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 Forecast spend Estimate Estimate Building Schools for the Future and Academies 1,100 1,640 2,447 Primary Capital Programme (excluding PFI credits) 143 745 850 Other Schools Capital Programmes 3,541 3,995 2,760 Non Schools Capital Programmes 753 794 771 Total 5,537 7,174 6,828
The Academies programme is increasingly being delivered through the Building Schools for the Future Framework, and is therefore included as one figure.
The above takes into account £800 million brought forward from 2010-11 to 2009-10 as part of the fiscal stimulus. In addition, HMT has also agreed for a further £124 million to be brought forward which will be reflected in the Estimates in due course.
In addition to the above, £3.9 billion of PFI credits are available for allocation over the CSR period. The figures also do not include any End of Year Flexibility amounts which may be approved by HMT during future years. If approved, the above Estimate figures are likely to increase accordingly.
Funding is allocated on different dates depending on the nature of each programme. An analysis of this, also a split by local authority, cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
Education: Hearing Impaired
This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to my hon. Friend and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 2 April 2009:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for a response.
Ofsted recognises that inspecting provision and outcomes for deaf or hearing impaired pupils requires particular specialist knowledge and skills with regard to issues such as language development, communication methods, and acoustic conditions.
You asked how Ofsted ensured that its inspectors had adequate levels of training and expertise in education for the deaf and communication with deaf children. Ofsted has a small core team of four Her Majesty's Inspectors (HMI) who are specialists in the inspection of sensory impairment who are routinely deployed in the inspection of schools for deaf and hearing impaired pupils. Ofsted also requires our contracted Regional Inspection Service Providers to provide inspectors who are suitable for each individual inspection. Every effort is made to inspect special schools with inspectors who have expertise in that particular field. Where there is specific provision for pupils with SEN in mainstream schools, then every effort is made to provide the inspection team with an inspector with expertise in the particular field of SEN provided by the school. Training on inspecting special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools, special schools and pupil referral units was provided for HMI and Additional Inspectors (AI) during 2008, and is being updated for the coming year. All inspectors have access to extensive guidance available to support this area of work.
In February 2009, Ofsted announced that it has agreed three new contracts with contractors for the provision of inspection from September 2009. These contracts will cover all the inspection remits in schools and colleges, apprenticeships, adult skills and initial teacher education. The procurement process for the new contracts has provided the opportunity for Ofsted to renew the commitment of its contractors to deploy appropriately skilled and specialist additional inspectors for each school's context, including those with deaf children.
Ofsted is also working with the Department for Children, Schools and Families to ensure the availability to inspectors of better performance data for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, including children who are deaf and/or hearing impaired. In particular, we are seeking to provide performance data for individual pupils who have specific learning difficulties and/or disabilities, in order to measure more rigorously their progress and achievement.
You also asked whether inspectors are accompanied by a skilled interpreter. It is necessary for inspectors to be able to communicate effectively with deaf and hearing impaired pupils: this may require competence in British Sign Language or other methods of communication, or use of a skilled interpreter. Ofsted is reviewing these requirements for the new inspection arrangements for September, including the requirement to have an interpreter on inspection.
A copy of this reply has been sent to Rt Hon Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
Extracurricular Activities
We do not collect information centrally on the number of secondary schools offering after-school, small group tuition in specific subject areas.
Further Education: Finance
(2) whether the final 16 to 18 learner funding allocations cover (a) all students enrolled in schools and sixth form colleges and (b) all students predicted to enrol for the 2009-10 academic year;
(3) when the Learning and Skills Council notified schools and colleges of their provisional 16 to 18 learner funding allocation.
We are planning record investment of over £6.7 billion in education for 16 to 18-year-olds from September this year. That means there is funding for over 1.5 million young people to study, the most 16 to 18-year-olds that have ever been in education in this country.
As part of the Department’s wider discussions in the National Economic Council on what more we can do to support the economy, we are working across Government on the extra financial support we need to provide for the new learners that are coming forward.
The Learning and Skills Council’s (LSC) letter of 31 March said that we continue to consider options for further funding, including meeting emerging pressures from the impact of the recession and recruitment during the year.
The LSC will be writing again to schools and colleges by the end of April.
I refer the hon. Member to the press statement of 3 April 2009, which is available at:
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2009_0068
GCE A-Level
[holding answer 23 February 2009]: 26,483 pupils1 in maintained schools2 were entered for two or more GCSE/Applied A-levels in the listed subjects in 2007/08. The equivalent number in independent schools was 3,283.
1 Pupils aged 16-18 at the start of the academic year.
2 The figure for maintained schools does not include further education colleges.
GCSE: Young Offenders
Information on the number of GCSEs sat for young people in custody are not collected centrally. However, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) collects monthly data on learning for young people in Prison Service Young Offender Institutions. These data show that during the 2008 academic year, for young people under the age of 18, there were 106 GCSE achievements between grades A and C, and 159 GCSE achievements below grade C. However, these figures do not reflect all of the GCSEs achieved in juvenile custody because this does not include young people in Secure Children's Homes, Secure Training Centres, or private prisons. Also some of the young people in Young Offender Institutions are still registered at schools and colleges and therefore any GCSEs that they achieve whilst in custody will be reflected in achievement figures of schools and colleges, rather than the figures reported by the LSC for those achieved in custody.
General Certificate of Secondary Education
In the reply to PQ 231974, the estimated costs of providing the information requested in PQs 224479 and 224500 were £1,300 and £900 respectively.
Following a detailed analysis of the processes involved in answering these questions we are able to provide the itemised breakdowns as follows:
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, at how many comprehensive schools 50 per cent. or more pupils achieved a modern languages GCSE at A*-C in each year since 1997. (224479)
Hours required Cost to Department Planning 9 225 Implementing production rules 1 25 Writing syntax 8 200 Producing figures (11 years) 50.16 1,254 Producing figures (one year) 4.56 114 Run the required filters (including maintained only sector) 0.32 8 Create variables in exam file 0.32 8 Aggregate up to pupil level 0.2 5 Merge into pupil file 0.32 8 Aggregate up to school level 0.2 5 Merge to school file 0.2 5 Analysis of output (e.g. remove independent schools, remove schools with <10 pupils, count how many with <50 per cent. MFL, etc.) 3 75 Additional work 1.5 37.5 Formatting, footnotes, etc. 0.25 6.25 Personal QAing 1 25 Drafting PQ reply 0.25 6.25 QAing 3.5 87.5 Comments, redrafting, etc. 3 75 Signing off at SCS level 1 25 Total 66.16 1,704
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, what percentage of pupils in the maintained mainstream sector achieved five GCSEs including a modern language at A* to C grades in each year since 1997. (224500)
Hours required Cost to Department Planning 9 225 Implementing production rules 1 25 Writing syntax 8 200 Producing figures (11 years) 16.28 407 Producing figures (one year) 1.48 37 Run the required filters (including maintained only sector) 0.32 8 Create variables in exam file 0.32 8 Aggregate up to pupil level 0.2 5 Merge into pupil file 0.32 8 Analysis of output (count number of pupils with 5 A*-C including MFL) 0.32 8 Additional work 1.5 37.5 Formatting, footnotes, etc. 0.25 6.25 Personal QAing 1 25 Drafting PQ reply 0.25 6.25 QAing 3.5 87.5 Comments, redrafting, etc. 3 75 Signing off at SCS level 1 25 Total 32.28 857
The estimated cost to the Department of providing all the information requested is £850. These are salary costs.
Further mathematics is a subject that is not available at GCSE or equivalent. Further mathematics is first available as an AS-level subject.
The tables show the number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 achieving (a) an A* or A grade at GCSE and (b) an A* to C grade at GCSE in each subject in the last five years. Also shown are the percentages of these pupils who studied at comprehensive, independent and grammar schools and are placed in the House Libraries. These figures are not included for further mathematics, as this is not available at GCSE level.
Tables showing the number and proportion of GCSE entries by grade and subject for pupils at the end of key stage 4 attending maintained and independent secondary schools from 2005-08 have been placed in the House Libraries. All GCSE attempts (including multiple attempts within each subject group) have been counted.
Figures prior to 2005 can not be provided on a comparable basis.
The information is given in the following table:
School code Institution name Local authority 3096905 Greig City Academy Haringey 3125406 Rosedale College Hillingdon 3304611 St. Alban's CE Specialist Engineering College Birmingham 3706905 The Barnsley Academy Barnsley 8134075 Brumby Engineering College North Lincolnshire 8564005 New College Leicester Leicester City 8866906 The Marlowe Academy Kent 9255422 St. Hugh's C of E Mathematics and Computing College Lincolnshire 9354600 St. Benedict's Catholic School Suffolk
[holding answer 29 January 2009]: The numbers of pupils attempting both English language and English literature GCSE in maintained and independent schools for the last five years are as follows:
Maintained schools Independent schools 2007/08 471,943 38,685 2006/07 481,904 39,704 2005/06 486,514 39,944 2004/05 485,569 38,495 2003/04 491,666 37,011 Notes: 1. Figures relate to pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 except in 2003/04 for which the figures relate to 15-year-olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August). 2. Figures include attempts by these pupils in previous academic years. Only one attempt is counted per pupil. 3. The figures are derived from the Achievement and Attainment Tables data.
Gifted Children
There is no ring fenced funding for gifted and talented education in local authorities or schools, so this information is not available.
Gifted Children: Chelmsford
Through the School Census schools are asked to confirm the number of gifted and talented pupils they have identified. According to the summer 2008 Census 848 (10.7 per cent.) of pupils in maintained primary schools and 1,091 (12.8 per cent.) of pupils in maintained secondary schools were identified as gifted and talented in the West Chelmsford constituency.
Languages: General Certificate of Secondary Education
Of all schools with a specialism in languages, 15 (4.3 per cent.) entered their entire cohort at the end of KS4 for assessment in a modern foreign language at GCSE or equivalent in 2008.
Learning Mentors
The information requested is not held centrally.
Members: Correspondence
The Department has no record of receiving the letter of 28 January from the hon. Member. If the hon. Member can forward a copy of the letter to the Department a reply will be sent within the agreed Whitehall standard.
National Assessment Agency
I met with David Gee, managing director of the then National Assessment Agency (NAA), on 17 June and with David Gee and Ken Boston, chief executive of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), on 2 July. I also met with Ken Boston on 3 July. These meetings related to the delivery of national curriculum tests in 2008. As set out in Lord Sutherland’s report there were regular meetings between senior officials in the Department, QCA and NAA, as part of the governance arrangements explained in the report to monitor QCA’s delivery of its remit.
I also met with officials from QCA on 6 February, 18 March, 6 August, 14 August and 15 September to discuss matters relating to QCA’s wider agenda.
National Curriculum Tests
Key Stage 3 attainment at National Curriculum level 9 has not been assessed through national tests since 1995.
Ofsted
[holding answer 30 March 2009]: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 1 April 2009:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for a response.
Ofsted has only recorded the number of anonymous contacts with the National Business Unit—that may have required action, as opposed to simple requests for information—since April 2007, when the new organisation came into being. These anonymous contacts relate to complaints about schools. Table A shows the number in each year as recorded in our system.
Year Quantity 2007-08 30 2008-09 65
Some additional anonymous contacts relating to the compliance, investigation and enforcement activities we undertake on childcare, daycare and other children's services are made directly to our inspectors or local teams, rather than via the National Business Unit. This information is not collated or held centrally and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.
As these were complaints about schools and not about inspections, they did not lead to any Ofsted inspectors being investigated.
A copy of this reply has been sent to the Rt Hon Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
Peter Housden
The loan was provided in 2002 when Mr. Housden worked for the Department for Education and Skills as part of a relocation package from Nottingham to London. The loan transferred to Communities and Local Government when Mr. Housden was appointed as Permanent Secretary on 24 October 2005.
Packages of this kind are commonplace in many major organisations and are a key part of recruiting the very best candidates. The loan is counted as taxable income and is being paid back over a 10-year period. Rules governing loans are detailed in the Civil Service Code.
Pre-school Education: Finance
The dedicated schools grant formula review was launched at the end of January 2008. The purpose of the review is to ensure that all education to the age of 16 is well supported and providers have the confidence they require to plan their spending effectively over the longer term. We have established a DSG formula review group with representation from central and local Government, teaching associations, unions representing support staff and governors’ organisations. In addition, other stakeholders are invited to attend when the most relevant issues to them are on the agenda. We are also considering the extent to which we can rationalise and simplify the different funding streams to deliver children’s services — particularly relevant to early years.
In addition, all local authorities in England are currently in the process of introducing a single funding formula to support the delivery of the free entitlement to early years provision. While this will not mean that funding levels will be equal across all providers, it will mean that it will be provided on an equitable basis, taking into account the same factors, reflective of costs and that any differences will be both transparent and fully justifiable.
It will also introduce a shift away from place based funding toward participation led funding. There are a number of options for consideration in the formulation of the framework—for example how local formulas are used to take account of costs associated with quality, flexibility and outcomes, and under participation led funding when children are counted as participating in provision. The Department is assessing these options through a formula development pilot which was set up in November 2007 and now involves 12 local authorities whose experiences and challenges are being captured.
Independent research shows that the funding at the national level is sufficient with around £4 billion being spent by local authorities on provision for under fives in 2007-08, including the free entitlement for three and four-year-olds. This amount is up from around £1 billion in 1997-98. The research, conducted by Hedra in 2007 can be found at:
www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/resources-and-practice/RS00042
The cost of delivering the free entitlement will vary from region to region therefore it is for local authorities to make any assessments. As part of the requirement to introduce a single funding formula to support the delivery of the flexible extension to the free entitlement, all local authorities are required to undertake a cost analysis of their providers to ensure that the offer is fully and fairly supported.
Pupil Exclusions: Special Educational Needs
Data on pupil characteristics linked to exclusions were collected in the School Census for the first time in 2005/06, but was collected from secondary schools only. In 2006/07 data were also collected from primary and special schools. The special educational needs status can change between periods of exclusion and the Department is currently working on a methodology for the analysis of this information.
Pupil Referral Units
The available information is shown in the following tables.
Number of pupils 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Age Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys 3 years 3— 3— 3— 3— 3— 3— 3— 3— 3— 3— 4 years 3— 3— 3— 3— 3— 3— 3— 3— 3— 3— 5 years 4— 30 4— 20 10 40 4— 10 10 30 6 years 4— 50 10 30 10 30 4— 20 20 50 7 years 4— 60 10 40 20 60 10 50 10 60 8 years 10 60 10 50 20 110 10 80 20 120 9 years 10 100 10 90 20 130 10 120 30 180 10 years 10 140 10 120 30 180 10 170 30 250 11 years 20 180 20 140 40 170 70 210 40 240 12 years 50 420 90 440 70 480 80 510 140 640 13 years 170 810 160 770 190 890 230 980 280 1,230 14 years 460 1,370 460 1,520 480 1,690 600 1,830 710 2,090 15 years 1,270 2,880 1,230 3,010 1,340 3,180 1,400 3,390 1,670 4,010 16 years 70 70 80 160 50 40 80 50 60 70 17 years 10 4— 10 4— 10 0 20 4— 10 4— 18 years and over 0 0 10 4— 10 4— 20 4— 20 4— Total all ages 2,090 6,180 2,110 6,370 2,290 7,000 2,540 7,420 3,040 8,970
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Age Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys 3 years 3— 3— 0 4— 0 0 4— 4— 4— 4— 4 years 3— 3— 0 4— 4— 4— 10 4— 4— 10 5 years 10 20 10 20 10 20 10 20 4— 30 6 years 10 30 4— 40 4— 40 4— 30 4— 40 7 years 20 80 10 50 4— 50 10 70 4— 70 8 years 20 110 10 120 10 90 10 110 10 110 9 years 20 170 10 160 10 170 20 190 10 160 10 years 20 240 10 240 40 320 20 250 30 260 11 years 30 220 30 190 70 350 20 200 40 250 12 years 110 730 130 770 110 700 130 710 140 780 13 years 340 1,290 380 1,480 360 1,600 380 1,410 430 1,500 14 years 730 2,490 930 2,720 1,010 2,870 1,070 2,870 1,040 2,910 15 years 1,740 4,310 2,020 4,890 2,140 4,940 2,170 5,060 2,370 5,450 16 years 100 130 70 90 120 110 130 210 140 200 17 years 30 10 50 10 60 20 30 10 50 10 18 years and over 20 0 30 4— 20 10 20 4— 30 10 Total all ages 3,200 9,830 3,690 10,780 3,960 11,280 4,030 11,130 4,290 11,800 1 Includes solely registered pupils, including those registered at a PRU who attend at other providers, e.g. FE colleges. 2 Age at 31 August in previous year. 3 Not available. 4 Less than five pupils. Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census.
Pupils: Absenteeism
There are 440 schools where fewer than 30 per cent. of pupils achieve 5 A*-C at GCSE including English and mathematics, based on validated 2008 data. In these schools 34,748 pupils, or 9.5 per cent. were persistently absent in 2007/08. National Challenge also provides bespoke support to schools deemed to be at risk of falling below the 30 per cent. benchmark. In these 545 schools 39,915 pupils, or 8.9 per cent., were persistently absent.
National Challenge is providing £400 million over three years for bespoke packages of support to meet schools’ particular needs, including tackling persistent pupil absence where this is an issue.
We are committed that by 2011 no local authority will have more than 5 per cent. of its secondary pupils as persistent absentees. Additional support is targeted at schools and local authorities with the highest proportions of persistently absent pupils to help minimise pupil absence from schools.
Pupils: Languages
The information requested is given in the following table for the years 2001-02 to 2007-8. Information for years prior to 2001-02 is not available as prior to 2002 individual pupil characteristic information was not collected.
Year1 Number eligible Number achieving Proportion achieving (percentage) 2001-02 50,200 23,000 45.8 2002-03 51,700 24,800 48.0 2003-04 51,500 26,100 50.7 2004-05 51,300 28,100 54.8 2005-06 54,500 30,700 56.2 2006-07 55,800 32,500 58.2 2007-08 58,400 36,000 61.6 1 From 2004/05 these figures are based on pupils at the end of key stage 4. Prior to this the figures were based on 15-year-olds. Source: National Pupil Database
Figures on pupils whose language is not English or believed not to be English are taken from Statistical First Releases on attainment and pupil characteristics, links to which are as follows:
2001-02 and 2002-03:
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000448/index.shtml
2003-04:
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000564/index.shtml
2004-05:
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000640/index.shtml
2005-06:
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000693/index.shtml
2006-07:
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000759/index.shtml
2007-08:
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000822/index.shtml
Pupils: Per Capita Costs
The Department allocates education funding to local authorities so the requested information for Tamworth constituency is not available. In addition it is for local authorities to determine how they spend their funds locally. The per pupil revenue funding figures for primary school pupils and all funded pupils for England and Staffordshire local authority in 2004-05 and 2005-06 are as follows. These figures are in real terms:
£ England Staffordshire Primary pupils (3 to 10 years) 2004-05 3,850 3,390 2005-06 4,080 3,610 All pupils (3 to 19 years) 2004-05 4,360 3,870 2005-06 4,580 4,080 Notes: 1. Price Base: Real terms at 2007-08 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 25 November 2008. 2. Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of Education Formula Spending (EFS) settlements and include the pensions transfer to EFS. 3. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES Departmental Expenditure Limits relevant to pupils aged 3 to 15 and exclude Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) and grants not allocated at LEA level. 4. The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to £ per pupil are those underlying the EFS settlement calculations. 5. Rounding: Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. 6. Status: Some of the grant allocations have not been finalised. If these do change, the effect on the funding figures is expected to be minimal.
The revenue per pupil figures shown in the following table are taken from the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) which was introduced in April 2006. They are not comparable with those for the years 2004-05 to 2005-06 because the introduction of the DSG in 2006-07 fundamentally changed how local authorities are funded.
The 2004-05 to 2005-06 figures are based on Education Formula Spending (EFS) which formed the education part of the Local Government Finance Settlement, plus various grants. This was an assessment of what local authorities needed to fund education rather than what they spent. The DSG is based largely on an authority’s previous spending. In addition, the DSG has a different coverage to EFS. EFS comprised a schools block and an LEA block (to cover LEA central functions) whereas DSG only covers the school block. LEA block items are still funded through DCLG’s Local Government Finance Settlement but education items cannot be separately identified. Consequently, there is a break in the Department’s time series as the two sets of data are not comparable.
To provide a comparison for 2006-07 DSG, the Department have isolated the schools block equivalent funding in 2005-06; as described above this does not represent the totality of ‘education’ funding in that year.
The per pupil revenue funding figures for years 2005-06 (baseline) to 2008-09 for England and Staffordshire local authority are provided in the following table. As the DSG is a mechanism for distributing funding, a split between primary and secondary schools is not available. The figures shown are for all funded pupils aged three to 19 and are in real terms:
£ England Staffordshire All pupils (3 to 19 years) 2005-06 (baseline) 4,230 3,890 2006-07 4,370 3,990 2007-08 4,530 4,130 2008-09 4,550 4,160 Notes: 1. This covers funding through the Dedicated Schools Grant, School Standards Grant, School Standards Grant (Personalisation) and Standards Fund as well as funding from the Learning and Skills Council; it excludes grants which are not allocated at LA level. 2. Price Base: Real terms at 2007-08 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 25 November 2008. 3. These figures are for all funded pupils aged 3 to 19. 4. Figures have been rounded to the nearest £10. 5. Some of the grant allocations have not been finalised. If these do change, the effect on the funding figures is expected to be minimal.
Average funding on participation per full-time equivalent learner in Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funded school sixth forms and FE colleges (including specialist schools and colleges) is presented in the following table.
Financial year 16-18 learners in SSF and FE colleges (£) 2003-04 4,460 2004-05 4,570 2005-06 5,100 2006-07 5,310 2007-08 5,340 Note: Rounded to the nearest £10.
It is not possible to provide data prior to 2003-04 in a comparable form due to changes in the methods of measuring learner numbers.
School Leaving
We are committed to making this country the best place for children to grow up. This includes providing world class facilities for young people to learn which are safe, support their needs and inspire them to succeed. By 2015 local authorities will need to ensure access to high quality facilities to deliver the full 14-19 entitlement, enabling all young people to be in learning.
Guidance on "Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education" came into force in January 2007. The guidance sets out the responsibilities of all local authorities, schools and FE colleges in England to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people.
Independent of DCSF, Ofsted are responsible for assessing the safety of young people in every learning environment. This includes the care, guidance and support offered to them, and the extent to which the provision contributes to them being healthy and staying safe. We envisage this will continue after the raising of the participation age has come into force.
School Meals: Somerset
The Department does not collect this information.
Schools: Cornwall
The information requested is given in the following table:
Total number of schools Number of schools with no other school within 1 mile Number of schools with no other school within 2 miles Total number of schools Number of schools with no other school within 1 mile Number of schools with no other school within 2 miles Falmouth and Camborne 37 13 2 5 5 1 North Cornwall 57 41 28 7 5 5 South East Cornwall 49 32 14 6 6 4 St. Ives 49 36 7 7 5 5 Truro and St. Austell 45 30 6 6 4 4 Source: School Census January 2008
Schools: Finance
The Department allocated £9 million Basic Need Safety Valve funding in 2007-08. The most recent estimate of allocations is:
(a) 2008-09: £19 million;
(b) 2009-10: £32 million; and
(c) 2010-11: £26 million.
The latest estimate of allocations by the Department to local authorities in respect of the Primary Capital Programme, including amounts brought forward from 2010-11 to 2009-10, are
(a) £2008-09: £149 million;
(b) 2009-10: £745 million; and
(c) 2010-11: £903 million.
Local authorities are expected to add substantial resources to these allocation figures from their other capital resources, when fulfilling their Primary Capital Strategies.
Schools: Somerset
Capital funding allocated to schools in Somerset in each year from 1996-97, the first year in which detailed records are available, to 2008-09, is set out in the following table:
£000 1996-97 3,568 1997-98 3,845 1998-99 8,765 1999-2000 9,188 2000-01 18,148 2001-02 17,621 2002-03 19,859 2003-04 18,850 2004-05 21,831 2005-06 18,240 2006-07 26,222 2007-08 21,318
The increases in funding in 1998-99 to 2000-01 are due to the new deal for schools programmes, from 2000-01 the Devolved Formula Capital programme, and from 2004- 05 the Modernisation programme. The spike in 2006-07 largely results from an allocation for maintained boarding schools.
Schools: Standards
The following shows the proportion of children aged 16 years or under attending schools supported by the National Challenge by local authority.
This table captures the proportion of pupils in the 440 schools currently below the 30 per cent. benchmark target where fewer than 30 per cent. of pupils achieve five A*-C at GCSE including English and mathematics, based on validated 2008 data. These figures are captured in column A. All of these schools are receiving additional bespoke support.
The National Challenge programme does not just however support schools below the floor target. Bespoke support is also provided for schools at risk of dropping below the floor target. The table also therefore captures the proportion of pupils in schools receiving support from the National Challenge and City Challenge programmes. These figures are captured in column B.
Local authority All state- funded secondary schools Column A - schools below 30 per cent. floor Column B - All national challenge and city challenge supported schools LA number Pupils aged 16 and under Pupils aged16 and under % of pupils3 Pupils aged16 and under % of pupils3 England 3,113,670 364,440 11.7 585,480 18.8 City of London 201 0 — — — — Camden 202 8,770 — — — — Greenwich 203 13,350 1,160 8.7 7,030 52.7 Hackney 204 7,410 730 9.8 1,190 16.0 Hammersmith and Fulham 205 6,090 — — 600 9.8 Islington 206 8,020 850 10.6 2,710 33.8 Kensington and Chelsea 207 3,230 — — — — Lambeth 208 8,740 710 8.1 2,110 24.2 Lewisham 209 12,300 820 6.7 2,060 16.7 Southwark 210 12,470 1,880 15.0 1,100 8.8 Tower Hamlets 211 13,660 2,780 20.4 2,780 20.4 Wandsworth 212 10,480 420 4.0 1,480 14.1 Westminster 213 7,770 800 10.3 — — Barking and Dagenham 301 11,910 1,270 10.7 2,460 20.6 Barnet 302 18,830 700 3.7 700 3.7 Bexley 303 18,580 6,900 37.1 6,360 34.2 Brent 304 15,950 1,670 10.5 1,130 7.1 Bromley 305 20,040 — — 910 4.5 Croydon 306 19,650 1,620 8.2 4,340 22.1 Ealing 307 15, 800 — — 1,260 7.9 Enfield 308 20,350 3,640 17.9 3,640 17.9 Haringey 309 11,990 1,030 8.6 1,300 10.9 Harrow 310 8,980 — — 680 7.5 Havering 311 16,010 — — 1,940 12.1 Hillingdon 312 16,890 4,600 27.3 4,220 25.0 Hounslow 313 14,950 1,120 7.5 3,110 20.8 Kingston upon Thames 314 8,560 — — — — Merton 315 8,180 830 10.1 990 12.1 Newham 316 17,850 2,140 12.0 2,140 12.0 Redbridge 317 18,850 — — 830 4.4 Richmond upon Thames 318 6,920 — — 820 11.8 Sutton 319 14,900 1,900 12.7 1,970 13.2 Waltham Forest 320 13,440 740 5.5 2,130 15.9 Birmingham 330 65,760 16,610 25.3 24,500 37.3 Coventry 331 19,260 5,060 26.2 6,820 35.4 Dudley 332 19,990 2,240 11.2 3,990 19.9 Sandwell 333 19,500 6,660 34.2 10,070 51.7 Solihull 334 16,210 4,220 26.0 3,140 19.3 Walsall 335 19,850 6,200 31.2 12,790 64.4 Wolverhampton 336 14,870 3,220 21.7 6,830 45.9 Knowsley4 340 8,380 3,050 36.4 3,390 40.5 Liverpool 341 29,120 6,740 23.1 12,510 43.0 St Helens 342 10,740 590 5.5 1,870 17.4 Sefton 343 18,450 2,400 13.0 3,650 19.8 Wirral 344 21,500 2,910 13.5 4,810 22.4 Bolton 350 18,320 3,940 21.5 4,660 25.4 Bury 351 11,380 — — 1,590 13.9 Manchester 352 23,460 3,140 13.4 10,170 43.4 Oldham 353 15,740 4,270 27.1 8,100 51.5 Rochdale 354 13,000 1,620 12.4 1,620 12.4 Salford 355 11,420 1,640 14.3 3,770 33.0 Stockport 356 15,270 560 3.7 2,220 14.6 Tameside 357 14,910 1,170 7.8 4,660 31.2 Trafford 358 15,300 420 2.8 1,310 8.5 Wigan 359 19,860 560 2.8 5,500 27.7 Barnsley 370 13,430 5,040 37.5 6,810 50.7 Doncaster 371 19,750 6,160 31.2 8,450 42.8 Rotherham 372 19,030 1,310 6.9 7,360 38.7 Sheffield 373 29,760 9,070 30.5 8,710 29.3 Bradford 380 32,090 9,630 30.0 17,810 55.5 Calderdale 381 14,430 830 5.7 1,260 8.7 Kirklees 382 25,490 2,760 10.8 6,950 27.3 Leeds 383 44,160 5,190 11.8 12,330 27.9 Wakefield 384 20,870 — — 2,370 11.3 Gateshead 390 11,940 750 6.3 2,100 17.6 Newcastle upon Tyne 391 15,120 1,720 11.4 4,420 29.2 North Tyneside 392 12,860 760 5.9 2,310 17.9 South Tyneside 393 9,230 710 7.7 710 7.7 Sunderland 394 17,610 1,450 8.2 2,370 13.5 Isles of Scilly 420 0 — — — — Bath and North East Somerset 800 11,610 — — 360 3.1 Bristol, City of 801 15,550 4,570 29.4 6,210 40.0 North Somerset 802 12,240 820 6.7 820 6.7 South Gloucestershire 803 17,130 — — 570 3.3 Hartlepool 805 6,330 — — 1,760 27.8 Middlesbrough 806 8,590 2,640 30.7 2,310 26.9 Redcar and Cleveland 807 9,510 1,420 14.9 1,880 19.7 Stockton-on-Tees 808 11,770 1,760 15.0 1,760 15.0 Kingston upon Hull, City of 810 14,580 7,000 48.0 8,420 57.7 East Riding of Yorkshire 811 21,550 1,020 4.7 1,020 4.7 North East Lincolnshire 812 9,990 4,550 45.6 4,210 42.1 North Lincolnshire 813 10,280 — — 1,790 17.4 North Yorkshire 815 38,100 1,400 3.7 2,720 7.1 York 816 9,450 420 4.4 1,380 14.6 Bedfordshire 820 35,390 2,140 6.1 2,140 6.1 Luton 821 12,190 — — — — Buckinghamshire 825 31,420 3,620 11.5 6,610 21.0 Milton Keynes 826 14,930 2,660 17.8 2,660 17.8 Derbyshire 830 47,440 3,190 6.7 7,720 16.3 Derby 831 15,510 1,760 11.3 4,580 29.6 Dorset 835 27,850 1,320 4.7 2,320 8.3 Poole 836 7,750 1,340 17.3 1,340 17.3 Bournemouth 837 9,150 1,830 20.0 3,220 35.2 Durham 840 30,010 2,830 9.4 5,570 18.6 Darlington 841 5,930 1,460 24.7 880 14.9 East Sussex 845 27,230 3,530 12.9 6,740 24.7 Brighton and Hove 846 11,560 2,460 21.3 2,460 21.3 Hampshire 850 70,150 1,300 1.9 4,120 5.9 Portsmouth 851 9,330 1,690 18.1 3,140 33.6 Southampton 852 10,810 1,520 14.0 1,520 14.0 Leicestershire 855 42,770 490 1.2 490 1.2 Leicester 856 17,760 3,210 18.1 4,140 23.3 Rutland 857 2,370 — — — — Staffordshire 860 55,600 3,170 5.7 4,290 7.7 Stoke-on-Trent 861 13,350 3,780 28.3 4,510 33.8 Wiltshire 865 27,510 — — 2,640 9.6 Swindon 866 11,830 3,440 29.0 2,290 19.4 Bracknell Forest 867 5,970 — — 1,080 18.1 Windsor and Maidenhead 868 9,310 — — — — West Berkshire 869 11,130 820 7.3 1,310 11.8 Reading 870 5,580 640 11.5 770 13.7 Slough 871 8,740 — — 700 8.0 Wokingham 872 9,650 530 5.5 — — Cambridgeshire 873 31,340 2,770 8.8 4,250 13.6 Peterborough 874 12,160 4,840 39.8 2,850 23.4 Cheshire 875 42,310 3,560 8.4 5,330 12.6 Halton 876 7,620 530 6.9 1,530 20.1 Warrington 877 13,160 960 7.3 2,410 18.3 Devon 878 40,470 — — 3,540 8.7 Plymouth 879 16,690 4,210 25.2 5,310 31.8 Torbay 880 8,200 2,530 30.8 2,530 30.8 Essex 881 85,230 6,060 7.1 10,770 12.6 Southend-on-Sea 882 11,790 900 7.6 4,130 35.0 Thurrock 883 8,810 3,860 43.8 3,250 36.9 Herefordshire 884 9,770 — — — — Worcestershire 885 35,970 2,410 6.7 3,210 8.9 Kent 886 92,960 25,080 27.0 28,320 30.5 Medway 887 18,600 4,580 24.6 6,660 35.8 Lancashire 888 69,250 6,160 8.9 8,230 11.9 Blackburn with Darwen 889 9,400 470 5.0 470 5.0 Blackpool 890 8,240 3,490 42.3 3,490 42.3 Nottinghamshire 891 50,010 5,310 10.6 12,370 24.7 Nottingham 892 14,180 5,880 41.4 5,700 40.2 Shropshire 893 16,790 — — — — Telford and Wrekin 894 11,450 2,710 23.6 5,680 49.6 Cornwall 908 30,880 2,170 7.0 4,410 14.3 Cumbria 909 32,530 1,700 5.2 6,750 20.7 Gloucestershire 916 37,290 2,650 7.1 5,330 14.3 Hertfordshire 919 73,330 3,830 5.2 3,830 5.2 Isle of Wight 921 11,260 — — — — Lincolnshire 925 45,340 4,820 10.6 7,470 16.5 Norfolk 926 46,480 5,540 11.9 7,530 16.2 Northamptonshire 928 44,060 6,900 15.7 9,530 21.6 Northumberland 929 27,210 530 2.0 1,620 6.0 Oxfordshire 931 34,290 1,630 4.8 960 2.8 Somerset 933 31,100 1,770 5.7 2,640 8.5 Suffolk 935 50,590 3,280 6.5 6,100 12.1 Surrey 936 56,410 — — 2,120 3.8 Warwickshire 937 32,060 2,620 8.2 5,030 15.7 West Sussex 938 42,690 3,500 8.2 5,860 13.7 1 Includes City Technology Colleges and Academies. 2 Excludes dually registered pupils. 3 Number of pupils aged 16 and under in National Challenge schools expressed as a percentage of the number of pupils aged 16 and under in all state-funded secondary schools. 4 Two National Challenge schools in this LA have not been included as they were not open at the January 2008 census date. Note: Pupil numbers are rounded to nearest 10. Source: School Census
This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 3 April 2009:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, for reply.
There are no standard definitions for medium or large schools. This response provides data based on the size banding used when analysing inspection outcomes for Ofsted’s Annual Reports. These also include the figures on small schools (primary schools with 100 pupils or fewer, and secondary schools with 600 pupils or fewer), previously provided in response to Parliamentary Question 258254. Data identifying the total number of pupils on a school’s roll in each academic year are derived from the Annual School Census produced by the Department for Children, Schools and Families. Please note that schools for which the number of pupils on roil is not available have been excluded from this analysis.
Ofsted introduced a judgement of schools’ overall effectiveness in January 2000, and this response covers data since that point. Under the school inspection framework used between January 2000 and August 2005 (commonly known as Section 10), the school’s overall effectiveness judgement was made using a seven point scale: excellent, very good, good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory, poor and very poor. Since September 2005, the overall effectiveness judgement has been made under the current school inspection framework (commonly known as Section 5) using a four point scale: outstanding, good, satisfactory and inadequate. Tables A to D show the percentages of primary and secondary schools by grade for each academic year since January 2000.
It is not possible to operate a simple read-across approach from a seven- to a four-point scale. Ofsted’s criteria for making inspection judgements about schools are clearly set out in our inspection guidance, which is available on the Ofsted website at
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofstedhome/Formsandguidance/Browseallby/Other/General/Guidance-for-inspectors-of-schools-conducting-the-inspection/(language)/eng-GB
A copy of this reply has been sent to Rt Hon Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
Overall effectiveness: percentage of schools inspected Academic year Size of school (number of pupils on roll) Number of school inspections Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very poor January-July 2000 1-100 338 0 19 49 23 8 1 0 101-200 533 1 19 43 27 10 1 0 201-300 817 1 22 41 26 8 2 0 300+ 618 1 18 42 29 8 2 0 All 2,306 1 20 43 27 8 1 0 2000/01 1-100 425 1 18 47 29 3 1 0 101-200 816 1 19 44 29 7 1 0 201-300 1,190 1 23 41 27 6 1 0 300+ 963 2 21 39 30 6 1 0 All 3,394 1 21 42 29 6 1 0 2001/02 1-100 454 1 18 46 29 5 1 0 101-200 765 1 17 48 29 4 1 0 201-300 1,091 2 22 45 25 5 1 0 300+ 973 2 24 41 26 7 1 0 All 3,283 1 21 45 27 5 1 0 2002/03 1-100 423 1 17 49 26 6 1 0 101-200 752 1 20 47 27 4 1 0 201-300 970 2 23 41 28 5 1 0 300+ 873 2 21 42 29 5 1 0 All 3,018 2 21 44 28 5 1 0 2003/04 1-100 458 1 13 52 28 5 1 0 101-200 950 1 18 43 33 5 1 0 201-300 1,131 1 16 49 29 4 1 0 300+ 975 1 15 46 31 6 1 0 All 3,514 1 16 47 31 5 1 0 2004/05 1-100 332 1 16 47 30 5 1 0 101-200 535 1 17 48 30 4 0 0 201-300 578 1 20 51 24 4 0 0 300+ 552 1 18 50 27 3 1 0 All 1,997 1 18 49 27 4 1 0
Overall effectiveness: percentage of schools inspected Academic year Size of school (number of pupils on roll) Number of school inspections Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very poor January-July 2000 1-600 61 0 16 57 21 3 2 0 601-875 106 4 16 42 21 14 4 0 876-1,050 71 0 24 31 32 10 3 0 1,051-1,300 68 0 28 47 16 9 0 0 1,301+ 53 4 40 40 9 8 0 0 All 359 2 23 43 21 9 2 0 2000/01 1-600 124 0 7 57 30 5 1 0 601-875 167 1 23 43 24 8 2 0 876-1,050 117 3 23 36 31 6 1 0 1,051-1,300 121 3 36 35 20 6 0 0 1,301+ 107 4 33 46 11 6 1 0 All 636 2 24 43 23 6 1 0 2001/02 1-600 91 0 11 34 41 13 1 0 601-875 156 3 17 44 26 8 2 0 876-1,050 114 3 23 43 25 6 0 0 1,051-1,300 103 3 29 45 18 5 0 0 1,301+ 84 1 31 45 19 2 1 0 All 548 2 22 42 26 7 1 0 2002/03 1-600 98 0 14 55 22 5 3 0 601-875 125 1 20 45 28 5 2 0 876-1,050 98 5 19 44 21 8 1 1 1,051-1,300 109 5 29 38 25 3 0 1 1,301+ 108 6 32 44 17 0 1 0 All 538 3 23 45 23 4 1 2 2003/04 1-600 105 0 13 53 22 10 2 0 601-875 171 3 14 53 22 6 2 0 876-1,050 132 1 22 39 26 9 4 0 1,051-1,300 122 3 18 42 26 8 2 0 1,301+ 97 0 15 62 15 6 1 0 All 627 2 17 49 23 8 2 0 2004/05 1-600 70 0 7 53 30 9 1 0 601-875 102 2 16 47 27 8 0 0 876-1,050 95 2 21 40 31 5 1 0 1,051-1,300 107 4 30 43 17 4 3 0 1,301+ 111 5 34 40 16 2 4 0 All 485 3 23 44 24 5 2 0
Overall effectiveness: percentage of schools inspected Academic year Size of school (number of pupils on roll) Number of school inspections Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate 2005/06 1-100 629 6 55 35 4 101-200 1,207 8 51 35 6 201-300 1,419 11 49 33 8 300+ 1,211 10 45 36 9 All 4,466 9 49 34 7 2006/07 1-100 909 10 53 34 2 101-200 1,707 10 51 34 5 201-300 1,999 14 47 33 6 300+ 1,714 15 44 36 6 All 6,329 12 48 34 5 2007/08 1-100 845 10 59 29 2 101-200 1,650 12 52 32 4 201-300 1,913 15 49 33 4 300+ 1,667 14 44 36 6 All 6,075 13 50 33 4
Overall effectiveness: percentage of schools inspected Academic year Size of school (number of pupils on roll) Number of school inspections Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate 2005/06 1-600 157 3 39 45 13 601-875 260 10 35 40 15 876-1,050 178 8 34 46 12 1,051-1,300 225 12 42 35 12 1,301+ 203 16 45 28 11 All 1,023 10 39 38 13 2006/07 1-600 212 9 33 45 13 601-875 314 11 31 48 11 876-1,050 266 15 38 38 9 1,051-1,300 253 14 42 36 9 1,301+ 249 18 46 31 5 All 1,294 13 38 40 9 2007/08 1-600 180 8 39 42 10 601-875 308 17 39 36 8 876-1,050 240 16 40 35 9 1,051-1,300 225 16 43 31 10 1,301+ 211 24 41 27 8 All 1,164 17 40 34 9
Science: Education
(2) pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2009, Official Report, columns 2544-46W, on languages: general certificate of secondary education, how many and what proportion of pupils who gained a GCSE in (a) physics, (b) chemistry and (c) biology at each grade were educated in the (i) maintained and (ii) independent sector in the most recent year for which figures are available.
The information requested has been placed in the House Libraries for the years 2005-08. Figures prior to 2005 can be produced only at disproportionate cost.
Secondary Education: Milton Keynes
(2) for what reasons the Learning and Skills Council replaced the final funding allocation sent to schools in Milton Keynes on 3 March 2009 with a final funding statement on 31 March 2009; what assessment he has made of the effect of this on schools’ budgetary planning; and if he will make a statement.
I refer the hon. Member to the press statement of 3 April 2009, which is available at:
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2009_0068
Sixth Form Education
I am currently considering comments received from key 16-19 stakeholders in the consultation on the proposed changes to the Decision Maker’s Guidance. The full revised guidance will be published on the Department’s website as soon as possible. On 26 March we made one change to the guidance to alter the presumption eligibility period from 12 to 24 months.
Sixth Form Education: Admissions
The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Annual Statement of Priorities published in 2008 estimated total participation in 2009/10 to be 1,484,000 of which 399,000 are in school sixth forms including Academies. Projected information for each of the next five years will be part of the next spending review and is not yet available.
Sixth Form Education: Finance
(2) what the reasons are for the reductions in 2009-10 sixth form funding allocations made by the Learning and Skills Council; and if he will make a statement.
We are not cutting funding for further education (FE) colleges or sixth forms in 2009/10.
We are planning record investment of over £6.7 billion in education for 16 to 18-year-olds from September this year. That means there is funding for over 1.5 million young people to study, the most 16 to 18-year-olds that have ever been in education in this country.
As part of the Department’s wider discussions in the National Economic Council on what more we can do to support the economy, we are working across Government on the extra financial support we need to provide for the new learners that are coming forward.
The Learning and Skills Council’s (LSC) letter 31 of March confirmed that we continue to consider options for further funding, including meeting emerging pressures from the impact of the recession and recruitment during the year. The LSC will be writing again to schools and colleges by the end of April.
Social Services: Children
Information is collected at local authority level only.
Special Educational Needs
The available information for planned net expenditure on the provision of education for pupils with special educational needs in England for 2008-09 is contained within the following table:
£ Individual Schools Budget (ISB) for special schools 1,505,416,000 Funding delegated to nursery, primary and secondary schools identified as "notional SEN" 2,043,281,000 SEN funding delegated to schools 3,548,697,000 Provision for pupils with SEN (including assigned resources) 261,032,000 Provision for pupils with SEN; provision not included in line 1.2.1 215,724,000 Support for inclusion 80,239,000 Fees for pupils at independent special schools and abroad 582,156,000 Inter-authority recoupment 45,991,000 Centrally retained SEN element of the school budget 1,185,141,000 Educational Psychology Service 146,243,000 SEN administration assessment and co-ordination 86,016,000 Therapies and other Health Related Services 13,171,000 Parent partnership guidance and information 20,115,000 Monitoring of SEN provision 17,895,000 LA functions in relation to child protection 81,789,000 SEN element of the LA budget 365,229,000 Total planned expenditure on the provision of education for children with special educational needs' 5,099,068,000 Planned expenditure on SEN transport 552,559,000
The requested information for the 12 year time period could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, a table providing information for the years 1997, 2002 and 2008 has been placed in the House Libraries. Information is provided for maintained primary, state-funded secondary and independent schools. Information on types of independent schools is not collected.
In 2008, 38 (0.29 per cent.) of pupils with statements of SEN were in maintained mainstream schools with fewer than 10 per cent. of pupils achieving five or more grades A*-C including English and maths.
578 (4.38 per cent.) of pupils with statements of SEN were in maintained mainstream schools with fewer than 20 per cent. of pupils achieving five or more grades A*-C including English and maths.
2383 (18.06 per cent.) of pupils with statements of SEN were in maintained mainstream schools with fewer than 30 per cent. of pupils achieving five or more grades A*-C including English and maths.
Only maintained mainstream schools with 10 or more pupils were considered in the answer.
The Department does not hold historical data relating to the special educational needs priority one indicator for special schools. The indicator relates only to a school’s current SEN designation. Tables, taken from my Department’s records, based on information provided by local authorities, indicating the number of maintained and non-maintained special schools in each local authority area for each of the years 1997, 2003 and 2008 have been placed in the House Libraries for viewing.
The earliest and latest available data are shown in the following table.
Data for further years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The data show the number of pupils attending independent schools in each local authority area that are either approved under s347 of the Education Act 1996, or that cater wholly or mainly for pupils with special educational needs. The Department does not hold data identifying which authority may have placed a pupil in an independent school, or whether pupils have been placed at their parents' own expense.
Headcount of pupils2 LA Number LA name 20053 20083 202 Camden 40 10 204 Hackney 50 70 205 Hammersmith and Fulham 130 90 207 Kensington and Chelsea 0 40 208 Lambeth 40 30 210 Southwark 40 40 212 Wandsworth 110 100 213 Westminster 130 150 301 Barking and Dagenham 0 10 302 Barnet 20 30 305 Bromley 30 30 306 Croydon 50 60 307 Ealing 100 100 308 Enfield 10 0 309 Haringey 30 70 312 Hillingdon 70 90 315 Merton 130 180 316 Newham 0 0 318 Richmond upon Thames 0 140 319 Sutton 4— 4— 330 Birmingham 50 130 331 Coventry 0 4— 334 Solihull 0 4— 335 Walsall 0 100 340 Knowsley 20 0 341 Liverpool 50 50 342 St Helens 60 60 343 Sefton 50 50 350 Bolton 0 4— 351 Bury 0 10 352 Manchester 60 40 353 Oldham 0 0 354 Rochdale 4— 10 356 Stockport 50 60 357 Tameside 0 10 370 Barnsley 10 130 371 Doncaster 70 70 372 Rotherham 130 0 373 Sheffield 20 30 380 Bradford 0 10 381 Calderdale 20 50 382 Kirklees 0 4— 383 Leeds 0 4— 384 Wakefield 10 30 392 North Tyneside 0 20 394 Sunderland 80 70 801 City of Bristol 80 80 803 South Gloucestershire 20 20 805 Hartlepool 0 4— 810 City of Kingston-Upon-Hull 50 30 811 East Riding of Yorkshire 4— 10 813 North Lincolnshire 0 10 815 North Yorkshire 10 20 820 Bedfordshire 4— 30 825 Buckinghamshire 90 120 830 Derbyshire 270 250 835 Dorset 230 240 840 Durham 0 10 841 Darlington 0 10 845 East Sussex 210 210 846 Brighton and Hove 10 10 850 Hampshire 420 510 852 Southampton 60 50 855 Leicestershire 80 140 857 Rutland 0 50 860 Staffordshire 180 180 861 Stoke 0 10 865 Wiltshire 160 160 867 Bracknell Forest 0 10 869 West Berkshire 60 60 870 Reading 10 0 872 Wokingham 30 10 873 Cambridgeshire 80 80 874 City of Peterborough 0 10 875 Cheshire 50 50 876 Halton 4— 20 877 Warrington 10 20 878 Devon 170 190 879 City of Plymouth 20 10 880 Torbay 10 10 881 Essex 130 190 882 Southend 0 4— 884 Herefordshire 100 90 885 Worcestershire 70 70 886 Kent 470 540 887 Medway 50 40 888 Lancashire 460 550 889 Blackburn and Darwen 60 10 890 Blackpool 4— 10 891 Nottinghamshire 10 10 892 City of Nottingham 30 10 893 Shropshire 140 210 894 Telford and Wrekin 30 50 908 Cornwall 0 10 909 Cumbria 360 300 916 Gloucestershire 50 50 919 Hertfordshire 50 60 925 Lincolnshire 50 60 926 Norfolk 190 210 928 Northamptonshire 70 90 929 Northumberland 0 4— 931 Oxfordshire 50 70 933 Somerset 470 420 935 Suffolk 90 130 936 Surrey 420 520 937 Warwickshire 30 50 938 West Sussex 220 210 1 Includes school types: Independent Schools Approved for SEN Pupils and Other Independent Special Schools. 2 Excludes dually registered pupils. 3 In a small number of cases there is a relatively large change between the two years. This is because of changes in the number of schools of this type between the years, and movement of schools between local authority areas. 4 Less than five pupils. Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census
(2) how many specials schools there were in each decile of lower layer super output areas as determined by the income deprivation affecting children indices in 2003.
The information requested is shown in the table:
IDACI decile 2003 2008 0-10% most deprived areas 121 117 10-20% 122 114 20-30% 113 102 30-40% 125 123 40-50% 110 99 50-60% 94 92 60-70% 115 105 70-80% 105 93 80-90% 129 109 90-100% least deprived areas 126 111 1 Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. 2 2007 Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index. Source: School Census
This information is not available.
No child with special educational needs (SEN) should be denied admission to a mainstream school because of staffing levels. They are protected against being treated worse then other children in the admissions process. For children with SEN statements, under section 324 (5) (b) of the Education Act 1996, local authority maintained schools, including maintained mainstream schools, are required to admit pupils whose statements name the school. The statements may set out extra staffing resources to meet the child's needs. The statutory School Admissions Code says that admission authorities and school governing bodies must ensure that their admission arrangements are fair and do not unfairly disadvantage particular social or racial groups including children with SEN. Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, children with SEN who also come within the definition of disability under that Act are protected against discrimination in the matter of admissions on the ground of disability and their parents can make claims to the First-tier Tribunal (SEN and Disability) or to local admissions panels if they feel their child has been discriminated against.
As at January 2008, there were 40,000 more teachers in schools than there were in 1997. The total school workforce staff (teacher and support staff) has grown by 42 per cent. since 1997, with the number of teaching assistants having increased by 12,700 between 2007 and 2008. Full-time teacher vacancies in local authority maintained schools were running at 0.7 per cent. in East Sussex, the same percentage as for England as a whole.
Special Educational Needs: Disadvantaged
Currently available sources of data on children in care do not provide sufficiently complete data to answer this question.
The OC2 data collection collects information on a range of outcomes for looked after children from local authorities. This information has been published in the Statistical First Release “Outcome Indicators for Children Looked After, Twelve months to 30 September 2007—England” (SFR 08/2008), which is available on the Department’s website via the following link at:
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000785/index.shtml
The information is provided in the following table:
2003 2008 Pupils with a statement of SEN Number of pupils living in the most deprived percentile 4,168 3,598 Percentage of pupils with a statement of SEN living in the most deprived percentile3 1.7 1.7 Pupils with SEN but without a statement Number of pupils living in the most deprived percentile 24,184 28,556 Percentage of pupils with SEN but without a statement living in the most deprived percentile3 2.2 2.2 1 Includes solely registered pupils only. 2 Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index 2007 at Super Output Area level. 3 Proportion calculated using the number of pupils with valid postcodes who could be matched to super output areas. Source: School Census
A table listing the 117 special schools in the most deprived decile of lower layer super output area by Income Deprivation Affecting Children Indices has been placed in the House Libraries.
The information requested is shown in the following tables:
2003 2008 IDACI decile5 By pupil residency By school location By pupil residency By school location 0-10% most deprived areas 3.9 3.2 3.4 2.9 10-20% 4.0 3.7 3.4 3.2 20-30% 3.8 3.2 3.4 2.9 30-40% 3.5 3.5 3.1 3.4 40-50% 3.1 3.0 2.9 2.8 50-60% 2.8 2.9 2.6 2.7 60-70% 2.6 3.0 2.5 2.7 70-80% 2.4 2.8 2.3 2.5 80-90% 2.3 2.9 2.2 2.7 90-100% least deprived areas 2.0 3.0 2.1 2.7 Total 3.1 3.1 2.8 2.8 1 Includes solely registered pupils only. 2 Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. 3 Includes CTCs and academies. 4 Excludes pupils whose SEN status is unknown (<0.01 per cent.). 5 2007 Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index. Source: School Census
2003 2008 IDACI decile5 By pupil residency By school location By pupil residency By school location 0-10% most deprived areas 21.8 20.5 26.0 24.3 10-20% 19.6 19.1 23.8 22.9 20-30% 17.7 16.7 21.6 20.7 30-40% 15.9 15.8 19.4 19.1 40-50% 13.9 13.9 17.3 17.4 50-60% 12.3 13.1 15.3 16.4 60-70% 11.3 12.5 13.9 15.5 70-80% 10.1 11.7 12.6 14.7 80-90% 9.2 10.9 11.6 13.8 90-100% least deprived areas 7.8 10.5 9.9 12.8 Total 14.5 14.5 17.7 17.7 1 Includes solely registered pupils only. 2 Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. 3 Includes CTCs and academies. 4 Excludes pupils whose SEN status is unknown (<0.01 per cent.). 5 2007 Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index. Source: School Census
Special Educational Needs: East Sussex
The available information is shown in the following table. Information by parliamentary constituency is only available from 1997.
East Sussex local authority Eastbourne parliamentary constituency 19901 20 n/a 19911 20 n/a 19921 19 n/a 19931 19 n/a 19941 19 n/a 19951 19 n/a 19961 19 n/a 19971 18 3 19982 11 3 19992 11 3 20002 11 3 20012 11 3 20022 11 3 20032 11 3 20042 11 3 20052 11 3 20062 11 3 20072 11 3 20082 10 3 n/a = Not available. 1 Before local government reorganisation. 2 After local government reorganisation. Source: School Census.
Special Educational Needs: General Certificate of Secondary Education
[holding answer 20 March 2009]: In 43 maintained mainstream schools, no pupils with statements of SEN attained five or more GCSEs at grades A* -C or the equivalent in 2008.
Only schools with 10 or more pupils with SEN with statements were considered in the answer.
Special Educational Needs: Pupil Exclusions
A table showing the number of fixed period exclusions (not the number of pupils) for pupils with special educational needs for 2006/07 and has been placed in the House Libraries. Pupils can be excluded more than once and these can be for different reasons.
Special Educational Needs: Tribunals
No estimate has been made.
Specialised Diplomas
Data gathered from local authorities in September 2008 told us that 12,072 young people had started a diploma course. This figure comprises 8,568 pre-16 and 3,504 post-16 learners. We collected this information for funding purposes, and we have not collected revised figures subsequently.
Because the diploma is a composite qualification consisting of several different elements, centres will not enter their learners for just a single examination. We will know exactly how many diploma awards have been made in the first year when the results are made available on 27 August 2009. However, most diplomas are taken as two-year courses, and we therefore expect the majority of awards from the first phase of teaching to be made in summer 2010. We do not normally expect to know how many learners have been entered for a particular examination before results are collected from awarding organisations.
Young people began diploma programmes for the first time in September 2008. At this early stage, in one or two year programmes, detailed data on the number of days they have completed in work based training is not available.
However, each diploma learner must complete a minimum of 10 days work experience during their programme. In addition, as part of their diploma programme, they will have opportunities to undertake work related learning in a range of settings beyond the classroom, to equip them with the knowledge and skills for employment and further study.
Specialised Diplomas: Publicity
(2) how much his Department has spent on advertising for the 14-19 diploma; on what date each advertising campaign was commissioned; how much each cost; and what type of advertising was used.
[holding answer 27 March 2009]: The aim of the ongoing diploma information campaign is to increase awareness and understanding of the diploma to enable young people and their parents to make informed choices about whether the qualification is the right option for them.
The information campaign has included posters placed on buses, bus shelters, telephone kiosks and roadside sites to raise awareness of the new qualification.
The campaign has also involved: radio and press advertising; events; and information materials, including leaflets and DVDs which are available on the internet and for schools to order.
The diploma information campaign was commissioned in August 2007 and, to date, the Department has spent £6,712,189.38 on advertising.
There were two main phases of advertising activity in 2007/2008 between 29 October and 25 November and 21 January and 17 February.
There were three main phases of advertising activity in 2008/2009 between 22 September and 19 October, 5 January and 1 February and 9 March and 5 April. The type of advertising is broken down in the following table.
Media Spend (£) 2007/2008 Radio 967,842.04 “Out of home”—posters etc 297,586.03 Press 162,839.00 Online 204,352.00 Associated production 124,256.68 Total 1,756,875.75 2008/2009 Radio 1,667,874.98 “Out of home”—posters etc 1,567,848.32 Press 1,172,029.00 Online 421,732.00 Associated production 125,829.33 Total 4,955,313.63
Sure Start Programme
Between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2009 Sure Start Children's Centres opened in the following local authorities:
Barking and Dagenham
Barnet
Bexley
Birmingham
Brent
Bristol
Bromley
Camden
Cornwall
Coventry
Derbyshire
Devon
Dorset
East Riding of Yorkshire
Enfield
Hammersmith
Hampshire
Harrow
Herefordshire
Kent
Kingston upon Hull
Kirklees
Knowsley
Lambeth
Lancashire
Leeds
Leicestershire
Merton
Milton Keynes
Norfolk
North East Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire
Northumberland
Nottinghamshire
Oxfordshire
Peterborough
Plymouth
Portsmouth
Redcar and Cleveland
Rotherham
Sandwell
Shropshire
Southwark
Staffordshire
Stockton on Tees
Suffolk
Surrey
Sutton
Thurrock
Walsall
Waltham Forest
Wandsworth
Warwickshire
West Berkshire
Wigan
Wiltshire
Windsor and Maidenhead
Worcestershire
The information is not collected centrally.
Teachers: Gender
(2) how many and what proportion of (a) secondary and (b) primary school teachers were (i) male and (ii) female in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.
The available information on full-time regular qualified teachers in local authority maintained schools by phase, grade and sex is published in Table D2 of the Statistical First Release “School Workforce in England (including Local Authority level figures), January 2008 (Revised)” which can be found at:
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000813/index.shtml
The annual survey of teachers in service and teacher vacancies, 618G, is the Department’s preferred source of teacher numbers in service, but this is not broken down by gender. Table D2 uses information from the Database of Teacher Records which is not as complete as 618G. Hence, the proportions quoted within it are reliable but the underlying numbers are not included.
Underlying teacher numbers, broken down by gender, are available from the School Census and cover all teachers employed in local authority maintained nursery/primary and secondary schools. These figures cannot be broken down by grade however and therefore relate to all teachers including heads.
Coverage: England Nursery/Primary Secondary2 Male Percentage Female Percentage Male Percentage Female Percentage 1997 29,730 16 155,790 84 86,010 47 98,320 53 1998 29,000 16 155,470 84 84,780 46 99,690 54 1999 28,840 16 156,960 84 84,910 46 101,400 54 2000 28,740 15 158,260 85 85,060 45 103,320 55 2001 28,670 15 161,020 85 86,280 45 107,060 55 2002 29,230 15 163,870 85 88,910 44 111,540 56 2003 28,570 15 162,520 85 89,250 44 114,680 56 2004 28,030 15 160,710 85 88,980 43 116,840 57 2005 27,510 15 160,600 85 89,260 43 119,780 57 2006 27,730 15 162,750 85 88,930 42 121,680 58 2007 27,490 14 162,810 86 87,650 42 122,570 58 2008 27,690 14 163,450 86 86,330 41 124,540 59 1 Includes qualified and unqualified teachers. 2 Excludes Academies. Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census
Teachers: Information and Communications Technology
The Training and Development Agency for Schools has made no recommendations to the Department on the ICT skills test for teachers.
Teachers: Males
The following table provides the name and local authority area of maintained secondary schools recorded in the school census of January 2008 as having no male full-time qualified teacher. Middle schools deemed secondary are included.
Local authority area Bolton Muslim Girls School Bolton Feversham College Bradford Seahouses Middle School Northumberland West Sleekburn Middle School Northumberland Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls School Hackney 1 Teacher with qualified teacher status. Source: School Census.
The information requested is shown as follows:
(a) In 2008, 85,883 primary school pupils1,2 who lived in the most deprived decile of lower layer super output areas as determined by the income deprivation affecting children indices (IDACI) attended schools with no male teachers. This represents 14.7 per cent. of all primary school pupils who lived in the most deprived IDACI decile. This compares with 20.5 per cent. of primary pupils resident in all IDACI deciles, who attend schools with no male teachers.
(b) In 2008, 69,990 primary school pupils1,2 who attended school in the most deprived decile of lower layer super output areas as determined by the income deprivation affecting children indices (IDACI) attended schools with no male teachers. This represents 14.6 per cent. of all primary school pupils who attended school in the most deprived IDACI decile. This compares with 20.6 per cent. of primary pupils who attend school in all IDACI deciles, who attend schools with no male teachers.
1 Includes solely registered and main registration of dually registered pupils.
2 Includes pupils of all ages attending maintained primary schools.
Source:
School Census 2008.
Teachers: Pay
The information is not available in the format requested.
Information on the pay progression of teachers is available in the 2007 and 2009 Office of Manpower Economics (OME) survey of teachers’ pay which are available at the following web link:
http://www.ome.uk.com/review.cfm?body=7
Teachers: Qualifications
The following table shows the proportion of full-time equivalent number of teachers without qualified teacher status (QTS) employed in local authority maintained schools by each local authority in England in January 2008, the latest information available.
Teachers without QTS include instructors, overseas trained teachers and teachers on employment based routes to qualified teacher status (Graduate Teacher Programme, the Registered Teachers Programme, the Overseas Trained Teachers Programme and the Teach First Scheme).
Percentage of unqualified teachers England 3.9 Gateshead 0.7 Newcastle upon Tyne 2.5 North Tyneside 1.3 South Tyneside 1.1 Sunderland 3.1 Hartlepool 4.5 Middlesbrough 2.4 Redcar and Cleveland 4.0 Stockton on Tees 2.7 Darlington 3.8 Durham 2.1 Northumberland 1.4 North East 2.3 Cumbria 1.0 Cheshire 1.5 Halton 1.7 Warrington 1.6 Bolton 2.7 Bury 1.4 Manchester 3.7 Oldham 2.9 Rochdale 2.0 Salford 3.6 Stockport 0.7 Tameside 1.8 Trafford 1.3 Wigan 1.2 Lancashire 1.3 Blackburn with Darwen 0.8 Blackpool 2.5 Knowsley 1.6 Liverpool 1.3 St. Helens 0.9 Sefton 1.7 Wirral 1.1 North West 1.7 Kingston-Upon-Hull, City of 7.9 East Riding of Yorkshire 2.8 North East Lincolnshire 5.1 North Lincolnshire 3.3 North Yorkshire 3.4 York 1.8 Barnsley 1.9 Doncaster 2.8 Rotherham 2.6 Sheffield 3.2 Bradford 1.2 Calderdale 1.5 Kirklees 1.3 Leeds 2.1 Wakefield 2.2 Yorkshire and the Humber 2.7 Derbyshire 1.2 Derby 3.2 Leicestershire 3.5 Leicester 4.9 Rutland n/a Lincolnshire 6.2 Northamptonshire 4.0 Nottinghamshire 2.4 Nottingham 3.7 East Midlands 3.5 Herefordshire 1.7 Worcestershire 1.8 Shropshire 2.0 Telford and Wrekin 2.0 Staffordshire 2.8 Stoke-on-Trent 3.6 Warwickshire 3.4 Birmingham 3.9 Coventry 3.5 Dudley 3.4 Sandwell 0.9 Solihull 3.7 Walsall 3.9 Wolverhampton 3.9 West Midlands 3.1 Cambridgeshire 3.7 Peterborough 5.4 Norfolk 5.4 Suffolk 2.0 Bedfordshire 6.3 Luton 9.0 Essex 3.7 Southend-on-Sea 12.0 Thurrock 8.6 Hertfordshire 6.6 East of England 5.2 City of London n/a Camden 7.8 Greenwich 7.4 Hackney 8.0 Hammersmith and Fulham 8.6 Islington 8.2 Kensington and Chelsea 14.8 Lambeth 6.7 Lewisham 4.5 Southwark 11.5 Tower Hamlets 9.4 Wandsworth 8.4 Westminster 10.6 Barking and Dagenham 9.3 Barnet 7.8 Bexley 4.6 Brent 9.2 Bromley 5.7 Croydon 7.1 Ealing 8.3 Enfield 5.5 Haringey 6.9 Harrow 8.5 Havering 6.7 Hillingdon 7.6 Hounslow 6.9 Kingston upon Thames 3.2 Merton 6.1 Newham 5.3 Redbridge 7.5 Richmond upon Thames 3.3 Sutton 4.6 Waltham Forest 8.2 London 7.3 Bracknell Forest 5.3 Windsor and Maidenhead 6.1 West Berkshire 3.8 Reading 5.7 Slough 9.5 Wokingham 2.5 Buckinghamshire 4.8 Milton Keynes 3.7 East Sussex 3.2 Brighton and Hove 2.3 Hampshire 4.0 Portsmouth 4.2 Southampton 3.8 Isle of Wight 6.1 Kent 8.3 Medway 4.9 Oxfordshire 3.7 Surrey 3.7 West Sussex 1.9 South East 4.7 Isles of Scilly n/a Bath and North East Somerset 0.7 City of Bristol 2.1 North Somerset 0.2 South Gloucestershire 0.9 Cornwall 4.5 Devon 1.5 Plymouth 2.2 Torbay 2.5 Dorset 2.9 Poole 1.7 Bournemouth 3.9 Gloucestershire 1.7 Somerset 1.9 Wiltshire 1.7 Swindon 2.8 South West 2.1 n/a = not available 1 Includes instructors, overseas trained teachers and teachers on employment based routes to qualified teacher status (Graduate Teacher Programme, the Registered Teachers Programme, the Overseas Trained Teachers Programme and the Teach First Scheme). 2 Local authorities with less than 10 unqualified teachers are shown as not available. Source: Annual Survey Of Teachers In Service And Teacher Vacancies, 618g
Teachers: Retirement
The information requested is shown in table H1 of the Statistical First Release titled School Workforce in England (including Local Authority level figures), January 2008 (Revised) which can be found at:
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000813/index.shtml
Teachers: Training
The following table shows the number of students on undergraduate and postgraduate initial teacher training programmes gaining qualified teacher status (QTS) in academic years 1998/99 to 2006/07, the latest year for which data are available. Data for years prior to 1998/99 are not available in the format requested.
Undergraduate Postgraduate Total 1998/99 8,910 15,160 24,070 1999/2000 6,850 14,850 21,690 2000/01 6,490 16,150 22,640 2001/02 6,340 16,940 23,280 2002/03 6,250 19,180 25,430 2003/04 5,880 21,460 27,340 2004/05 5,360 21,780 27,150 2005/06 5,410 21,600 27,010 2006/07 5,900 21,080 26,980 Notes: 1. Includes trainees from universities and other higher education institutions, school centred initial teacher training and Open universities but exclude employment-based routes (EBR). 2. Excludes cases where QTS was granted on assessment without a course of initial teacher training. 3. Includes those trained through the Fast Track programme, which started in 2001/02. 4. Numbers are individually rounded to the nearest 10 and therefore may not sum. Source: TDA Performance Profiles.
The available information is given in the tables and shows the number of postgraduate applications and acceptances to Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses in England for (a) mathematics, (b) English, (c) modern foreign languages, (d) physics, (e) chemistry, (f) history, (g) ICT and (h) primary teaching for each year since 2001/02 for which complete data are available.
2001/02 2002/03 Subject of ITT Number of applications Number of acceptances Proportion of applications which are accepted Number of applications Number of acceptances Proportion of applications which are accepted Mathematics 1,920 1,100 57 2,250 1,320 59 English 3,210 1,740 54 3,660 2,000 54 Modern Foreign Languages 2,560 1,440 56 2,510 1,490 60 Physics 340 210 60 430 250 59 Chemistry 730 410 56 760 440 58 History 1,930 1,020 53 1,890 1.090 57 ICT 860 450 52 1,390 620 45 Primary (excluding middle) 14,200 6,610 47 16,690 7,770 47
Subject of ITT Number of applications Number of acceptances Proportion of applications which are accepted Number of applications Number of acceptances Proportion of applications which are accepted Mathematics 2,610 1,660 64 2,920 1,710 59 English 3,770 2,020 54 3,830 1,930 50 Modern Foreign Languages 2,480 1,580 64 2,300 1,420 62 Physics 480 320 66 510 310 60 Chemistry 710 460 64 750 450 60 History 1.920 1,120 58 1,910 1,010 53 ICT 1,720 800 47 1,640 850 52 Primary (excluding middle) 19,450 8,850 45 20,180 9,320 46
Subject of ITT Number of applications Number of acceptances Proportion of applications which are accepted Number of applications Number of acceptances Proportion of applications which are accepted Mathematics 3,250 1,780 55 2,840 1,740 61 English 4.040 1,850 46 4,140 1,780 43 Modern Foreign Languages 2,220 1,330 60 2,060 1,310 64 Physics 520 300 58 490 300 61 Chemistry 770 430 57 730 460 63 History 1,960 910 46 1,760 740 42 ICT 1,620 870 54 1,440 840 58 Primary (excluding middle) 19,960 9,110 46 20,000 8,540 43
Subject of ITT Number of applications Number of acceptances Proportion of applications which are accepted Number of applications Number of acceptances Proportion of applications which are accepted Mathematics 2,590 1,680 65 2,400 1,460 61 English 3,810 1,730 45 3,240 1,450 45 Modern Foreign Languages 1,810 1,260 70 1,740 1,150 66 Physics 450 310 69 400 270 69 Chemistry 690 470 68 630 430 68 History 1,710 690 41 1,460 600 41 ICT 1,120 760 68 1,010 660 66 Primary (excluding middle) 19,070 8,330 44 17,980 7,990 44 1 Provisional end of year. Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Some applications for Postgraduate ITT courses are made independently of the Graduate Teacher Training Registry and are not included in the figures. 3. Figures above include trainees to secondary courses and do not include trainees to middle year's courses. 4. Data are as at the end of the application process so are subject to change. 5. Membership to the GTTR changes between years, therefore the higher education institutes covered may vary. 6. Modern languages include French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian and other modern languages. Source: Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR).
The figures are published on the GTTR website at:
http://www.gttr.ac.uk/stats.html
Finalised data relating to the number of applications and the proportion which have been accepted on courses in 2009 are not available until February 2010.
The same information is not available for ITT courses via undergraduate or employment based routes.
Figures for the number of people applying to join the Teach First programme, and those going on to become qualified teachers are as follows:
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Cohort 1 2 3 4 5 6 Number of applications in recruitment year 1,294 990 989 1,390 1,600 1,760 Number of acceptances/graduates beginning summer institute 186 197 183 265 272 373 Number of participants completing first year/achieving QTS 165 177 159 243 253 1364 Percentage of participants completing first year/achieving QTS 89 90 87 92 93 197 1 Provisional. Source: Teach First.
Teenage Pregnancy
I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the (a) pregnancy and (b) abortion rate for under-16 year old girls was in (i) 1999 and (ii) at the latest available date. (268563)
Available figures are estimates of the number of conceptions that resulted in a live birth and/or stillbirth (a maternity) or a legal termination.
The conception rate and conceptions leading to abortion rate for girls aged under 16 in England and Wales for 1999 and 2007 (the most recent year for which figures are available), are shown in the attached table. Figures for 2007 are provisional.
Rate Year All conceptions Conceptions leading to abortion 1999 8.3 4.4 2007 8.3 5.1 Notes: 1. Rate per 1,000 girls aged 13-15 2. Figures for 2007 are provisional
Vetting
No member of the current ministerial team in the Department for Children, Schools and Families were subject to a Criminal Records Bureau check upon appointment.
Vocational Education
There are currently 646 vocationally-related qualifications, 123 national vocational qualifications, and one occupational qualification approved for use by learners under the age of 16 in institutions in the maintained sector in England. These qualifications can be delivered by both schools and further education colleges. A full list of approved qualifications and the age ranges for which they are approved can be accessed on the Department’s website at:
www.dcsf.gov.uk/section96
Written Questions
It is estimated that the cost of preparing the reply to PQ 22930 was £2,700.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of those students who gained (a) a GCSE, (b) an A level and (c) an AS level in (i) biology or human biology, (ii) chemistry and (iii) physics in each year since 1997 were educated in (A) the state sector and (B) the independent sector, broken down by grade; and if she will make a statement. [22930]
The estimated breakdown for this PQ is:
Hours required Cost to Department Planning 4.5 112.5 Implementing production rules 0.5 12.5 Writing syntax 4 100 Producing figures (9 years – GCSE, AS Level and A Level) 93.96 2,349 Producing figures (one year - GCSE, AS Level and A Level) 10.44 261 Producing figures (one year) 3.48 87 Run the required filters (maintained/independent sector) 0.32 8 Create variables in exam file 0.32 8 Aggregate up to pupil level 0.2 5 Merge into pupil file 0.32 8 Create tables 0.32 8 Analysis of output 2 50 Additional work 2.75 68.75 Formatting, footnotes, etc. 1.5 37.5 Personal QAing 1 25 Drafting PQ reply 0.25 6.25 QAing 3.5 87.5 Comments, redrafting, etc. 3 75 Signing off at SCS level 1 25 Total 108.71 2,717.75
Young People: Apprentices
The Young Apprenticeship programme for 14 to 16 year olds is a successful pilot available in selected areas since 2004. A total of 17,012 young people are currently on a Young Apprenticeship programme—8,090 as part of cohort 4, the current year 11 group who will be achieving this year, and 8,922 on cohort 5, the year 10 group which started last September.
The Young Apprenticeship programme (YA) for 14 to 16-year-olds is a successful pilot available in selected areas since 2004. From September 2006 all YAs have undertaken a minimum of 50 days work experience, regardless of sector. The Sector Skills Council (SSCs) oversees the quality and certification of this process.
There are a number of approved delivery models with many young people undertaking placements on a one day per week basis. However, on average 44 per cent. of YAs also use periods of block placement to gain work experience with employers or a mixture of both.
An evaluation of the programme carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) which covers the period September 2004 to July 2006 indicated that on average YA learners undertook between 10 and 53 days of work experience. These data cover a period before a 50 day minimum requirement was introduced.
Monitoring of the fulfilment of placements is the responsibility of the lead partner within the YA partnerships which may be a school, work base learning provider or the delivery partner.
Wales
Environment Protection
I have regular discussions with the First Minister about the progress of legislative competence orders. I hope to present the Environmental Protection and Waste Management Legislative Competence Order for pre-legislative scrutiny in the next few weeks.
Northern Ireland
Abortion
This is a devolved matter; I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 March 2009, Official Report, column 851W.
Departmental Buildings
The following table gives details of the number of properties sold by the Northern Ireland Office and its agencies in each of the last five years:
Financial year Northern Ireland Office Agencies 2007-08 9 0 2006-07 7 0 2005-06 22 0 2004-05 14 0 2003-04 1 0 Total 53 0
The Department holds no records that show that any of these properties have been sold for housing developments.
The Northern Ireland Office’s executive non-departmental bodies operate independently of Government. I would encourage the hon. Member to write to the respective chief executives when requesting details of operational matters. Details of the Northern Ireland Office’s non-departmental public bodies can be found in the Northern Ireland Office 2008 Departmental Report:
http://www.nio.gov.uk/northern_ireland_office_departmental_report_2008.pdf
Departmental Carbon Emissions
My Department’s offices are principally located in Northern Ireland where the Northern Ireland Executive has responsibility for taking forward the Sustainable Development agenda. We work in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Executive and Departments in taking forward this agenda, which does not at this stage include the adoption of the Carbon Trust’s Carbon Management Programme.
Departmental Computers
The following table provides details of the laptop computers provided to Ministers, special advisers and civil servants in the Northern Ireland Office since 2005.
Number £ Number £ Number £ 2005-06 1 1,986 0 — 27 21,486 2006-07 0 — 2 3,469 25 18,534 2007-08 0 — 0 — 35 24,951 2008-09 0 — 0 — 21 13,016
Departmental Lost Property
The Northern Ireland Office (excluding its Agencies and Executive NDPBs) has incurred no costs in replacing lost or stolen property in the last 12 months.
Departmental Mobile Phones
The Northern Ireland Office groups expenditure for BlackBerrys and mobile phones together.
Expenditure for the purchase of these items is posted against telecommunications expense headings which contain spend for other goods and services. Therefore extracting the purchase costs required could be done only at disproportionate cost.
Total departmental spend, excluding Agencies and Executive NDPBs, on BlackBerry and mobile phone charges from 2005-06 to 2007-08, is shown in the following table:
Financial year Expenditure (£000) 2005-06 136 2006-07 124 2007-08 78
The decrease in spend in 2007-08 reflects a new contract which has reduced line rental costs.
Records for the number of mobile telephones and BlackBerrys are maintained on a rolling basis and therefore it is only possible to give an accurate picture of the total number currently in use.
As of 1 April 2009, 28 BlackBerrys are being provided by the Department; One to Ministers, two to special advisers and 25 to civil servants. On the same date, 341 mobile phones are being provided, two to Ministers and 339 to civil servants.
Departmental Rail Travel
All travel is undertaken in accordance with Departmental rules and guidance. Staff travelling standard class may not upgrade to first class.
Offensive Weapons
These data are collated by the Police Service of Northern Ireland. I have asked the chief constable to reply directly to the hon. Gentleman, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Prisons: Construction
The Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) is procuring programme management, design and business case services to take forward the redevelopment of Magilligan Prison.
Programme management services have been selected and will be in place by June. It is intended that the organisations responsible for design and business case services will be appointed and in place by July and August respectively.
In addition, NIPS has established a project office to take forward a range of issues with the relevant bodies.
In 2009-10 NIPS anticipates starting the design phase and preparing an initial draft of the outline business case.
Prisons: Food
All food and other supplies for the Northern Ireland Prison Service are tendered under European competition and awarded in line with the European procurement directives and public contract regulations 2006 and amendments.
The Northern Ireland Prison Service actively encourages local small and medium size enterprises to participate in procurement competitions in line with Northern Ireland public procurement policy.
Written Questions: Government Responses
The Department changed its policy on answering police operational questions in September 2008. Prior to this date information requested was obtained from the Chief Constable and then included in a substantive answer. The Department now refers such questions to the Chief Constable for him to respond directly to the Member. A copy of the letter is then placed in the Library.
In January and February of 2008 no questions were referred to the Chief Constable. The Department did, however, obtain information from the PSNI on 26 occasions over this period.
In January and February of 2009, 27 questions were referred directly to the Chief Constable.
Energy and Climate Change
Advisory Committee on Carbon Abatement Technologies
The lead responsibility for the advisory committee on Carbon Abatement Technologies (ACCAT) transferred from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to the Department of Energy and Climate Change following its creation in October 2008.
Carbon Emissions
Energy supply companies are required to meet carbon reduction targets by promoting the installation of energy efficiency measures under CERT. Insulation measures make up a significant percentage (62 per cent.) of energy suppliers’ progress towards their targets to date (as end December 2008). We are currently consulting on expanding the CERT by 20 per cent. and on extending a CERT mechanism beyond March 2011 to 2012. We hope that these two proposals, in combination with work to improve the exchange of information between the insulation industry and energy suppliers, should help to generate greater continuity and confidence in the market and lead to appropriate investment.
The Government’s package of policies and measures to tackle energy efficiency is reviewed on a regular basis to take account of latest evidence and data. We first published our Energy Efficiency Action Plan in 2004 and this was revised in 2007. The Government also undertook evaluations of their energy efficiency strategy during development of the 2006 Climate Change programme and the 2007 Energy White Paper.
The Heat and Energy Saving Strategy, currently under consultation, has provided a fresh opportunity to revisit our energy efficiency strategy. In doing so, our aim is to ensure the policies we put in place are capable of delivering the increased challenges over the next decade, particularly in light of the new legally-binding target to cut UK greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent. by 2050.
Carbon Emissions: Buildings
Since January 2007, we have provided the following amounts:
Funding committed (£) 2006-07 119,289.60 2007-08 8,917,084.54 2008 to date 24,194,772.76 March to June 2009 (forecast) 14,768,853.10 Total 48 million
Carbon Emissions: Canada
Data contained in the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggest that the hypothetical full exploitation of energy in unconventional oil resources globally would release in excess of 2,670 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide. The Government have not made a separate estimate for the oil sands of Canada.
Coal Fired Power Stations
[holding answer 23 March 2009]: Yes, we have publicly announced we are doing so.
The response to the “Towards Carbon Capture and Storage” consultation which covered carbon capture readiness is due for publication shortly. The timetable for the planned new consultation on a new framework for coal fired power stations has not yet been set.
I am not able to comment on the timing of the announcement of decisions in respect of live planning applications and therefore am unable to be precise about when a decision will be made on the proposed Kingsnorth power station following the conclusion of that consultation.
The tonnage of coal used in electricity generation in the UK for 1997 to 2007 is given in the following table. Figures for 2008 will be published on 30 July 2009.
Coal used by UK electricity generation (thousand tonnes) 1997 47,333 1998 48,588 1999 41,178 2000 46,197 2001 50,931 2002 47,741 2003 52,464 2004 50,444 2005 52,058 2006 57,363 2007 52,571 Source: Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2008, table 2.7, available at: http://www.berr.gov.uk/energy/statistics/source/coal/page18529.html
Combined Heat and Power
In order to respond flexibly to the needs of Government, resources are frequently redeployed as needed on key projects. At present, on a full-time equivalent basis, three staff in DECC are dedicated solely to combined heat and power. A far larger number of officers address issues partially related to combined heat and power, such as economic analysis, statistical analysis and the role of combined heat and power in a number of schemes and strategies such as the proposed Renewable Energy Strategy and the Heat and Energy Saving Strategies.
Committee on Climate Change: Finance
The 2009-10 Budget for the CCC will be agreed shortly as part of the overall DECC business planning process, subject to the DECC main estimate laid before Parliament after Budget Day.
Defence Nuclear Safety Committee
(2) what the (a) final severance package and (b) pension arrangements were for the previous Chief Executive of the Defence Nuclear Safety Committee.
I have been asked to reply.
The Defence Nuclear Safety Committee is an advisory non-departmental public body and does not have a chief executive. The Committee is headed by a chairman who is neither salaried nor has a departure package nor pension arrangements. The chairman’s remuneration is a daily fee of £315 and he is engaged on average for 14 days a year.
Departmental Buildings
Departmental Computers
The Department uses laptop computers provided by both the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs. The detailed process of reallocating resources from these Departments has not yet been completed and the numbers of laptops allocated for the Department’s use cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate expense.
Departmental Detergents
Since its inception, the Department has made use of BERR’s and Defra’s facilities management systems. Given that, I refer the hon. Member to the answers given by my hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 2 April, Official Report, column reference 1294W and by my hon. Friend the Minister for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on 2 April 2009, Official Report, column reference 1440W.
Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings
Since the Department was established, three members of staff have been disciplined as a result of a poor sickness record (poor attendance), one of whom has been dismissed.
Departmental ICT
The Department currently uses IT systems provided by the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs. There has not been a detailed analysis by organisation and division of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.
The Department currently uses IT systems provided by the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, but in purchasing future systems, my Department has been specifying equipment with an EPEAT Gold rating to minimise the impact on carbon dioxide emissions.
The Department currently uses IT systems provided by the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs under IT services contracts with Fujitsu and IBM respectively. Server capacity and utilisation management are the responsibility of these companies and statistics are not held at a divisional level.
I am informed that in the Department, most personal computers are routinely turned off overnight, at weekends and during holiday periods. The exceptions are a small percentage of personal computers that are used for overnight processing or monitoring purposes. There is an automated checking process to identify and turn off any personal computers inadvertently left on and unused.
The Department currently uses IT systems provided by the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs. There has not been a detailed analysis by organisation and division of the allocation of printers; however most printers, including multi-function devices, enable two-sided printing. Printers are allocated on about a one printer to 30 staff ratio.
The Department currently uses IT systems provided by the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs. The computers provided under this arrangement are compliant with the Government's Buy Sustainable-Quick Win standard.
Departmental Lost Property
There have been none notified since DECC came into formal existence.
Departmental Manpower
The Administration budget for DECC in 2008-09 was £98 million.
Departmental Marketing
COI designed the departmental logo at a cost of £11,663.
Departmental Mobile Phones
The Department uses BlackBerrys and Mobile Phones provided by both the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs. The detailed process of reallocating resources from these Departments has not yet been completed and the numbers of devices allocated with an associated cost analysis for the Department’s use cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate expense.
The Department uses Blackberrys and Mobile Phones provided by both the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs. The detailed process of reallocating resources from these Departments has not yet been completed and the numbers of devices allocated to the Department’s use cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate expense.
Departmental Public Expenditure
The Department of Energy and Climate Change brought forward £50 million of capital expenditure on the Warm Front programme from 2010-11 into 2009-10 and received additional funding of £50 million for 2008-09 and £50 million for 2009-10, also on the Warm Front programme, as announced in the 2008 pre-Budget report.
The meeting in London on 18 and 19 December 2008 of International Energy and Oil Ministers cost the Department £516,200.28. This figure is broken down by the following categories of expenditure:
£ Event organisation and logistical arrangements 1255,870.75 Hire of conference venue and hotel accommodation for delegates 130,289.53 Production of analytical reports and research 130,040.00 1 This figure includes event management, security, A/V equipment, interpretation, design and set up of the conference venue, catering, transportation and equipment used during the event.
DECC’s capital budgets for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 are £1,709 million, £1,771 million and £1,767 million respectively. The Government have not set Departments’ capital DEL budgets for years beyond 2010-11. Capital DEL budgets for 2011-12 and beyond are a matter for the next spending review. The Government do, however, publish projections for PSNI (public sector net investment) over the forecast period at Budgets and pre-Budget reports.
Departmental Public Relations
Kreab Gavin Anderson (formerly Gavin Anderson and Company) is contracted to DECC to provide expert strategic advice on the renewable energy finance community.
Departmental Publications
The Department of Energy and Climate Change has an estimate in place as follows:
(1) Annual report
(a) Print and production: £6,000
(b) Design: £12,000
(2) Autumn Performance Report
(a) Print and production £4,000
(b) Design £8,000
Departmental Reorganisation
As at 1 March 2009 there were approximately 106 staff in the Department’s London office and of those transferring to DECC from BERR and DEFRA there were approximately 320 in the London offices of DEFRA and approximately 480 in the London offices of BERR.
Departmental Responsibilities
DECC has lead responsibility for the Civil Nuclear Police Authority, and BERR has lead responsibility for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.
Departmental Training
The Department of Energy and Climate Change has no specific policy on holding away days in non-departmental premises other than guidelines about ensuring value for money in all instances. Departmental premises are not always of sufficient size to accommodate the number of people attending such events.
Empty Property
DECC does not hold the information requested as the bodies covered by the question are managed by their own estates teams.
My officials have asked the chief executives of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the UK Atomic Energy Authority to write to the hon. Member, and copies of their letters will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Energy Supply
Ministers meet regularly with stakeholders as part of the commercial and policy development process, and these meetings are not public meetings.
Energy Supply: Competition
[holding answer 23 March 2009]: The supply of liquefied petroleum gas and heating oil is subject to UK competition law. Ensuring that those markets operate freely and fairly is a matter for the independent competition authorities.
Energy: EU Action
On 10 October my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State attended the Energy Council which agreed a common position on the Commission's third package of measures on the internal market. Since then the Presidency has been in negotiation with the European Parliament and the Commission to agree a final text.
The representatives of the different institutions reached agreement at the end of March and we expect the legislation to be formally adopted by the European Parliament and the Council this summer. Member states will then have eighteen months to comply with the new requirements.
The deal should improve the functioning of EU energy markets, encourage the investments needed for secure and sustainable energy supplies, protect consumers and promote energy efficiency.
Energy: Finance
DECC allocated budgets in 2008-09 for (a) nuclear energy, £3 million; (b) combined heat and power—separate figures are not available except at disproportionate cost; and (c) low carbon and renewable energy demonstration through the national Environmental Transformation Fund, £76.5 million.
Energy: Meters
The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) monitors, and publishes information about gas and electricity prepayment customers. However, prepayment data are published for England, Scotland and Wales or, by individual energy supplier, not on a parliamentary constituency basis. In September 2008, the last period for which data have been published, the number of customers in England using prepayment meters was two million for gas and 2.9 million for electricity.
Energy: Public Consultation
The Heat and Energy Saving Strategy (HES) Consultation was launched on 12 February 2009. As of 7 April the consultation website had received over 40 responses. Respondents are free to change or even delete their responses until the website closes so these responses are not yet officially completed.
To accompany the formal written HES consultation, and also consultations on the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP), a series of stakeholder events were held across Great Britain during March. These were part of the open and active consultation process to raise awareness of the proposals and encourage responses. Feedback from these events will contribute to the consultation responses.
I refer the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Mr. Mike O’Brien) on 25 March 2009, Official Report, columns 499-500W.
Energy: Syria
There have been no ministerial discussions on energy issues with Syrian counterparts since the Department was formed.
Enrichment Holdings
Three staff spend part of their time working on the shareholding in Enrichment Holdings Ltd. Taken together; the total time commitment on the shareholding for all three of them currently equates to no more than two days per week of one person’s time.
As part of the portfolio of the Shareholder Executive, the value of the Government’s holding in Enrichment Holdings Ltd. is assessed regularly and such valuations are commercially confidential.
Fossil Fuels: Government Assistance
The Government have supported coal producers through coal operating aid (2000-2002) and coal investment aid (2003-2008). Payments were made as follows:
£ 2000-01 87,339,268 2001-02 62,357,501 2002-03 12,474,226 2003-04 404,393 2004-05 21,789,907 2005-06 19,490,000 2006-07 9,662,879 2007-08 422,965 2008-09 1,449,440
Fuel Poverty
Since 2000 over £20 billion has been spent on fuel poverty benefits and programmes.
This includes: the Warm Front Scheme in England, which has assisted 1.8 million households; the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and the Decent Homes Programme, primarily addressing the energy efficiency of households; and Winter Fuel and Cold Weather Payments to increase household incomes. The Warm Front scheme alone, has in the 2008-09 year, assisted almost 235,000 households spending almost £340 million on measures.
The combination of national and local programmes and delivery through local government, partnerships and area based schemes can help target areas of particular need. We are currently consulting on the Community Energy Savings Programme (CESP), where we propose to support energy efficiency measures at a local, community level, by fostering new and existing partnerships between energy companies, local authorities, voluntary organisations and other such bodies, to offer support to poorer communities on a house-by-house, street-by-street basis.
As part of the Local Government Framework, National Indicator 187 (Tackling Fuel Poverty) has been designed to measure the proportion of households on income related benefits for whom an energy assessment of their housing has been carried out and have a SAP of below 35 or greater than 65. We are encouraged that 40 out of 150 Local Area Agreements (LAAs) have included NI187 as one of their 35 local improvement targets and have set challenging but achievable targets. All local authorities will have to report on progress each year.
Responsibility for fuel poverty policy is a devolved matter. Ministers across Government and the Devolved Nations discuss policy to tackle fuel poverty and we publish an annual report which includes information on progress in the Devolved Administrations.
Gas and Electricity Markets Authority: ICT
This is an operational matter for Ofgem. I have asked them to write to the hon. Member.
Heating: Carbon Emissions
I have been asked to reply.
Defra does not hold the specific information requested. However, information from the Energy using Products preparatory study suggests that A rated circulators represented about 5 per cent. of sales across Europe in 2006.
Home Energy Saving Programme
(2) by what date he expects the first payment from the £910 million home energy saving fund announced on 11 September 2008 to have been made.
On 11 September 2008 the Prime Minister announced the Home Energy Saving Programme which included a 20 per cent. uplift to the level of the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and a new obligation, the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP). These schemes operate as obligations on the energy suppliers (and the electricity generators in the case of CESP) to achieve carbon savings by encouraging households to take-up energy saving measures.
The figure of £910 million refers to the estimated extra investment suppliers and generators will need to make in order to deliver these additional obligations. No Government funding is involved.
In terms of CERT, Ofgem, the scheme administrator, does not collect data on energy supplier spend. However, based on the costs of the measures promoted by suppliers, we estimate that the overall spend by suppliers on delivering the 20 per cent. increase to the CERT obligations will be around £560 million. However, we expect the CESP to lead to supplier and generator investment of some £350 million by 2012.
The proposals for CERT and CESP are currently subject to public consultation.
Industrial Diseases: Compensation
None to date. The Department will consider the matter further when Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal's written rulings in respect of the Beresfords and Raleys cases are published.
Lighting: Carbon Emissions
The Department for Energy and Climate Change does not hold the data necessary to make such an estimate.
Low Carbon Buildings Programme
The total amount spent (a) under each (i) stream and (ii) phase under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme is shown as follows. Further details relating to technologies under the Low Carbon Building Programme relating to regions have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Technology Number of applications approved Paid Amount (£) Householder stream—spent per technology in total Air source heat pump 18 16,200.00 Biomass room heater/stove (automated wood pellet feed ) 10 5,297.55 Ground source heat pump 429 513,541.13 Small scale hydro 4 15,500.00 Solar photovoltaic 1,342 5,653,248.99 Solar thermal hot water 4,545 1,816,842.02 Wind turbine 623 1,413,417.89 Wood fuelled boiler system 320 471,642.21 Grand total 7,291 9,905,689.79
Details relating to regional spend under Phase 1 have been placed in the Libraries the House.
Technology type Total committed (£) Project number Total paid (£) Project number Scotland Solar photovoltaic 803,694.56 43 404,874.47 17 Solar thermal hot water 595,940.93 27 33,000.00 1 Wind turbines 57,472.20 3 12,358.34 1 Ground source heat pumps 199,724.52 5 — 0 Wood fuelled boiler systems 114,726.00 3 — 0 Total 1,771,558.21 81 450,232.81 19 Northern Ireland Solar photovoltaic 271,773.90 15 189,447.40 10 Solar thermal hot water 33,408.06 3 — 0 Wind turbines 95,162.93 5 10,624.43 1 Ground source heat pumps 16,795.91 1 — 0 Wood fuelled boiler systems 14,157.50 2 6,807.50 1 Total 431,298.30 26 206,879.33 12 Wales Solar photovoltaic 921,420.39 52 405,470.51 28 Solar thermal hot water 793,269.96 36 70,838.15 8 Wind turbines 58,602.33 4 5,940.00 1 Ground source heat pumps 207,415.63 8 78,124.00 3 Wood fuelled boiler systems 25,972.45 2 25,972.43 2 Total 2,006,680.76 102 586,345.09 42 England Solar photovoltaic 22,387,285.69 982 6,246,756.91 363 Solar thermal hot water 2,557,184.12 238 429,439.65 71 Wind turbines 1,312,428.76 102 296,755.95 33 Ground source heat pumps 3,003,200.98 150 525,787.67 45 Wood fuelled boiler systems 325,988.51 21 128,576.45 9 Total 29,586,088.06 1,493 7,627,316.63 521 UK Solar photovoltaic 24,384,174.54 1,092 7,246,549.29 418 Solar thermal hot water 3,979,803.07 304 533,277.80 80 Wind turbines 1,523,666.22 114 325,678.72 36 Ground source heat pumps 3,427,137.04 164 603,911.67 48 Wood fuelled boiler systems 480,844.46 28 161,356.38 12 Total £33,795,625.33 1,702 £8,870,773.86 594
Mass Media
The amount spent on press monitoring since the Department’s inception is £40,198.42.
Members: Correspondence
[holding answer 23 March 2009]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State replied to the right hon. Member on 21 March.
Ministerial Duties
Public engagements undertaken by Ministers in the Department for Energy and Climate Change since its creation are set out as follows.
Secretary of State:
KPMG Speech—27 October 2008
Environment Agency Annual Conference Speech—25 November 2008
Visit to National Grid in Wokingham—26 November 2008
CBI Conference: Speech—2 December 2008
Energy Speech at Imperial College—9 December 2008
Panel discussion with South African Minister at the Foreign Press Association—16 December 2008
Pre-Energy Meeting Dinner at Lancaster House—18 December 2008
London Energy Meeting—19 December 2008
Launch of the Consultation of the Severn Tidal Power Project—26 January 2009
British Council Climate Change Launch—4 February 2009
Oil and Gas All Party Group Reception—9 February 2009
PILOT Dinner—9 February 2009
PILOT—10 February 2009
Heat and Energy Savings Launch—12 February 2009
Launch of the Church of England's Carbon Fast—25 February 2009
DFID Conference: Securing our Common Future—9 March 2009
Nuclear APPG Energy Speech—10 March 2009
Renewable Energy Investors Dinner—16 March 2009
Reception to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Antartic Treaty—23 March 2009
Mike O'Brien:
Climate Change Forum Dinner—9 October 2009
Lynn and Inner Dowsing Wind Farm visit—21 October 2008
British Wind Energy Association BWEA30 Conference—22 October 2008
Coal Forum Meeting—23 October 2008
Reception: The Future of UK Coal—3 November 2008
Parliamentary Reception—Police Dependants' Trust—5 November 2008
Energetix Genlec Micro-CHP launch event—10 November 2008
Ministerial media drinks reception—11 November 2008
Dinner: Worcester Bosch and Intelligent Energy Group—12 November 2008
Chatham House Speech—17 November 2008
The Climate Change Forum—17 November 2008
EEF Low Carbon Economy Event—19 November 2008
Combined Heat and Power Association Annual Conference—19 November 2008
Green Business Events—27 November 2008
Lunch: Coal Industry Society—1 December 2008
Severn Tidal Power Regional Forum—2 December 2008
Christmas Luncheon: Police Dependants' Trust—3 December 2008
3M Parliamentary Dinner—3 December 2008
Nuclear Industry Association Energy Choices conference—4 December 2008
Industry Forum meeting (and lunch): Responsible Corporates and Energy Use—4 December 2008
Keynote Speech: Aldersgate Group—4 December 2008
Offshore visit to Buzzard Oil Rig—9 December 2008
Speech: Micropower Council Christmas Reception—10 December 2008
Reception: The NHS Confederation Christmas Reception—10 December 2008
Associate Parliamentary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group (PRASEG) Christmas Reception—11 December 2008
Launch of the Consultation of the Severn Tidal Power Project—26 January 2009
Parliamentary Forum Severn Tidal Power—26 January 2009
Nuclear Development Forum—27 January 2009
Visit to Sizewell—29 January 2009
Chatham House Speech—5 February 2009
Nuclear Lunch: Duke of York—5 February 2009
Chatham House Speech—Middle East—9 February 2009
Oil and Gas All Party Group Reception—9 February 2009
Visit Torness Power Station—10 February 2009
Unite parliamentary group—11 February 2009
Coal UK Annual Conference—26 February 2009
Nuclear Industry Association Supply Chain Speech—3 March
Options for a New Britain—12 March 2009
Areva Supply Chain Event—16 March 2009
Renewable Energy Investors Dinner—16 March 2009
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) International Seminar—18/19 March 2009
Parliamentary Forum Severn Tidal—23 March 2009
Nuclear Industry Association Dinner—23 March 2009
Renewable Energy Association speech—26 March 2009
Ports Investment Seminar—30 March 2009
UK Coal Forum—31 March 2009
Oil and Gas Trade Association Meeting—1 April 2009
Regional Visit for Severn Tidal—2 April 2009
Lord Hunt:
Low Carbon Cars International Experts Meeting—27 October 2008
Climate Change Forum Dinner—17 November 2008
Micropower Generation Council Reception—10 December 2008
New Local Government Network Energy, Climate Change and Innovation Event—13 January 2009
Energy Research Partnership—14 January 2009
Launch of Heat and Energy Saving Strategy—12 February 2009
Low Carbon Industrial Strategy Summit—6 March 2009
Sainsbury dinner on Climate Change and the Environment—17 March 2009
Heat and Energy Saving Consultation Stakeholder Workshop—19 March 2009
Joan Ruddock:
Lacors Climate Change conference—21 October 2008
Visit to Citizens Advice Bureau—23 October 2008
Climate Wise stakeholder event—24 November 2008
Act on C02 event—27 November 2008
National Energy Efficiency Awards—2 December 2008
Climate Change speaking engagement at Japanese Embassy—15 December 2008
Brokering a Global Deal on Climate Change speaking engagement—26 January 2009
National Right to Fuel Campaign stakeholder forum—4 February 2009
Heat and Energy Saving Launch—12 February 2009
Big Energy Shift event—14 February 2009
Sustainable Development Commission public sector event—23 February 2009
UK Green Building Council speaking event—5 March 2009
Middlesbrough Climate Change conference—11 March 2009
OECD event in Paris—12 March 2009
The Municipal Journal's National Conference on Carbon Reduction Commitment—24 March 2009
CERT workshop—25 March 2009
Npower's Green SOS finale—25 March 2009
Westminster Sustainable Business Forum—26 March 2009
Energy Saving Trust stakeholder event—31 March 2009
National Grid
The following table shows the number of unplanned outages of the GB electricity transmission system which led to customer disconnection between 1991-92 and 2007-08. The table also shows the amount of power in megawatt hours (MWh) lost in each of those years. The data are taken from National Grid's annual transmission performance reports.
Total MWh lost Total number of events 1991-92 407 33 1992-93 1,210 52 1993-94 1,051 19 1994-95 518 34 1995-96 311 23 1996-97 215 33 1997-98 614 28 1998-99 859 33 1999-2000 587 23 2000-01 1,404 20 2001-02 699 29 2002-03 415 26 2003-04 1,329 27 2004-05 1,119 28 2005-06 1,939 28 2006-07 511 25 2007-08 1,675 49
National Grid: Weather
[holding answer 30 March 2009]: National Grid (NGET) is aware of the phenomena of extreme solar weather events and began preparations for the next peak in 2011-12 some years ago. NGET has procedures in place to improve the resilience of the network which include putting their field force on standby and ensuring that enough reactive power is available (a technical service provided by generators which helps manage voltage fluctuations—a possible consequence of both a conventional and severe solar storm).
The electricity networks are designed to provide a level of resilience that would cope with incidents that are potentially more severe than those that may be caused by a solar flare. Similarly, Government emergency planning arrangements are in place and tested to be able to cope with a complete shutdown of the electricity network. There is therefore no requirement for additional resilience or emergency response measures to deal with any potential disruption due specifically to a solar flare.
Natural Gas
[holding answer 26 March 2009]: None. The cost of the lease will be a matter for negotiation between the Crown Estate, acting in accordance with its statutory framework, and the developer.
Natural Gas: Storage
[holding answer 2 April 2009]: I have not made any such assessment. However, the facilities on Anglesey and at Preesall would make a valuable contribution to the security of the UK's gas supplies if they were to come forward.
[holding answer 2 April 2009]: The Preesall gas storage facility would potentially provide approximately one billion cubic meters of gas storage capacity, making a valuable contribution to UK gas supplies. The proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility on Anglesey would provide a welcome increase in the amount and diversity of the UK's gas import capacity.
[holding answer 2 April 2009]: The current financial climate makes raising funding for gas storage developments, like other projects, more difficult for some smaller developers but this is less of an issue for the larger ones. We are working closely with the industry to ensure that they make the most of alternative funding sources including the European Investment Bank.
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Land
The NDA is currently in the process of auctioning parcels of land adjacent to the licensed sites it owns at Wylfa, Bradwell and Oldbury.
It would be inappropriate at this point to disclose the estimated market value of that land or the current highest bids. The auction will end once a period of 24 hours has elapsed without a bid on any of the three lots. Once the auction is complete the NDA will make a statement.
Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing
The long-term storage of spent fuel on licensed nuclear sites is the responsibility of the operator, and is regulated by the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate.
Nuclear Power
The Justification Co-ordination Committee has met three times, on 17 June and 27 November 2008 and 10 March 2009. The bodies represented are my Department, the statutory consultees (Health and Safety Executive, Food Standards Agency, Health Protection Agency, Environment Agency, Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Department for the Environment (Northern Ireland)), the Devolved Administrations, the Department for Transport and the Department of Health.
Material relating to the new nuclear Justification process, including meeting minutes, are available on my Department's website at
http://www.berr.gov.uk/energy/sources/nuclear/whitepaper/actions/justification/page45386.html.
The November 2008 meeting took the form of a discussion of the Department's consultation document on the Nuclear Industry Association's application to justify new nuclear power stations, which was published on 17 December. No official record of the meeting was kept, although after the meeting we sent JCC members an e-mail confirming the meeting's conclusion that they should send us any final comments on the document. I have previously placed on the website, and in the House Library, a copy of the consultation document. This explains the part played by the JCC in helping my Department consider the NIA's application and in identifying where further information was needed. The questions which we asked as a result of this process, and the NIA's revised application, were also published as part of the consultation document.
In January 2008 the Government published the nuclear White Paper which explains that new nuclear should have a role in the UK’s future energy mix.
The Government are now taking active steps to facilitate nuclear new build as set out in the nuclear White Paper. No upper limit on the number of nuclear power stations that might come forward has been set. In the White Paper, the Government also explained how it was feasible that the first new nuclear power station might start generation around 2018.
The evidential basis for that figure is set out in the Sustainable Development Commission paper reference ‘The Role of Nuclear Power in a Low Carbon Economy, Paper 2: Reducing CO2 Emissions - Nuclear and the Alternatives, March 2006', taken from the nuclear consultation document ‘The role of nuclear power in a low carbon UK economy, May 2007' and as quoted in that document and illustrated in figure 2.1 on page 49.
Nuclear Power Stations: Decommissioning
The process for the sale of land adjacent to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s sites at Wylfa, Bradwell and Oldbury was set out by the NDA in a press release on 26 November 2008. This is available on the NDA’s website at:
http://www.nda.gov.uk/news/land-disposal.cfm
The process is now well under way. The auction will end once a period of 24 hours has elapsed without a bid on any of the three lots. Once the auction is complete, the NDA will make a statement.
Nuclear Power: Conferences
[holding answer 23 March 2009]: The International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Conference at Lancaster House (17-18 March) was jointly organised by FCO and DECC. It was intended to promote further dialogue between supplier states and recipient states—notably, the so-called ‘nuclearising' states—on ‘securing safe access to peaceful power'.
Where speakers have given permission, copies of their speeches and presentations to the Conference are being placed on the FCO website. The conference speech given by the Prime Minster is, of course, already in the public domain and can be found on the Number 10 website.
We shall also place a full list of participating states, NGOs and Parliamentarians on the FCO website.
Nuclear Power: Consultants
I have been asked to reply.
The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has engaged a range of external bodies and individuals to assist it with various technical aspects, process assurance and organisation. The proportion value of each consultancy contract recovered in fees as of 31 December 2008, and the percentage value expected to be recovered under the fee regulations is as follows:
Contractors: (listed in columns 1431W) Cost Amount recovered at 31 December 2008 The proportion value of each contract recovered Recoverable IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) 229,879.00 230,267.61 100 100 Washington E and C Ltd 70,000.00 25,000.00 36 100 EPRI 57,144.00 13,471.60 24 100 Health Protection agency (formerly NRPB) 16,564.40 16,560.81 100 100 Morson International 14,000.00 8,231.70 59 100 Imperial College London 800.00 800.00 100 100 OECD-NEA 352,312.84 39,672.30 11 100 AMEC NNC 19,314.00 6.037.80 31 100 Atkins Nuclear 22,483.02 4,905.48 22 100 Other Contractors (used since) — — — — DYCODA, LLC 10,000.00 6,499.50 65 100 Jacobsen Engineering Ltd. 104,400.00 0.00 0 100 Serco Assurance 59,975.00 58,010.92 97 100 University of Liverpool 2,605.81 2,606.07 100 100 VTT Technical Research Centre Finland 66,600.00 70,403.02 106 100 Process Review Board: (column 1432W) — — — — David Hughes 12,500.00 15,683.95 125 100 John Raine 15,016.00 11,508.21 77 100 Bernard Whittle 12,155.00 8,565.60 70 100 Phillip Woodward 12,155.00 7,685.20 63 100 Project Assurance Officer: (column 1432W) — — — — James Furness 29,500.00 3,848.96 13 100
Additional costs above contract value for VTT and David Hughes were incurred as a result of contract extension.
The variance on the IAEA contract is due to currency exchange rate and bank charges.
Values in table are contract values not annual costs.
Nuclear Power: North West
[holding answer 24 March 2009]: It is our policy to facilitate new nuclear build and we are taking active steps to do that, as set out in the Nuclear White Paper and the update that we published in January 2009.
The Strategic Siting Assessment will determine those sites that are strategically suitable for new build.
The Department, through the West Cumbria Strategic Forum, engages with this sub-region of the North West on various issues and we have encouraged their participation in recent consultations and reports to ensure that the areas views on new nuclear are understood and considered.
Nuclear Power: Regulation
Nuclear Research Advisory Council
(2) what the salary of the Chief Executive of the Nuclear Research Advisory Council has been in each of the last 10 years.
I have been asked to reply.
The Nuclear Research Advisory Council is an advisory non-departmental public body and does not have a chief executive. The Council is headed by a chairman who is neither salaried nor has a departure package nor pension arrangements. The chairman’s remuneration is a daily fee of £315 and he is engaged on average for 17 days a year.
Nuclear Trust
The Nuclear Trust owns the Nuclear Liabilities Fund which is responsible for meeting decommissioning cost of British Energy’s existing nuclear power stations, together with defuelling costs and certain British Energy uncontracted liabilities. The Shareholder Executive advises the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the Nuclear Liabilities Fund’s holdings as part of its role of managing a portfolio of public sector bodies on behalf of Government. The work of the shareholder executive is set out in its annual report.
Oil: Syria
The following table shows the proportion of UK imports of crude oil and finished petroleum products from Syria from 2003-07.
Crude oil Petroleum products Overall 2003 0.2 0.1 0.1 2004 0.3 0.0 0.2 2005 1.4 0.2 0.9 2006 0.6 0.0 0.4 2007 1.0 0.0 0.6 Source: International Energy Agency.
Power Failures
[holding answer 26 March 2009]: A breakdown of planned and unplanned interruptions (counting each household or meter point without power as one interruption) for the last five years is shown in the following table.
The data shown are for EDF London Power Network (LPN) (the entire London distribution service area). Data by borough are not collected.
EDF (LPN) 2007-08 2006-07 2005-06 2004-05 2003-04 Unplanned interruptions 686,000 816,000 709,000 775,000 770,000 Pre-arranged interruptions 18,000 20,000 21,000 18,000 25,000
Power Stations: Construction
There is currently 6.7 GW of gas-fired capacity and 0.9 GW of gasified coal capacity with planning consent. Time scales for construction are a matter for the companies concerned. However, the Department publishes an overview of generation capacity development in its annual Energy Markets Outlook Report, which is available at:
http://www.berr.gov.uk/energy/energymarketsoutlook/page41839.html
Copies of the report are also available in the Libraries of the House.
Power Stations: Planning Permission
Applications DECC has received under S36 of the Electricity Act 1989 are listed as follows:
Date of application Company/location Type Maximum output (MW) February 2009 Helius Energy plc, Bristol Dock, Avonmouth Biomass 100 January 2009 Centrica (RBW) Ltd., Race Bank, Greater Wash Offshore wind farm 620 December 2008 Centrica (DSW) Ltd., Docking Shoal, Greater Wash Offshore wind farm 540 December 2008 Npower Renewables Ltd., Carnedd Wen, Powys Onshore wind farm 130-250 October 2008 (withdrawn February 2009) Marshland Windfarm Ltd., Norfolk Onshore wind farm 57
Renewable Energy
Analysis undertaken for the Renewable Energy Strategy (RES) consultation document suggested that to meet our 2020 target, we may need about a quarter of the UK’s renewable energy to come from biomass-fuelled heat and electricity. A range of biomass sources will be required, including purpose-grown energy crops, wood, and organic wastes such as wood and food waste, manure and slurry. The RES consultation document referred to a previous estimate that there is potential to plant an additional 350,000 hectares of energy crops across the UK by 2020. An updated analysis will be published in the UK Renewable Energy Strategy, which is due in the summer.
In their consultation on a Renewable Energy Strategy, Government published figures estimating the long term technical potential of sustainable biomass sourced in the UK for heat and electricity to be 100 TWh of primary energy per year. This would be sufficient to meet our modelled bioenergy requirement in 2020 but we recognise that, as occurs today, it is likely that we will make use of a mix of domestic and imported products.
We are in the process of furthering our understanding of how the biomass market within the UK may develop and intend to use this information to inform development of the Renewable Energy Strategy. We will, of course, publish our findings.
The 2008 UK Renewable Energy Strategy consultation document set out scenarios for deployment of renewable energy needed to meet the UK’s share of the EU renewable energy target. In one scenario presented in the consultation, the shares of technologies were: 13 per cent. renewable energy from onshore wind, 19 per cent. from offshore wind, at least 5 per cent. from biogas heat and 3-4 per cent. from marine power sources.
Renewable Energy: Finance
Changes to the renewables obligation, the main support mechanism for renewable electricity generation, took effect on 1 April. These will provide different levels of support to different technologies depending on their costs. In addition, we took powers in the Energy Act 2008 to introduce a feed-in tariff for small-scale renewable electricity generation, and a renewable heat incentive.
Sellafield
The presentation to Parliament of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s nuclear indemnity for Nuclear Management Partners in relation to the contract for the parent body organisation (PBO) for the Sellafield Site Licence Company was the responsibility of BERR and it would not, therefore, be appropriate for the management board of DECC to carry out an investigation. The facts of the case are well known and any further investigation is unnecessary.
The Government are committed to following the correct procedures and keeping the House informed and I am told that BERR did so in this case. Because there were elements of special urgency to achieve the contract award date for Sellafield, BERR followed a non-standard procedure in accordance with Treasury guidance to Departments in Managing Public Money. The then Minister of State for Energy at BERR wrote on 14 July 2008 to the chairmen the PAC and the Business Select Committee asking them to raise any concerns about the proposed indemnity within 14 working days.
The Minister’s intention was that this letter should be put in the House Libraries on the same day, but that did not happen due to an oversight by a member of staff. This was only noticed on 15 October and it was deposited in the Libraries of the House that same day.
SBM Group (comprising Serco, Battelle and Manchester University) is the consortium appointed to run the National Nuclear Laboratory and it assumed responsibility on 6 April. Under the agreement, the consortium has provided various indemnities to the Department but the Department has provided none in return. Because the terms of the agreements remain commercially sensitive, it is not our intention to make the terms public.
The only other bidder to pre-qualify and be invited to participate in dialogue was Qqest, a consortium of Energy Solutions and Qinetiq.
Solar Power
The popularity of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) Phase 2 has lead to an oversubscription in solar photovoltaic applications.
Any applications for solar photovoltaic made after the full budget allocation for this technology was reached (26 February) are being kept on hold. We are discussing the current allocations for the other technology pots with the Framework Suppliers to ensure we can maximise spend through to the end of programme.
LCBP Phase 2 is still open for solar thermal, biomass, micro wind and ground source heat pump applications. In addition, LCBP Phase 1 is open to household applications for the range of technologies including solar photovoltaic.
Street Lighting: Standards
Ofgem has worked closely with the industry to develop standards for the maintenance of street lighting i.e. street lighting fault repairs. A Service Level Agreement (SLA) was introduced following extensive consultation by Ofgem involving local authorities and distribution network operators (DNOs). Ofgem published a decision letter in this respect in 2007 and set out a number of key performance indicators (KPIs) to apply to the various street lighting maintenance categories. Ofgem also made it clear that DNOs should be seeking to meet and surpass the KPIs and if performance did not improve it would take action in this respect through the distribution price control review (DPCR).
I understand that Ofgem is now considering the extent of regulation required for the KPIs and is working with the industry to formalise these arrangements through further regulation. Ofgem expects to publish its initial proposals in this respect in July 2009.
Warm Front Scheme
The Warm Front Scheme Management Board oversees the delivery and performance of the Warm Front Scheme and its contribution to achievement of the fuel poverty and wider Government targets. The board meets on a quarterly basis. Member organisations of the board are:
Department of Energy and Climate Change—officials from the Fuel Poverty team and procurement
eaga plc—the Warm Front Scheme Manager
Wolseley—supplier of materials to the scheme
Graham group—supplier of materials to the scheme
White Young Green—the independent quality assessor for the scheme
National Energy Action—England’s leading fuel poverty charity
Consumer Focus—a customer advocacy body
All members have sat on the board since the start of the current contract in 2005, with the exception of Consumer Focus who were invited to the board in 2008 after the previous consumer advocacy member, Energy Watch, was disbanded. Members do not have a fixed term of appointment.
Individuals representing a member organisation may change from meeting to meeting. Members may also request permission to bring along technical representatives for certain agenda items.
The release of this information would prejudice commercial interests.
The Department employs independent quality assessors White Young Green who audit all aspects of Warm Front delivery to assess whether it provides value for money. This includes regular six monthly audit reports, as well as ad hoc projects which have included two reviews of Warm Front pricing.
The National Audit Office has also recently completed a Value for Money report on Warm Front, which is available from its website.
The following table shows the average grant awarded to applicants to the Warm Front scheme since the beginning of its current phase in 2005. Consolidated data prior to 2005 are unavailable as the scheme was administered by two agencies, one of which is no longer involved with the scheme. As such, the data retained are not sufficient to provide an accurate average in earlier years.
Scheme year Average grant (£) 2005-06 1,216 2006-07 1,245 2007-08 1,302 2008-09 1,701
The data showing the number of people awarded Warm Front grants in (a) Shropshire, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England asked to pay a client contribution are given in the table. This is based on the most recent information available: the data run from 1 April 2008 to 6 March 2009.
Area Number of people asked to pay a contribution Households assisted Shropshire 403 1,754 West Midlands 10,957 30,435 England 50,861 211,920
The average waiting times since the start of the current scheme in 2005 until 28 February 2009 are detailed as follows. These waiting times are within the Department's contractual guidelines, which state that heating measures will be installed within 120 days of survey and insulation measures within 40 days.
2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Heating Installation 66.0 81.9 63.8 64.7 Insulation Installation 28.2 32.7 27.4 35.8
Justice
Blood: Contamination
The Ministry of Justice collects statistics on the verdicts returned at inquests by coroners in England and Wales during each calendar year, broken down into 15 categories of verdict and the sex of the deceased. No further information is collected on the circumstances of each case. (In a reformed system, the Chief Coroner is likely to review the matters on which annual statistics are collected and published, and is likely to consider whether there are specific issues on which occasional research should be carried out.)
Courts: Repairs and Maintenance
Altogether in 2008-09 £47 million was spent by HMCS on maintenance at all courts, £27 million on projects to increase capacity and to rationalise the estate (and £75 million on major new builds). HMCS does not define ‘refurbishment projects’ as a specific programme of work. Expenditure for the last three financial years from the maintenance and capacity programmes which could be classed as ‘refurbishment’ is as follows.
Financial year Expenditure (£ million) 2006-07 8.0 2007-08 1.8 2008-09 1.5
This is mainly made up of the following projects:
£ million Warwick Criminal Justice Centre (South) 2.5 Shoreditch/Clerkenwell County Courts 1.3 Hendon Magistrates Court 3.9 Regional refurbishment spend 3.7
Departmental Buildings
Since the Ministry of Justice’s inception on 9 May 2007, there has been no sale of property from the Department or its non-departmental bodies. There have however, been 61 sales of property from its agencies.
Her Majesty’s Courts Service has sold 11 properties. They are:
Flax Bourton Magistrates Court, The Courthouse
Bedford, The Old Bank Site
Newtown Magistrates Court, Back Lane
Cheltenham County Court, County Court Road
Bolton, 22 Queen Street
Kingston upon Thames, Triangle Site
Epsom County Court and Magistrates Court
Sleaford Magistrates Court
Manchester 184-186 Deansgate (Former County Court)
Maidstone Wierton Grange (Former Judges Lodgings)
Land at the rear of the former Marylebone Magistrates Court
Her Majesty’s Prison Service has made 50 sales which are nearly all of former quarters but also include a garage, a lease and a sewage treatment works. They are:
29 Manor Crescent, Kingston
92 Park Road, Birmingham
125 Ashford Road, Feltham
Garage, 27 Honeybourne, Long Lartin
Sale of Lease, Newbrook and Brookhouse
25 Victoria Park, Erlestok
85 Perryn Road, Wormwood Scrubs
97 Jebb Avenue, Brixton
79 Jebb Avenue, Brixton
2 Eastly Close, Eastwood Park
67 Jebb Avenue, Brixton
12 Bethune Ave, Pentonville
33 Finch Road, Reading
3 Anson Close, The Mount
52 Welland Avenue, Gartree
37 Burley Crescent, Ashwell
42 South Road, Coldingley
13 Birchlands Avenue, Brixton
19 Maplestead Road, Brixton
58 First Avenue, Wormwood Scrubs
18 Park Road, Feltham
2 Southgate Ave, Feltham
67 Old Oak Road, Wormwood Scrubs
18 Knox Close, Norwich
Westview, Onley
4 Stuart Crescent, Gartree
143 Stanford Road, Brixton
3 Kenilworth Avenue, Styal
65 Onley Park, Onley
16 Hawthorne Way, Highpoint
9 Link Lane, Wandsworth
Mill Farm, Feltham (Garage)
31 Copley Way, Highdown
42 Grenoble Gardens, Pentonville
36 Heathfield Square, Wandsworth
27 Finch Road, Reading
66 Anderson Drive, Feltham
8 West End Close, Winchester
25 Hornby Close, Liverpool
11 Montague Place, Leeds
4 Lyham Close, Brixton
Sewerage Works, Guys Marsh
18 Southgate Avenue, Feltham
6 Rudgate Park, Wealstun
32 Perry Hill, Chelmsford
22 Priorsgate, Lancaster Farms
6 Priorsgate, Lancaster Farms
7 Frewin Road, Wandsworth
5 Elder Green, Wakefield
6 Shepherds Croft, Portland
In all, four properties have been sold for housing development. The Epsom county court and magistrates court were purchased with the intention of the site being used for additional housing development, as was the land at the rear of the Marylebone magistrates court site. The sale of HMPS land at Gringley has been sold for housing development.
Departmental Empty Property
The estimate of the change in the annual cost to the Ministry of Justice as a result of the April 2008 changes to the empty property rate is £804,081. The cost is made up as follows:
£ Her Majesty’s Court Service 361,270 National Offender Management Service (non-custodial) 314,458 Her Majesty’s Prison Service 128,352
Departmental Furniture
Information is not held centrally on the amount spent on procuring furniture before the financial year 2007-08. Available data were therefore related to the financial year 2007-08 only, when the total expenditure was £3,214,944. This was made up of:
£ Ministry of Justice headquarters 235,398 HM Court Service 2,166,667 Tribunal Service 162,879 HM Prison Service 650,000
Details for the financial year 2008-09 will be available shortly.
Information about the expenditure of the National Probation Service is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost by contacting 43 probation boards and trusts.
The Prison Service seeks to manufacture furniture in house by using prisoners. This has resulted in expenditure on outsourced furniture decreasing as internal production has expanded. Expenditure for the financial year 2006-07 was £761.229, resulting in a decrease of £111,229 in 2007-08. The Prison Service aims to occupy prisoners in out of cell activity and wherever possible to help them gain skills, qualifications and work experience to improve their employment prospects upon release.
Departmental Lost Property
Details of individual cases of property lost or stolen are maintained at a local level, and to obtain all information across the MOJ could be completed only at disproportionate cost. To determine the replacement cost of the property could similarly be gathered by making queries at an operational level across the organisation only at disproportionate cost.
For the year to date 2008-09 the following unaudited balances are available for the value of property lost or stolen within HM Prison Service, where the majority of cases arise, totalling £133,317. This comprises:
Losses of stores: 479 instances; £41,279
Loss of personal property for which compensation was paid to prisoners, staff or third parties: 1,598 instances; £92,038.
Departmental Manpower
The Governance of Britain Green Paper set out to tackle the problems that power remains too centralised and too concentrated in Government and some people have become cynical about the political process and disengaged from it. It also set out to explore how the United Kingdom can benefit from articulating a shared understanding of what it means to be British.
A team was set up within the Ministry of Justice to implement the proposals contained in the 2007 Green Paper to deliver these objectives. Numbers in the team varied, with the maximum being the equivalent of 21 permanent members of staff, added to which a number of other staff within the Constitution Directorate have contributed to the delivery of various of the proposals. It would, however, entail disproportionate cost to determine the precise number of staff time devoted to the delivery of each of the proposals in the Green Paper.
Departmental Mobile Phones and Computers
(2) how many laptop computers have been provided to (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) civil servants in his Department and its predecessor in each year since 2005; and at what cost;
(3) how many (a) Blackberrys and (b) other mobile telephones have been provided to (i) Ministers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) civil servants in his Department in each year since 2005.
Departmental laptops, mobile phones and BlackBerrys are provided through contracted arrangements with service providers. They are usually allocated from a central pool and returned to the pool for re-allocation when no longer required. The contracts provide fully managed services, which include the provision of equipment, service costs, helpdesk support, and, for mobile phones, line rental and call charges.
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) was established in May 2007. Numbers of BlackBerry and laptop users for 2007-08 and 2008-09 are given as follows. These are taken from the Department’s central records which cover MOJ headquarters, and main business areas, including Her Majesty’s Courts Service (HMCS) and tribunals. The figures for mobile phone users cover MOJ headquarters only. Larger business areas, which include HMCS and Tribunals Service, manage mobile telephone provision locally, and these figures could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Number BlackBerry users 510 Laptop users 1,511 Mobile phone users 961
Number BlackBerry users 878 Laptop users 1,997 Mobile phone users 863
In addition, the National Offender Management Service holds a central record of the following equipment:
Average laptop volumes Average BlackBerry volumes Average mobile telephone volumes 2005 2,789 0 3,741 2006 2,447 0 4,156 2007 2,094 0 4,484 2008 2,740 393 4,775
Costs incurred for mobile phones and BlackBerrys allocated to Ministers and special advisers have been identified from available records. These figures include the cost of call charges, rental and the original purchase cost, if applicable. Note: figures for BlackBerrys are only available for 2008-09.
£ Ministers 3,005.70 Special advisers 652.67
£ Ministers 5,591.25 Special advisers 1,113.11
£ Ministers 2,930.25 Special advisers 1,208.09
Other cost information is not readily available in a form to answer the question. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The Ministry is continually seeking to ensure optimum use of resources. Recent initiatives include the One computer policy, which encourages staff to use only one device—either a laptop, desktop, or BlackBerry, and new approvals procedures for BlackBerrys have been introduced.
Departmental Public Consultation
Most of the Ministry of Justice and the former Department for Constitutional Affairs public consultations conducted in the last five years were covered by departmental costs as an integral part of the policy-making process. No breakdown exists for those costs and to provide one would incur disproportionate cost. However, the following table shows where activity over and above a standard consultation has been carried out and related cost details are available because the consultation was therefore funded by a different method.
Name of consultation Cost (£) 2006 consultations Openness in the Family Courts -Confidence and Confidentiality 28,000 Legal Aid: a sustainable future (joint consultation with Legal Services Commission) 123,500 2007 consultations Openness in the Family Courts - a new approach 14,000 Judicial Appointments: the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary 15,000 War-making powers and international treaties 14,000 NOMS Strategic Plan for Reducing Reoffending 75,000 NOMS Believing we can - engagement with the faith based sector to support work to reduce reoffending 10,000 NOMS Third Sector Strategy 20,000 2— MOJ Third Sector Strategy 35,500 OCJR Improving the criminal justice process for young witnesses 2,000 2008 Consultations NOMS Best Value in Probation 39,500 Local Authority Charges for Property Search Services (joint consultation with Communities and Local Government) 12,000 Titan Prisons £1,210 Election Day - Weekend Voting 6,153.95 Murder, Manslaughter and Infanticide: Proposal for reform of the Law 10,254 Rules for Mandatory Polygraph Tests for Sex Offenders £300 Reducing Re-offending in London 13,995.26 Reviewing the Mental Capacity Act 2005: Forms Supervision and Fees 6,300 1 Matched by Legal Services Commission. 2 Plus £18,000 for joint consultation events for NOMS Believing We Can and NOMS Third Sector Strategy. 3 On 19 May 2008 for the answer to PQ 205828, a figure of £12,000 was given. This was an estimate of likely costs. This figure was then confirmed as £9,500 in time for publication in the answer to PQ 259572 on 3 March 2009.
Departmental Public Expenditure
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has not brought forward any capital spending from 2009-10 or 2010-11 for use in 2008-09 or 2009-10. However, the MOJ is considering bringing forward capital spending on maintenance projects on existing operational estates.
The Ministry of Justice is currently forecasting to spend its full capital allocation of £961 million in 2008-09, as published in the Spring Supplementary Estimate (SSE). A copy of the SSE is available in both Libraries of the House.
The Department plans to spend its full allocation of funding of £768 million and £734 million respectively in 2009-10 and 2010-11, as published in the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), a copy of which is available in both Libraries of the House. This does not include funding made available by HM Treasury following the Carter Review of Prisons to increase prison capacity. Also there is a sum of c. £370 million relating to additional prison expansion projects that we are expecting to spend during 2009-10 and 2010-11.
For 2011-12, this falls outside the current CSR period and so it is not possible to provide details of planned expenditure until the next spending review has been finalised.
Departmental Rail Travel
All rail travel is completed in line with the Staff Pay and Allowances Handbook, which states that all employees are encouraged to travel at standard class unless there is justification for travelling first class.
Senior employees may travel first class on official journeys by rail in exceptional circumstances.
Other employees should travel at standard class, except when:
necessarily travelling with a colleague entitled to first class travel, or someone not a civil servant travelling first class;
they certify (other than on suburban lines) that a standard class seat could not be found.
Separate guidance is provided for staff working within the NOMS agency, although it is broadly similar, stating:
For staff in the NOMS agency, current guidance states that staff at Prison Service Manager Grade G and below are entitled to travel first class when they certify that they were unable to find a seat in standard class and the journey exceeds 30-minutes in duration.
The MOJ has provided guidance to staff in order to reduce the costs of travel, subsistence and hospitality, for example by using video conferencing where possible and significantly reducing refreshments provided for meetings.
Departmental Training
The Ministry of Justice does not hold a specific policy for holding departmental away days at locations other than departmental premises.
All spending on away days is completed in line with the Finance Policy Manual, which is in line with HM Treasury Guidance on Managing Public Money, and states the following for away days and team building events:
“These occasional events are organised to develop working relationships and achieve Departmental objectives. They are acceptable as long as the event can be justified as good value for money and can demonstrate development achievements. Costs should be reasonable and comparable to the status of the event”.
Across the MOJ staff are looking at ways to get best value for money and make savings, this includes local changes to ways of working which managers are putting in place. Wherever possible, taking into account room availability, size and flexibility, managers are using MOJ, or other public sector buildings, for planning and team meetings and away days rather than using external venues.
Ministers in the Ministry of Justice (formerly the Department for Constitutional Affairs) have not undertaken any media training within the last three years.
Departmental Translation Services
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) are able to provide the total cost for language translators and interpreters for the calendar year 2008 only at a disproportionate cost as the details are not held in this format.
Figures are available for the financial year 2007-08, as follows:
MOJ headquarters
Translators: £272, 877
Interpreters: £4,034,0001
Her Majesty's Courts Service
Translators: £200,000
Interpreters: £0
Tribunals Service
Translators and interpreters: £6,058,0002
Office of Criminal Justice Reform
Translators: £448
Interpreters: £0
Her Majesty's Prison Service
Translators and interpreters: £820,6332
National Offender Management Service (headquarters, excluding HM Prison Service and the Probation Service)
Translators: £8,906
Interpreters: £32,000
1 This figure is the total cost for interpreters' services in Her Majesty's Crown Court in 2007-08. This is paid from the central funds budget within MOJ headquarters.
2 Tribunals Service and HM Prison Service are able to differentiate between the cost of translators and interpreters only at disproportionate cost. For TS this figure includes services for people with visual and hearing impairments and travel expenses.
The Probation Service costs for interpretation and translation services are not held centrally and are available only at a disproportionate cost.
Information for 2008-09 is currently being collated.
Feltham Young Offender Institution and Remand Centre
Establishments in the young people's estate, commissioned by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) collect information on the number of Restrictive Physical Interventions (RPI) that occurs each month. In the young adult estate we report on the use of control and restraint. Figures are collected on the number of incidents of restraint that take place, not the number of young people or young adults restrained.
A Report of an Independent Review of the Use of Restraint in Juvenile Secure Settings and the Government's response was published in December 2008. The Report recommended that HMPS provide staff with safe restraint techniques designed especially for young people and which do not reply on pain-compliance. The Government accept this recommendation and NOMS is developing a new Adapted Control and Restraint (C and R) technique specifically for young people which will form part of a comprehensive behaviour management system.
Young People: Data on the number of times Restrictive Physical Intervention (RPI) was used on a young person (15-18 years old) at HMYOI Feltham from January 2008 to January 2009 are shown on the following table:
Average YP Population RPI Incident January 2008 211 39 February 2008 207 57 March 2008 226 33 April 2008 211 38 May 2008 209 31 June 2008 220 50 July 2008 215 41 August 2008 211 22 September 2008 209 64 October 2008 205 44 November 2008 211 34 December 2008 186 25 January 2009 191 41
RPI is a Youth Justice Board (YJB) measure defined as any occasion when force is used with the intention of overpowering or to overpower a young person. Overpowering is defined as “restricting movement or mobility”.
Young adult: Data on the number of times Control and Restraint (C and R) was used on a young adult (18-21 years old) at HMYOI Feltham from January 2008 to January 2009 are shown in the following table:
Average YA Population C and R Incident January 2008 371 18 February 2008 378 19 March 2008 374 33 April 2008 371 24 May 2008 364 16 June 2008 385 17 July 2008 379 21 August 2008 419 28 September 2008 404 13 October 2008 404 30 November 2008 387 46 December 2008 389 24 January 2009 385 27
C and R is used as a last resort in order to bring a violent or refractory prisoner under control and the technique is only applied for as short a time as is possible.
Fines: Surcharges
The Victims Surcharge is a £15 charge levied on fines imposed in the magistrates and Crown courts in England and Wales on offences committed on or after 1 April 2007. Her Majesty's Courts Service have forecast that £8 million will be raised from the surcharge in 2009-10. The forecasts are based on the current numbers of fines imposed and enforcement achieved.
Housing: Sales
Land Registry publishes sales volume figures within its monthly house price index (HPI). The data are collected on all residential property transactions in England and Wales. It is expected that figures for February and March will be published on 1 June and 26 June 2009 respectively. The HPI is published at:
www.landregistry.gov.uk
and will be available at 11:00 hours on the aforementioned dates.
Magistrates Courts: Sentencing
In 2007, the latest year for which data are available, there were 1,325,453 persons sentenced at magistrates courts and 76,643 were given a custodial sentence including suspended sentences. More than 80 per cent. of sentences at magistrates courts are for summary offences for which custody is not always either available or appropriate. For non-summary offences the total number sentenced was 234,541 and 43,595 were given a custodial sentence.
These figures can also be found in table 1.3 of “Sentencing Statistics, England and Wales, 2007” published by the Ministry of Justice at the following link:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/sentencingannual.htm
Members: Correspondence
I replied to the letter from the hon. Member on behalf of Mr. E. Pemberton on 15 April 2009.
National Offender Management Service: Finance
Since 1997, the probation resource budget has increased by nearly 70 per cent. in real terms, with 7,000 more probation staff. The service now receives over £900 million of public money, and it is essential that this money is put to good use.
There is significant scope for savings in the probation service, particularly by reducing unnecessary management layers, streamlining changes and cutting bureaucracy. The potential for savings has been verified externally.
Challenging efficiency targets have been set for probation areas that want to become trusts, but the priority is public protection. This will not be compromised.
The probation service's budget for 2009-10 is set at £894 million. Although this is £20 million less than the £914 million budget for 2008-09, outturn for this year is estimated at £889 million—£5 million less than 2009-10 budget allocation. In order to make funding allocations as fair as possible savings requirements vary between probation areas, taking identified potential savings and the number of convictions in the area into account. Planned budgets for individual probation areas in 2009-10 are:
£000 South West 65,132 Avon and Somerset 20.221 Devon and Cornwall 20.236 Dorset 9,040 Gloucestershire 7,626 Wiltshire 8,008 Eastern 71,746 Bedfordshire 9,497 Cambridgeshire 10,092 Essex 19,231 Hertfordshire 11,411 Norfolk 11,535 Suffolk 9,980 North West 130,982 Cheshire 15,074 Cumbria 8,586 Lancashire 24,351 Greater Manchester 51,342 Merseyside 31,629 East Midlands 66,942 Derbyshire 13,945 Leicestershire 15,129 Lincolnshire 9,373 Northamptonshire 9,320 Nottinghamshire 19,176 North East 52,817 Durham 10,532 Teesside 13,315 Northumbria 28,969 South East 100,077 Hampshire 24,769 Kent 21,359 Surrey 10,183 Sussex 17,989 Thames Valley 25,776 Yorks and Humber 92,717 Humberside 17,249 North Yorkshire 9,779 South Yorkshire 24,877 West Yorkshire 40,812 West Midlands 96,110 Staffordshire 16,829 Warwickshire 7,150 West Mercia 15,217 West Midlands 56,913 London 150,384 Wales 56,381 Dyfed Powys 8,626 Gwent 11,069 North Wales 12,409 South Wales 24,277
Nottingham Prison
The recommendations on the visits booking system were accepted in both reports by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons. A computer booking system was introduced following the 2005 report. A new computer system will be introduced later this year in response to the 2007 report.
Offenders: Ex-servicemen
The Veterans Prison In-Reach Initiative, a partnership between the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Defence, promotes the help and support for veterans available from the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) to prison establishments and probation offender managers. The SPVA website and free-phone helpline is promoted to front-line staff which can assist the development of supervision plans for veteran offenders.
As part of the Veterans Prison In-Reach initiative we are running an extensive cross-departmental marketing campaign aimed at staff, including offender managers, ex-veteran offenders and their families on services available. This exercise is conducted in close and active co-operation with the three veteran charities mentioned by my hon. Friend. This helps to inform the sentence planning for ex-veteran offenders.
Offensive Weapons: Sentencing
The available figures, extracted from the dataset used to compile “Sentencing Statistics, 2007” published in November 2008, are contained in the following table. The maximum penalty has increased from two to four years imprisonment for offences committed after 12 February 2007. These penalties relate to possession of a knife. Where a knife is used to commit a crime a more severe sentence will be imposed. In some cases (e.g. for grievous bodily harm with intent) this could be life imprisonment.
The sentence imposed in individual cases is a matter for the courts to decide upon, within the statutory limits laid down by Parliament. It is entirely a matter for the court to determine the sentence taking account of all the circumstances in each case.
Provisional statistics, mainly from the police national computer, published by the Ministry of Justice in the first quarterly knife crime sentencing bulletin (on Thursday 12 March) and covering possession of an offensive weapon as well as possession of an article with a blade or point showed that:
More offenders are being sent to jail (23 per cent.): the number of offences resulting in immediate custody rose from 1,125 in the last quarter of 2007 to 1,386 in the same period of 2008. On average there was a 40 per cent. increase in the number of prisoners serving a sentence for possession of an offensive weapon between the same periods.
Fewer cautions being issued: the number fell 31 per cent. over the same period (1,706 in the last quarter of 2008 compared to 2,455 in the same period of 2007).
More use of tougher community sentences: the number of offences resulting in community sentences rose 16 per cent. (from 1,861 in the last quarter of 2007 to 2,151 in the same period of 2007)
Longer sentences: the average immediate custodial sentence has risen by 38 per cent. (from 133-days in the last quarter of 2007 to 184 days in the same period of 2008.
The proportion of all possession offences resulting in immediate custody rose to 21 per cent. in the last quarter of 2008 from 17 per cent. in the same period of 2007. The proportion of offences resulting in a caution decreased from 36% in the last quarter of 2007 to 25 per cent. in the last quarter of 2008.
The statistics also show a decline in the total number of offences involving possession of a knife or other offensive weapon (6,704 offences were dealt with between October and December last year, compared to 6,808 in the same period of 2007).
Region 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 20072 North West — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1 North East — — — — — 1 — — — — — — — — Yorkshire and Humberside — — — — — — 1 — — — — — 1 — East Midlands — — — — — — — — — — — — — — West Midlands — — — — — — — 1 — — — — — — East of England — — — — — — — — — — — — — — London — — — — — — — — — 1 — — — 1 South East — — — — — — — — — — — — — — South West — — — — — — — — 1 — — — — — Wales — — — — — — — — — — 1 — — Total — — — — — 1 1 1 1 1 — 1 1 2 1 These data are on the principle offences basis. 2 These figures are for offenders sentenced to two years imprisonment which would be the maximum sentence if the offence had been committed before 12 February 2007 where a new provision came into force which increased the maximum sentence from two years to four years. There was no person sentenced to four years custody in 2007. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Source: OMS Analytical Services 27/002/2009 Ref: PQ(OMSAS)063-09
Pentonville Prison: Prison Escapes
The National Offender Management Service has a well established process for investigating serious incidents in prison, and all escapes are investigated. This was the only escape from inside a prison establishment in 2008-09. This reflects a significant achievement on behalf of staff working in prisons to protect the public.
Prison Sentences
The available information is shown in the following table. Statistics for 2008 will be available when ‘Sentencing Statistics 2008’ is published later in the year.
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Number sentenced 827,216 839,435 815,327 798,057 803,606 Number of compensation orders issued 120,465 123,315 131,687 137,446 165,872 Proportion of offenders made to pay compensation (%) 15 15 16 17 21 1 Excludes summary motoring offences Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice
Prison Service: Manpower
Information on the number of staff employed in London establishments and at Cleland House on 28 February 2009 requested is contained in the table.
Location Function Operational capacity Staff employed Belmarsh Male local 910 963 Brixton Male local 798 353 Feltham Male closed young offender institution 762 738 Holloway Female local 500 520 Latchmere House Semi open 207 84 Pentonville Male local 1,152 626 Wandsworth Male local 1,644 707 Wormwood Scrubs Male local 1,277 586 Cleland House Headquarters — 547
Prison Service: Political Activities
The advice given to staff in HM Prison Service is exactly the same as that given to all civil servants. The advice is contained within the Prison Service Staff Handbook and is drawn from the generic guidance in the Civil Service Code.
Political activities are divided into two areas; local and national. The freedom and extent to which staff may engage in political activities is dependant on the grade of the member of staff and which of the following three groups they fall into: politically free, intermediate or politically restricted.
The general principle that applies to staff that wish to engage in political activities is that every care should be taken to avoid causing any embarrassment to Ministers and the Prison Service by engaging in matters that are deemed to be politically controversial.
Prisoners
Prisoners are only accepted into custody on production of a valid warrant signed by an officer of a court, or other lawful authority. Those escorted from a court or transferred from another establishment will be accompanied by a Prisoner (or Person) Escort Record form. Other documentation relating to the prisoner's identity may include a temporary release licence, licence revocation order, transfer order, or authority to detain under immigration or anti terrorism legislation.
In all cases the staff receiving the prisoner into the establishment will confirm that he or she is the person named on the warrant or other document. If there is any dispute, staff will still take the prisoner into custody, unless there is clear evidence of error, but will endeavour to resolve the issue. Prisoners will be allowed to contact their family or a friend, and their legal representative to seek advice as soon as possible, and will be informed of their right to petition the Secretary of State.
The prisoner’s details will be recorded on his or her personal record, which accompanies the prisoner whenever he or she transfers from one establishment to another, and on the prison's IT system. Any aliases or changes of the prisoner’s name will be cross-referenced in all records. Prisoners are photographed and fingerprinted shortly after arrival in prison, providing further confirmation of their identity.
Prisoners Release
End of Custody Licence (ECL) will be brought to end as soon as there is sufficient capacity within the prison system to do so. I set out a comprehensive strategy for managing the increasing prison population in December 2007 and we have been pursuing that strategy vigorously. We are monitoring the position carefully and will end the scheme when sufficient headroom exists.
Prisoners Release: Reoffenders
Reoffending data in respect of offenders who are subject to the Home Detention Curfew are currently being audited. This exercise will be completed in May, when I will write to the hon. and learned Member, providing the information he has requested and will place a copy of the reply in the Library.
Prisoners: Females
The National Offender Management Service does not routinely keep information on the number of prisoners who are single mothers.
Prisons: Alcoholic Drinks
The National Alcohol Strategy for Prisoners was introduced in December 2004. The strategy provides a framework for addressing prisoners' alcohol-related problems. It balances treatment and support with supply reduction, and provides a benchmark against which prisons can formulate an appropriate strategy if there is a local need.
A survey of the estate shows that:
371 prisons/young offender institutions (YOIs) have a separate alcohol strategy;
971 prisons/YOIs have an integrated drug and alcohol strategy; and
five prisons do not have an alcohol strategy.
1 Huntercombe YOI has a separate alcohol strategy and an integrated substance strategy for young people so is included in both sets of figures.
Four of the five prisons currently without an alcohol strategy are planning to develop one by 2009-10.
Prisons: Drugs
In March 2008, the Government commissioned a report (the Blakey Review) into the effectiveness of measures to disrupt the supply of drugs into prisons, and all ten of the report's recommendations have been accepted and work has begun to implement them. This report and the Government's response were published on 7 July 2008.
The data on the actions taken in 2007-08 against visitors suspected of smuggling drugs are given in the following table. The Ministry of Justice do not keep records of the number of social visitors. From a very indicative calculation we estimate this to be at least three million social visits annually.
Number Number of visitors: Suspected1 3,296 Banned as a result 2,687 Made subject to closed visits instead of a ban 414 Made subject to closed visits following a ban 1,638 Not banned and not made subject to closed visits 195 Arrested in connection with these incidents 424 1 Visitors are suspected of smuggling drugs in a number of ways, on a case by case basis. This can include prison or police intelligence concerning the visitor and/or the prisoner, drugs dog indications, drugs test results, suspicious behaviour or movements in the visits hall, or drugs being found in the possession of visitors during pre-entry searches.
The banning or placing on closed visits of a visitor is an administrative measure which can be imposed by a prison on the basis of suspicion but without the recovery of drugs. This level of suspicion would however be insufficient for a police arrest, which requires a higher standard of proof, often with the recovery of drugs.
Where drugs are recovered from visitors it is National Offender Management Service policy to refer the matter to the police.
These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. The data are not subject to audit.
Names of those to be tested each month are generated at random by a computer programme contained within the Local Inmate Data System.
Prisons are required to conduct all random tests from the random list. In a number of closely defined circumstances a prisoner may not be available for test. Prisons are then required, in order to meet the monthly testing target, to draw in strict order additional prisoners from a reserve list.
Prisons: Finance
Finance issues relating to the construction and operation of the new prisons, will form part of our response to the consultation on these prisons. This response will be published shortly.
Prisons: Lancashire
No discussions have taken place with Lancaster and Morecombe city council in the last 12 months about the construction of new prisons in their districts.
Prisons: Mobile Phones
We have committed to take forward mobile phone signal blocking, as we indicated in the Government response to David Blakey’s report, “Disrupting the Supply of Illicit Drugs into Prisons”. We are working closely with the Home Office Scientific Development Branch to trial and evaluate a range of disruption technologies.
Disrupting mobile phones is one part of our three-tiered strategy to minimise the number of illicit mobile phones entering prison, and find and disrupt those that do enter. We are rolling out a range of technology to strengthen local searching and security strategies, including BOSS chairs for every prison which does not already have one, as recommended in the Blakey report.
Prisons: Standards
The three prisons on the Isle of Sheppey (Elmley, Swaleside and Stanford Hill) were involved in the most recent performance testing exercise. Their proposals for improvement were accepted and a service level agreement was awarded to the Sheppey cluster from April 2006.
Probation
Probation areas are required under health and safety guidance to provide suitable clothing for staff and offenders when work is taking place outdoors. It is expected that offenders undertaking Community Payback will work outdoors in all but the most severe weather conditions.
Repossession Orders
The latest quarterly figures on mortgage and landlord possession orders made in the county courts of England and Wales (from 2004 to 2008) are available on the Ministry of Justice website. Please see the tables on pages seven and nine of the following link:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/stats-mortgage-landlord-qu4-2008.pdf
These figures do not indicate how many homes have actually been repossessed. Repossessions can occur without a court order being made while not all court orders result in repossession.
The civil procedure rules state that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, geographical boundaries of county courts may not necessarily be consistent with other administrative or constituency boundaries.
Social Security Benefits: Appeals
In 2008-09 the average time taken by the First-tier Tribunal Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) office in Cardiff to review decisions on applications for (a) disability living allowance was 10.84 weeks and (b) all benefits was 11.85 weeks. The national target for SSCS appeals is to ensure that 75 per cent. of all appeals should receive a first hearing within 14 weeks of receipt. There were 9,455 appeals outstanding in the Cardiff office on 31 January 2009.
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is not responsible for setting performance targets for the tribunals service, as the tribunals service is an agency within the Ministry of Justice. The Tribunals Service Business Plan for 2008-2009 contained agreed strategic objectives, service delivery targets and performance indicators. The tribunal seeks to ensure that 75 per cent. of all social security appeals receive a first hearing within 14-weeks of receipt.
Television: Licensing
The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for non-payment of the television licence fee in Essex police force area, 2005 to 2007 is shown in the following table.
Information held centrally cannot be further broken down to constituency level, hence Essex police force area data have been provided in lieu of West Chelmsford constituency.
These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
Court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
Proceeded against Found guilty 2005 4— 4— 2006 3,114 2,703 2007 3,034 2,620 1 The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 The TV licensing provisions of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 were replaced by new provisions in section 363 of the Communications Act 2003 which came into effect 1 April 2004. 4 Following quality checks these data are not considered reliable enough for publication. Source: Evidence and Analysis Unit—Office for Criminal Justice Reform, Ministry of Justice
Duchy of Lancaster
Age Concern: Finance
In the last three years the Office of the Third Sector has provided funding to three local Age Concern branches. The table shows the funding per year for the past three years:
Age Concern 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Total Gateshead 24,793.70 25,727.95 25,727.95 76,249.60 Islington 11,216.80 44,867.20 44,867.20 100,951.20 North Tyneside 8,453.80 33,815.20 33,815.20 76,084.20 Total 44,464.30 104,410.35 104,410.35 253,285.00
This funding was provided as part of the Office of the Third Sector GoldStar volunteering and mentoring programme and was provided to these organisations to support their work to involve more volunteers. Each of the 46 organisations that received funding from the GoldStar programme were subject to regular monitoring visits. They were also required to submit accounting and progress reporting documentation each quarter.
Business
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many medium-sized businesses there are in (a) Jarrow Constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK.
Annual statistics on business size and location are available from the ONS release on UK Business: Activity, Size and Location. The following table contains the enterprise counts for 2008.
Employment Size Band (50-249) United Kingdom 32,990 North East GOR 1,130 South Tyneside 45 Jarrow Constituency 30
Central Government: Public Relations
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Central Office of Information. I have asked the chief executive to reply.
Letter from Peter Buchanan, dated April 2009:
As Acting Chief Executive of the Central Office of Information (COI), I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question [257523] asking in what year the Central Office of Information established its list of accredited public relations companies.
The Central Office of Information established its first framework of accredited public relations companies in 1997.
Central Office of Information: Directories
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Central Office of Information. I have asked the chief executive to reply.
Letter from Peter Buchanan, dated April 2009:
As Acting Chief Executive of the Central Office of Information (COI), I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question [258655] requesting a copy of the 1996 IPO directory published by the Central Office of Information.
A copy has been placed in the libraries of the House.
Central Office of Information: Expenditure
The £265.8 million figure represents expenditure on public relations, marketing and advertising. The £391 million figure in the 2007-08 annual report is the total for all expenditure through COI, including for example costs relating to Directgov, public consultations, research, interactive services, publications and regional offices.
In 1996-97 the total expenditure through COI was £125.9 million. The expenditure on public relations, marketing and advertising, unadjusted for inflation, was £81.2 million.
The majority of the increased expenditure since 1996-07 is related to campaigns for public service recruitment, health and safety and new issues such as climate change. The largest campaigns over the last year have been on Army recruitment, RAF recruitment, Act On C02, Alcohol Harm Reduction, Obesity and Road Safety.
Charities
The Charity Commission's regulatory case report into Age Concern England and its Heyday membership scheme raises some wider issues for the charity sector. In particular, the report highlighted the importance of strong governance arrangements alongside accountability and transparency. The ongoing inquiry into Green Crescent is a matter for the Commission who notified us that they had opened an inquiry under section 8 of the Charities Act 1993. However, in accordance with its normal practice, the Commission will publish a statement of the results of the inquiry setting out its findings and any wider lessons once the inquiry is completed.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. I have asked the Charity Commission to reply.
Letter from Andrew Hind, dated April 2009:
As the Chief Executive of the Charity Commission, I have been asked to respond to your question (269357) regarding the number of charities that have opened and closed each year since 2004 and each month since January 2008.
I attach below tables which set out the number of charities that registered with the Charity Commission and the number of charities that were removed from the Register for each year since 2004 and for each month since January 2008.
The tables below refer to those charities which are required to register with the Commission by law. Smaller charities are not required to register with us; the threshold for registration was an annual income of £1,000 for the periods shown by the tables until April 2008 when this threshold was increased to £5,000.
Charities are removed from the Register for a number of different reasons and the figures below are not directly representative of the number of charities that are wound down during any one period. The peak in removals seen in the figures for November 2008 represents the removal of dormant charities from the Register. Likewise the number of charity registrations is not directly representative of the number of charities that have been opened during any one period. For example charities that are opened with an annual income below the threshold do not have to register and other charities may only register when their income rises above this threshold.
Removals Registrations 2004 4,630 6,096 2005 4,094 5,169 2006 3,728 4,807 2007 4,024 4,686 2008 6,062 5,169
Month Removals Registrations 2008 1 472 396 2008 2 353 479 2008 3 376 357 2008 4 316 543 2008 5 542 343 2008 6 418 465 2008 7 336 548 2008 8 300 354 2008 9 400 441 2008 10 500 420 2008 11 1,424 467 2008 12 625 356 2009 1 348 444 2009 2 573 574 2009 3 587 633
I hope this is helpful.
Charities: Finance
I welcome the NAO report and its findings, and want to ensure that we continue to develop our approach to get the best value for money possible. I hope to work closely with colleagues from across Government to respond to any recommendations that the Public Accounts Committee may make, which will be informed by this report.
The Charity Commission’s regulatory case report into Age Concern England and its Heyday membership scheme raised some wider issues for the charity sector. In particular, the report highlighted the importance of strong governance arrangements alongside accountability and transparency. The Office of the Third Sector promotes good governance in the third sector, for example through the leadership and governance workstream of Capacitybuilders’ National Support Services Programme. In relation to the Department’s funding of the charity sector, appropriate controls and monitoring arrangements are in place both before any grant funding is awarded, and for the duration of any funding agreement.
All organisations receiving grant funding directly from the Office of the Third Sector are required to complete an Internal Financial Controls Checklist for Charities provided by the Charity Commission
www.charitycommission.gov.uk
and provide three references. The checklist ensures that any organisation receiving funding has secure financial controls in place.
Funding agreements with organisations are monitored on an on-going basis as per the terms and conditions of the particular agreement in place.
As the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, the Charity Commission is not subject to ministerial direction or control. The Commission's statutory objectives were recently reviewed and updated in the Charities Act 2006. This included increasing public confidence in charities, promoting compliance by charity trustees with their legal obligations in exercising control and management of the administration of their charities, promoting the effective use of charitable resources and enhancing the accountability of charities to donors, beneficiaries and the general public. The Commission has wide powers of intervention where there is evidence of misconduct or mismanagement. It operates a risk-based approach to the regulation of charities. This is set out in its published Risk and Proportionality Framework, and I have placed a copy in the House Library.
Charities: Standards
Charity trustees are already subject to a number of legal duties and obligations. The Charity Commission provides a range of advice, guidance and support to help charity trustees meet their legal obligations and strengthen their governance arrangements. The Government also continues to support the development of resources and learning to promote high standards of governance in the sector, for example through the governance and leadership workstream of Capacitybuilders’ National Support Services.
Departmental Buildings
I refer to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 13 March 2009, Official Report, column 801W.
Departmental Internet
The Real Help Now website brings together information about the range of support available during the economic downturn and makes it easier for people and businesses to access that support.
The development budget for the site in this financial year (2008-09) was less than £10,000 and falls within the existing Cabinet Office communications budget. Ongoing maintenance costs for the site will form part within the Cabinet Office communications budget which is yet to be agreed for the next three years. No other Departments have provided funding.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Capital expenditure in 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 is currently projected to be £53.896 million, £50.471 million and £51.387 million respectively. 2011-12 is outside the current comprehensive spending review period and an estimate of expenditure is not available.
Departmental Security
The Department ensures that all personnel engaged in providing a security advisory role have the relevant and appropriate access to perform their function.
Employment
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many people have been employed in the medium-sized business sector in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England in each year since 1997. (268376)
The table below show the number of employees within the size-band 50-199 employees from 1998 to 2007. Figures for 1997 are not available.
Jarrow constituency South Tyneside North East England 1998 4,700 11,200 230,400 4,925,500 1999 4,400 10,400 225,600 4,871,200 2000 4,900 10,000 234,300 5,113,000 2001 4,800 11,000 242,100 5,247,700 2002 4,800 10,000 246,700 5,251,500 2003 5,700 11,600 257,000 5,333,100 2004 6,100 11,900 250,600 5,422,300 2005 6,800 12,700 266,400 5,453,000 2006 6,100 10,900 247,300 5,333,000 2007 6,600 11,000 246,400 5,389,500 Note: Estimates for 2005 and earlier period are on a different basis to those from 2006 onwards. A preliminary assessment of changes in survey methodology suggests that the estimated total number of employees (for GB at the whole economy level) was reduced by around 1 per cent. Direct comparisons of employee estimates should therefore be treated with caution. Source: Annual Business Inquiry
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many people have been employed in the small business sector in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North Hast and (d) the UK in each year since 1997.
The following table show the number of employees within the size-band 0-49 employees from 1998 to 2007. Figures for 1997 are not available.
Jarrow constituency South Tyneside North East GB1 1998 9,800 20,300 429,800 11,200,100 1999 10,100 20,600 422,500 11,329,800 2000 10,600 21,600 423,300 11,581,100 2001 10,300 21,000 424,800 11,611,400 2002 10,600 21,300 436,400 11,679,400 2003 10,500 20,700 433,000 11,640,500 2004 10,600 20,700 430,800 11,708,600 2005 11,400 22,700 450,900 11,982,800 2006 10,900 20,900 442,700 11,832,600 2007 10,900 21,000 433,600 11,894,000 1 Figures from the annual business inquiry are only produced for Great Britain. Source: Annual Business Inquiry.
Estimates for 2005 and earlier period are on a different basis to those from 2006 onwards. A preliminary assessment of changes in survey methodology suggests that the estimated total number of employees (for GB at the whole economy level) was reduced by around 1%. Direct comparisons of employee estimates should therefore be treated with caution.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many (a) private sector and (b) public sector employees there were in each month since September 2008. (268441)
The Office for National Statistics produces estimates of employment for the whole economy from the Labour Force Survey (published monthly), and for the public sector through the quarterly Public Sector Employment surveys. Private sector employment estimates are derived as the difference between Labour Force Survey and public sector employment totals. It is important to acknowledge, as with any sample survey, estimates from the Labour Force Survey are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
Private and public sector employment estimates are updated on a quarterly (3-monthly) basis alongside the publication of the Public Sector Employment First Release. The latest available statistics are for December 2008 (Quarter 4).
The requested data are attached at Annex A.
Public sector1,2,3,4 Private sector4,5 Total employment6,7 Thousand Percentage Thousand Percentage Thousand All in employment September 2008 5,770 19.6 23,610 80.4 29,380 December 2008 5,780 19.7 23,600 80.3 29,380 1 Estimates derived from public sector organisations. 2 Estimates for Northern Ireland included in the UK total are sourced from the Quarterly Employment Survey and are based on jobs rather than employees. 3 Estimates for December 2007 onwards are based partly on projections. 4. Northern Rock Plc was reclassified for statistical purposes from the private to the public sector on 9 October 2007. 5 Estimated as the difference between LFS total employment and the data from public sector organisations. 6 LFS data for September refers to August-October and December refers to November-January. 7 Labour Force Survey employment; All aged 16 and over; seasonally adjusted. Note: Details of the sampling variability of national Labour Force Survey estimates are included each month in the Labour Market Statistics First Release, available on www.statistics.gov.uk Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) Labour Force Survey and returns from public sector organisations
Fires: Children
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many children died in house fires in each year since 2001. (269307)
The attached table provides the number of deaths of children aged under 16 years who died from smoke, fire or flames in the home, in England and Wales, from 2001 to 2007 (the latest year available).
Deaths 2001 24 2002 39 2003 30 2004 20 2005 24 2006 25 2007 15 1 For the purposes of mortality statistics, children are defined as persons under the age of 16. Figures exclude deaths at ages under 28 days. 2 The cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X00-X09, X76, X97 and Y26 where the death occurred in a private home. These include deaths given a verdict of accident, assault, suicide or undermined intent. 3 Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. 4 Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.
History: Publications
We are conducting an internal review into selection and production for the Government's Official History Programme. The review will be concluded by the summer.
Immigrants: Employment
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to respond to your question concerning what estimate the Office for National Statistics has made of how many and what proportion of the working population are (a) legal and (b) illegal migrants (269154).
The Office for National Statistics collects data on the working population from the Annual Population Survey which covers residents of the UK. However this does not collect information on the legal status of workers.
On 30 June 2005 the Home Office published the outcome of the assessment of the applicability to the UK of the methods used by researchers and government agencies in other countries to estimate the size of the illegal population. A copy of the Research Development Statistics (RDS) On-line report 29/05—“Sizing the unauthorised (illegal) migrant population in the United Kingdom in 2001” can be found at:
http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/rdsolr2905.pdf
Manufacturing Industries: Employment
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many jobs in the manufacturing sector there were in (a) West Chelmsford constituency, (b) Essex and (c) England in each of the last 10 years. (269093)
Table 1 shows the number of employees in the manufacturing sector for 1998 to 2007, which is the latest available period. The figures are from the Annual Business Inquiry which produces estimates of the number of employees. These figures exclude self employed jobs. An estimate of jobs is not available at the detailed regional level requested.
Table 1: Number of employees in the manufacturing sector, 1998 to 2007West Chelmsford constituencyEssexEngland19985,10075,9003,504,70019995,30069,8003,395,50020004,30073,5003,279,50020014,50071,2003,121,00020024,90068,7002,965,60020034,90063,8002,807,10020044,50063,1002,665,40020054,80061,3002,549,70020064,40056,8002,485,00020073,80052,9002,439,100 Notes:1. Estimates for 2002 and earlier periods are based on SIC(92). Estimates for 2003 onwards are based on SIC(03).2. Estimates for 2005 and earlier periods are on a different basis to those from 2006 onwards. A preliminary assessment of changes in survey methodology suggests that the estimated total number of employees (for GB at the whole economy level) was reduced by around 1 per cent. Direct comparisons of employee estimates should therefore be treated with caution.Source:Annual Business Inquiry.
Opinion Leader Research: Complaints
(2) whether the Central Office of Information has been involved in any submissions to the Market Research Standards Board made by or on behalf of Opinion Leader Research; and whether it has made submissions to the Market Research Standards Board regarding Greenpeace's complaint against Opinion Leader Research;
(3) whether the Central Office of Information has made representations to (a) Opinion Leader Research and (b) the Market Research Standards Board (MRSB) on the (i) timing and (ii) publication of the MRSB's decision about Greenpeace's complaint against Opinion Leader Research;
(4) how many meetings took place between the Central Office of Information and (a) Opinion Leader Research and (b) the Market Research Standards Board in relation to Greenpeace's complaint against Opinion Leader Research; on what dates those meetings took place; and who attended each meeting;
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Central Office of Information. I have asked the chief executive to reply.
Letter from Peter Buchanan, dated March 2009:
As Acting Chief Executive of the Central Office of Information (COI), I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions [267088, 267089, 267090 and 267091] on a complaint made against Opinion Leader Research.
The Central Office of Information was first made aware by Opinion Leader Research of the complaint made against them to the Market Research Standards Board by Greenpeace on the 19 September 2007.
The Central Office of Information has made two submissions to the MRSB regarding Greenpeace's complaint against Opinion Leader Research. At the request of Opinion Leader Research, the Central Office of Information also provided information and comments on their submissions.
The Central Office of Information made no representations to Opinion Leader Research or the Market Research Standards Board about the timing or publication of the decision about Greenpeace's complaint.
The Central Office of Information had two meetings with Opinion Leader Research and BERR on 17 October 2007 and 28 February 2008. The following attended these meetings Hergen Haye, Fiona Wood and Brian Parry. The meetings also included other junior officials from both BERR and the Central Office of Information. The Central Office of Information also attended a meeting between Opinion Leader Research and the Market Research Standards Board on 22 October 2007. Fiona Wood attended this meeting on behalf of the Central Office of Information.
Regional Ministers
No travel costs have been incurred by the Cabinet Office for the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister for the West Midlands. The Minister for London is not a Minister in the Cabinet Office.
The Cabinet Secretary’s letter of 2 December 2008 to permanent secretaries was copied to regional directors of the Government offices.
Somalia
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to respond to your question concerning how many Somali citizens are currently resident in the United Kingdom. (269752)
The Office for National Statistics collects data on nationality from the Annual Population Survey, which is the Labour Force Survey (LFS) plus various sample boosts, which covers residents of the UK. The latest estimates available are for the 12 month period of July 2007 to June 2008, these show that the estimated number of UK residents with Somalian nationality was 71,000. The margin of error around this estimate is +/- 11,000. It should be noted that the LFS:-
excludes students in halls who do not have a UK resident parent
excludes people in most other types of communal establishments (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites, etc)
is grossed to population estimates of those living in private households that only include migrants staying for 12 months or more.
Unemployment
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people were (a) claiming jobseeker’s allowance and (b) unemployed according to the International Labour Organisation survey in each quarter since 1979. (268743)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles unemployment statistics from the Labour Force Survey (LPS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
Table 1 shows the number of people who were unemployed in each quarter since 1979. It also shows the number of persons who were claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance and its predecessors adjusted on a consistent basis.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty, shown in a footnote to the table.
Unemployed Thousand (seasonally adjusted) January to March 1979 1,420 April to June 1979 1,405 July to September 1979 1,430 October to December 1979 1,471 January to March 1980 1,558 April to June 1980 1,700 July to September 1980 1,905 October to December 1980 2,169 January to March 1981 2,403 April to June 1981 2,588 July to September 1981 2,684 October to December 1981 2,761 January to March 1982 2,803 April to June 1982 2,841 July to September 1982 2,897 October to December 1982 2,960 January to March 1983 2,998 April to June 1983 3,049 July to September 1983 3,109 October to December 1983 3,167 January to March 1984 3,243 April to June 1984 3,265 July to September 1984 3,238 October to December 1984 3,217 January to March 1985 3,180 April to June 1985 3,152 July to September 1985 3,137 October to December 1985 3,135 January to March 1986 3,150 April to June 1986 3,159 July to September 1986 3,177 October to December 1986 3,156 January to March 1987 3,113 April to June 1987 3,021 July to September 1987 2,885 October to December 1987 2,741 January to March 1988 2,613 April to June 1988 2,490 July to September 1988 2,385 October to December 1988 2,293 January to March 1989 2,179 April to June 1989 2,083 July to September 1989 2,045 October to December 1989 2,021 January to March 1990 2,004 April to June 1990 2,002 July to September 1990 2,049 October to December 1990 2,158 January to March 1991 2,306 April to June 1991 2,492 July to September 1991 2,624 October to December 1991 2,697 January to March 1992 2,762 April to June 1992 2,778 July to September 1992 2,815 October to December 1992 2,929 January to March 1993 3,001 April to June 1993 2,932 July to September 1993 2,890 October to December 1993 2,890 January to March 1994 2,804 April to June 1994 2,736 July to September 1994 2,638 October to December 1994 2,520 January to March 1995 2,496 April to June 1995 2,444 July to September 1995 2,446 October to December 1995 2.353 January to March 1996 2.330 April to June 1996 2,339 July to September 1996 2,284 October to December 1996 2,230 January to March 1997 2,085 April to June 1997 2,050 July to September 1997 1,951 October to December 1997 1,865 January to March 1998 1,813 April to June 1998 1,791 July to September 1998 1,787 October to December 1998 1,765 January to March 1999 1,779 April to June 1999 1,743 July to September 1999 1,704 October to December 1999 1,684 January to March 2000 1,681 April to June 2000 1,600 July to September 2000 1,550 October to December 2000 1,519 January to March 2001 1,480 April to June 2001 1,470 July to September 2001 1,489 October to December 2001 1,519 January to March 2002 1,513 April to June 2002 1,521 July to September 2002 1,566 October to December 2002 1,514 January to March 2003 1,528 April to June 2003 1,468 July to September 2003 1,504 October to December 2003 1,457 January to March 2004 1,431 April to June 2004 1,439 July to September 2004 1,404 October to December 2004 1,423 January to March 2005 1,413 April to June 2005 1,438 July to September 2005 1,442 October to December 2005 1,566 January to March 2006 1,601 April to June 2006 1,687 July to September 2006 1,690 October to December 2006 1,698 January to March 2007 1,704 April to June 2007 1,662 July to September 2007 1,643 October to December 2007 1,602 January to March 2008 1,624 April to June 2008 1,685 July to September 2008 1,825 October to December 20081 *1,971
Thousand (seasonally adjusted) March 1979 1,107 June 1979 1,058 September 1979 1,034 December 1979 1,044 March 1980 1,125 June 1980 1,262 September 1980 1,492 December 1980 1,777 March 1981 1,984 June 1981 2,157 September 1981 2,283 December 1981 2,373 March 1982 2,426 June 1982 2,499 September 1982 2,583 December 1982 2,674 March 1983 2,723 June 1983 2,780 September 1983 2,788 December 1983 2,814 March 1984 2,858 June 1984 2,869 September 1984 2,925 December 1984 2.958 March 1985 2,977 June 1985 2,989 September 1985 3,005 December 1985 3,033 March 1986 3,086 June 1986 3,086 September 1986 3,072 December 1986 3,021 March 1987 2,925 June 1987 2,808 September 1987 2,678 December 1987 2,536 March 1988 2,406 June 1988 2,272 September 1988 2,156 December 1988 2,006 March 1989 1,877 June 1989 1,762 September 1989 1,685 December 1989 1,630 March 1990 1,584 June 1990 1,584 September 1990 1,681 December 1990 1,847 March 1991 2,080 June 1991 2,275 September 1991 2,435 December 1991 2,536 March 1992 2,636 June 1992 2,711 September 1992 2,808 December 1992 2,960 March 1993 2,923 June 1993 2,902 September 1993 2,856 December 1993 2,765 March 1994 2,712 June 1994 2,625 September 1994 2,525 December 1994 2,407 March 1995 2,342 June 1995 2,294 September 1995 2,234 December 1995 2,222 March 1996 2,179 June 1996 2,135 September 1996 2,044 December 1996 1,872 March 1997 1,704 June 1997 1,572 September 1997 1,498 December 1997 1,411 March 1998 1,365 June 1998 1,344 September 1998 1,327 December 1998 1,314 March 1999 1,298 June 1999 1,263 September 1999 1,223 December 1999 1,159 March 2000 1,144 June 2000 1,094 September 2000 1,045 December 2000 1,030 March 2001 991 June 2001 962 September 2001 946 December 2001 967 March 2002 948 June 2002 950 September 2002 944 December 2002 935 March 2003 941 June 2003 947 September 2003 929 December 2003 906 March 2004 881 June 2004 847 September 2004 833 December 2004 826 March 2005 830 June 2005 863 September 2005 876 December 2005 908 March 2006 936 June 2006 957 September 2006 958 December 2006 938 March 2007 905 June 2007 863 September 2007 835 December 2007 808 March 2008 799 June 2008 845 September 2008 944 December 2008 1,159 1 Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality as follows. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. KEY Coefficient of Variation (CV) (percentage) Statistical Robustness * 0 = CV [le]5 Estimates are considered precise. ** 5 = CV [le] 10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise. *** 10 = CV [le] 20 Estimates are considered acceptable. **** CV = 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes. Source: Labour Force Survey/Jobcentre Plus administrative system
Unemployment: Bournemouth
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people resident in Bournemouth were unemployed in each of the last 10 years. (269063)
The Office for National Statistics compiles unemployment statistics for local areas using model based estimates based on Annual Population Survey and administrative data.
Table 1 gives estimates for Bournemouth for 12 month periods ending February, from 1997 to 2004, and for 12 month periods ending March, from 2005 to 2008. The latest available estimate, for the 12 months ending June 2008, has also been provided.
These estimates, as with any involving sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
12 months ending: Thousand February 1997 6 February 1998 5 February 1999 4 February 2000 5 February 2001 4 February 2002 4 February 2003 4 February 2004 3 March 2005 3 March 2006 3 March 2007 4 March 2008 4 June 2008 4 Note: Information about the sampling variability of these model based estimates is published on the ONS website at: www.statistics.gov.uk Source: ONS Model based estimates
Unemployment: Statistics
(2) whether those participating in the (a) Work Trial, (b) Workstep, (c) Work Preparation, (d) Work Path, (e) Employment Zones and (f) Progress2Work programme are classified as unemployed for the purposes of unemployment statistics.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking:
what account the figures on unemployment produced by the Office for National Statistics take of individuals participating in New Deal schemes operated by the Department for Work and Pensions. (268722).
whether those participating in the (a) Work Trial, (b) Workstep, (c) Work Preparation, (d) Work Path, (e) Employment Zones and (f) Progress2Work programme are classified as unemployed for purposes of unemployment statistics. (268685).
Estimates of unemployment published in the monthly Labour Market Statistics First Release are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS).
The definition of unemployment follows that recommended by the International Labour Organisation (ILO)—an agency of the United Nations. In the LFS, people are classified as unemployed if:
(a) they consider themselves to be without a job, want a job, and report that they have actively sought work in the last four weeks and are available to start work in the next two weeks; or
(b) they report that they are out of work, have found a job and are waiting to start it in the next two weeks.
This ILO internationally-standard definition is applied in the LFS so that people are defined as unemployed purely on the basis of their behaviour in the labour market. Therefore the definition of unemployment is independent of someone's participation on any training scheme. Consequently, people on such schemes who satisfy the above criteria will be classified as unemployed and others will not.
Voluntary Organisations
I have been asked to reply.
We believe that volunteering alongside looking for work can help to develop useful skills for work and keep jobseekers in touch with the labour market. As long as jobseekers are available for and actively seeking work, they can take part in unlimited volunteering work.
Jobcentre Plus has over 2,400 partnerships with local third sector organisations across the country. These complement the service Jobcentre Plus offers, providing customers access to additional advice and support. Personal advisers in Oxfordshire have five main websites that they use and share with customers who would benefit from doing voluntary work. They are: Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action (OCVA), Oxford Radcliffe Hospital Volunteers, Smart, Do-it and the Oxfordshire county council website.
In addition to these existing partnerships, new measures to encourage volunteering as a means of developing skills for work are being introduced as part of the jobseeker's support at six months package from April 2009. Through this package, those who have been unemployed and claiming jobseeker's allowance for six months or more will have access to a range of support including recruitment subsidies, work-focused training, help to start a new business and access to work-focused volunteering placements delivered through third sector partners.
Jobseekers who have been claiming Jobseeker's Allowance for six months and would like to volunteer to maintain or develop their skills for work can discuss with their Jobcentre Plus personal adviser how they can make use of the extra support on offer from April 2009.
Voluntary Organisations: Job Creation
(2) how many jobs there were in the third sector in each (a) year since 2004 and (b) month since January 2008; and if he will make a statement.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking:
how many jobs there were in the third sector in (a) each year since 2004 and (b) each month since January 2008; and if she will make a statement. (269359)
how many new jobs were created in the third sector in (a) each year since 2004 and (b) each month since January 2008; and if she will make a statement. (269358)
Information on the number of jobs in the third sector is not available centrally. However, quarterly estimates on those aged 16 and over employed in charities, voluntary organisations and trusts can be provided for 2007 and 2008. These are shown in the attached table. Monthly estimates are not available.
The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. This is indicated in the table.
The figures in the table are derived from the LFS microdata, weighted using the official population estimates published in autumn 2007. They are not entirely consistent with employment figures published in the current monthly Labour Market Statistics First Release, which are weighted using more tip-to-date population estimates.
People (thousand) 2004 Q4 624 2005 Q4 630 2006 Q4 668 2007 Q4 671 2008 Q1 701 2008 Q2 721 2008 Q3 724 2008 Q41 *716 1 Coefficients of Variation have been calculated as an indication of the quality of the estimates, as described below: Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key Coefficient of Variation (CV) (%) Statistical Robustness * 0 = CV[le]5 Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV [le]10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV [le]20 Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites etc.). Source: ONS Labour Force Survey
Treasury
Bank Services
The Government are committed to reducing financial exclusion and increasing the number of people who can manage their money by using a bank account.
The Family Resources Survey data for 2006-07, published in June last year, shows that the number of adults living without access to a bank account fell from 2.8 million in 2002-03 to 2.1 million in 2006-07.
The Financial Inclusion Taskforce recently published their third annual report on access to banking. The report contains profiles of the number of people in the UK without access to a bank account, including breakdowns by age. You can find the report on the Taskforce’s website:
http://www.financialinclusion-taskforce.org.uk
Banks: Finance
(2) what documents were supplied by participants in the Asset Protection Scheme relating to the implementation, administration and compliance with the applicable remuneration policy; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each such document;
(3) what criteria will be used to assess whether participants have a credible senior management team.
Further details on the operation of the Asset Protection Scheme, including the management and governance of protected assets, and remuneration arrangements for the managers of protected assets, are set out in the document on the Asset Protection Scheme that the Chancellor placed in the House Library on 27 February.
Assets are required to remain on the participant's balance sheet at all times in order to be protected under the Asset Protection Scheme.
The banks participating in the Asset Protection Scheme will continue to be required to comply with international financial reporting standards.
Institutions participating in the Asset Protection Scheme will be required to comply with asset management requirements prescribed by HMT.
More detail on the requirements will be set out in the Accession Agreements with the participating banks, when the due diligence process has been completed.
Banks: International Cooperation
The UK is working closely with its international partners through the G20 to strengthen regulation and supervision of the financial system. The G20 has established working groups to develop recommendations on means of strengthening transparency and accountability, enhancing sound regulation, strengthening prudential regulation, promoting integrity in financial markets, and reinforcing international co-operation.
G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors met in March 2009 and agreed measures to address these issues, which were discussed by Leaders at the London Summit on 2 April.
Banks: Ireland
UK depositors (including retail bond holders) with Anglo Irish Bank are protected by the Irish Deposit Guarantee Scheme up to €100,000 (c£90,000), and by an additional temporary, unlimited, Irish Sovereign Guarantee until 2010. The Deposit Guarantee limit in Ireland was raised from €20,000 to €100,000 per depositor per institution on 21 September 2008. As this is higher than the protection offered by the UK deposit protection scheme (the Financial Services Compensation Scheme FSCS), Anglo Irish Bank has withdrawn from ‘topping-up' its deposit protection to the level applicable in the UK. Under the old topping up arrangements, the FSCS would compensate retail depositors for deposits between €20,000 and £35,000 (£50,000 from 8 October 2008).
Banks: Regulation
The legal framework of the Companies Act and accounting standards stipulate the information that companies are required to report for the benefit of their shareholders.
Under the provisions of the Companies Act 2006, all UK companies (including financial services companies) are required to file annual accounts at Companies House. These accounts are a report of the company’s activities and performance during the financial year.
The Companies Act 2006 imposes a specific obligation on the directors of a company to satisfy themselves that the accounts give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the company taking account of income and expenses in respect of that financial year.
Banks which report their accounts on the basis of UK generally accepted accounting principles or international financial reporting standards are required to show their financial position and results split by geographical area.
In the case of a company not subject to the small companies regime, the average number of persons employed by the company in the financial year must be given in notes to the company’s annual accounts.
Under financial reporting standard 16, a company must report its current tax for the period in its profit and loss account.
Capital Gains Tax
The cost to the Exchequer would depend on how the exemption interacted with entrepreneurs’ relief.
Carbon Emissions: Costs
Supplementary guidance to the Treasury Green Book explains how greenhouse gas emissions are valued in policy appraisal. The guidance is available at:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/Environment/climatechange/research/carboncost/index.htm
Clemmow Hornby Inge Partners
[holding answer 30 March 2009]: Advertising contracts are a matter for the RBS board.
Council of Economic Advisers
The Prime Minister provides Parliament with details of special advisers through an annual written ministerial statement. This includes members of the Council of Economic Advisers, who are appointed on special adviser terms.
The terms of reference for the Council of Economic Advisers are:
“To advise the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the design and implementation of policies for the achievement of the Government’s economic objectives.”
In meeting these terms of reference, the Council meets regularly on an informal basis.
Details of the Treasury’s administration costs spending is published in the resource accounts and the departmental report, copies of which are available in the Library and via:
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
Departmental Carbon Emissions
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 1 November 2005, Official Report, column 978W, to the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb).
Departmental Data Protection
HM Treasury’s IT systems and services have recently been accredited in line with HMG standards, which closely conform to ISO 27001.
Departmental Mobile Phones and Computers
(2) how many laptop computers have been provided to (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) civil servants in his Department in each year since 2005; and at what cost;
(3) how many (a) BlackBerrys and (b) other mobile telephones have been provided to (i) Ministers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) civil servants in his Department in each year since 2005.
HM Treasury no longer holds records of portable computers, BlackBerry and other mobile phone devices made available for the use of individuals prior to the creation of a shared IT service for HM Treasury and the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) in April 2007.
Details of the dates of purchase of individual computers and mobile telephony devices are not available. Since 2007, a total of 472 laptop computers have been purchased centrally for use within HM Treasury, at a total cost of £270,000. Of these, three laptops are currently made available for the use of Government Ministers, and one for the use of a special adviser.
There are also currently 207 BlackBerry devices in use across HM Treasury, including three by Ministers and five by special advisers. The total number of other mobile telephony devices is not available.
The Treasury does not record the costs of acquiring or using BlackBerry devices (being all-in-one mobile phones, email devices, web browsers and organisers) or similar devices separately from other telecommunications costs, so the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Training
Disaggregated information on training courses attended by Treasury officials is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The Treasury’s central records show that four officials attended training with an overseas component in the period concerned: two directors and a deputy director participated in a National School of Government leadership programme, and in addition, the Treasury sponsored one range D (SEO /HEO equivalent) to undertake a masters degree in economics.
Excise Duties: Motor Vehicles
[holding answer 16 March 2009]: Pre-Budget report 2008 confirmed that differential first year rates of vehicle excise duty (VED) would be introduced in 2010, in order to provide a stronger signal of vehicle emissions at the point of sale.
As a result of these changes the Treasury expects sales of lower-emitting cars to increase and sales of higher-emitting cars to decrease. The Treasury does not hold data in relation to specific models of new cars and does not make assessments for specific models.
Vehicle excise duty reforms will continue to incentivise the purchase of lower-emitting cars in future years, helping to deliver the long-term EU target of average new cars’ emissions of 95 grams per kilometre by 2020. It is estimated that by 2020 around one million tonnes of carbon dioxide will be saved as a result of changes to VED rates and bands announced at pre-Budget report 2008.
Financial Institutions: Credit
(2) what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with (i) non-bank lending institutions and (ii) organisations representative of non-bank lending organisations in the last 12 months; and on what date each such meeting took place.
I refer the hon. Member to my response on 3 March 2009, Official Report, column 1420W, to the hon. Member for Solihull (Lorely Burt).
Fred Goodwin
That is a matter for the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings.
Gift Aid
There were no changes to the qualifying conditions for charities to benefit from the Gift Aid scheme in Budget 2008.
Individual Savings Accounts
ISAs are tax-advantaged savings products. No tax is payable on interest or capital gains arising on investments held within ISAs, and therefore no revenue accrues to the Exchequer as a result. In 2007-8 the tax relief provided through ISAs amounted to an estimated £2.4 billion.
A small amount of revenue may accrue to the Exchequer in the case of uninvested cash which is held for a period of time within a stocks and shares ISA, however this is not a result of tax. This is because interest earned on this cash is subject to a flat 20 per cent. charge to prevent abuse of the ISA regime. HMRC does not collect specific data on the income from this charge.
Members: Correspondence
[holding answer 23 March 2009]: A reply has been sent to the right hon. Member.
A reply has been sent to the hon. Member.
A reply has been sent to the hon. Member.
A reply has been sent to the hon. Member.
I replied to the hon. Member on 7 April.
A reply has been sent to the hon. Member.
I replied to the hon. Member on 7 April.
A reply has been sent to the right hon. Member.
Mortgages
I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) of 9 March 2009, Official Report, column 99W.
Mortgages: Government Assistance
(2) what assessment he has made of the likely effects on competition in the UK mortgage market of restricting access to the new guarantee scheme for residential mortgage-backed securities to banks and building societies;
(3) pursuant to the oral statement of 19 January 2009, Official Report, columns 482-6, on financial markets, whether any schemes being developed to encourage lending to businesses and consumers will be open to UK non-bank financial institutions;
(4) whether his Department plans to develop a scheme to support new lending by UK non-bank financial institutions.
On 19 January, the Government announced measures designed to reinforce the stability of the financial system, to increase confidence and capacity to lend, and in turn to support the recovery of the economy. These build on measures announced on 8 October last year.
This included a guarantee scheme for asset-backed securities to help improve lenders' access to wholesale funding markets and help promote robust and stable markets in the medium term. The scheme draws on the recommendations made by Sir James Crosby and will commence in April 2009 subject to state aid approval.
UK banks and building societies (i.e. deposit takers currently eligible for the Credit Guarantee Scheme) are eligible to participate in the new scheme. The Government will work closely with the industry and keep the scope of the scheme under review. Eligible institutions will be able to access the scheme subject to fulfilling conditions that will be announced by the Debt Management Office in due course.
The Government have not, at this time, produced any assessment of the impact on competition in UK mortgages of limiting participation to deposit taking institutions. However, the measures announced on 19 January were put in place with the express purpose of boosting confidence in the banking sector and are part of ongoing, successful efforts to stabilise financial markets.
Personal Equity Plans
Personal equity plans were tax-advantaged savings products, not revenue-raising schemes.
When ISAs were introduced in 1999, PEPs initially continued to exist but could not be subscribed to, and new accounts could not be opened. However, from April 2008, all PEPs automatically became stocks and shares ISAs as part of the ISA reforms. PEPs are therefore no longer in operation.
Personal Income
Table 2.5 ‘Income tax liabilities, by income range’ based on the 2006-07 Survey of Personal Incomes will be available on the HM Revenue and Customs website at the end of May 2009.
Information for 2007-08 to 2009-10 will be projected in line with Budget 2009.
Post Offices
I have been asked to reply.
The Post Office provides a wide range of financial services. Details of the specific protections in place are available from the Post Office website:
http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/contentl?catId=19300232&mediaId=92400749
Public Sector: Pensions
Asset purchases undertaken by the Bank of England will increase the flow of money within the economy. This will help to revive the flow of credit within the economy, encourage spending and support economic activity. A prosperous and stable economy is vital for pension schemes to meet their obligations.
Public sector pensions are predominantly run on a pay as you go basis. This means that pension liabilities are financed when they become due, mainly from contributions into pension schemes and otherwise out of other current Government revenues.
For funded pension schemes, to the extent that asset purchases by the Bank of England lead to movements in bond yields, this will affect the present value of pension funds liabilities, and also the present value of bonds and other assets held by the fund. The overall effect on an individual fund’s financial position will depend on how closely the fund’s assets and liabilities are matched in terms of their exposure to interest rate risk. This will vary across funds, reflecting differences in the composition of each fund’s assets and liabilities.
Students: Loans
(2) what measures are in place for HM Revenue and Customs to notify the Student Loans Company of full repayment of a student loan;
(3) how long on average HM Revenue and Customs took to inform the Student Loans Company that a graduate had paid back the full amount of a student loan in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.
HM Revenue and Customs collects student loan repayments through the tax system, and passes on repayment information to the Student Loans Company (SLC). SLC is responsible for maintaining and updating borrower loan accounts, and informs HMRC when collection should begin and end. HMRC does not hold any information on borrowers’ outstanding balances, and is not able to tell when a loan has been fully repaid.
Taxation
(2) what assessment he has made of the merits of publishing the tax returns of individual taxpayers.
The Government regularly monitor developments in other jurisdictions, including in jurisdictions where individual tax returns are published, such as Sweden and (in the case of elected officials) the United States. Tax returns of individuals contain confidential information and the UK Government have no plans to publish them.
Taxation: Energy
The Government do not hypothecate revenue—spending priorities are not, in general, determined by the way in which the money is raised.
The expected costs of meeting our renewable energy targets were published in the Government’s Renewable Energy Strategy last summer. The document can be found at:
http://renewableconsultation.berr.gov.uk/consultation/consultation_summary
VAT: Construction
All taxes are kept under review and any changes are made as part of the Budget process.
VAT is governed by EU agreements entered into by successive Governments. Under these agreements EU member states may only apply a reduced VAT rate to a prescribed list of goods and services.
The Government only apply reduced VAT rates where they believe these would provide well-targeted and cost-effective support for their policy objectives, compared with other measures.
Transport
A1079: Accidents
The number of (a) killed and (b) injured casualties resulting from reported personal injury road accidents on the A1079 in each of the last five years is given in the table:
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 (a) Killed 4 5 11 2 0 (b) Injured 255 198 184 154 182 Total casualties 259 203 195 156 182
The 2008 data will be available at the end of the June 2009.
A127: Speed Limits
This information is not held by the Department for Transport. Since 1 April 2007 the deployment of safety cameras has been the responsibility of individual local partnerships. The operation of the average speed cameras on the A127 will therefore be a matter for the Essex road safety partnership.
Airports: High Speed Trains
The Department for Transport is planning to produce three national policy statements (NPS) on ports, national networks (i.e. strategic roads and railways, including strategic rail freight interchanges), and airports respectively.
Aviation
Since the publication of “The Future of Air Transport” White Paper in 2003, the Department for Transport has undertaken a significant programme of work to ensure that the long-term strategy set out in the White Paper remains up-to-date, including: “The Future of Air Transport Progress Report” in 2006; the consultation on “Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport” and the decisions announced on 15 January 2009, and updated UK air passenger demand and CO2 forecasts in 2007 and 2009. A further progress report on the White Paper is due to be published within the next two years, which will take into account developments across the range of White Paper policies. The Government have also stated their intention to produce a national policy statement on airports, based on the Air Transport White Paper, which satisfies the requirements of the 2008 Planning Act.
Cycleways: North West
This information is no longer collected centrally by the Department for Transport as part of our drive to reduce the burden upon local authorities in respect of the information we request annually from them.
However, we do hold some historical information. This has been placed in the Libraries of the House and covers the whole of England. The data are not verified by the Department, may be incomplete and may include estimates.
Cycling: Greater Manchester
The Department for Transport has allocated £98 million from 2009 to 2011 to Greater Manchester to spend on integrated transport. It is for Greater Manchester authorities to determine how much of this they allocate to improving facilities in Greater Manchester including completion of the cycle network and schemes at cycle investment sites.
Departmental Carbon Emissions
The Department for Transport began discussions with the Carbon Trust in June 2007, and commenced a targeted approach, concentrating on the main energy using areas of the Department identified in the Sustainable Development in Government Report.
This resulted in the completion of a Carbon Management Energy Efficiency Report in January 2008, which made recommendations to the Department on those areas where the greatest energy (carbon emissions) savings might be made.
The Department for Transport will consult the Carbon Trust to determine the best next steps. The main objective of working with the Carbon Trust will be to continue improving the sustainable performance of the Department for Transport estate.
Departmental Computers
The information requested on laptop computers for the Department for Transport and its agencies is contained in the following table:
Total Cost £000 Total Cost £000 Total Cost £000 Total Cost £000 Total Cost £000 Total Total Cost £000 Total Cost £000 2005-06 349 405 58 45 120 — 74 50 13 15 n/a 28 34 0 — 2006-07 195 216 105 86 423 — 33 22 25 24 n/a 12 15 12 6 2007-08 210 229 83 83 31 — 33 22 540 662 n/a 30 36 4 3 2008-09 301 320 406 278 0 — 301 203 200 82 n/a 26 31 5 3 1 Totals include two in 2005-06 and one in 2007-08 for Ministers and one in 2005-06 and one in 2008-09 for special advisers. 2 2008-09 figure high due to Tech Refresh project. 3 Separate costs for laptops can be provided only at disproportionate cost. 4 The agency made use of a total of approximately 1,050 laptops across the period, but these were provided as part of a wider IT contract and were not purchased or owned by VOSA. Separate costs not available.
Departmental Energy
The Department for Transport is committed to improving the thermal efficiency of its buildings, subject to the development of business cases addressing the value for money, affordability and carbon implications.
The Department for Transport including its agencies reports performance data on energy efficiency per m2 of its estate annually as part of the Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG) reporting process. The Department for Transport was formed in 2002-03 and therefore has this year as its baseline for energy targets under SDiG.
In the last published SDiG Report for 2006-07 the Department for Transport recorded an energy efficiency figure of 293 kWh per m2 compared to a baseline of 277 kWh per m2. The figure for 2007-08 is due to be published in the next SDiG report on 27 April. The Department expects to see an improvement on the 2006-07 figure, with further work to do to achieve the 15 per cent. reduction by 2010.
Departmental Lost Property
The Department for Transport includes seven agencies, a shared service centre and the central Department, with a total staff of over 19,000. We do not therefore have comprehensive records. Records held centrally however show that no members of staff have been charged for the replacement value of laptops lost in the last 12 months.
Departmental Mobile Phones
The information requested on BlackBerrys and mobile telephones for the Department for Transport and its agencies is contained in the following table:
DfT(c)1 DVLA2 HA3 DSA4 MCA5 VOSA6 VCA7 GCDA8 2005-06 Bills—£37,000 (all mobiles as no BlackBerrys purchased in 2005-06) Not available £195,000 £43,000 No BlackBerry purchases. Bills—£129,000 £1,000 spent on mobiles. Bills—£379,000 £10,000 £17,000 2006-07 £63,000 on purchase of BlackBerrys. Bills—96 Not available £255,000 £41,000 £4,000 on BlackBerry purchases. Bills —£117,000 Bills—£310,000 £17,000 £30,000 2007-08 £18,000 on purchase of BlackBerrys. Bills—£157,000 Not available £387,000 £48,000 £208,000 on BlackBerry purchases for 2007-08 and 2008-09. Bills—£117,000 £3,000 on purchase of BlackBerrys. Bills—£287,000 £25,000 £33,000 2008-09 (to date) £11,000 on purchase of BlackBerrys. Bills—£255,000 Mobile purchase—£15,000. Bills—£52,000 Figures not yet available £52,000 BlackBerry purchases for 2008-09 included in 2007-08 Bills—£102,000 £2,000 spent on mobiles. £1,000 on purchase of BlackBerrys. Bills—£258,000 £27,000 £33,000 1 Separation of costs between purchase and rental of mobiles, or rental and running costs for BlackBerrys and mobiles can be provided only at disproportionate cost, therefore Bills figures include all. Details for Ministers and special advisers not recorded separately. 2 No BlackBerrys purchased by DVLA. 3 Separation of costs between purchase and rental of mobiles, or rental and running costs of BlackBerrys and mobiles can be provided only at disproportionate cost, therefore Bills figures include all. 4 Separation of costs between purchase and rental of mobiles, or rental and running costs for BlackBerrys and mobiles can be provided only at disproportionate cost, therefore Bills figures include all. 5 Figures for purchase of mobiles not available, cannot split between BlackBerrys and mobiles on running costs. 6 Separation of running costs for BlackBerrys and mobiles can be provided only at disproportionate cost, therefore Bills figures include all. 7 Separation of costs between purchase and rental of mobiles, or rental and running costs for BlackBerrys and mobiles can be provided only at disproportionate cost, therefore Bills figures include all. 8 Separation of costs between purchase and rental of mobiles, or rental and running costs for BlackBerrys and mobiles can be provided only at disproportionate cost, therefore Bills figures include all.
Departmental Rail Travel
The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Training
[holding answer 1 April 2009]: Training is provided to Ministers as necessary in order to carry out their duties effectively under the Ministerial Code.
Driving Offences: Fines
This information is not held by the Department for Transport. Since 1 April 2007 the deployment of safety cameras has been the responsibility of individual local partnerships. The average speed cameras on the A13 were deployed in 2008. The number of speeding tickets issued will therefore be a matter for the Essex road safety partnership.
Driving: Licensing
The current fee for renewing a photocard licence is £20 with predicted volumes for 2009-10 of 1.9 million. The annualised cost of the licence would therefore be £2.
Freight
Published regional freight data are available from the following sources.
(a) Table 7.1 of Regional Transport Statistics 2008 shows goods lifted by region of origin. Table 7.3 of Regional Transport Statistics 2008 shows goods moved by region of origin.
The publication is available on the Department for Transport website at:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/regionaldata/rts/regtranstats2008
(b) Rail freight data by region are not available.
(c) Table 7.5 of Regional Transport Statistics 2008 gives a regional breakdown of foreign and domestic sea freight traffic at UK ports for the years 2004 to 2007. Data for earlier years back to 1999 are available from earlier editions.
Regional Transport Statistics editions are available on the Department for Transport website at:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/regionaldata/rts/
These tables do not include inland waterways traffic, which is not available by region. Table 5.10 in Transport Statistics Great Britain shows goods lifted on the inland major waterway routes. Copies of Transport Statistics Great Britain have been placed in the House Library and are also available on the Department for Transport website at:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/tsgb/
(d) Table 8.3 in Regional Transport Statistics shows freight lifted at UK airports by region for 1997-2007. Freight lifted includes both picked up and set down.
2008 data for each airport are available on the CAA website in table 13.2 at:
http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=80&pagetype=88&sglid=3&fld=2008Annual
Heathrow Airport: Public Consultation
The supplementary analysis was undertaken solely for the purposes of presenting internal advice. The full report of consultation responses by Ipsos/MORI/Detica has been published, and individual responses have been available for inspection since the Heathrow decisions were announced.
Helicopters: Royal Family
Short single journeys by helicopter are discouraged by the Royal Household and do not normally take place at a distance of 50 miles or less. However, use of the helicopter on official visits where several short journeys may take place, permits the maximum number of engagements to take place in a day. This makes best use of the Principal's time and minimises the disruption to the public when car journeys and a police escort may be used as an alternative.
High Speed Trains
High Speed Two has been formed to help develop the case for high-speed services between London and Scotland, and will report by the end of the year. The report will include advice to the Government on financing and construction proposals.
Precise costs vary depending on a number of factors including the route, whether construction is on a disused railway alignment or built on green fields and the need for major works such as tunnelling. Costs of operation and maintenance must also be considered. Average costs do not therefore tell the whole story, but recent work for the Department for Transport suggested a new double track high-speed rail line might cost £12 to £16 million per route-kilometre.
High Speed Two provides regular reports to the Department for Transport, and Sir David Rowlands meets regularly with the Minister of State, to report the progress being made.
High Speed Two also publishes a regular newsletter to update and engage with stakeholders.
(2) whether he plans to consult (a) Buckinghamshire County Council, (b) Aylesbury Vale District Council, (c) Wycombe District Council, (d) Chiltern District Council and (e) South Banks District Council on the High Speed Two proposal; and if he will make a statement;
(3) whether he plans to consult (a) the Chilterns Conservation Board and (b) the National Trust on the High Speed Two proposal; and if he will make a statement;
(4) what recent assessment he has made of the effect on land owned by the National Trust of the High Speed Two proposal; and if he will make a statement.
High Speed Two has been formed to develop the case for high-speed services between London and Scotland. As a first stage, High Speed Two will report by the end of the year with a proposed route from London to the West Midlands, setting out any necessary options with appropriate environmental, social and economic assessments. This will form a sound basis for a public consultation on the proposal, including options for a London to west midlands route during the course of 2010, should the Government decide to proceed.
High Speed Two is engaging with stakeholders during the course of this work, and I would encourage any interested parties to contact Sir David Rowlands and his team directly.
High Speed Trains: South East
High Speed Two will be seeking to maximise benefits that can be delivered by both the new line and the existing network. This will include consideration of routing and service options for the new line, whether intermediate stations on the new line would be beneficial, and how capacity on the existing network released by a new line to the west midlands may best be used for local, regional and freight services.
Highways Agency
[holding answer 2 April 2009]: The Highways Agency has a target to respond to at least 90 per cent. of customer correspondence within 15 working days. During the past 12 months, the Highways Agency received 11,791 items of correspondence and responded to 11,352 (96.3 per cent.) within 15 working days.
Due to the large quantity of correspondence from members of the public, it is not possible to provide the details of how long it took to make each response in the timescales given.
Light Dues: Northern Ireland
The UK and Irish Governments are engaged in constructive dialogue to agree long-term funding arrangements for the provision of aids to navigation in the Republic of Ireland.
To this end, I am meeting the Irish Transport Minister in Dublin in the near future. The time scale for reaching and implementing a lasting agreement will be among the matters we expect to discuss.
Lorries: Driver Information Systems
Department for Transport officials have been reviewing a number of issues related to route guidance systems. In March 2009 officials attended a meeting involving local authorities, digital map providers and freight haulage interests on how best to address the lorry routeing issue.
M25: Repairs and Maintenance
The widening of the M25 between Junctions 16 to 23, and Junctions 27 to 30, is included in the scope of the M25 Design, Build Finance and Operate (DBFO) Contract, currently in the final stages of procurement. Subject to satisfactory completion of statutory processes and completion of the ongoing competition to secure finance for the project, the widening works are planned to take place as follows:
Start Complete Junctions 16 to 23 27 April 2009 July 2012 Junctions 27 to 30 20 July 2009 July 2012
Two further sections of the M25 are being considered by the Highways Agency as part of the Managed Motorways programme, where hard shoulder running is envisaged rather than widening.
The earliest dates for construction of these two sections are:
Start Complete Junctions 5 to 7 late 2012 late 2013 Junctions 23 to 27 late 2012 late 2013
Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties
In 2007 there were 28,227,576 cars with a valid vehicle excise licence.
Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries
In 2006 the Department for Transport commissioned TRL to review the studies on daytime running lights that were carried out on behalf of the European Commission. The cost to install dedicated daytime running lamps was estimated to be 25 euros per car.
Motor Vehicles: Registration
No such certificates have been misplaced or stolen in the last 12 months.
Motor Vehicles: Testing
As previously mentioned in my answer of 13 March 2009, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) uses over 1,000 checkpoint sites. Some of these sites are temporary and some are permanent. A list of the permanent sites has been placed in the Libraries of the House. VOSA wishes to withhold the list of temporary sites as this information would affect the level of enforcement of non-compliant operators if it became available.
Navigation
The costs incurred by the General Lighthouse Authorities in developing aids to navigation are generally recovered in full from users of such aids through the system of light dues.
The Department for Transport has contributed £187,500 in each of the last three years towards the costs of the General Lighthouse Authorities’ eLoran project, in recognition of its potential contribution to an international agreement. eLoran is a land-based, high-powered precise terrestrial radio navigation system for all mariners that is fully independent of global navigation satellite systems such as GPS and delivers complementary levels of performance.
The funding has enabled further research into the potential for e-navigation, which if successful, would allow a significant reduction in the provision and associated costs of traditional aids to navigation.
Parking: Fees and Charges
The proposals for regulations were discussed in the usual way by Cabinet. Information relating to Cabinet Committees, including Cabinet Committee papers, are generally not disclosed, as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
Railways
[holding answer 16 March 2009]: It is not possible to provide definitive guidance on the rules and regulations applicable to the Translohr guided rail system. However, if such a system was allowed to run on a highway in England it could be considered as vehicular traffic and, therefore, in such a case, all relevant rules and regulations for road vehicles would apply accordingly.
Capital expenditure on rail infrastructure projects is primarily the responsibility of Network Rail which is funded in accordance with the Office of Rail Regulation's determination of its income requirement. This income requirement is derived from the outputs set out in the High Level Output Specification set out by the Government in their White Paper—Delivering a Sustainable Railway.
We are also bringing forward around £300 million for an additional 202 train carriages to relieve overcrowding, pursuant to the previously announced High Level Output Specification. The trains are due to enter service by 2012 subject to negotiations with train operators.
The Department for Transport does not hold this information. However, this information should be available from the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC). My hon. Friend should contact ATOC at the following address for a response to his question.
Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC)
3rd Floor
40 Bernard Street
London
WC1N 1BY
The Department for Transport does not hold the information requested. It may be available from the rolling stock leasing companies, individual train operators or the Association of Train Operating Companies.
Railways: Disabled
The majority of trains have been accessible to wheelchair users for many years, although the proportion that meet modern accessibility standards has increased dramatically since the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (RVAR) (SI 1998/2456) were introduced in 1998. The RVAR considerably improve the accessibility of rail vehicles to disabled people by setting minimum technical standards designed to make trains more accessible to disabled people, including wheelchair users.
Almost 4,800 train carriages have been built in compliance with RVAR, while almost all older vehicles have featured improved accessibility, including for wheelchair users, when they have undergone refurbishment. A list of all trains that were built in compliance with RVAR and their current operator is available on the Department for Transport's website:
www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyou/access/rail/vehicles/pubs/rva/accessibilityregulations.xls)
However, as rolling stock is frequently moved between different train operating companies, the Department does not keep a historical record of where these rail vehicles have previously been in service.
The UK's lead in this area resulted last year in the introduction of new pan-European accessibility standards (the Technical Specification of Interoperability for Persons with Reduced Mobility—PRM TSI) which are based on RVAR. In future, all heavy rail trains will be subject to the PRM TSI, while tram, underground and metro systems will remain subject to RVAR.
In 2008, the Department set an end date of 1 January 2020, by which time all trains must be accessible. This is some 15 years earlier than would occur naturally through normal fleet replacement and we are already working closely with the rail industry to deliver this commitment.