Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 27 October 2009
Work and Pensions
Child Poverty Bill
[holding answer 22 October 2009]: Estimates of the monetary value in 2009-10 prices of the relative poverty threshold are not available. The thresholds for 2007-08 (the latest Households Below Average Income statistics available) are (a) £158 per week for a single adult; (b) £236 per week for a couple without children; and (c) £283 per week for a couple with one child under 14, and £314 per week for a couple with one child who is 14 or over.
Cold Weather Payments: Bedfordshire
Mid-Bedfordshire constituency is linked to Bedford weather station. The number of times cold weather payments have been triggered at this weather station in each year since 2002-03 is given in the following table:
Number 2002-03 1 2003-04 0 2004-05 0 2005-06 0 2006-07 0 2007-08 0 2008-09 3 Source: DWP records.
It is not possible to give the estimated number of payments made in 2002-03 and 2008-09 to residents of Mid-Bedfordshire constituency as this information is not available at constituency level but only by weather station (and Bedford weather station covers a wider area than just this constituency).
Housing Benefit
Such information as is available is in the following tables.
Number England 692,440 North East 36,790 North West 112,130 Yorkshire and the Humber 63,730 East Midlands 43,700 West Midlands 59,130 East 59,180 London 132,060 South East 104,700 South West 81,020
Number England 11,071,050 North East 55,380 North West 159,950 Yorkshire and the Humber 101,340 East Midlands 76,480 West Midlands 101,570 East 96,290 London 1200,140 South East 159,990 South West 119,910
Number London 132,060 Barking and Dagenham 2,690 Barnet 7,640 Bexley 2,130 Brent 8,590 Bromley 2,880 Camden 3,880 City of London 80 Croydon 7,380 Ealing 5,860 Enfield 6,610 Greenwich 2,980 Hackney 4,490 Hammersmith and Fulham 2,920 Haringey 7,400 Harrow 4,570 Havering 2,200 Hillingdon 3,380 Hounslow 3,310 Islington 2,180 Kensington and Chelsea 2,600 Kingston Upon Thames 1,690 Lambeth 4,710 Lewisham 5,400 Merton 2,620 Newham 8,140 Redbridge 4,830 Richmond Upon Thames 1,800 Southwark 3,180 Sutton 2,060 Tower Hamlets 2,000 Waltham Forest 4,480 Wandsworth 3,590 Westminster 3,810
Number London 1200,140 Barking and Dagenham 4,890 Barnet 2— Bexley 3,560 Brent 11,380 Bromley 4,340 Camden 4,120 City of London 110 Croydon 12,880 Ealing 8,690 Enfield 2— Greenwich 4,230 Hackney 7,190 Hammersmith and Fulham 3,720 Haringey 10,000 Harrow 7,000 Havering 3,410 Hillingdon 5,750 Hounslow 5,170 Islington 2,830 Kensington and Chelsea 3,350 Kingston Upon Thames 2,690 Lambeth 6,330 Lewisham 7,940 Merton 3,690 Newham 2— Redbridge 2— Richmond Upon Thames 2,390 Southwark 3,850 Sutton 3,400 Tower Hamlets 3,910 Waltham Forest 7,760 Wandsworth 6,000 Westminster 5,980 1 Estimates of the four missing London boroughs have been used to get these figures. 2 Denotes information not available until revised figures are released on 11 November 2009. Please visit http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/hb_ctb/Methodology_revision_webpage.pdf for an understanding of improvements in methodology for housing benefit/council tax benefit caseload national statistics. Notes: 1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 4. Figures may not sum due to rounding. 5. Housing benefit figures exclude any extended payment cases. 6. Private tenants exclude registered social landlords. Source: Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent, taken in May 2005 and Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE) taken in May 2009
Housing Benefit: Bedfordshire
Housing benefit information is not available at constituency level.
Housing Benefit: Lone Parents
The latest available information is in the following table:
Number May 2004 25,000 Notes: 1. The figures are based on a 1 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation. 2. Lone parents are defined as single people with dependants. 3. 16 to 19-year-olds have been included in the sample. 4. The figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand. 5. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 6. Housing benefit figures exclude any extended payment cases. Source: Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, Annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 2004.
From February 2007, DWP has been collecting more detailed HB/CTB data electronically from local authorities. Over time this will improve the accuracy, timeliness and level of detail available in the published statistics. Quality assurance has been carried out on much of the new data, and the results are published at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/hbctb.asp
However, as not all of the detail has been quality assured to publication standard, this particular question can only be answered by using data from the previous detailed data source, which is for May 2004.
New Deal Schemes: Enfield
The table shows the number of job starts by young people in the Enfield North constituency who have found work through the New Deal for Young People since 1998. Some individuals will have had more than one job start:
Job starts 1998 130 1999 180 2000 160 2001 150 2002 110 2003 180 2004 210 2005 190 2006 200 2007 230 2008 200 2009 30 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Westminster parliamentary constituency (post May 2005) is allocated using the ONS postcode directory and customer's postcode. 3. Year of entering job is the calendar year that the job was gained. 4. Latest data are to February 2009. Source: The Department for Work and Pensions. Information Directorate.
The figures are available at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/tabtool.asp
The table shows the number of job starts by people in the Enfield North constituency who have found work through the New Deal for Lone Parents since 1998. Some individuals will have had more than one job start.
Job starts 1998 — 1999 40 2000 60 2001 60 2002 70 2003 100 2004 130 2005 150 2006 160 2007 140 2008 160 2009 20 Notes: 1. ‘—’ nil or negligible. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Westminster parliamentary constituency (post May 2005) is allocated using the ONS postcode directory and customer's postcode. 4. Year of entering job is the calendar year that the job was gained. 5. Latest data are to February 2009. Source: The Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate
The figures are available at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/tabtool.asp
Poverty: Children
[holding answer 26 October 2009]: The dataset ‘Children in Families in Receipt of Out-of-work Benefits' is currently used as a proxy to measure child poverty at the local level. This dataset is the basis for indicator 116 in the National Indicator Set, used by local government and its partners. The data were produced between 2004 and 2007 and are available at both local authority and ward level. April 2007 is the latest available. There is a six-month time lag for this dataset.
A revised indicator is currently being developed to measure child poverty at local level and will include children living in low income working families as well as those in workless families. The revised indicator will be the proportion of children living in families in receipt of out-of-work benefits or working families whose income is below 60 per cent. of median income. This will provide information on both in-work and out-of-work poverty in the local area.
The data will also be available at both local authority and ward level. It will be produced annually. Data will shortly be available for 2006 and 2007.
In addition to NI116, the National Indicator Set provides local authorities and their partners with a wide range of data related to child poverty and its underlying causes. Local authorities can use local administrative data to supplement the data that are provided from central Government.
The Child Poverty Unit is working with the Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People's Services (C4EO)—a sector led organisation—to develop a tool to help local delivery partners analyse local data relating to child poverty. This tool will be available from the end of the year.
[holding answer 26 October 2009]: In 2007-08, there were 2.9 million children in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of median income when disability living allowance is included as income. Of these, 0.8 million children were in households with one or more disabled adult.
When disability living allowance is excluded as income, there were 2.9 million children in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of median income in 2007-08. Of these, 0.9 million children were in households with one or more disabled adults.
Notes:
1. These statistics are based on households below average income, sourced from the Family Resources survey. The Family Resources survey is available in the Library.
2. Small changes should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response.
3. The reference period for households below average income figures are single financial years.
4. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication “Households Below Average Income” (HBAI) series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or ‘equivalised’) for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living.
5. For the households below average income series, incomes have been equivalised using the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) equivalisation factors.
6. Numbers of children have been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand.
7. No adjustment is made to disposable household income to take into account any additional costs that may be incurred due to an illness or disability, because research shows these vary significantly in level and nature, and there is no general agreement on how to measure these costs.
Winter Fuel Payments
[holding answer 26 October 2009]: The age of eligibility for winter fuel payments will increase in line with the state pension age for women from winter 2010-11 onwards. The necessary legislation was put in place earlier this year.
Government spending plans and forecasts have been based on the assumption that the winter fuel payment qualifying age would increase and therefore there are no savings associated with this change.
Winter Fuel Payments: Overseas Residence
64,000 pensioners based overseas received a winter fuel allowance in 2008-09.
Notes:
Data are rounded to the nearest 1000.
Source:
Winter Fuel Payment datasets
Under European law some benefits acquired in one member state must be paid to people who live outside that state but within the European economic area (EEA). To comply with this law winter fuel payments are paid to former UK residents living elsewhere in the EEA if they qualified for a payment before leaving the UK.
Solicitor-General
Departmental Travel
Treasury Solicitors (including AGO and HMCPSI) has spent the following on travel and subsistence in each of the last five years
Year ending 31 March Treasury Solicitor’s (£) AGO (£) HMCPSI (£) Total (£000) 2005 419,841 77,068 144,746 641,655 2006 486,821 112,103 141,995 740,919 2007 416,544 143,943 166,796 727,283 2008 525,616 84,126 137,003 746,744 2009 362,159 66,825 111,311 540,295
TSol spend includes case related Travel and Subsistence which is recharged to clients on a cost recovery basis.
It is not possible to provide an analysis of this expenditure for each of the categories without the disproportionate cost threshold.
£ 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-101 Air fares — 32,539 73,160 41,058 17,400 Hotels 3,359 52,460 86,312 69,607 24,667 Rail tickets 223,100 109,418 167,860 194,930 65,352 Vehicle hire 4,075 4,268 2,713 950 667 Total 230,534 198,684 330,045 306,545 108,086 1 2009-10 figures represent April 2009-September 2009.
RCPO does not identify separately expenditure on restaurant meals.
£ Financial year (a) Car hire (b) Train travel (c) Air travel (d) Hotels (e) Restaurant meals 2005-06 37,969 101,404 216,061 142,225 4,064 2006-07 48,053 93,845 167,842 318,761 6,154 2007-08 35,905 80,247 308,282 202,592 6,372 2008-09 32,781 139,947 338,993 243,973 8,650 1 April 2009-30 September 20091 8,562 56,464 63,157 93,601 3,863 1 The last date for which figures are available.
Information is not available in comparable form for 2004-05. The figures for restaurant meals also cover working lunches and refreshments and are thus overstated: a separate breakdown is not readily available.
The Government publish, on an annual basis, the total costs of all ministerial overseas travel costing in excess of £500. The 2008-09 list was published on 16 July and can be viewed at:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/propriety_and_ethics/ministers/travel_gifts.aspx.
Northern Ireland
Causeway Hospital: Prison Escapes
Following a brief escape of a prisoner awaiting treatment at the Causeway hospital, a senior prison governor carried out a comprehensive investigation.
The investigation identified a number of shortcomings in the management of the escort and made recommendations for staff to be reminded of the correct procedures. It was concluded there was, however, no need to change the procedures themselves.
Prisons: Drugs
The Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) takes very seriously its responsibility to stop illegal drugs entering establishments. Visitors, staff and others are required to undergo a rub-down search, and items brought into prisons are subject to a Rapiscan search. A passive drugs dog is used to screen visitors to prisoners before admission to the visits room. Prisoners entering or leaving the visits room are subject to either a rub-down or full search; the latter requires removal of clothing. CCTV operates in all visits rooms, and includes the use of new CCTV equipment at Maghaberry. Supervisory staff patrol the visits room with modern, discreet communication links to the CCTV operator. Searching takes place regularly throughout establishments including active search dogs trained to detect secreted drugs.
This year NIPS introduced new procedures for management of prisoners' private cash. Co-operation between NIPS and PSNI has increased with a better flow of intelligence and targeted searching of visitors and accommodation areas. Revised Prison Rules will be introduced by the year end to facilitate mandatory drug testing of all prisoners using new saliva testing procedures to replace the current urine test. Governors will have delegated authority to ban visitors and impose closed visits on prisoners and visitors who abuse the visiting arrangements.
Transport
Airports: Thames Estuary
[holding answer 15 October 2009]: Ministers in the Department for Transport have not received any formal or substantive representations on this matter from the Mayor of London, but are familiar with his views on it, which have been widely reported. The Mayor has raised the subject at various meetings with the Secretary of State for Transport and his predecessors, but no substantive or costed proposal has been put forward.
Aviation: Health Hazards
We have received correspondence from a very small number of pilots who consider they have received neurological damage in the course of their work but the Department for Transport does not operate a reporting system for pilot fitness.
Aviation: Waltham Forest
The Department for Transport does not hold this information. The air traffic management aspects of implementing the increase in the number of annual flights at London City Airport approved in October 2008 by the London Borough of Newham are an operational matter for NATS, regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). However, CAA statistics indicate that the number of air traffic movements to and from London City Airport have fallen in recent months compared to the previous year's figures.
Number Percentage change January 5,861 -12 February 5,688 -8 March 6,586 -1 April 5,792 -24 May 5,809 -20 June 5,903 -21 July 5,456 -27 August 14,558 -30.5 1 CAA provisional statistics
According to available Civil Aviation Authority data, in August 2008 there were approximately 41,000 aircraft movements (arrivals and departures) at Heathrow airport, of which approximately 7,600 passed over Waltham Forest. The vast majority of these were arrivals. In August 2009, there were approximately 39,800 aircraft movements at Heathrow airport of which approximately 6,600 passed over Waltham Forest.
Bus Services: Concessions
The Department for Transport is not responsible for issuing passes and so does not maintain records of how many passes individual authorities have issued.
North East Derbyshire is part of the Derbyshire County concessionary travel scheme. The last information held by the Department was that as of 17 April 2009, the Derbyshire County scheme had issued 227,472 of the new smartcard concessionary passes. This includes passes issued to disabled people as well as those aged 60 and over.
Buses: York
Between 1996-97 and 2007-08 (the latest year for which figures are currently available) the number of local bus passenger journeys in England increased by 18 per cent. Over the same period the number of local bus passenger journeys in Yorkshire and the Humber decreased by 13 per cent.
Owing to the small number of bus operators present in the area, figures for the City of York are commercially confidential and therefore cannot be published.
Figures for each year can be found in the following table:
Million 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 England Passenger journeys 3,844 3,859 3,808 3,804 3,842 3,881 3,964 4,087 4,140 4,196 4,470 4,530 Percentage change — 0.4 -1.3 -0.1 1.0 1.0 2.1 3.1 1.3 1.4 6.5 1.3 Yorkshire and the Humber Passenger journeys 431 419 394 398 397 387 388 376 358 362 381 374 Percentage change — -2.8 -6.0 1.0 -0.3 -2.5 0.3 -3.1 -4.8 1.1 5.2 -1.8 1 Each boarding of the vehicle is counted as one journey. Source: DFT Survey of Bus Operators
Crossrail Line
Records are not kept in the specific format required to derive the answer to this question. However, the following table provides details of the approximate number of departmental staff from the Department for Transport and relevant Departments prior to its establishment in 2002, who worked primarily on Crossrail at some point during each year since 2000 based on best estimates:
Number 2000 0 2001 0 2002 0 2003 3 2004 6 2005 15 2006 13 2007 14 2008 21 2009 10
The figures shown do not include staff numbers from Transport for London, the Department for Transport's co-sponsor in the scheme, or at Crossrail Limited (formerly Cross London Rail Links), the Project Delivery Body.
Departmental Manpower
A wide range of officials in the central Department for Transport and its agencies have contributed to policy developments and projects relating to these matters. The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The Department for Transport does not have records of the number of officials who have worked on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link project as far back as 1997. However we do have figures for the number of full-time equivalents from 2002 as follows:
2002 to mid-2005 inclusive: Five
Mid-2005 to 2007: Three
2008 to date: Two.
These figures relate to the delivery phase of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
Departmental Telephone Services
The Department for Transport and its agencies do not operate any helplines.
First TransPennine Express: Standards
[holding answer 26 October 2009]: The Government's plans for further electrification of the network will lead to the introduction of additional electric trains. This will in turn allow the redeployment of existing diesel trains to provide additional capacity on TransPennine services and it is anticipated that this will occur by 2014.
Heathrow Airport
According to the Civil Aviation Authority there have been no changes to the airspace structure or arrival/departure procedures associated with London Heathrow in the last 12 months.
Parking
There is extensive research on car parking. In May 2007 for example the Department of Communities and Local Government published residential car parking research, which addressed the availability of on- and off-street parking in residential developments and the efficiency of allocating spaces to dwellings. It concluded that well-designed on-street parking in residential areas can make a valuable and flexible contribution to the overall supply of parking.
The full report can be found at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/residentialcarparking
The ‘Manual for Streets’ also explains the efficiency benefits of unallocated car parking and the need to meet at least some of the normal demand on the street. This can be found at:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/manforstreets/
Railways: Freight
The current rail environmental benefit procurement scheme has two components that provide revenue support for rail freight based upon the amount of lorries removed from the roads. The Department for Transport has reviewed both of the rail freight support schemes over the last two years. Consequently we are continuing with the well established freight facilities grant scheme and have secured European state aids clearance for the introduction of a revised revenue support scheme from April next year called mode shift revenue support. Both of the schemes are designed to help rail freight compete more effectively with road transport and to increase the quantity of goods transported by rail.
Railways: Penalty Fares
Correspondence with Passenger Focus and London TravelWatch on the Penalty Fares Rules and Penalty Fares Policy will be published on the Department for Transport's website and placed in the Libraries of the House after the consultation process has been completed.
Railways: Staffordshire
The Department for Transport does not hold this information. The Office of Rail Regulation does however publish regional passenger flows in the National Rail Trends Yearbook editions, which are available in the House Libraries or from their website:
www.rail-reg.gov.uk
Road Signs and Markings: Research
Familiarity and understanding of traffic signs are an integral part of the theory and practical driving test.
The Department for Transport last conducted research on wider understanding of traffic signs in 2003. An earlier study was carried out in 1985. The results of the most recent study were published in a report entitled “Increasing Understanding of Traffic Signs” in March 2004. A further research project has been agreed to inform the ongoing traffic signs policy review. We plan to commission this work later this year.
Road Signs and Markings: Reviews
The last review of traffic signing rules resulted in the current Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions, which came into force in January 2003. In September 2008 the Department for Transport announced the start of a root and branch review of traffic signing policy in Great Britain. The ongoing review has already led to a number of proposed regulatory amendments, on which we are currently consulting. We expect one of the final review outcomes to be a comprehensive package of revised regulations.
Road Traffic Control
I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 16 September 2009, Official Report, column 2281W, which informed her that no intervention notices under section 20 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 have been issued. Therefore, the associated intervention powers provided by that Act have not been applied to highway authorities.
Roads: Accidents
Contributory factors data in reported road accidents are only available since 2005. The information requested is given in the table:
Percentage of accidents 2005 18 2006 16 2007 16 2008 16 1 Includes only accidents where a police officer attended the scene and in which a contributory factor was reported.
Roads: Finance
The information is not available in the form requested.
Funding for investment, maintenance and operation of strategic roads is the responsibility of the Highways Agency (HA). The HA’s reporting systems do not record actual expenditure for local authority areas; expenditure is recorded by project and activity. Estimates are compiled for regional expenditure to supplement data reported in the Department for Transport’s annual report. Details of Highways Agency expenditure are included in their annual report which is available in the Library of the House.
The development and improvement of non-strategic roads in England is the responsibility of the relevant local transport authority. The Department allocates block funding to local transport authorities outside London for capital investment in transport improvement and maintenance projects. This funding is not ring-fenced and local authorities have discretion to spend their allocations in line with their priorities.
There is additional funding available for detrunked roads and road safety schemes. The following table shows the allocations for England (excluding London), the East of England and Suffolk in each of the last five years for these categories.
Capital funding for non strategic roads Funding for road safety and detrunked roads Total funding Per capita spend (£) Suffolk 2008-09 21.545 4.819 26.364 36.821 2007-08 21.845 6.193 28.038 39.546 2006-07 17.610 3.728 21.338 30.396 2005-06 22.624 3.586 26.210 37.658 2004-05 22.230 3.145 25.375 36.936 East of England 2008-09 157.791 28.422 186.213 32.504 2007-08 159.476 32.221 191.697 33.863 2006-07 152.826 18.733 171.559 30.603 2005-06 156.899 10.225 167.124 30.042 2004-05 156.586 9.839 166.425 30.199 England (excludes London) 2008-09 1,280.000 183.691 1,463.691 33.398 2007-08 1,254.000 181.936 1,435.936 32.983 2006-07 1,218.871 83.716 1,302.587 30.117 2005-06 1,215.285 80.358 1,295.643 30.125 2004-05 1,308.411 63.509 1,371.920 32.113
In addition over £118 million was provided for local major road projects in the East of England over this five year period. For Suffolk specifically the Department contributed £29.621 million towards the South Lowestoft Relief Road and £12 million towards the B1115 Stowmarket Relief Road.
Revenue expenditure on transport is generally supported through the Department for Communities and Local Government’s formula grant. Transport for London are directly responsible for London’s strategic roads and receive financial support from the Government’s Greater London Authority Transport Grant.
Transport: Infrastructure
A budget for total Department for Transport expenditure on transport infrastructure improvements by region is not available. The following figures show allocations of local and regional funding for combined spend on the Integrated Transport Block (generally schemes costing less than £5 million) and highway maintenance, and Major schemes (generally schemes costing more than £5 million).
South West
Major schemes: £92 million
Integrated Transport Block and highway maintenance: £175 million
Dorset
Major schemes: £32 million
Integrated Transport Block and highway maintenance: £19 million
The Department spends funds on the strategic road network through the Highways Agency (HA). The HA's reporting systems do not record actual expenditure for local authority areas; expenditure is recorded by project and activity.
Tunnels: Mobile Phones
The Department for Transport has not conducted studies on mobile phone coverage in tunnels.
The Heathrow Express rail service does offer uninterrupted mobile coverage in its tunnel sections. However in general rail tunnels are not equipped with GSM transceivers.
Most existing Highways Agency tunnels have Airwave transmission to support emergency services and traffic officer communications. Where provision is made for public mobile phone coverage in tunnels, suitable agreements are required with the individual mobile phone operators.
For new, longer Highways Agency road tunnels such as at Hindhead, and where tunnels are currently being upgraded such as on the A1 (M) at Hatfield, the infrastructure is being provided to support mobile phone usage. Mobile phone coverage is also available in both bores of the Dartford tunnel. For shorter tunnels generally the mobile phone signal spills through the portal enabling reception in most of the tunnel.
The management of the local road network in England is the responsibility of local highway authorities. Data on how many road tunnels on local roads in England are equipped with GSM transceivers are not held centrally.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agriculture: Environment Protection
The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan published on 15 July is the most systematic response to climate change of any major developed economy, setting out the Government's approach to securing reductions from the agriculture sector. It challenges the English farming industry to develop a voluntary plan to deliver three million tonnes CO2 of emissions savings from livestock and fertiliser—which will reduce emissions in English agriculture by about 10 per cent. by 2020.
To achieve this, Government will be supporting farmers to take action by ensuring they have access to a comprehensive low-carbon advisory service; continuing our support for Anaerobic Digestion; improving the national inventory for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from farming; and working with the Carbon Trust to make farming businesses eligible for its interest-free loans for low-carbon activity.
The Plan commits Government to review progress on the voluntary plan by 2012 and intervene if the voluntary plan is failing to deliver. Government will publish its options for intervention in its Carbon Reduction Delivery Plan in spring 2010.
We have also worked closely with the dairy sector to produce a Dairy Roadmap to develop opportunities to mitigate climate change impacts and assess the positive benefits to the landscape and biodiversity of cattle husbandry. A Beef and Lamb Roadmap is now being developed by the industry with DEFRA support and the newly formed Pig Meat Supply Chain Task Force will be working with the industry's Pig Environment Partnership to deliver similar roadmap for the pig sector.
Agriculture can have both positive and negative impacts on biodiversity. These effects are monitored through a variety of sources. These include the Farmland Birds Index, which represents a general indicator of the state of the farmed environment, research and analyses through the Agricultural Change and Environment Observatory and the continued development of Environmental Accounts for Agriculture. The aim is to quantify and value the full range of impacts using the best available evidence from a range of sources to help inform policy responses.
Policy mechanisms include regulation and incentives, as well as providing information and advice to farmers on how to improve their environmental performance. Earlier this year there was a review of baseline standards in cross compliance that farmers have to meet as a condition of the Single Payment Scheme. Cross compliance protects a variety of habitat features and in future will place greater emphasis on protecting water resources and water quality. These standards are complemented by our agri-environment schemes such as Environmental Stewardship which reward farmers for positive habitat management.
Environmental Stewardship has recently been reviewed resulting in new options to further encourage farmers to manage their land in an environmentally friendly way and an overarching climate change theme. In particular there will be a new component specifically designed for uplands farmers which will be launched in January 2010. Our agri-environment schemes have been popular and successful with 65.8 per cent. of farmland currently under agreement. Natural England has a target to increase the coverage of the schemes to 70 per cent. by March 2011.
Agriculture: Subsidies
The overall Single Payment Scheme (SPS) payments made to individuals who received £200,000 or more in the last three years and total amounts are reflected in the following table. The details for each recipient will be placed in the House Library.
SPS year Individuals Total amount paid (£)1 2006 344 119,795,387.90 2007 309 107,022,405.65 20082 378 120,664,553.45 1 The total payment value for each year does not account for any additional payments made as a result of any modulation refund due to individuals. 2 This line reflects the 2008 claim payments made to date. The Rural Payments Agency continues to work on a small number of applications that are not yet validated for full payment.
Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control
The money will be split between England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the division of the funding has yet to be agreed.
The European Commission Decision that was approved by the Standing Committee allows allocated EU funding to be used to reimburse member states for three measures: the costs of tuberculin testing, gamma interferon blood testing and compensation for cattle slaughtered.
The Decision sets out the maximum of the costs that member states can claim for each:
tuberculin test: €1.75 per test
gamma-interferon test: €5 per test
compensation: €375 per animal.
Climate Change: Farming
DEFRA has commissioned a number of studies, some of which are ongoing, to assess the environmental impacts of greenhouse gas emissions from several agricultural commodities throughout their lifecycle. This includes assessment of commodities produced in different farming systems (including organic). The most relevant studies are listed as follows:
Project AC020: A study of the scope for the application of research in animal genomics and breeding to reduce nitrogen and methane emissions from livestock based food chains—published in April 2008.
Project AC020: Developing technologies to improve the fertility of dairy cows—published in January 2008.
Project AC0206: Agriculture and climate change: turning results into practical action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions—A review—published in July 2007.
Project AC0207: The translation of existing research outputs into actions that reduce pollution gas emissions from agriculture—due for imminent completion.
Project AC0208: The limits to a sustainable livestock sector in the UK—due for imminent completion.
Project AC0209: Ruminant nutrition regimes to reduce methane and nitrogen emissions—due for completion in March 2010.
Project IS0205: Determining the environmental burdens and resource use in the production of agricultural and horticultural commodities—published in August 2005.
Project IS0222: Developing and delivering environmental Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) of agricultural systems—due to be completed in September 2010.
Project AC0210: Economic and environmental impacts of livestock production in the UK—due to be completed in July 2010.
Project AC0214: Roadmaps integrating RTD in developing realistic GHG mitigation options from agriculture up to 2030—due for imminent completion.
Project AC0216: Review of the Marginal Abatement Cost Curves for Agriculture produced for the Committee on Climate Change—due for imminent completion.
Project AC0219: Methane emissions by individual dairy cows under commercial conditions—due to be completed in March 2010
Project AC0310. Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation—a Risk Based Approach—due for completion in April 2010.
Project AC0406: The optimisation and impacts of expanding biogas production—due for completion in January 2010.
Project WQ0106: Quantitative Assessment of Scenarios for Managing Trade-Off Between Economics, Environment and Media—completed 2009.
Iraq Committee of Inquiry
I refer to the Prime Minister's answer on 9 October 2009, Official Report, column 1210W.
Noise
In December 2002, the Government noted that there was a need for a Neighbour Noise strategy to compliment the support that had been received for developing an Ambient Noise strategy. Subsequently, it was agreed that it would be sensible to combine the proposed ambient and neighbourhood strategies into a single strategy addressing environmental, neighbour and neighbourhood noise.
However, 2002 was also the year that the environmental noise directive (END) became law, and its implementation has had to be the Department’s main focus of activity regarding noise. In meeting the requirements of the END, we are now progressing noise action plans, and this is helping to refine existing policy as evidence on the effects of noise continues to emerge.
The Government are in the process of consolidating, for all sources of noise, their longer term noise management policies, some of which can be found in the draft noise action plans, and determining how these could be best delivered.
Rights of Way: Yorkshire and the Humber
In the Yorkshire and the Humber region, 70 per cent. (approximately 122 miles) of the coast has legally secure access on existing public rights of way. This includes access by public footpath, road and promenade.
Sheep: Tagging
DEFRA has no plans to fund any equipment or software required for compliance with electronic sheep tagging regulations (EID). However, some rural development funding may be available to support training for livestock producers to help prepare them for EID implementation, where such purposes are in line with regionally determined priorities.
Water Supply
DEFRA has not received any recent representations on low water pressure.
However, since 1 April 2008, Ofwat, the independent economic regulator for the water industry, has received three representations on the subject, and the Consumer Council for Water has received 595.
Defence
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
The information provided in the following table summarises live UK service personnel who have an injury coded as a traumatic or surgical amputation, partial or complete, for either upper or lower limbs. This could range from the loss of part of a finger or toe up to the loss of an entire limb or limbs, between 1 January 2008 and 30 September 2009 as a result of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq combined. Those classified as “significant multiple amputees” have suffered amputations above the wrist or ankle on more than one limb.
Period Total limb amputees Of which: significant multiple amputees January 2008 to December 2008 27 6 January 2009 to September 2009 32 13 Total 55 19
Numbers are released in accordance with Office for National Statistics guidance, so that when small numbers of patients are concerned, these are suppressed to protect patient confidentiality. In each case, owing to the small numbers involved, it is not possible to present meaningful data on a monthly basis.
The most complete data currently available for injuries to the eye cover the period 19 July 2004 to 14 July 2008. In this four-year period, 62 casualties from Op Herrick sustained eye injuries, of which 15 lost sight in one or both eyes to a level of visual acuity less than 6/60. More recent data have yet to be validated.
In addition to the above, between 1 April 2006 and 30 June 2009, the number of UK service casualties who have been registered as severely sight impaired (SSI), i.e. effectively blind, from Op Herrick is less than five. The actual number is not released in order to avoid compromising individual patient details in circumstances where small numbers of patients are involved.
The fixed-wing manned aircraft currently based in Afghanistan are the GR4 Tornado and the C-130 Hercules. There are eight Tornados and four Hercules based in Afghanistan.
As at 22 October 2009, there were 13 field support representatives (civilian contractor staff) based in Afghanistan providing support and maintenance for vehicles purchased as urgent operational requirements.
Armed Forces: Dental Services
The Defence Dental Services did not introduce any new mobile dental facilities for military personnel in December 2008. Where fixed dental surgeries are not available, the three armed forces dental branches have used portable dental units for the last 30 years or more. They are mainly employed on land operations or on smaller HM ships that do not routinely carry a dental team. The Royal Naval Dental Services have also used mobile dental surgeries in HM dockyards for many years. These mobile dental facilities are currently being refurbished.
More generally, the Service Personnel Command Paper (Cm 7424) noted the problems encountered by service families in accessing dental services, and stated that the Government would address these in a variety of ways, including the provision of mobile services. However, when considering a suitable location for trialling mobile services, it became clear that there was a lack of information about the real extent of difficulties in getting access to dentistry, and most reported cases could be resolved through advice and advocacy from local service and welfare organisations. The Ministry of Defence and the Department of Health concluded there was no requirement for a trial at this time, but work continues to gather evidence of any geographical problems, and should the need for mobile services become apparent this solution will be reconsidered.
Armed Forces: Disciplinary Proceedings
Existing service justice system processes already inform the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) of appropriate findings both within and outside the UK. This procedure will continue. With compulsory Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) registration and monitoring not effective until November 2010, the implications for the services of this aspect of the Vetting and Barring Scheme are still being developed. To that end, we continue to work closely with both the ISA and CRB.
Armed Forces: Families
There are well over a thousand locations in the UK and around the world where armed forces personnel and their families are based. To list the numbers of personnel and the facilities available at each could be done only at disproportionate cost. Each base has personnel who, as part of their duties, are responsible for the welfare of service personnel and their families. Facilities available include a wide range of services from HIVE information services, dedicated sports and recreational facilities, community centres, crèches to numerous social and special interest clubs.
The minutes of the Families Working Group held in 2008 and 2009 will be placed in the Library of the House shortly. These documents will be reproduced in full other than the names of individuals which will be redacted according to normal practice.
Armed Forces: Health Services
The Defence Medical Services' Inspector General (IG) post was created early in 2008. Its first incumbent, Surg RAdm Philip Raffaelli, was succeeded by the current post holder, Air Cdre Aroop Mozumder, on 8 July 2009. The IG's principal role is to provide the Surgeon General with an efficient and effective healthcare and corporate governance assurance framework and to oversee this process.
The IG will produce an annual report of activity in summer 2010 which will be placed in the Library of the House.
Armed Forces: Housing
The following tables list the number and location of all substitute service family accommodation (SSFA) and substitute service single accommodation (SSSA).
Location Number of properties Aberdeen 2 Birmingham 109 Bath 22 Blackburn 5 Bradford 1 Bournemouth 29 Bolton 8 Brighton 4 Bromley 1 Bristol 13 Carlisle 4 Cambridge 20 Cardiff 13 Chester 7 Chelmsford 9 Colchester 2 Croydon 3 Canterbury 4 Coventry 24 Crewe 1 Dundee 3 Derby 2 Dumfries 2 Durham 5 Darlington 34 Doncaster 3 Dorchester 29 Dudley 2 London E 3 Exeter 26 Falkirk 11 Glasgow 8 Gloucester 10 Guildford 18 Harrow 17 Huddersfield 2 Harrogate 1 Hemel Hempstead 128 Hereford 96 Hull 9 Halifax 4 Ipswich 9 Kilmarnock 3 Kensington Upon Thames 5 Liverpool 18 Lancaster 14 Llandrindod Wells 2 Leicester 7 Llandudno 12 Leeds 8 Luton 5 Manchester 4 Milton Keynes 10 London N 3 Newcastle 5 Nottingham 55 Newport 9 London NW 5 Oldham 4 Oxford 179 Paisley 2 Peterborough 3 Plymouth 94 Portsmouth 18 Preston 10 Reading 4 Redhill 1 Sheffield 11 Swansea 15 London SE 5 Stevenage 3 Stockport 7 Slough 21 Sutton 1 Swindon 24 Southampton 71 Salisbury 56 Sunderland 2 Southend on Sea 1 Stoke on Trent 4 London SW 12 Shrewsbury 6 Taunton 18 Berwick Upon Tweed 3 Tonbridge 6 Torquay 3 Truro 32 Middlesbrough 17 Twickenham 3 Uxbridge 4 London W 12 Warrington 4 Watford 3 Wakefield 1 Wigan 1 Worcester 5 Walsall 1 Wolverhampton 2 York 25 Shetland Islands 1 Total 1,563
Location Number of properties Aberdeen 17 Bath 169 Belfast 3 Berwick upon Tweed 2 Birmingham 271 Blackburn 6 Blackpool 60 Bolton 17 Bournemouth 9 Bradford 2 Brighton 19 Bristol 437 Bromley 7 Cambridge 45 Canterbury 31 Cardiff 52 Carlisle 24 Chelmsford 8 Chester 36 Colchester 132 Coventry 30 Crewe 3 Croydon 9 Darlington 87 Dartford 3 Derby 5 Doncaster 8 Dorchester 10 Dudley 2 Dumfries 3 Dundee 29 Durham 4 Edinburgh 69 Enfield 2 Exeter 36 Falkirk 24 Glasgow 235 Gloucester 39 Guildford 168 Halifax 2 Harrow 11 Harrogate 13 Hemel Hempstead 4 Hereford 146 Huddersfield 2 Hull 82 Ilford 6 Inverness 18 Ipswich 87 Kensington Upon Thames 16 Kilmarnock 39 Kirkcaldy 8 Kirkwall 3 Lancaster 151 Llandrindod Wells 34 Leeds 35 Leicester 24 Lincoln 1 Liverpool 72 Llandudno 42 London E 214 London EC 10 London N 32 London NW 64 London SE 180 London SW 470 London W 72 London WC 1 Luton 17 Manchester 43 Medway 5 Middlesbrough 19 Milton Keynes 33 Motherwell 2 Newcastle 92 Newport 46 Northampton 1 Norwich 7 Nottingham 26 Oldham 3 Oxford 28 Paisley 7 Perth 14 Peterborough 9 Plymouth 31 Portsmouth 57 Preston 47 Reading 17 Redhill 10 Romford 6 Salisbury 122 Sheffield 38 Shrewsbury 7 Slough 23 Southampton 26 Southend On Sea 3 Stevenage 6 Stoke on Trent 13 Stockport 4 Sunderland 4 Sutton 2 Swansea 18 Swindon 86 Taunton 14 Telford 8 Tonbridge 47 Torquay 2 Truro 16 Twickenham 63 Uxbridge 1 Wakefield 15 Walsall 7 Warrington 23 Watford 5 Wigan 3 Wolverhampton 4 Worcester 7 York 61 Total 5,100
The SSFA/SSSA figures represent a snapshot of properties held. The total number of SSFA and SSSA held fluctuates from day to day as leases are terminated or taken on.
Armed Forces: Vetting
The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 applies to all service personnel who perform ‘regulated activity’ duties and to which the Act ordinarily applies. Additionally, the Act contains provisions which enable the armed forces to request that those who supervise or train under-18s apply to be registered and monitored under the new Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS), which was launched on 12 October 2009. To meet the increased safeguards introduced on that date, we have amended our policy and processes.
[holding answer 26 October 2009]: Yes. Instructors within the Phase 1 and Phase 2 training environment, and their supervisors, will be subject to the Independent Safeguarding Authority registration and monitoring requirements when they become compulsory in November 2010.
Armoured Fighting Vehicles
A range of equipment is in service to counter the threat from Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and mines, but no single piece of equipment can provide complete protection. While it is impossible to protect troops from every eventuality, we do everything possible to tackle the risks posed by IEDs, both in terms of equipment capability, but also the critical areas of tactics and training. I cannot go into the specific details of technical solutions such as electronic counter-measures as this would, or would be likely to, prejudice the operational security of our armed forces.
Defence Academy: Finance
The Defence Academy's Operating cost for each financial year since 2002 is detailed in the following table.
Financial year Net operating cost after interest (£) 2002-03 98,183,234 2003-04 97,098,893 2004-05 91,389,435 2005-06 128,385,106 2006-07 120,256,279 2007-08 129,695,219 2008-09 128,022,500
The additional information relating to how much the Academy has spent in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and overseas in each year is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations
While insurgents still mount occasional high-profile attacks, such as the horrific bombings in Baghdad on Sunday, the security situation in Iraq is nonetheless continuing to steadily improve. Levels of violence are substantially less than at the height of the insurgency three years ago, and remain at a level last seen in 2003. South East Iraq, where UK forces operated, remains largely peaceful.
Joint Exercises
(2) what steps his Department has taken to minimise the adverse environmental impact of military exercises conducted in Moray Firth.
[holding answer 26 October 2009]: The Ministry of Defence takes its responsibilities towards the environment very seriously. Prior to Exercise Joint Warrior, the Royal Navy consulted widely with interested parties such as non-governmental organisations, local authorities, various national rural agencies, and landowners. During the planning of the exercise, environmental impact assessments were conducted for all potentially damaging activities. All participants were given extensive briefs on safety and environmental considerations which specified that environmental awareness takes priority over military training objectives, and a precautionary approach is adopted to all aspects of the exercise which may have an environmental impact. Ships remain ready to take immediate action to minimise any risk. Before any active sonar transmissions, a full environmental impact assessment is conducted, look-outs are posted, and equipment is used to listen for marine mammal activity. If marine mammals are detected sonar transmissions are terminated or modified in order to minimise the risk. There are also continual monitoring procedures that ensure compliance with international pollution prevention standards and crews are also trained to manage onboard incidents to minimise environmental impacts. No environmental impact has been reported following the most recent Joint Warrior exercise.
Met Office
The Operational Efficiency Programme (OEP) Met Office Review Group comprises officials from the Ministry of Defence, Shareholder Executive, HM Treasury and the Met Office. The review group meets regularly in undertaking the review. The next review group meeting is schedule for 27 November 2009.
The Secretary of State for Defence is regularly briefed on the progress of the review.
The Met Office Operational Efficiency Programme (OEP) Review Group is exploring a number of options, including reviewing Met Office’s business model, ownership structure and commercial activities and opportunities.
An update on the Met Office OEP review will be provided around the pre-Budget report.
Met Office is a trading fund of the Ministry of Defence. As the owner, I have day to day ministerial responsibility for the Met Office, including its commercial activities. Ministerial responsibility for the Met Office ultimately rests with the Secretary of State for Defence.
The Met Office Operational Efficiency Programme Review Group is exploring a number of options, including reviewing Met Office’s business model, ownership structure and commercial activities and opportunities. An update on this work will be provided around the pre-Budget report.
As the Met Office Operational Efficiency Programme Review Group develop more detailed work over the coming months engagement with the private sector will be considered.
Territorial Army
The number of Territorial Army (TA) personnel in Lancashire, the North West and the UK as a whole are shown in the following table.
Number of TA personnel Lancashire 410 North West 1,710 UK 29,400
These figures include those TA personnel mobilised in support of operations.
Communities and Local Government
Regional Spatial Strategy
Good progress has been made in completing the first round of revisions to the eight Regional Spatial Strategies which cover England.
To date six regions have published their final revisions as follows:
12 May 2008: East of England
21 May 2008: Yorkshire and Humber
15 July 2008: North East
30 September 2008: North West
12 March 2009: East Midlands
6 April 2009: South East.
The west midlands is taking a phased approach to the revision of its RSS:
Phase 1 covering the black country was finalised on 15 January 2008.
Phase 2 which covers wider housing issues among other things has been through an examination in public and I am currently considering the panel’s report published in September. I expect to consult on any proposed changes in the new year and publish the final plan later in 2010.
The south west RSS was due to be published last summer. However in the light of a legal judgment on sustainability appraisal we have agreed to do some further work and consultation and aim to publish it in 2010.
The independent panel examining the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy has recommended that the housing targets for Solihull should be increased from 7,600 to 10,500. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering his Proposed Changes, which will be published for consultation following completion of sustainability appraisal and habitats regulation assessments.
Council House Building
All local housing authorities in England are eligible to bid to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). I announced successful round one bids in September; and the deadline for submitting bids in round two is 30 October.
Code For Sustainable Homes
Embodied energy is addressed in two of the nine categories in the Code for Sustainable Homes:
the materials category rewards use of construction materials with lower embodied energy; and
the management category encourages construction sites to measure and reduce energy consumption.
Unitary Authority Status
The process by which a local authority in a two-tier area can become a unitary authority is set out in Part 1 the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. It requires one or more local authorities for the whole, or part of an area, to make a unitary proposal in response to an invitation from the Secretary of State.
The statute does not provide for a referendum.
Business Rates
Regular revaluations are a standard part of the business rates system and are required by statute. Therefore, no impact assessment has been undertaken by my Department on the overall implementation of the 2010 business rates revaluation. An impact assessment on the proposed transitional arrangements scheme for revaluation 2010 was published on 8 July.
Homelessness Street Counts
Local authorities evaluate the extent of rough sleeping within their area in accordance with the methodology on street counts set out in CLG's ‘Guidance on evaluating the extent of rough sleeping—2007 revision’, which was developed in conjunction with the voluntary sector. The total number of rough sleepers found on street counts is published each September.
Rent Equalisation
Under the Government's established rent restructuring policy established in 2001, rents charged for similar properties in similar areas in the two social housing sectors are expected to converge. It is designed to ensure equality and fairness for tenants in the housing association and local authority sectors.
Aerials: Planning Permission
[holding answer 26 October 2009]: Full details of planning policy on telecommunications are set out in planning policy guidance 8.
Business Improvement Districts: Scotland
Policy on business rates, including on business improvement districts, is a devolved matter. The Department therefore has no responsibility for arrangements for co-ordinating policy on business improvement districts in Scotland with the Scottish Executive.
Council Housing: Tenants
The Department has no plans to make any such estimate.
Departmental Postal Services
[holding answer 26 October 2009]: Mail services for the Department's Headquarters building are provided under the Integrated Facilities Management contract with MITIE which runs until July 2011. MITIE currently use Royal Mail for despatch of national mail items and Corporate Mailing Services (CMS) for international mail items under sub-contract arrangements they have in place with those companies.
Disabled Facilities Grant
[holding answer 26 October 2009]: Responsibility for the management and delivery of the programme rests with local housing authorities. As a mandatory grant, Communities and Local Government expects these important services to be prioritised and delivered within the legal time frame. The regulations that govern the disabled facilities grant programme are clear about how long anyone should wait for a grant and are triggered by the receipt of a valid disabled facilities grant application. A decision on whether or not to award the grant must be made within six months. The grant must then be paid by the authority either on completion of the works or by a date specified in the decision letter, whichever is sooner. That date must be no longer than 12 months from the date of the application for grant.
Infrastructure Planning Commission
We have agreed the following process with the Welsh Assembly Government: Commissioners are recruited through open competition and appointed by the Secretary of State, once appointments are made WAG ministers select a number of appointed Commissioners with an understanding of Welsh issues. At least one of these Commissioners will be involved in considering applications for development wholly or partly in Wales. We intend that this selection will happen early next year following the next round of commissioner recruitment, ahead of 1 March which will be the first date from which the IPC will be able formally to accept applications.
Local Government: Publicity
As part of the changes to council governance arrangements, in particular the introduction of elected mayors, revisions were made in 2001 to the code of recommended practice on local authority publicity. These are the only changes which have been made to the code to date and have been subject to neither an impact assessment nor a subsequent assessment of effectiveness.
However, there have been two consultations on whether and how the code might be revised, the latest being earlier this year on which over 300 representations have been received. We will be publishing our response to the consultation later this year, but the representations do not reveal any widespread concern about council freesheets and newsletters.
A representative of the Newspaper Society, which represents and promotes the interests of Britain's regional and local media, wrote to me about this issue in August.
All council publicity, including newsletters and freesheets, is subject to the code of recommended practice on local authority publicity, to which local authorities must have regard. There have been two consultations on whether and how the code might be revised, the latest being earlier this year. We will be publishing our response to the consultation later this year, but the representations do not reveal any widespread concern about council freesheets and newsletters.
Non-Domestic Rates
The number of hereditaments in England with a special category (SCAT) code of (b) 226 (Public Houses/Pub Restaurants (National Scheme)) (a) 227 (Public Houses/Pub Restaurants (Inc. Lodge) (National Scheme)) and (c) 303 (Wine Bars) as at the appropriate dates is as follows:
England 226 227 303 1 April 2005 47,766 318 999 1 April 2006 47,398 335 1,020 1 April 2007 46,935 341 1,032 1 April 2008 46,417 347 1,023 1 April 2009 45,802 351 1,023
[holding answer 26 October 2009]: Under schedule 7 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 the increases in the business rates multipliers each year are capped by the previous September's RPI. Under the same legislation, the multipliers will also be adjusted to ensure that the overall tax yield does not increase as a result of the 2010 revaluation. The September 2009 RPI of -1.4 per cent will exert a downward pressure on the multipliers and on 2010-11 rates bills, reducing the overall tax yield in cash terms.
The five-yearly business rates revaluations make sure each business pays its fair contribution and no more by ensuring the share of the national rates bill paid by any one business reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others. The 2010 revaluation will not raise a single extra penny for Government.
Over a million properties will see their business rate liabilities come down as a result of revaluation. The Government intend to put in place a £2 billion relief scheme to limit the impact on the minority with bill increases. This is on top of the wider support available to help ease business pressures including discounted rate bills for small businesses and deferring tax payments.
[holding answer 26 October 2009]: The multipliers are set in accordance with schedule 7 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988. The increases in the small business rate multiplier each year are capped by the previous September's RPI. Under the same legislation, the multipliers will also be adjusted to ensure that the overall tax yield does not increase as a result of the 2010 revaluation.
The national non-domestic multiplier, as in previous years, will be found by adding to the small business multiplier an amount to recover the cost of the small business rate relief scheme. The Government have no plans to amend the way that the multipliers are calculated.
The five-yearly business rates revaluations make sure each business pays its fair contribution and no more by ensuring the share of the national rates bill paid by any one business reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others. The 2010 revaluation will not raise a single extra penny for Government.
Over a million properties will see their business rate liabilities come down as a result of revaluation. The Government intend to put in place a £2 billion relief scheme to limit the impact on the minority with bill increases. This is on top of the wider support available to help ease business pressures including discounted rate bills for small businesses and deferring tax payments.
[holding answer 26 October 2009]: The multipliers are set in accordance with schedule 7 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988. The increases in the small business rate multiplier each year are capped by the previous September's RPI. Under the same legislation, the multipliers will also be adjusted to ensure that the overall tax yield does not increase as a result of the 2010 revaluation.
The national non-domestic multiplier, as in previous years, will be found by adding to the small business multiplier an amount to recover the cost of the small business rate relief scheme. The Government have no plans to amend the way that the multipliers are calculated.
The Department will publish the provisional multipliers in due course and these will be confirmed after the Local Government Settlement is confirmed in the New Year.
[holding answer 26 October 2009]: Under schedule 7 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 the increases in the small business rate multiplier each year are capped by the previous September's RPI. Therefore the September 2009 RPI of -1.4 per cent will exert a downward pressure on the multipliers cited in the Department's consultation on transitional arrangements.
The national non-domestic multiplier, as in previous years, will be found by adding to the small business multiplier an amount to recover the cost of the small business rate relief scheme.
The five-yearly business rates revaluations make sure each business pays its fair contribution and no more by ensuring the share of the national rates bill paid by any one business reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others. The 2010 revaluation will not raise a single extra penny for Government.
Over a million properties will see their business rate liabilities come down as a result of revaluation. The Government intend to put in place a £2 billion relief scheme to limit the impact on the minority with bill increases. This is on top of the wider support available to help ease business pressures including discounted rate bills for small businesses and deferring tax payments.
Non-domestic Rates: Religious Buildings
I have been asked to reply.
The Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 provides for places of meeting for religious worship to be certified to the Registrar General. Under this Act the Registrar General records all places of meeting for religious worship certified to him. There are approximately 30,000 places of meeting for religious worship certified under the Act. The denominations are recorded as follows:
Roman Catholic
Methodist
Congregationalist
Baptist
United Reformed
Calvinistic Methodist
Brethren
Salvation Army
Unitarian
Society of Friends
Jehovah's Witness
Other Christian bodies
Jews
Muslim
Sikh
Hindus
Undenominational
Buddhists of the New Kadampa Traditional
Baha'is
Subud Britain
Valmiks
Followers of Guru Das
Nirankaries
Ravidasia
Aetherius society
Devotees of Krishna
Friends of Western Buddhist order
Antiochian Orthodox
Congregation of Yahweh
Das Dharam
Gujarati
Shree Swaminarayan Siddhant Sajivan Mandal
Shri guru Ravidasia community
Theosophists
Ukraine Autocephalic
Universal Order of Thios
Unsectarian
Who object to be designated by any distinctive appellation
Zen Buddhists
Buddhists
Zoroastrians
Brahma kumaris
Jains
Universal Confluence of Yoga and Vedanta Luminar
Manjushri
Nirankaries
Raman
Ramgarhia
Radhan Soami Sagsang Beas-British Isles
Sant Mat
Sathya Sai Baha Devotees
Sufis
Sukyo Mahikari
Swaminarayans
Zen
Anoopam
Kshatryna Sabna London Bhagat Namdev Mission
Maktar Tarighat Ovesyi Shamagh Soudi
Navnat Vanit
Anjuman-e-Mohibban-e-Ahlalbait
Antiochian Orthodox Church
Byelorussion Autocephalic Orthodox
Disciples of Baba Gobind Daa Ji
Eikoko Iesu No Mitama Kyokai
Ekniwas
Pakistan
[holding answer 9 September 2009]: I travelled to Pakistan privately in August. While there I took the opportunity to meet Mr. Syed Yousef Gilani, the Prime Minister of Pakistan. I did not meet the President of Pakistan. I was in contact with FCO staff in Pakistan about this meeting.
Travel to and from Pakistan, and domestic flights in Pakistan were paid for by me. Secure travel by road was provided by the Government of Pakistan.
I travelled to Pakistan privately in August. While there I took the opportunity to meet Mr. Syed Yousef Gilani, the Prime Minister of Pakistan. I did not meet the President of Pakistan. I was in contact with FCO staff in Pakistan about this meeting.
Travel to and from Pakistan, and domestic flights in Pakistan were paid for by me. Secure travel by road was provided by the Government of Pakistan.
Parking: Planning Permission
The Government’s national policy on residential parking is set out in Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (2006) and Planning Policy Guidance 13: Transport (2001). PPG13 is clear that local authority policies in preparing their development plans should set maximum levels of parking for broad classes of development, including residential and non-residential development, and that there should be no minimum standards for development, other than parking for disabled people. PPS3 asks local authorities to develop residential parking policies for their areas taking account of expected levels of car ownership, the importance of promoting good design and the need to use land efficiently. This has been deliberately devolved to local authorities so they can make the right choices for their local areas, in consultation with their local communities.
The flexibility given to local authorities in PPS3 is consistent with the objectives of PPG13, to set their own residential parking policies taking account of the expected levels of car ownership, the importance of promoting good design and the need to use land efficiently.
Regional Planning and Development
In the east of England the High Court remitted the housing policies in respect of two districts to the Secretary of State and further work on the sustainability appraisal in respect of those policies is underway. The rest of the east of England RSS stands as part of the statutory development plan.
In the south east we are considering legal challenges in respect of the sustainability appraisal of housing policies two districts. The rest of the south east RSS stands as part of the statutory development plan.
Proposed changes to the south west plan were consulted on last year, however following the east of England High Court ruling, publication of the final RSS has been delayed pending some further work on the sustainability appraisal.
The independent panel report on the draft west midlands RSS was published in September 2009 and the Government are currently considering proposed changes and completing the accompanying sustainability appraisal.
(2) how many (a) spatial planning and (b) other planning postgraduate students who received payments from bursary schemes provided by his Department went on to work in planning (i) in the public sector and (ii) in the private sector in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
[holding answer 26 October 2009]: The 16 universities listed as follows offer Royal Town Planning Institute accredited courses and are thus eligible for the CLG bursary scheme.
In 2008-09 92 out of 105 possible bursaries at 15 universities were awarded at a total cost of £894,062.
In 2009-10 it is estimated that 154 will be awarded out of 176 bursaries at 16 universities at an estimated cost of £1,496,033.
The allocations for each university are set out in the following table:
University Region Course 2008-091 2009-102 Leeds Metropolitan YH MA Town & Regional Planning 7 11 Sheffield YH MA Town & Regional Planning 7 11 Sheffield Hallam YH MSc Urban & Regional Planning 7 11 Liverpool JMU NW MSc Environmental Planning 4 7 Liverpool NW Master of Civic Design 6 11 Manchester NW Master of Planning 7 11 Oxford Brookes SE MSc Spatial Planning 7 11 Kingston SE Planning and Sustainability 1 4 Reading SE Development Planning 7 11 London South Bank L MA Planning Policy and Practice 6 9 UCL L MSc Spatial Planning or MSc International Planning 7 11 Westminster L MA Urban & Regional Planning 5 11 West of England (UWE) SW MA Town and Country Planning 7 11 Newcastle NE MSc Town Planning 7 11 Birmingham City WM MA Spatial Planning 7 11 Anglia Ruskin E MSc Town Planning n/a 2 Total 92 154 1 2008-09 Bursary = £9,240 (£3,240 fees, £6,000 stipend) 2 2009-10 Bursary = £9,390 (£3,390 fees, £6,000 stipend)
Students have only been required to sign public service contracts since 2008-09 and as such we do not, as yet, have figures for the number of bursary recipients who went on to work (i) in the public sector and (ii) in the private sector. The 2008-09 students have only recently graduated and we will shortly be contacting them to inquire about their employment status.
Social Rented Housing
[holding answer 26 October 2009]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 16 October 2009, Official Report, column 1140W.
Cabinet Office
10 Downing Street
Expenditure records are held on the Cabinet Office Accounting System. Renovation works are procured through the Cabinet Office Total Facilities Management Provider. The Cabinet Office holds invoices from the Total Facilities Management Provider. These do not show project level information.
Admiralty House
[holding answer 15 October 2009]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) on 20 July 2009, Official Report, column 770W.
Childbirth
(2) how many births there were in (a) England and (b) each strategic health authority in 2008-09.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Jil Matheson, dated October 2009:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions on the number of births in (a) England and (b) each strategic health authority in 2008-09 (295700), and the estimate of the number of likely births in each strategic health authority in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11. (295617)
The latest figures available for Strategic Health Authorities are for 2008 calendar year and were published on the ONS website in May 2009:
www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/Table_5.xls
Part of this table is reproduced below and shows the number of live births in 2008 to mothers who were usually resident in England and in each Strategic Health Authority within England.
The table below also includes the projected number of live births in each strategic health authority in the year to mid-2009 and mid-2010. These data are taken from the 2006-based Subnational Population Projections published on 12 June 2008, and are the most recent subnational projections available. These are demographic trend-based projections that indicate what the number of births is likely to be if recently observed trends in fertility, mortality and migration were to continue.
Number Live births1 in 2008 Live births Year to mid-2009 Live births Year to mid-2010 England 672,809 672,880 678,914 Strategic health authorities North East 30,217 30,215 30,421 North West 88,167 87,398 87,984 Yorkshire and The Humber 66,353 67,361 68,335 East Midlands 54,192 54,182 54,929 West Midlands 71,726 71,530 72,107 East of England 71,738 71,470 72,257 London 127,651 129,236 130,049 South East Coast 51,565 51,493 51,826 South Central 52,458 51,835 52,234 South West 58,742 58,160 58,772 1 Live births by area of usual residence of mother.
Departmental Postal Services
(2) which companies are under contract to No. 10 Downing Street to provide mail services; and when each such contract expires.
The Prime Minister’s Office forms an integral part of the Cabinet Office. The vast majority of mail services for the Cabinet Office (including the Prime Minister’s Office and the Emergency Planning College (EPC) in York) are provided by Royal Mail.
Lone Parents: Bexley
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Jil Matheson, dated October 2009:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question, what recent estimate has made of the number of single parent families in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency, (b) the London Borough of Bexley and (c) Greater London. (295561)
The number and type of families in the UK has been estimated using the Annual Population Survey (APS). The table below shows 2008 estimates from the APS for the geographical areas requested. Estimates are for all lone parent families, and these families may contain children of any age, including adult children.
Geographical area Number of lone parent families (thousand) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency 4 London Borough of Bexley 12 London 445 Source: APS January to December 2008, not seasonally adjusted
Sarah Brown
[holding answer 22 October 2009]: In line with established practice, the Prime Minister’s spouse is provided with administrative support as necessary when carrying out public duties.
Teenage Pregnancy
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Jil Matheson, dated October 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question what the (a) number and (b) rate of under-18 year old conceptions was in (a) England and (b) each local authority ward in England for the period (i) 2003 to 2005 and (ii) 2004 to 2006. (295890)
Figures on conceptions are estimates based on the number of live births, stillbirths or legal abortions. They do not include miscarriages and illegal abortions.
The table below provides the (a) numbers and (b) rates of conceptions to women aged under 18, for England from 2003 to 2006.
Figures on conceptions of women aged under 18 are not published for local authority wards in order to protect the privacy of individuals.
Conceptions (a) Number (b) Rate per 1,0002 2003 39,553 42.2 2004 39,593 41.6 2005 39,804 41.3 2006 39,170 40.6 1 Under 18 years at estimated date of conception. 2 Number of conceptions to women under 18 per 1,000 female population aged 15 to 17.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
British Council: Manpower
As published in the Annual Report for the British Council (2008-09) the numbers of permanent staff employed are as follows:
(a) In the UK—1,094
(b) Overseas—6,390 (including 1,815 teachers)
Burma: Human Rights
[holding answer 26 October 2009]: The UK remains deeply concerned at the human rights situation in Burma. It is evident from the latest Report to the General Assembly by the UN Rapporteur, Mr. Tomas Ojea Quintana, that systematic and appalling abuses remain unchecked and that arbitrary arrests and the sentencing of opposition figures to long prison terms continues.
The most prominent example is that of Aung San Suu Kyi, but his report also draws attention to the plight of the more than 2,100 other political prisoners who remain in detention. EU sanctions have been in place against Burma since 1996, but following the sentence imposed on Aung San Suu Kyi on 11 August this year, the EU agreed to a further set of sanctions intended specifically to target the Burmese regime’s economic interests, including a travel ban on those members of the judiciary responsible for the verdict.
These measures came into force on 14 August 2009 and can leave the regime in no doubt about our determination to see real democracy established and human rights respected in Burma. Their objective is to target those individuals and entities that are most closely linked to the regime’s misrule, rather than punishing the Burmese population as a whole.
China: Official Engagements
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has no plans to publish these minutes. However I made a public statement about my visit to Tibet which can be found at the following website address:
http://ukinchina.fco.gov.uk/en/newsroom/?view=PressR&id=20913651
In addition, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office published an article on Tibet on the Guardian website which can be found at
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/news/latest-news/?view=News&id=20943204