Written Answers to Questions
Monday 8 March 2010
Prime Minister
Departmental Official Engagements
My official spokesman announces my forthcoming official engagements each day.
On 6 March, I visited Helmand where I was briefed by our military and civilian leaders, and by Afghan Commanders, on the latest developments on the ground, in particular on Operation Moshtarak, and on the challenges faced by our forces throughout Helmand, especially in Sangin.
I was updated on ISAF plans to reorganise responsibilities and command and control in Southern Afghanistan, as the operational situation evolves after Operation Moshtarak and the deployment of additional US forces. Key to this will be building on the increasingly successful partnering of the Afghan security forces, and achieving the right ratios of security forces (international and Afghan) to the civilian population to enable General McChrystal’s counter-insurgency approach. And although final decisions have yet to be taken it is likely UK forces will increasingly concentrate in central Helmand.
I was updated on ongoing stabilisation efforts: provision of jobs on projects, efforts to strengthen the local economy, and helping farmers cultivate a range of legal crops rather than poppy. 1,000 Afghan civil order police are now being deployed into the areas cleared in Operation Moshtarak. Over time they will be replaced by 1,000 regular Afghan police. To support this the UK are deploying an additional eight police mentoring teams, additional police advisers for the NATO training mission and the EU police mission, and additional support for the police training centre, a total of over 150 extra personnel.
I was updated on progress with recruiting in the Afghan army, which has increased sevenfold since the end of 2009, with 500 more Afghan army in Helmand since December. Embedded partnering between British forces and the Afghan army is already generating positive results: for example, UK battlegroups report a 30 per cent. improvement in intelligence collection, including on the location of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), after the introduction of joint patrolling with Afghan forces.
I was updated on progress in equipment including faster delivery of Vallon IED detectors towards our target of deploying over 6,500 by July, together with additional sets of ground penetrating radar. Specialised Talisman route-clearance vehicles and equipment will deploy in the next two months. The Ministry of Defence is also committing a further £18 million over the next two years to strengthen pre-deployment training on counter-IED techniques, in addition to the significant investment announced in December.
I was updated on the increased number of hours our Chinook and Apache helicopters can fly each month; the successful introduction of Merlin helicopters; the deployment of Czech helicopters made possible by the British helicopter fund initiative; and the recent increases of Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicles and options for accelerating the planned increase of Predator/Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles.
Finally, I visited engineers responsible for sustaining the fleet of protected mobility vehicles including Mastiff and Ridgeback vehicles—offering world-leading protection against IED strikes. Over 100 more of those vehicles have been deployed since last summer. I also inspected the newly introduced Husky utility vehicle, 100 of which are in transit to Afghanistan. I was able to update our forces on the Ministry of Defence’s plans for a new light protected patrol vehicle, with Treasury approval of the first 200 vehicles as an urgent operational requirement. The Ministry of Defence judge that this meets the requirement in Afghanistan and will make announcements on further tranches in due course, as is standard practice with major equipment procurements.
I look forward in the coming weeks to discussing the position in Afghanistan with the King of Jordan and Prime Minister Erdogan when they visit London. I also plan to attend the European Council meeting in Brussels on 25 to 26 March.
Northern Ireland
Departmental ICT
During the last 12 months no information technology projects initiated by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) or its agencies have been cancelled prior to completion.
Departmental Pay
The following table shows how much the Northern Ireland Office, including its arms-length bodies and the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland but excluding its agencies and NDPBs, paid in reimbursable expenses to special advisers in each of the last five years:
£ 2004-05 11,579.84 2005-06 9,182.01 2006-07 1,837.74 2007-08 1,068.97 2008-09 1,457.49
House of Commons Commission
14 Tothill Street
The expenditure to the end January 2010 on the unoccupied premises has been:
Account Commons Lords Total Rent 4,592 2,256 6,848 Refurbishment 1,598 2,293 3,891
These figures exclude costs incurred by the House of Lords since taking up occupancy on 1 September 2009. Business rates and utility costs, of £340,000 and £72,000 respectively, have also been incurred since the building became partially occupied. These are shared between the Commons (60 per cent.) and Lords (40 per cent.).
Illegal Immigrants
Since 2005, one employee of the House of Commons has been found to be not eligible to work in the UK. This was due to a change in circumstances that occurred after the employment began.
Members: Allowances
The costs to date, inclusive of VAT, are as follows:
£ Sir Thomas Legg's review Work commissioned 870,784 Staff costs 306,534 Office supplies 5,889 Total 1,183,207 Sir Paul Kennedy's work Work commissioned 18,327 Travel 643 Office Supplies 180 Total 19,150
Older Workers
The House of Commons service currently has a “no retirement age” policy for most of its staff. This will be extended to include all staff from 1 April 2010 when the retirement age of 65 for the senior commons structure is removed.
64 members of staff, excluding Officers of the House (staff in pay band A and above), are over the age of 65.
Parliament: Internet
Standing Committee debates held prior to 1997 have been digitised (421 volumes covering the period 1919 to 2004-05) and have now gone through the necessary quality assurance procedures. These data, along with many other related stand-alone sites will be brought into the main site over the next few months as part of the implementation of a new, improved content management system.
Trade Unions
A record of the number of days that staff of the House of Commons Service spent on trade union activity is not maintained centrally.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Departmental Internet
The Department has spent £156,000 on Google Adwords in the last 12 months. A list of the keywords used has been placed in the House Library. We are unable to disclose the individual cost against specific keywords as this information is commercial in confidence.
Detailed spend on advertising by DEFRA agencies is not held centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.
Land: Forestry
We have not made any recent estimates of the amount of land available for afforestation. The Forestry Commission is currently working with DEFRA and Natural England to develop a high-level spatial framework to guide where woodland creation could best deliver a range of benefits. This work is likely to be completed over the coming year.
Land: Set-aside Schemes
The June Agricultural Survey only records aggregate areas and does not collect information on individual fields. Hence, it is not possible to say how much of the set-aside land recorded in 2007 was located on fields that remained fallow in subsequent years. Nor is it possible to say how much of the former set-aside land is now cropped. However, in 2009 there were 254,000 hectares of uncropped land in the UK, which is equivalent to 58 per cent. of the 2007 set-aside area.
Quarries: Nottinghamshire
There are currently 31 aggregates extraction sites in Nottinghamshire, of which 19 are active (Abbey Quarry, Bellmoor; Besthorpe; Bestwood 2; Burntstump; Carlton Forest; East Leake; Finningley; Girton; Langford Lowfields; Linby; Lound/Blaco Hill; Misson Bawtry Road; Misson Newington; Misson West; Nether Langwith; Ratcher Hill; Rufford; Scrooby; and, Scrooby Top) and 12 that are currently inactive (Carlton in Lindrick; Cromwell; Holme Pierrepont; Hoveringham; Mattersey (two sites); Rampton; Serlby; Sturton le Steeple; Styrrup; Warsop; and, Yellowstone).
None of the sites has received funding directly from the communities theme (“Objective 5”)—aggregate levy sustainably fund funding is directed, via Nottinghamshire county council, to community projects.
Nottinghamshire county council has targeted communities “within 2 km of mineral extraction sites and any known extraction routes” for its funding from the communities theme (“Objective 5”) of the aggregate levy sustainability fund.
Of the current (2009-10) projects, three are directly associated with former aggregates workings within this limit, and the remaining 15 fall within defined target areas of active and spent quarries and any known extraction routes.
Renewable Energy: Fuel Oil
DEFRA's policies on waste oils are set out in Waste Strategy for England 2007. We are currently considering the responses to the stage one consultation on the transposition of the revised Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC), including the provisions in article 21 on waste oils.
Special Protection Areas
The European Commission has produced a range of guidance on specific articles of the Habitats Directive which is available on its website. I am not aware that any of this guidance gives specific advice on the appropriateness of banning domestic pets close to Special Protection Areas.
Tuna: Conservation
There is no official EU protocol on sustainable fishing of tuna. However, the UK plays a full part in tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organisations to work towards sustainable management of tuna stocks and, in the case of Atlantic bluefin tuna, has been a leading voice within the EU in calling for additional measures through the listing on Appendix I on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in order to protect this stock.
Leader of the House
Departmental Marketing
The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons incurred no cost on advertising, marketing, public relations and publicity in relation to (a) Real Help Now and (b) Building Britain’s Future themed campaigns to date.
Scotland
Departmental Carbon Emissions
The Scotland Office did not centrally record its carbon emissions before the current financial year. This information is, however, now being recorded and will be reported in our forthcoming annual report.
Departmental Energy
As part of the Scotland Office's continuing efforts to reduce energy consumption, staff are reminded regularly to turn off computers, monitors and other electrical equipment, unplug mobile phone chargers and switch off lights when rooms are not in use. As the 2010 Earth Hour event is on the evening of Saturday 27 March, our buildings are likely to be unoccupied. Security guards will ensure that no inessential lights are left on.
Departmental ICT
The Scotland Office shares an information technology system (SCOTS) with the Scottish Executive, which is responsible for the development, administration and maintenance of the system; consequently, the Office does not directly undertake IT projects.
Departmental Languages
No Ministers or civil servants received coaching in a foreign language in the last 12 months.
Trade Unions
The Scotland Office do not have any staff that spend time undertaking trade union activities.
Energy and Climate Change
Energy Supply
DECC's data for the maximum transmission system demand are contained in our report ‘UK Energy Sector Indicators 2009: Supporting Indicators Dataset':
http://decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/publications/indicators/indicators.aspx
The following table shows the data for simultaneous maximum electricity load met (left axis) from 1985 to 2008.
GW simultaneous maximum load met, UK (left axis) 1985 53.98 55.33 53.833 53.555 53.414 1990 54.068 54.472 51.663 54.848 52.362 1995 55.611 56.815 56.965 56.312 57.849 2000 58.452 58.589 61.717 60.501 61.013 61.697 59.071 61.527 2008 60.289 Source: DECC.
Fossil Fuels
The volume and proportion of UK energy demand met from fossil fuel sources since 2006 is shown in the following table.
2006 2007 2008 Volume Proportion (percentage) Volume Proportion (percentage) Volume Proportion (percentage) Coal 43.5 18.7 40.9 18.0 37.9 16.9 Petroleum 77.1 33.1 75.6 33.4 74.4 33.2 Natural gas 89.2 38.4 90.1 39.8 93.0 41.4 Total all fossil fuels 209.8 90.2 206.6 91.2 205.2 91.5
Mining: Coal
The following table lists deep and surface coal mines operational as at March 2010. Statistics on the output from such mines are provided by operators to the industry's licensing body, the Coal Authority, on a confidential basis and are not publicly available.
Mines Deep Aberpergwm Colliery Neath Port Talbot Blaentillery No. 2 Colliery Torfaen Cannop Drift Mine Gloucestershire Daw Mill Colliery Warwickshire Eckington Colliery Derbyshire Hatfield Colliery Doncaster Hay Royds Colliery Kirklees Kellingley Colliery North Yorkshire Maltby Colliery Rotherham Monument Colliery Gloucestershire Nant Hir No. 2 Colliery Neath Port Talbot Thoresby Colliery Nottinghamshire Unity Mine Neath Port Talbot Welbeck Colliery Nottinghamshire Surface Broken Cross South Lanarkshire Bwlch Ffos Neath Port Talbot Chalmerston East Ayrshire Cutacre Bolton Cwm Yr Onen Colliery Reclamation Neath Port Talbot East Pit Neath Port Talbot Engine Derbyshire Ffos-y-Fran Merthyr Tydfil Former Biwater Works Derbyshire Glenmuckloch Dumfries/Galloway Glentaggart South Lanarkshire Greenbank (St. Ninians) Fife Greenburn Project East Ayrshire House of Water East Ayrshire Lodge House Derbyshire Long Moor Leicestershire Methley Quarry Leeds Muir Dean Fife Nant Helen Powys Nant-y-Mynydd Site Neath Port Talbot Powharnal East Ayrshire Selar Neath Port Talbot Shewington Midlothian Shotton Northumberland Skares Road East Ayrshire Spireslack East Ayrshire Steadsburn Northumberland Temple Quarry Kirklees Wilsontown South Lanarkshire
Aggregate output from the listed mines in each of the last five years was as follows:
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Deep mines 7,598,740 8,270,180 7,467,230 7,926,010 7,495,440 Surface mines 5,834,290 4,727,330 5,208,960 6,531,130 8,428,900
Nuclear Liabilities Financing Assurance Board: Meetings
The Department of Energy and Climate Change will aim to publish the minutes of meetings of the Nuclear Liabilities Financing Assurance Board on its website around the time of Easter.
Communities and Local Government
Departmental Travel
The Department does not hold this information centrally and it can be answered only at disproportionate cost.
Fires Service College could provide this information only at disproportionate cost.
Planning Inspectorate could provide this information only at disproportionate cost.
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre has had no expenditure on first-class travel.
Essex County Council and Castle Point Borough Council: Pay
The Department does not currently collect or publish information about individual remuneration arrangements for local authority officers. However, the Department has brought forward new regulations to require local authorities to publish detailed salary and remuneration information for senior officers in their Statement of Annual Accounts with effect from 31 March 2010.
Local Government: East of England
The Department does not hold information about the costs incurred by local authorities for legal proceedings that they have brought relating to the structural reviews in Devon, Norfolk and Suffolk.
The current costs incurred by the Department are set out in the following table.
Legal costs to Department (£) Challenge against the Boundary Committee where the Secretary of State has been named as an Interested Party brought by: Breckland District Council and Others 62,450 East Devon District Council 31,820 Suffolk Coastal (R oao Forest Heath District Council) 45,875 King’s Lynn and Others 6,833 Challenge against the Secretary of State brought by: Devon and Norfolk County Councils 3,461
In litigation against the Boundary Committee related to the structural reviews, the Secretary of State appeared as an Interested Party and therefore did not seek costs.
The Boundary Committee has incurred costs of some £358,700, some of which it is seeking to recover from local authorities involved in the litigation.
Local Government: Poole
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no recent discussions with representatives of the borough of Poole council on the effects of trends in Government funding.
Olympics
Government Olympic Executive: Pay
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) on 18 January 2010, Official Report, column 5W.
Olympic Games 2012: Private Finance Initiative
There are no private finance initiative projects being funded from the public sector funding package for the 2012 Olympics. The former private developer projects—the Olympic Village and the International Broadcast Centre/Main Press Centre—which are now public sector projects, are on track to be delivered on time, as set out in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games Annual Report published on 9 February 2010.
Olympic Games 2012: Yorkshire and the Humber
Sporting venues in Leeds and Yorkshire are well placed to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the London 2012 Olympics.
Sport England has recently made a significant investment in the Aquatics Centre at the John Charles Sports Centre in Leeds. These facilities will play a significant part in developing young swimmers and divers and in hosting visiting Olympic squads. The £5 million investment has helped deliver an international standard 50 metre competition and training pool with moveable boom and floor that meets the needs of both performance swimmers and the local community. It also includes one of the best equipped diving competition and training pools in the UK.
Leeds has also benefited from the Free Swimming capital programme with awards totalling almost £2.5 million. This investment will help modernise several key community swimming pools including those at Aireborough and Kirkstall.
There are 49 pre-games training camps in Yorkshire that are available to Olympics teams, and the Serbian and Dutch swimming teams have already committed to holding their pre-games training camps in Leeds.
Sheffield also hosts the GB squads for boxing, volleyball and table tennis, and one of the GB centres for diving. These four sports have received their funding allocation from UK Sport based on their plans for London 2012 and have used some of their Cabinet Office programme's funding to enhance squad facilities. For example, boxing has invested in improving and expanding training areas in the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield into one of the best amateur boxing centres in the world.
Also, Dalby Forest in North Yorkshire has won the right to host the UCI Cross Country Mountain Bike World Cup based on its initial Olympic bid to be a games-time venue.
Transport
Aviation: Exhaust Emissions
I have been asked to reply.
(a) We estimate the annual emissions of carbon dioxide from domestic aviation in accordance with the IPCC 1996 revised guidelines, as we are required to do under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
These guidelines were reviewed and revised in 2006; however, the 2006 guidelines will not be implemented until after the 2008-12 Kyoto protocol commitment period.
Full details of both the 1996 revised guidelines and the 2006 guidelines can be found on the IPCC website at the following link:
http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/index.html
(b) Estimates of UK carbon dioxide emissions from all sectors, including domestic aviation, covering the period 1990 to 2008 were published by DECC as National Statistics on 2 February 2010.
These form part of the UK’s greenhouse gas inventory submission for 2008, and represent the latest available estimates.
The statistics can be found at the following link:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/climate_change/gg_emissions/uk_emissions/2008_final/2008_final.aspx
Aviation: Safety
The responsibility for determining what equipment should be installed on aircraft registered in the EU now rests with the European Aviation Safety Agency.
Departmental Contracts
The Department for Transport is required to comply with the Public Contract Regulations 2006 which require contracts above the EU threshold to be awarded based on the “most economically advantageous tender” or “the lowest priced tender”. However, it is Government policy to award contracts on the basis of the most advantageous tender and the Department follows this policy in respect of its tender evaluations.
The Department does not hold centrally information relating to the costs of advertising tenders and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, from the information that is available, the Department has spent £51,560 on advertisement of tenders since the Department was formed in May 2002.
Departmental Plants
The requested information is as follows:
(a) £13,724
(b) £57,514
The above expenditure typically relates to interior displays in the public reception areas of Department for Transport offices and in some cases includes maintenance costs.
All expenditure was incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety. We need to provide an environment where people work well and the provision of plants contributes to this, but we recognise the figure is high. These costs will therefore be significantly reduced over the next year along with other efficiency savings.
The data above exclude the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA). VOSA does not record the information requested and this can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Temporary Staff
The Department for Transport and its executive agencies operate separate finance and human resource systems and there are no centralised records relating to the numbers of temporary staff employed or the value of contracts with suppliers used to source temporary staff. To search across the Department’s disparate finance and human resource systems to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost.
Information relating to spend on temporary staff is published in the Department’s annual report. In the past three years these figures are:
£ million 2006-07 16.906 2007-08 27.265 2008-09 27.700
Where records are available, the numbers of temporary staff employed by the Department in the past three years are:
Number 2006-07 1,088 2007-08 1,353 2008-09 1,075
A table has been placed in the Libraries of the House showing the suppliers that the Department has used to source temporary staff between April 2007 and March 2009 and spend during this period.
Government Car and Despatch Agency: Consultants
The Government Car and Despatch Agency engaged external consultants to work on the following projects in each of the years between 2004-05 and 2008-09 inclusive.
Projects 2008-09 Government Mail Business Development Working Time Directive implementation HR Support, including pay negotiations Maintenance and Award of ISO Management Systems IT Systems 2007-08 Pay Award Negotiations Maintenance and Award of ISO Management Systems Customer Satisfaction Survey Facilities Management IT Systems 2006-07 Development of Performance Management Systems Customer Satisfaction Survey IT Systems Maintenance of ISO Management Systems Government Mail Business Development Marketing 2005-06 Customer Satisfaction Survey Maintenance and Award of ISO Management Systems IT Systems Marketing HR support 2004-05 Customer Satisfaction Survey Maintenance and Award of ISO Management Systems Government Mail Business Development HR support IT Systems
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
This Department has provided sustained levels of funding to local authorities to assist them to invest in their roads. Since the introduction of the Local Transport Plan (LTP) settlement in 2001-02 this Department has more than doubled annual capital funding to local authorities across England (outside London) for maintaining local roads. LTP capital funding for highway maintenance in 2009-10 is £736 million, up from £265 million in 2000-01. Funding in London is a matter for the Mayor.
Local authorities are also able to use revenue funding, allocated by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) through the Formula Grant, for maintaining their local highways. Neither of these funding sources is ring-fenced. It is for local authorities to decide upon their spending priorities across the whole range of services that they provide.
In addition the Department has provided PFI funding to assist authorities to develop highway maintenance PFI schemes. Currently £2 billion PFI credits have been allocated for highways maintenance schemes. One project with allocated PFI credits of £121 million has been signed. In addition there are three projects in procurement with approved PFI credits of £1.5 billion. A further highway maintenance PFI project with approved funding of £365 million PFI credits is shortly to enter into procurement.
The Department has also provided emergency funding to local authorities to assist them to carry out repairs to their highways arising from extreme weather events.
We have also encouraged local authorities to adopt transport asset management plans. These will include inventories of highways assets, their existing condition, and the target condition based upon desired service levels. Knowledge of the condition of highways assets and the desired service level that an authority intends those assets to deliver, are key components in the process of deciding what expenditure is required.
A Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy report in July 2008 concluded that £15 million would be necessary to assist local authorities in Great Britain to develop transport asset management. Last year this Department allocated £32 million to assist English local authorities take forward highway asset management.
Roads: Snow and Ice
The Highways Agency treated the whole of the Strategic Road Network in England throughout the period. Winter service on other roads is the responsibility of each local highway authority and this information is not collected centrally.
The Highways Agency through its service providers implements area-specific winter maintenance plans across the Strategic Road Network throughout the winter period. Snow ploughs are fitted as soon as snow is forecast. Salt is spread both in advance of and during snowfall, supplemented by ploughing as required to ensure that the network remains as safe as reasonably practicable. The agency also provides information and advice to road users using variable message signs, the internet and the media.
Winter service on other roads is the responsibility of each local highway authority. The Department for Transport endorses the winter service guidance provided by the UK Roads Liaison Group in its highways maintenance code of practice, “Well-maintained Highways”. This makes clear that safety is a prime consideration for winter service. My Department wrote to each local authority last year with a leaflet “Are you ready for winter?”, when the winter service guidance was updated, encouraging authorities to review their winter service strategies.
Roads: Speed Limits
The Department for Transport does not routinely collate information about the location of variable speed limits. For principal roads or if the speed limit is varied to 20 mph, local traffic authorities have powers to introduce variable speed limits without consent from the Secretary of State. On the Strategic Road Network, variable speed limits are located among other locations, on:
M25—Junction 10 to Junction 16
M42—Junction J3A to Junction 7
M6—Junction 4 to Junction 5
M42—Junction 7 to Junction 9
M40—Junction 16 to M42 Junction 3A.
Thameslink Railway Line
The Department for Transport is in negotiation with First Capital Connect to provide additional capacity to the route.
Defence
Afghanistan: Armed Conflict
Our military strategy in Afghanistan is designed to set the security conditions for the success of a broader political strategy, led by the Afghans themselves, and supported by the international community.
UK armed forces are operating in Afghanistan as part of the 44-nation international security assistance force (ISAF). ISAF forces are conducting security and stability operations throughout the country in support of the Afghan Government, and are supporting the growth in capacity and capability of the Afghan national security forces. Our armed forces, alongside our ISAF partners, also play an important role in facilitating improvements in governance and socio-economic development.
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
The following table sets out the ground fuel and aviation fuel costs for Afghanistan for financial years (FYs) 2005-06 through to 2009-10, up to the end of January 2010.
Financial year Ground fuel Aviation fuel 2009-10 (end January 2010) 41.122 61.639 2008-09 48.890 66.317 2007-08 40.182 2.671 2006-07 5.447 2.866 2005-06 1.180 0.436 Total 136.821 133.929
I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Minister for Veterans (Mr. Jones) gave on 6 January 2010, Official Report, column 437, to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban).
Commanders in Afghanistan have stressed the importance of having a range of vehicles from which they can select the most appropriate for specific tasks, including patrol vehicles. The use by our armed forces of all vehicle types is kept under constant review to ensure that they continue to meet operational requirements.
Air Force: Deployment
Average weekly flying hours for RAF pilots are not recorded centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Aircraft Carriers
We have been very clear since the publication of the Defence Green Paper that everything other than Trident is included in the Strategic Defence Review. But unless the review takes us in a very radical new direction, aircraft carriers are likely to remain critical elements of our force structure. That is why we have signed the contracts and cut the steel.
Army: Counselling
Following the Blake Report and the Government’s response in June 2006, the Army has striven further to ensure that the best welfare provision is in place for soldiers under training. We have made improvements in the level of welfare support available to new recruits, as well as in the way in which we monitor and report incidents. For example, the implementation of the Army’s Suicide Vulnerability Risk Management Policy represents a major stride, since the tragic events at Deepcut, in our drive to reduce the incidence of suicide in the Army. We have also improved the military complaints process and increased supervisory levels in establishments with new recruits.
The Army’s efforts to improve the welfare support available to recruits and trainees are having an effect. According to the results of the 2009 tri-service Recruit Trainee Survey over 90 per cent. of recruits and trainees consider that they are well looked after and fully understand the support that is there should they require it. An Ofsted report in June 2009 found that the support and care provided to recruits and trainees was comprehensive and wide ranging.
Bahrain: Military Bases
[holding answer 5 March 2010]: HMS Grimsby, HMS Pembroke, HMS Chiddingfold and HMS Atherstone are permanently based in Bahrain. Other Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels operating in the region routinely visit Bahrain but are not permanently based there.
As Bahrain is within an operational theatre I am withholding information on other UK military assets which may be present because it would, or would be likely to, prejudice the efficiency, security and capability of the armed forces.
Departmental Buildings
The requested information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Legal Costs
[holding answer 4 March 2010]: The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Pay
Procedures for reimbursing staff expenses are set out in the Ministry of Defence policy manual and are in line with the provisions set out in the Civil Service Management Code. The code can be viewed at the following link:
www.civilservice.gov.uk/iam/codes/csmc/index.asp
As temporary civil servants, special advisers are subject to the same rules.
The following table contains the total amount of reimbursable expenses claimed by MOD special advisers over the last five financial years.
Financial year Total expenses (£) 2004-05 3,465.12 2005-06 1,104.57 2006-07 0 2007-08 44.00 2008-09 2,992.41
Departmental Security
(2) to which private defence companies civilian passes been issued since 1 January 2008.
The requested information is not centrally held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Passes are issued to employees of defence companies in order that they may undertake contract-based activity and/or attend meetings with MOD customers.
Departmental Temporary Employment
The People Pay and Pensions Agency (PPPA) began providing a service to engage manpower substitutes for the Department in November 2006, which covered clerical and administrative grades only. In 2008, the PPPA expanded its service to cover interim professional grades, before the service was further expanded in 2009 alongside the launch of a service to engage agency workers to fill industrial and security guard posts. For other grades employed by the MOD, individual business units are still making their own arrangements to engage temporary staff in some circumstances. The numbers of temporary workers engaged via the PPPA in the last three years are as follows:
1 March to 28 February Number 2007-08 1,471 2008-09 1,457 2009-10 2,499
In the past three years, the PPPA has obtained temporary staff from the agencies listed as follows:
1st Choice Recruitment, AACE Ltd., Abacus Recruitment Ltd., Able Recruitment, Acorn 4 Jobs Ltd., Adecco UK Ltd., Alpha Personnel, Atebion, Atos Origin UK Ltd., Aviation Requirements Ltd., Badenoch & Clark, Barbara Barnes Recruitment, Capita Resourcing, Champion Recruitment, Charterhouse Recruitment, Chiltern Recruitment, Classic Recruitment, Clemtech, Concept Staffing, Cooper Lomaz, COS Recruitment, Elite Personnel Ltd., E-Man Solutions, Energy Footprint Ltd., England Associates, Fresh Approach Solutions, G4S, Hays Int Prof, Hays Specialist Recruitment Ltd., HR Go Recruitment, HRM Recruitment, J M Associates, Jennifer Griffiths Recruitment, JRA Aerospace, Kelly Services, Key Personnel, LA International, Macdonald + Company Freelance Ltd., Manpower UK Ltd., Methods Consulting, Military Medical Personnel, Morganblair, Morson International, Mountain HealthCare Ltd., MPI Aviation, MSB, NB Personnel, Office Angels, OfficeTeam, Paterson Accountancy, Personnel Selection, Pertemps Recruitment Partnership Ltd., Phoenix Strategic Ltd., Point Recruitment, Pro Active Personnel, Qinetiq Ltd., Recruitment Solutions (Folkestone) Ltd., Reed Accountancy, Reed Employment plc, Robert Half International, Royle Recruitment, Sally Hawke, SCOM, SIMS Catering Waitress Hire LLP, Storm Recruitment, Systems Consultants Services, Team Support Services, The Top Agency, The Venn Group, Turner Charles Ltd., Venus Office Staffing Recruitment, Vigilant, Wenbee Ltd., WendyB Employment Consultancy, Work Force.
The monetary value of the contracts with each agency is commercially confidential. I am withholding the information as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.
Royal Regiment of Scotland: Military Exercises
The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Trident Submarines
It is not possible to provide full costs for the maintenance, operation and refitting of the Vanguard class submarines over the whole of the last 10 years as some of the information is not held in the format requested or held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The following table therefore shows the costs that are available in each of the last 10 years.
1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 External Contractor Costs n/a n/a n/a 0.5 4.3 1.1 1.8 5.7 7.1 3.0 Estimated HM Naval Base Clyde Labour Costs n/a n/a n/a 0.9 7.7 2.1 3.4 10.7 10.7 5.5 LOP(R) Planning and Long Lead Materials 0.0 6.8 45.4 23.0 32.6 19.5 18.8 17.4 27.2 13.3 Vanguard Class LOP (R) 0.0 0.0 0.0 91.0 60.3 75.2 76.6 96.8 60.3 64.4 Alterations and Additions n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 3.9 Maintenance and refit total 0.0 6.8 45.4 115.3 104.9 97.9 100.7 130.6 105.2 90.8 Vanguard Class Operational Manpower n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 44.2 44.3 46.3 Vanguard Class Stock n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 5.9 6.9 8.1 Other costs across Vanguard Class n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1.0 1.2 1.6 Operation total n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 51.1 52.3 56.0 n/a = Not available
The columns may not add to the total given due to rounding. All years apart from 2008-09 have some data that are not available, so the totals provided are incomplete for those years.
The Refit and Maintenance costs take account of the costs of delivering the ongoing Vanguard Class Long Overhaul Period (Refuel) (LOP (R)) programme, the costs of LOP(R) planning, and the procurement of long lead materials. The Refit and Maintenance costs do not include the D154 contract for the Submarine Refitting Facilities Upgrade at Devonport.
For 2002-03 onwards, the costs for Refit and Maintenance include external contractor costs, known as Contracted Out Operational Support (COOPS) under the Warship Support Modernisation Initiative (WSMI), where these can be attributed to the Vanguard Class. The COOPS costs relate to the provision of specialist subcontractor support for propulsion systems, masts and sensors, and weapons systems. It is not possible to provide equivalent costs prior to 2002 as these are not held in the format requested. The COOPS figure for 2002-03 only covers the six months for which data are available.
The figures given for the labour costs at Her Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde are estimated because, under WSMI, these costs are collected for HMNB Clyde as a whole, and are not attributed to specific classes of ships or submarines. The figures quoted are derived from the total WSMI costs using a standard methodology. Costs are not available prior to 2002 because the contract for WSMI did not commence until September 2002, and information prior to this is not held in the format requested.
Alterations and Additions costs have been supplied only for 2008-09, which is the only year for which figures are available.
Nuclear propulsion costs are not held in the format requested because they cannot be broken down by submarine class. These costs would include the supply of spares and maintenance of Nuclear Steam Raising Plant components, the costs of Technical Authority support for maintenance of the design intent and safety case, the independent nuclear safety advice for the plant, and the provision of new reactor cores at refits. They would also cover the provision of cores, spares and other materiel maintenance by the equipment suppliers.
Operating costs prior to 2006-07 are not held centrally. The operating costs include manpower, stock (such as tools and hardware) and other costs such as travel and subsistence, and accommodation stores.
Trident: Finance
I will write to the hon. Member shortly.
Unidentified Flying Objects
The long-term retention of UFO sighting reports delivers no benefit to defence and diverts resources from higher priority tasks. UFO sighting reports passed to the MOD are retained for 30 days to allow correspondents to request the return of their reports should they wish to do so and are then destroyed.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan: Elections
The Electoral Complaints Commission is a key oversight body and the individuals appointed to its panel will be subject to close scrutiny and will need to be of the highest quality and integrity. As agreed at the London Conference, the Afghan Government will work closely with the UN to learn lessons from the 2009 elections and to deliver improvements to the electoral process in 2010 and beyond. We will continue, alongside international partners, to support Afghan and UN efforts.
British Nationals Abroad: Prisoners
On 30 September 2009 we were aware of 2,582 British nationals detained overseas. This figure is calculated every six months. In April we will have the figure for 31 March 2010. The support we can offer is set out in the publication "Support for British Nationals Abroad: A Guide". This includes making contact with the detainee, visiting if they want us to, making contact with their family, again if they want us to, offering basic information about the local legal and prison systems and a list of local interpreters and lawyers. If appropriate, we will consider approaching the local authorities if a detainee is not treated in line with internationally-accepted standards, including if they are mistreated. Within certain limits, we can forward funds to the detainee. We can also help them contact non-governmental organisations who offer support, such as Prisoners Abroad and, where appropriate, Fair Trials International or Reprieve.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Conflict
The Rwandan authorities are not linked to the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). The FDLR is an illegal militia group mainly comprising ex-genocidaires from the previous Rwandan regime. We welcome the rapprochement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo and the co-operation between the two countries in tackling the FDLR.
We take our obligations under sanctions very seriously and will not hesitate to support sanctions against any person or company against whom there is sufficient evidence.
Departmental Languages
One Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Minister, Lord Mervyn Davies, undertook language training in the past 12 months at a cost of £212.80.
370 FCO civil servants have received language training in the following 52 languages (in no particular order):
French
Danish
Spanish
Vietnamese
Portuguese
Russian
Mandarin
Japanese
Nepali
Norwegian
Polish
Dutch
Turkish
Arabic
Dari
Spanish LA
Malay
Italian
Macedonian
Cantonese
German
Farsi
Pashto
Albanian
Uzbek
Somali
Urdu
Bulgarian
Bengali
Swedish
Montenegrin
Portuguese (Brazilian)
Hebrew
Georgian
Greek
Amharic
Bosnian
Ukrainian
Romanian
Korean
Hindi
Indonesian
Cantonese
Mongolian
Serbian
Czech
Sorani Kurdish
Persian
Thai
Slovene
Latvian
Tagalog.
The total spend by the FCO's Language Policy and Standards Team from 1 March 2009 to date is £2,591,016. (This figure includes administration, travel and examination expenses.)
Government Hospitality: Wines
During 2007 Government Hospitality purchased wines from the following suppliers:
Corney and Barrow Ltd
Justerini and Brooks Ltd
Jereboams
Berry Bros and Rudd Ltd
Averys of Bristol
Lea and Sandeman Ltd
Mentzendorff Ltd
John Armit Wines
Waitrose
O W Loeb
Bibendum Wines Ltd
Pol Roger Ltd
Maisons, Marques et Domaines Ltd
Hatch Mansfield Wines Ltd
Denbies
Three Choirs Vineyards
English Wines Group
Ridgeview Estate
Breaky Bottom Vineyards
Nyetimber Ltd
During 2008 Government Hospitality purchased wines from the following suppliers:
English Wines Group
Denbies
Averys of Bristol
Berry Bros and Rudd Ltd
Pol Roger Ltd
Waitrose
Maisons, Marques et Domaines Ltd
Corney and Barrow Ltd
Haynes Hanson and Clark Ltd
O W Loeb
Hatch Mansfield Wines Ltd
Lea and Sandeman Ltd
Justerini and Brooks Ltd
Jereboams.
Copies of the minutes of the Government Hospitality Advisory Committee for the Purchase of Wine (edited to protect commercial confidentiality) are available through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Freedom of Information web pages. The Committee's annual report is already in the Library of the House. I will place copies of the minutes from 2009 in the Library of the House.
Greece: Death
Consular staff both in Corfu and London provided consular assistance to Stephen Oliver's family throughout this tragic case. We advised Mr. Oliver's family of the practical procedures for dealing with a death of a British national in Corfu. As consular staff took immediate action to follow up concerns raised by the family about the behaviour of the local undertaker. We have since removed him from the embassy's list of approved undertakers in Greece. Consular staff are unable to accept personal belongings of British nationals. We tried on several occasions to make contact with Mr. Oliver's friends and the local undertaker in order to arrange for his personal belongings to be returned to the UK. Consular staff further assisted by arranging (for Mrs. Oliver during her visit to Corfu) meetings with the coroner's office and the local undertaker.
Iran: Human Rights
Former Member of Parliament and Minister, Behzad Nabavi, was one of several notable figures arrested on 16 June 2009 following the disputed presidential elections in Iran. The EU raised concerns about these detentions on 3 August with the Iranian authorities in Tehran, and again in a declaration on 23 October. On 9 February Nabavi was sentenced to five years imprisonment for his role in the post election unrest. The Iranian authorities continue to suppress legitimate protest, restrict civil and political liberties and use the threat of violence, and even execution, to silence dissent. Despite this, many brave Iranians continue to demand their fundamental rights. We urge the Iranian authorities to heed their citizens’ calls, and to release all individuals detained for political offences.
While there are no official figures available on the numbers of opposition figures imprisoned since the June 2009 election, international estimates broadly agree that around 3,000 individuals have been arrested. Many have subsequently been released; however, others remain in detention or have stood trial. We are concerned that the whereabouts of many more remain unknown.
We cannot confirm that any opposition figures have been executed for involvement in the post-election unrest; however, we are concerned that a number of individuals have been sentenced to death in televised show-trials which fell far short of international standards guaranteeing the right to a fair trial. On 28 January Iran executed Arash Rahmanipour and Mohammad Reza Ali-Zamani; both were sentenced to death for “enmity against God” following prosecution at show-trials.
It is clear that the people of Iran are leading the charge for human rights and democracy. However, they need to know that their calls for basic rights and freedoms are supported by the international community. The Iranian Government have a duty to ensure that their actions live up to the human rights standards to which they have committed. The United Kingdom was one of many UN member states to draw attention to the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran during its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva on 15 February. The HRC is currently in session in Geneva, and we are seeking every opportunity to draw attention to the situation in Iran, both nationally and as the EU. My noble Friend Baroness Kinnock raised our concerns when addressing the Council on 2 March and we did so again in our response to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 4 March.
We raised concerns with the Iranian authorities on at least 70 occasions last year, either bilaterally or through the EU and UN. We will continue to work hard alongside partners, international non-governmental organisations and civil society to ensure that the Iranian regime is held to account over its appalling human rights record.
Iran: Nuclear Power
The latest Iran report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General highlights that Iran has increased its stockpile of low enriched uranium to 2,065 kg in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions; is starting to enrich to higher levels when there is no civilian purpose and has announced plans for 10 new enrichment plants. Iran’s refusal to answer questions about possible military dimensions to its programme leads the IAEA to express concern about development of a nuclear payload.
Israel: EU External Trade
[holding answer 4 March 2010]: The European Court of Justice's recent ruling in the case of C-386/08 (Brita-Gmbh) concerned the procedures which a EU member state's customs authority should follow in a case where imported goods are shown as being of Israeli origin, and preferential customs tariff treatment is claimed under the EC-Israel Association Agreement, but where there is reason to suppose that the goods in question did in fact originate in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs).
This ruling has no effect on the Government's policies, since the Court's ruling confirms the correctness of the policy already in place, and I have had no discussions. There are no inconsistencies between the Court's ruling and the technical advice concerning the labelling of produce grown in the OPTs that was issued by DEFRA on 10 December 2009.
Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation
The United Kingdom is committed to working intensively with a wide range of international partners to establish consensus for strengthening the non-proliferation and disarmament regime.
We want the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference to produce a mandate or action plan, which is balanced across the three mutually-reinforcing NPT pillars of non-proliferation, disarmament and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Spain: EC Presidency
I attended the General Affairs Council on 25 January 2010 where Spain's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Co-operation presented the programme for the Spanish Presidency. We welcomed the Spanish Presidency's choice of priorities, in particular the focus on economic recovery with a low carbon, social agenda at its core.
A more comprehensive overview was given in our Command Paper 7778 "Prospects for the European Union: The Spanish Presidency", laid before the House on 29 January 2010.
Wales
Referendums
These issues are currently being progressed.
17 June 2010.
Welsh Language
I discuss a range of issues with ministerial colleagues in Whitehall and with the First Minister including those relating to the Welsh language and the passage of the Welsh Language LCO. I also met the Welsh Language Group Mudiadau Dathlu'r Gymraeg last month.
Culture, Media and Sport
Camelot
(2) what steps his Department is taking to ensure the National Lottery Commission consults stakeholders and other interested parties on the implications for its core National Lottery business and brand of Camelot's application to operate certain commercial services; and if he will make a statement.
My officials and I have regular meetings with both the National Lottery Commission and Camelot about the full range of National Lottery regulation issues, and the possibility of Camelot providing commercial services which are ancillary to the operation of the National Lottery has been discussed in that context.
The approval of the National Lottery Commission is required before the National Lottery operator can undertake any ancillary activity and the commission is currently considering a proposal from Camelot to offer commercial services using National Lottery terminals. The commission will consider the proposal in light of its statutory duties and therefore will take into account issues such as the implications for the core National Lottery business and brand.
The commission is currently consulting on the EU/competition law considerations which may arise from the proposal, as these are issues in which those already offering such services have a direct interest. The commission considers that it will have sufficient information to exercise its discretion properly, without consulting on the implications for the core National Lottery business and brand.
Departmental Carbon Emissions
The estimate of carbon dioxide emissions from offices is as follows:
Tonnes of carbon dioxide 2006-07 4,615 2007-08 2,251 2008-09 1,760
Information prior to 2006 is not available.
Departmental ICT
No information technology projects have been cancelled prior to completion by my Department or its agency in the last 12 months.
Departmental Marketing
Both Real Help Now and Building Britain’s Future are cross-government campaigns.
This Department spent £300 on a flyer for the Future Jobs Fund, as part of the Real Jobs Now campaign. We have not spent anything directly on Building Britain’s Future.
Departmental Offices
The Department has spent the following on office refurbishments in each of the last 10 years.
£ 1999-2000 243,000 2000-01 0 2001-02 0 2002-03 0 2003-04 0 2004-05 0 2005-06 0 2006-07 8,700,000 2007-08 0 2008-09 40,625
Departmental Plants
The Department has spent £11,018 to date on pot plants in the financial year 2009-10.
The Royal Parks has spent £545 to date on pot plants in the financial year 2009-10.
National Lottery: Sports
National Lottery funding for grass roots sports is delivered by two bodies, Sport England and the Big Lottery Fund (BIG).
(a) Lottery funding to Poole channelled through Sport England from 1997 to 2009 is as follows:
Financial year Sport England lottery funding Poole (£) 1997-98 9,735 1999-2000 429,000 2000-01 225,938 2002-03 497,716 2004-05 60,000 2005-06 60,000 2006-07 277,074 2007-08 188,000 2008-09 814,801 2009-101 15,850 Total 2,578,114 1 To 31 December 2009
(b) Total Lottery funding channelled through Sport England nationally from 1997 to 2009 is as follows:
Financial year Sport England lottery funding nationally (£) 1997-98 189,236,874 1998-99 320,737,864 1999-2000 145,594,539 2000-01 326,520,739 2001-02 470,613,280 2002-03 239,418,750 2003-04 160,389,252 2004-05 188,274,936 2005-06 157,199,588 2006-07 126,031,063 2007-08 106,495,643 2008-09 103,483,937 2009-10 252,700,764 Total 2,786,697,229
(a) The BIG Lottery Fund's actual expenditure (rather than awards made) comprises £830,604, distributed to a total of nine community sports projects where the beneficiaries are located in the Poole constituency.
Financial year BIG amount distributed Poole (£) 2002-03 15,965 2003-04 423,033 2004-05 391,611 Total 830,609
(b) Total Lottery funding channelled through BIG and its predecessor bodies to England from 1997 to 2009, as actual expenditure (rather than awards made) on sports related projects, is as follows:
Financial year BIG amount distributed England (£) 2001-02 11,400 2002-03 4,500,970 2003-04 23,957,471 2004-05 60,862,060 2005-06 197,754,894 2006-07 175,423,208 2007-08 100,153,903 2008-09 88,631,818 Total 651,295,724
Children, Schools and Families
Discipline
This Government have given teachers a range of powers to tackle poor behaviour including, for the first time, a clear statutory power to discipline pupils. We have also provided support, guidance and consultancy to schools on behaviour improvement. Our behaviour challenge launched last September, sets out a series of actions to drive behaviour standards higher—enabling all schools to be not simply satisfactory in their behaviour standards but good or outstanding.
Free School Meals
Long-term trends show that the achievement of pupils eligible for free school meals is rising, and that gaps in attainment between those pupils and their more affluent peers are narrowing. To give just one example, between 2002 and 2009, the percentage of free school meals pupils achieving the equivalent of five or more good GCSEs rose by 25.9 percentage points (from 23 per cent. to 48.9 per cent.), in comparison with a 19.1 percentage point rise for non-free school meals pupils.
UK Council for Child Internet Safety
The UK Council for Child Internet Safety was established on 29 September 2008 and now has over 160 members from Government, law enforcement, the third sector and industry.
In December last year, UKCCIS launched its first child internet safety strategy ‘Click Clever, Click Safe’. We believe this is the first such strategy of its kind anywhere in the world and represents a real step forward in the development of work to keep children safe online.
Secondary Schools: Halton
Between 1998 and 2008 the percentage of pupils in Halton achieving five good GCSEs, including English and maths, increased from 24.7 per cent. to 49.2 per cent. making it the sixth most improved local authority nationally over that period. Over the same period the results for the north-west region, on the same measure, improved from 32.9 per cent. to 47.4 per cent. The authority’s results dipped in 2009 and we are working closely with them through the National Challenge programme to provide additional support to those schools that need it.
Academies
There are now 203 academies open in 83 local authorities with up to a further 100 opening in 2010. Evidence from independent reports by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ofsted and the National Audit Office show academies are working. For academies with results in 2008 and 2009 the increase in the proportion of pupils achieving at least five A*-C GCSEs including English and maths is 5.0 percentage points, an increase on last year’s academy improvement rate of 4.3 percentage points and double the average national increase.
Building Schools for the Future
Stoke-on-Trent is in wave 1 of the Building Schools for the Future programme.
The framework contract for construction agents is in place and OBC approval is imminent. The authority expects work to start on the first school in September 2010.
Funding levels for all schools and academies, together with feasibility designs have been approved.
Catch-up Support
The Government's commitment to the future provision of catch-up support in literacy and numeracy is encapsulated in the Pupil Guarantees, which set out entitlements to support for children who are not making good progress in mathematics or English at key stages 1, 2 and 3. The guarantees are underpinned by programmes including Every Child a Reader, Every Child a Writer and Every Child Counts, in addition to the one-to-one tuition programme and secondary programmes such as Literacy Plus and Study Plus.
Bullying
The annual TellUs survey provides information on this. According to TellUs 4 (2009), 46 per cent. say they have been bullied in school, of these 53 per cent. were bullied in the last year. There was a 24 percentage point improvement on the number of young people who felt their school dealt effectively with bullying.
Overall, 28.8 per cent. of young people surveyed said they had been bullied at some time during the last year, either in or out of school.
NEETs
We published “Investing in Potential” in December 2009 setting out the decisive steps we are taking to reduce the proportion of young people who are not in education, employment or training. Through our September and January Guarantees, we are offering 16 and 17-year-olds a place in learning. The Young Person’s Guarantee will ensure that 18 to 24-year-olds still unemployed after six months will be guaranteed access to a job, training or work experience.
Education: Charities
There have been no changes on the registration of educational charities since the publication of the protocol on academies in 2009. Officials are in discussions with the Charity Commission on the ways in which academy trusts can be better supported through the process of registration as charities. The Secretary of State has agreed in principle to become the principal regulator for voluntary and foundation schools, subject to agreement on the details of the associated responsibilities.
GCSE: Poole
Information about whether a pupil has entered GCSEs in history, physics, chemistry and biology has only been available on the National Pupil Database since the 2003/04 academic year.
Poole unitary authority 2003/04 2008/09 Number of students1, 2 entered for History GCSE 464 481 Physics GCSE 224 328 Chemistry GCSE 221 328 Biology GCSE 223 336 1 Data for 2003/04 are based on pupils aged 15 on 31 August 2003 and data for 2008/09 are based on pupils at the end of key stage 4. 2 Students attending maintained schools only, including city technology colleges and academies 3 Based on students with a valid postcode in that academic year. Source: National Pupil Database (2003/04 final data, 2008/09 amended data).
National Curriculum Tests
[holding answer 22 February 2010]: The information requested is in the following tables.
Level 2 Level 2B3 Level 3 1995 78 — 33 1996 78 — 30 1997 80 — 26 1998 80 62 26 1999 82 66 29 2000 83 68 28 2001 84 69 29 2002 84 69 30 2003 84 69 28 20042 85 71 29 2005 85 72 27 2006 84 71 26 2007 84 71 26 2008 84 71 25 20094 84 72 26
Level 2 Level 2B3 Level 3 1995 466,500 — 199,600 1996 464,600 — 176,600 1997 489,500 — 160,300 1998 500,800 389,000 163,600 1999 513,000 412,000 184,300 2000 504,600 409,200 168,900 2001 505,700 413,600 174,400 2002 495,700 405,000 177,200 2003 487,900 401,300 162,200 20042 499,100 415,700 168,000 2005 484,800 411,500 153,500 2006 474,500 400,600 143,900 2007 458,300 388,900 141,300 2008 450,600 382,800 135,900 20094 449,900 383,400 138,200
Level 2 Level 2B3 Level 3 1995 80 — 15 19961 79 — 6 1997 80 — 6 1998 81 48 7 1999 83 53 8 2000 84 57 9 2001 86 59 9 2002 86 60 9 2003 81 62 16 20042 82 62 16 2005 82 62 15 2006 81 60 14 2007 80 59 13 2008 80 58 12 20094 81 60 12
Level 2 Level 2B3 Level 3 1995 477,300 — 88,200 19961 474,600 — 36,700 1997 490,200 — 36,900 1998 507,800 304,000 45,200 1999 519,600 335,400 51,000 2000 511,000 341,900 53,400 2001 515,800 353,100 57,100 2002 506,100 351,200 55,800 2003 471,000 358,700 93,400 20042 480,900 362,900 93,500 2005 469,200 351,100 85,800 2006 457,300 339,100 78,300 2007 439,300 321,500 69,000 2008 429,800 314,000 65,300 20094 431,100 318,100 65,900
Level 2 Level 2B3 Level 3 1995 79 — 19 1996 82 — 19 1997 84 — 20 1998 84 61 19 1999 87 64 21 2000 90 73 25 2001 91 75 28 2002 90 76 31 2003 90 73 29 20042 90 75 28 2005 91 74 23 2006 90 73 21 2007 90 74 22 2008 90 74 21 20094 89 74 21
Level 2 Level 2B3 Level 3 1995 470,700 — 116,200 1996 491,500 — 114,300 1997 512,700 — 124,400 1998 529,000 382,500 118,400 1999 544,000 399,000 134,000 2000 542,900 440,800 153,000 2001 546,100 454,300 166,700 2002 531,900 445,100 184,200 2003 523,300 426,000 169,400 20042 531,500 443,600 165,700 2005 518,000 421,900 130,400 2006 507,300 410,600 120,400 2007 491,800 404,200 120,500 2008 481,500 395,600 114,400 20094 476,900 392,400 112,700
Level 2 Level 2B3 Level 3 2005 90 — 25 2006 89 — 24 2007 89 — 23 2008 89 — 22 20094 89 — 22
Level 2 Level 2B3 Level 3 2005 510,500 — 142,400 2006 501,400 — 133,000 2007 486,100 — 125,200 2008 476,300 — 118,800 20094 473,800 — 116,700 1 The assessment of writing changed in 1996 and is not comparable to earlier years 2 Figures prior to 2004 are based on task/test assessments. Figures for 2004 are based on a combination of task/test assessment in non-pilot schools and new post-2004 teacher assessment arrangements in pilot schools. Figures for 2005 onward are based on post-2004 teacher assessment arrangements. There were no test/task reporting arrangements for science, therefore data prior to 2005 are not available. Figures from 2004 onwards are not directly comparable with those prior to 2004, and care is needed in interpreting trends in the data. 3 Prior to 1998 data on sub-levels are not available. Science data are not reported at sub-level therefore figures for 2B are not available. 4 All figures are based on final data, with the exception of 2009 which is based on provisional data. Notes: Numbers are rounded to nearest 100. Percentages are rounded to nearest percentage point.
Pearson Group
The Secretary of State and other Ministers have had a number of meetings with senior personnel from Pearson, including its subsidiary Edexcel, over the last 12 months. These meetings covered a range of topics including the establishment of Ofqual, Diplomas and other 14 to 19 qualifications issues.
Personal Social and Health Education
(2) how many teachers he expects to be trained to teach sex and relationships education under the personal, social, health and economic education provisions proposed in the Children, Schools and Families Bill.
The majority of schools have been teaching personal, social, health and economic education (PSHEE)—which includes sex and relationships education (SRE)—as a non-statutory subject for many years, through a mix of specialist PSHEE teachers, as well as form tutors.
In general, budgets for teachers' continuing professional development (CPD) are devolved to individual schools and no central records are kept on how much of this money is spent on CPD for individual subjects. However, in recognition of the sensitive and varied topics covered in PSHEE, additional central funding for a national CPD programme has been available to schools for a number of years. This has resulted in around 8,000 teachers having been trained and a further 1,800 are currently in training this year.
When PSHEE becomes compulsory in the national curriculum from September 2011, we would expect most of the teaching to continue to come from existing teachers who will receive supplementary training, either through the national programme identified above, or from locally sourced training paid for from schools' local budgets.
However, in recognition that PSHEE will be compulsory from September 2011, we are working with the Training and Development Agency for schools (TDA), to develop a route through initial teacher training (ITT) to become a specialist PSHEE teacher. From September 2010, we anticipate that 200 trainee teachers a year will be trained to deliver PSHEE as an enhancement to their main subject area.
To enhance PSHEE coverage in all ITT, we are changing the guidance so that providers of ITT will need to ensure that all of their trainees are familiar with the National Curriculum guidance on PSHEE that is relevant to the age ranges they will teach.
Pupils: Per Capita Costs
[holding answer 25 February 2010]: The available information on how much has been spent per pupil in East Midlands and in England since 1997 is shown in the following table.
England Derbyshire Derby Leicestershire Leicester City Rutland 1997-98 Pre-Primary and Primary Education 1,740 1,580 1,670 1,660 1,740 1,890 Secondary Education 2,360 2,300 2,550 2,290 2,320 0 Special Schools 9,830 10,290 8,890 12,760 9,680 0 Total (including Pre-Primary) 2,080 1,900 2,000 1,990 2,080 1,900 1998-99 Pre-Primary and Primary Education 1,870 1,730 1,850 1,810 1,910 2,130 Secondary Education 2,450 2,370 2,680 2,400 2,540 0 Special Schools 10,110 10,450 8,980 13,270 10,570 0 Total (including Pre-Primary) 2,190 2,020 2,160 2,130 2,280 2,120 1999-2000 Primary Education 2,010 1,820 1,940 1,930 2,130 2,160 Pre-Primary and Primary Education 2,050 1,840 1,990 2,000 2,150 2,190 Secondary Education 2,610 2,430 2,690 2,500 2,920 2,680 Special Schools 10,900 11,760 9,430 11,490 9,120 11,960 Total (including Pre-Primary) 2,390 2,150 2,340 2,280 2,560 2,450 Total (excluding Pre-primary) 2,370 2,140 2,320 2,240 2,550 2,430 2000-01 Primary Education 2,210 2,020 2,170 2,080 2,390 2,260 Pre-Primary and Primary Education 2,280 2,040 2,330 2,160 2,460 2,320 Secondary Education 2,830 2,590 2,910 2,720 3,230 2,920 Special Schools 11,860 12,460 10,170 11,550 12,340 14,890 Total (including Pre-Primary) 2,620 2,340 2,650 2,460 2,920 2,650 Total (excluding Pre-primary) 2,590 2,330 2,550 2,420 2,870 2,620 2001-02 Primary Education 2,480 2,250 2,610 2,260 2,640 2,570 Pre-Primary and Primary Education 2,570 2,290 2,840 2,420 2,730 2,680 Secondary Education 3,150 2,870 3,310 2,970 3,560 3,130 Special Schools 13,030 13,210 11,540 12,140 16,810 16,820 Total (including Pre-Primary) 2,940 2,610 3,120 2,730 3,280 2,950 Total (excluding Pre-primary) 2,900 2,590 2,990 2,640 3,220 2,890 2002-03 Primary Education 2,530 2,350 2,430 2,190 2,520 2,540 Secondary Education 3,230 3,000 3,180 2,930 3,380 3,100 Special Schools 12,820 13,360 11,340 12,640 15,870 18,840 Total (excluding Pre-primary) 2,950 2,700 2,840 2,600 3,070 2,870 2003-04 Primary Education 2,750 2,480 2,730 2,420 2,760 2,840 Secondary Education 3,550 3,270 3,520 3,270 3,680 3,500 Special Schools 14,050 14,050 12,990 13,950 14,760 21,700 Total (excluding Pre-primary) 3,230 2,910 3,140 2,890 3,320 3,230 2004-05 Primary Education 2,910 2,630 2,940 2,580 2,990 2,950 Secondary Education 3,800 3,480 3,810 3,440 3,960 3,650 Special Schools 15,110 14,830 15,310 15,620 15,280 25,140 Total (excluding Pre-primary) 3,450 3,100 3,460 3,070 3,570 3,370 2005-06 Primary Education 3,150 2,900 3,190 2,860 3,210 3,130 Secondary Education 4,070 3,750 4,030 3,630 4,260 3,850 Special Schools 16,430 17,420 17,550 16,390 16,220 25,570 Total (excluding Pre-primary) 3,720 3,380 3,710 3,320 3,830 3,570 2006-07 Primary Education 3,360 3,150 3,420 3,010 3,410 3,370 Secondary Education 4,320 4,030 4,270 3,890 4,600 4,120 Special Schools 17,480 18,930 18,840 17,460 18,160 29,960 Total (excluding Pre-primary) 3,950 3,660 3,930 3,540 4,110 3,840 2007-08 Primary Education 3,580 3,340 3,590 3,220 3,820 3,530 Secondary Education 4,620 4,320 4,590 4,140 4,920 4,370 Special Schools 18,650 20,900 22,700 18,370 20,270 34,230 Total (excluding Pre-primary) 4,210 3,900 4,200 3,780 4,500 4,040 2008-09 Primary Education 3,780 3,450 3,810 3,430 3,750 3,600 Secondary Education 4,890 4,580 4,690 4,460 5,160 4,390 Special Schools 19,790 20,750 25,650 17,840 18,910 47,110 Total (excluding Pre-primary) 4,460 4,080 4,410 4,040 4,550 4,080
Pre LGR Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire City of Nottingham Lincolnshire Northamptonshire 1997-98 Pre-Primary and Primary Education 1,720 — — 1,680 1,580 Secondary Education 2,380 — — 2,510 2,250 Special Schools 13,290 — — 9,230 8,140 Total (including Pre-Primary) 2,070 — — 2,070 1,930 1998-99 Pre-Primary and Primary Education — 1,810 1,950 1,740 1,720 Secondary Education — 2,390 2,580 2,500 2,360 Special Schools — 13,530 12,330 9,500 8,310 Total (including Pre-Primary) — 2,130 2,250 2,110 2,060 1999-2000 Primary Education — 2,010 2,090 1,870 1,910 Pre-Primary and Primary Education — 2,030 2,120 1,870 1,930 Secondary Education — 2,540 2,760 2,540 2,540 Special Schools — 13,520 13,890 10,320 9,940 Total (including Pre-Primary) — 2,330 2,460 2,250 2,290 Total (excluding Pre-primary) — 2,320 2,440 2,250 2,280 2000-01 Primary Education — 2,220 2,260 1,990 2,160 Pre-Primary & Primary Education — 2,240 2,310 2,000 2,180 Secondary Education — 2,710 3,040 2,690 2,790 Special Schools — 13,340 13,600 10,970 10,910 Total (including Pre-Primary) — 2,520 2,680 2,400 2,560 Total (excluding Pre-primary) — 2,510 2,650 2,400 2,540 2001-02 Primary Education — 2,410 2,800 2,070 2,340 Pre-Primary & Primary Education — 2,430 2,860 2,090 2,390 Secondary Education — 2,970 3,640 2,850 2,940 Special Schools — 14,420 15,900 11,930 10,990 Total (including Pre-Primary) — 2,750 3,260 2,540 2,740 Total (excluding Pre-primary) — 2,740 3,230 2,530 2,710 2002-03 Primary Education — 2,500 2,930 2,260 2,280 Secondary Education — 3,030 3,720 3,070 2,900 Special Schools — 13,770 16,300 12,260 10,730 Total (excluding Pre-primary) — 2,810 3,350 2,740 2,660 2003-04 Primary Education — 2,740 3,260 2,450 2,600 Secondary Education — 3,340 4,180 3,380 3,370 Special Schools — 16,040 16,500 13,510 12,730 Total (excluding Pre-primary) — 3,100 3,720 3,000 3,040 2004-05 Primary Education — 2,900 3,410 2,600 2,720 Secondary Education — 3,590 4,430 3,620 3,700 Special Schools — 17,180 17,550 14,150 13,620 Total (excluding Pre-primary) — 3,320 3,940 3,220 3,270 2005-06 Primary Education — 3,150 3,720 2,820 2,880 Secondary Education — 3,890 4,710 3,870 3,840 Special Schools — 18,450 18,050 15,380 15,000 Total (excluding Pre-primary) — 3,600 4,250 3,480 3,430 2006-07 Primary Education — 3,240 3,910 3,050 3,020 Secondary Education — 4,080 4,890 4,140 4,110 Special Schools — 19,690 19,250 16,560 15,680 Total (excluding Pre-primary) — 3,740 4,430 3,750 3,630 2007-08 Primary Education — 3,430 4,030 3,280 3,230 Secondary Education — 4,400 5,270 4,420 4,400 Special Schools — 20,940 20,980 17,530 17,160 Total (excluding Pre-primary) — 4,000 4,660 4,020 3,890 2008-09 Primary Education — 3,690 4,230 3,430 3,320 Secondary Education — 4,710 5,700 4,720 4,520 Special Schools — 22,760 21,520 18,380 17,740 Total (excluding Pre-primary) — 4,290 4,940 4,250 4,000 Notes: 1. The financial information used in the answer to this PQ is taken from the Department’s s52 data collection. 2. 1999-2000 saw a change in data source when the data collection moved from the RO1 form collected by CLG to the Section 52 form from the DCSF. 2002-03 saw a further break in the time series following the introduction of Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) and the associated restructuring of the outturn tables. The change in sources is shown by the blank rows. 3. Pupil numbers include only those pupils attending maintained establishments within each sector and are drawn from the DCSF Annual Schools Census adjusted to be on a financial year basis. 4. Local government reorganisation (LGR) took place during the mid to late 1990s. 5. Expenditure was not distinguished between the pre-primary and primary sectors until the inception of Section 52 for financial year 1999-2000. 6. School based expenditure in LA maintained nursery schools was not recorded in 2002-03 and comparable figures are not available for 2003-04 onwards. 7. Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. Cash terms figures as reported by local authorities as at 22 February 2010.
Schools: Northampton
Figures are not available for the parliamentary constituency of Northampton, North as data are collected at a local authority level. The available information on how much was spent per head in Northamptonshire local authority is shown in the following table. The Department is due to collect the section 251 outturn data relating to the 2009-10 financial year later this year.
1997-98 2001-02 2008-09 Pre-primary & primary education Secondary education Primary education Pre-primary & primary education Secondary education Primary education Secondary education England 1,740 2,360 2,480 2,570 3,150 3,780 4,890 Northamptonshire 1,580 2,250 2,340 2,390 2,940 3,320 4,520 Notes: 1. The financial information used in the answer to this PQ is taken from the Department’s s52 data collection. 2. 1999-2000 saw a change in data source when the data collection moved from the RO1 form collected by the CLG to the Section 52 form from the DCSF. 2002-03 saw a further break in the time series following the introduction of consistent financial reporting (CFR) and the associated restructuring of the outturn tables. 3. Pupil numbers include only those pupils attending maintained establishments within each sector and are drawn from the DCSF annual schools census adjusted to be on a financial year basis. 4. Expenditure was not distinguished between the pre-primary and primary sectors until the inception of Section 52 (now section 251) for financial year 1999-2000. 5. Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. Cash terms figures as reported by local authorities as at 5 March 2010.
Cabinet Office
Children: Essex
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many children of school age there have been in (a) Essex and (b) Southend in each year since 1997 (320603).
The attached table shows the number of children aged 5-16 inclusive, calculated for each mid-year from 1997 to 2008, which are the latest population estimates available.
Essex Southend on Sea 1997 193,800 24,100 1998 194,000 24,300 1999 197,500 24,400 2000 199,500 24,300 2001 200,900 24,400 2002 202,100 24,400 2003 203,400 24,300 2004 203,700 24,000 2005 203,400 23,800 2006 202,400 23,400 2007 201,400 23,100 2008 200,100 23,000 1 Ages five to 16 inclusive. Source: Office for National Statistics