To ask Her Majesty's Government what account the Audit Commission took of the role of good design in its publication Building Better Lives. [HL6039]

This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission, and I will ask the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the noble Baroness direct.

Letter from Steve Bundred, Chief Executive, Audit Commission, dated 6 November 2009.

Your Parliamentary Question outlined above has been passed to me for reply.

The Audit Commission did not look explicitly at the role of good design in its national study on the strategic housing role. The report Building better lives—Getting the best from strategic housing reports councils' concerns that affordable housing targets encouraged them to build large numbers of small flats even if that was not the type of housing that best met the needs of their locality. If councils are prepared to allow such an interpretation of targets to colour their housing strategy, this suggests that the strategy is neither robust enough nor founded in understanding of local needs.

A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.

To ask Her Majesty's Government which members of the External Advisory Group for the Audit Commission publication Building Better Lives had expertise in design. [HL6040]

This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission, and I will ask the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the noble Baroness direct.

Letter from Steve Bundred, Chief Executive, Audit Commission, dated 6 November 2009.

Your Parliamentary Question outlined above has been passed to me for reply.

The External Advisory Group, the members of which are listed below, comprised experts from the housing and academic world. It included people from the public and private sector with experience in planning, commissioning new housing and strategic housing management. As the focus of the study was on the strategic housing role, not specifically on new build or design, we did not seek specific design expertise for the advisory group.

Members of the External Advisory Group:

Alan Murie, Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, University of Birmingham;

Andrew Griffiths, Chartered Institute of Environmental Health;

Howard Revill, National Audit Office;

Ian Potter, Association of Residential Lettings Agents;

Jenny Allen, National Housing Federation;

Martin Field, East Midlands Development Agency;

Nick Hooper, Bristol City Council;

Reniera O'Donnell, Improvement and Development Agency;

Ric Pallister, South Somerset Council;

Richard Bayley, Places For People;

Richard Capie, Chartered Institute of Housing;

Rob Cogings, Derbyshire Dales & High Peak Council;

Roy Donson, Barrett Developers;

Ruth Lucas, Local Government Association; and

Tony Hatch, Communities and Local Government.

A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what liaison the Audit Commission had with the Homes and Communities Agency over its publication Building Better Lives in respect of the role of good design. [HL6041]

This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission, and I will ask the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the noble Baroness direct.

Letter from Steve Bundred, Chief Executive, Audit Commission, dated 6 November 2009.

Your Parliamentary Question outlined above has been passed to me for reply.

The Audit Commission interviewed a variety of stakeholders as part of its research into the strategic housing role of local authorities. These included the chief executive and head of policy at the Homes and Communities Agency. We also shared a draft of the report with the Homes and Communities Agency and invited comments. However, the role of good design was not a focus of the study and we asked no specific questions of the Homes and Communities Agency or of other stakeholders about it.

A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people with autism are claiming incapacity benefit. [HL5676]

The available information is provided in the table.

Source: Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Notes:

1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

2. Causes of incapacity are based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, published by the World Health Organisation.

3. To qualify for incapacity benefit (IB)/severe disablement allowance (SDA), claimants have to undertake a medical assessment of incapacity for work which is called the personal capability assessment. Therefore, the medical condition recorded on IB/SDA claim form does not itself confer entitlement to incapacity benefits, so, for example, the decision for a customer claiming IB on grounds of mental or behavioural disorders would be based on their ability to carry out the range of activities in the personal capability assessment; or on the effects of any associated mental health problems.

4. IB/SDA claimants whose main diagnosis is autism are recorded within the diagnosis code for pervasive development disorders, and which is unable to be broken down further.

5. Employment and support allowance replaced incapacity benefit and income support paid on the grounds of incapacity for new claims from 27 October 2008.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect on the economy of the introduction of the new rates of air passenger duty; and what assessment they have made of the impact on families wishing to travel to and from the United Kingdom. [HL6255]

In line with Cabinet Office guidance, HMRC conducted an impact assessment of the new banding system and published it on its website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ria/apd-reform-ia.pdf.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made on developing equipment to capture fume events in aircraft and give a warning to cabin and crew members, such as that for carbon monoxide warnings in the home. [HL6130]

Technology exists to capture fume events on aircraft. This was developed by Cranfield University as a precondition of being able to begin the current research work into cabin air contamination. The published report on what equipment to use is available on http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/hci/cabinairtest.pdf.

When we know what contaminants are in cabin air fume events, and in what concentrations, we will then be able to begin to make judgments about whether they cause ill health and what remedies, technical or otherwise, may be appropriate.

To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Cranfield University study on incidents of fume events in aircraft did not include a requirement for a neuropsychological study. [HL6131]

We are following the advice of the Committee on Toxicity (COT), which saw the logical first step as research to examine potential exposure. This is currently proceeding.

When we know what is in cabin air and in what concentrations, then we can begin to make judgments about any need for, and the possible design of, epidemiological studies.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the competition authorities about the proposal by the Office of Fair Trading to refer the local bus industry to the Competition Commission. [HL6266]

The Department for Transport responded to the Office of Fair Trading’s consultation on its proposal to refer the market for local buses services to the Competition Commission. A copy of the response has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to encouraging wider community use of church buildings in England which are under-used outside the times of regular church services. [HL6137]

The wider community use of church buildings, and of the buildings of other faiths, was the subject of a joint working group between the Church of England and five government departments. This led to the publication of a report, Churches and Faith Buildings: Realising the Potential, in March 2009. The report sets “out a range of actions to help faith groups engage effectively in local and regional agendas, it outlines some resources that might help to make faith buildings more user-friendly as part of wider community activities, and .... ways in which providers of funding and policy makers might better understand what faith groups bring to community”.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will propose measures for population control at the Copenhagen climate change summit. [HL6043]

The United Kingdom will not be proposing measures for population control at the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen this December.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of research by Professor Don Easterbrook of Washington University that there is a correlation between sea temperatures and global temperatures and that the present trend indicates 30 years of global cooling. [HL5828]

Professor Easterbrook has claimed that global average temperature may decrease over the next 30 years, due to the onset of a cool phase in a natural pattern of Pacific climate variability that is often referred to as the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO). My department is not, however, aware of any scientific articles published by Professor Easterbrook to support his claim and considers the suggested scenario to be very unlikely.

Historical records of global average and regional temperatures show that the PDO produces at most only a small effect on global average temperature. As a result, the PDO is not expected to produce a global average effect large enough to overcome the amount of warming expected over the next 30 years from current and future levels of greenhouse gases.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money has been allocated to each group receiving funding under the Prevent Partnership area-based grant in each local area since 2008. [HL6239]

I refer the noble Baroness to the Answer that my honourable friend the Member for Dewsbury (Shahid Malik) gave to the honourable Member for Putney, Roehampton and Southfield (Justine Greening) on 19 June 2009 (Official Report, col. 509W).

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of charges of around £100 made by certain local authorities when obtaining liability orders in respect of council tax debts; under what circumstances £3 is charged for such an order from a county court; and whether they propose to review the situation. [HL5981]

No assessment has been made. It is a matter for local authorities to decide what level of costs to charge. Regulation 34(7) of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 allows local authorities to charge reasonable costs incurred by the authority in obtaining a liability order to the debtor.

Local authorities enforce council tax through the magistrates’ courts only.

To ask Her Majesty's Government when the review of the law on rape will be published. [HL6115]

The Government announced a review on 22 September 2009 into how rape complaints are handled from when a rape is first disclosed until the court reaches a verdict. The review, led by Baroness Stern, will report in February 2010. The Stern review terms of reference are:

to examine the response of the public authorities to rape complaints and examine how more victims can be encouraged to report;

to explore ways in which the attrition rate in criminal cases can be reduced and how to fairly increase the conviction rate;

to identify how to increase victim and witness satisfaction, and confidence in the CJS in addressing rape;

to explore public and professional attitudes to rape and how they impact on outcomes;

to utilise findings and information available from other relevant work, particularly the work on victims' experience being led by Sara Payne and the Department of Health Taskforce led by Professor Sir George Alberti, avoiding unnecessary duplication; and

to make recommendations, with particular reference to improving the implementation of current policies and procedures.

The review will not, however, consider changes to the law.

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Morgan of Drefelin on 2 November (WA 7), whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of the original evidence, collected from local authorities and elsewhere, that formed the basis of Mr Graham Badman's letter of 28 October and his statement that he is aware of 52 care plans in respect of home-educated children. [HL6215]

The detailed evidence collected from local authorities is not being made available as it is could be used to identify individual children. The aggregated data which Graham Badman provided to the Select Committee with his letter of 28 October has been published on the Every Child Matters website. This letter includes a breakdown of the number of child protection plans for each authority but does not identify individual local authorities.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to introduce targets for the number of anaerobic digestion plants to be built in the United Kingdom utilising agricultural and waste products. [HL5892]

We have no intentions of introducing targets for the number of anaerobic digestion plants to be built in the UK. Such a policy would encourage plants to be build for the sake of the target rather than encourage cost-effective, well thought-out proposals to deliver both renewable energy and carbon savings. We are nevertheless working with local government, business and farmers to identify the potential of anaerobic digestion in their sectors. We have developed jointly with a broad range of stakeholders Anaerobic Digestion—Shared Goals. This sets out our collective ambitions for the use of anaerobic digestion in this country, as well as the aspirations of individual sectors. It includes an aspiration by the National Farmers Union to have 1,000 farm-based anaerobic digestion plants by 2020.

We are encouraging the development of anaerobic digestion through our policies to support the generation of renewable energy. The renewables obligation supports the generation of renewable electricity by anaerobic digestion, as will the feed-in tariff. Our proposed renewable heat incentive will support the generation of heat or the production of biomethane from anaerobic digestion for injection to the gas grid.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the promotion and building of more anaerobic digestion plants would affect the need for increased national gas storage capacity. [HL5893]

The progressive loss of flexible indigenous natural gas production means that the GB gas market will need alternative sources of supply- (and potentially demand-) side flexibility, including gas storage capacity.

The extent to which increased supplies from biomethane could offset a need for additional close-to-market gas storage capacity would depend on a number of factors, including the quantity, reliability and flexibility of such supplies.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they propose that at least 25 per cent of British electricity will be generated from nuclear power by 2030. [HL5994]

As set out in the nuclear White Paper, the Government are taking active steps to establish and cement the right policy framework and create the right conditions in the UK for investment in new nuclear power stations. The Office for Nuclear Development is acting to enable investment in the UK from the earliest possible date.

The Government have set neither a target nor a cap on the amount of nuclear power that could come forward. Instead, the approach has been to remove the barriers to investment in new nuclear power, and allow energy companies to come forward with projects if they consider it in their interests to do so. The action taken by government so far has resulted in real interest in new nuclear in the UK, with energy companies announcing plans to build up to 16 GW of new nuclear capacity.

The programme of facilitative actions set out in the White Paper should, subject to regulatory approvals, enable companies to begin operation of new nuclear power stations between 2017 and 2020.

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at Communities and Local Government, Sarah McCarthy-Fry, on 15 June (Official Report, House of Commons, col. 18W) on departmental procurement, how much was spent on Action Treasure Hunts Ltd by Communities and Local Government in 2008–09; what was the purpose of the expenditure; which division of the department participated in the treasure hunts; and in what location the treasure hunts took place. [HL6037]

Action Treasure Hunts Ltd was contracted by the department to provide a training event in Brighton for the Local Governance Research Unit in June 2008. The purpose of the event was to improve the unit's effectiveness and team working capability in line with the department's commitment to encourage collaborative working. The total cost for the 12 staff involved was £1,410 (including VAT). Follow-up work embedded the lessons learnt during the event about office practices and planning.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether measures are in place to prevent social landlords charging a fee for electricity and gas checks when a person exchanges one social tenancy for another and refusing exchanges when people do not pay such fees. [HL6029]

The right to exchange one social tenancy for another can only be refused on the grounds set out in Schedule 3, Section 92 of Part IV of the Housing Act 1985. None of these grounds covers safety checks or related costs.

The conditions which may be attached to landlord's consent are set out at subsection (5) of Section 92. Conditions can only be imposed where rent lawfully due from the tenant has not been paid or an obligation of the tenancy has been broken or not performed. It is unlikely that refusal to pay a charge could amount to rent arrears.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what obligations a home owner has, when marketing their residential property for sale, to highlight in (a) a home information pack, (b) a voluntary home condition report, and (c) a property information questionnaire within a pack, that the property suffers from (1) planning blight, (2) vermin infestation, (3) a negative reputation for being haunted, and (4) noise disturbance from nearby licensed premises. [HL6035]

The local inquiries search within the home information pack (HIP) should reveal whether the property is on land required for public purposes and could therefore be affected by planning blight. The HIP also includes the result of a search of the local land charges register. This will reveal whether the local authority has incurred recoverable expenses under the Public Health Act 1936 in respect of action taken with the object of taking steps for the destruction of rats and mice on specified premises. If the seller chooses to include a home condition report in the HIP, it will report on any damage caused by wood boring insects that is obvious from a visual inspection of the property. None of the documents that are required to be included in the HIP will reveal whether the property is reputedly haunted or suffers from noise disturbance from nearby licensed premises.

To ask Her Majesty's Government in what circumstances the Valuation Office Agency takes into account the presence of (a) a garden shed, and (b) a greenhouse, as a material consideration when valuing or revaluing a property for the purposes of (1) council tax, (2) capital gains tax, and (3) inheritance tax. [HL6078]

Section 3(4) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 states that a yard, garden outhouse, or other appurtenance belonging to or enjoyed with property used wholly for the purposes of living accommodation will be included as part of the dwelling. This would include any sheds and greenhouses within the domestic curtilage of a property. There is no evidence that such features are value significant attributes.

The VOA council tax property attribute data guide specifically states that sheds and greenhouses should be ignored: “Outbuildings present (ignore sheds/greenhouses/outside WCs)”.

If a property has to be valued for inheritance tax or capital gains tax, it is necessary to estimate its market value at the relevant valuation date. The definition of market value for capital gains tax is contained in Section 272 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 and for inheritance tax purposes in Section 160 of the Inheritance Act 1984. The statutory definitions are couched in similar terms, and essentially require an estimate to be made of the price that a property would fetch if it were sold in the open market.

In general terms, if a garden shed or a greenhouse adds any value to a property then it is, in theory, reflected in the valuation. However, in practice such outbuildings are generally of de minimis value when compared to the value of the main dwelling, and nothing will in practice be specifically added to the valuation.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many public complaints there have been regarding motorcycle noise in each county in each of the past three years. [HL6112]

Her Majesty’s Government do not hold detailed information on the number of public complaints made about motorcycle noise. Police forces do not classify and record such complaints in a manner that would enable this information to be obtained without disproportionate cost.

The Department for Transport has received 41 items of correspondence on this issue in the past three years. These are broken down in the following table. No complaints have been received by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs or the Department for Communities and Local Government on this issue.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what benefits and public sector pension rates are normally governed by September's RPI figure; what is the estimated cost in 2010–11 of increasing old age pensions by 2.5 per cent and not taking account of the deflationary figure of -1.4 per cent in September 2009's RPI rate; and what rate increases or decreases will apply to other benefits and public sector pensions governed by September's RPI figure. [HL5803]

I refer the noble Lord to my Answers of 5 May 2009 (WA 105) to Parliamentary Question HL2814 and of 1 June 2009 (WA 08) to Parliamentary Question HL3626.

The benefits and pensions ordinarily uprated by September's retail price index are:

basic state pension, and rates of widow's and bereavement benefits linked to the rate of basic state pension;

additional pensions, also known as SERPS or S2P;

increments: for the deferment of state pension and guaranteed minimum pensions;

attendance allowance;

carer's allowance;

disability living allowance;

maternity allowance;

industrial injuries disablement benefit;

benefits under the Workmen's Compensation Act and the Pneumoconiosis, Byssinosis, and Miscellaneous Diseases Scheme;

industrial death benefit;

widows/bereavement benefits rates are linked to the basic state pension rate; and

statutory payments for maternity, paternity, adoption and sick pay.

Income-related benefits, such as income support, are usually uprated in line with the September Rossi index, which is the retail prices index excluding rent, mortgage interest payments, council tax and depreciation costs. Since April 2009, incapacity benefit has been uprated in line with the September Rossi index.

Public sector pensions are increased in accordance with Section 59 of the Social Security Pensions Act 1975 and I refer the noble Lord to my noble friend Lord Patel of Bradford's Answer of 3 March 2009 (WA 141) to Parliamentary Questions HL918 and HL1108.

In the 2009 Budget, the Chancellor reaffirmed the Government's commitment to increasing basic state pension, and by extension widow's benefit and bereavement benefit, in April 2010 by at least 2.5 per cent even if, as expected, retail price inflation was below zero. Uprating basic state pension by 2.5 per cent in April 2010 will deliver an increase worth around £1 billion to pensioners over the course of the year. The current legislation does not allow for benefits and pensions to be reduced in the event of negative inflation so no calculations on benefit and pension reductions have been made.

The Government will inform Parliament of proposed benefit levels and tax thresholds for 2010-11 at the Pre-Budget Report.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many public sector and private sector final-salary pension schemes were in existence over the past three years; what were their respective total memberships; and how many private sector schemes are no longer open to new members. [HL6155]

Such information as is available is presented in the following tables:

Source: Occupational Pension Schemes Survey

Notes:

1) Defined benefit includes hybrid schemes

2) The 2005 survey did not cover the public sector

3) Private sector scheme numbers relate to pension schemes with only one section.

4) Figures for 2004 and 2005 exclude schemes that were winding up.

5) Changes to the methodology for 2006 onwards mean that comparisons with 2005 and earlier years should be treated with caution.

In 2007, 8,740 private sector defined benefit occupational schemes were no longer open to new members (6,250 closed schemes, 1,760 frozen schemes and 730 schemes that were winding up).

The 2008 occupational pension schemes annual report published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) did not include information on scheme numbers because it considered that the survey design was not sufficient to produce robust estimates of scheme numbers. The survey continues to provide robust estimates of scheme memberships:

Source: Occupational Pension Schemes Survey

Notes:

1) Defined benefit includes hybrid schemes

2) The 2005 survey did not cover the public sector

3) Figures for 2004 and 2005 exclude schemes that were winding up.

4) Changes to the methodology for 2006 onwards mean that comparisons with 2005 and earlier years should be treated with caution.

5) Changes to the part of the questionnaire used to estimate pensions in payment and preserved pension entitlements in 2008 mean that comparisons with 2007 and earlier years should be treated with caution

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they expect the Infrastructure Planning Commission to announce their first decisions on energy infrastructure projects before May 2010. [HL5992]

It is the Government's intention that the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) will start to accept nationally significant infrastructure applications for energy from 1 March 2010.

Under the Planning Act 2008, the IPC has 28 days to decide whether or not to accept a submitted application. The applicant must give notice to a range of persons of the accepted application, allowing them at least 28 days to make representations. If the application is accepted, the IPC must hold a preliminary meeting. The Government have recently consulted on draft regulations which would require the IPC to give at least 21 days’ notice of a preliminary meeting. The Planning Act sets a timetable for the IPC to complete its examination of the application within six months of the date of the preliminary meeting, and then a further three months for the IPC to issue a decision (or a recommendation to the Secretary of State when a national policy statement has not been designated). The exact time taken by the IPC to make decisions will reflect the nature and complexity of the application.

To ask Her Majesty's Government why advice given by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs stated that liability for the carbon reduction commitment fell to port tenants when subsequent advice from the Department of Energy and Climate Change states that port estate owners will be liable for the climate change levy. [HL6059]

Advice given to inquiries from Forth Ports about the carbon reduction commitment energy efficiency scheme from both Defra and DECC was based on information supplied by the inquirer. Liability under the CRC rests with the counterparty to the supply contract. Initially Forth Ports stated that it was a deemed electricity supplier in which case liability under the CRC would lie with its tenants. Further examination following the creation of DECC confirmed that the port was the subject of a utility direction by HMRC for the purposes of the climate change levy in respect of supplies of electricity that it made. The direction was given under the provisions of Finance Act 2000, Schedule 6, paragraph 151(1). So in this instance the port authority is liable under CRC. The utility direction has effect from the date it is issued and treats that person as a utility only for the purposes of the climate change levy.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they have given to port estate owners to help them reduce the carbon emissions of tenants to whom they supply electricity. [HL6060]

To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they have given to ports regarding any reputational liability caused by erratic tenant energy use which may alter carbon reduction commitment league table positions. [HL6061]

The Government have provided no advice to port estate owners or any other potential participants to help them reduce the carbon emissions of their tenants or more generally on energy use. Such advice is readily available through the Carbon Trust and others. DECC has supported the British Property Federation in the production of the guidance Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC)—A Guide for Landlords and Tenants produced by the British Property Federation.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of port tenants who would not have been included in the carbon reduction commitment had they not been based in port estates with electricity supplied through the infrastructure of the port estate. [HL6070]

The Government have made no such assessment.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of electricity usage by port tenants which are (a) flour mills, (b) cement batching plants, (c) pipe coating companies, and (d) other high electricity users in United Kingdom ports. [HL6062]

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of electricity usage, excluding tenants, by the port estate owners (a) Tilbury, (b) Leith, (c) Southampton, (d) Liverpool, and (e) Belfast. [HL6063]

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of electricity usage by port tenants, excluding that solely by the port owners, in (a) Tilbury, (b) Leith, (c) Southampton, (d) Liverpool, and (e) Belfast. [HL6069]

The Government have made no assessments of the electricity usage of any port tenants or by any port estate owners.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they have given to education institutions, public bodies and the police about how to respond to the activities of the English Defence League and the Casuals United in the light of disturbances in Luton, Birmingham and Harrow. [HL5672]

The Government condemn any group that seeks to create distrust and divisions between communities, and are determined to stamp out racism and extremism.

The policing of demonstrations and activities by the English Defence League and associated groups is an operational matter for chief officers of police. My honourable friend, the Minister for Community Cohesion, has been in contact on this matter with the police.

Through regional government offices, the Government are working closely with a range of local partners and community groups to encourage them to work constructively with the police to help to ensure local communities are protected and to minimise community tensions which would only serve the ends of those who want to sow the seeds of division and tension. The Government have also written to local MPs affected by these demonstrations to encourage them to work with the police in the same way.

We encourage local authorities to reach out to local partners, community groups and members of the community to call for calm and a measured response to any demonstrations. The leadership demonstrated by communities in urging people not to resort to violence is welcomed and we would urge that this continue.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will review the process for letting railway franchises before another competition is announced. [HL6267]

The design of the franchising process is being considered in the run-up to the next two competitions, Essex Thameside and East Coast, and changes will be made where they can help to achieve the Department for Transport’s overall objectives for transport.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what are or will be the journey times between London and Edinburgh (calling at York and Newcastle) of (a) the proposed bi-mode super-express intercity train, (b) the existing high speed 125 mph diesel train, and (c) the existing C92 electric train with MK4 coaches. [HL6265]

No London to Edinburgh trains currently call at York and Newcastle only.

Typical fastest journey times of current services (Intercity 125s and Intercity 225s) London to Edinburgh are between four hours 20 minutes and four hours 30 minutes, with one train at four hours 13 minutes. There are usually three intermediate stops (eg Peterborough, York and Newcastle, or York, Newcastle and Berwick).

The indicative fastest super-express timetabled journey times are envisaged to be the same for both bi-mode and electric train types. This is four hours six minutes for services that call at four intermediate stations and four hours 11 minutes for services that call at five intermediate stations. It is planned to run all London-Edinburgh trains on these improved timings, not just the occasional headline train as is the case today.

Super-express trains will improve the journey times as well as frequency and reliability of services. The introduction of super-express trains enables significant timetable optimisations which will also result in a reduction in journey times of services provided by existing rolling stock.

The class 92 locomotive was designed for use in the Channel Tunnel and is not used on UK intercity services.

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State at Communities and Local Government, Rosie Winterton, on 16 September (Official Report, House of Commons, cols. 2212–14W), what property attributes each of the single-character value significant codes of A, B, C, D, F, I, L, M, P, R, Q, S, T, U, and V represent; and how they differ from the two-character value significant codes with which they share the first alphanumeric character. [HL6076]

On 20 January 2005 the Valuation Office Agency converted its value significant codes from one to two characters to allow it to increase the number of codes. The definition of the single character codes, together with the two character equivalents, are shown in the table below.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there are enough personal advisers in Jobcentre Plus offices to deal with the number of people unemployed; and, if not, how many personal adviser posts are vacant. [HL5467]

Jobcentre Plus monitors workloads very closely, both at local and national level, to enable it to plan for and deploy extra resources where these are needed to provide services to unemployed customers.

Since November 2008 the Government have invested nearly £5 billion to help people claiming out-of-work benefits get back to work. As part of this, funding to Jobcentre Plus has been increased by £3 billion to ensure Jobcentre Plus continues to provide personal help and advice to customers who need it, despite the current recession. This money will also help ensure that the Flexible New Deal—which is now providing tailored help for the long-term unemployed—can cater effectively for higher volumes of jobseekers.

The Budget 2009 funding meant that Jobcentre Plus was able to recruit up to 10,000 more staff, on top of 6,000 new staff previously announced in PBR. This increase is entirely for staff directly helping customers to find work or provide support until they get a job. Between October 2008 and July 2009, Jobcentre Plus had recruited 14,000 people. Once forthcoming official statistics for headcount are published we expect to be able to confirm that Jobcentre Plus had achieved its plan to reach 82,000 full-time equivalents in post by the end of September 2009.

Meanwhile, customers are now using Jobcentre Plus services differently than previously. More of its face-to-face customer contact is on an appointment basis and information on job vacancies is readily available by telephone and the internet. We have introduced a single national telephone number for new benefit claims so that calls from the public can be directed to the next available member of staff, regardless of location, giving Jobcentre Plus flexibility in where it handles work. This enables staff in jobcentres to focus on those customers in greatest need of support to return to work, maximising the impact of our resources.