Written Answers to Questions
Monday 29 January 2007
Communities and Local Government
Affordable Housing
We are planning to provide 30,000 social rented homes in 2007-08 and expect to help 160,000 households to access home ownership through private or public shared equity schemes by 2010.
The number of homes to be provided each year from 2008-09 will be subject to the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007.
Energy Performance Certificates
The cost of an energy performance certificate is expected to vary according to the location of a property as this may influence things like local energy assessor labour rates and some areas may experience greater competition than others. The eventual price of an energy performance certificate will be set by the market and not by Government.
The statutory instrument to set out requirements for energy performance certificates is scheduled to be laid before Parliament in due course and the regulatory impact assessment to support this is in preparation. Contributing to this will be the outcome of trials undertaken to assess the indicative costs of producing certificates for a range of building types, sizes and locations. The eventual price of an energy performance certificate will be set by the market and not by Government.
Government Auctions
The Department does not arrange auctions in Blackpool, Lancashire or the north-west. Information about auctions that it may have contributed to could be found only at disproportionate cost.
The policy of the Department is to use the MOD Disposals Sales Agency to facilitate the sale and/or auctioning of any substantial amounts of surplus equipment.
Housing: Lancashire
Information about local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation is collected quarterly at local authority level. The constituency of Chorley covers the whole of Chorley borough council.
Information reported each quarter by local authorities about their activities under homelessness legislation includes the number of households in temporary accommodation on the last day of the quarter, and the types of temporary accommodation. The figures include both those households who have been accepted as owed the main homelessness duty, and those for which inquiries are pending.
Data are published in our quarterly statistical release on statutory homelessness, which includes a supplementary table showing the breakdown of key data, including temporary accommodation and type, by each local authority. These are published on our website each quarter (the latest—July to September 2006—can be found at the following address:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/60/Supplementary tables_id1505060.xls, and the tables have also been placed in the Library of the House.
Data provided include the total number in temporary accommodation for each year, broken down between bed and breakfast, hostel, local authority/registered social landlord stock, private sector leased and other types of housing.
A summary table showing the total number of households in temporary accommodation, from 1997-98 to 2005-06, for each local authority (including Chorley) was placed in the Library in October 2006, in response to PQ 8631 (Chris Ruane)—Table B.
In January 2005 the Government set a target of halving the number of households in all forms of temporary accommodation used by local authorities to discharge their main duty under the homelessness legislation.
Local Government
The budget requirement for Tamworth borough council in 2006-07 is £9.1 million.
Budget requirement is that part of the estimated net revenue expenditure, calculated in advance of each year by each local authority, to be met from formula grant and from council tax income.
Mental Health
Under the disability equality duty introduced by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, the Department for Communities and Local Government and the public sector bodies for which I am responsible are required to publish and implement disability equality schemes. These are plans setting out how we will carry out the disability equality duty, monitor, and report on progress. In particular this includes our arrangements for gathering information on the effect of our policies and practices on the recruitment, development and retention of our disabled employees, including those with mental health conditions, and making use of that information.
The arrangements are set out in my Department's disability equality scheme with the priority given to improving and providing correct infrastructure to enable disabled staff to work effectively. The scheme also provides guidance for the Department’s managers on how to support the needs of disabled staff.
The public sector bodies sponsored by my Department that are subject to these requirements are responsible for publishing and implementing their own disability equality schemes.
Roadside Advertisements
I have written to the leaders of councils where unauthorised roadside advertisements remain a problem to underline the need for action to get them removed. Officials have had three meetings and corresponded with local planning authorities about removing unlawful advertisements alongside motorways and trunk roads. Officials are working with local planning authorities to set up an unlawful advertisements and fly-posting database which will record details of successful prosecutions and help local planning authorities to successfully prosecute offenders. Phase 1 is expected to be operating by 31 March.
Social Housing
The following table shows the average grant per unit for both low-cost home ownership and social rented homes for each region and nationally for the 2004-06 and 2006-08 Housing Corporation Affordable Housing Programmes at the time these programmes were allocated. The level of grant will be affected by the kinds of projects and units built and the extent of section 106 contributions, as well as the cost of construction.
£ 2006-08 2004-06 East Midlands 20,252 21,690 East of England 14,864 23,230 London 42,625 46,792 North East 18,725 34,517 North West 34,114 30,506 South East 18,724 26,913 South West 18,695 18,537 West Midlands 20,278 31,605 Yorkshire and Humberside 26,643 28,619 National 26,772 29,157
£ 2006-08 2004-06 East Midlands 43,986 43,753 East of England 39,571 48,215 London 101,270 100,932 North East 60,449 57,831 North West 63,580 63,841 South East 54,637 58,939 South West 43,534 41,021 West Midlands 49,705 56,248 Yorkshire and Humberside 52,901 53,093 National 62,620 58,208 Source: Housing Corporation
Turner Village Hospital
[holding answer 11 January 2007]: The former Turner Village Hospital in Colchester is one of the sites included in the portfolio of 96 sites acquired by English Partnerships on 6 April 2005 from the Department of Health and forms part of the agency's Hospital Sites Programme.
English Partnerships announced on 20 December 2006 its decision to select Galliford Try Partnerships as its preferred developer for this site. We anticipate completion of the sale by the end of February 2007 with construction on site expected to begin in the autumn.
The scheme will comprise 430 homes of which 107 (25 per cent.) are designated as affordable either for sale under a shared equity scheme or for rent.
All new homes on the site will meet or exceed English Partnerships’ design and quality standards, including EcoHomes "Excellent", Secured by Design and Lifetime Homes. Additionally, as part of this redevelopment, Galliford Try Partnerships Limited will provide Essex county council with a site for a much needed 330-place primary school.
Valuation Office Agency
Code EF is available to use as a Value Significant Code (VSC) within the Valuation Office Agency's (VOA's) dwellinghouse coding system. It allows members of VOA staff to flag up that a property's value might be influenced by a functional/economic factor. An example of where a code EF has been applied is where a property or group of properties is close to an industrial area, which might affect value to an extent that it/they should be differentiated from other similar properties in the wider locality.
Wales
Departmental Offices
The Wales Office occupies one building in London, Gwydyr House, which affords 675 sq m; one room on the ground floor is used by the National Assembly for Wales. From September 2004 to June 2006 we also occupied space in Dover House of 110 sq m and during that period the National Assembly used two ground floor rooms in Gwydyr House.
HM Revenue and Customs
My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State met the Paymaster General on 15 January to discuss the HM Revenue and Customs Change Programme and its impact on Wales.
Open Source Software
All computer systems in the Wales Office are supplied by the Department for Constitutional Affairs under its contracts. Figures for the Wales Office could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
Electoral Commission Committee
Electoral Commission Review
The Speaker's Committee supported the Committee on Standards in Public Life in undertaking this review of the role and governance of the Electoral Commission. As I told the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton on 19 January 2007, Official Report, column 1398W, the Speaker's Committee will give careful consideration to the recommendations made in the CSPL report, a number of which are specifically addressed to it. The report was, however, published only recently, and the Speaker's Committee has not yet had an opportunity to form a considered view on it.
International Development
British Food
All procurement within DFID is undertaken in line with the EC’s procurement rules and to obtain value for money for the Department. Precise records are not maintained, but taking account of seasonal variations, our caterers estimate that 60 per cent. of produce served was of British origin in both 2005 and 2006.
HIV/AIDS and TB
DFID supports country-led national AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) control programmes in a number of high HIV prevalence countries. DFID also made significant contributions to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria which supports country programmes for AIDS and TB. The UK has committed £359 million to the Fund for 2002-07, including £100 million for 2006 and the same for 2007, subject to performance. We have also made a long-term commitment to UNITAID, the new international drug purchase facility, scaling up to £40 million per year by 2010, subject to performance. These initiatives provide countries with access to increasing resources for scaling up HIV and TB interventions.
Most countries with HIV and TB co-epidemics already have national plans to address these epidemics in increasingly co-ordinated programmatic ways and many have also finalised universal access plans to dramatically scale up these responses. Scaling up access to antiretroviral therapy offers opportunities to better control TB and has been shown to decrease the incidence of TB by 70-80 per cent. in people already infected with HIV.
DFID is contributing to strengthening national health systems to scale up the delivery of basic services to the poor that include TB and HIV prevention and treatment. An example of this is the Malawi Emergency Human Resources Programme that is making more health workers available to deal with increasing numbers of patients who are infected with both HIV and TB.
DFID is also funding research working to identify better ways to deliver services tackling the co-epidemics. We are also supporting the work of WHO, for example the STOP TB programme, which is supporting countries to develop co-ordinated HIV and TB responses.
Indonesia
On 21 January, an earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale occurred under the Molucca sea, 110 miles east of Manado, Sulawesi Island. News reports, both local and international, indicate that the earthquake did not cause serious damage. Some buildings in Manado reportedly suffered cracks. Four deaths and four injuries were reported.
DFID has been monitoring the situation, and has been prepared to respond if necessary. The Indonesian Government have not requested international assistance.
Middle East
UNHCR estimate there are 15,000 Palestinians remaining in Iraq, less than half the estimated figure in 2003. We believe the majority of these are based in Baghdad. Latest reports from UNHCR estimate that there are 119 refugees in Ruwayshid camp, Jordan, 420 in Al Tanf camp, Syria and 340 in El Hol camp, Syria. UNHCR is extremely concerned by these disturbing developments and will take up the issue with the Iraqi authorities. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), with UNHCR support is preparing delivery of relief items including tents, blankets, mattresses, lanterns, kitchen sets, stoves and plastic sheets. Water, kerosene and food are already available.
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is providing schooling, medical services, and basic social services to the 352 Palestinian refugees in Al Tanf camp between Syria and Iraq. UNRWA is also providing some educational activities and contributing to a knitting workshop to the 319 refugees who are in the temporary camp of El Hol in the north-east of Syria. During 2006, the Department for International Development (DFID) provided more than £15 million in funding support to UNRWA's work among refugees in the Middle East and also signed a Memorandum of Understanding providing UNRWA with £76.6 million of funding over the next four years.
In addition, DFID has just announced a £4 million contribution to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to continue to provide emergency assistance, including water, medical supplies and rehabilitation of health infrastructure. This brings our total humanitarian contribution for Iraq to over £120 million since 2003. We are also considering the UNHCR’s appeal to help refugees in neighbouring countries. Above all the first priority of the Iraqi Government must be to end the violence that is causing this situation, with the support of the international community and the region.
UNHCR estimate there are 15,000 Palestinians remaining in Iraq, less than half the estimated figure in 2003. We believe the majority of these are based in Baghdad where many face sectarian attacks and are increasingly vulnerable. UNHCR is extremely concerned by these disturbing developments and will take up the issue with the Iraqi authorities. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), with UNHCR support is preparing delivery of relief items including tents, blankets, mattresses, lanterns, kitchen sets, stoves and plastic sheets. Water, kerosene and food are already available.
DFID has just announced a £4 million contribution to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to continue to provide emergency assistance, including water, medical supplies and rehabilitation of health infrastructure. This brings our total humanitarian contribution for Iraq to over £120 million since 2003. We are also considering the UNHCR's appeal to help refugees in neighbouring countries. Above all the first priority of the Iraqi Government must be to end the violence that is causing this situation, with the support of the international community and the region.
Retirement Age
DFID does not apply age-based work force planning. Retirement dates are just one of the factors we consider in work force planning to allow managers and human resources division to plan for loss of skills and succession.
DFID expects there to be few staff due to retire at age 65 between now and 2011. We have calculated the numbers to be less than five in each year for 2007 and 2008. DFID has not set criteria for making decisions to deny requests to work beyond age 65. To date, there has been no usage of the ‘right to request’ procedure.
Uganda
DFID has recently pledged £6 million for the world food programme’s (WFP) emergency activities in Uganda during 2007. This money will be used by WFP to purchase food locally for distribution to drought affected people in Karamoja and people in northern Uganda who are internally displaced as a result of the conflict involving the Lord’s Resistance Army.
DFID has also recently committed £4.7 million towards a joint UN emergency health programme in both northern Uganda and in areas of Karamoja where high mortality rates have been reported. Just over £750,000 of this money has been allocated by the UN agencies for specific activities in the Karamoja region.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Biofuels
The Government support the production of biofuels as part of our overall strategy for improving sustainability and reducing the impact of climate change. We are aware of the potential for agriculture and are working closely with farmers and industry to develop markets and promote uptake.
The production and use of biofuels is incentivised by a 20 pence per litre duty rate cut for biodiesel and bioethanol, which has been extended to 2008-09. To further develop the supply of biofuels, a Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) will be introduced in April 2008, which will require five per cent. of fuel sold in the UK to come from a renewable source by 2010.
A number of companies are building, or planning to build, biofuel processing plants in the UK which will use UK-grown crops such as oilseed rape, wheat and sugar beet as feedstocks. The Home-Grown Cereals Authority and the Renewable Energy Association have recently held a series of regional biofuel workshops across England aimed at helping to develop a UK biofuels industry. The workshops covered Government policy, local activities and opportunities for farmers.
Farmers can claim the Single Payment for biofuel crops grown on set-aside land or where the €45 per hectare energy aid payment is claimed for crops on non-set-aside land. The development of second generation biofuels should offer opportunities in the future to use feedstocks such as grasses and woody biomass.
Agricultural land taken out of production is termed set-aside. The European Union (EU) permits the growing of crops on set-aside for industrial uses and energy production. Between 560,000 and 800,000 hectares of land have been set-aside in the UK over the last 10 years. While this may in some cases represent some of the least productive land on farms, it is all capable of supporting arable production. In 2005, 14.5 per cent. of set-aside land was used for industrial crop production, the vast majority of which was for energy end uses. It is anticipated that this figure will grow significantly as the demand for transport biofuels increases.
Farmers growing energy crops on set-aside are entitled to receive the single farm payment. In addition, where crops are grown for energy uses on non set-aside land, growers can claim the EU’s €45 per hectare energy aid payment. From 2007, under the Rural Development Programme for England, the Government have given a commitment to support energy crops.
The development of second generation biofuels should offer greater opportunities to utilise crops such as grasses and woody biomass grown on marginal land.
Carbon Offsetting
Defra launched a consultation on a voluntary code of best practice for the provision of carbon offsetting to customers on 18 January.
The Government’s standard for carbon offsetting would be based on the use of certified credits from the established Kyoto market, through sources such as the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism. These credits are backed by an international framework and institutions to ensure that real emission reductions take place, as well as providing a clear audit trail.
The code of practice proposes that offset providers supply consumers with clear information and transparent prices. Defra plans to support the standard by providing guidance to consumers on offsetting, which will also help consumers to make informed decisions about their actions.
Cloned Farm Animals
The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 restricts cloning in the UK to licensed procedures and animals protected under this Act could not be used for farming purposes. Animal welfare legislation ensures the health and welfare of all livestock reared in England by both natural and artificial breeding methods.
Products derived from cloned animals (or from animals descended from clones) are subject to the provisions of the European Commission (EC) Novel Foods Regulation. Before marketing such products, an expert assessment of their safety for the food chain must be carried out and approved at European level. To date, no such applications for assessment under this regulation have been made.
At an EC working group on 12 January 2007, member states agreed that there should be a discussion at an EC Standing Committee to clarify which sections of the EC Novel Foods Regulation apply to cloned animals and their offspring. It was also agreed that the European Food Safety Authority should be consulted on the safety of products from cloned animals and their offspring. The Commission will be producing a paper on these points for discussion at a future EC Standing Committee.
The Government are currently consulting on their response to the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) report on the ‘Welfare Implications of Animal Breeding and Breeding Technologies in Commercial Agriculture’. The outcome of this consultation will inform our position on welfare aspects and contribute to the broader consideration of whether there is a need for further regulatory controls.
Coastal Access
The Department has asked the Natural England Board to come forward with recommendations to improve access to the coast by the end of February 2007. We will then issue a consultation paper this spring setting out the facts, a range of options and the costs and benefits associated with each.
Environmental Liability Directive
The Department has consulted extensively with members of the trade and industrial associations and non-governmental organisations from 2002 (start of negotiations) to the present. A table providing the information requested has been placed in the Library of the House.
Solicitor-General
Serious Fraud Prosecutions
The Code for Crown Prosecutors sets out the ways in which all prosecuting authorities weigh the relevant factors when deciding whether to initiate proceedings including the weight to be given to any factors influencing the evidence or the public interest.
While the code sets out the general principles, every case is unique and has to be considered on its own merits. Prosecuting authorities respect the rule of law by independently deciding each case in accordance with the code.
Constitutional Affairs
Freedom of Information
My Department has published guidance on the circumstances in which a Freedom of Information request may be considered vexatious. This guidance is available on the Department's website and in the Libraries of the House.
The Information Commissioner has also published guidance on vexatious requests, which can be found on the ICO website.
Fundamental Rights Agency
The legal base of the regulation establishing the Fundamental Rights Agency is article 308 of the treaty establishing the European Community. The existing European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) has an annual budget of €8.2 million. The Fundamental Rights Agency will have a mandate significantly wider than that of the EUMC and, for this reason, its budget has been set at €16 million in 2007 rising to €29 million in 2013.
Judicial Pensions
Active members of the Judicial Pensions Scheme contribute 1.8 per cent. or 2.4 per cent. of their pensionable salary to the scheme.
Transport
A21
The A21 programme is subject to the completion of all the statutory procedures and compliance with the Department's scheme appraisal requirements. The Highways Agency will publish draft compulsory purchase orders on behalf of the Secretary of State in accordance with the individual scheme requirements and programmes. We expect to take forward the A21 programme of schemes in the next five years.
No compulsory purchase orders have been published along the route of the proposed A21 upgrade since 2005.
British Transport Police
(2) how many (a) police officers, (b) police community support officers, (c) special constables and (d) civilian staff were employed by the British Transport Police in (i) England, (ii) Avon and Somerset and (iii) Taunton in each year since 2000;
(3) how many crimes were reported to British Transport Police in (a) England, (b) Avon and Somerset and (c) Taunton in each of the last five years; and whether the crime was reported by a member of (i) the public and (ii) rail staff in each case;
(4) how many rail enforcement officers have been recruited in (a) England and (b) Avon and Somerset in each year since 2000; and what guidance his Department has issued to promote awareness of their role among the general public.
This information is not held by the Department for Transport but by the British Transport Police who can be contacted at British Transport Police, 25 Camden Road, London NW1 9LN, e-mail: general.enquiries@btp.pnn.police.uk.
Buses: Concessionary Travel
The draft regulatory impact assessment (RIA) for the Concessionary Bus Travel Bill was published simultaneously with the Bill, which was introduced on 27 November 2006. It will be updated as appropriate. The RIA is available on the Department for Transport’s website at:
www.dft.gov.uk/localtransport/cbtbill
The Government have indicated they will provide up to an extra £250 million of funding per year for the national bus travel concession. Following the introduction of the new concession, the Government will be providing approximately £1 billion a year for concessionary bus travel, and are confident that this will be sufficient to cover the total cost.
The Department for Transport, in discussions with the Department for Communities and Local Government and Her Majesty’s Treasury, is looking at a number of options for distributing the existing and future funding for providing the statutory concession.
Container Handling Capacity
In May 2006, alongside our discussion document ‘Ports Policy—your views invited’, the Department's consultants, MDS Transmodal in association with DTZ Pieda, published a container port transhipment study. This report contains an assessment of the wider economic effects of various capacity scenarios, looking ahead to 2030.
Comments were received on this study in response to the discussion document and the ports policy review, currently in progress, is considering the matter further.
Cross Country Franchise
Faster, more regular and more reliable services will be achieved on all of these routes from the commencement of the new timetable in December 2008. Regular services will be maintained from both Preston and Lancaster to London and between Scotland and Birmingham via Lancashire in the period between November 2007 and December 2008 with a similar timetable to the one which operates currently.
M42
The Highways Agency is continuing to monitor the Active Traffic Management (ATM) project on the M42, which includes hard should running on parts of the network at certain times. If the trial results prove positive, subject to funding/budgetary considerations, we will consider implementing the ATM techniques where they will provide significant benefits. The Agency is reviewing the network to identify potential locations that might benefit.
In addition, I announced in December 2006 that we will work with the Highways Agency to develop the case for productivity TIF funding for the traffic management schemes on the Birmingham Motorway Box and the M62 (Leeds Bradford). The results of the Agency’s monitoring and evaluation of the M42 trial will be considered in finalising the design for these schemes, and in considering other possible applications.
Network Modelling Framework
(2) if he will publish the outputs from the Network Modelling Framework for the last two years.
The Network Modelling Framework is still under development and will be used to support the high level output specification, which will be published in July. No reports setting out outputs from the Network Modelling Framework have been published by my Department.
Rail Network: Overcrowding
Three parliamentary questions have been tabled in the last three months concerned with crowding. The Secretary of State has received 60 letters concerning crowding in the same period.
The Secretary of State has also received some 200 letters since November about First Great Western. Many of these have referred to crowding as well as other issues.
Railways
Zonal fares for peak single, peak return and off-peak return rail journeys wholly within London were introduced in January 2007. The zones are the same as those used for Underground and Travelcard fares. Zonal fares for rail-only season tickets will be introduced from January 2010.
Road Pricing
No decisions have been taken as to what technologies may be suitable to support road pricing. The Secretary of State announced last May a demonstration project to test the systems and technology for time-distance-place charging. This project will include analysis of the implications of different approaches. The road pricing feasibility study found that road pricing could be introduced at no net cost to the motorist.
Train Services
For the three main train operators that provide services in East Sussex, the Department has had no complaints about late arrival of trains in the last 12 months. A number of secondary operators also operate over the East Sussex route. The Department does not keep records of late trains broken down by county areas.
Vehicle Registration Databases
DVLA is not aware of, or working on, any proposals to synchronise vehicle registration databases across EU and non-EU nations.
House of Commons Commission
Dining Rooms
Yes. Paragraph 9.2 of the terms and conditions provides for cancellation by the House of Commons if the sponsor or organiser is in breach of the terms and conditions of the booking.
Recycling
Arrangements will be made for signs to be put by the recycling bins wherever possible in the communal spaces.
The toner cartridge recycling facility, as well as the other recycling facilities, will also be publicised through available and appropriate means in the future.
The amounts of (a) glass, (b) metal, (c) plastic and (d) paper recycled by the parliamentary estate in each year since 2004 are given as follows. The only plastic products being recycled at present are drinks bottles and figures are only available from April 2006 onwards.
Waste category 2004-05 2005-06 2006-071 (a) Glass 152.8 182.8 140.3 (b) Metal 6.1 77.6 31.1 (c) Plastic bottles — — 1.9 (d) Paper 265.7 401.9 297.8 (e) Other 136.6 159.1 185.2 Total Recycled 561.2 821.4 656.3 Total Waste 1,916.5 2,251.7 1,565.4 Percentage of total waste recycled 29.3 36.5 41.9 1 Nine months.
Theft
The number of cases of theft across the parliamentary estate in each of the last five years was as follows:
Number 2002 71 2003 33 2004 33 2005 20 2006 21
Union Flag
As I said in my reply to the right hon. Member for Warley (Mr. Spellar) on 24 January 2007, Official Report, column 1763W:
A recent health and safety report identified the following risks.
Access to the flagpole is by ladder but there is no safe means of passing the flag up the ladder; the flag raiser needs to climb over a ventilation duct; lighting is poor and there is no emergency lighting. In addition there are heavy hatch doors with no means of preventing closure and no harness anchorage points.
The flagpole has been used only once since Portcullis House was opened when it was found to be dangerous and it has been non-operational since September 2000. Means of rectifying the health and safety risks are being looked into and when the costs are known a decision will be taken on whether to fly flags from this location. If it is decided to do so, the aim will be to complete the necessary modifications by summer 2007.
Water Usage
The volume of water consumed by the parliamentary estate in each year since 2004 is as follows:
Mains water Borehole water Total 2004-05 216,861 301,842 518,703 2005-06 186,663 393,859 580,522 2006-071 139,477 258,149 397,626 1 Nine months.
Borehole water is used primarily for cooling and toilet flushing in Portcullis House.
Defence
Afghanistan
Average tour intervals, from 1997, for the Royal Marines Commando units deployed on the Helmand Task Force roulement are shown in the following table:
Unit Average tour interval (months) 42 Commando Royal Marines 14 45 Commando Royal Marines 15 Commando Logistics Regiment 32 28 Engineer Regiment 40
28 Engineer Regiment rarely deploys as a fully formed unit. Elements of the Regiment are deployed to Helmand Province and I have informed the House on 6 November 2006, Official Report, column 793W, of the tour interval for those personnel involved.
RAF units operate differently to those of the Army or Royal Marines. While a unit might be deployed for five months, RAF personnel can rotate through the unit rather than remain with it throughout. Therefore unit and personnel tour intervals are not necessarily the same.
RAF unit Average tour interval (months) 3 Force Protection Wing 5 2 Sqn RAF Regiment 11
Aircraft Carrier Demonstration Phase
Good progress is being made on the demonstration phase work, which is aimed at maturing the risks, costs and the contractual framework for building the carriers. The culmination of this work will enable us to get a robust, affordable deal negotiated and take a decision to commit to manufacture.
Armed Forces Recruitment
The Muslim intake from civilian life to UK Regular Forces in 2006, by month is as follows:
All services1 January 10 February 5 March 2— April 5 May 2— June 5 July 10 August 5 September 2— October 2— November 35 1 Due to the introduction of a new personnel administration system, RAF data on the religion of recruits are not available from 1 April 2006, and naval service data from 1 November 2006 are provisional and subject to review. 2 Denotes fewer than 5. 3 Denotes provisional. Notes: 1. All numbers are rounded to the nearest 5. 2. Due to the rounding methods used, totals may not always equal the sum of the parts.
Figures provided are for the 11 months from 1 January 2006 to 30 November 2006. December 2006 intake from civilian life data are not yet available.
BAE Systems
We have identified a record of one such representation, made on 19 July 2002 to the then Permanent Under-Secretary.
Boarding School Allowance
(2) how many officers of each of the armed services have (a) declared themselves mobile for the purpose of claiming boarding school allowance and (b) claimed boarding school allowance in each of the last five years.
All officers in the armed services are deemed to have a mobile commitment. However, continuity of education allowance (CEA) is only paid to a service person who is accompanied by their family at each location. Any service person claiming CEA must ensure that their family is, and continues to be, mobile and this is declared by the service person on each claim. In addition, the service person must be in possession of a valid ‘mobility certificate’, which is completed prior to an initial claim for the education allowance, when the child(ren) change school, at the beginning of each new posting, or if the certificate is more than three years old. This certificate states the service claimant is committed to their family moving with them when they are posted. If the family for any reason does not move with the service person, then their entitlement to claim CEA will be reviewed.
There are a few exceptions to the accompanied service eligibility criteria. On some postings it is inappropriate for the service person to be accompanied by their family and these postings are classified as ‘involuntarily separated’, i.e. they are separated from their family and cannot serve accompanied. Examples of this are when the service parent is serving on an operational deployment, or on a designated unaccompanied assignment or when exceptional authority has been granted for the service claimant to serve unaccompanied but retain eligibility to CEA. Examples of the circumstances under which such authority may be given are whilst the service claimant is awaiting allocation of service families accommodation at their new duty station, or when they are waiting, for up to six months, for the completion of a house sale/purchase. In these circumstances, the service person would be eligible to continue to claim CEA.
Given the ongoing transition to joint personnel administration, figures are not yet available of the number of officer claimants from each service for the past five years. However, the total number of officer claimants for spring term 2005 was 3,587 and for spring term 2006 3,074, as reported in the HCDC report ‘Educating Service Children’ of 11 July 2006. Detailed figures explaining the number of officer claimants from each service for the past five years are being determined.
Campaign Medals
Accredited war correspondents, photographers, cameramen and sound recordists were included in eligibility proposals for the Iraq medal made by the Ministry of Defence to the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals in November 2003. These proposals were included in the criteria when the medal was announced in February 2004 (Cm 6135). Entitled journalists were invited to apply for the medal. It has not been sent to them automatically.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 7 November 2006, Official Report, column 1467W about the number of medals that have been accepted or declined by journalists.
The practice of making medals available to accredited journalists deployed alongside the British armed forces goes back to at least world war one and, more recently, happened in both the Falklands conflict and the Gulf war.
No. The information requested constitutes personal data, within the terms of section 1(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998, as provision of a list of the relevant newspapers, broadcasters and news agencies is likely to permit identification of individual journalists who have been awarded the Iraq campaign medal.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 5 December 2006, Official Report, columns 369-70W.
Carbon Emissions
The Ministry of Defence has recorded energy usage since 1990-91. The most recent year for which figures detailing the volume of departmental emissions are available is financial year 2004-05. I refer the hon. Member to the figures published on 10 October 2006, Official Report, columns 652-53W. Figures for FY 2005-06 are not yet available, but will be published in the Sustainable Development in Government Report 2005-06, a copy of which will be placed in the Library of the House.
The Department does not offset its emissions derived from energy use in buildings and facilities on the defence estate. However, MOD does support the Carbon Trust’s approach to reductions in emissions where offsetting is the final element of a plan to reduce an organisation’s carbon footprint. For MOD, reduction of energy use and increased use of energy from renewable sources will take precedence over carbon offsetting.
MOD has been collecting data on official air travel booked through the Head Office Travel Service, and has agreed to make a financial contribution to Government Carbon Offsetting Fund (GCOF) relative to the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the air travel for civilian staff and service personnel in non-operational posts. The scheme started in April 2006. In 2005-06, MOD’s estimated annual financial contribution to GCOF at £151,658.67 based on a price of 10/tC. It is estimated that MOD will offset some 15,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year. This will be revised using actual data from 2006-07 to establish the GCOF contribution required for this financial year.
Chinooks
As at 18 January 2007, 40 Chinook HC2/2a are in service with the UK military. Of these, 25 are located in the Forward Fleet, involved in front-line and training activities, including eight which are currently deployed to Afghanistan.
I also refer the hon. Member to my answer of 8 January 2007, Official Report, column 87W and 24 July 2006, Official Report, column 76W, to the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox).
Conventional Weapons: Conference
The UK and other nations made concerted efforts to achieve consensus on a draft set of recommendations on Mines Other than Anti-Personnel Mines (MOTAPM) at the 3rd Review Conference on the Convention of Certain Conventional Weapons. However, a few nations could not accept them and therefore a protocol could not be adopted. As an interim measure, 20 nations including the UK, made a declaratory statement agreeing to be politically bound by the principal commitments within the draft set of recommendations with a view to adopting a negotiating mandate for a legally binding protocol in the future.
Defence Medical Services
[holding answer 23 January 2007]: The revised Defence Medical Services (DMS) manning requirement figures were submitted for endorsement last year as part of a larger body of work, and work on the details of other parts of this submission caused a delay in the endorsement of the new figures. The revised manning requirement figures for the DMS have now been endorsed and a formal announcement will be made in the near future.
Defence Training Review
Following a robust and detailed evaluation of the bidders' proposals in response to the Defence Training Review (DTR) package one and two Invitation to Negotiate, Metrix was selected as the preferred bidder for DTR package 1 and provisional preferred bidder for DTR package 2. Their solution, examined against 65 individual requirements of response, represented the most economically advantageous outcome, providing the best combination of technical score relating to the quality, deliverability and timeliness of their proposals, their suitability as a partner and price.
Departmental Expenditure
The latest available estimates for aggregate MOD expenditure in the Government offices for the English regions, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the UK as a whole, are detailed in the following table:
Estimated total (£ million at current prices) United Kingdom 15,770 England 14,050 East 1,450 East Midlands 510 London 720 North East 310 North West 1,790 South East 4,060 South West 4,000 West Midlands 650 Yorkshire and Humberside 560 Scotland 1,150 Wales 230 Northern Ireland 340 Note: All figures are for financial year 2004-05, have been rounded to the nearest £10 million, are exclusive of VAT and expressed at current prices.
It should be noted that MOD places work where it obtains best value for money and capability for our forces. Work is placed “in” a region but not necessarily “for” that region. The location of these is not a primary concern.
Departmental Fixed Assets
The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Hospitality
For 1996-97, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 20 March 2003, Official Report, column 885, to the hon. Members for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) and for North Wiltshire (Mr. Gray).
For 2005-06, the information is contained in Note 10 of our annual reports and accounts (HC 1394 of 14 July 2006), copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
The figures include expenditure by MOD Ministers.
Departmental Vetting
[holding answer 23 January 2007]: Defence Vetting Agency personnel, along with all Ministry of Defence civilian and service personnel, are made aware of the terrorist and other threats through regular security briefings.
[holding answer Tuesday 23 January 2007]: Ministry of Defence staff, in common with all applicants for security vetting carried out by the Defence Vetting Agency, are given full information about the vetting process and the enquiries that will be made. The security questionnaire includes a statement on HM Government vetting policy explaining the purpose and scope of national security vetting. This is supplemented with comprehensive notes in the security questionnaire and explanatory leaflets sent to vetting subjects. In addition, MOD staff have access to the Defence Manual of Security, which explains departmental vetting requirements and practice and includes the changes made to the developed vetting standard. It will also include advice on the new baseline personnel security standard, once this is implemented.
Executive Agencies
As at 1 January 2007, the following agencies are the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence:
ABRO
Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency
British Forces Post Office
Defence Analytical Service Agency
Defence Aviation Repair Agency
Defence Bills Agency
Defence Communication Services Agency
Defence Estates
Defence Medical Education and Training Agency
Defence Procurement Agency
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
Defence Storage and Distribution Agency
Defence Transport and Movements Agency
Defence Vetting Agency
Disposal Services Agency
Duke of York’s Royal Military School
Met Office
Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency
People Pay and Pensions Agency
Service Children’s Education
UK Hydrographic Office
Veterans Agency
Information on their functions and budgets can be found in the individual agencies annual report and accounts, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
Government Auctions
The Ministry of Defence's Disposal Services Agency (DSA) has responsibility for the disposal of all surplus MOD equipment. The majority of surplus items are sold through DSA's contractors, with whom it has various marketing agreements. In the UK, only memorabilia are disposed of by public auction, through the London site of Bonhams' auction house. Details of DSA's marketing activities, including those for Bonhams and other contractors, can be found at its website:
www.edisposals.com
Helicopters
UK force commanders have not requested additional helicopters for operations in Afghanistan since 1 September 2006.
Helicopter assets in both Afghanistan and Iraq are currently assessed by the military commanders in theatre to be sufficient to support operations successfully. We keep this under constant review.
Joint Narcotics Analysis Centre
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 November 2006, Official Report, columns 624-25W.
Land Rovers and Armoured Vehicles
I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made on 24 July 2006, Official Report, columns 74-76WS. The new armoured vehicles, some of which have already been delivered to our forces, will complement, not replace, vehicles within the existing operational fleet.
The new armoured vehicles, alongside Land Rovers, which will remain appropriate for some tasks, will give commanders on the ground a wider range of options to deal with the situations and threats they face.
Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency
The Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency received the following amounts from US visiting forces for the period 2000-06:
MOD Police MOD Guard Service Total 1999-2000 4.8 Nil 4.8 2000-01 5.5 Nil 5.5 2001-02 8.0 Nil 8.0 2002-03 12.1 Nil 12.0 2003-04 11.9 Nil 11.9 2004-05 12.1 1.1 13.2 2005-06 13.9 1.2 15.1
Non-departmental Public Bodies
Details of the remit, Government funding and gross expenditure of public bodies sponsored by the Ministry of Defence can be found in the Cabinet Office publication Public Bodies 2006, copies of which are available in the Library of the House and also on-line at:
http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/other/agencies/publications/pdf/public-bodies/publicbodies2006.pdf
For those bodies in respect of which no information on expenditure was provided in Public Bodies 2006, their approximate expenditure in 2005-06 was as follows:
Amount (£) Advisory Committee on Conscientious Objectors 0 Animal Welfare Advisory Committee 8,000 Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions and War Pensions Committees 37,300. Dartmoor Steering Group 60 Defence Nuclear Safety Committee 35,000 Defence Scientific Advisory Council 200,000 Depleted Uranium Oversight Board 554,700 Independent Board of Visitors for the Military Corrective Training Centre 1,200 National Employer Advisory Board 6,900 Nuclear Research Advisory Council 30,000
Nuclear Weapons
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 December 2006, Official Report, column 1898W, to my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Ms Clark).
Neither the Secretary of State for Defence nor other departmental Ministers have had discussions with the Legal Services Commission (LSC) with regard to the delayed applications for compensation from participants in the British nuclear tests of the 1950s and 1960s. The Treasury Solicitor's Department made one telephone call to the LSC in April 2005, following a stay in the legal proceedings which had been agreed between the parties pending a public funding decision for the nuclear test veterans group action. This call was made with a view to ascertaining the likely timeframe for a public funding decision to assist in planning and progressing the proposed litigation. However, contact was not made with the LSC caseholder, no information was given about the funding position, and this initial contact was not followed up.
Compensation under the war pensions scheme is paid on a no-fault basis to former members of the armed forces for disablement causally related to service before 6 April 2005. Claims can be made at any time after service termination. At 30 September 2006, 179,000 war pensions were in payment. Centrally held statistics do not identify the number of nuclear test veterans who have received such compensation for disablement arising from exposure to ionising radiation in the course of these tests.
The UK also administers its own compensation scheme for radiation-linked diseases, but no nuclear test veteran has fulfilled the relevant criteria or therefore received an award.
Pensions
The total cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) for the 12 highest paid staff in the Ministry of Defence totalled £15.64 million as at 31 March 2006. Four of these individuals are named in remuneration reports that form part of the Department's resource accounts and the cash equivalent transfer value of their public sector pensions is therefore reported annually. The remuneration reports are already in the public domain. I have reported the 12 highest paid members of staff because the 10th, 11th and 12th highest paid members of staff are on the same salary rate. The CETV figure given includes both armed forces and civilian personnel.
Recruitment Agencies
The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Royal Navy: Morale
Morale in the Naval Service is high, particularly among personnel who are engaged in live operations around the world including Royal Marines and Royal Navy personnel serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Safe Houses
[holding answer 19 January 2007]: The Hutton Report (HC247 of 28 January 2004) and transcripts of evidence to Lord Hutton's inquiry give details of Dr. Kelly's movements during July 2003, and meetings between Dr. Kelly and Mr. Hatfield. Both meetings between Dr. Kelly and Mr. Hatfield on 4 and 7 July 2003, took place in Mr. Hatfield’s office in London. Neither Dr. Kelly nor Mr. Hatfield stayed at any accommodation at Hockley.
Service Personnel: Medical Conditions
For all claims registered between 6 April 2005 and 31 March 2006 under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, there were less than 10 individuals assessed as being eligible for a Guaranteed Income Payment. There are individuals in each of the bands, but to preserve confidentiality the exact numbers cannot be disclosed. An evaluation report of the first year of operation of the scheme will be published shortly.
Statistics
The National Statistics Code of Practice (2002)—which serves as a model for all public sector statistical work—established the principle that “final responsibility for the content, format and timing of release of national statistics” rests with the Head of Profession for Statistics in each Department. In reaching their decisions, Heads of Profession take into consideration the detailed procedural guidance given in the “National Statistics Protocol on Release Practices”.
Copies of the code and its 12 supporting protocols are available in the Library of the House and can also be accessed using the following address:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/national_statistics/cop/default.asp
Vessel Sales
[holding answer 24 January 2007]: The following list contains all surplus HMS-named capital vessels sold on a Government-to-Government basis:
Date of the contract of sale Sold to Price (£)1 Financial year 1997-98 HMS Plover 2Philippines 37.5 million for all three (receipts to MOD alone) HMS Peacock 2— 3— HMS Starling 2— 3— Financial year 1998-99 HMS Unseen Canada 4— Financial year 1999-2000 — — Financial year 2000-01 HMS Bicester Greece 5Sold with HMS Berkeley for a combined price of 10 million HMS Orkney Trinidad and Tobago 1.5 million Financial year 2001-02 HMS Berkeley Greece 5Sold with HMS Bicester for a combined price of 10 million HMS Orwell Guyana 1.5 million Financial year 2002-03 HMS London 6Romania 7116 million for both HMS Coventry 6— 7— HMS Shetland 8Bangladesh 98.0 million for all five HMS Alderney 8— 9— HMS Anglesey 8— 9— HMS Lindisfarne 8— 9— HMS Guernsey 8— 9— HMS Sheffield Chile 27 million Financial year 2003-04 — — Financial year 2004-05 — — Financial year 2005-06 HMS Marlborough 10Chile 11134 million for all three (project ongoing) HMS Norfolk 10— 11— HMS Grafton 10— 11— Financial year 2006-07 HMS Sandown 12Estonia 1332 million for all three (project ongoing) HMS Bridport 12— 13— HMS Inverness 12— 13— 1 Where appropriate, the above figures represent the total revenue for the MOD and industry together. For those vessels sold on a Government-to-Government (G-2-G) basis in later years by the Ministry of Defence’s Disposal Services Agency (DSA), there is usually an agreement with industry for regeneration and modernisation work. Much of the information on revenue received by the MOD from the sale of each individual vessel is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Some deferred/time-related payments will still be outstanding. 4 HMS Unseen was leased to Canada with an option to purchase, which has subsequently been exercised. The lease covers four submarines, the remaining three, HMS Unicorn, HMS Ursula and HMS Upholder are still under lease until 2008. The total value of this lease is Canadian $360 million for all four submarines—future exchange rate fluctuations make it impossible to estimate a final return in sterling at this time. 5 HMS Bicester and HMS Berkeley were transferred to the Hellenic Navy. This transfer involved the vessels being sold to Vosper Thorneycroft (VT) for £5 million each. VT prepared the vessels for transfer resulting in the MOD incurring minimum transfer costs. Although not transferred directly on a G-2-G basis, they are highlighted because of the significance of the sale. The Acquisition Agreement for HMS London and HMS Coventry for Romania covered the acquisition of these ships with UK MOD procuring their regeneration and modernisation through a “back-to-back” contract. The ships were already decommissioned, no longer in operational condition and were in need of major regeneration. The value to the UK of the project is £116 million including a return for the MOD of between £1.5 million and £2 million for the hulls (£200,000) and the provision of services.
No RFAs were sold on a Government-to-Government basis during this period.
Veterans Badge
[holding answer 22 January 2007]: The Ministry of Defence has insufficient information to make an accurate assessment of the number of people entitled to the HM Armed Forces Veterans Lapel Badge but estimates that the total number is around 5 million.
The Veterans Badge was administered in London between May 2004 and 17 April 2005. During this period, 82,000 badges were issued; however, detailed records of monthly application numbers were not kept.
Since 18 April 2005, the Veterans Agency has been responsible for the Badge’s administration. During this period, it has received 300,493 applications and issued 277,465 badges. The applications have been received as follows:
Application 2005 April 2,453 May 11,117 June 8,459 July 9,742 August 6,786 September 8,099 October 8,389 November 9,295 December 18,826 2006 January 19,322 February 20,762 March 18,700 April 13,378 May 13,455 June 19,091 July 20,581 August 19,132 September 15,007 October 14,345 November 23,051 December 20,503
The databases for the scheme do not have the capability to extract records of applicants by individual parliamentary constituencies.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghan Refugees
We support the principle of closing the refugee camps in Pakistan, in an orderly, carefully managed way that respects the rights of the refugees and international agreements. We are in close touch with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in both Geneva and Islamabad and are discussing with them their strategy for 2007. The Governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan are due to meet with the UNHCR in Lahore on 6 February to discuss how they can work together to create the conditions necessary for significant returns in 2007.
The Afghan Government and the international community continue towards the benchmarks agreed in the Afghanistan compact in 2006.
African Union: Sudan
The African Union (AU) is an important partner for the UK and the wider international community on key issues that affect African development. It has a major role to play in helping to prevent and resolve conflict in conjunction with the United Nations and others.
The choice of the next AU Chairperson is a matter for AU member states. We expect the AU to ensure that whomever is chosen will be in a position to continue to build the capacity and credibility of the organisation, across the range of its activities.
Bangladesh
I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) on 27 November 2006, Official Report, columns 460-461W.
The Constitution of Bangladesh gives the state wide powers under a state of emergency, which can be used to restrict freedom of speech. We nevertheless look to the caretaker Government to observe human rights standards for all citizens. A vibrant and diverse media plays an important role in democratic life in the country.
British Citizens: Convictions Abroad
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office consular assistance database—Compass—does not incorporate a function to generate statistics on the number of British nationals under custodial sentence overseas for whom it holds passport details. This is primarily because such statistics are not needed for our principal function of ensuring the welfare of British nationals in detention overseas.
Burma
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 22 January 2007, Official Report, column 1448W.
At the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, held in the Philippines on 13 and 14 January, ASEAN encouraged Burma to make greater progress towards national reconciliation and called for the release of those placed under detention. I believe ASEAN can play an important role in encouraging positive change in Burma. The UK, therefore, welcomed the stance ASEAN has taken.
Cameroon
Our high commission in Yaoundé has not made any representations to the Cameroon authorities regarding this incident. However, they have been in contact with the National Human Rights Commission representative in Bamenda to discuss whether any human rights violations occurred. Their comprehensive report of the events is expected imminently, we will give it careful consideration and take forward any representations that are necessary.
Departmental Contracts: Iraq
ArmorGroup have been awarded three Foreign and Commonwealth Office contracts for work in Iraq.
The first was for provision of static guarding of our embassy office in Basra. It started on 1 July 2004, ran to 30 June 2006 and employed a maximum of 93 personnel. These figures varied during the course of the contract.
The second was for the provision of static guarding at our embassy in Baghdad. This contract also started on 1 July 2004 and ran to 30 June 2006. It employed a maximum of 113 personnel. Again, these figures varied during the course of the contract.
The third is to provide police mentors to work on policing projects in Baghdad and southern Iraq. This contract started on 4 June 2004 and is due to expire in June 2007. There are currently 711 people employed on this contract and the maximum employed at any time during the course of the contract has been 91.
1 The figure of 71 in this case means that there are 71 police mentors on the ground at any one time. To ensure these positions are constantly filled, extra personnel are used to provide leave cover. This means the actual number of personnel currently staffing the contract is usually 25 per cent. higher than the ‘on the ground figure’.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has one contract in Iraq which is directly related to a project funded by the Dutch Government. In August 2005 the FCO extended its contract with ArmorGroup, which provides police mentors to Iraq, to include an additional 17 mentors to carry out training and mentoring in Al-Muthanna province. This additional capacity was funded in full by the Dutch Government and lasted until February 2006.
We have not let any contracts in Iraq in relation to projects funded partly or wholly by the Japanese Government.
The contract originally awarded to ArmorGroup in June 2004 for police training and mentoring in Iraq was for an initial five months and has been extended a total of five times. The extensions were for the following periods:
November 2004-December 2004
January 2005-August 2005
September 2005-March 2006
April 2006-September 2006
October 2006-June 2007
Each extension has included a review of prices to ensure value for money. The policing work carried out by ArmorGroup is under the command and direction of a senior serving British policeman, with whom Foreign and Commonwealth Office works in raising issues relating to the performance or staffing of the ArmorGroup contract. We have also commissioned independent reviews of our policing programme to assess its effectiveness including the security sector development advisory team in May 2005, Sir Ronnie Flanagan’s assessment of the UK’s policing programme in January 2006 and chief constable Paul Kernaghan’s progress assessment visit on 4-7 October 2006.
Payment to ArmorGroup is made on a per person per day in country basis.
Guantanamo Bay
Indefinite detention of detainees in the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, regardless of their nationality or place of former residence, is a matter of concern to us, on human rights grounds rather than for its effect on our relations with other states. As we have made clear, the detention facility should be closed. We therefore welcome President Bush’s public statements expressing a wish to close Guantanamo Bay and the US Administration’s efforts to reduce numbers at the camp. But we recognise the need for careful consideration on how numbers at the camp are reduced to ensure international security is maintained and the human rights of detainees respected.
It is long-standing policy that the Government are not in a position to provide consular assistance or diplomatic protection to foreign nationals, including those held at Guantanamo Bay, except where we have a specific agreement with another state to do so.
We discuss a range of detainee issues, including Guantanamo Bay, with the US Administration but our focus is on the situation of all detainees at Guantanamo, including those formerly resident in the UK. We have raised humanitarian issues relating to detainees who were formerly resident in the UK with the US on a number of occasions, as part of these regular exchanges.
We agreed in March 2006 to make representations to the US Government for the release of Bisher Al-Rawi from Guantanamo Bay and his return to the UK. That decision was based on the particular circumstances in his case. On 6 April 2006 my right hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary (Mr. Straw) wrote to the US Secretary of State to ask formally for Mr. Al-Rawi’s release and return. Detailed discussions between our Governments have continued ever since. While these are sensitive and complicated issues that take time, we are committed to securing Mr. Al-Rawi’s release from Guantanamo Bay and his return to the UK.
Hans Blix: Report
Dr. Blix handed over a copy of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission report to the Government at a meeting with officials in London on 12 June 2006. He had earlier briefed ambassadors from EU member states on 9 June 2006 in Brussels, where he had also handed over copies of the report.
Iraq
There has been no official census in Iraq since 1997. The result of that census gave a population of 22,017,983, but these data were deemed unreliable by the international community at the time. The Government of Iraq are planning a fresh census when conditions allow.
Mercenaries
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office issues open advertisements for its major security service contracts. These advertisements highlight the relevant pre-qualification criteria for companies wishing to be considered to tender for those contracts. Public procurement guidelines oblige us to invite tenders from companies who meet the relevant qualification criteria, subject to certain limits on the overall number of companies who are invited to tender.
Middle East
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed the situation of the Palestinian community in Iraq with the UN or other agencies. However, the Government are concerned about the unacceptable number of internally displaced people and refugees in Iraq and are closely monitoring the situation.
We are working with coalition forces and international organisations to ensure that those affected are protected and that their basic needs are met, and have just announced a £4 million contribution to the International Committee of the Red Cross to provide emergency assistance, including water, medical supplies and rehabilitation of health infrastructure. We are also in regular contact with the Government of Iraq as they develop their response to the humanitarian situation in Iraq.
Venezuela
We estimate that a significant proportion of cocaine transiting Venezuela is destined for Europe and the UK. Intelligence and seizures suggest that cocaine flows through Venezuela are increasing.
It is important therefore that the UK, EU and Venezuela’s neighbours are able to co-operate closely with the Venezuelan authorities in countering the flow of narcotics through the country. Preventing the importation of cocaine into the UK from Venezuela is a top priority for the UK’s international counter-narcotics efforts. We are already working with Venezuela on counter-narcotics and are keen to increase our engagement. We welcome President Chavez’s election pledge to tackle corruption. This will be an important element in developing the counter-narcotics effort in Venezuela. I visited Venezuela recently to understand the nature and extent of the drug problems encountered in that country.
Co-operation between Venezuela and its regional neighbours is a matter for the Governments concerned.
Northern Ireland
Bullying
The Department recognises that bullying in whatever form and for whatever reason, has no place in schools. The Department has taken proactive steps to tackle bullying through development and publication of guidance. Furthermore, the Education and Libraries (NI) Order 2003, which came into operation on 1 April 2003, places a duty on all grant-aided schools to have an anti-bullying policy and to draw up measures to prevent all forms of bullying among pupils.
In 2004 the Department in partnership with voluntary organisations, including Save the Children, established an Anti-bullying Forum to enable a collaborative and co-ordinated approach to tackling bullying in schools. The forum enables members to share models of best practice, disseminate information, to develop and co-ordinate joint initiatives and to ensure that schools and organisations working with children and young people are able to develop appropriate strategies to prevent and deal with bullying behaviours.
From early 2006 the Department has been funding a co-ordinator post attached to the NI Anti-Bullying Forum. She is currently involved in developing a regional anti-bullying strategy based on good practice here and elsewhere and in developing a support network for schools. In addition she will be researching best practice solutions to emerging problems such as cyber-bullying.
The Department of Education does not collect the information requested.
The Department has commissioned research into bullying, in all its forms, and the results are expected to be ready for publication by mid-2007.
Carbon Emissions
The Government set a target in the NI Sustainable Development Strategy of carbon neutrality for the Government estate by 2015.
At the end of November I announced the publication of the Northern Ireland Sustainable Development Implementation Plan, “A Positive Step”. A copy can be downloaded at:
http://www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/economic-policy-and-effectiveness.htm
The plan sets out the key actions for achieving carbon neutrality including: reducing the size of the Government estate through the Workplace 2010 Project; reductions in carbon emissions through investment in renewable energy sources, again through the Workplace 2010 Project; increased use of electricity generated from green sources; and investing in energy efficiency through the Central Energy Efficiency Fund.
The NIO occupies a number of buildings on agreement from the Department of Finance and Personnel. We will be working with colleagues in DFP and across the Northern Ireland Departments to ensure we play our part in achieving this target. In addition we are currently working on the installation of biomass heating and solar panels at Hillsborough Castle, the only building we occupy as owners.
The NIO is also participating in the DEFRA run Government Carbon Offsetting Fund. All central Government ministerial and official air travel is being offset from 1 April 2006. Departmental aviation emissions are calculated on an annual basis and subsequently offset through payments to a central fund. The fund purchases Certified Emissions Reductions credits from energy efficiency and renewable energy projects with sustainable development benefits, located in developing countries.
Children's Commissioner
Out of the 46 applicants for the post of Commissioner for Children and Young People for Northern Ireland:
(a) There were 17 male and 29 female applicants.
(b) 14 were from a Protestant community background, 24 from a Roman Catholic community background and eight other. 14 were short-listed for interview. Two candidates withdrew from the competition prior to the interviews being conducted, resulting in 12 candidates being interviewed.
Coronary Heart Disease
Official estimates of the number of people diagnosed with coronary heart disease in each year are not available. However, under the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) of the General Medical Services contract, the total number of GP-registered patients with coronary heart disease is recorded. There are two years of data available as follows.
Number of patients on QOF coronary heart disease register as at 14 February: 2005 2006 Eastern HSSB 32,018 32,180 Northern HSSB 18,840 19,052 Southern HSSB 13,102 13,534 Western HSSB 10,961 11,222 Source: Payment Calculation and Analysis System.
Fuel Procurement
The procurement of fuel is an operational matter for public transport providers. Translink, the major provider of public transport services, is currently trialling bio-diesel and is carrying out a review of the technical, logistical and commercial issues associated with its use.
Housing
Yes. Detailed surveys were completed in April 2005 for each dwelling in the project. The surveys addressed each external element of the dwellings, and highlighted significant problems and defects common to most of them.
Owner occupiers who are awarded housing benefit by the Rate Collection Agency receive a credit to their rate account rather than a payment. Currently 6,500 awards of housing benefit to rate accounts are outstanding. Work to resolve the issue is ongoing.
My Department does not hold the information in the format required, but the details were requested from Registered Housing Associations. Thirty seven associations rent accommodation (excluding the Northern Ireland Co-ownership Housing Association Limited). As the question asks for numbers of houses the figures in the table exclude sheltered units of accommodation and flats. The table differentiates between houses available and not available for occupation. Houses may be unavailable for a number of reasons such as requiring or undergoing maintenance before being offered to applicants.
Northern Ireland West Belfast South Belfast North Belfast East Belfast Available for occupation 75 11 4 12 13 Unavailable for occupation 165 26 6 37 20 Total unoccupied 240 37 10 49 33
Lagan Valley Hospital
An allocation for the redevelopment of local hospitals was included in the £2.9 billion investment programme announced for health and social services over the next 10 years in the “Investment Strategy for Northern Ireland” in December 2005. Following appraisal by the Department the business case for the development of the Lagan Valley site was returned to Down Lisburn Trust for further refinement. The Department awaits the resubmission of the business case which is expected in early March 2007.
Medical Academics
In 2005-06, the latest year for which data are available, there were no medical academic staff contracts at the University of Ulster, St. Mary’s University College or Stranmillis University College.
Mental Health
The information requested is presented in the table.
HPSS organisation Headcount WTE Northern Board 11 11.00 Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist 1 1.00 Child and Adolescent Psychologist 1 1.00 Looked After Children Psychologist 1 1.00 Nurse Practitioners (Community Intensive Treatment Team) 4 4.00 Paediatric Occupational Therapist (Community Intensive Treatment Team) 1 1.00 Child and Young People’s Substance Abuse Worker 3 3.00 Eastern Board 17 17.00 Psychiatrist 1 0.80 Band 5 Nurse 15 15.00 Band 7 CAMHS Lead Nurse 1 1.00 Southern Board 1 0.60 Senior Family Therapist Grade A 1 0.60 Western Board 1 1.00 Clinical Psychologist 1 1.00 Total 30 29.60 Notes: 1. WTE—whole-time equivalent 2. 9 (9.00 WTE) vacancies for the Northern Board Area are newly funded posts and still have to be advertised. The other two vacancies have been advertised and interviews are to be held shortly. Source: NI HPSS Trusts
The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) commissioned an independent review of mental health and learning disability policy and legislation in October 2002. The review has included policy and services for children and adolescents within its remit and their report has recommended that a study of the mental health needs of children be undertaken as soon as possible. Departmental officials are currently developing the Government’s response to the review overall.
Mid-Ulster Hospital
The projected number of hospital beds available for use at Mid-Ulster Hospital, Magherafelt, from 1 January 2007 to 2009-10 is as follows:
Number Care of the elderly 41 General medicine 40 General surgery 33 Paediatrics 110 Day beds 12 1 Ambulatory beds, not in-patient
Under the “Developing Better Services” framework, acute hospital services in the Northern Board area will be focused on Antrim Area and Causeway Hospitals. Mid-Ulster Hospital will become a local hospital providing a range of day surgery, day procedures, diagnostics and out-patient services, with in-patient care of the elderly beds for assessment and rehabilitation.
There are no immediate plans to revise bed capacity at the Mid-Ulster Hospital, until the implementation of “Developing Better Services”. Future consideration however would have to address any issues of quality, safety, sustainability or best practice that could emerge during the planning period.
The trust concluded that any decision on whether to establish a midwife-led maternity unit at the Mid-Ulster Hospital would require careful consideration and should take account of:
(a) The demand from mothers for such a unit.
(b) The support from staff and other professional groups within the trust.
(c) Value for money considerations.
(d) The wider context of the network of maternity services across the region.
There are no immediate plans to develop such a unit in the Mid-Ulster area.
Parking Enforcement
(2) how the revenue generated by parking enforcement tickets under the new traffic attendant system will be used;
(3) how much revenue has been generated since the new traffic attendant system managed by NCP came into operation; and how much revenue was generated in the last comparable period under the previous parking enforcement system;
(4) how many people are employed under the contract with NCP to manage parking enforcement in Northern Ireland;
(5) whether the contract with NCP to manage parking enforcement in Northern Ireland provides for performance bonuses for the (a) chief executive and (b) traffic wardens.
The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has written to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin, dated 26 January 2007:
You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland five Parliamentary Questions: -
(i) what the value is of the contract with National Car Parks (NCP) to manage parking enforcement throughout Northern Ireland;
(ii) how the revenue generated by parking enforcement tickets under the new traffic attendant system will be used;
(iii) how much revenue has been generated since the new traffic attendant system managed by NCP came into operation; and how much revenue was generated in the last comparable period under the previous parking enforcement system;
(iv) how many people are employed under the contract with NCP to manage parking enforcement in Northern Ireland; and
(v) whether the contract with NCP to manage parking enforcement in Northern Ireland provides for performance bonuses for the (a) chief executive and (b) traffic wardens.
I have been asked to reply as the issues raised fall within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service. For ease of reference, I will reply in the order listed above.
(i) National Car Parks contract value.
As you may be aware our contract with NCP includes for the management of Roads Service’s off-street charged car parks as well as the enforcement of on-street parking and waiting restrictions. If NCP provides the appropriate level of service, as measured against key performance indicators (KPIs) under the terms of the contract, a performance related payment, over and above the actual costs to NCP, will be made each month. I must stress that these KPIs do not relate to the number of tickets issued by Traffic Attendants. Under the terms of the contract the maximum annual amount payable to NCP will be £8,848,698.38. This sum includes the maximum performance related payment.
(ii) How the revenue from parking charge notices will be used.
The revenue generated by the payment of penalty charge notices is used, along with income from car parking and other charges, to supplement the overall financing of Roads Service by Central Government. Based on current levels of tickets issued and payment rates, income from penalty charges will not cover the total cost of the NCP contract.
(iii) Value of revenue generated since the introduction of the new Traffic attendant system compared with the same period last year.
Since the introduction of the new Traffic Attendant system managed by NCP, £614,700 has been paid so far to Roads Service as a result of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) (both on-street and off-street) during the period 13 November 2006 to 22 January 2007. With regard to the second part of your question, we do not have the figures for the equivalent period last year as on-street parking was managed by the PSNI. However, I can give you an indication of the number of on-street PCNs being issued under the new system compared to parking tickets issued under the old system. Since the introduction of the new system some 25,551 on-street PCNs have been issued. This equates to an annual figure of approximately 133,000 PCNs compared to an annual average of 66,000 on-street parking tickets issued by PSNI.
(iv) The number of people employed by NCP to manage parking enforcement in Northern Ireland.
I have been advised that NCP currently employ 371 staff in Northern Ireland to manage parking enforcement and operate the contract with Roads Service.
(v) Performance bonuses.
I can advise that the contract Roads Service has with NCP to manage parking enforcement in Northern Ireland does not provide for bonuses to any NCP staff members, including their Chief Executive or Traffic Attendants.
Public Opinion Research
The following table shows the amount spent by NIO Statistics and Research Branch on commissioning public opinion research for each of the years from 2001-02 to 2005-06.
Amount (£) 2005-06 334,505.00 2004-05 184,183.00 2003-04 336,616.89 2002-03 39,245.00 2001-02 298,020.00
Rates Collection Agency
Following an Official Journal of the European Union procurement a private sector supplier was awarded a contract in January 2005 to provide the Rate Collection Agency with a managed Information Communications Technology service. This included the development of an integrated revenue collection and housing benefit system.
The contingency plan costs for the new IT system are estimated at £500,000.
The overall value of the managed service contract which runs for 10 years, subject to a review after eight, is approximately £6 million. The cost of developing the new IT system is subsumed within the overall managed service cost.
The system is being implemented in four phases and should be fully operational by July 2007. The transfer of owner-occupier housing benefit information is part of Phase 3 (a new housing benefit system) which is scheduled to be implemented by March 2007.
Migration of data between the old and new rate collection systems has caused some problems but the majority of these were due to the poor quality of data in the old system. While efforts were made to correct erroneous data prior to data migration, it was not possible to identify and correct all the issues. Most of these issues have now been resolved.
The new IT system is being introduced on a phased basis. Phase 1, the collection and billing system, went live in October 2006. Phase 3, the replacement of the existing owner-occupied housing benefit system, is due for completion during March 2007. An interface was required to update the new collection and billing system with information from the existing housing benefit system. The complexity of replicating and modifying the interface has been challenging. The agency is working with its suppliers to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
The new computer system is being introduced in a phased manner. The first phase went live in October 2006 and the final phase is due to be completed in July 2007.
Manual payments have been made by the agency in cases where there is evidence of financial hardship.
The agency has planned for additional staff to deal with an anticipated increase in the number of applications for owner-occupier housing benefit and the implementation of the domestic rate relief scheme.
Average turnaround times apply to those cases where all the information necessary to assess entitlement has been received from the applicant. The average turnaround time achieved to 15 September 2006 was 13 days. Work is currently ongoing to ensure turnaround time improves.
The information is as follows:
Number 2004-05 16,704 2005-06 19,979 2006-07 115,972 1 Up to and including 21 January 2007
Renewable Energy
Policy initiatives and activities undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on the production of energy crops include:
Research and development;
Specialist advice;
Financial support for the growing of short rotation coppice willow;
Administration of the EU Aid for Energy Crops Scheme
Financial support for development of the willow chip supply chain;
Proposed capital and marketing support under the draft Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme 2007-13, subject to EU Commission approval.
Policy initiatives and activities undertaken on the use of farm waste for energy include:
A proposed research and development programme and associated technology transfer activities;
Proposals for an Agri-food Waste Challenge Fund, co-financed under the EU Competitiveness Structural Funds Programme 2007-2013. This Programme is currently subject to a public consultation and final decisions on Programme.
All of these initiatives and activities are described within DARD’s recently published Renewable Energy Action Plan. This Plan seeks to help farmers, landowners and wider rural community capitalise on the opportunities presented by renewable energy technologies.
No formal assessment has been made of the levels of farm-based activity in renewable energy production in Northern Ireland. However, since 2003, DARD has committed a total of £4 million in grant assistance to a range of renewable energy projects and technologies across rural Northern Ireland. This includes support for short rotation coppice willow, with plantings expected to reach 800 hectares in 2007. DARD has just published a Renewable Energy Action Plan to assist the land based and rural sector to realise the potential of renewable energy in a balanced and sustainable way.
RUC Informers
The Government acknowledge that the Police Ombudsman’s investigation has succeeded in bringing to light serious failings of duty by a small number of police officers over the period 1991 to 2003. The Chief Constable has accepted the report’s recommendations and work on reinvestigating the cases referred to in the report has already begun. Where sufficient evidence can be obtained, prosecutions will be brought, whether against loyalist paramilitaries or police officers if there is sufficient evidence to put before a court that they are thought to have been involved in any criminal activity.
Sinn Fein: Firearms Certificates
It is inappropriate to release detailed information on the security arrangements of an identifiable group of individuals, particularly when the publication of such information could increase the risk to the individuals or the group.
Duchy of Lancaster
Bombox
Cabinet Office regularly receives requests to meet with a wide range of organisations to discuss civil contingencies issues. Each request is carefully considered on a case-by-case basis. Officials are awaiting a letter from Bombox providing an explanation of their issues of concern. Once this is received, we will be able to take a view on how best to address them.
Parliamentary Questions
The total number of parliamentary questions tabled by hon. Members to the Cabinet Office for answer in 2006 was 611. 71 were named day of which 77 per cent. were answered on the day named.
The Department does not assess its performance within a 10 working day target. Information on the percentage of ordinary written parliamentary questions answered within 10 parliamentary working days is only available at disproportionate cost.
Redundancy
The Government have put in place a common framework to support Departments, in their handling of staff facing redundancy to maximise redeployment opportunities and to minimise recourse to compulsory redundancies. In support of this process, a vacancy handling database has been developed to give affected staff priority access to vacancies across other Government Departments.
Church Commissioners
Priests
2006 figures are still being collated but I can tell the hon. Lady that in 2005 there were 505 ordinations.
Bats
No information is held centrally but a substantial number of churches, especially in rural areas, have roosts. Many are accommodated successfully but the potential for damage to important historic contents is high and managing the situation can be both costly and difficult for the volunteers who care for our church buildings.
Church Repairs
The main sources of funding are the Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme, which has a budget of £25 million per annum, and the Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme, which reimburses VAT on repairs to historic churches and gives out £10.5 million per annum to English churches. Other, smaller sources include grant-giving bodies such as the Historic Churches Preservation Trust and local trusts. Most repair costs (about £101 million per annum) are met by the local church and community.
There are no additional sources of funds specifically targeted toward rural churches.
The main sources of funding are the Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme, which has a budget of £25 million per annum, and the Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme, which reimburses VAT on repairs to historic churches and gives out £10.5 million per annum to English churches. Other, smaller sources include grant-giving bodies such as the Historic Churches Preservation Trust and local trusts. Most repair costs (about £101 million per annum) are met by the local church and community.
Olympics
The dioceses of London, Southwark and Chelmsford (together with other faith groups in the London area) would wish to ensure that churches play their part in welcoming visitors to the Olympics and the recently launched Strategy for Faith Tourism will help set priorities. Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral—two of our leading attractions—continue to show that the Church of England already has a good record of welcoming large numbers of visitors to London.
Stipend
The increase in the national stipend benchmark (for clergy of incumbent status) was 3 per cent. in 2004, 5 per cent. in 2005 and 5 per cent. in 2006. The increase in the national minimum stipend (for other clergy) was 3 per cent. in each of those three years.
Additional information is available from The Central Stipends Authority's report, a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library.
Treasury
Autumn Performance Reports
Autumn performance reports are primarily intended to provide the public, and particularly Parliament, with an update on public service agreements. Only those Departments with public service agreement targets are required to produce one.
EU Finances
(2) what controls his Department has to ensure that revenue paid to the European Union is spent under a legitimate legal base provided for in the EU treaties.
[holding answer 25 January 2007]: The legal base for specific areas of EC budget expenditure is a matter for the Department which has policy responsibility for that area of spending and is something which they look at closely during the course of negotiations on these areas. The position the Department takes on the area of spending and legal basis is subject to parliamentary scrutiny of the House of Commons’ European Scrutiny Committee and the House of Lords’ Select Committee on the European Union. The UK makes its contributions to the EC budget as a whole and not to individual spending within it. When Council or Commission decisions have been adopted it is open to a member state to challenge the legal base through the Court of First Instance and the European Court of Justice under procedures laid down in Article 230 of the Treaty.
Financial Services Industry
Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such representations.
The Office for National Statistics collects data on earnings in the financial sector and all other major industry sectors as part of its annual survey of hours and earnings. The survey includes data for each region of the UK and is published on an annual, weekly and hourly basis, with separate data for basic and overtime pay.
The Chancellor has regular discussions with the Governor of the Bank of England and other MPC members regarding a wide range of economic and financial issues. It is for employers to decide pay rates in the light of what is necessary to recruit, retain and motivate labour in the market conditions in which they operate. Excessive pay awards increase inflationary pressure, and wage pressures are one of the factors considered by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England when setting interest rates. Excessive pay deals ultimately threaten employment.
It is for employers to decide pay rates in the light of what is necessary to recruit, retain and motivate labour in the market conditions in which they operate. Excessive pay awards increase inflationary pressure, and wage pressures are one of the factors considered by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England when setting interest rates. Excessive pay deals ultimately threaten employment.
The Government have set out their assessment of the importance of the City of London and the financial markets to the UK economy as a whole in “Financial services in London: Global opportunities and challenges” (March 2006), and “The UK financial services sector: Rising to the challenges and opportunities of globalisation”, (March 2005), including for example through connections between London and financial centres in Leeds and Edinburgh.
Iraq and Afghanistan
The Ministry of Defence drew down £1.4 billion to fund the net additional cost of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of its 2006-07 winter supplementary estimate. The figure will be finalised in MOD’s spring supplementary estimate.
The £600 million allocated to fund operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 2006 pre-Budget report is additional to the amount allocated at Budget 2006.
Ministerial Visits
(2) how many nights he has spent at the Washington Embassy on official business since 1997; and how many nights he has spent at the Watergate Hotel in Washington on official business since 1997.
The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Treasury Ministers undertake a range of visits across the United Kingdom in the course of ministerial business.
Museums
The Government have implemented a number of Goodison’s recommendations and will continue to keep the issues raised under review.
Royal Mint Booklet
The cost to the public purse of commissioning, publishing and distributing the Royal Mint booklet “United into One Kingdom” published on 16 January 2007 is £15,316.
Start-up Businesses
[holding answer 26 January 2007]: I have been asked to reply.
No estimates have been made of the number of high growth start-ups at the regional or country level. This information is not held centrally and therefore can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Unemployment: Wellingborough
(2) on what basis the claimant count in Wellingborough constituency in May 1997 of 1,856 was calculated; and whether this figure was seasonally adjusted.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 29 January 2007:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking on what basis the calculation of claimant count figures quoted in a Statement of 7th December 2006, by The Chancellor of the Exchequer, were calculated. I am replying in her absence. (109242,109244)
The claimant count records the number of people claiming Jobseekers' Allowance and National Insurance credits, at Jobcentre Plus local offices. The counts refer to the total number of claims recorded as live on the second Thursday of each month. The source data are an extract from the Jobcentre Plus Jobseeker's Allowance Payments System which is supplemented by counts of non-computerised claims that are obtained by ONS directly from Jobcentre Plus local offices.
Each month ONS publishes the figures for Wellingborough Parliamentary Constituency in the East Midlands Labour Market First Release, approximately five weeks after the count day. All published claimant count figures for parliamentary constituencies are not seasonally adjusted.
The figure of 1,856 is the estimate for April 1997 published in May 1997. The figure of 1,535 was the latest published estimate on December 7 and related to October 2006.
Health
Capture, Access, Treat and Support Service
Financial information relating to the scheme is considered commercially sensitive as the scheme is still subject to negotiation. The information is also considered commercially sensitive as the Department is engaged in negotiations with the independent sector in relation to the provision of similar health care services in other areas. To release information relating to cost at this time would therefore harm the Department's ability to secure best value for money in the procurement of services from the independent sector for the national health service.
The disclosure of information was considered in line with provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Clinical Negligence
The information requested is shown in the table.
Cause of complaint Damages paid (£) Failure/delay in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 5,555,000 Delay in diagnosis of fetal distress 5,620,290 Informed consent not correctly obtained 5,624,976 Failure/delay in diagnosis 5,749,111 Failure to respond birth complications 5,793,782 Failure/delay in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 5,800,000 Failure/delay in diagnosis 6,248,845 Failure to monitor second stage labour 6,635,000 Failure to perform tests 8,300,000 Fail to diagnose pre-eclampsia 12,400,000
Emergency Admissions
The information is not available in the format requested. The following table contains data for emergency admissions for angina and asthma over the last five years for the following national health service organisations.
From 2001-02 to 2002-03:
Chorley and South Ribble National Health Service Trust;
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust;
Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust;
Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust;
Communicare NHS Trust;
Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust;
Blackpool Wyre and Fylde Community NHS Trust;
Blackpool Victoria Hospital NHS Trust;
Preston Primary Care Trust (PCT);
Blackpool Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust;
Blackburn Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Trust.
From 2003-04 to 2005-06:
Blackpool Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust;
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust;
Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Primary Care Trust;
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust;
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust; and
Preston PCT.
Angina Asthma 2001-02 2,943 2,096 2002-03 2,723 1,962 2003-04 2,279 2,214 2004-05 2,024 2,195 2005-06 2,285 2,198 Notes: 1. Finished admission episodes: a finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 2. Diagnosis (primary diagnosis): the primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. 3. Angina defined as the following ICD-10 code in primary diagnosis: I20 Angina Pectoris. 4. Asthma defined as the following ICD-10 codes in primary diagnosis: J45 Asthma; J46 Status asthmaticus. 5. Emergency admission is defined as the following admission methods: 21 = Emergency: via Accident and Emergency (A&E) services, including the casualty department of the provider. 22 = Emergency: via general practitioner (GP). 23 = Emergency: via Bed Bureau, including the Central Bureau. 24 = Emergency: via consultant outpatient clinic. 28 = Emergency: other means, including patients who arrive via the A&E department of another health care provider. 6. Ungrossed data: figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed). 7. Data quality: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. The Information Centre Health and Social Care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care.
GP Services
(2) what steps she is taking to recruit GPs from local practices into out-of-hours work; and if she will make a statement.
All out-of-hours services must be delivered to the national quality requirements, ensuring patients have access to consistently high quality and responsive care, regardless of where they live. Primary care trusts (PCTs) have a responsibility to ensure that they provide, or secure, provision of a high quality, sustainable service to meet the needs of their local population. PCTs must use their resources and expertise to make sure that sufficient numbers of general practitioners (GPs) are recruited to work in the out-of-hours period.
While most GPs chose to relinquish responsibility for providing out-of-hours services under the new primary care contract, many have continued to participate in the provision of out-of-hours care, working for provider organisations, such as GP co-operatives, mutual and commercial providers, or on PCT rotas.
Information is not collected centrally on the assessment of GP out-of-hours services.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History Month
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) history month was instigated in the United Kingdom by “Schools Out”, an anti-bullying campaign that aims to raise awareness of, and combat prejudice against, an otherwise substantially invisible minority.
The Department spend £2,247 on our activities for the inaugural LGBT history month in 2005. For LGBT history month 2006 the Department spent £2,158.
National Director for Heart Disease and Stroke
(2) when the National Director for Emergency Access was first asked to produce the report Emergency access, published by her Department on 7 December 2006.
Both Professor Sir George Alberti and Professor Roger Boyle, as National Clinical Director of Emergency Access and National Clinical Director for Heart Disease and Stroke respectively, routinely update Ministers on progress in their subject areas. On 7 November the Secretary of State asked both clinical directors to prepare reports for publication. The reports, “Emergency Access” and “Mending Hearts and Brains”, were published on 5 December. These reports highlight work to transform urgent care which the clinical directors have been leading over the past couple of years.
NHS Treatment: Charges
The national health service does not charge NHS patients for their hospital treatment. NHS providers should ensure that NHS services are delivered within current waiting time standards and having full regard to clinical priorities.
In order to make more income available for improving the health service NHS providers may make services available to private patients who pay provided this does not disadvantage NHS-funded patients.
Practice-based Commissioning
As of December 2006, 80 per cent. of general practitioner practices had taken up component one of the directed enhanced service (DES) payment. The figures for individual primary care trusts (PCTs) are listed in the table shown.
The Department does not currently collect data on component two of the payment.
Strategic health authority (SHA) Primary care trust (PCT) Percentage of practices taking up DES1 North East SHA Northumberland Care Trust 96 Newcastle PCT 0 North Tyneside PCT 87 Gateshead PCT 79 South Tyneside PCT 62 Sunderland PCT 0 County Durham 100 Darlington PCT 100 Stockton on Tees Teaching PCT 100 Redcar and Cleveland 100 Hartlepool 100 Middlesbrough 5 North West SHA Ashton, Leigh and Wigan 97 Blackburn with Darwen 90 Blackpool 92 Bolton 100 Bury 100 Central and Eastern Cheshire 96 Central Lancashire 91 Cumbria 58 East Lancashire 97 Halton and St. Helens 12 Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale 94 Knowsley 100 Liverpool 93 Manchester 60 North Lancashire 44 Oldham 98 Salford 98 Sefton 42 Stockport 0 Tameside and Glossop 49 Trafford 94 Warrington 0 Western Cheshire 0 Wirral 100 Yorkshire and the Humber SHA Barnsley 44 Doncaster 100 Rotherham 100 Sheffield 99 Bradford and Airedale Teaching 70 Wakefield 100 Leeds 0 Calderdale 0 Kirklees 97 North East Lincolnshire 91 North Yorkshire and York 81 East Riding of Yorkshire 92 Hull Teaching 98 North Lincolnshire 86 East Midlands SHA Nottingham City 37 Northamptonshire 99 Derby City PCT 91 Lincolnshire PCT 92 Bassetlaw PCT 83 Leicestershire County and Rutland 100 Nottinghamshire County PCT 51 Derbyshire County PCT 89 Leicester City PCT 98 West Midlands SHA Sandwell 100 Birmingham East and North 96 Wolverhampton 0 Heart of Birmingham 94 South Birmingham 92 Stoke PCT 100 Shropshire County 95 South Staffordshire 48 North Staffordshire 54 Telford and Wrekin PCT 0 Herefordshire PCT 4 Warwickshire 64 Worcestershire 86 Coventry PCT 0 Solihull PCT 100 Dudley PCT 53 Walsall PCT 83 East of England SHA Suffolk 100 Peterborough 93 Great Yarmouth and Waveney 100 Luton PCT 100 West Hertfordshire 94 East and North Hertfordshire 45 Bedfordshire 40 West Essex PCT 23 North East Essex PCT 100 Mid Essex PCT 98 South West Essex PCT 92 South East Essex PCT 97 Cambridgeshire 41 Norfolk 99 London SHA Barnet 94 Camden 93 Enfield 87 Haringey 95 Islington 0 Wandsworth 94 Croydon 94 Sutton and Merton 98 Richmond and Twickenham 97 Kingston 100 City and Hackney 0 Redbridge 100 Havering 100 Newham 100 Barking and Dagenham 95 Waltham Forest 93 Tower Hamlets 100 Brent 89 Westminster 0 Hammersmith and Fulham 100 Ealing 94 Harrow 95 Hillingdon 0 Kensington and Chelsea 98 Hounslow 0 Bexley 97 Bromley 92 Greenwich 91 Lambeth 93 Lewisham 96 Southwark 100 South East Coast SHA Brighton and Hove 77 East Sussex Downs and Weald 100 Eastern and Coastal Kent 53 Hastings and Rother 100 Medway Teaching 93 Surrey 99 West Kent 0 West Sussex Teaching 79 South Central SHA Milton Keynes 96 Portsmouth City PCT 83 Southampton City PCT 100 Hampshire PCT 100 Buckinghamshire PCT 100 Oxfordshire PCT 99 Berkshire West PCT 95 Berkshire East PCT 100 Isle of Wight NHS PCT 100 South West SHA Dorset 93 Somerset 100 Swindon 97 Wiltshire 100 South Gloucestershire PCT 0 North Somerset 0 Bristol 95 Bath and North East Somerset PCT 100 Gloucestershire 96 Devon PCT 45 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT 100 Torbay PCT 0 Plymouth PCT 70 Bournemouth and Poole PCT 100
Waiting Times
The information requested is not yet available.
Voluntary collection and reporting of referral to treatment (RTT) data to support the 18-week target has been under way since autumn 2006. Mandatory national RTT waiting time collection for admitted patients begins this month, and for non-admitted patients in April. Publication will begin as soon as the data are of sufficient quality. For admitted data this is likely to be in the spring and for non-admitted data in the summer.
The national health service undertook a baseline data research exercise in summer 2006 involving an estimation methodology that looked at hospital attendance and admission records from earlier in the year. The results, which do not have the status of official or national statistics but are available on the 18-week website at www.18weeks.nhs.uk, suggest that, nationally, in early 2006, the pathways of 35 per cent. of admitted and 70-80 per cent. of non-admitted patients met 18 weeks.
None. In every part of the country, patients can expect a first outpatient appointment within 13 weeks of general practitioner (GP) referral, and admission to hospital within six months of a decision to admit them. This continues to be the case no matter what measures may have been implemented locally to achieve financial balance. By December 2008, patients will be able to expect to wait no longer than 18 weeks in total from GP referral right through to treatment taking in first out-patients, diagnostic tests and follow-ups and admission for a hospital operation if that is what they require.
Education and Skills
Adventure Activities Licensing Authority
The licensing authority assures parents, schools and others that providers of high-hazard adventure activities meet an adequate standard of safety for young people not in the charge of their parents. It does this by granting, refusing, revoking or varying a licence to provide those activities, after considering licence applications and obtaining reports from its inspectors; it also investigates complaints and publishes information about licence-holders. In this way the Government help young people to receive instruction or leadership in stimulating activities outdoors (climbing, caving, remote trekking and waterborne activities) without avoidable risks of death or disabling injury.
A-levels
The information requested is in the following table.
Number of females achieving a pass at grade A to C Females as a percentage of all candidates achieving a pass at Grade A to C in subject 2004 2005 2006 2004 2005 2006 Mathematics2 13,984 14,169 15,920 40 39 40 Chemistry 12,339 12,427 12,932 52 51 50 Physics 4,077 3,891 3,778 24 24 23 Biology 17,807 18,012 18,647 62 60 60 All subjects 105,827 109,567 114,673 56 56 56 1 Age at start of academic year (i.e. 31 August) 2 Mathematics includes passes in GCE Further Mathematics
Biometric Technologies
The Department is currently consulting the Office of the Information Commissioner and the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) about what additional guidance it will be helpful to publish on the use of biometric technologies in schools.
Biometric information about pupils should be handled in the same way as other personal data about pupils and is subject to the Data Protection Act 1998. Under that Act schools are not necessarily obliged to seek the consent of parents about the use of biometric data, though it is for the school to ensure it is acting in compliance with the Act. However, under the terms of the Act schools should provide notification of their use of data to individuals involved.
The Department has no estimate of the number of schools that collect biometric information from pupils.
[holding answer 22 January 2007]: The officials held preliminary meetings with the Office of the Information Commissioner on 6 November 2006 and with the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) on 16 November 2006. Discussions are continuing to clarify what additional guidance it will be necessary to issue to schools on the use of biometric technologies. Further meetings will be held as appropriate to achieve this.
Building Schools for the Future
To date, six local authorities have signed contracts for their Building Schools for the Future (BSF) projects. The first of these was Bristol in June 2006, which marked the establishment of the first Local Education Partnership (LEP), a long-term public-private partnership which is the preferred model for delivering local BSF projects. Greenwich and Manchester signed contracts with their respective private sector partners in October and November 2006, followed by Lancashire, Bradford and Lambeth in December 2006. We expect several more contracts to be signed in the coming months. 18 local authority projects are currently in procurement; seven are now at preferred bidder stage. All but five of the wave 1-3 projects have had their strategies approved. We are just starting work with the 15 authorities in wave 4, which were announced in December 2006.
PricewaterhouseCoopers has no role in delivering the BSF programme. Following Official Journal of the European Union procurement, the Department has placed a contract with PricewaterhouseCoopers to evaluate the impact of the Building Schools for the Future programme on educational achievement. This is in line with Treasury “Green Book” requirements for major new programmes. This evaluation also aims to learn lessons from the early stages of the programme to inform its development.
Dedicated Schools Grant
DSG allocations for 2007-08 are based on pupil numbers from the January pupil counts and a single guaranteed unit of funding per full-time equivalent pupil aged three to 15 (as announced December 2005). These can be found at http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=9405 and a copy has been placed in the House Library.
There is no separate guaranteed unit of funding for primary and secondary schools.
Early Retirement
The information requested is not available at local authority level. The following tables provides the number of teachers who took early retirement, (defined as before the normal pension age of 60 on premature, actuarially reduced benefits (ARB) or ill health grounds) in each year from 1997-98 to 2005-06 broken down by type of institution in England and Wales.
England and Wales Maintained schools sector Financial year Nursery/primary Secondary Special/PRU Total maintained sector 1997-984 7,510 7,840 750 16,100 1998-99 2,280 2,430 280 4,990 1999-2000 2.430 2,660 240 5,330 2000-01 2,960 2,970 340 6,270 2001-02 2,830 3,110 370 6,310 2002-03 2,970 3,270 330 6,570 2003-04 3,220 3,820 330 7,370 2004-055 3,560 4,330 360 8,260 2005-065 3,660 4,700 390 8,760
Other sectors2 Financial year Independent Further3 and higher education Unknown Total all sectors 1997-984 1,230 5,850 310 7,390 1998-99 180 180 180 540 1999-2000 190 190 190 580 2000-01 270 880 120 1,260 2001-02 380 1,070 120 1,560 2002-03 410 1,220 140 1,770 2003-04 410 1,090 210 1,710 2004-055 460 1,320 250 2,020 2005-065 600 1,380 280 2,260 1 The last known institution where the teacher was in teaching service which may have been some years before the date of retirement. 2 Including only those retirements from independent and further and higher education establishments covered under the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. 3 Includes sixth form colleges. 4 The effect of the change in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, from 31 August 1997, was that many more teachers took early retirement in 1997 than in other years. Actuarially Reduced Benefits are included from 2000-01. 5 Data are provisional. Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: DfES, Pensioner statistical system
The information requested is not available at local authority level.
The following table provides the number of teachers who took early retirement, (defined as before the normal pension age of 60 on premature, actuarially reduced benefits (ARB) or ill health grounds) in each year from 1997-98 to 2005-06 broken down by type of institution in England.
Maintained sector Other sectors2 Financial year Nursery/ primary Secondary Special/ PRU Total maintained sector Independent Further and Higher education Unknown Total all sectors 1997-983 6,780 7,140 710 14,630 1,200 5,560 280 21,670 1998-99 2,120 2,270 270 4,660 180 570 170 5,580 1999-2000 2,250 2,490 240 4,970 180 580 130 5,870 2000-01 2,740 2,730 330 5,800 260 830 110 7,000 2001-02 2,580 2,930 350 5,860 370 1,010 110 7,350 2002-03 2,680 2,990 320 5,990 400 1,150 130 7,670 2003-04 2,940 3,540 320 6,810 400 1,030 200 8,440 2004-054 3,290 4,000 350 7,640 450 1,240 230 9,560 2005-064 3,370 4,370 380 8,120 590 1,290 270 10,270 1 The last known institution where the teacher was in teaching service which may have been some years before the date of retirement. 2 Including only those retirements from independent and further and higher education establishments covered under the Teachers’ Pensions Scheme. 3 The effect of the change in the Teachers' Pensions Scheme, from 31 August 1997, was that many more teachers took early retirement in 1997 than in other years. Actuarially Reduced Benefits are included from 2000-01. 4 Provisional. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: DfES Pensioner statistical system
Education Funding: Ashford
The programme expenditure incurred by the Learning and Skills Council at local authority level is not collected by the Department. This is an operational matter for the LSC as they determine the level of funding required at local level to deliver their key priorities and targets. Mark Haysom, the council’s chief executive, has written to the hon. Gentleman with further information and copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
Education Funding: Gravesham
The programme expenditure incurred by the Learning and Skills Council at local authority level is not collected by the Department. This is an operational matter for the LSC as they determine the level of funding required at local level to deliver their key priorities and targets. Mark Haysom, the council’s chief executive, has written to the hon. Gentleman with further information and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
Education Funding: Tunbridge Wells
The programme expenditure incurred by the Learning and Skills Council at local authority level is not collected by my Department. This is an operational matter for the LSC as they determine the level of funding required at local level to deliver their key priorities and targets. Mark Haysom, the council's chief executive, has written to the hon. Gentleman with further information and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
Failing Schools
The information requested could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
Further Education
Between 1997 and 2005 we increased funding for further education by £2.5 billion—an increase of 48 per cent. in real terms. We are continuing to increase investment in further education with our overall investment in post-16 skills through the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) increasing from £9.9 billion in 2005-06 to £11.2 billion in 2007-08. Mark Haysom, the LSC’s chief executive will write to the hon. Gentleman with further details regarding the local information that he has requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries.
Further Education Colleges
Further Education Colleges have the lead responsibility for assessing their own performance and identifying what needs to be done to secure continuous improvement.
Clause 17, through the new section 56B, will place an obligation on the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to develop and publish its policy with respect to the exercise of its powers under section 56A. This will include its policy on assessing the performance of colleges to determine any appropriate LSC intervention.
In the meantime, the guidance document “Identifying and Managing Underperformance” sets out an overview of the evidence base currently being used to determine whether LSC intervention is necessary. This guidance is available on the LSC website and a copy has been placed in the House Library.
Further Education: Finance
The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is the main funding body for post-16 education providers, which can include local authorities. Total further education (FE) expenditure made available by the LSC to further education colleges and other institutions was £5.59 billion in 2005-06. This includes participation and other FE funding and is a real terms increase of 48 per cent. compared with 1997-98.
The LSC may allocate FE participation funding to a local authority where they are offering FE provision in line with Government priorities. The Department does not hold information on individual providers' funding allocations, but the allocations for 2005-06 can be found at the following link:
http://readingroom.lsc.gov.uk/lsc/2005/funding/streams/fe-2005-06-allocations-at-26-july.xls
GCSEs
Revised 2006 figures show that 1,373 schools did not enter any pupils for a full GCSE in a modern foreign language, 1,479 schools did not enter any pupils for a full GCSE in history and 1,516 schools did not enter any pupils for a full GCSE in geography. These figures include all schools that are published in the secondary schools achievement and attainment tables and so include special schools and independent schools.
History Teaching
[holding answer 23 January 2007]: The national curriculum for history states that one of the six units pupils must be taught at key stage 3 is Britain 1500-1750, which comprises a study of crowns, parliaments and people; the major political, religious and social changes affecting people throughout the British Isles, including the local area if appropriate. The Programme of Study sets out a breadth of study specifying that pupils must be taught aspects of the histories of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
John Kelly Technology Colleges
The bulk of schools capital is allocated by formula to authorities and schools so that they can address their priorities. The assessment of the state of the buildings and the prioritisation of investment is carried out locally, rather than by the Department. Authorities and schools are encouraged to operate good quality, transparent asset management processes and to align their priorities with those of central Government.
Central Government capital support for investment in schools has increased from under £700 million in 1996-97 to £5.5 billion in 2005-06 and will rise further to over £6.3 billion by 2007-08. Progress is being made year-by-year in improving the quality of the school building stock.
School League Tables
Between 2000 and 2004/05, schools’ overall effectiveness was judged on the basis of a seven point scale as follows: (1) Excellent, (2) Very Good, (3) Good, (4) Satisfactory, (5) Unsatisfactory, (6) Poor and (7) Very Poor. Ofsted did not produce an overall judgment on schools’ effectiveness prior to this. New school inspection arrangements came into operation from September 2005. These ‘raise the bar’ in terms of expectations on schools. Schools are now judged on the basis of a four point scale as follows: (1) Outstanding, (2) Good, (3) Satisfactory and (4) Inadequate.
The following tables set out the available data from 2000 to 2005/06. Due to changes in inspection criteria in 2005/06, it is not possible to directly read across from tables A-F to G. The number of schools inspected each year varies and this impacts on the number of pupils attending schools in each of the categories.
Table A January 2000 Boys Girls Total pupils Excellent/Very Good 110,360 111,520 221,880 Good 193,590 187,680 381,270 Satisfactory 111,920 105,930 217,850 Unsatisfactory, poor and very poor 50,280 44,290 94,570 Total 466,160 449,420 915,570
2000/01 Boys Girls Total pupils Excellent/Very Good 189,110 192,340 381,450 Good 307,850 292,720 600,570 Satisfactory 190,760 176,930 367,700 Unsatisfactory, poor and very poor 54,400 48,600 103,000 Total 742,120 710,590 1,452,710
2001/02 Boys Girls Total pupils Excellent/Very Good 174,940 169,400 344,340 Good 296,660 283,190 579,850 Satisfactory 176,930 161,610 338,540 Unsatisfactory, poor and very poor 47,120 42,950 90,070 Total 695,640 657,160 1,352,800
2002/03 Boys Girls Total pupils Excellent/Very Good 160,690 173,090 333,790 Good 280,910 263,180 544,090 Satisfactory 170,490 156,140 326,630 Unsatisfactory, poor and very poor 36,240 31,080 67,320 Total 648,330 623490 1,271,820
2003/04 Boys Girls Total pupils Excellent/Very Good 127,630 131,020 258,650 Good 353,350 343,630 696,980 Satisfactory 202,360 188,240 390,600 Unsatisfactory, poor and very poor 56,060 51,840 107,900 Total 739,400 714,730 1,454,130
2004/05 Boys Girls Total pupils Excellent/Very Good 116,970 120,910 237,880 Good 225,480 208,610 434,100 Satisfactory 117,550 108,890 226,440 Unsatisfactory, poor and very poor 26,570 23,270 49,840 Total 486,580 461,680 948,260
Table G 2005/06 Boys Girls Total pupils Outstanding 113,740 118,660 232,400 Good 469,040 461,170 930,210 Satisfactory 378,910 358,540 737,460 Inadequate 108,740 98,720 207,460 Total 1,070,430 1,037,100 2,107,530
The information is shown in the following table.
Maintained schools4 All schools Number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 Percentage of pupils who achieved 5+ A*-C grades Number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 Percentage of pupils who achieved 5+ A*-C grades North-east 31,682 57.4 33,181 58.2 Hartlepool 1,196 57.5 1,223 56.3 Middlesbrough 1,772 48.9 1,779 48.8 Redcar and Cleveland 2,029 50.3 2,066 49.4 Stockton-on-Tees 2,451 55.3 2,623 57.5 Darlington 1,218 57.9 1,312 57.9 Durham 5,936 56.6 6,181 57.9 Northumberland 3,914 62.0 3,959 62.3 Gateshead 2,280 69.7 2,349 68.8 Newcastle upon Tyne 2,868 55.8 3,384 60.6 North Tyneside 2,284 62.2 2,429 62.0 South Tyneside 2,003 55.5 2,011 55.3 Sunderland 3,731 55.0 3,865 55.6 North-west 88,019 56.6 93,903 57.9 Halton 1,560 52.6 1,563 52.5 Warrington 2,505 66.4 2,522 66.0 Cheshire 8,361 61.9 9,147 63.9 Cumbria 6,191 57.9 6,665 58.8 Bolton 3,678 51.1 4,116 54.1 Bury 2,382 59.0 2,629 61.9 Manchester 4,795 47.6 5,644 53.5 Oldham 3,188 55.0 3,346 56.7 Rochdale 2,783 50.3 2,829 50.1 Salford 2,622 51.4 2,781 51.2 Stockport 3,355 58.7 3,846 62.0 Tameside 3,099 50.0 3,153 49.6 Trafford 2,937 70.2 3,050 70.0 Wigan 4,161 56.9 4,166 56.9 Blackburn with Darwen 1,865 51.5 2,243 56.5 Blackpool 1,712 48.9 1,825 51.3 Lancashire 14,504 58.3 15,160 58.4 Knowsley 2,013 48.8 2,021 48.6 Liverpool 5,893 54.1 6,133 55.0 St. Helens 2,258 56.6 2,367 56.1 Sefton 3,891 61.9 4,201 64.2 Wirral 4,266 57.7 4,496 58.3 Yorkshire and Humber 63,076 54.5 66,584 55.6 East Riding of Yorkshire 4,087 62.2 4,274 63.6 Kingston upon Hull, City of 3,230 52.4 3,359 53.7 North East Lincolnshire 2,212 48.2 2,248 48.3 North Lincolnshire 2,150 54.1 2,184 53.3 York 1,899 62.1 2,134 65.4 North Yorkshire 7,384 64.2 7,946 65.9 Barnsley 2,639 49.5 2,661 49.4 Doncaster 3,847 51.9 3,928 51.2 Rotherham 3,813 52.2 3,834 52.0 Sheffield 5,755 48.5 6,062 49.9 Bradford 6,095 50.2 6,552 51.5 Calderdale 2,614 58.1 2,777 58.0 Kirklees 4,737 53.0 5,069 52.4 Leeds 8,489 52.2 9,028 54.1 Wakefield 4,125 57.8 4,528 60.5 East Midlands 52,780 55.4 56,182 56.8 Derby 2,914 55.6 3,053 55.8 Derbyshire 9,018 57.1 9,558 57.6 Leicester 3,583 47.6 3,923 49.6 Rutland 487 68.2 781 80.2 Leicestershire 7,829 58.4 8,419 60.1 Lincolnshire 8,458 62.2 8,781 62.9 Northamptonshire 8,144 54.5 8,690 56.7 Nottingham 2,727 44.8 3,125 49.1 Nottinghamshire 9,620 51.2 9,852 51.7 West Midlands 67,739 56.4 72,113 57.6 Herefordshire 2,058 61.8 2,204 61.7 Worcestershire 6,516 57.6 7,320 60.9 Telford and Wrekin 2,182 55.4 2,277 56.3 Shropshire 3,477 62.6 3,938 65.3 Stoke-on-Trent 3,008 49.3 3,018 49.1 Staffordshire 10,281 56.5 10,716 57.7 Warwickshire 6,258 58.5 6,826 61.5 Birmingham 12,465 58.8 13,297 58.4 Coventry 3,747 47.9 4,109 51.1 Dudley 4,070 55.8 4,118 55.6 Sandwell 3,698 47.3 3,777 46.3 Solihull 3,231 66.8 3,421 67.8 Walsall 3,796 50.0 3,924 50.0 Wolverhampton 2,952 55.9 3,168 57.3 East of England 65,367 59.3 71,090 61.4 Luton 2,347 51.0 2,413 50.0 Bedfordshire 4,799 56.2 5,353 60.1 Peterborough 2,189 58.3 2,354 55.9 Cambridgeshire 5,840 60.2 6,607 63.1 Southend-on-Sea 2,099 63.0 2,157 63.1 Thurrock 1,739 56.0 1,796 54.2 Essex 16,346 59.0 17,067 60.1 Hertfordshire 13,116 64.7 15,147 68.5 Norfolk 8,972 55.4 9,505 57.0 Suffolk 7,920 59.4 8,691 61.8 London5 74,140 58.3 84,053 59.8 Inner London 23,248 53.6 27,712 55.3 Camden 1,474 54.7 1,799 60.8 Hackney 1,391 50.9 1,630 48.3 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,153 62.1 1,632 67.3 Haringey 2,113 51.7 2,369 53.5 Islington 1,459 47.0 1,590 44.6 Kensington and Chelsea 586 63.0 1,336 42.6 Lambeth 1,409 55.4 1,559 54.8 Lewisham 2,229 54.8 2,541 54.4 Newham 3,308 52.8 3,402 51.6 Southwark 2,331 48.8 2,846 56.0 Tower Hamlets 2,553 56.3 2,725 55.2 Wandsworth 1,841 58.3 2,304 61.8 Westminster 1,401 48.7 1,979 54.6 Outer London 50,892 60.5 56,341 62.0 Barking and Dagenham 2,007 55.8 2,128 52.7 Barnet 3,419 65.5 3,953 66.8 Bexley 3,219 64.2 3,225 64.1 Brent 2,595 61.4 2,822 61.8 Bromley 3,583 67.6 3,935 69.4 Croydon 3,786 56.7 4,501 61.5 Ealing 2,627 61.8 3,044 63.1 Enfield 3,630 53.5 3,708 53.9 Greenwich 2,499 43.0 2,788 45.1 Harrow 2,160 64.3 2,680 68.5 Havering 3,055 63.3 3,094 63.3 Hillingdon 2,957 54.7 3,248 55.1 Hounslow 2,613 63.1 2,735 61.5 Kingston upon Thames 1,536 68.1 1,848 69.7 Merton 1,572 48.2 1,840 55.3 Redbridge 3,126 72.1 3,318 72.7 Richmond upon Thames 1,405 56.5 2,055 66.9 Sutton 2,510 70.8 2,625 70.9 Waltham Forest 2,593 51.1 2,794 53.1 South-east 91,575 59.7 104,305 62.7 Bracknell Forest 1,062 59.8 1,363 66.3 Windsor and Maidenhead 1,624 64.2 2,158 71.3 West Berkshire 1,996 65.0 2,351 68.7 Reading 1,025 56.1 1,360 64.3 Slough 1,420 63.2 1,459 61.5 Wokingham 1,826 64.5 2,066 66.9 Milton Keynes 2,594 49.9 2,717 48.8 Buckinghamshire 5,789 68.8 6,285 69.9 Brighton and Hove 2,334 55.2 2,725 58.9 East Sussex 5,455 55.4 6,145 57.9 Portsmouth 2,045 47.6 2,386 54.3 Southampton 2,424 48.4 2,715 52.7 Hampshire 14,481 61.6 15,821 63.3 Isle of Wight 1,555 47.9 1,670 50.2 Medway 3,451 56.4 3,606 56.2 Kent 16,731 61.4 18,378 63.1 Oxfordshire 6,579 56.6 8,049 63.1 Surrey 10,554 63.0 13,501 67.9 West Sussex 8,630 58.9 9,550 61.3 South-west 58,113 58.2 64,306 60.8 Bath and north-east Somerset 2,245 66.9 2,668 72.0 Bristol, City of 3,104 43.8 4,035 54.3 North Somerset 2,288 58.4 2,364 58.7 South Gloucestershire 3,080 54.9 3,091 54.7 Cornwall 6,151 57.3 6,433 58.4 Isles of Scilly 27 85.2 27 85.2 Torbay 1,496 54.2 1,540 54.5 Plymouth 3,153 59.8 3,262 60.5 Devon 7,956 58.0 8,843 60.3 Bournemouth 1,842 54.7 1,959 56.9 Poole 1,758 63.1 1,927 64.9 Dorset 4,633 62.2 5,230 65.0 Gloucestershire 7,099 63.9 7,882 65.6 Somerset 5,952 56.6 7,030 61.1 Swindon 2,286 53.5 2,319 52.7 Wiltshire 5,043 58.2 5,696 62.0 Total maintained sector 592,491 57.5 — — Total all schools6 — — 645,931 59.2 1 Number of pupils on roll at the end of key stage 4 in the 2005-06 academic year. 2 Including attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. 3 Local authority, Government office region and total (maintained sector) figures are adjusted for pupils recently arrived from overseas. 4 Information for GCSE and equivalent results for maintained schools at local authority level were published in SFR01/2007, “GCSE and Equivalent Examination results in England 2005-06 (Revised)” http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000702/index.shtml 5 Excludes City of London. 6 Includes City of London.
Maintained Schools: Overseas Pupils
The requested information is not collected centrally.
PGCE
The information requested is not yet available.
Performance Profiles data, collected by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) indicate that in the academic year 2004/05, the latest year for which data are available, 21,780 people gained qualified teacher status (QTS) through post-graduate routes. Of these, 15,530 people (71 per cent.) were known to be teaching in the maintained sector six months after gaining QTS. A further 1,180 (5 per cent.) were in a teaching post but the sector was unknown. The data include trainees from Universities and other Higher Education (HE) institutions, School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) and Open Universities (OU), but exclude employment based routes.
School Exclusions
(2) how many instances were reported of teachers in England being (a) verbally and (b) physically abused by (i) pupils and (ii) parents in each of the last 10 years.
The number of assaults on school staff is not collected centrally.
For the academic years 2003-04 and 2004-05 information is available on the reasons for pupil exclusions. These reasons include physical assault against an adult and verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult.
Tables showing the available information about the number of pupils who have been excluded from school on either a permanent of fixed period basis including all the available reasons for exclusion have been placed in the House Library.
School Leavers: Bexleyheath and Crayford
In 2005/06, 260 students aged 16-18 completed their A level (or equivalent qualification) studies in institutions located in the Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency. There is no data available on the number of these young people who entered full-time employment at this local level.
In 2005, 174 (5.2 per cent.) of 16-year-olds in Bexley left compulsory education and entered full-time employment. Figures for 2006 are not yet available.
These data are for 16-year-olds resident in Bexley LA; figures are not available for Bexleyheath and Crayford. It is for all 16-year-olds who have finished compulsory education; figures are not available for just those who have finished a GCSE qualification. The figures relate to the activity of school-leavers on 1 November 2005.
At end 2004, 800 (26 per cent.) 16-year-olds in Bexley were participating in full-time education at a sixth form college or other further education college. In addition, a further 1,500 (50 per cent.) 16-year-olds were participating in full-time education in schools.
These data are for all 16-year-olds resident in Bexley LA, there is no information available solely on those that have finished their GCSE qualifications. Bexley LA is the smallest local area for which data is available. End 2004 is the most recent year for which data are available.
School Leavers: Romford
In 2005, 180 (5.6 per cent.) of 16-year-olds in Havering left compulsory education and entered into employment.
These data are for 16-year-olds resident in Havering LEA, figures are not available for Romford. It is for all 16-year-olds who have finished compulsory education, figures are not available for just those who have finished a GCSE qualification. The figures relate to the activity on 1 November 2005 after finishing compulsory education.
At end 2004, 1,700 (56 per cent.) of 16-year-olds in Havering were participating in full-time education at a sixth-form college or other further education college. In addition a further 700 (22 per cent.) of 16-year-olds were participating in full-time education in schools.
These data are for all 16-year-olds resident in Havering LEA, there is no information available solely on those that have finished their GCSE qualifications. Havering LEA is the smallest local area for which data are available. End 2004 is the most recent year for which data is available.
School Sprinklers
[holding answer 24 January 2007]: We include advice on sprinklers in our new guide on fire safety, Building Bulletin 100, “Designing and Managing Against the Risk of Fire in Schools”, which has been out to public consultation. Feedback from that exercise showed that more extensive guidance on sprinklers was wanted, and we commissioned further studies to be carried out.
Consultants are compiling case studies of school projects where sprinklers have been installed, covering both capital and running costs. They are also examining how installation costs might be partially offset by design freedoms, such as fewer fire doors, and what the impact of reduced insurance premiums could be. Other work is being done on developing a risk assessment tool for use with individual projects, and a cost benefit analysis of installing sprinklers in schools, sensitive to small variations in data.
The studies will be completed by the end of January and we will make them public. Some of the work will also be included in the final version of Building Bulletin 100, which we expect to publish before the end of May.
Schools IT
The following funding was issued to schools through the Standards Fund to spend on information and communications technology:
£ million 2003-04 540 2004-05 593 2005-06 615
Schools supplement this investment from other budgets, such as Devolved Formula Capital and the Schools Development Grant.
SEAL Programme
The Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) programme is being rolled out in phases. £7 million is available for Phase 2 of the primary roll-out this year (2006-07). A total of £7 million will also be available for Phase 3 of the primary roll-out and Phase 1 of the Secondary roll-out next year (2007-08). Decisions about SEAL funding for 2008-09 to 2010-11 will be made as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review that is currently taking place.
Special Educational Needs
I have been asked to reply.
SENDIST has no power to assign children to school action or school action plus. In appeals against local authority decisions to refuse to make a statutory assessment of children, it can either order an assessment or dismiss the appeal. The Tribunal has no data on the level of support children receive in their schools prior to their parents’ making appeals.
Special Schools
[holding answer 22 January 2007]: The requested information is not collected centrally.
The available information on the number of pupils in special schools has been placed in the House Library.
Specialist Schools
[holding answer 23 January 2007]: Specialist schools in the South East of England and on a national level will continue to be funded and supported under the Specialist Schools Programme. This is a key initiative to raise standards of achievement and to improve choice for pupils. There are currently 2,608 designated specialist schools, which is approximately 85 per cent. of all eligible secondary schools. The Government have a target that by 2008, 95 per cent. of eligible secondary schools that want to be, will be either specialist or an academy.
Sports Coaching Awards
[holding answer 23 January 2007]: Funding for Community Sports Coaches began in 2004-05, and is as follows:
£ 2004-05 210,000 2005-06 570,000 2006-07 3,500,000 2007-08 4,069,000
Funding beyond 2008 is subject to the outcome of the comprehensive spending review.
Teacher Absence
(2) how many days of teacher absence were covered by supply teaching assistants in (a) England and (b) Gloucestershire in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.
[holding answer 24 January 2007]: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Teacher Statistics
The information requested is not available at local authority level.
The following table provides information within the maintained schools sector for the number of qualified teacher entrants and wastage in England between 1997-98 and 2004-05, the latest year available.
1991-92 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-042 2004-052 Full-time: Entrants to full-time teaching in the maintained schools sector Newly qualified entrants3 12,710 18,010 16,820 17,630 16,780 18,330 20,790 22,250 21,950 New to maintained sector4 4,430 5,770 5,320 5,900 7,060 7,500 6,150 5,290 5,570 Returner to maintained sector5 7,580 5,300 5,410 5,870 7,070 8,710 7,820 6,870 8,080 Total entrants 24,720 29,080 27,550 29,400 30,910 34,540 34,770 34,410 35,600 Joiners from part-time service6 5,210 4,910 4,630 4,790 5,440 4,950 5,030 4,060 4,700 Movement from full-time teaching in the maintained schools sector Out of service7 15,870 15,660 18,560 19,150 21,080 21,050 23,950 21,830 18,890 Retired 10,680 13,810 5,700 6,080 6,650 6,540 6,610 7,230 7,770 Total wastage 26,540 29,470 24,260 25,230 27,730 27,590 30,560 29,060 26,670 Leavers to part-time service8 4,960 6,910 6,780 7,440 8,190 9,710 9,900 10,570 11,660 Part-time: Entrants to part-time teaching in the maintainedschools sector Newly qualified entrants3 350 890 840 810 600 570 760 990 1,000 New to maintained sector4 2,190 2,750 2,910 3,170 3,720 3,680 3,770 4,110 4,110 Returner to maintained sector5 7,520 5,190 5,110 4,850 5,520 5,550 4,910 4,760 5,310 Total entrants 10,060 8,820 8,860 8,830 9,840 9,800 9,440 9,860 10,420 Joiners from full-time service8 4,960 6,910 6,780 7,440 8,190 9,710 9,900 10,570 11,660 Movement from part-time teaching in the maintained schools sector Out of service7 7,530 6,820 7,590 7,650 7,620 7,730 10,350 9,350 7,760 Retired 1,290 2,750 2,360 2,510 2,610 2,240 2,380 2,580 2,850 Total wastage 8,820 9,580 9,950 10,160 10,230 9,970 12,730 11,930 10,610 Leavers to full-time service6 5,210 4,910 4,630 4,790 5,440 4,950 5,030 406-0 4,700 1 10 to 20 per cent. of part-time teachers may not be included in the data. 2 Provisional estimates. 3 Teacher qualified in the previous calendar year. 4 Teacher has no known service in the English maintained schools sector, and qualified before the previous calendar year. 5 Teacher was not in service last year, but has some previous service in the English maintained schools sector. 6 Full-time joiners from part-time service are equivalent to leavers from part-time to full-time service. They are not included in total entrants or total wastage. 7 Teacher is no longer in service in the English maintained schools sector and is not receiving a pension. May be teaching in FE/HE sectors or Wales. 8 Part-time joiners from full-time service are equivalent to leavers from full-time to part-time service. They are not included in total entrants or total wastage. Source: Database of Teacher Records.
Teaching Assistants: Lancashire
The following table provides the number of full-time equivalent teaching assistants employed in maintained schools in the local authorities that make up the pre-1998 Lancashire local authority area for January of each year from 1997 to 2006.
Full-time equivalent teaching assistants in former Lancashire, Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool local authority maintained schools: January of each yearFormer LancashireLancashireBlackburn with DarwenBlackpool19971,780———19982,000———1999—1,6703001902000—1,8303502202001—2,1904302902002—1,9603601902003—3,1305303902004—3,3005804302005—3,5706104802006—3,890650480Note:Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.Source: Annual School Census (ASC)
Work and Pensions
Benefit Claimants
The available information is in the following tables.
May 2002 May 2003 May 2004 May 2005 May 2006 Incapacity Benefit (IB) 2,471,140 2,494,890 2,508,770 2,490,850 2,449,990 Disability Living Allowance (DLA) 2,443,810 2,566,820 2,662,830 2,750,970 2,820,860 Attendance Allowance (AA) 1 ,504,440 1,527,990 1,570,340 1,605,710 1,646,890 Bereavement benefits (BB) 41,490 47,680 51,180 55,240 57,660 Carer's Allowance (CA) 516,080 589,330 680,470 733,750 785,270 Maternity Allowance (MA) 15,700 14,860 26,900 27,500 29,900 Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA) 336,480 320,760 305,940 292,870 280,010 Notes: 1. IB, SDA,DLA, AA and BB Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. MA figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 3. AA, CA and DLA figures show all entitled cases—not just those in payment. 4. The sharp rise in MA figures from 2003 to 2004 is due to the change in MA rules. From April 2003 Maternity Allowance could be claimed for 26 weeks rather than the 18 weeks previously allowed. 5. 'Claimant' figures include all IB (including IB credits only cases). Source: For IB, SDA,DLA,AA and BB - DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data. For MA - DWP Information Directorate, 5 per cent. samples.
£ million 2001-02 Outturn 2002-03 Outturn 2003-04 Outturn 2004-05 Outturn 2005-06 Estimated Outturn Attendance Allowance 3,536 3,566 3,695 3,845 4,012 Disability Living Allowance 7,447 7,735 8,104 8,453 8,810 Carer's Allowance 1,055 1,089 1,126 1,153 1,172 Bereavement Benefit 1,244 1,193 1,076 965 905 Incapacity Benefit 7,638 7,412 7,187 6,967 6,810 Severe Disablement Allowance 1,177 1,050 1,000 960 919 Maternity Allowance 63 75 136 156 168 Source: DWP benefit expenditure tables.
.
The Department accounts for its administrative expenditure by strategic objective as set out in its public service agreements (PSA) and by individual requests for resources (RfRs) as set out in the departmental estimates and accounts, and not by benefit. Information on administrative expenditure by strategic objective is available in the annually published Departmental Report, copies of which are available in the Library.
Benefits: Parental Shared Residence
The rules that determine when a personal allowance and any appropriate premiums for a child can be awarded are broadly linked to child benefit rules. As current provision does not allow child benefit to be divided between two individuals, there is therefore no provision in DWP benefits for payments for a child to be split between parents in cases where shared residence has been awarded.
Benefits: Disabled People
[holding answer 18 January 2007]: Claimants are not required to state whether they are disabled in order to claim or receive these benefits. Therefore, the information is not available.
Care Leavers
The information is not available.
Income-related Benefits
We are not intending to include estimates of take-up by rural and non-rural categories in the next publication of Income Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-up.
Jobseeker's Allowance and Incapacity Benefit
The available information is in the table and represents the minimum numbers and proportions of people who satisfy the given criteria.
Proportion (Percentage) Total Aged 25-49 Aged 50 and over In work six months later 39 672,650 331,960 99,150 In work one year later 43 740,130 366,520 107,540 Notes: 1. Data on employment are available to the 26 of November 2006. As such, the latest operational year of new claimants for which (a) and (c) are answerable is April 2004 to March 2005, and the latest operational year of claims reaching their first anniversary for which (b) and (d) are answerable is April 2003 to March 2004 (and thus relates to people making a new claim during April 2002 and March 2003). 2. The figures quoted in this response come from data in the National Benefits Database and the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS). 3. Figures in this response are based upon periods of employment measured from the WPLS, which is based on data from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The figures given can be taken as a minimum only for the following (not necessarily comprehensive) reasons: (i) Some records show that a person started or ended employment at some point in the year, but the exact date on when they started or left their job is unknown, and therefore we do not know if they were employed at the points in time specified in this query. (ii) If a person's earnings are sufficiently low that they fall below the lower income tax threshold and so are not required to pay PAYE income tax on their earnings then there is no requirement to inform HMRC of their employment (although some employers declare these jobs anyway). (iii) These data do not include the self-employed. (iv) Poor quality personal data may lead to missed matches with benefits data. (v) No “HMRC sensitive and secure” information is supplied by HMRC (for example, HMRC employees, members of the security services).
The information is in the following tables.
Age at start of re-claim Percentage All 47.1 16 to 24 53.4 25 to 49 45.3 50 to state pension age 37.5
Age at start of re-claim Percentage All 18.0 16 to 24 22.4 25 to 49 22.6 50 to state pension age 11.4 Notes: 1. Percentages are shown to one decimal place 2. Figures for the latest quarter do not include any late notifications and are subject to major changes in future quarters. Source: DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample and 5 per cent. termination dataset.
The information is in the following table.
Age Percentage All 12.5 16 to 24 10.1 25 to 49 13.4 50 to state pension age 15.6 Notes: 1. Percentages are shown to one decimal place 2. Figures for the latest quarter do not include any late notifications and are subject to major changes in future quarters. Source: DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample and 5 per cent. terminations dataset.
The information is in the following table:
Age at start of jobseeker's allowance claim Percentage All 23.5 16 to 24 41.3 25 to 49 30.0 50 to state pension age 10.6 Notes: 1. Percentages are shown to one decimal place 2. Figures for the latest quarter do not include any late notifications and are subject to major changes in future quarters. Source: DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample and 5 per cent. terminations dataset.
Incapacity Benefit
The available information is in the following table.
£ million Provisional outturn Great Britain 6,644 England 5,206 North East 478 North West 1,098 Yorkshire and The Humber 627 East Midlands 475 West Midlands 631 East of England 420 London 512 South East 527 South West 438 Wales 599 Scotland 802 Outside Great Britain 38 Notes: 1. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 2. All figures have been rounded to the nearest million pounds. 3. Great Britain expenditure is consistent with the Department for Work and Pensions' accounts for 2005-06 and has been apportioned between regions and countries using information in the 2006 Country and Regional Analysis exercise. 4. Expenditure outside Great Britain relates to benefit entitlement resulting from residence in Great Britain, but benefit is actually in payment to people living abroad. 5. As the Department is only responsible for Great Britain, Northern Ireland benefit expenditure has not been included and is dealt with by the Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland. 6. Expenditure information is published on the Department's website at the following address: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure.asp 7. The expenditure shown in the table is not consistent with information currently published on the Department's website. That information relates to the position at Budget 2006 and it will be updated following the 2006 pre Budget report. Source:Department for Work and Pensions accounts for 2005-06 and administrative data.
The information has been placed in the Library.
Information is available only on those claiming incapacity benefits whose primary diagnosis is obesity. The available information is in the following tables.
Quarter ending London local authority May 2002 May 2003 May 2004 May 2005 May 2006 Barking and Dagenham 10 10 10 10 10 Barnet 10 10 10 10 10 Bexley 10 10 10 10 10 Brent 10 10 10 10 10 Bromley 0 0 0 0 0 Camden 10 10 20 10 10 Croydon 10 10 10 20 20 Baling 20 20 10 10 10 Enfield 10 10 10 10 10 Greenwich 0 10 0 0 0 Hackney 20 30 30 30 30 Hammersmith and Fulham 0 0 10 0 0 Haringey 10 10 10 10 10 Harrow 10 10 10 10 10 Havering 0 0 0 0 0 Hillingdon 10 10 10 10 10 Hounslow 10 10 10 10 20 Islington 20 20 10 10 10 Kensington and Chelsea 0 0 10 0 10 Kingston upon Thames 0 0 0 0 0 Lambeth 10 20 20 20 20 Lewisham 0 0 10 10 10 Merton 0 10 0 0 0 Newham 30 20 20 20 20 Redbridge 0 10 10 10 10 Richmond upon Thames 0 10 0 10 0 Southwark 20 20 20 10 20 Sutton 0 0 0 10 0 Tower Hamlets 10 10 10 10 10 Waltham Forest 10 10 10 10 10 Wandsworth 10 10 10 10 10 Notes: 1. Caseloads are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Local authorities and Government office regions are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory. 4. Causes of incapacity are based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, published by the World Health Organisation. Source: Information Directorate five per cent sample and 100 per cent. WPLS
May 2002 May 2003 May 2004 May 2005 May 2006 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.09 0.10 Notes: These figures were calculated using average weekly amounts and caseloads for London region.
Pension Credit
The answer is set out in the following table.
Household recipients Annual pension credit expenditure (£ million) November 2003 3,890 9.1 May 2004 4,700 10.4 May 2005 5,150 11.4 May 2006 5,320 12.4 Notes: 1. Expenditure figures are consistent with the pre-Budget report 2006 and are rounded to the nearest million. 2. The number of households in receipt are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Annual expenditure figures are based on the household recipient figures for November 2003, May 2004, May 2005 and May 2006. Estimates refer to financial years. For example 2006 refers to 2006-07. 4. Pension credit was introduced on 6 October 2003 and replaced minimum income guarantee (income support for people aged 60 or over). 5. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household. Source: DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data, DWP Accounts and Forecasts for 2006-07
The answer is set out in the following table.
Household recipients of pension credit for Morecambe and Lunesdale parliamentary constituency and the county of Lancashire—May 2006
Pension credit household recipients (000) Morecambe and Lunesdale parliamentary constituency 5.16 County of Lancashire 55.16 Notes: 1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household. 3. Parliamentary constituencies and county areas are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory. Constituencies are therefore based on the 2005 parliamentary boundaries. Source: DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data
Pensions
I have been asked to reply.
Bulk annuity rates are driven by a range of variables, including interest rates, stock market performance and demand from pension schemes winding-up.
The Treasury continues to work closely with the Financial Services Authority, the Department for Work and Pensions and other stakeholders to maintain an up-to-date understanding of the bulk annuities market.
The estimate that approximately 60 per cent. of money saved in personal accounts will be new saving is based on the results of a literature survey carried out for the Department for Work and Pensions1.
The 60 per cent. is the middle point of a range of 50-70 per cent. that was put forward in the report as a plausible assumption for the average level of new savings in NPSS or similar personal account schemes.
It is this range that is used in the White Paper and the accompanying Regulatory Impact Assessment, which note that personal accounts would generate pension savings of £7-8 billion per year, of which approximately £4-5 billion are expected to be additional2.
1 John Hawksworth, PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2006, “Review of research relevant to assessing the impact of the proposed National Pensions Savings Scheme on household saving”, DWP Research Report No373, p.3.
2 See for example Regulatory Impact Assessment: Overview, p. 10.
The British Overseas Territories where UK state pensions are indexed against inflation are Bermuda, Gibraltar and the Sovereign bases on Cyprus.
UK state pensions are not indexed against inflation in Anguilla, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn Island, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, St. Helena and Dependencies (Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha) and Turk and Caicos Islands.
Poverty Statistics
Specific information regarding low income for Great Britain is available in “Households Below Average Income 1994/95-2004/05”. The threshold of below 60 per cent. contemporary median income is the most commonly used in reporting data on low income.
The information requested is shown in the table as follows.
2004-05—AHC Female number (million) 1.1 Female proportion (%) 17 Male number (million) 0.6 Male Proportion (%) 16 Note: Due to rounding, the figures for female and male pensioners do not sum to the 1.8 million pensioners in low income households (after housing costs) shown on page 93 of HBAI publication. Source: Family Resources Survey AHC = After Housing Costs.
Public Opinion Research
My Department carried out limited annual public attitude omnibus surveys between 2001 and 2004. In 2005, in order to make the findings more robust, an increased number of new attitude statements were tested among the public prior to being included in omnibus research. In 2005 we also conducted a piece of research to monitor public awareness of the Department and its responsibilities.
£ 2001 Public Attitudes - Wave 1 9,350 2000 Public Attitudes Wave 2 9,600 2003 Public Attitudes Wave 3 10,450 2004 Public Attitudes Wave 4 11,100 2005 Public Attitudes Wave 5 and New 1 Public Awareness 86,000 2006 50,000 Total costs 160,600
Winter Fuel Payment
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 18 December 2006, Official Report, column 1580W.
The information requested is in the following table .
Total cost of winter fuel allowance paid out in Great Britain Outturn Cash Terms £ million 1997-98 191 1998-99 194 1999-2000 759 2000-01 1,749 2001-02 1,681 2002-03 1,705 2000-04 1,916 2004-05 1,962 2005-06 1,982 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest million. 2. Winter fuel payment was introduced in 1997. 3 Payments made to people aged 60 to 64 years and over 80 payment are included from 2000-01 onwards. Following a European Court of Justice Judgement in 1999, winter fuel payments were extended to people aged 60 or over regardless of whether they were receiving a social security benefit. A claims process was set up in the year 2000 to enable payments to be made to those people who could not be identified through the Department's records. Source: DWP Expenditure tables consistent with Pre Budget Report 2006.
The Government keep all tax and welfare policies under review and any changes are considered as part of the normal Budget and Spending Review processes. The winter fuel payment has risen from £20 in winter 1997-98 to £200 from winter 2000-01 and to £300 for those aged 80 or over from winter 2003-04. These increases have been at a significantly higher rate than inflation whereas utility prices tend to fluctuate and have fallen as well as risen in recent years.
In the winter of 2005-06, 38,480 people in the two parliamentary constituencies in the city of Derby received a winter fuel payment. This comprises 20,210 people in Derby North and 18,270 people in Derby South. Figures are not yet available for this winter but we expect the numbers to be similar.
Notes:
1. Figures rounded to the nearest 10.
2. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
Source:
Information Directorate 100 per cent. sample.
Culture, Media and Sport
Gaelic Language Television
Government funding for the Gaelic Media Service was devolved to the Scottish Executive in 1999, but my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State committed a one-off sum of £250,000 to secure arrangements for a new Gaelic television service which we expect to be launched later this year.
Freeview
We have had preliminary discussions with Ofcom about all aspects of the Digital Dividend Review. We look forward to the developing debate leading up to and after the consultation closing date of 20 March.
National Lottery
The value of the Big's share of income to the National Lottery Distribution Fund in 2006-07 and 2007-08 will depend on variable factors, such as sales of Lottery products and returns on investments. The combined value of the New Opportunities Fund and Community Fund shares of income in the last three years was £681 million in 2003-04, £717 million in 2004-05 and £714 million in 2005-06. My Department's current projections for overall income to the NLDF, of which Big will receive a share, is that it may fall by about 8 per cent. in 2006-07 and 2.5 per cent. in 2007-08.
The National Lottery has transformed culture and sport in our country, raising over £19 billion for good causes and funding over 250,000 good cause projects. I am confident this success will continue. We have guaranteed to each good cause its share of non-Olympic Lottery proceeds until 2019.
Olympics 2012
I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) earlier this afternoon.
[holding answer 22 January 2007]: The most recent discussions I have had with the Mayor of London which included references to the budget of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games were on 23 January. Prior to that we had met on 13 December 2006 at the Olympic board, which I jointly chair with the Mayor, and at which budget issues were discussed. We subsequently met again on 14 December and talked about the budget as part of a general discussion on Olympics and other issues.
The Government’s aim is to maximise private investment in the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games wherever possible.
Two bodies have been created by the Government and Key Olympic Stakeholders, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), to oversee the construction of the Olympic Park and to organise the staging of the Games, including investigating public private partnerships and raising the £2 billion in sponsorship this will require.
LOCOG has been working closely with companies in six sectors (banking, insurance, oil and gas, automobiles, telecommunications and utilities) to explore partnerships at the tier one level. LOCOG remains on target to announce its first major sponsor by the end of the financial year.
With regards to initiating public private partnerships and private finance initiatives, the ODA will be looking into the possibility of securing these as part of individual procurements, subject to the overarching priority to deliver the Games on time. As a result, the ODA will seek private sector investment in utilities and other assets which have long-term investment potential.
The Games will present many more opportunities for private funders to invest in a variety of projects stimulated by the creation of the Olympic Park in East London. For example, the John Lewis Partnership has already announced plans to invest £50 million and create 800 jobs in the Stratford City retail project, adjacent to the Olympic Park. We are keen to encourage similar investments to accelerate the regeneration in this deprived part of London and in schemes throughout the country to ensure that the Games leave a lasting and sustainable legacy for the UK.
[holding answer 26 January 2007]: The memorandum of understanding between the Government and the Mayor of London on Olympic funding was published on 30 June 2003 by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in Command Paper Cm 5867 entitled Government Response to ‘A London Olympic Bid for 2012’ (HC 268) Report of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Session 2002-03 and copies were placed in the Libraries of the House.
[holding answer 26 January 2007]: The contribution to the Olympic Village and the broadcasting/media and press centre are subject to commercial negotiations with private developers. In view of that and to avoid speculation about the size of the public contribution I will be able to provide the information requested only when the commercial negotiations are complete.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 13 December 2006, Official Report, column 1197W.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers Report was used to inform the cost estimates. Between the delivery of their report, in July 2004, and the submission of the Candidate File to the IOC, in October 2004, a number of cost savings were identified. The estimates included in the Candidate File reflected these savings.
[holding answer 16 January 2007]: As I explained to the Select Committee in my answer to their written questions of 28 November, the c.£400 million includes not only the costs of the delivery partner but also the costs of site mobilisation and the costs of additional staff required by the ODA itself.
[holding answer 16 January 2007]: The new or additional elements of expenditure for the Olympic Park that make up the £900 million that I announced at the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on 21 November 2006 include provision for:
ODA delivery costs (£400 million): This reflects a detailed review of the ODA administration requirements for the programme including the estimated costs of the delivery partner. The delivery partner will provide the level and quantity of experience and skill needed to deliver the Olympic Park project and to undertake effective project and programme management and cost control. The additional costs cover this, accommodation and site mobilisation and ODA staff costs.
Construction inflation: A 1 per cent. point per annum increase in inflation costs is required in order to reflect post-bid increases in inflation;
Additional security costs: reflecting the need for increased investment in site security post 7 July 2005. This does not include general policing costs which fall outside the core costs of the Olympic Park;
Olympic Village and International Broadcasting Centre/Media and Press Centre: Some public investment will be necessary to underpin the private sector investment in these facilities but these are both subject to commercial negotiation about what the level of private sector investment will be.
These cost increases will be reflected in the ODA’s budget which is due to be determined in the next few months. They do not include VAT or programme contingency, which as I told the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on 21 November, are a matter for discussion in Government.
Creative Partnerships: Schools
Creative Partnerships is a real success story. Since 2002 the Government have provided over £100 million in funding for the programme. It has reached over 300,000 young people and 1,600 schools. The evaluation of the programme, particularly the recent Ofsted report, has shown that it’s having a real impact in the communities it serves.
Channel 4
Channel 4’s public service remit is set out in the Communications Act 2003. It is also bound by the terms of its Ofcom licence. Under the 2003 Act Ofcom has the power to impose appropriate sanctions should the channel breach the terms of its licence.
BBC Trust
I can confirm we will hold an open competition, and that the process will follow the Nolan principles and the Commissioner’s Code of Practice. After advertising in the national press, a selection panel will shortlist and interview candidates and make recommendations to Ministers. The appointment will be made by the Queen by Order in Council, on the recommendation of DCMS Ministers through the Prime Minister. We have discussed and agreed with OCPA there will be no additional exceptional scrutiny arrangements on this occasion.
British Food
The legal framework governing public procurement is designed to ensure that it is fair, transparent and not used to discriminate by setting up barriers to free trade. This means that DCMS cannot restrict its purchases to specific locations or suppliers.
However, DCMS is working in partnership with our outsourced catering provider to increase tendering opportunities for small and local food producers. As a result, the proportion of food served in our buildings that was of British origin increased from 44 per cent. in 2005 to 52 per cent. in 2006.
Casinos
Coventry, Dudley and Solihull submitted formal proposals to be considered for the one regional casino permitted by the Gambling Act 2005, but were not shortlisted by the Casino Advisory Panel.
Dudley, Solihull and Wolverhampton have been shortlisted for the right to issue one of the eight large and eight small casino premises licences permitted by the Act.
The Secretary of State established the Casino Advisory Panel to advise her on where the 17 new casinos permitted under the Gambling Act 2005 should be located.
The criteria against which the independent Casino Advisory Panel is making its assessment were set out in the Government’s national policy statement on casinos published on 16 December 2004. The primary consideration will be to ensure that locations provide the best possible test of social impact. Subject to this, the criteria will also be:
to include areas in need of regeneration (as measured by employment and other social deprivation data) and which are likely to benefit in these terms from a new casino;
to ensure that those areas selected are willing to license a new casino.
We will assess what the regeneration and other economic outcomes have been, alongside our wider assessment of the social impact of the new casinos, around three years after the issue of the first casino premises licence.
Departmental Expenditure
Chapter 7 of the annual Treasury publication “Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses” details expenditure on services in the regions and countries of the United Kingdom.
Identifiable spending in each region of England by Government Department for 2004-05 (latest available data) is contained within table 7.19 of the 2006 edition of PESA.
Departmental Studies
The following studies are incomplete; costs will be made public on completion:
Measuring Elasticity of Tourism Demand;
Casino Impacts Scoping Study;
Sport’s Contribution to Achieving Wider Social Benefits;
Review of Evidence base for delivering SP2/PSA3;
Assess local authority delivery against national standards;
Creative industry promotion—an international perspective;
International dimension of the Creative Economy;
Exploring Creative Industry Spillovers;
Public value research;
Independent Technical Review on Sport and Leisure Facility Equity Indicators.
The following studies have been completed and associated costs are shown in the following table:
£ Evaluation of the 7 July Assistance Centre 15,007 Literature Review and Survey of Statistical Sources on Remote Gambling 30,000 Economic Impact of DCMS Cultural Investment 54,958 Creative Industries Analysis 50,445 BBC Charter Review Research 50,100 Licensing Act 2003: The experience of smaller establishments in applying for live music authorization 92,500 Assessing the readiness of social housing sector for Digital Switchover 51,425 Governance of Non-Departmental Public Bodies 81,745 Knowledge Economy 25,000 Scoping links between the creative industry and the rest of the economy 4,000 Review of the performance indicator framework for national museums and galleries 29,855 Heritage Protection Review Assessment of eight pilot projects 18,417 Peer Review of English Heritage 31,294 Literature Review into people’s needs in emergencies 15,460 KPMG’s advice on costs of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games 455,438 Valuation of the Horserace Totalisator Board 101,299
Digital Television
We estimate that 7.1 million UK households will qualify for assistance from the Switchover Help Scheme between 2008 and 2012. The cost of the scheme over its lifetime will be in the region of £600 million.
There are three transmitters located in the constituency: Lindores, Balmullo and Cupar, all of which are analogue-only relays. The majority of the constituency is however served by the main Craigkelly and Angus transmitters, both of which broadcast digital services already. The former transmitters will be upgraded to digital at switchover in 2010.
Film Industry
The Government support film production in the East Midlands through three routes. Firstly, the UK Film Council’s Regional Investment Fund for England (RIFE) which invests both grant in aid and lottery funding in EM Media, the regional screen agency for the East Midlands. Secondly, the UK Film Council’s central production funds—the Premiere, New Cinema and Development Funds; and thirdly, through tax relief for film production in the UK.
In addition to financial support for film making, the EM Media also provides guidance, support, direction and access to training and skills development for media businesses and individuals, whilst championing the region as a filming location.
Historic Buildings
Historic assets are preserved by statutory designation; ‘listing’ or ‘scheduling’. Any building or monument can be recommended for listing or scheduling by a member of the public or by English Heritage. Assets are considered for designation against a range of criteria including rarity and, in the case of buildings, architectural interest. These are set out in planning policy guidance.
Lilleshall National Sports Academy
Sport England is continuing to hold discussions with stakeholders and other interested parties. No decision has so far been reached, and no date has been set—it is important that the chosen strategy is the most productive and sustainable one; for the site, for the area, and for sport as a whole.
Sport England is aware of the sensitivity of the issue, and of the time scales.
Olympic Lottery Game
No specific assessment has been made for or by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport of the actual impact of Olympic Lottery games on the sales of other National Lottery games. Sales performance and its analysis are matters for Camelot, the National Lottery operator and the independent regulator, the National Lottery Commission. Camelot is working to maximise sales of all Lottery products, including Olympic Lottery Games, and so minimise any impact that Olympic Lottery Games sales may have on income for the other good causes. The NLC and Camelot monitor sales closely and quarterly reports of returns to good causes, including the Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund, are published on the NLC’s website—www.nationallotterycommission.gov.uk. The next such report is due to be published on 31 January.
Performing Arts
The figures are as follows:
Grant in aid Lottery Total 2001-02 168.61 79.10 247.71 2002-03 191.07 60.88 251.95 2003-04 216.85 107.04 323.89 2004-05 235.80 173.47 409.27 2005-06 251.80 80.05 331.85
The figures are as follows:
£ million 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Grant in Aid 58.61 71.67 86.32 92.06 96.06 Lottery 15.71 7.82 30.10 100.71 26.16 Total 74.32 79.49 116.42 192.76 122.22
£ million 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Grant in Aid 30.73 34.23 36.81 40.60 44.37 Lottery 10.99 5.00 17.90 13.03 9.21 Total 41.72 39.23 54.72 53.63 53.58
£ million 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Grant in Aid 37.89 40.21 42.14 45.66 48.14 Lottery 1.00 0.20 10.77 1.04 5.19 Total 38.89 40.41 52.91 46.70 53.33
Sporting Village: Chorley
Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State nor I have held discussions in relation to a ‘sports village’ in Chorley.
However, Sport England are currently assessing the potential of the ‘sports villages’ concept to provide a new model for sustainable sports facilities that could be used by local authorities across the country.
Swimming
£3.6 million is being provided by Sport England to the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) for the financial year 2005-06 through Whole Sport Plans. Approximately half of this funding is to boost grassroots participation in swimming. Sport England is also working with the Department of Health and the ASA to draw together best practice guidance in the provision of free swimming for key target groups, including children and older people to increase community participation.
Swimming also has a significant role to play within the national strategy for PE, School Sport and Club Links, delivered jointly with the Department for Education and Skills. In April 2006 the top up swimming scheme was launched. It is investing £5.5 million over two years to support pupils to swim 25 metres before they finish primary school. A further £742,000 is being invested in 2006-08 with the ASA through National School Sport programmes; Club Links and Step into Sport.
Television Licence
The settlement is for six years, with annual increases in the licence fee of 3 per cent. for the first two years and 2 per cent. in years three, four and five. There will be an increase in the sixth year of up to 2 per cent., depending on a further review nearer the time.
Total licence fee income is estimated at £3.4 billion, £3.5 billion, £3.6 billion, £3.7 billion, £3.8 billion and up to £3.9 billion in years one to six respectively.
Theatres
The figures are as follows:
Grant in aid Lottery Total 2001-02 58.61 15.71 74.32 2002-03 71.67 7.82 79.49 2003-04 86.32 30.10 116.42 2004-05 92.06 100.71 192.76 2005-06 96.06 26.16 122.22
Tourism
The following table shows the regional breakdown of spending by overseas visitors to the UK in 2005.
Region Spending (£ million) London 6,859 North East 206 North West 883 Yorkshire 387 West Midlands 533 East Midlands 365 East of England 709 South West 868 South East 1,470 Total England1 12,302 Scotland 1,208 Wales 311 Northern Ireland 131 Total UK1 14,122 1 Totals may include elements of expenditure that are not attributable to a particular region. Source: International Passenger Survey (ONS)
The following table shows the number of visits to the UK by overseas residents since 1997.
Total visits (Thousand) 1997 25,515 1998 25,745 1999 25,394 2000 25,209 2001 22,835 2002 24,180 2003 24,715 2004 27,755 2005 29,970 Source: International Passenger Survey (ONS)
(2) what steps her Department is taking to promote domestic tourism within the UK; and if she will make a statement.
The Department funds VisitBritain to market England to the British and Britain to the rest of the world. VisitBritain received £50 million in grant-in-aid for 2006-07 of which £13.4 million has been allocated for the purpose of domestic marketing. (VisitBritain's marketing activities include the EnglandNet project, which provides comprehensive information for both domestic and overseas visitors, with facilities for live booking of accommodation and other services.)
The Department works closely with regional and local government, supporting and promoting both domestic and international tourism. It currently contributes £3.6 million a year to the regional development agencies to support tourism in the regions, and £1.9 million a year to the Greater London Authority to support the Mayor's statutory tourism duties.
Visit Britain publishes forecasts for the volume and value of inbound tourism for the year ahead. These forecasts are approved by DCMS.
Forecasts released in November 2006 estimated that the volume and value of inbound tourism will grow by around 4 per cent. during 2007, with 32.5 million visitors expected to spend £15.8 billion. This is an aggregate forecast regardless of purpose of visit.
Full detail of the Visit Britain forecasts can be found at:
http://www.tourismtrade.org.uk/MarketIntelligenceResearch/TrendsForecasts.asp
I am arranging for details of VisitBritain Inbound Forecasts for 2007 to be placed in the House Libraries.
Due to the large number of factors that can influence the volume and value of inbound tourism over the longer term, no specific UK forecasts have yet been calculated for 2008 and 2009. However, we could expect to see growth of 3 per cent. per annum in line with the UN World Tourism Organisation forecasts for the whole of Europe.
Union Flag
There are no current plans to change the flag flying arrangements on Government buildings.
West Jesmond School
[holding answer 26 January 2007]: Advice on West Jesmond school was received from English Heritage on 22 January 2007. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will now consider this advice and we will inform the hon. Member as soon as a decision is reached.
Trade and Industry
BAE Systems
The recent announcement by the Attorney-General indicated that no weight had been given to commercial or national economic interests in the SFO decision to halt the investigation into BAE Systems and the Al Yamamah contract.
The Government remain extremely serious about tackling corruption. This decision sets no precedent of any kind and was made on legitimate public interest grounds.
DFID has funded a new International Corruption Group. This will provide the UK with a dedicated resource to investigate allegations of corruption and bribery by a UK citizen or company anywhere in the world. It will bring together the experience of the Serious Fraud Office and Serious Organised Crime Agency with the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police.
The Serious Fraud Office is currently investigating a number of other cases (including some relating to BAE Systems) where there are allegations of bribery or corruption abroad, as well as fraud. The Attorney-General has made clear to the director that he should pursue these cases vigorously and that no particular company is beyond the law or immune from action in this area.
I refer my hon. Friend to the oral statement made by my hon. Friend the Solicitor-General on 14 December 2006, Official Report, columns 1119-29:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cmhansrd/cm061214/debtext/61214-0021htm#column_1119
BBC
To date, the North West Development Agency has spent approximately £488,000 on:
strategic economic analysis and making the business case;
facilitating the site selection process in conjunction with the BBC and local partners;
undertaking a detailed economic appraisal of the basis of the agency's investment to facilitate the mediacity.uk project;
coordinating the activities of the key stakeholders;
ensuring an appropriate contractual framework is in place for delivery of the mediacity.uk project;
contribution to the costs of a sector skills development manager to develop the opportunities resulting from the project.
Business Links
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) have funded the Business Link service since 2000. The budget allocations for this have been as follows:
£ million 2000-01 138 2001-02 141 2002-03 147 2003-04 139 2004-05 140 2005-06 140 2006-07 140 Source: The Small Business Service Agency Annual Accounts and Reports.
Since April 2005, contracts for the delivery of Business Link services have been managed by the RDAs and provided by contracted organisations including chambers of commerce, private sector businesses and other non-departmental public sector bodies.
The aforementioned budgets represent only a portion of the total available to the service contractors. The total budget and expenditure by individual organisations can only be determined by the organisations themselves and I would encourage the hon. Member to approach them directly with this question.
It is worth noting that the budgets from the DTI are made available to the RDAs through their ‘single pot’ of money and are distributed in accordance with their regional economic strategies.
Departmental Expenditure
The main programme expenditure sponsored by the DTI and spent via the Government offices is through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which is European Union money that is used to add value to projects supported under DTI programmes. In 2004-05, DTI spending on ERDF projects in each of the Government offices was:
£ million North East 35.8 North West 51.8 Yorkshire and The Humber 99.5 East Midlands 10.5 West Midlands 48.5 East of England 9.4 London 5.3 South East 7.6 South West 10.0
In 2004-05, £100,000 was also disbursed to each of the English regions, mainly via Government offices, to support the development and delivery of strategic approaches to energy.
Departmental Hospitality
The information is as follows:
(a) Details of expenditure on hospitality and entertainment in 1996-97 for this Department could be made available only at disproportionate cost. However a global figure for Government expenditure by Ministers for official purposes can be found in my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's answer to my right hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham on 9 February 1998, Official Report, column 17W.
(b) For 2005-06 the total expenditure on hospitality and entertainment of this Department was £1,769k.
East Midlands Development Agency
This is a matter for Jeff Moore, chief executive of the East Midlands Development Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Foreign Trade Fairs
This information is not held centrally and therefore can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Hydrogen is an ‘energy carrier’ rather than a fuel source as, like electricity, it can only be produced using energy.
Hydrogen can be used in:
a fuel cell, where it produces zero emissions at the point of use
normal combustion, (e.g. in an internal combustion engine)
In 2004, the Department of Trade and Industry, commissioned analysis from the energy consultants E4Tech, Element Energy, and Eoin Lees. This analysis indicates that for the UK, the use of hydrogen as a transport fuel offers significant opportunities for cost-competitive CO2 reduction by 2030. Six different types of transport energy chain have this potential and also offer increased energy security. None is readily available today and each would require significant changes to the energy system. However, they are sufficiently promising to be worth pursuing as energy options for the UK. This analysis was published on the Department's website and can be found at:
http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sources/sustainable/hydrogen/page26734.html.
On 15 June 2005, the Government responded to this analysis and published a “A Strategic Framework for Hydrogen Energy Activity in the UK” which included a funding package worth £15 million over four years for a UK wide hydrogen and fuel cell demonstration programme. The first call for proposals for the demonstration scheme has now closed and I anticipate that a second call for proposals will operate in 12-18 months time. Further information is available on the scheme's website:
http://www.hfccat-demo.org/
Currently, the Department of Trade and Industry supports industrial collaborative research and development for fuel cell and hydrogen technologies through the Technology programme. Bids specifically for hydrogen technologies have been invited since April 2005. The programme seeks to advance these technologies for both stationary power generation and transport applications, with a view to achieving the cost reductions and performance levels necessary for commercial deployment. This support currently amounts to approximately £2-3 million per annum.
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), including through the SUPERGEN initiative, support basic research in universities on both fuel cells and hydrogen. SUPERGEN supports the UK Sustainable Hydrogen Energy Consortium (UK SHEC) which has received funding of £2.5 million. This programme is supporting projects on: hydrogen generation; hydrogen storage; and socio-economic implications for a hydrogen economy.
EPSRC also supports the separate Fuel Cell SUPERGEN consortia. This is a four-year programme which began on 1 September 2005. This consortium is supported with funding of £2.085 million.
In addition to SUPERGEN, EPSRC has awarded £1 million to investigate the potential role of formic acid as a chemical method for the storage of hydrogen. £500,000 has been granted to three projects on fundamental science and engineering relevant to hydrogen technologies. EPSRC also contributes to projects through the DTI’s Technology programme.
The Government have also provided funding of over £450,000 for the trial of three hydrogen-powered fuel cell buses in London as part of the EU CUTE (Clean Urban Transport in Europe) project. £6.5 million of funding has been provided for the fuel cell and low carbon vehicle technology centre of excellence (CENEX) based in Loughborough.
Insolvency
Individual insolvencies are made up of bankruptcy orders and individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs). The various provisions of the Insolvency Act 2000 came into force on two separate dates, namely 1 April 2001 and 1 January 2003. The annual numbers of individual insolvencies in England and Wales can be seen in the following table.
Bankruptcy orders IVAs Total 1994 25,634 5,105 30,739 1995 21,933 4,386 26,319 1996 21,803 4,468 26,271 1997 19,892 4,549 24,441 1998 19,647 4,902 24,549 1999 21,611 7,195 28,806 2000 21,550 7,978 29,528 2001 23,477 6,298 29,775 2002 24,292 6,295 30,587 2003 28,021 7,583 35,604 2004 35,898 10,752 46,650 2005 47,291 20,293 67,584
Ofcom
(2) how many infringements of spectrum use Ofcom policing of spectrum recorded in (a) 2003, (b) 2004, (c) 2005 and (d) 2006; and if he will make a statement;
(3) how much was spent on Ofcom’s policing of spectrum against unlicensed use in (a) 2003, (b) 2004, (c) 2005 and (d) 2006; and if he will make a statement;
(4) how many prosecutions of unlicensed spectrum use Ofcom brought in (a) 2003, (b) 2004, (c) 2005 and (d) 2006; how many of those were successful; what penalties were imposed on offenders; and if he will make a statement.
The matter raised is the responsibility of the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which is accountable to Parliament rather than Ministers. Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the chief executive’s letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Regional Development Initiatives
The regional development agencies include information about their spend on various initiatives in their annual reports, but do not record the proportion of their spend in terms of initiatives which are region-wide or those specifically targeted within the region.
Regional Venture Funds
The Regional Development Agencies have a number of programmes aimed at improving the provision of venture capital to promote economic development within their regions. The following tables show the total budget and actual expenditure, for regional venture funds only, for each of the Regional Development Agencies funded from within their core funding from 2000-01 to the current financial year.
2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 RDA Budget Actual spend Budget Actual spend Budget Actual spend Budget Actual spend Advantage West Midlands 0 0 0.2 0.2 2 2 4 4 East of England Development Agency 0 0 0 0 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.1 East Midlands Development Agency 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 London Development Agency 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 North West Development Agency 0 0 0.3 0.3 1 1 3 3 One North East 0.5 0.5 0 0 0 0 9 9 South East England Development Agency 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 South West Development Agency 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Yorkshire Forward 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 5
2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 RDA Budget Actual spend Budget Actual spend Budget Actual spend to date Advantage West Midlands 0 0.1 10 10 8 7 East of England Development Agency 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.3 0 0 East Midlands Development Agency 0 0 0 0 2 2 London Development Agency 0 0 2 2 5 3 North West Development Agency 4 4 3 3 2 1 One North East 0 0 0 0 8 1 South East England Development Agency 0.2 0.2 0.9 0.9 1 0.5 South West Development Agency 0 0 0 0 0 0 Yorkshire Forward 0 0 1 1 0.5 0.3
In addition, the DTI has also established funds in each of the regions under the Regional Venture Capital Fund programme. These funds address the equity gap, a national market failure in the provision of venture capital, through measures which include local management of investment.
Trade Union Strikes
It is not known how many working days have been lost due to trade union strikes in each of the last nine years. However, the following table gives the number of working days lost due to all labour disputes from 1997 to 2005. Labour disputes include official and unofficial strikes and cases of ‘lock-outs’, that is, where an employer prevents their employees from working by refusing entry to the place of work.
Working days lost (Thousand) 1997 235 1998 282 1999 242 2000 499 2001 525 2002 1323 2003 499 2004 905 2005 157 Source: Office for National Statistics, Labour Disputes Inquiry
It is not known how many working days have been lost due to trade union strikes in each of the last 12 months. However, the following table gives the number of working days lost due to all labour disputes in each of the last 12 months. Labour disputes include official and unofficial strikes and cases of 'lock-outs', that is, where an employer prevents their employees from working by refusing entry to the place of work.
Working days lost (Thousand) 2005 December 15 2006 January 177 February 114 March 1482 April 13 May 183 June 16 July 111 August 16 September 123 October 113 November 124 Cumulative total 12 months to November 20062 1756 1 Provisional. 2 The latest 12-month cumulative total will not necessarily equal the sum of the 12 months as some disputes continue for over one month. These disputes appear in each month's data, but only once in the total. Source: Office for National Statistics, Labour Disputes Inquiry.
Trading Relations
UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) is the Government organisation that supports companies in the UK doing business internationally and overseas enterprises seeking to locate in the UK. India is recognised in the UKTI corporate strategy as a high growth market offering both promising business opportunities and significant challenges to UK companies.
At the regional level, UKTI and the East Midlands Development Agency are working with private and public sector partners to develop a strategy aimed at matching capacity and capability in the east Midlands with opportunities in the Indian market. UKTI ensure individual clients have the support they need to assess opportunities in this market. As well as advice and guidance from international trade advisers, there is also the opportunity to access market information and themed events run by East Midlands International Trade Association project. Also, groups of companies are taken from the region to India to explore business opportunities first hand. UKTI's trade portal also contains a great deal of relevant information.
UKTI’s inward investment activity is delivered through the regional development agencies. India is recognised within the East Midlands Development Agency's foreign direct investment strategy as a key market. In line with the regional economic strategy, Emda will target inward investment opportunities within the transport technologies and transport equipment sectors. Emda, in collaboration with Advantage West Midlands, currently employs one full-time representative in Mumbai.
The Leicestershire-India Trade Bureau (LITB) is a project established with devolved Emda funding to promote trade and business cooperation between Leicestershire and India with specific emphasis on the state of Gujarat.
The bureau provides an information service that can identify suitable business opportunities and act as a business ‘marriage’ broker. It also raises awareness amongst Leicestershire companies of the potential of Gujarat and India as an export market. UKTI and Emda are considering the establishment of an East Midlands India Bureau with a wider and more regional remit next year.
UK Civil Plutonium and Uranium
Quality checking procedures are currently being enhanced by the operator concerned to include a peer check and independent verification prior to publication of the annual statement. The aim of these enhanced measures is to verify that material is assigned to the appropriate category and to confirm any significant changes to the figures from the previous year. The enhanced measures will be in place by early February 2007.
Home Department
Animal Rights Extremists
[holding answer 25 January 2007]: No animal rights extremist has been charged under the Terrorism Act 2000 or the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005. However, should the activities of animal rights extremists, or any other individual or group, meet the required threshold of terrorism contained within the Acts, it is entirely possible that those Acts could be used. It is the remit of the police and Crown Prosecution Service to select the most appropriate charge in individual cases. To date, offences under other legislation including the relatively new economic damage offences in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 have been more appropriate for bringing charges, and there have been a number of convictions of leading animal rights extremists.
Antisocial Behaviour Orders and Individual Support Orders
Since 1 June 2000, from copies of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) received, we are able to determine the local government authority (lga) area in which prohibitions have been imposed within orders.
The number of ASBOs issued where prohibitions have been imposed in the Leicester city council lga area, from 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2005 (latest available), for persons aged 10 to 17 is 27. For persons aged between 18 and 24 the total number issued is 15 and for persons aged 25 years and over the number is 27. A further two orders have been issued to persons for whom age details have not been reported.
(2) how many individual support orders were issued in each year since May 2004;
(3) how many and what proportion of anti-social behaviour orders issued since May 2004 have had an individual support order attached to them;
(4) what assessment he has made of the take-up of individual support orders (a) prior to and (b) since June 2005.
Data on the number of antisocial behaviour orders issued at all courts are currently available up to 31 December 2005. The power to make intervention orders came into effect on 1 October 2006. A new national system for collecting data on ASBOs is scheduled for implementation from 1 April, and will incorporate new reporting requirements, e.g. intervention orders.
Individual support orders (ISOs) can be issued to persons aged 10-17 in addition to an antisocial behaviour order at civil proceedings at the magistrates court. The number of ISOs issued in 2004 (from 1 May), as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, is seven. This is 2 per cent. of the number of ASBOs issued to 10-17 year olds at civil proceedings at the magistrates court during the same period. The equivalent figures for 2005 are 42 and 7 per cent. respectively.
Concerted action is under way by the Home Office, the Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Youth Justice Board and practitioners to increase the take up of ISOs. Following meetings with practitioners around the country at the beginning of 2006 an action plan was devised. This included reinforcing information on ISOs on key practitioner websites such as the Together Actionline and the Youth Justice Board's, promoting ISOs at a series of practitioner events and conferences, including the Respect Academies that took place throughout last summer, success stories researched and published on the Together website and an article on ISOs published in the March 2006 edition of The Magistrate to reach all magistrates nationally. Longer term funding for the use of ISOs from 2006 was included in the £45 million prevention fund to youth offending teams.
We are about to embark on a three-month survey of the 60 Respect action areas, the outcome of which is intended to provide information about the use of ISOs and other interventions that young people may be receiving to help them address their antisocial behaviour.
Information about enforcement related to antisocial behaviour orders is not collected centrally. ASBO breach data held centrally are available only at Criminal Justice System (CJS) Area level.
Asylum Seekers
Information on the number of asylum seekers who have exhausted all appeals and registered with local authorities support teams is not collected by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.
Information on the numbers of asylum seekers who have exhausted all avenues of appeal in particular areas of the UK is unavailable.
[holding answer 25 January 2007]: The criteria for granting refugee status to Iraqis, and other nationals, arriving in the UK are set out in the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, which are interpreted in domestic law in Part 11 of the Immigration Rules and in the Refugee or Person in Need of International Protection (Qualification) Regulations 2006 (SI 2525/2006).
A copy of the Convention can be found at
http://www.unhcr.org/directory.html.
A copy of the Immigration Rules can be found at
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/lawandpolicy/immigrationrules/.
A copy of the Regulation can be found at
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2006/uksi_20062525_en.pdf.
Between January and September 2006, the latest published information indicates that 3 per cent. of initial decisions made in respect of Iraqi nationals were grants of asylum. Figures are provisional and relate to principal applicants only. Information on asylum applications, initial decisions and appeals by nationality are published quarterly and annually. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
Staff are either recruited externally through fair and open competition in compliance with the Civil Service Commissioners Code or selected from amongst existing staff within the Home Office or other Government Departments.
Depending upon the grade, candidates may have to satisfy academic requirements and / or undergo an assessment process including psychometric testing. Once recommended for appointment, prospective employees are subject to a range of pre employment checks including nationality and residence verification, immigration record checks and national security vetting.
The Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) has passport banks located throughout the United Kingdom at Local Enforcement Offices (LEOs) and other IND buildings. Each office keeps manual records of the passports contained within them.
If a passport is found by police during an operation, unless it is required for a police investigation, it will be handed to an Immigration Officer, if in attendance, or to the appropriate LEO.
(2) how many asylum seekers were detained in dawn raids before 8.00 am in each month of the last two years.
The Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) do not conduct ‘raids’ against asylum seekers. IND enforcement officers undertake operational visits to detain and remove persons who no longer have the right to remain in the United Kingdom (UK) and do so in line with operational policy and guidance.
I am advised by the director general IND that internet records relating to the number of enforcement visits conducted are only readily available since 1 April 2005.
Records indicate that 3,5591 unsuccessful asylum seekers were arrested as a result of enforcement visits that commenced before 8.00 am. 92 per cent. of these arrests took place between the hours of 6.00 and 8.00 am. A breakdown of the number of arrests per month is set out in annex A.
Records indicate that since 1 April 2005 until 16 January 2007, 1,3731 minors were detained as a result of enforcement visits that commenced before 8.00 am. 93 per cent. of these arrests took place between 06.00 and 08.00. 5231 minors were detained (between 1 April 2005-21 December 2005), 8031 minors were detained in 2006 and 47 minors have been detained up to 16 January 2007.
The relatively high number of minors detained before 8.00 am reflects that if it is necessary for IND to enforce the removal of a family then in the interests of health and safety and to help minimise disruption, the visit will normally take place early in the morning when the family is most likely to be together. Visits will not normally take place before 6.30 am unless it is considered necessary. (The Family Removal Policy (EPU 2/06) is publicly available on the IND website.)
1 This is derived from provisional local management information which may be subject to change.
Number of arrests April 2005 97 May 2005 213 June 2005 123 July 2005 157 August 2005 143 September 2005 144 October 2005 192 November 2005 226 December 2005 143 January 2006 149 February 2006 161 March 2006 224 April 2006 229 May 2006 175 June 2006 106 July 2006 153 August 2006 118 September 2006 135 October 2006 221 November 2006 232 December 2006 106 Up to 16 January 2007 112 Total 3,559
Electronic records relating to asylum applications are stored on the Case Information Database (CID). Records for many of the asylum cases which pre-dated the introduction of CID were later transferred to the system in bulk and contained default application dates. Several hundred of the oldest cases fall into this category and the individual paper files for each of them would have to be checked to identify the oldest outstanding case. Such checking would be at disproportionate cost.
No figures are kept on the cost of supporting asylum seekers who are subsequently deported. These figures could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
British Citizens: Convictions Abroad
[holding answer 16 January 2007]: Recent events have made clear the complexity of the issues faced across Government and beyond. This is not helped by the differences in systems, procedures and criteria for recording and using for public protection, information about criminality in this country and outside the UK. I have therefore instigated a Government wide review of the way in which such information is shared and used.
British Citizenship
Citizenship has been revoked in one case. It was considered by my right hon. Friend that this was conducive to the public good. The case was terrorism-related.
Those applying for naturalisation as British citizens are expected to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of English and of Life in the United Kingdom. This can be demonstrated by either passing a Life In the UK Test or by successfully completing an approved ESOL with citizenship course. Applicants can also claim exemption from the requirement on the grounds of age or long term physical or mental illness.
Nobody has been granted British citizenship by naturalisation since this requirement was introduced without providing evidence that the requirement is satisfied or by being granted exemption from the requirement.
Conviction Notifications
The latest available information was set out in my statements to the House of Commons dated 10 January and 16 January, and in the Home Office press statement issued on 13 January
Recent events have made clear the complexity of the issues faced across Government and beyond. This is not helped by the differences in the systems, procedures and criteria for recording and using, for public protection, information about criminality in this country and outside the UK. I have therefore instigated a Government wide review of the way in which such information is shared and used.
Correspondence
I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 23 November 2006 but I understand that my right hon. Friend has not received this correspondence. The letter will be reissued.
Criminal Justice Act
[holding answer 25 January 2007]: I have been asked to reply.
No statistical data is kept in relation to the number of convicted murderers who have had their tariff set after sentencing since the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
[holding answer 25 January 2007]: I have been asked to reply.
The position as at 23 January 2007 is that there are 313 cases waiting to have their tariff set by a High Court judge.
Criminal Record Exchange
The latest available information was set out in my statements to the House of Commons dated 10 January and 16 January, and in the Home Office press statement issued on 13 January.
The latest information was set out in my statements to the House of Commons dated 10 January and 16 January, and in the Home Office press statement issued on 13 January.
I have asked for an urgent operational response involving the Association of Chief Police Officers, Criminal Records Bureau, Prisons and Probation in order to clear the backlog of overseas convictions notifications and have asked the Permanent Secretary of the Home Office to set up an inquiry into the Home Office's handling of these notifications. This will include a chronology of events, the practices and procedures in place at different times, whether appropriate action was taken; and the lessons to be learned.
Criminal Records Backlog
[holding answer 15 January 2007]: The latest available information was set out in my statements to the House of Commons dated 10 January and 16 January, and in the Home Office press statement issued on 13 January.
[holding answer 17 January 2007]: The latest available information was set out in my statements to the House of Commons dated 10 January and 16 January, and in the Home Office press statement issued on 13 January.
(2) how many of the 260 most serious offenders are working (i) with children, (ii) in the education system, (iii) in the NHS, (iv) with the elderly and (v) with disabled people;
(3) how many of the 260 most serious offenders now entered into the Police National Computer have re-offended since notifications were made;
(4) what estimate he has made of the number of British criminals convicted in non-Council of Europe countries who have been able to return to the UK without being registered on the Police National Computer;
(5) how many Association of Chief Police Officers staff have job responsibilities for clearing the backlog of 27,529 files; and how many had such responsibilities before 10 January;
(6) how many of the 260 of the most serious offenders whose files are on the Police National Computer the Criminal Records Bureau had checked on 12th January.
The latest available information was set out in my statements to the House of Commons dated 10 January and 16 January, and in the Home Office press statement issued on 13 January.
Custody Cells
The provision of policy custody accommodation is an operational matter for the chief constable.
Departmental Expenditure
The Crime and Drugs Directorate of the Home Office has recorded the following programme expenditure across the Government Office Network and Wales, for the 2004-05 financial year.
The hon. Member may wish to be aware that, for 2006-07 and beyond, the Building Safer Communities Fund, (included within the 2004-05 programme spend figures in table) will form part of the Safer and Stronger Communities Fund. This is a pooled budget with contributions from the Home Office and the Department for Communities and Local Government and will no longer be expended through the Government Office Network in England.
Government office for 2004-05 programme expenditure £000 Wales 6,423 London 21,839 North West 18,025 North East 7,409 West Midlands 12,961 East Midland 11,104 Yorkshire and Humberside 13,068 East 10,651 South East 15,355 South West 10,456 Total 127,291
Dog Fighting
The information on arrests is not available. Information on arrests held centrally by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform covers persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences), by age group, gender, ethnicity and main offence group only within the 43 police force areas in England and Wales.
Data held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform court proceedings database for the number of defendants convicted of cruelty to animals within the Leicestershire Police force area, 2001-05 can be found in the attached table. Information held centrally does not enable offences relating to dog fighting to be separately identified from other offences involving cruelty to animals.
Force/Area 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Leicester local justice area 8 16 13 7 10 Other local Justice Areas within Leicestershire police force area 5 2 10 7 4 Total (Leicestershire police force area) 13 18 23 14 14 1 These data are on the principal offence basis. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 It is not possible to separately identify those offences which relate to dog fighting. Source: RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform
Domestic Violence
The British Crime Survey (BCS) routinely provides information on the number of incidents of domestic violence in England and Wales, but this is not broken down by region or police force area.
The 2005-06 British Crime Survey estimated that there were in total 357,000 incidents of domestic violence in England and Wales. The number of incidents of domestic violence as measured by the BCS has decreased by 43 per cent. from 2001-02 to 2005-06 BCS interviews.
England and Wales Number 2001-02 626,000 2002-03 506,000 2003-04 447,000 2004-05 401,000 2005-06 357,000 Source: 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 British Crime Surveys
Dr. Andrew Lutakome Kayiira
Publication of the report is a matter for the Government of Uganda.
Drink-driving
[holding answer 25 January 2007]: Sentencing guidelines for the ‘drink driving’ offences that are triable on summary conviction only (that is triable only in the magistrates courts) are included in the Magistrates Courts Sentencing Guidelines. These guidelines do not currently have any statutory force. However, they are in the process of being reviewed by the Sentencing Guidelines Council (SGC), who now have responsibility for them. When the new guidelines are finalised, courts will be required to have regard to them or state the reasons for departing from them.
The Sentencing Guidelines Council will prepare a guideline on the indictable only (i.e. triable in the Crown Court only) offence of causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs in due course.
Eagle Base: Bosnia
The Home Office does not have any record with (a) being posted to, or (b) visiting Eagle Base in Tuzla, Bosnia since September 2001.
Exit Checks
Selective intelligence-led embarkation controls continue to take place at major ports to identify failed asylum seekers and other immigration offenders who are leaving the UK. We also retain the capacity to set up more extensive targeted controls at short notice when required.
The e-Borders programme, scheduled to commence in 2008, will strengthen and modernise our border control and provide an electronic record of those entering and leaving the UK.
Extraditions
Recent events have made clear the complexity of the issues faced across government and beyond. This is not helped by the differences in systems, procedures and criteria for recording and using for public protection, information about criminality in this country and outside the UK. I have therefore instigated a government-wide review of the way in which information is shared and used.
Foreign National Criminals
[holding answer 15 January 2007]: The latest available information was set out in my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary's statements to the House of Commons dated 10 January and 16 January, and in the Home Office statement issued on 13 January.
Foreign National Prisoners
[holding answer 27 November 2006]: None.
[holding answer 25 January 2007): The requested information is not centrally recorded and could be obtained only by an examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.
Information on the numbers of foreign national prisoners held in prison establishments in England and Wales, broken by (a) European Union and (b) other countries, and security category of prison establishment, can be found in the table.
The data, which are obtained from the prison IT system, are not shown separately by nationality within individual prison establishment because the numbers are small and the accuracy at this level of detail cannot be guaranteed.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual the figures may not be accurate to that level.
Prison main function All EU countries Non-EU countries All 11,083 2,332 8,750 Category B 1,078 224 854 Category C 3,235 670 2,566 High security 292 61 230 Female closed 211 52 160 Female local 381 82 299 Female open 15 5 10 Male closed young offender 615 96 519 Male juvenile 117 15 102 Male local 4,225 1,018 3,207 Male open 127 48 79 Semi open 788 62 726
(2) what the reasons were for the delays in releasing foreign national detainees who have completed their sentence at HMP Chelmsford; and if he will make a statement.
Using data stored on the Prison IT system, comprehensive information on discharges is not available, and providing information based on manually stored records could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.
Harmondsworth
The contract between the Secretary of State for the Home Department and Harmondsworth Detention Services Ltd. contains a range of remedies. In addition to a right of set off, there is also a mechanism for compensating the authority for performance failures.
The contract does contain provisions allowing the authority to terminate the contract in certain circumstances. If the breach of contract is capable of being remedied, the contractor must be given an opportunity to rectify the breach before it is possible to proceed to termination.
Identity and Passport Service
I can confirm that a copy of the research conducted into the location of the 69 Identity and Passport Service local offices will be placed in the Library within the next two weeks.
The Identity and Passport Service has not shared data with private organisations in the last two years.
The Identity and Passport Service does not have ‘panic rooms’ in any of its offices. IPS interview offices are no different to those of most organisations dealing with the public in having a secure back office area for administrative purposes. Staff can move to this area from the public area should there ever be an incident.
The company contracted to provide IPS with offices for its Interview Office Network incorrectly used ‘panic rooms’ to describe this office space in plans lodged with planning authorities in three locations.
Identity Theft
The information requested is not available centrally. Offences of identity theft cannot be separately identified in the recorded crime series.
The information requested is not available centrally. Offences of identity fraud cannot be separately identified in the recorded crime series.
Immigration and Nationality Directorate
All allegations of criminal behaviour by Immigration and Nationality Directorate officials are reported to the police.
The oldest outstanding complaint has a target date of 21 October 2005. The complaint is expected to be answered within the next two to three working days.
The team dealing with this case is aware of the need to reduce the number of outstanding complaints and is taking steps to reduce waiting times.
Indefinite Leave to Remain
[holding answer 15 January 2007]: Managed Migration Directorate aim to decide applications according to their published service standards. These are to despatch 70 per cent. of charged postal applications within 20 working days and 90 per cent. within 70 working days. For non-charged postal applications, they aim to despatch 25 per cent. within 20 working days and 30 per cent. within 70 working days. Straightforward applications for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) are completed within this timescale, though more complex cases may take longer. There are no plans at present to reduce the time taken to determine indefinite leave to remain applications. The Asylum Casework Directorate has processed the great majority of family indefinite leave to remain cases and has no plans at present to assess the time required to resolve those that remain outstanding. Information on the Asylum Directorate's family ILR exercise is published quarterly and annually and is available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
Informants: Prisons
No separate training records are held for managers trained before 2006. In 2004-05, 263 HM Prison Service staff were trained and 64 staff received training in 2005-06.
In 2006,16 managers received a pilot of a new training package. The new package will be available for staff from March 2007. Awareness sessions have also been provided to governors and area managers in 2006-07.
Islamic Sharia Council
[holding answer 22 January 2007]: Inquiries across the Department regarding meetings with the Islamic Sharia Council, have only revealed that the Muslim Adviser to the Prison Service had two meetings with the Islamic Sharia Council on 18 October 2005 at the House of Lords and 11 November 2005 at St. George’s College in Windsor.
Milton Keynes Basic Command Unit
Recorded crime by police basic command unit was collected centrally for the first time for the period beginning April 1999. For the year 1999-2000 data related to six selected offence groups only. Information for those selected offence groups are given in the table.
1999-2000 2000-01 Percentage change 1999-2000 to 2000-01 2001-02 Percentage change 2000-01 to 2001-02 Violence against the person 1,790 2,060 15 2,387 16 Sexual offences 158 159 1 168 6 Robbery 170 199 17 286 44 Burglary in a dwelling 1,809 1,202 -34 1,222 2 Theft from a vehicle 4,161 2,394 -42 2,960 24 Theft or unauthorised taking of motor vehicle 2,184 1,528 -30 1,411 -8
2002-031 2003-041 Percentage change 2002-03 to 2003-04 2004-051 Percentage change 2003-04 to 2004-05 2005-061 Percentage change 2004-05 to 2005-06 Violence against the person 3,257 3,512 8 4,881 39 5,373 10 Sexual offences 227 241 6 364 51 305 -16 Robbery 213 282 32 258 -9 290 12 Burglary in a dwelling 1,315 1,171 -11 965 -18 990 3 Theft from a vehicle 2,533 2,382 -6 2,555 7 2,334 -9 Theft or unauthorised taking of motor vehicle 1,137 1,107 -3 1,020 -8 846 -17 1 Data not comparable with earlier years following the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standards (NCRS) in April 2002.
Overseas Offences
[holding answer 18 January 2007]: This information is not held in the form requested and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Parliamentary Questions
[holding answer 18 December 2006]: I replied to the hon. Member (a) on 14 December 2006, Official Report, column 1328W; (b) on 23 January 2007, Official Report, column 1693W.
My hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, North (Joan Ryan) replied to (c) on 18 January 2007, Official Report, column 1291W.
Prisoners and Detainees: False Addresses
The information is not held in the requested format and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Prisons
The senior management team at Chelmsford prison is considering the best way to proceed with the installation of privacy screens. It is intended that work will begin in April 2007.
The information requested is not held centrally.
There are 33 double cells at Channings Wood; all of which have privacy screens around the lavatory.
The following table sets out how many prisoners have absconded from open prisons and escorts in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.
Accurate figures for recaptured prisoners are currently available only at a disproportionate cost. However, validation of management information has shown that around three quarters of all absconders are returned to prison within 12 months of absconding.
Number 1996-97 1,115 1997-98 1,056 1998-99 969 1999-2000 907 2000-01 787 2001-02 782 2002-03 950 2003-04 1,310 2004-05 877 2005-06 709
Public Sector Pensions
The Home Office calculates Cash Equivalent Transfer Values (CETV) for board level staff on an annual basis. The results for the core Department and Executive Agencies are published in the appropriate Annual Reports. When the exercise was completed for the financial year 2005-06, the top earners were employed primarily by the Home Office and Prison Service. Their annual reports can be found on official departmental websites using the following links. Details of CETV figures for staff in the Criminal Records Bureau and Identity and Passport Service can also be found online using the following links. Each annual report includes further information on the principles of CETV and the basis for their calculation.
Home Office Resource Accounts 2005-06 (pages 48 to 50 refer):
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/resource-accounts_0506?view=Binary
HMPS Annual Report and Accounts 2005-06 (pages 51 to 53 refer):
http://www.noms.homeoffice.gov.uk/news-publications-events/publications/strategy/HMPS_Annualreport_2006/hmps_audited_financial_accounts?view=Binary
Criminal Records Bureau Annual Report and Accounts 2005-06 (pages 24 to 26 refer):
http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc0506/hc15/1527/1527.pdf
United Kingdom Passport Service Annual Report and Accounts 2005-06 (pages 46 to 51 refer):
http://www.passport.gov.uk/downloads/HC1544_UKPS.pdf
Schengen Information System
This information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Statistics
[holding answer 16 January 2007]: A list of the titles of all of the National Statistics produced by each Department and Agency was placed in the Library of the House on 8 January 2007 to accompany the Second Reading of the Statistics and Registration Bill. An equivalent list was also placed on the National Statistics website. Theses list can be accessed using the following URL:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/ns_ons/nsproducts/default.asp
In addition to National Statistics, the Home Office publishes a wide range of other numerical information in a variety of forms including other data produced from the management and administration of the Department and in research reports. We are currently working to review this data, however there is not currently a complete centrally held list of all information published by the Home Office.
Street Robberies
[holding answer 24 January 2007]: The recorded crime statistics, collected centrally, relate to numbers of offences. The series does not contain information on victims or offenders.
Muggings are classified as robbery of personal property.
The available information is given in the following table:
Basic command unit Robbery of personal property Lancashire Central 204 Lancashire Eastern 183 Lancashire Northern 81 Lancashire Southern 88 Lancashire Western 171 Pennine 177 Total 904
Translation Services
Any document for which an operational need for translation arises, within the Department and any of its executive agencies, may be translated. A central record is not maintained historically.
Expenditure depends on patterns of language usage, and its variable demand in any period. No collated expenditure figure for all parts of the Department is maintained.
Trespass: Schools
Data on trespass are not collected centrally. Trespass is a summary offence and as such is not included in the recorded crime data series.
Under-age Drinking
The Home Office made available £350,000 for this campaign. Local Trading Standards areas were then invited to make bids to the Home Office for funding according to their own local assessment of their capacity to conduct test purchases and the number of test purchases they proposed to conduct. All of the bids received from local areas were approved. On the basis of work they then conducted, local trading standards areas have received £303,481 of Home Office funding in the current financial year.
Violent Crime: Public Transport
Violent crime data for each year since 1997 can be found in Home Office Statistical Bulletin No. 12/06 available online at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/hosbpubs1.html
From the information collected centrally it is not possible to identify where the violence occurred or the individual circumstances of the offence.
War Criminals
The UN War Crimes Commission’s lists of suspected war criminals were incorporated into the Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects (CROWCASS) created by the UK and USA in 1945. CROWCASS lists were issued to appropriate UK authorities and war crimes investigators at the time. The 1989 War Crimes Inquiry report also noted that the members of the 14th Waffen SS (Galizien) Division were later checked against the UNWCC lists before their civilianisation, although the report acknowledged that the UNWCC lists included few suspects identified from the territories controlled by the Soviet Union.
It would be an operational matter for the police to consider whether to search any particular records, but it is likely to be of limited evidential value unless conducted in the context of a particular criminal investigation. I understand that the police have searched for former members of the 14th Waffen SS Division still residing in the UK against the extensive database of persons suspected of war crimes held by the US Department of Justice Office of Special Investigations (OSI).
The Metropolitan police has the lead responsibility in the UK for the investigation of crimes against humanity, including allegations arising from the Second World War. The Crimes Against Humanity Unit has a core staff of two officers and administrative support drawn from the Anti-Terrorist Branch and additional resources are allocated according to operational requirements.
No specific allegation of war crimes has been received against any former member of the 14th Waffen SS (Galizien) Division resident in the UK. Police inquiries in 2003 indicated that 1,450 ex-Galizien were still resident in the UK. The Metropolitan police visited a sample 13 former members in 2005 to ascertain any information about crimes against humanity but no such crimes were disclosed.
There have not been any recent bi-lateral discussions with the countries listed about alleged Nazi war criminals in the UK, but officials from the Home Office have participated in meetings of the European Network of Contact Points on genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, most recently in May 2006, to exchange information and best practice with our European partners. Police investigators and prosecutors may also seek assistance from authorities in other countries to identify and prosecute war criminals using established procedures for police and judicial co-operation.
The Metropolitan Police made a request to the German authorities to establish whether they could supply details of any person in the UK whose pension had been withdrawn because of involvement in war crimes, but no information has been received to date.
Wildlife Crime Unit
This is a matter for the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.