To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service family accommodation properties in England and Wales were identified as awaiting disposal or demolition in each year since 2004; and how much rent was paid to Annington Homes for those properties in each of those years. (322038)

It will take more time to collate and verify the information requested. I will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many thefts from unoccupied houses owned by his Department have been reported in each of the last 12 months. (322040)

A complete record of thefts from unoccupied houses, is not available because these are held by a number of Home Office police forces.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research his Department has conducted on the likely magnitude of an electromagnetic pulse weapon attack upon the UK and the consequences of such an attack. (319897)

The Ministry of Defence has undertaken electromagnetic pulse research in a number of areas. This information is being withheld for the purpose of safeguarding national security.

I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Home Department (Mr. Hanson) on 3 March 2010, Official Report, column 1282W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many variants of the Future Surface Combatant will be designed; and how many ships in each such variant he expects to be constructed. (321414)

[holding answer 11 March 2010]: The Future Surface Combatant programme is expected to consist of two variants. The C1, an Anti Submarine Warfare task group enabled platform and the C2 variant, a more general purpose platform. There is a separate Mine Countermeasures, Hydrographic and Patrol Capability programme, which was previously referred to as C3.

No decisions have yet been made on the number of ships to be constructed; this will be decided at the main investment decision point for each variant.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many of his Department's hand-held mine detectors were (a) in service and (b) fit for purpose in each of the last nine years; (321365)

The metal detectors currently in service are Vallon, Hoodlum and Horn. There are sufficient metal detectors to meet our current operational requirements. As at 5 March 2010, there were 3,071 Vallon hand-held metal detectors in service. The number of equipments available for use will vary daily and will depend principally on how many are in the repair loop at the time. As at 5 March 2010, an estimated 2,440 Vallon were available for use. The EBEX-420PB metal detector has been withdrawn from service.

The number of hand-held metal detectors in service and available for use in previous years is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when (a) he expects the last of the nine MRA4 aircraft on order to be delivered and (b) where these helicopters will be based. (321336)

Delivery of the nine Nimrod MRA4 aircraft is expected to be complete by the end of 2012. I assume that the second part of your question relates to the MRA4 and that "helicopters" is a misprint. On current planning RAF Kinloss will be the main operating base for the MRA4 aircraft.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels have been sold to other countries since 1997; and what revenue accrued to his Department from each such sale. (322037)

[holding answer 12 March 2010]: Since 1997, 29 ex-Royal Navy and ex-Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels have been sold to other countries. In detail these vessels are:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the first ships to be procured under the Future Surface Combatant programme to enter service. (321700)

It is departmental policy to release in-service dates only for those ships for which the main investment decision has been taken. The Future Surface Combatant programme has not yet reached this stage. However, our current planning assumption is that the first vessels will enter service early in the next decade.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent consideration has been given to including a separate category for Sikhs in the ethnic categories to be included in the 2011 Census. (321205)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply. A copy of their letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office for how long on average claimants aged between 18 and 24 years resident in each local authority area in the South East were in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance in (a) each of the last 12 months and (b) each of the last five years. (321449)

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 Parliamentary Question asking for how long on average claimants aged between 18 and 24 years resident in each local authority area in the South East were in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance in (a) each of the last 12 months and (b) each of the last five years. (321449)

The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) is taken from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system. The length of a claim has been defined as the time between the start of an individual’s claim and the count date in each reference month. Table 1 shows the median length of live claims for persons aged 18 to 24 resident in each local authority in the South East during the last 12 months up to the latest available period in January 2010, and for January of each of the last 5 years. A copy of the table will be placed in the Library of the House.

National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:

http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether guidance was provided to members of the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee on the interpretation by that committee of the undertaking given by Lord Ashcroft in 2000. (320804)

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will place in the Library a copy of the memorandum referred to in the statement by Lord Ashcroft of 1 March 2010 on official confirmation from the Government on the interpretation of the first undertaking he made to the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee. (320917)

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) whether ministerial approval was given for the definition of long-term resident to be used by the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee for the purposes of its consideration of Lord Ashcroft's nomination for a peerage; (321311)

The Cabinet Office will be responding to a request by the Public Administration Select Committee that it should supply a brief written statement describing the nature of the dialogue referred to by Lord Ashcroft in his statement of 1 March 2010. The date of that hearing is to be confirmed. The matters raised by the hon. Members will be dealt with in that response.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2009, Official Report, column 3W, on the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee, when the criteria will be determined for (a) the destruction and (b) the preservation of records of the Committee. (320919)

Papers relating to the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee will be handled in accordance with the requirements of the Public Records Acts.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate she made of the number and proportion of people of working age who were classified as underemployed in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) England and (d) Northern Ireland in each year since 1980. (322151)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply. A copy of their letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence his Department has on the proportion of antisocial behaviour that is alcohol-related. (321147)

According to the 2008-09 British Crime Survey in 47 per cent. of violent incidents the victims believed the offender was under the influence of alcohol.

The data can be found at the following weblink:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb1109vol1.pdf

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on the review process for the EU Animal Experimentation Directive; what assessment he has made of the implications of that review for the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986; and if he will make a statement. (320523)

In November 2008 the European Commission published its proposal for a new directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes to replace EU Directive 86/609/EEC. The European Parliament adopted its first reading report on the Commission's proposal in May 2009. The Council of Ministers has not yet adopted an agreed position. However, discussions between the Swedish presidency, the Commission and the European Parliament completed in December 2009 made significant progress towards agreement of a common compromise text.

The only provisions remaining to be agreed relate to the arrangements for delegated and implementing acts introduced by articles 290 and 291 of the Lisbon Treaty, the operational details of which are still being negotiated.

Once these provisions are agreed, the way should then be clear for the new Directive to be adopted. Our current expectation is that this will be in the first half of 2010 and that the final implementation date for the measures set out in the new directive, after transposition into UK law, will be 1 January 2013.

We believe the compromise text provides a sound basis for the future regulation of animal research in Europe. The text is more flexible and less prescriptive than the Commission's initial proposal and, overall, provides a regulatory framework which, we believe is balanced and will allow the United Kingdom to maintain high standards of welfare and animal protection after transposition and implementation without the imposition of unnecessary bureaucracy.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in (a) the City of Manchester and (b) Manchester Central constituency have (i) started Pathways to Work and (ii) made recorded job starts under Pathways to Work in each year since the inception of the programme. (321066)

[holding answer 8 March 2010]: I have been asked to reply.

The information requested is not published and could be made available only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many violent attacks against shopkeepers were reported in (a) the UK, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) West Yorkshire in the last 10 years. (321282)

Information on the profession of victims of violent offences is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many employees the Audit Commission had in each year since 1997. (322156)

This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member direct.

Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 12 March 2010:

Your Parliamentary Question has been passed to me to reply.

The Audit Commission’s full time equivalent (FTE) staffing levels at each year end since 1997 were:

A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) when he plans to publish the responses to the Reform of Council Housing Finance consultation; (321909)

I intend to make a further announcement and publish a summary of responses to the consultation shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fire service personnel there were per 100,000 population in (a) Chesterfield, (b) Derbyshire and (c) England in each year since 2006. (321596)

[holding answer 11 March 2010]: Numbers of fire and rescue service personnel are held centrally only by fire authority, thus the data in the table are for Derbyshire and England only.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) whether his further proposals on reform of the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system will include recommendations in respect of the (a) revenue and (b) capital elements; (321710)

I intend to make an announcement and publish a summary of responses to the consultation shortly.

To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many (a) emails her Office has responded to and (b) telephone calls her Office has answered from members of the public since 2008. (321459)

E-mails and telephone calls regarding the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games are logged by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). 533 e-mails were responded to and 50 telephone calls were received in the period 1 January 2008 to 9 March 2010.

Figures for my private office are not held.

To ask the Minister for the Olympics what her official engagements are in March 2010. (321458)

I have many engagements in connection with my official duties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many contracts the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment had with (a) local authorities, (b) Government departments and (c) non-departmental public bodies in each of the last three years. (321554)

The information requested is not held by my Department and relates to matters that are the responsibility of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE).

Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of CABE to write direct to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield.

Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding, other than in grant in aid, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment received from public bodies in each of the last three years. (321562)

The amount of funding received by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment from public bodies apart from grant in aid in each of the last three financial years is set out in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) press and (b) communications officers were employed by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment in each of the last three years; and how many were employed at the latest date for which figures are available. (321587)

The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) press and communications officers that were employed by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment in each of the last three years and at the current time are set out in the table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (a) has employed in each of the last three years and (b) employed on the latest date for which figures are available. (321588)

The number of full-time equivalent staff (FTE) employed by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) in each of the last three financial years and at the current time is set out in the following table.

Figures provided include all permanent, fixed term and temporary staff who are paid as employees through CABE's payroll.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department provided in grant in aid to the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment in each of the last three years. (321611)

The grant in aid from this Department to the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) in the last three full financial years is in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many first-class cricket ground redevelopment plans are dependent on funding from the England and Wales Cricket Board. (322027)

Funding for first class cricket ground redevelopment plans is a matter for the England and Wales Cricket Board. Therefore, I suggest the hon. Member contacts them directly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent estimate he has made of the number of households in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland which have (i) one digital radio and (ii) two or more digital radios. (321653)

Research by Radio Joint Audience Research Limited (RAJAR) published in February 2010 indicates that 33.4 per cent. of adults in the UK own a DAB set at home. 10.5 million DAB sets had been sold by the end of 2009, and some of these are thought to be repeat purchases: research by Digital Radio UK suggests that 66 per cent. of DAB set owners possess more than one set. Separate figures for Scotland are not published.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent estimate he has made of the number of households in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland which have (i) one television set and (ii) two or more television sets; and what recent estimate he has made of the number of such households which have (A) one television set and (B) two or more television sets tuned to receive digital services. (321651)

This information is not held centrally by the Department.

Accordingly, I have asked Ofcom's chief executive to consider the question raised by the hon. Member for Gordon and to write to him direct.

Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether UK Sport plans to undertaken a performance review of all winter sports following the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics; and if he will make a statement. (321917)

UK Sport has advised that they conduct investment reviews with each sport after both winter and summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Through this process UK Sport can analyse Games results, apply its 'No compromise' Investment Principles and model, and issue planning figures to sports that fall within the scope for potential investment over the Sochi, Russia 2010-14 cycle.

UK Sport Board has approved a refined set of Investment Principles which are positioned to embrace both summer and winter Olympic and Paralympic sports. This will ensure consistency of approach across all sports funded through the World Class Performance Programme.

Following its winter sport reviews UK Sport anticipates being able to make 2010-14 funding decisions in summer 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much (a) Exchequer and (b) Lottery funding has been allocated to winter sports by (i) UK Sport and (ii) Sport England in each year since the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics. (321918)

The table, provided by UK Sport, outlines their Exchequer funding and Lottery funding for winter sports since the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. These funds are provided as part of UK Sport's World Class Performance Programme, and the awards were allocated for the four year Olympic cycle (reviewed after two years), rather than on a year by year basis.

These figures are the allocated amounts for programme and Athlete Personal Awards (APA) as agreed at board level, and are published on the UK Sport website:

http://www.uksport.gov.uk/

In addition to the funding outlined in the table, as part of the contingency arrangements following Snowsport GB going into administration, UK Sport agreed to provide approximately £21,500 to the British Olympic Association. This funding was ring-fenced for the support of UK Sport's two currently funded elite athletes and their immediate technical and coaching teams to participate in the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Allied to UK Sport's funding for winter sports, the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) has provided £4 million in the last four years, of which over £700,000 has been invested in promising skiers and snowboarders.

The following table, provided by Sport England, outlines their Exchequer funding and Lottery funding for winter sports since the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, and is based on awards data held from 1 April 2006 to 31 December 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the compatibility of the decision of the Moroccan Government to expel volunteer workers, including citizens of EU member states, on charges of proselytizing members of the Kafala community and orphaned children through their work at the Village of Hope/Village de l’Esperance at Ain Leuh with the conditions relating to human rights and freedom of religion in agreements between the EU and the Kingdom of Morocco; and if he will make a statement. (322026)

Our officials in London met with the Moroccan chargé d’affaires on 10 March to express the UK’s concerns. Our officials in Rabat have asked the Moroccan authorities for a full briefing on the matter.

Morocco has a good record on freedom of worship. Moroccan officials tell us that they remain committed to ensuring freedom of worship and religious tolerance; however proselytising remains illegal in Morocco.

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not held specific discussions on this point with his EU counterparts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will bring forward proposals to increase the level of the carer's allowance. (320287)

The level of carer's allowance is reviewed annually and up-rated in April, in line with the September Retail Prices Index. This year, however, the September Retail Prices Index was negative so, as announced in the uprating statement, to help carers during the early stages of economic recovery, we are proposing bringing forward a 1.5 per cent. increase. This means that the weekly rate of carer's allowance will be increased from £53.10 to £53.90 in April 2010. The rate will be increased again in 2011 to make up the difference with the Retail Prices Index for September 2010, thus preserving the real terms increase in future years.

The carer's allowance weekly earnings limit is being increased from £95 to £100 from 12 April 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much of the £38 million for Jobcentre Plus referred to in the 2008 National Carers Strategy intended to help carers to move into work has been spent by Jobcentre Plus to date; on what projects and programmes it has been spent; and whether the whole amount is ring-fenced for employment support for carers. (320935)

[holding answer 5 March 2010]: Work Focused Support for Carers was introduced in December 2009 and provides one to one adviser support, referral to appropriate training opportunities and financial help for carers not eligible for other programmes, aged 18 or over and not in full-time work. We estimate that up to 4,000 people a year will take part.

Jobcentre Plus has up to £38 million available for the 2008 National Carers Strategy. The funding is all for use on providing support to carer’s and is available to:

introduce a network of care partnership managers

provide training for care partnership managers and Jobcentre Plus advisers

introduce a job search tool to identify jobs that offer flexible working, and

fund replacement care from December 2009 for carers participating in approved training.

As at February 2010, Jobcentre Plus have invested £2 million to fund the recruitment and salaries of care partnership managers in each Jobcentre Plus district and the training of Jobcentre Plus advisers, nationally. The £2 million invested to the end of February 2010 is on budget and to schedule.

Of the funding set aside for replacement care from December 2009, it is too early to report expenditure at this stage.

Additionally, many carers already have access to separately funded employment programmes because of their other circumstances, for example, lone parents or partners of people claiming benefit.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what (a) value and (b) percentage of payments to the Child Support Agency were made by credit card in each of the last three years. (318743)

The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what (a) value and (b) percentage of payments to the Child Support Agency were made by credit card in each of the last three years. [318743]

The value and percentage of payments to the Child Support Agency made only by credit card is not available.

I am sorry on this occasion I cannot be more helpful.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much funding has been granted under the Deprived Area Fund in each (a) local authority and (b) lower layer super output area in each year since 2000. (318264)

The Deprived Areas Fund (DAF) was created in 2006. Allocations are calculated on the basis of the relative levels of worklessness at ward level.

For the available information on the allocations for 2006-07 and 2007-08, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her on 25 February 2009, Official Report, columns 783-5W.

From April 2008 onwards the DAF in England has been pooled with resources from Communities and Local Government to form the Working Neighbourhoods Fund (WNF).

It is not possible to provide a further breakdown of DAF at either local authority or lower super output area level as the allocation of the fund is not defined by such boundaries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) housing benefit and (b) council tax benefit recipients there were in (i) the City of Newcastle, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) North Tyneside and (iv) Gateshead in each quarter between February 2007 and February 2010. (321119)

The available information is in the tables

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether (a) her Department, (b) its agencies and (c) associated non-departmental public bodies plan to sign up to the 10:10 campaign for cutting carbon usage in 2010; and if she will publish the (i) criteria and (ii) research upon which such a decision will be taken. (312113)

My Department, its agencies and associated non-departmental public bodies have not signed up to the 10:10 campaign to cut carbon emissions in 2010, but are supportive of the aims of the campaign.

My Department has delivered significant reductions in carbon emissions from our buildings and road travel, by 14 per cent. and 30 per cent. respectively over the last two years. In 2007-08 an estates emissions reduction of 10.8 per cent. was achieved. While this proves that such a reduction is possible, my Department continues to bear a significantly increased work load to support those impacted by the recession. While we remain committed to the achievement of the carbon reductions targets from Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (our progress is detailed in the Sustainable Development in Government report), it is the opinion of my officials that it would be unrealistic for the Department to commit to a further 10 per cent. reduction in a single year from an already low baseline and with an expanding business.

During December my Department has achieved the Carbon Trust Standard, and we remain committed to actively reducing our carbon emissions. We will exploit, where possible, low carbon technologies and we will be shortly relaunching our energy efficiency campaign across our estate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the monetary value was of the subsidy paid by her Department in respect of food and drink on sale to staff of (a) her Department and (b) each of its agencies at official premises in each of the last five years. (320502)

The Department provides an annual subsidy for various catering outlets that sell food and drink to staff. This subsidy allows outlets to remain viable and varies depending on a number of factors, such as location and canteen usage. There are currently 129 sites with catering outlets, housing around 39,000 staff.

The total value of the subsidy paid by the department for each of the five years is in the following table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many external contractors were employed by her Department in the last 12 months; and at what cost to the public purse; (313764)

[holding answer 28 January 2010]: Contractors and interims are individuals engaged by the Department to provide specific skills or support that is not available in-house or within the required time frame.

The number of contractors/interims working in December 2009 within DWP on that basis was 355. This should be seen in the context of a Department employing well over 100,000 staff. Such contractors are only engaged with the prior approval of an appropriate senior civil servant and their agreement can only be extended beyond 12 months with the approval of the permanent secretary.

During the period from January to December 2009 (inclusive) the associated spend on such contractors was approximately £43 million.

The average tenure of an interim appointment within DWP is currently 9.7 months.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of staff in (a) her Department and (b) the executive agencies for which she is responsible are disabled; and what the average salary in (i) her Department and (ii) the executive agencies is of (A) full-time disabled staff, (B) full-time non-disabled staff, (C) part-time disabled staff and (D) part-time non-disabled staff. (317900)

We are aware that not all staff declare their disability for departmental records, and the true representation of disabled people across the Department may be higher than the figures shown. For example, the 2009 People survey (which is completed anonymously), showed that 10.5 per cent. of respondents considered themselves to have a long standing health condition or disability.

Due to the self-reporting nature of disability and the process by which part time salaries are up-rated in order that they are comparable to full-time staff salaries, care should be exercised when drawing conclusions based on these statistics. The following table shows the numbers and proportion of disabled and non disabled staff for DWP and its executive agencies.

The statistics are drawn from Departmental records and have been collected by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) from the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES). The latest published statistics are for 31 March 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on (a) contractors and (b) strategic advisers under the directgov programme in (i) 2007-08 and (ii) 2008-09; and what the estimated expenditure on each is in 2009-10. (320717)

The information is as follows:

(a) Directgov spent the following on contractors:

(i) 2007-08 £3.0 million

(ii) 2008-09 £7.4 million

The estimated spend on contractors in 2009-10 is £8.2 million.

It should be noted that the increase from 2007-08 to 2008-09 was to deliver programmes such as website convergence and cross-government service transformation. The percentage of Directgov’s budget spent on contractors remained the same.

Contractors are required to fill short-term posts and posts where it has not been possible to recruit permanent staff due to their specialist nature.

(b) There were no strategic adviser costs incurred in 2007-08 or 2008-09.

The strategic adviser costs for 2009-10 are included within the spend shown for that year. This is a short-term post and providing the information separately would allow the individual’s day rate to be calculated which is both commercially sensitive and considered to be personally identifiable data.

Contractor posts are tendered to ensure Directgov obtains high quality candidates and achieve value for money. This is underpinned by benchmarking the rates and charges to ensure they are within benchmark guidelines. Directgov also negotiates day rates and margins in line with, if not better than, than standard government contract rates.

Directgov is working across Departments to enable transformation of digital public service delivery and has the potential to enable Government to make substantial savings in shifting from traditional to digital channels and for those channels to be used.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 25 February 2010, Official Report, column 86WS, on Right to Control (Trailblazer sites) how many bids her Department received to become Trailblazer sites; and what the name was of each bidder. (320934)

The Department received a strong field of bids from 43 local authorities wishing to take part in the Right to Control Trailblazers. Taking into account joint bids, this amounted to bids from 36 potential Trailblazer areas.

The Trailblazers that were selected represent a good mix in terms of demography, geography, and different types of local authorities (two-tier authorities, unitary authorities, metropolitan and London boroughs).

The local authorities that submitted a bid were:

Joint bids

Coventry and Warwickshire

Barnsley and Sheffield¹

Greater Manchester¹ this includes Manchester City, Bury, Trafford, Stockport, and Oldham

Islington and Westminster

Single bids

Barnet¹

Bexley

Bournemouth

Blackpool

Bradford

Calderdale

Central Bedfordshire

Darlington

Derbyshire

Durham

Enfield

Essex¹

Hampshire

Kent

Kirklees

Lambeth

Leicester¹

Newham¹

Norfolk

Northamptonshire

Nottinghamshire

Peterborough

Portsmouth

Redbridge

Redcar and Cleveland¹

Rotherham

St. Helens

Staffordshire

Stockton

Surrey¹

Wakefield

Worcestershire

¹ Selected Trailblazers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for which policies implemented as part of the Government’s response to the recession her Department is responsible; when each such policy was determined; what timetable has been set for the implementation of each such policy; and what funding under each budget heading has been allocated to each such policy. (309340)

The Government have made available up to £5 billion additional discretionary spending to support people through the course of the recession. This has been used in a variety of ways—and the bulk of this has been for this Department to lead on. Of this £5 billion we expect to spend £2.1 billion in 2009-10 and £2.9 billion in 2010-11.

As a result of the investment that the Government have made, claimant unemployment was over 450,000 lower at the end of 2009 than was expected at the time of the Budget 2009. This has also allowed us to use this funding flexibly to ensure it can be directed to where it can support people in the greatest need. To maintain such flexibility, we have not ring-fenced allocations to each element.

The following DWP programmes are funded from this budget:

Increasing resources available to Jobcentre Plus, employment programmes and local authorities

We announced in the 2008 pre-Budget report, and in the Budget 2009, that we would be providing extra funding to Jobcentre Plus to effectively handle the higher volume of customers through the recession. That funding was provided immediately and Jobcentre Plus has increased staffing levels by 16,000. The funding also allowed increase in programme budgets to core programmes including the new deals and the flexible new deal. Benefit exit rates have been maintained and over 330,000 people left JSA in January alone.

Additional support before redundancy

In November 2008, we quadrupled the funding to deliver the Jobcentre Plus’ Rapid Response Service which offers support to employers and workers who are facing redundancy. Since the service was expanded, more than 4,000 employers have taken up this support.

Additional day one support for all

From the start of a new jobseeker’s allowance claim, customers can access improved help from Jobcentre Plus to get them back to work quickly. This support can include one-to-one adviser support, coaching and access to Local Employment Partnership vacancies.

In April 2009, we introduced new specialist help for professionals and executives, delivered by external recruitment agencies, to help them with jobsearch techniques and give them advice specific to their needs and experience. In our December White Paper “Building Britain’s Recovery”, we announced our intention to extend this support further by offering professionals and executives follow-up sessions.

Six month offer for all

Every jobseeker’s allowance customer who remains unemployed for six months or more now have access to a substantially improved range of services including access to recruitment subsidies vouchers, work-focused training and volunteering placements and help to become self employed through the six month offer.

The six month offer was introduced in April 2009 and provides opportunities for up to 230,000 people. Between April 2009 to October 2009, 39,420 people has taken up the support offered through the six month offer.

Furthermore, access to self employment support and the financial credit is now available to all jobseekers after three months.

Young Persons Guarantee and the Future Jobs Fund

The Young Persons Guarantee launched on 25 January 2010 guarantees all young jobseekers aged 18-24 a job, training or work experience from six months unemployment. From April 2010 young people will be required to take up one of the options on offer if they are still unemployed after 10 months. The Future Jobs Fund is a key element of the guarantee, where local authorities, partnerships and others (such as third sector or social enterprises) are able to bid to create jobs through the fund.

The first FJF jobs began in October 2009, and to date Government have agreed to fund up to 110,000 FJF jobs; around 65 per cent. of the 170,000 jobs the fund is targeted to fund.

The YPG is also supported by over 400,000 Government funded training, internship, work experience and job opportunities. This will include a target of 16,000 apprenticeship places through the FJF.

Graduates are also eligible for a new graduate guarantee, where any new graduate still unemployed after six months is guaranteed access to an internship, training or help to become self-employed.

Backing Young Britain

The BYB campaign was launched in July 2009. This national campaign delivers a variety of measures to help young people aged 16-24 into work, or move closer to the labour market. As well as encouraging business to support young people by offering jobs, apprenticeships and work experience places, it will create 10,000 mentoring places, 5,000 short term work experience placements and 20,000 longer term non-graduate internships, as well as supporting the graduate internships already announced. Places are available now.

870 organisations have signed up to BYB to date (at 8 March 2010), with the number growing all the time.

Additional support for older workers

In the “Building Britain’s Recovery” White Paper we committed to provide additional back to work support to people aged 50 and over. This support includes more time with a personal adviser, access to specialist back to work support and giving people early access to the six month offer.

These new measures will be delivered from spring 2010.

Help for homeowners

Improvements to the help provided to homeowners through the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme were introduced in January 2009 for new working age claims, which:

shortened the waiting period to 13 weeks

increased capital limit to £200,000,

introduced 2 year time limit for new JSA claims

froze the standard interest rate used to calculate Support for Mortgage Interest at 6.08 per cent. for all customers (including pensioners), until the end of June 2010 benefiting around 220,000 homeowners.

Once the standard interest rate freeze ends, the Government intend to move towards a fairer, more affordable approach, that more closely reflects mortgage interest rates.

These changes demonstrate very clearly the Government’s commitment to provide additional support to those facing financial difficulties and help protect them against repossessions and will be reviewed once the housing market conditions improve.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many Jobcentre Plus offices have used (a) extended postal signing, (b) telephone jobsearch reviews, (c) suspension of signing, (d) 13-week interviews by telephone and (e) 13-week group sessions in each month since flexible interventions were first used; and how many Jobcentre Plus customers were the subject of each such practice; (309220)

The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the right hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Darra Singh:

The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking how many Jobcentre Plus offices have used (a) extended postal signing, (b) telephone jobsearch reviews, (c) suspension of signing, (d) 13-week interviews by telephone and (e) 13-week group sessions in each month since flexible interventions were first used; and how many Jobcentre Plus customers were the subject of each such practice; and what estimate she has made of the number of Jobcentre Plus offices that have used flexible interventions in each month since they were first used; and how many customers have been the subject of such interventions. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.

Flexible interventions were introduced at a time of rapidly increasing demand on our services and before we had the opportunity to increase our staffing levels to meet those demands. We have subsequently recruited additional staff which in turn has allowed us to reduce the number of flexible interventions deployed. In some circumstances, we have decided to deploy our flexibilities into our core business as part of our improved delivery model, in order to further improve customer service. During the economic downturn, despite these increased demands, Jobcentre Plus maintained and improved performance and is meeting all of its key performance targets.

A total of 19 flexible interventions were approved. The number of Jobcentre Plus offices that have deployed the specific flexible interventions you requested information on are detailed in the table below. However, management information on the number of customers who have been the subject of these interventions is not collected.

The number of Jobcentre Plus offices that have deployed one or more of the approved flexible interventions are detailed in the following table. Management information on the number of customers who have been subject to these interventions is not collected.

By introducing these flexibilities our level of customer service was not adversely affected whilst customer volumes were rising. For example the suspension of signing in two offices did not lead to a delay in benefits being paid.

I hope this information is helpful.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how (a) her Department and (b) the Work Choice prime contractor will ensure that participants with learning difficulties are not adversely affected by the transition to new employment officers. (320769)

[holding answer 5 March 2010]: Work Choice will contribute to an increased level of employment for disabled people, particularly (but not exclusively) for customers with learning disabilities and mental health conditions. In this respect, the new programme will deliver against the objectives of Public Service Agreement 16: Socially Excluded Adults.

The Department has worked extensively with a range of stakeholders, including Equality 2025, Cabinet Office (including the Public Service Agreement 16 Working Group) and the Department of Health to provide a range of support to understand and meet the complex needs of people with learning difficulties.

The Department has produced a range of support products, including easy read versions, to assist WORKSTEP providers in communicating the changes to their customers. These products have been designed for support advisers to use as a focus during face to face discussions with individual customers.

As the transition period progresses, further staged products will be introduced via providers to ensure customers are fully supported in their journey from WORKSTEP to Work Choice.

The Department worked extensively with bidding organisations in the early stages of the competition to ensure they understood the Public Service Agreement 16 commitment, integral to the Work Choice design, to support adults most at risk of social exclusion—in particular those with mental health and learning disabilities.

The Department is continuing to work closely with bidding organisations to ensure those with learning difficulties receive appropriate communication materials and the support they need during the transition period.

During the transition period, Work Choice providers will work alongside existing WORKSTEP providers and the Department to ensure a smooth and seamless transition for participants.

Work Choice providers will contact each customer at the earliest opportunity to introduce themselves and further explain the changes to the programme. These discussions will be tailored to best suit customers’ needs and may, for example, entail several discussions with the support of others, where this is appropriate.

In developing the service requirement for the new Work Choice programme, the Project engaged with Disability Employment Advisory Committee, Equality 2025, Cabinet Office (who have PSA16 responsibility), a range of local authorities and a range of local authority representatives. We continue to work closely with all these organisations on implementation issues, through our Implementation Working Group.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the average cost to (a) private sector providers and (b) voluntary sector providers of supporting people on (i) Pathways to Work, (ii) Workstep, (iii) New Deal for Disabled People, into (A) work and (B) sustained work defined as 26 weeks, in respect of clients with (1) mental health conditions, (2) musculoskeletal diseases and (3) visual impairment. (320816)

As part of the tender evaluation process we ask potential prime contractors to put forward an overall price for the service they are offering. Tenders are evaluated against a combination of quality and price criteria. We do not make any estimate of providers’ average costs. The onus is on providers to submit costs that fully cover the cost of their service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2010, Official Report, columns 1028-29W, on employment schemes: young people, in which (a) Jobcentre Plus districts, (b) local authorities and (c) constituencies the young person's guarantee was not fully available on or after 25 January 2010. (321468)

The Young Person’s Guarantee has been fully available in (a) Jobcentre Plus districts, (b) all local authorities and (c) all constituencies, since 25 January 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged over 60 years and actively seeking work found employment in the last 12 month period for which figures are available; and what proportion of the number of those actively seeking work this represented. (308010)

The information is in the table.

Older workers who fail to get back into employment and become long term unemployed face a significant risk of not being in a position to take advantage of the upturn. In response, the Government have already made available £0.5 billion additional support to help prevent people out of work from becoming long-term unemployed. In addition to rolling out Flexible New Deal, which is providing support tailored to meet the individual needs of jobseekers of all ages, we have doubled the resources available to help people facing redundancy, have introduced a financial incentive for employers who recruit people out of work for six months or more, and have introduced extra funding for training places.

The measures in the new Employment White Paper, “Building Britain's Recovery: Achieving Full Employment” (Cm 7751), will strengthen specific areas where we know there is a case for dong something extra for people over 50. These measures, which will be delivered from spring 2010, include:

Additional time and training for Jobcentre Plus Advisers;

New specialist back to work support for the over 50s;

Widening access for over 50s to work trials;

Enabling people over 50 with significant barriers to employment to get early access to the Six Month Offer; and

A new National Guidance Initiative to encourage and help employers to adopt flexible approaches to work and retirement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of the 95,000 jobs announced through the Future Jobs Fund have been granted funding. (304390)

Overall, the Future Jobs Fund is expected to create 170,000 jobs. To date, 110,000 have been agreed, and of those, 73,000 have been granted funding. We are currently working with the remaining successful bidders to agree start dates and delivery plans, and to check European state aid legislation compliance ahead of awarding funding.

During the time between announcement and funding, the successful bidders also begin to prepare for their new workers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which local authorities are participating in the Future Jobs Fund; and which have plans to do so. (318533)

This information is available only where the local authority is the lead bidder. A list of local authority lead bidders is as follows. Future Jobs Fund activity is happening throughout the country, creating up to 110,000 jobs so far.

We are engaged in discussions with a number of local authorities about further bids. These discussions are confidential at this stage.

Local authorities participating in the Future Jobs Fund by region. The local authority listed is when it is the lead bidder.

Region: East of England

Bedford

Cambridgeshire

Central Beds

Colchester

Harlow

Luton

Norfolk

Peterborough

Suffolk

Region: East Midlands

Bolsover

Erewash

Leicester and Leicester Partnership

Nottinghamshire

West Lindsey

Region: London

Barking and Dagenham

Bromley

Camden

Ealing

Enfield

Greenwich

Hammersmith and Fulham

Haringey

Havering

Host Borough Councils

Hounslow

Islington

Kingston

Lewisham

RB Kensington and Chelsea

Redbridge East Enders

Southwark Earn and learn

Westminster

Region: North East

Darlington BC

Hartlepool

Middlesbrough

North Tyneside

Redcar and Cleveland Borough LSP

Stockton on Tees

Region: North West

Blackpool

Cheshire West and Chester

Copeland

Cumbria

Lancashire

Liverpool City Region

Region: Scotland

Aberdeen

Aberdeenshire

Angus

Argyll and Bute

City of Edinburgh

Clackmannanshire Alliance

Dumfries and Galloway

Dundee

East Ayrshire

East Dunbartonshire

East Lothian

Falkirk

Fife

Glasgow

Highland

Inverclyde

Midlothian

North Ayrshire

North Lanarkshire

Renfrewshire C

Scottish Borders

South Ayrshire

South Lanarkshire

Stirling Council Youth Services

West Dunbartonshire

West Lothian

Region: South East

Brighton and Hove

Bucks

Hampshire

Hastings

Kent

Milton Keynes

Oxfordshire

RB Windsor and Maidenhead

Thanet

West Sussex County Council

Region: South West

Avon and Somerset Probation

Bristol County Council

Cornwall CC

Devon

Dorset

Somerset

Swindon

Trowbridge

Wiltshire County Council

Region: Wales

Cardiff

Carmarthenshire County Council

Merthyr Tydfil CBC

Neath Port Talbot CBC

Pembroke County Council

Vale of Glam Council

Region: West Midlands

Birmingham, Coventry and Black Country

Hereford

Shropshire Council County Training

Shropshire County Council

Stoke on Trent

Stoke-on-Trent County Council and Staffordshire

Warwickshire County Council

Worcestershire

Region: Yorkshire and Humber

Barnsley MDC

Calderdale

City of Bradford

Doncaster

Hull

Humber Economic Partnership

Kirklees Council

Leeds

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire Learning Consortium

Sheffield City Council

VC Train Consortium

Wakefield Met

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many separate bookings at five star or above hotels were made by her Department under its contract with Expotel in the last 12 months; and at what cost. (315696)

DWP's business travel policy strictly stipulates that 5-star hotels must not be requested by staff, regardless of grade.

Exceptionally, 5-star accommodation may be booked if it clearly provides better value for money than comparable 4-star accommodation.

The number of bookings and expenditure on 5-star hotel accommodation over the last 12 months (January to December 2009) are set out in the table. The number of bookings represents 0.1 per cent. of total hotel bookings within the Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average processing time of applications for (a) new and (b) reassessed claims was in (i) the UK and (ii) each of the smallest geographical areas for which figures are available in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. (321453)

Information is only available for Great Britain. Information regarding Northern Ireland is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

The available information for local authorities in Great Britain between 2003-04 and 2007-08 has been placed in the Library. The data quality for 2008-09 was not high enough for publication.

The Department has been working with local authorities to improve data quality. This month we intend to publish processing time information for April to September 2009, for between 270 and 300 local authorities whose data meets official statistics standards.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many jobcentres have undergone estates works to enable them to meet demand for their services in the last 12 months; and at what cost; (304400)

The administration of Jobcentre Plus is the responsibility of the chief executive, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the right hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Darra Singh:

The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking how many jobcentres have undergone estates works to enable them to meet demand for their services in the last 12 months and at what cost; how many Jobcentre Plus offices estate works are planned to enable them to meet demand and what the total estimated cost is of all such works; which Jobcentre Plus offices which closed in each of the last six years have been re-opened, when each was reopened and what the cost was of (a) closing and (b) re-opening each; and which Jobcentre Plus offices which closed in each of the last six years are under consideration for re-opening and what estimate has been made of the cost of (a) the closure and (b) re-opening of each. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.

In order to ensure that Jobcentre Plus was capable of meeting the challenge of rising caseload volumes as a result of the current economic climate, Customer Service Directors undertook a review of existing services delivery arrangements in each District. This review also took account of planned welfare reform changes for the next two to three years, and the latest known information on the expected increase in business and customer volumes.

This exercise identified a requirement for work in 429 locations to increase capacity for dealing with the higher volumes of customers and to accommodate additional staff. The extent of this work varied from location to location, and we developed a range of solutions to meet additional capacity requirements. We have embarked on a programme of converting or extending our existing buildings where necessary and in the vast majority of sites affected there is sufficient internal space to enable capacity increases by converting under-utilised general office space. In sites where increased capacity is required, the work carried out is reversible and of a temporary nature. Estate modification works have so far been completed in 392 buildings to support meeting the challenge of prevailing economic conditions. The final cost of modification works at these sites is not yet known and will be published in due course.

In order to make our services more accessible to customers we are providing a range of support through outreach, often delivering advisory and other support on partners' premises. We are supplementing these measures by operating extended opening hours in some locations where the need for this is identified locally. This includes some offices opening to the public on Saturday.

We only acquire new temporary space where all other measures are insufficient and Jobcentre Plus presence in these buildings will be clearly badged as temporary facilities. Jobcentre Plus have considered re-opening four offices, which were previously open to the public but have been closed in the last six years, for temporary re-occupation. These sites are detailed at Annex A.

These offices in Annex A were previously closed as part of the Jobcentre Plus modernisation programme. In 2002 Jobcentre Plus inherited around 1,500 offices from the merger of the former Benefits Agency and Employment service. At the time of merger the two organisations had many offices which were geographically close to each other, often in the same street. The modernisation programme has modernised our Jobcentre network to improve customer service, rationalising our estate to provide excellent high street coverage and a single, integrated customer facing office, at the same time reducing cost to the taxpayer. We remain the largest office network in Government with 741 modern Jobcentres supported by 31 modern, industry standard contact centres and 79 main benefit processing centres.

The four offices listed in Annex A have now re-opened and are delivering an appointment-only based service to customers. No further offices which have been closed in the last six years are currently under consideration for re-opening. The original lease exit costs of closing the offices are also included in Annex A. The cost of re-occupation is yet to be finalised.

The Jobcentre Plus estate remains under constant review, taking into account prevailing economic conditions and changes in our service delivery planning. The work recently carried out on our buildings, to meet the challenge of increased business and customer volumes, is of a temporary nature. This ensures we retain the ability to cope with the ever changing demands on Jobcentre Plus, without unnecessarily burdening ourselves with permanent, costly estate which we will not need after the economy has recovered.

I hope this information is helpful.

Annex A

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have made a claim for jobseeker’s allowance (a) nationally and (b) in each London borough in each of the last 24 months. (318599)

The information is not available as no record is made of the number of claims made for jobseeker’s allowance each month.

However, the number of active jobseeker’s allowance claims is recorded. The available information has been placed in the Library and is also available online at:

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) by what mechanisms the effect of a person’s occupational or personal pension on their entitlement to contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance is calculated; (320354)

[holding answer 4 March 2010]: There are two types of jobseeker’s allowance—contribution-based and income-based. Contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance is based on how many national insurance contributions have been paid over the last two complete tax years.

Income-based jobseeker’s allowance is dependent on income and savings. For contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance, personal and household capital and savings are not taken into account when determining entitlement. However, periodic payments of occupational and personal pensions made to the person claiming contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance are taken into account. Pension payments made to anyone else within the household are not considered when deciding entitlement.

When assessing the amount of contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance that is payable to a person who is in receipt of a personal or occupational pension, the first £50 per week of that pension is disregarded. For each 1 pence over and above the £50 disregard, 1 pence of jobseeker’s allowance is deducted. Under the present arrangements contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance is only withdrawn completely from those with pension or annuity payments of more than £114.30 per week, based on April 2009 benefit rates.

General guidance on the application and interpretation of jobseeker’s allowance rules for our decision makers can be found in the decision makers guide. A copy of the guide is available in the Library and on the Department for Work and Pensions’ website at

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/specialist-guides/decision-makers-guide/

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average duration of a jobseeker's allowance claim was in each local authority area in the South East in each of the last (a) 12 months and (b) five years. (320404)

The requested information has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps her Department has taken to ensure companies may not end defined benefit schemes for their employees without full consultation. (321302)

[holding answer 9 March 2010]: Employers with 50 or more employees who propose closing a defined benefit occupational pension scheme to new members or to future accrual must consult the affected members of the pension scheme or their representatives for at least 60 days before implementing the change.

The Pensions Regulator has powers to impose a penalty on an employer who fails to comply with this requirement to consult.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have claimed pension credit in each quarter since April 2008. (320174)

The information requested is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of those employed in the (a) public and (b) private sector were active members of an occupational pension scheme in each of the last 10 years. (321489)

The number of active members of occupational pension schemes in the public and private sectors are set out in the following table.