Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 19 May 2009
Olympics
Departmental Computers
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East (Mr. Watson) on 21 April 2009, Official Report, columns 549-50W.
Figures for the Government Olympic Executive were included in the reply given by the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford, South (Mr. Sutcliffe) on 2 April 2009, Official Report, column 1377W.
Departmental Mobile Phones
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office, (Tom Watson) on 21 May 2009, Official Report, column 550W.
Figures for the Government Olympic Executive were included in the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Sport on 2 April 2009, Official Report, column 1377W.
Government Olympic Executive: Manpower
[holding answer 15 May 2009]: The number of staff (full-time equivalents (FTEs)) working in the Government Olympic Executive (GOE) and its predecessor, the Olympic Games Unit, has risen over the last five years as follows.
End of financial year Number of FTEs 2004-05 110 2005-06 130 2006-07 44.3 2007-08 62.3 2008-09 89.4 1 Approximately
This planned increase in staffing (a) reflects the wider role the GOE has taken on during this period—GOE is now the only organisation overseeing the entire Olympic project, integrating the work of multiple delivery bodies, and ensuring the Games is delivered within the £9.3 billion public sector funding provision; (b) is a planned response to the expected growth in work to deliver the Government's commitments and guarantees, as 2012 approaches; and (c) is consistent with GOE's staffing and resource plan for 2008-09 to 2010-11, which was agreed early in 2008.
GOE headcount is expected to peak this summer at about 95 FTE, as a result of the recent recruitment of interim resources to focus on an integrated delivery assurance project across the programme, after which it is expected to reduce towards 90 FTE. There are no plans for GOE headcount to grow further before 2012.
Government Olympic Executive: Operating Costs
[holding answer 15 May 2009]: The Government Olympic Executive (GOE) is responsible for overseeing the successful delivery of the entire London 2012 Games Programme, integrating the work of multiple delivery bodies, safeguarding and maximising the value of the Government's investment ensuring the Games is delivered within the £9.3 billion public sector funding provision, and maximising the benefits of the Games for the whole of the UK.
The expenditure of the GOE, part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and its predecessor, the Olympic Games Unit, for the completed financial years since 2004-05 are as follows:
£ million 2004-05 0.6 2005-06 1.4 2006-07 3.1 2007-08 5.4 2008-09 (provisional outturn) 7.9
This increase in expenditure over the period:
(a) reflects the increased role that the GOE has taken on during this period;
(b) is a planned response to the expected growth in work to deliver the Government's commitments and guarantees, to spread the benefits of the Games across the UK as 2012 approaches; and
(c) is consistent with GOE's staffing and resource plan for 2008-09 to 2010-11, agreed in early 2008.
Olympic Games 2012: Construction
(2) if she will make an assessment of the potential for further delays to the (a) construction of the North Olympic site and (b) landscaping deadlines for growing the plants required for the Olympic site;
(3) what recent representations she has received from the landscaping and horticultural firms contracted to provide services on the Olympic site on the effects on them of changes in the timetable for construction of the Olympic site;
(4) what assessment she has made of the likely effects on horticultural companies providing plants for the (a) North Olympic and (b) Olympic site of delays to construction at the Olympic site.
The overall construction programme for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games continues on track, with no delay in the construction of the Olympic Park or in the construction of the parklands in the North of the Park.
The delivery contractor, Bam Nuttall, is currently procuring a number of specialist subcontractors and suppliers through a series of packages and is on track to start delivery of the Northern parklands later this spring. The contracts for the hard and soft landscaping of the South Park are due for award later in 2009, with on-site work to start in early 2010. These are in line with planned dates for such contracts to be let.
Further to those packages already at an advanced stage of procurement, there will be many more opportunities for landscaping and horticultural suppliers registered on the London 2012 CompeteFor website in areas, including the supply of thousands of younger woodland trees, shrubs and other plants scheduled for planting nearer games-time.
In consultation with landscaping industry expertise (including the British Association of Landscape Industries, the Horticultural Trades Association, Greening the Games—an industry-wide lobby group—as well as expert industry contractors and suppliers) the Olympic Delivery Authority has given careful consideration to the number of growing seasons available for the plant stock proposed across the park and is confident that there is sufficient time to ensure an excellent games-time park.
Olympic Games 2012: Essex
The Government Olympic Executive has not made a specific assessment of the economic effects of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics on Essex or Southend West. However, the East of England stands to gain from the wide range of opportunities created by the London 2012 games. These include businesses winning games-related work, increased tourism and improved skills and employment opportunities. The games, including pre-games training camps, will enable regions to attract inward investment and showcase themselves on an international stage, and UK Trade and Investment are helping businesses to use 2012 as a springboard for export.
We are already seeing progress in a lot of these areas, for example 23 of the Olympic Delivery Authority's suppliers are businesses registered in Essex. Additionally, 66 facilities from the region, including Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre in Essex are included in the official London 2012 Pre-Games Training Camp Guide.
To the end of March 2009, 23 suppliers registered in Essex had been awarded contracts by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). Currently no businesses registered in Southend-on-Sea are directly supplying the ODA.
The East of England Development Agency recently organised a programme of events for the chairman of the ODA, John Armitt on 18 March, which included a visit to a major business conference at Colchester FC and meetings with companies in the region that have won work supplying the ODA. Details of this and similar events, and information on CompeteFor (the electronic brokerage service for buyers and suppliers) are provided in the business section of the London 2012 website:
www.london2012.com
Culture, Media and Sport
Departmental Air Conditioning
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has one building with an air conditioning system with greater than 250 kW of output. This air conditioning system will need to be inspected in accordance with the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations (2007/991). The inspection will be completed shortly.
Copies of the display energy certificates and their associated advisory reports in respect of each property occupied by my Department and its agencies have been deposited in the House Library.
Departmental Buildings
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport spent the following amounts on building maintenance in each of the last five years:
£ 2008-09 312,682.94 2007-08 495,747.01 2006-07 598,354.08 2005-06 512,458.73 2004-05 433,051.28
Departmental Pay
The information is as follows:
Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
Total pay bill was £24,534,890, of which 2.37 per cent. was used for non-consolidated in year and year end performance payments. These non-consolidated payments were paid to staff in the year 2008-09 for the performance year 2007-08. For the senior civil service (SCS), the size of the non-consolidated performance pay pot is based on recommendations by the independent senior salaries review body.
2008-09 All staff Senior civil service (SCS) staff Number of year end non-consolidated performance payments 221 25 Median (£) 1,200 7,000 Total cost (£) 499,647 254,750 Note: The permanent secretary also received a non-consolidated performance payment in 2008.
Royal Parks
Total pay bill was £4,458,312, of which 0.75 per cent. was used for non-consolidated in year and year end performance payments. These non-consolidated payments were paid to staff in the year 2008-09 for the performance year 2007-08.
2008-09 All staff Senior civil service (SCS) staff Number of year end non-consolidated performance payments 19 1— Median (£) 510 1— Total cost (£) 25,160 1— 1 This information is not available due to the small number of SCS staff involved (less than five).
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and its agency the Royal Parks make non consolidated payments to their staff to reward highly successful performance over a whole year (e.g. targets exceeded). All non-consolidated payments are funded within existing pay controls, have to be re-earned each year against pre-determined targets and as such do not add to future pay bill costs. This year the Government have responded positively to current economic conditions by freezing the size of the SCS ‘pot’ set aside for non-consolidated payments.
Industrial Health and Safety
The Department spent the following on compliance with requirements of health and safety at work legislation:
£ 2004-05 11,596.60 2005-06 28,451.75 2006-07 25,255.14 2007-08 30,355.26 2008-09 31,757.97
Mass Media: Ownership
There are no plans to commission research into the effects of foreign ownership on UK media outlets. However, Ofcom are currently conducting a review of the media ownership regime. Although this will not specifically consider foreign ownership, it will take a view on the ownership structures as a whole. This review will conclude later this year.
Sports: Disabled
[holding answer 1 April 2009]: Through the Physical Education and Sport Strategy for Young People (PESSYP), 250 multi-sports clubs were established in 2008-09, providing opportunities for young disabled people to take part in sport. The strategy aims to deliver a total of 450 new multi-sport clubs by 2011.
In addition, the Government have built on the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, setting down a clear framework that requires sports clubs to make reasonable adjustments to the way their services provide for disabled people and where necessary adjust the physical features of their premises.
Swimming
Sport England has commissioned the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) to deliver outcomes against Grow, Sustain and Excel. The ASA has been offered an award of £20,875,000 over the period 2009 to 2013 to drive these outcomes. Sport England is awaiting acceptance of this offer.
The ASA award agreement specifies that the ASA will grow the sport by 270,000 additional participants swimming for 30 minutes once a week (increasing the total of one x 30 16+ swimmers to 3,514,400) by 2012-13. It should be noted that Sport England’s overall growth target is to get 1 million more people playing sport for 30 minutes three times a week by 2012-13. Recognising that most people who achieve three x 30 minutes per week do so through a combination of different sports, the individual National Governing Bodies have therefore been given goals expressed in terms of one x 30 minutes per week that will aggregate together.
In addition, the ASA award agreement sets out that the ASA will increase the total number of young people (five to 19) participating in swimming clubs from 136,327 to 159,483 by 2012-13. These figures for young people refer to the number of young people participating in swimming clubs, not the number of young people participating in swimming more generally.
Television: Standards
The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Approximately 50 per cent. of the correspondence received by the Department on broadcasting is about content of which quite a large proportion is about the watershed.
VisitEngland: Finance
VisitBritain have confirmed that the total VisitEngland grant in aid budget for 2009-10, including VisitEngland’s proportion of shared costs with VisitBritain, is £11,724,000.
Of that budget VisitEngland has allocated £2,874,000 to administration and property costs.
Scotland
Departmental Billing
Industrial Health and Safety
Information is not available in the form requested. Details on the cost of compliance with requirements of health and safety at work legislation are not recorded in a way that such information could be disaggregated.
Wales
Departmental Pay
The Wales Office paid £6,000 in end-of-year performance bonuses to five staff. There were no payments to senior civil service staff.
Departmental Reviews
The Wales Office has adopted a project management approach to various tasks, such as implementation of the Government of Wales Act 2006, but not commissioned any external reviews or taskforces.
Employment Tribunals Service
Only one action under employment law has been brought against the Wales Office in the last three years to which a response has only recently been filed and therefore the matter has not yet progressed to employment tribunal stage.
Transport
Departmental Air Conditioning
The requested information is provided in the following table:
Organisational unit Number of buildings Number of inspections DFT Central London HQ1 2 1 Air Accidents Investigation Branch 0 n/a Rail Accident Investigation Branch 0 n/a Executive Agency Driving Standards Agency2 1 1 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency3 6 6 Government Car and Despatch Agency 0 n/a Highways Agency 7 28 Maritime and Coastguard Agency2 2 2 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency 0 n/a Vehicle Certification Agency 0 n/a 1 New chillers installed on certain units and due for installation at others. Inspection to be arranged. 2 Display Energy Certificate and Inspection Report placed in the Library. 3 The reports are currently with Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) for agreement due to the limited availability of assessors.
The Department for Transport will place in the Library a copy of the display energy certificates and their associated advisory reports in respect of each property occupied by the Department and its agencies.
Driving: Licensing
There is no requirement for applicants to routinely provide proof of their driver entitlement when applying for a replacement photocard licence. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will renew photocard licences that reflect the driving entitlement recorded on the applicant's driving record. On receipt of a new licence, drivers are asked to check the accuracy of the document and raise with DVLA any concerns they have. If the customer claims an entitlement that is not shown on the licence, DVLA will investigate.
Local Transport Act 2008
We will be consulting on draft regulations and guidance before the summer recess, with a view to bringing provisions into force by the end of the year.
Newhaven Marine Railway Station
Newhaven Marine station is owned by Network Rail and as such it is up to them to review options for the future of the station. If Network Rail were to conclude they wished to close this station they would be required to follow the procedures under the Railways Act 2005, including a full consultation.
Private Roads: Lancashire
The Department for Transport holds no record of the number of miles of unadopted roads in Lancashire. The last recorded figures based on a 1972 survey, suggested there were around 40,000 such roads within the UK. We have no information on how many of these roads have since been adopted or how many new unadopted roads have been created.
Railways: Finance
Details of historic passenger revenue and Government support are set out in “National Rail Trends” which is published by the Office of Rail Regulation.
An estimate of passenger revenue alongside planned Government support for the railway up until 2013-14 is set out in the White Paper, “Delivering a Sustainable Railway” which was published in July 2007. Copies of both documents are available in the Libraries of the House.
Railways: Franchises
In the event that a franchise is terminated the performance bond would be called. However, the bond can only be used to cover costs. As such if there are any funds left after those costs have been discharged we would have to repay the balance.
Meetings are held regularly with each train operating company (TOC) during the normal course of business. These include regular formal franchise performance meetings with each TOC every four weeks. There are also a range of meetings about various projects which impact on operations and working level meetings around specific aspects of franchise delivery.
During the normal course of business TOCs may request contract changes and derogations to the franchise agreement. However, the Department for Transport does not accept changes which amount to renegotiating terms of the franchise agreements.
Railways: Freight
There have been no discussions on rail freight transport with the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
To encourage the transfer of freight from road to rail we have recently announced additional funding of £67 million to the Sustainable Distribution Fund. £61 million of this is allocated to the capital budget from which the Freight Facilities Grant allocations are made.
In the last two years the Government have announced record levels of rail freight investment to support continued growth including £200 million towards the development of a Strategic Freight Network and over £150 million of funding towards the provision of infrastructure enhancement for freight through the Productivity Transport Innovation Fund.
Railways: South West
Analysis conducted as part of the franchise replacement process recommended the withdrawal of the four South Western services per weekday west of Exeter. From a National Rail perspective loss of revenue is minimal as there are alternative services operated by other train operators, with clear national financial benefit for this change of circa £5.5 million net present value (NPV) over the franchise. This will enable an hourly service to be introduced between Exeter and London Waterloo, a long held local and regional authority ambition, which will have a significant benefit to the Devon economy.
Roads: Accidents
I refer my right hon. Friend to my answer of 18 May 2009, Official Report, columns 1129-30W.
Transport: Exhaust Emissions
The Department for Transport is currently looking very closely at the best ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transport and has received representations from a number of groups advocating a Carbon Reduction Fund.
When making decisions about transport expenditure we aim to do so in a way that delivers across all of our goals as set out in the ‘Delivering a Sustainable Transport System’ consultation. In this context we will set out our policies and proposals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transport as part of our Carbon Reduction Strategy in the summer.
Northern Ireland
Crimes of Violence
That is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Departmental Buildings
The following table shows expenditure on building maintenance by the Northern Ireland Office, excluding its agencies and executive non-departmental public bodies, in each of the last five years:
Building maintenance (£000) 2004-05 2,727 2005-06 2,234 2006-07 2,600 2007-08 1,792 2008-09 2,760
Building maintenance includes work where the primary aim is routine repair and/or replacement of existing facilities.
Departmental Mobile Phones
In 2005, two mobiles belonging to civil servants were lost and one belonging to a special adviser was stolen. In 2006 two mobiles belonging to civil servants were lost. In 2007 six mobiles phones belonging to civil servants were lost.
In 2005, one BlackBerry belonging to a special adviser was stolen. No other phones or BlackBerrys were lost by Ministers, special advisers or civil servants.
Departmental Stationery
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) does not record details of expenditure under the descriptions requested therefore it would be possible to extract these costs only at disproportionate cost.
The Northern Ireland Office has a policy on the use of recycled paper for printing and copying which states that 100 per cent. recycled paper is mandatory.
In addition the Northern Ireland Office has a policy of recycling used ink cartridges.
Drugs: Seizures
That is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
House of Commons Commission
Catering
The House of Commons catering service estimates that it has used the following number of (a) Styrofoam and (b) plastic food service items in its cafeterias in each of 12 accounting periods from April 2008-March 2009:
(a) Styrofoam (i) food containers (ii) cutlery (iii) lids for drinks cups Period 1 0 8,450 22,200 6,000 Period 2 0 15,650 25,000 14,000 Period 3 67,150 31,849 108,100 46,000 Period 4 0 15,950 28,200 19,000 Period 5 11,000 11,050 51,000 23,000 Period 6 0 10,500 40,100 11,000 Period 7 0 2,550 16,000 7,000 Period 8 0 32,911 102,400 53,000 Period 9 0 12,750 39,100 34,000 Period 10 0 10,550 37,000 25,000 Period 11 0 13,550 58,000 50,000 Period 12 0 22,950 66,000 49,000 Total 2008-09 78,150 188,710 593,100 337,000
Styrofoam items were being phased out of use during 2008-09 but were re-introduced briefly during two periods due to technical issues with the replacement products. An estimated 300,000 cardboard cups were used during the year in replacement of Styrofoam cups previously used.
Work has also been done to reduce the environmental impact of plastic food service items used by the catering department. Over 40 per cent. of the plastic food containers listed above were made from recycled plastics and the total number of plastic food containers used in 2008-09 was reduced by an estimated 140,000 by switching to bio-degradable containers manufactured from a by-product of the sugar refining industry. The House of Commons catering service is continuing to test more environmentally-friendly disposable products as new products become available and hopes to reduce even further the remaining usage of oil-based plastics.
ICT
The expenditure associated with the provision of cooling to server rooms has three main components: capital expenditure associated with new equipment, electricity costs, and maintenance costs.
Capital expenditure
The parliamentary estates directorate (PED) has not carried out any new projects providing cooling for server rooms during the last three years. During this period however PED has provided additional cooling to rooms which house communications and computer equipment associated with servers. The overall cost of this work is estimated to have been approximately £25,000 per year.
Electrical energy consumption
Due to fluctuating energy prices and the complexities of the individual buildings' tariff structures it is not possible to estimate accurately the cost of energy used by all of the cooling equipment associated with server rooms. However PED has used an estimated average electrical energy cost of 10p/kWh to calculate an approximate cost associated with electrical energy of £124,000 per year.
Cost of maintenance
PED maintenance engineers routinely carry out cyclical maintenance works and attend call outs involving the repair and replacement of defective cooling plant. The cost of these works is included within general maintenance contracts which cover large items of cooling plant, some of which serve more than one location. This makes it difficult to accurately assess the cost of maintenance directly attributable to server room cooling alone. PED however estimate the cost of maintenance tasks associated with server cooling equipment to be approximately £9,000 per year1.
The total estimated annual cost is £158,000.
1 Estimated using BSRIA rules of thumb BG14/2003 table 7.
Members: Data Protection
The House's Corporate Officer is the data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998 in respect of personal data held by the House Departments. The Corporate Officer, like any other data controller, must comply with the 1998 Act in respect of any personal data processed by the House Departments.
Ventilation
The efficiency of the numerous ventilation systems across the parliamentary estate is not monitored.
However, the associated plant and controls are continually monitored via the various building management systems installed to confirm correct and continued operation.
In addition, the effectiveness of the ventilation systems is maintained against the installed design parameters by regular maintenance.
Defence
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
UK personnel operate at all times under rules of engagement which ensure that force is used in accordance with international humanitarian law. This ensures that civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure are minimised. This does not, however, restrict the inherent right of self defence that enables our military personnel to defend themselves. The rules of engagement are reviewed regularly to ensure that they remain effective and compliant with international law.
The UK's strategy for Afghanistan is long-term and based on a comprehensive approach to security, political, social and economic development.
At the recent NATO summit in April 2009, allies reiterated their commitment to support Afghanistan in building security, both in the short term during the crucial election period and in the long term; when the focus of this support will shift further towards strengthening Afghan security forces to take responsibility themselves.
We have always made clear that we would keep the commitment of UK forces under review.
Armed Forces Day
The aim of armed forces day is to honour Britain's armed forces, past, present and future and it is hoped that all former and currently serving members of the forces will fully embrace the concept of the day. The Historic Dockyard Chatham will host the inaugural armed forces day national event on Saturday 27 June 2009. The event will include a parade through Chatham town centre, a drumhead service, flypasts of military aircraft and a range of other activities in the Dockyard throughout the day.
To enable communities across the UK to be involved in this inaugural year, we have also invited all local authorities to fly a flag for our armed forces. Over 460 of the 480 borough, city, district and county councils across the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man that have been invited to participate in the fly the flag event have registered to take part, as have the Governors in Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands. The intention is that this ceremony will be repeated across the country at 1030 on Monday 22 June, synchronised with similar ceremonies where we have forces deployed overseas, and that the flags will be flown until after armed forces day itself.
The MOD is also supporting over 80 community events across the country with major events in every region. A full list of events can be found at the armed forces day website at the following link:
www.armedforcesday.org.uk
Armed Forces: Pensions
[holding answer 12 May 2009]: My predecessor, the former Under-Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans, my hon. Friend the Member for Halton (Derek Twigg) attended the War Pensions Committee Chairmen’s conference in September 2008.
[holding answer 12 May 2009]: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Members of War Pensions Committees are not paid but the overall total for their travel expenses and loss of earnings for financial year 2008-09 can be identified and was approximately £50,500.
[holding answer 12 May 2009]: During 2008 there were 28 cases where a panel of War Pension Committee members heard individual complaints about the way the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency had dealt with cases. These figures are broken down by WPC panel and provided in the following table.
WPC panel Number of cases South East 4 Eastern 4 South West 4 North West 7 Northern Ireland 4 Yorkshire and Humberside 2 London 2 West Midlands 1
In addition, individual WPC members are frequently contacted directly by individuals with concerns or inquiries about war pension related matters and are responded to directly. These numbers however, are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Dismissal
The following table provided details the numbers of staff who were dismissed from the Department in each calendar year since 2004.
Dismissals relating to under-performance Total of all dismissals 20041 12 189 2005 9 206 2006 12 183 2007 9 155 2008 2 127 20092 1 56 1 Records for industrial employees were migrated onto the HR system in March 2004. Any dismissals involving industrial staff prior to this date are not included. 2 Numbers for 2009 are up to and including 30 April.
The figures exclude the MOD’s trading fund agencies: ABRO, the Defence Aviation Repair Agency, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Met Office and UK Hydrographic Office, as this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Pay
[holding answer 12 May 2009]: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Work Experience
The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Ex-servicemen: Military Decorations
All those leaving the Services now receive their HM Armed Forces Veterans Badge in their service leavers' pack. For others, the details of eligibility and the application process are advertised on the Veterans-UK website found at the following link:
http://www.veterans-uk.info/new_badge/badge.html
The badge has also been publicised through Government and ex-Service organisation publications and through local and national press articles featuring coverage of badge presentation ceremonies held by Ministers, MPs and external organisations. We are also promoting badge presentations as part of the armed forces day events to be held on 27 June this year. The position is kept under review, including the consideration of opportunities to provide further publicity for the scheme.
Military Bases: Aviation
The amount of handling equipment available for loading and unloading transport aircraft at military airports is sufficient to fulfil the operational airbridge schedule.
Pakistan: Deployment
I can confirm that there are currently 29 UK military personnel based in Pakistan undertaking a variety of roles, including training, liaison and diplomatic duties.
The number of military personnel based in Pakistan varies from time to time. This can be for a variety of reasons, including revised tasking and changes to previous roles.
Rosyth Dockyard
The locations for future upkeep packages beyond 2012 have yet to be determined as part of the developing Surface Ship Support (SSS) Alliance.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agriculture: Research
[holding answer 12 May 2009]: DEFRA’s spend profile on farming-related research and development is shown in the following table. Figures are not available prior to the formation of DEFRA in 2001.
Total DEFRA R and D spend on sustainable farming and food Total DEFRA R and D spend on animal health and welfare Total DEFRA agricultural R and D spend 2001-02 41 41 82 2002-03 40 41 81 2003-04 39 36 75 2004-05 39 40 79 2005-06 38 40 78 2006-07 33 41 75 2007-08 30 40 70 2008-09 27 36 63 Note: This information was taken from DEFRA’s science information system database.
Bovine Tuberculosis
DEFRA advises owners of domestic animals (i.e. cats and dogs) who suspect their animals may have been infected or may be at risk of becoming infected with TB to contact their private veterinary surgeon for advice in the first instance.
Compost
The Waste and Resources Action Programme's (WRAP's) home composting campaign used central funding to subsidise the sale of home composting bins for five years. In that time two million home compost bins were sold and 40 per cent. of households with gardens are now home composting. It is estimated that, as a result of WRAP'S programme, more than 300,000 tonnes of organic waste have been diverted from the waste stream each year, resulting in significant waste management and disposal cost savings.
Having demonstrated the benefits of promoting home composting, it was appropriate for local authorities to decide how home composting should fit within their waste strategies and for them to take responsibility for deciding on a suitable level of subsidy. WRAP stopped subsidising compost bins at the end of March 2009. As a result, the full cost of bins to consumers rose by an average of £8, except where the local authority decided to offer its own subsidy. A total of 37 waste disposal authorities are currently offering varying degrees of subsidy. WRAP will continue to promote home composting to the public and provide practical advice and support as part of a wider waste reduction programme.
Departmental Training
DEFRA provides a ‘shared’ IT training service to a number of agencies and the spending of DEFRA will include the spending on IT training by those agencies on a consolidated accounting basis.
IT training for DEFRA can be separated into two distinct areas:
1. Regular spending on IT training for staff. This includes such activities as maintaining hardware and training new staff members in the use of the DEFRA systems. The overall spending on IT during the years 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 is contained in the ‘Resource Accounts’. The annual reports are available at:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/finance/resource-accounts
and are in the Library. Providing more specific information on regular IT spend in earlier years can be done only at disproportionate cost.
2. Project spending on IT training for staff. IT projects that will require trained staff will include the cost of that training within their budgets. Information on the costs of training alone or on the costs of IT work between 2004-08 are available only at disproportionate cost.
Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal
(2) which local authorities operate residual household waste collections with a frequency of less than once a week, including those operating or planning to operate pilot schemes with that frequency.
The Waste and Resources Action programme has provided the following list of local authorities operating residual household waste collections with a frequency of less than once a week, including pilot schemes. This represents WRAP'S best understanding but the situation can change rapidly.
Local authority
Alnwick District Council
Amber Valley Borough Council
Ashfield District Council
Babergh District Council
Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
Bassetlaw District Council
Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council
Blackpool Borough Council
Blyth Valley Borough Council
Boston Borough Council
Bracknell Forest Borough Council
Braintree District Council
Breckland District Council
Bridgnorth District Council
Bristol City Council
Broadland District Council
Bromsgrove District Council
Broxtowe Borough Council
Burnley Borough Council
Cambridge City Council
Cannock Chase District Council
Canterbury City Council
Carlisle City Council
Castle Morpeth Borough Council
Charnwood Borough Council
Cherwell District Council
Chesterfield Borough Council
Chichester District Council
Chiltern District Council
Chorley Borough Council
Copeland Borough Council
Corby Borough Council
Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council
Dacorum Borough Council
Daventry District Council
Derby City Council
Derwentside District Council
Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council
East Hampshire District Council
East Lindsey District Council
Eastleigh Borough Council
Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council
Epping Forest District Council
Erewash Borough Council
Exeter City Council
Fareham Borough Council
Fenland District Council
Forest Heath District Council
Fylde Borough Council
Gedling Borough Council
Gosport Borough Council
Great Yarmouth Borough Council
Guildford Borough Council
Hambleton District Council
Harborough District Council
Harrow London Borough Council
Hart District Council
Hartlepool Borough Council
Hastings Borough Council
Havant Borough Council
Hertsmere Borough Council
High Peak Borough Council
Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council
Huntingdonshire District Council
Hyndburn Borough Council
Ipswich Borough Council
Kennet District Council
Kettering Borough Council
Kirklees Metropolitan Council
Lancaster City Council
Lichfield District Council
Lincoln City Council
London Borough of Bexley
Macclesfield Borough Council
Mansfield District Council
Melton Borough Council
Mendip District Council
Mid Bedfordshire District Council
Mid Devon District Council
Mid Suffolk District Council
Mid Sussex District Council
Mole Valley District Council
Newark and Sherwood District Council
North Devon District Council
North East Derbyshire District Council
North Hertfordshire District Council
North Kesteven District Council
North Lincolnshire Council
North Norfolk District Council
North Shropshire District Council
North West Leicestershire District Council
Northampton Borough Council
Norwich City Council
Nottingham City Council
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council
Oswestry Borough Council
Oxford City Council
Pendle Borough Council
Peterborough City Council
Preston City Council
Purbeck District Council
Reading Borough Council
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
Redditch Borough Council
Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council
Rochford District Council
Rossendale Borough Council
Rother District Council
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
Rushcliffe Borough Council
Rushmoor Borough Council
Ryedale District Council
Scarborough Borough Council
Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council
Shepway District Council
Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council
South Bedfordshire District Council
South Buckinghamshire District Council
South Cambridgeshire District Council
South Derbyshire District Council
South Gloucestershire Council
South Hams District Council
South Kesteven District Council
South Lakeland District Council
South Norfolk District Council
South Northamptonshire Council
South Ribble Borough Council
South Shropshire District Council
South Somerset District Council
South Staffordshire District Council
Spelthorne Borough Council
St. Edmundsbury Borough Council
Stafford Borough Council
Staffordshire Moorlands District Council
Suffolk Coastal District Council
Swale Borough Council
Swindon Borough Council
Tamworth Borough Council
Taunton Deane Borough Council
Teignbridge District Council
Telford and Wrekin Borough Council
Test Valley Borough Council
Thanet District Council
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council
Torbay Council
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Tynedale District Council
Uttlesford District Council
Vale Royal Borough Council
Wakefield City Council
Wansbeck District Council
Warwick District Council
Waveney District Council
Waverley Borough Council
Wealden District Council
Wellingborough Borough Council
West Lancashire District Council
West Wiltshire District Council
Weymouth and Portland Borough Council
Winchester City Council
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council
Woking Borough Council
Worcester City Council
Wycombe District Council
Wyre Borough Council
Wyre Forest District Council
York City Council
A copy of the WR1204 research report will be placed in the Library once it is published later this year.
DEFRA provided funding directly to authorities, through the local authority support unit (LASU), to:
resource technical support for waste compositional analysis;
develop their wastes strategies; and
formulate their procurement and planning approach.
We did not fund any option specifically to deliver any particular collection approach. However, authorities may have explored the options mentioned as part of those available. All LASU case studies are available on the Waste Information Network website.
Neither the Waste Improvement Network not the Waste and Resources Action programme (WRAP) have made any such estimates.
Two of the bodies awarded beacon status for waste collection in 2007 are waste partnerships representing a total of 16 authorities. 14 of these have waste collection duties. Therefore, a total of 21 waste collection authorities received beacon status for waste collection. Of these, three now provide weekly collections and 18 provide alternate weekly collections.
Weekly collection
East Cambridgeshire District Council
Suffolk Coastal District Council
London Borough of Sutton
Alternate weekly collection
Babergh District Council
London Borough of Bexley
Cambridge City Council
Daventry District Council
East Hampshire District Council
Fenland District Council
Forest Heath District Council
Huntingdonshire District Council
Ipswich Borough Council
Lichfield District Council
Mid Suffolk District Council
Peterborough City Council
Preston City Council
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
Rushcliffe Borough Council
South Cambridgeshire District Council
St. Edmundsbury Borough Council
Waveney District Council
Environmental Permitting Regulations 2007
DEFRA does not have any plans to amend the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 in the light of the ruling by the Court of Appeal.
Food Supply
We are currently assessing the UK's contributions to the realisation of a right to food and will shortly be submitting a report to the UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur. The UK Government remain committed to working with international partners to enhance global food security in line with our millennium development goals (MDG), including MDG 1 on hunger, and to the progressive realisation of a right for all to have economic and physical access to safe and nutritious food—a commitment which was recently reaffirmed by G8 Agriculture Ministers in Treviso on 18-20 April.
Geographical Information Systems
Cadastral parcel datasets1 held by or on behalf of public authorities will be in scope for implementation of the INSPIRE Directive. However, the implementing rules that will confirm the criteria to assess which datasets meet the definition of cadastral parcels will not be finalised before autumn 2009. Until the criteria have been agreed and assessed it is not possible to state explicitly whether datasets from specific organisations will be in scope.
1 Areas defined by cadastral registers or equivalent.
Joint Waste Authorities: Finance
No joint waste authorities have been established.
Rabies
Rabies-susceptible mammals are subject one of three sets of controls in place to prevent the importation of rabies: the Pet Travel scheme, quarantine or rules known as the Balai Directive which deal with the trade movement of certain animals and animal products.
Pets entering the UK under the Pet Travel scheme must meet certain rules, including the need for a rabies vaccination and a blood test. They can only enter the UK on transport routes approved by the Animal Health Agency and all undergo a pre-entry identity and documentary check to ensure that they have met all of the rules of the scheme. If they meet these rules they do not need to enter quarantine on arrival.
Animals subject to UK quarantine laws, for example pets from countries for which the Pet Travel scheme does not apply or zoo animals, must be issued with a rabies import licence issued by the Animal Health Agency before they can enter the UK. On arrival in the UK, these animals are immediately transported by an approved carrier to quarantine premises where they undergo six months’ quarantine. These animals are under the control of authorised quarantines or travelling agents at all times and are subject to regular veterinary inspections.
Rabies-susceptible mammals entering the UK under the Balai Directive must meet very strict pre-entry requirements including stringent bio-security at the premises of origin. They will also require a pre-entry veterinary health inspection and be accompanied by a official veterinary export health certificate.
Recycling
DEFRA’s Waste and Resources Evidence programme has not commissioned any research into the areas mentioned.
The Government believe that local authorities are best placed to make decisions for their own communities. How funding is allocated once projects are established is for the local authorities to decide and not within the remit of DEFRA.
Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008
DEFRA currently has no proposals to provide local authorities with additional powers under the provisions of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions (RES) Act 2008.
Reservoirs: Ringmer
The proposed reservoir is subject to the due process of an environmental impact assessment which must consider in detail potential impacts on the site of special scientific interest (Plashett Park Wood). It is too early on in the process to conclude what the impact will be. Scoping of potential impacts has been undertaken along with a detailed baseline environmental survey. Statutory environmental bodies including Natural England are fully engaged in this process.
Natural England has expressed concern at the potential for the reservoir to have adverse hydrological impacts on neighbouring site of special scientific interest (SSSI) woodland as well as impacts on the viability of the rare butterfly populations and bats which use the SSSI. Other protected species’ interests outside of the SSSI must also be considered (e.g. water voles in local watercourses). Natural England is working with South East Water through the statutory environment impact assessment process to ensure that these risks are properly understood.
Rights of Way: Coastal Areas
The coastal access provisions in the Marine and Coastal Access Bill will be implemented by Natural England (NE) who will enter into agreements with local access authorities in order that they undertake much of the detailed implementation work, where they are willing to do so. Such agreements will include provision for the relevant financial support to enable local access authorities to undertake this work. This cost accounts for part of the £50 million budget over 10 years that NE has provisionally estimated is required for the project. NE will fund the project from the core budget DEFRA provides it with.
Under section 89 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, local authorities have a duty to keep their relevant land, including beaches above the high water mark, clear of litter and refuse. The statutory Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse recommends those responsible for beaches regularly monitor them, and develop an appropriate cleansing regime. DEFRA does, however, provide grant funding support through EnCAMS (also known as Keep Britain Tidy) to run the national Quality Coast Award (QCA) and Blue Flag schemes designed to drive up the standards of beaches.
EnCAMS recently announced that a total of 71 Blue Flags and 113 QCAs have been awarded to beaches in recognition of their high quality environments and facilities.
Rural Payments Agency: Official Hospitality
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) expenditure on hospitality in each of the last five financial years is as follows:
Financial year Amount spent (£) 2004-05 57,000 2005-06 81,000 2006-07 105,000 2007-08 95,000 2008-09 194,000 1 This amount is subject to audit by the National Audit Office in relation to the 2008-09 financial year.
Hospitality covers refreshments and working lunches provided for meetings and workshops where the attendees can include visitors to RPA from public bodies and other non public organizations as well as RPA staff.
There is no RPA expenditure on entertainment.
Swine Flu
The Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) is in the process of agreeing a programme of work to assess the transmission characteristics of H1N1 in certain animals and associated implications for animal health with the European Commission. It is expected that this will involve researchers from a number of member states. DEFRA is being kept fully informed of the progress of this initiative.
Work has already started at VLA on a research study to determine whether the new H1N1 strain of influenza is transmissible to pigs, and if so, what the main characteristics of such an infection might be.
Swine influenza is not a notifiable or statutory disease and it is not listed by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). International standards for trade in animals and animal products do not impose any restrictions in respect of swine influenza virus infection for the protection of either animal or human health. Accordingly, the EU does not prohibit the import of live pigs or pig meat as a result of the presence of swine influenza in an approved third country from which they may legally be imported to the EU.
The European Commission’s Standing Committee for the Food Chain and Animal Health considers that from the evidence available from the recent outbreak of influenza in a pig farm in Canada restrictions in trade of pigs and their products would not be justified. As the World Health Organisation has made clear, this situation does not pose a food safety risk to consumers. Eating properly handled and cooked pork and pork products is perfectly safe.
We will continue to work with international organisations to understand whether there is any unusual disease in pigs and whether any action to restrict trade would be appropriate.
All animals and meat can only be imported to the European Community from third countries approved as having equivalent health status as member states. They must be accompanied by veterinary certification that must confirm, among other things, that live animals have been examined by an official veterinarian within 24 hours of loading and showed no clinical signs of disease. Meat must have been derived from animals which have been subjected to a veterinary inspection during the 24 hours prior to slaughter.
Animals and meat imported into the European Community from approved third countries must enter at designated Border Inspection Posts (BIPs) where they are also subject to veterinary inspections.
Water Charges
Four of the 10 water and sewerage companies in England and Wales have switched to site area charging for surface water drainage: Northumbrian Water, Severn Trent Water, United Utilities and Yorkshire Water.
It is for individual companies to propose their schemes of charges, having regard to the relevant guidance, including the timetable for introducing any changes to charges, and for Ofwat to approve them.
Wildlife: Crime
Following a meeting with the then United States' Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Claudia McMurray, I wrote to her on 16 January to confirm that our officials would work towards the UK taking over as the chair of the Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking (CAWT) later this year. In addition the UK remains an active party to the convention on illegal trade in endangered species (CITES).
Women and Equality
Equality
I have been asked to reply.
The Government are always willing to consider whether there is a case for legislating to prohibit caste discrimination, but to date insufficient evidence has been presented to indicate that this is a significant problem in the United Kingdom which is why it has not been included in the Equality Bill. However, the Government have agreed to undertake further research shortly into the extent of caste discrimination. As part of this, senior officials from my Department and the Government Equalities Office have already committed to meet a delegation representing organisations with an interest.
Home Department
Asylum: Finance
The costs for the initial implementation and running costs for the first year are estimated at £350,000. There are no immediate financial benefits following the transfer to a card based system but the new system will deliver improved management information which will provide better control over support costs.
Asylum: Offenders
The information requested can be obtained only through the detailed examination of individual case files and cross-referencing these details with records held by the Prison Service which would incur a disproportionate cost. The chief executive of the UK Border Agency has regularly written to the Home Affairs Select Committee with all of the most robust and accurate information on the deportation of foreign national prisoners. Copies of her letters are available in the Library of the House.
Community Relations
Home Office officials sent the Equality and Human Rights Commission details of the revised CONTEST strategy when it was launched in March. The Commission will be key stakeholders in the CONTEST Outreach programme that the Home Office is developing to take forward implementation of the strategy.
Criminal Records: EU Nationals
From 2006-08, 929 EU nationals were refused entry at the UK border on grounds relating to the public good.
The annual breakdown is as follows:
Number of EU nationals refused entry to the UK 2006 186 2007 388 2008 355
This includes, but is not limited to those EU nationals refused entry due to criminal convictions. This information could be obtained only by the detailed examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.
The data provided are based on locally-collated management information, which may be subject to change and does not represent published national statistics.
Departmental Buildings
I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided on 18 February 2008, Official Report, column 455W.
Departmental Correspondence
Complaints received by e-mail and post are forwarded to the relevant area of the Home Office or its agencies to be handled. Those who telephone the Home Office to make a complaint are asked to put it in writing to the Direct Communications Unit. At the bottom of every Home Office web page there is a ‘Complaints’ link, which opens the Complaints webpage with contact details for the Direct Communications Unit.
Departmental ICT
It is not in the interests of the UK’s national security for Departments to confirm information on the number of malicious attacks against their IT systems.
The Home Office complies with Mandatory Requirement 39 of the Security Policy Framework which requires a policy on managing risks posed by all forms of malicious software (‘malware’).
Departmental Paper
The Home Office is working to reduce all forms of waste, in line with the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate targets. Accordingly a wide range of initiatives are currently in place within the Department to minimise the use of paper. Examples include: setting printers to print double sided by default; making some Home Office publications available only online and encouraging staff to avoid printing emails.
Deportation
The UK Border Agency obtains information about specific countries from a wide range of publicly accessible sources including governmental, non-governmental and international organisations and reliable media sources. The UK Border Agency works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to ensure that the picture obtained from these sources is an accurate one.
Country plans/information, which are the Government’s official assessment of the circumstances in specific countries, are public documents and can be found on the Home Office website.
Dual Nationality
This information is not available. British citizenship can be acquired in a number of ways. For those who acquire that status automatically, by birth or descent, we do not have information about any other nationalities that they might also hold. For those who acquire British citizenship by registration or naturalisation, the UK Border Agency has records of the nationality that was held at the time of the application, but do not have figures as to how many retained another nationality on becoming British.
Emergency Calls: Speech Impaired
[holding answer 14 May 2009]: There are currently a number of regional schemes allowing the use of short message text access from mobile telephones for the hearing or speech impaired to the emergency services. Work to develop a national solution is being led by the National 999 Liaison Committee which is chaired by Department of Communities and Local Government. The National Policing Improvement Agency, on behalf of the Police Service, participates in this work alongside the mobile telephony service providers, the other emergency services, British Telecom and the Royal National Institute for the Deaf. The group is currently scoping a trial to take place during 2009 to assess the most appropriate technical solution.
Entry Clearances
The number of people given leave to enter (a) under the Highly Skilled Migrant programme (b) under Tier 1 of the Points Based System, and (c) as dependents of the above, in each quarter of 2007 and 2008, is shown in the following table.
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 HSMP 2,069 2,411 2,639 2,939 3,616 2,661 470 157 Tier 1 0 0 0 0 0 265 2,364 5,166 Total 2,069 2,411 2,637 2,939 3,616 2,926 2,834 5,323 Dependents 1,773 1,161 1,611 1,741 1,883 1,591 1,652 2,746
The data are unpublished and should be treated as provisional.
Entry Clearances: Agriculture
Work cards allocated to seasonal agricultural workers scheme Operators by UKBA were:
April 2006 to March 2007: 16,404
April 2007 to March 2008: 16,732
The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.
The scheme is restricted to Bulgarian and Romanian nationals only from 1 January 2008. Since 1 January 2007, Bulgarian and Romanian nationals have freedom of movement rights and are not required to leave the UK when their work card expires but must generally obtain further permission if they wish to recommence work.
Entry Clearances: Married People
[holding answer 30 March 2009]: There is no difference in treatment of visa applications from spouses of British passport holders who hold dual nationality with Pakistan and spouses of those who only hold a British passport. The requirements for entry as a spouse are set out in Paragraph 281 of the Immigration Rules.
Entry Clearances: Overseas Students
[holding answer 11 May 2009]: Where students have paid for accommodation in advance of applying for a visa, this amount will be deducted from the total amount of funds they will need to demonstrate in order to meet the Tier 4 maintenance requirement. For accommodation, this only applies if the student is staying in university or college arranged accommodation. This information is set out in paragraph 96 of the Tier 4 policy guidance, which is available in the House of Commons Library and has also been published on the UK Border Agency website.
[holding answer 11 May 2009]: The points test, integral to all parts of the Points Based System, is the objective test used by the UK Border Agency to assess applications for leave to enter or remain. The specific criteria that must be met are detailed in the Immigration Rules, following changes contained in the Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules (HC 314) laid before the House on 9 March 2009, and which came into force on 31 March 2009.
It is the responsibility of the education provider, as licensed sponsor, to assess their students’ progress throughout the duration of their studies. The UK Border Agency does not define the method nor the frequency of such assessments throughout an academic year.
Entry Clearances: Zimbabwe
All applications for UK visas are determined in accordance with the UK’s Immigration Rules, regardless of an applicant’s nationality. When assessing an application, it is normal to take account of an applicant’s individual circumstances and, where relevant, the prevailing economic, political or security situation in their country.
Foreign Workers
[holding answer 11 May 2009]: The definition of temporary workers under Mode 4 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services can be found between pages 21 and 41 of the revised EC Services offer, placed in the Library.
Foreign Workers: EU Nationals
[holding answer 16 March 2009]: Data on the number of nationals of the A8 states that have completed 12 months continuous employment in the UK and have consequently ceased to be subject to the registration requirement are not available. The effect of the registration requirement is to restrict access to tax-funded, income related benefits subject to a habitual residence test, including income support and income-based jobseeker’s allowance.
Identity Cards
The UK Border Agency is continuing to increase the number of identity cards issued to foreign nationals granted further permission to stay in the country. In time, card readers will be made available so that the cardholder’s biometric and biographical features can be checked against the card, although a timetable for their introduction has not been established. At present, cards may currently be verified using the card verification phone line and as the volume of cards in circulation increases other forms of verification will be introduced.
Identity cards issued to British citizens under the Identity Cards Act 2006 will be valid for travel in Europe and so will have the capability for facial image biometrics to be read at border control in the same way as biometric passports. Any wider introduction of readers would be linked to the incremental rollout of the National Identity Service as detailed in the National Identity Service Delivery Update 2009 published on 6 May 2009.
Immigration
The chief executive of the UK Border Agency regularly updates the Home Secretary on the progress made by the Agency on processing immigration case work.
The UK Border Agency wrote to the hon. Member on 2 March 2009 with the latest position on Mr. Mlangeni's case.
Immigration Controls
[holding answer 11 May 2009]: The Immigration and Nationality (Cost Recovery Fees) Regulations 2009, which came into force on 6 April 2009, make provision for the UK Border Agency to charge £10 for each certificate of sponsorship issued to Tier 4 migrants. The certificate of sponsorship is known as a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies under Tier 4. This fee will apply once the sponsorship management system for Tier 4 sponsors commences its roll-out from autumn 2009.
Internet: Monitoring
There are no plans to amend the legal framework for interception in the UK.
Separately the Government have launched a consultation, “Protecting the Public in a changing Communications Environment”. This consultation relates to communications data (information about a communication but not its content) and is seeking the public's view on how to ensure that communications data continue to be retained in and made available lawfully, on a case by case basis, to public authorities.
Offenders: Deportation
(2) how many people subject to a deportation order have been arrested in (a) England and Wales and (b) each police force in England and Wales in each of the last five years.
The information requested can be obtained only through the detailed examination of individual case files and cross-referencing that information with records held by the police, which would incur a disproportionate cost. The UK Border Agency is advised of when a foreign national has been convicted of a crime within the UK in order to take appropriate action, including deportation action. The UK Border Agency will consider deportation action against any foreign national who has been convicted of a crime committed in the UK and meets the relevant criteria.
Those who have a deportation order signed against them are removed from the UK and prevented from re-entering as long as the order is in force. In 2008 the Agency exceeded its Government target by deporting or removing a record 5,395 foreign national criminals. The chief executive of the UK Border Agency has regularly written to the Home Affairs Select Committee in order to provide all of the most robust and accurate information on the deportation of foreign national criminals and will continue to do so as required. Copies of her letters are available in the Library of the House.
Police: Complaints
The Home Office does not hold the information requested. This is a matter primarily for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in fulfilling its statutory functions under the Police Reform Act 2002. The IPCC will respond to the hon. Member direct.
Police: Essex
(2) how many officials of each grade have voluntarily ceased employment, other than through redundancy, in Essex Police Authority since June 2007.
Data for the financial year 2008-09 are unavailable until headline figures are published in July.
The available data for the financial year 2007-08 are given in the table.
Transfers Voluntary resignations1 ACPO 0 0 Chief Superintendent 1 0 Superintendent 1 0 Chief Inspector 0 0 Inspector 0 2 Sergeant 18 10 Constable 76 61 CSO 0 41 Special Constable 1 63 Police Staff 0 156 Traffic Warden 0 0 Designated officers (s38) 0 5 1 Including probationers Note: Full time equivalent figures provided that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. Source: Data validated with Essex Police Force
Prisoners: Repatriation
(2) how many non-UK nationals in UK prisons were deported in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08.
The chief executive of the UK Border Agency has written to the Home Affairs Select Committee on a regular basis in order to provide all of the most robust and accurate in formation on the subject of foreign national prisoners and deportation. She advised the Committee that in 2007 the agency deported or removed a record 4,200 foreign national prisoners, exceeding the Prime Minister’s target. In 2008 the UK Border Agency established a new record by deporting or removing 5,395 foreign national prisoners, which was reported in the quarterly asylum and immigration statistics.
Copies of her letters are available in the Library of the House. She will continue to update the Committee as required. In its business plan for 2009-10 the UK Border Agency has confirmed that it will continue to deport or remove record numbers of foreign national prisoners.
Repatriation: Finance
(2) how much on average foreign national prisoners received in reintegration support in 2008;
(3) what expenditure her Department has incurred on reintegration support in each of the last three years;
(4) how many prisoners at each prison have been offered financial incentives to serve the remainder of their sentence in their country of origin since the inception of that incentive scheme;
(5) how many prisoners have received reintegration support more than once in the last five years;
(6) how many foreign national prisoners have been repatriated to their country of origin under the reintegration scheme since the scheme's inception.
The facilitated returns scheme was launched in October 2006 as an incentive to persuade foreign prisoners to return voluntarily to their own country. The scheme offers a package of reintegration assistance to the individual, however no financial incentives are offered. The only cash the individual receives is the standard £46 discharge grant provided to all prisoners, including British nationals. The level of assistance offered is variable and is dependant upon the individual circumstances of each case. Around half of those who are removed under the provisions of the scheme receive reintegration assistance. There has been only one instance where an individual who has been transferred to a prison within the country of origin has been provided reintegration assistance.
Details of the scheme are available in all UK prisons where foreign national prisoners are serving their sentence. Although they are also verbally advised of the scheme, it is not possible to provide data on the numbers of individuals who have been offered the scheme. It remains open to them to make such an application. Once removed from the UK under the scheme's provisions, they are excluded from re-entering the UK. As such it is only possible to benefit from the scheme once.
The chief executive of the UK Border Agency has written to the Home Affairs Select Committee on a regular basis in order to provide all of the most robust and accurate information on foreign national prisoners and deportation, including the successes seen through the use of the facilitated returns scheme.
In her letter of 23 July 2008 she advised that the scheme, which has generated significant savings and accounted for around 25 per cent. of all foreign prisoner removals in 2007, has resulted in nearly 1,800 foreign prisoners being removed from the UK. In the first year of the scheme (October 2006 to October 2007) the agency spent around £350,000, inclusive of administrative costs. For the same period around 880 removals were made under the scheme which generated considerable savings in detention costs alone.
Copies of her letters are available in the Library of the House. The chief executive will continue to write to the Committee with further updates on the scheme and other data on the deportation of foreign national prisoners.
Serious and Organised Crime Agency: Disciplinary Proceedings
The Serious Organised Crime Agency was formed in April 2006. The number of cases since April 2006 in which a disciplinary offence was recorded in a SOCA officer’s personnel file are in the following table.
Number 2006 May 2 June 4 August 1 September 1 November 2 2007 January 2 February 1 March 3 April 1 May 1 July 2 August 1 September 2 October 2 November 5 December 3 2008 January 2 February 1 May 1 June 1 September 1 Note: Where a month is not listed, no disciplinary findings were made during that month.
Terrorism
Since February 2008 the following statutory instruments have been made by the Home Office in relation to the Terrorism Act 2000, the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, the Terrorism Act 2006 and the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008:
The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2008, made on 23 June 2008.
The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2008, made on 17 July 2008.
The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Name Change) Order 2009, made 5 March 2009.
The Terrorism Act 2006 (Pre-charge Detention) (Renewal) Order 2008 made on 24 July 2008.
The Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (Commencement No. 1) Order 2008, made 23 December 2008.
The Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (Commencement No. 2) Order 2009, made 19 January 2009.
The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (Continuance in force of sections 1 to 9) Order 2008, made 3 March 2008.
The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (Continuance in force of sections 1 to 9) Order 2009, made 5 March 2009.
The Terrorism Act 2000 (Code of Practice for Examining Officers) (Revision) Order 2009, made 26 February 2009.
The Home Office plans for future statutory instruments are published quarterly at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/secondary-legislation-list
The only departmental circular published by the Home Office since February 2008 in relation to the above legislation was Home Office Circular 027/2008 which was issued on 2 December 2008 and deals with the authorisation process under the stop and search powers at section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000. It is intended that there will be Home Office circulars issued in relation to the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 during the course of 2009.
A formal 12 week consultation was carried out in the summer of 2007 on schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 (Code of Practice for Examining Officers). The consultation was published on the Home Office website on 4 June 2007. The Home Office will consult on changes to the various police and criminal evidence codes arising from the provisions in the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 in due course. It is also intended that there will be a consultation on amending the list of pathogens and toxins contained in schedule 5 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 in the next two years.
Information relating to ‘other documents’ can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
UK Border Agency
(2) whether individuals applying for positions at the UK Border Agency are asked about membership of a political party during the recruitment process.
No. Civil servants are required to act impartially and follow the Civil Service Code.
Work Permits
The information requested is not centrally recorded.
Work and Pensions
Carers
To support the implementation of National Carers Strategy objectives, Ministers from all the signatory Departments have maintained close working relationships. To support this an inter-ministerial meeting is planned for early June.
Children: Maintenance
I have consulted with the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission who are now responsible for the Child Support Agency. They have confirmed that the information requested is not available.
[holding answer 13 May 2009]: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Council Tax Benefits
As at May 2004, the most recent available information, there were 9,000 council tax benefit recipients under 60 years of age with capital assets between £6,000 and £16,000 in Great Britain.
Notes:
1. The figures are based on a 1 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
2. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.
3. The figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
4. Council tax benefit figures exclude any single adult rebate cases.
5. From February 2007, DWP has been collecting more detailed HB/CTB data electronically from local authorities. Over time this will improve the accuracy, timeliness and level of detail available in the published statistics. However, until the new data have been fully quality assured to National Statistics standards, the most recent detailed statistics available are for May 2004.
Source:
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Annual 1 per cent. sample taken in May 2004.
Departmental Correspondence
The Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies deal with all complaints on an equal basis, however they are made. How they are dealt with will depend on whether the complaint is about a decision on entitlement, for which there is generally a right of appeal, or about the manner in which the service is delivered.
For example, customers who are dissatisfied with any statutory decision made by Jobcentre Plus can appeal. In the first instance, the decision is reviewed by another decision-maker. If the decision remains unchanged after the review, Jobcentre Plus sends the case to the Tribunals Service as part of the appeal process. The Tribunals Service are responsible for administering the appeals process and contact customers about the hearing, which may be held in person or by correspondence.
Jobcentre Plus treats decisions complained about in correspondence as an appeal and automatically reconsiders the decision. Where appropriate, Jobcentre Plus contacts the customer for further information to support the appeal process.
Most complaints about the service provided can be resolved straightaway by the person dealing with the customer and each of the Department's agencies seeks to achieve this. Each has a clear and simple process for dealing with customer complaints and details of this are contained in their leaflets.
Where failings are identified we provide appropriate redress, which might typically include an apology, correction of any error and, where appropriate, financial redress.
Where a customer is not satisfied with the response given to their complaint they can ask for a review of the complaint and any redress given. This will first be by a senior manager and, if the customer remains dissatisfied, by the chief executive of the agency concerned.
If the customer remains dissatisfied, he or she can ask the independent case examiner (ICE) to review matters. A request for ICE to investigate should be made within six months of the chief executive's response.
The ICE will consider complaints about service delivery, though not matters of law or Government policy. He will review the papers and attempt to mediate. If this is not possible he will report his findings and inform the customer of their right to ask a MP to refer the matter to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
Departmental Internet
Maintenance of DWP websites including
www.dwp.gov.uk
is mostly carried out by the Department's own in-house digital media team. It is not possible for us to quantify internal staff costs because, in most cases, staff are engaged in more than one role. In addition, we are unable to establish accurately our infrastructure costs because they form part of a wider departmental IT contract.
DWP have worked with the Central Office of Information to develop a standardised method for quantifying website costs across Government. This will be implemented from March 2009.
Departmental Reviews
The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Employment Schemes
(2) what level of take up of the six month offer he anticipates in respect of (a) employment subsidy vouchers, (b) train to gain funding, (c) training places, (d) volunteering and (e) help for the self-employed under the six month offer.
We have anticipated and funded the six month offer for the provision of 500,000 opportunities for jobseekers who have been claiming jobseeker’s allowance for 26 weeks or more for two years from April 2009 to March 2011.
The offers are voluntary and are therefore demand led. The overall package is designed to be flexible and respond to customer needs. It is also possible that for any individual customer, a mix of offers may be appropriate.
The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills expects to provide 75,000 new work focused training opportunities over two years. The volunteering offer expects to provide 40,000 opportunities over this same period.
Incapacity Benefit
[holding answer 14 May 2009]: The available information is in the table.
April to March each year Number Percentage 2006-07 507,734 77.4 2007-08 535,119 74.4 2008-09 513,511 72 Source: Medical Services
Jobseeker’s Allowance
The information requested is not available.
National Insurance Contributions
I have been asked to reply.
Aggregating the earnings of people doing more than one job with separate employers would be administratively complex for employers. Information on the number of people with more than one employee job who would pay more national insurance contributions (NICs), and the average increase they would pay, under a cumulative annual basis of assessment for employee’s NICs is shown in “Income tax and national insurance alignment: an evidence-based assessment” published in October 2007. It is available at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/pbr_csr07_income.htm
Estimates for employers NICs are not available.
[holding answer 30 April 2009]: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
New Deal Schemes
(2) how many individuals in each region have been on the new deal 25 plus more than once since its inception;
(3) how many individuals in each region have been on the new deal for lone parents more than once since its inception;
(4) how many 18 to 24 year olds in each region have been on the new deal for lone parents more than once since its inception.
New Deal repeaters are more likely to enter employment from their second spell on the programme than their first. Each period on New Deal moves participants closer to the labour market. The information is in the following table.
NDYP ND25+ NDLP (all) NDLP (aged 18-24) Scotland 45,400 26,610 36,940 7,670 North East 31,120 18,790 20,990 4,760 North West 55,480 28,250 46,710 9,740 Yorkshire and Humber 45,160 27,470 32,590 6,860 Wales 22,470 10,360 22,780 4,670 West Midlands 45,790 23,580 25,530 4,740 East Midlands 24,210 14,850 15,870 2,780 East of England 21,530 15,140 20,170 2,900 South East 23,650 16,950 26,940 3,860 London 65,170 47,680 45,700 6,090 South West 19,200 11,520 26,790 4,230 Note: Age group on entry into New Deal based on age at the time of initial interview Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate definitions and conventions: figures are rounded to the nearest 10
Parliamentary Questions: Government Responses
[holding answer 11 May 2009]: I replied to the hon. Member's question on 11 May 2009, Official Report, column 568W.
Pension Credit
The Government are committed to tackling age discrimination and working through the Age Positive Initiative to continue to encourage employers to adopt flexible approaches to work and employment that will allow more choices and opportunity for older people to remain in, or re-enter the labour market.
From April 2009, financial incentives of up to £2,500 will be available to employers that recruit and train people who have been unemployed for six months or longer.
The qualifying age for pension credit is linked to the state pension age for women, which means that men aged 60 to 64 can claim pension credit without having reached their state pension age. The state pension age for women, and therefore the qualifying age for pension credit, is due to increase gradually from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2020. The information requested is in the tables. The new claims data in tables 1 and 2 do not capture those claims where the partner is below state pension age, they count only those claims where the claimant is below state pension age.
Number of claims 2006 September 5,210 October 5,290 November 5,360 December 4,410 2007 January 5,610 February 4,910 March 5,460 April 5,200 May 5,440 June 5,450 July 5,500 August 5,420 September 4,920 October 5,460 November 5,240 December 3,890 2008 January 5,590 February 5,170 March 4,960 April 5,480 May 5,050 June 5,320 July 6,060 August 5,390
Number of claims 2003 198,450 2004 66,410 2005 56,550 2006 60,030 2007 62,500 2008 (January to August) 43,020 Notes: 1. The on flow data used represent the total number of spells on this benefit that commenced within the month/year listed. They do not include flows where people have moved out of one area into another while remaining on the benefit. 2. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Pension credit was introduced on 6 October 2003. 4. Totals may not sum due to rounding. Source: DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study
International Development
Afghanistan: Females
The Department for International Development (DFID) has made the following provisions to implement the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in its development programmes in Afghanistan:
Drawing on the findings of the research DFID commissioned at the end of last year, titled ‘Understanding Afghanistan’, we have developed a detailed Gender Equality Action plan for Afghanistan. This plan supports the 10-year National Action Plan for Women in Afghanistan (NAPWA) by ensuring gender equality is an integral part of our programme.
The UK Government are working closely with the Afghan Government to ensure that gender equality is integrated into their own policies to ensure long-term, sustainable improvements. We have provided an adviser to the Afghanistan Government to ensure the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS), which lays out its development plan over the next five years, has integrated cross-cutting issues such as gender equality into sector plans. DFID also provides funding to Womankind and UNIFEM who are both working to support women's rights in Afghanistan.
In addition, DFID has committed almost £11 million (2008-09) to support elections in Afghanistan. At present women hold 68 out of 249 seats in the Lower House and 23 out of 102 seats in the Upper House. Our funding will raise awareness and understanding of the electoral process and empower women's political participation.
The Department for International Development (DFID) has drawn on the findings of the research commissioned last year, titled ‘Understanding Afghanistan’, to develop a detailed Gender Equality Action Plan for Afghanistan. This plan supports the 10-year National Action Plan for Women in Afghanistan (NAPWA) by ensuring gender equality is an integral part of our programme.
The UK Government are working closely with the Afghan Government to ensure that gender equality is integrated into its own policies. We have provided an adviser to the Afghan Government to ensure the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) has integrated cross-cutting issues such as gender equality into sector plans. We invested £60 million (2008-09) through the Government of Afghanistan's Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF): this helps pay the salaries of over 165,000 teachers. 28 per cent. of teachers are now women and this has helped to ensure the number of girls enrolled in school continues to grow. 35 per cent. of all enrolled students are now girls, up from virtually none under the Taliban.
In addition, the Department for International Development (DFID) is providing funding to Womankind and UNIFEM and £40 million of support over five years to the Micro-Finance Investment Support Facility in Afghanistan, which provides small loans to poor individuals to invest in businesses. Nearly 65 per cent. of those receiving loans are women.
Food insecurity remains the most pressing humanitarian concern for Afghanistan. Over the last year chronic food insecurity has been driven by high food prices and drought. The UN World Food Programme's (WFP) emergency response—to which the Department for International Development (DFID) contributed £17 million from January 2008—reached 8.7 million of Afghanistan's most vulnerable. This programme distributes food to families in the most food vulnerable parts of Afghanistan based on a WFP and Government of Afghanistan needs assessment, regardless of whether girls are attending school.
Afghanistan: Overseas Investment
The Afghanistan Investment Climate Facility (AICF) has made good progress since its launch in June 2008 having already approved four proposals for funding, including a project with the Afghanistan National Standards Authority to help Afghan producers to obtain higher prices for their goods. A further five proposals are under development. The Department for International Development (DFID) will carry out a full review of the programme in due course.
CDC Group plc has not invested in any funds at present which invest in Afghanistan.
The Business Linkages Challenge Fund (BLCF) is now closed. While operational, the BLCF supported one project in Afghanistan. Information about this project is available on the BLCF website at:
http://www.businesslinkageschallengefund.org/ManufacturingAfghanistan.aspx
Departmental Billing
The Department for International Development paid 60 per cent. of payments to suppliers in March within 10 days of receipt.
Departmental ICT
The Department for International Development (DFID), in line with all other Chief Information Officers (CIOs) on the Cabinet Office CIO Council, has produced a “CIO Green ICT Roadmap” which we will be following to deliver against the 18 target improvement areas outlined in the Greening Government IT Strategy.
I also refer the hon. Member to the answer provided to the hon. Member for Cardiff, Central (Jenny Willott) on 27 April 2009, Official Report, column 1014W.
Sudan: Politics and Government
The UK Government continue to monitor the humanitarian situation in Abyei and Southern Kordofan closely. The population of Abyei (and surrounding areas) is fewer than 50,000, most living in displaced camps in Agok, with 650 in Southern Kordofan. United Nations (UN) sources indicate that the humanitarian system is stable, although the situation remains tense, with the coming rains posing an increased risk of disease and logistical challenges in the delivery of assistance. We are also expecting the results of a recent joint UN/Government assessment of the NGO expulsions impact on the transitional areas, which should provide a more comprehensive picture of any gaps in the humanitarian response and impact on future recovery programmes.
The UK Government provide humanitarian and early recovery support primarily through the UN-managed Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF), which contributed $10.1 million for Southern Kordofan, and an additional $3.3 million for Abyei in 2008. Our 2008 share of the CHF was around 50 per cent. at £40 million. For 2009, we have provided a further £36 million. In addition, the UK Government are supporting recovery in the police (Abyei) and education sectors (up to £5.7 million), and through the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) which has provided $28.67 million in funding for Southern Kordofan.
Uzbekistan: Overseas Aid
The UK Government closed their bilateral aid programme to Uzbekistan in March 2006. However, the Department for International Development (DFID) funds a Central Asia Regional HIV/AIDS Programme, which operates in Uzbekistan, totalling £7.4 million over four years. DFID has also committed £1 million to a World Bank led Central Asia HIV Control Project and continues to monitor and support the work of multilateral institutions in Uzbekistan. No UK Government funding goes through the Government of Uzbekistan.
Zimbabwe: Economic Situation
Ministers from the Department for International Development (DFID) have met with Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), on a number of occasions over recent months. Most recently the Secretary of State met him on 2 April 2009 at the G20 summit in London. DFID staff have also held regular meetings at senior level with African Development Bank officials, including most recently at the AfDB annual meetings in Senegal on May 13-14.
In all of these meetings we have emphasised the importance of a strong AfDB role and country presence to provide early technical support to key institutions in the new Inclusive Government, to help co-ordinate donor engagement and, generally, to help build and maintain momentum for much needed reform efforts in Zimbabwe. However, further major support from the AfDB, from other institutions such as the IMF and World Bank and from the wider donor community will only be made available when we begin to see evidence of a commitment to political and economic reform. Establishing a track record on strong and competent fiscal management and tackling debt arrears will be key issues for the Inclusive Government in building confidence with the international community to support recovery.
Justice
Ashwell Prison
Between 12 April 2009 and 13 May 2009, 20 prisoners have been transferred out of HMP Ashwell.
The following table gives the numbers of prisoners held in HMP Ashwell on the last day of each month between October 2008 to March 2008 (latest available).
Number October 2008 610 November 2008 615 December 2008 609 January 2009 617 February 2009 610 March 2009 618
This information is available from the following website, which is updated monthly:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/populationincustody.htm
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Council Tax: Non-payment
Persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under regulation 56 of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 form part of a miscellaneous group on the Ministry of Justice Court proceedings database which cannot be separately identified.
Debt Collection
(2) how many warrants to authorise bailiff action were issued at the request of each local authority in England in 2007-08;
(3) what the (a) actual and (b) percentage change in the number of (i) court orders and (ii) warrants to authorise bailiff action secured by each local authority (A) relating to council tax, (B) relating to housing benefit, (C) relating to parking penalties and (D) overall in England was between (1) 1997-98 and 2002-03 and (2) 1997-98 and 2007-08;
(4) how many bailiff warrants were issued in each region in respect of (a) council tax, (b) magistrates court fines, (c) consumer credit debts, (d) parking penalties and congestion charges, (e) child support and maintenance, (f) television licences and (g) other matters in (i) 1997-98, (ii) 2002-03 and (iii) 2007-08;
(5) how many mortgage and landlord repossession orders were granted by each county court in (a) 1990, (b) 2000 and (c) 2007-08.
Statistics on mortgage repossession orders granted by each county court from 1987 to 2008 and on landlord repossession orders granted by each county court from 1999 to 2008 are available via the Ministry of Justice website at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/stats-landlord-mortgage-historic-20-02-09.xls
However, landlord repossession order data are not held prior to 1999.
These figures do not indicate how many homes have actually been repossessed. Repossessions can occur without a court order being made while not all court orders result in repossession.
The Ministry of Justice does not hold statistical counts of:
court orders obtained by local authorities;
warrants to authorise bailiff action issued at the request of local authorities;
warrants to authorise bailiff action issued in respect of (a) council tax, (b) magistrates court fines, (c) consumer credit debts, (d) parking penalties and congestion charges, (e) child support and maintenance, (f) television licences and (g) other matters.
The administrative computer systems used in the county courts do not enable easy identification of whether cases are brought specifically by local authorities, of the specific case type listed. All relevant cases are logged on the system and the claimant name is recorded. However, the statistics requested could only be derived following extensive manual searching of individual case records, which would incur disproportionate cost.
In addition, the numbers of orders made in magistrates courts are not held centrally.
Legal Aid
The Legal Services Commission (LSC) does not record legal aid expenditure in such as way as to readily ascribe it to (a) North West Cambridgeshire or (b) Cambridgeshire. Obtaining this information would require a manual extraction of data, which would incur disproportionate cost.
Legal aid expenditure, in cash terms, for each of the past 10 years in (d) England and Wales is given in the following table. Expenditure for (c) the East of England region is available only from 2001-02 as obtaining this information for earlier years would require a manual extraction of data, which would incur disproportionate cost. Expenditure has been attributed on the basis of the location of the court in which proceedings were conducted for some legal aid schemes and the location of the service provider for others. Small elements of expenditure, for example, CDS Direct, have been excluded as they cannot easily be allocated to specific regions.
East of England England and Wales 1998-99 n/a 1,628 1999-2000 n/a 1,550 2000-01 n/a 1,664 2001-02 113 1,717 2002-03 123 1,909 2003-04 132 2,077 2004-05 142 2,038 2005-06 142 2,028 2006-07 141 1,980 2007-08 133 2,023 n/a = Not available.
Lindholme Prison
The number discharged from prison are dependent on a variety of factors, including the profile of the prison population in each establishment, the specifics of legislation or policies pertaining at the time, those received into the prison, movements between prisons and in the case of Lindholme the practicalities of removing foreign national prisoners to their home countries. No assessment has therefore been made on the number of releases, early or otherwise, from any specific prison.
Estimates of the prison population as a whole are generally published annually. This gives the projected monthly prison population in England and Wales for the next seven years. Sub-population (such as gender) estimates are presented alongside the effects of legislation, sentencing activity, and other factors relevant to the prison population. The relevant page on the Ministry of Justice website is:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonpopulation.htm
Members: Correspondence
I am sorry for the delay. A reply has been sent and the hon. Member should receive it shortly.
Prisoners’ Discharge Grants
Prison Service Order (PSO) 6400 (Discharge) states that all eligible prisoners aged 18 or over sentenced to a custodial sentence of more than 14 days must be given a discharge grant of £46 on release. Prisoners released from custody will not receive any benefits immediately and the grant is intended to meet their immediate basic needs.
Prisoners in the following categories are not eligible for a discharge grant:
Sentenced prisoners who are known to have in excess of £8,000 in savings (and would therefore be ineligible for income support under the relevant regulations);
Unconvicted prisoners;
Those serving a custodial sentence of 14 days or less;
Those recalled from licence to prison for a period of 14 days or less;
Those awaiting deportation or removal from the United Kingdom;
Those travelling to an address outside the United Kingdom. For the purpose of paying the discharge grant, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland are included within the United Kingdom;
Those being discharged to a hospital under a Mental Health Act Section Order;
Fine defaulters and those held on further remand warrants.
Prisons: Barking and Dagenham
(2) what proportion of the London Development Agency's Beam Park West site is required to be secured in order to build the prison he proposes.
Our intention is to purchase the entire Beam Park West site. A minimum of 35 acres is required for a 1,500 place prison.
Prisons: Location
Criteria including size, location, shape and topography of sites as well as public and private transport and planning polices were taken into account during the site search.
Young Offenders
Available information provided in the following table shows the number of 15-17 year olds and young adults under sentence in prison establishments in England and Wales as at the end of June 2002 to June 2007 (latest available).
Young adults are those aged 18-20 and those 21-year-olds who were aged 20 or under at conviction who have not been reclassified as part of the adult population.
It is not possible to provide information from 1997 without incurring disproportionate cost.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 15-17 18-20 15-17 18-20 15-17 18-20 15-17 18-20 15-17 18-20 15-17 18-20 Altcourse 1 106 0 84 0 65 0 82 0 134 0 150 Ashfield 249 64 171 133 254 56 265 44 294 63 319 66 Aylesbury 0 328 0 292 0 318 0 363 1 346 1 347 Belmarsh 0 41 0 22 0 11 0 16 0 25 0 15 Blakenhurst 0 28 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Brinsford 173 280 171 259 177 260 182 256 199 263 145 314 Bristol 0 20 0 0 0 27 0 30 0 30 0 38 Brockhill 13 38 9 35 1 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 Bronzefield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 0 30 0 11 Bullingdon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 0 0 0 0 Bullwood Hall 28 108 14 100 17 19 15 90 0 0 0 0 Castington 178 143 140 126 136 229 126 205 141 226 134 236 Chelmsford 0 166 0 110 1 149 2 118 0 142 0 199 Cookham Wood 0 0 0 26 0 15 0 0 14 4 16 7 Deerbolt 0 445 0 375 0 401 0 390 0 367 0 390 Doncaster 1 287 0 222 0 258 0 260 0 262 0 311 Dorchester 0 14 0 19 0 19 0 28 0 30 0 19 Dover 0 23 0 33 0 22 0 38 0 16 0 14 Downview 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 4 16 5 15 1 Drake Hall 0 39 0 24 0 26 0 0 0 25 0 0 East Sutton Park 0 0 0 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Eastwood Park 8 52 6 38 8 51 11 34 17 63 14 67 Elmley 0 53 0 53 0 54 1 52 0 70 0 86 Exeter 0 47 0 66 0 49 0 73 0 51 0 0 Feltham 287 333 264 323 229 354 217 372 208 367 208 354 Forest Bank 0 213 0 226 0 138 0 138 0 159 0 109 Foston Hall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 6 Glen Parva 0 764 0 694 1 650 0 746 0 737 0 756 Gloucester 0 13 0 0 0 16 0 18 0 17 1 10 Guys Marsh 0 113 0 104 0 121 0 68 0 67 0 65 Haslar 0 0 0 0 0 10 1 10 0 14 0 0 Highdown 1 76 0 77 0 55 0 64 1 78 1 145 Hindley 171 325 145 332 147 297 146 250 154 260 147 339 Hollesley Bay 168 65 2 19 0 13 0 14 0 15 0 21 Holloway 13 56 10 49 9 38 2 60 1 105 0 109 Holme House 0 30 0 50 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hull 0 99 0 121 0 91 0 96 0 90 0 119 Huntercombe 257 88 212 52 293 64 285 53 299 55 288 68 Lancaster Farms 170 285 166 270 168 271 208 295 205 291 217 290 Lewes 0 40 0 19 1 28 1 32 0 41 0 29 Lindholme 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Low Newton 1 77 1 62 0 57 0 58 0 36 0 21 Moorland 0 324 0 420 0 255 0 352 0 251 0 347 New Hall 46 52 34 46 42 50 32 44 22 49 19 53 Northallerton 0 222 0 205 0 214 0 191 0 210 0 233 Norwich 0 149 0 140 0 138 0 150 0 159 0 156 Onley 188 295 194 310 0 199 0 157 0 160 0 199 Pare 16 390 19 421 21 317 15 346 34 340 51 351 Peterborough 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 0 31 0 49 Portland 0 431 0 383 0 392 0 343 1 409 0 464 Reading 0 242 0 224 0 243 0 267 0 261 2 246 Rochester 0 152 0 143 0 300 0 344 0 363 0 368 Stoke Heath 166 447 112 454 162 422 162 428 180 456 178 469 Styal 5 77 0 25 0 0 0 38 0 39 0 59 Swinfen Hall 3 246 0 236 0 287 0 306 0 306 0 337 Thorn Cross 26 146 25 133 35 196 35 176 22 156 23 184 Usk/Prescoed 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Warren Hill 0 0 163 27 173 35 183 28 183 33 175 36 Werrington 116 14 90 23 108 31 114 19 133 22 0 0 Wetherby 293 40 285 43 250 30 290 51 284 51 287 67 Woodhill 0 97 0 86 3 61 5 75 6 65 3 82 Other establishments 0 53 0 60 1 69 0 62 0 65 0 90 1 To reduce the size of the table, where inmates for both age groups combined per establishment are less than 10 the establishment figures are included in “Other establishments”. 2 For accuracy, figures are excluded where inmates for both age groups combined per establishment are less than 10.
Youth Justice
I have been asked to reply.
A strategy to meet the health and social care needs of children and young people across the youth justice pathway is being developed following the launch of Lord Bradley's review of people with mental health problems or learning disabilities in the criminal justice system. The strategy for children and young people is expected to be published in the autumn 2009 following approval from the forthcoming Health and Criminal Justice Programme Board.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
US-EU Relations
This was an important visit to Europe by President Obama. His meetings with partners in the G20, NATO and EU reinforced the importance of working together and helped to build further the shared sense of direction we need for a strong transatlantic relationship.
G20 Summit
The G20 London Summit was a significant success for the UK, with key agreements on: financial regulation; reform of financial institutions; preventing protectionism; development, and climate change. All of these are critical for restoring growth, building stability and supporting jobs.
Middle East Peace Process
The EU has a hugely important role to play in achieving peace in the Middle East. When we last discussed this issue at the end of April, all 27 EU Foreign Ministers agreed that the EU approach to the Middle East Peace Process should be clear: support a two-state solution as the only viable outcome of a final settlement. Both the EU and the UK will pursue this goal vigorously in the coming months.
We are encouraged by recent developments in the Middle East Peace Process (MEPP). The new Israeli Government has signalled a commitment to resume peace negotiations including a political track. The Palestinian Authority is also ready to enter peace negotiations with the new Israeli Government when the conditions are right. The Obama Administration has made a priority of the MEPP, appointing Senator Mitchell as a Special Envoy. The United Nations Security Council, chaired by Russia, discussed the MEPP on 11 May and issued a Presidential Statement.
The MEPP remains a priority for HM Government. We shall continue to support efforts towards a two-state solution. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary reiterated this during his intervention at the UN on 11 May.
General Affairs Council
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had any recent discussions at the General Affairs council on EU policy to tackle trade protectionism. Agreement at Spring European Council ahead of the London Summit to keep markets open and avoid all form of protectionist measures demonstrates Europe is committed to rejecting protectionism in order to facilitate a recovery of the world economy.
Gaza
The UK remains concerned with the severe humanitarian situation in Gaza. We have continually urged Israel to open the crossings into Gaza, particularly for humanitarian aid, but also for reconstruction materials and trade and have already raised this issue with the new Israeli Government. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made this clear in his meeting with the Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on 13 May 2009 and also in his statement to the UN on 11 May 2009.
EU-US Relations
Close dialogue between the EU and US remains essential as we tackle the range of challenges we share. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary will continue to engage with my European and American colleagues closely on how we can work together to address these issues—as he last did with US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in Washington on 12 May 2009.
Pakistan: Swat Region
We believe that there are about 80,000 British nationals in Pakistan at any one time. All but a small percentage are dual nationals either resident in Pakistan or visiting family members. We do not have accurate figures for the number of British nationals in Swat but this is not an area recognised as having particularly high concentrations of British nationals when compared to other parts of the country.
BBC Kinyarwanda Service: Rwanda
The BBC Kinyarwanda service for Rwanda is suspended on FM due to Government action. I am concerned at this development and assured by BBC World Service that they are seeking urgent clarification of the Government’s decision. The World Service refutes allegations of misreporting and is making every effort to get FM broadcasts in Kinyarwanda restored.
Afghanistan
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out our assessment of the current situation in Afghanistan and the way forward in his statement to Parliament on 29 April 2009, Official Report, column 869, and the associated strategy document. We keep progress against our objectives in Afghanistan under constant review.
General Affairs Council: Swedish Presidency
I visited Stockholm on 28 April for talks with the Swedish Europe Minister, Cecilia Malmstrom. Sweden has clearly prioritised: tackling the global financial crisis; overseeing the coming EU institutional changes; and working towards an ambitious global agreement at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December. We welcome these priorities.
I visited Stockholm on 28 April for talks with the Swedish Europe Minister, Cecilia Malmstrom. Sweden has set clear priorities: tackling the global financial crisis; overseeing EU institutional changes; and working towards an ambitious global agreement at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December. We support these priorities.
Zimbabwe
My right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary welcomed Finance Minister Biti to a meeting on 30 April 2009. My noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, Lord Malloch Brown, also met Biti on that day, and met Prime Minister Tsvangirai and Foreign Minister Mumbengegwi in South Africa on 9 May 2009—the first official meetings between British and Zimbabwean Ministers since April 2000 and reflecting the UK’s concern to support the ongoing process of reform in Zimbabwe.
Afghanistan and Iraq
In Afghanistan there are 297 and in Iraq 339 British Citizens employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).
The capacity in which these people are employed crosses political, development and support services.
The number of British citizens employed in Afghanistan and Iraq includes all FCO staff (civil servants and inward secondees), those employed under an individual contract with the FCO as well as those contracted to a hiring company under contract to the FCO. Contracted staff include cleaning, catering, security, medical and facilities management.
Aung San Suu Kyi
Following the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi's doctor on 7 May 2009, an assistant doctor was permitted to visit Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday 8 May 2009 and reported that she suffered from low blood pressure and dehydration. Mrs Suu Kyi was reported to be in good spirits during a further visit permitted on Monday 11 May 2009. We have received reports that she appeared to be in good health on arrival for her trial on 18 May 2009. We understand that her doctor has now been released but we are not aware that he has been able to see Mrs Suu Kyi since her arrest.
On 16 February, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, Tomas Quintana, was able to visit Insein prison as part of his fact finding tour to the country. He was able in inspect certain areas of the prison, although his visit was heavily stage-managed by the Burmese authorities. In his report of 11 March 2009 he drew attention to some prisoners being shackled and their lack of access to legal representation. We support his call for the release of all political prisoners in Insein prison and elsewhere.
We share UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon's expression of grave concern at Aung San Suu Kyi's arrest on 14 May 2009.
We are continuing to discuss the situation with our international colleagues in the UN. Once the outcome of the trial is known, we will actively consider how best to engage members of the UN Security Council further on the situation in Burma.
Australia
[holding answer 18 May 2009]: The British and Australian Governments are in regular and close contact at ministerial and official level to discuss the full range of international security challenges. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has regular discussions on security issues with his Australian counterpart most recently in London in April 2009.
During the visit of the Australian Prime Minister for the London summit in April, a joint statement was issued by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and Prime Minister Rudd, which agreed a new and comprehensive security partnership covering key areas of common concern.
British Overseas Territories: Crime Prevention
There are 1,406,891 records stored on the Overseas Territories Regional Crime Intelligence System.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Security
The UN Security Council most recently discussed the uplift of personnel and resources for the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (MONUC) in consultations on 9 April 2009. This matter will also be raised during a UN Security Council visit to the DRC between 17 and 18 May 2009. On 13 May 2009, my noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, Lord Malloch-Brown, discussed the issue with Alan Doss, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for DRC.
Departmental Telecommunications
In the financial year 2008-09 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spent £26 million on centrally funded telecommunications services, net of VAT. The contract with the current supplier, Global Crossing, was signed on 10 May 2000.
The contract provides a review mechanism enabling the FCO to ensure that it continues to receive value for money over the term of the agreement. Savings arising from changed technologies and market conditions have been identified and passed on by the supplier as an agreed series of cost reductions. As a result the amount paid in 2008-09 was £26 million, not the £32 million originally agreed. This mechanism will operate for the remaining duration of the contract.
Embassies: Festivals and Special Occasions
[holding answer 14 May 2009]: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office recognises the significant contribution played by different faiths, both home and abroad, to the fabric of UK society. We currently have no central guidance on this matter as we leave this to the discretion of our Heads of Mission overseas. However, I have asked officials to review whether formal guidance is necessary.
EU Battlegroups
The UK contribution to Operation Atalanta includes the operation commander and the operation headquarters at Northwood. The Royal Navy also provided HMS Northumberland for the first phase of the operation but she has since moved onto other duties. While not formally part of the mission, tanker support has been provided, on an occasional basis, through RFA Wave Knight.
Greece, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK have provided a combination of assets and manpower to Operation Atalanta. Specific details of which can be found on the EU operation headquarters website:
www.mschoa.eu
The UK is also providing a liaison officer embedded in the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), a naval coalition conducting counter terrorism, counter narcotics, counter smuggling and counter piracy operations. The Royal Navy also contributes a frigate, currently HMS Portland to Combined Maritime Forces. EU and CMF operations work together highly effectively in pursuing common objectives.
EU Budget
[holding answer 18 May 2009]: In December 2005 the European Council agreed for an EU budget review to take place by the end of 2009. We look forward to discussing the Commission's white paper with member states.
Gambia: Politics and Government
We have registered our interest in the Fulton case with the Gambian authorities and made representations where appropriate on behalf of Mr. Fulton. Mr. Fulton has not asked us to make representations with regard to the latest charges brought against him. Mrs Fulton does not face new charges.
Ghana: Politics and Government
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met the Ghanaian Foreign Minister during President Mills’ visit to London two weeks ago.
They discussed the success of the recent democratic elections in Ghana and the positive example this has set in the region, the continued work between both Governments on promoting stability in West Africa and the need for an equitable solution to the challenge of climate change. The discussion also touched upon the rich variety of educational and cultural links between the UK and Ghana.
Gibraltar: Politics and Government
[holding answer 18 May 2009]: The appointment of the Governor is a matter for Her Majesty The Queen acting on the advice of Government and will be announced at the appropriate time.
India: Elections
The Indian election result was announced on 16 May 2009. It was expected that no one party would have a sufficient majority to form the new Indian Government. The relevant political parties will now consult to form the next coalition. The UK enjoys constructive relations with India and we look forward to working with the new Indian Government.
Iran: Religious Freedom
We have received worrying reports that Maryam Rostampour and Marzieh Amirizadeh are being held in Evin prison following their arrest by Iranian security officers on 5 March 2009. The women are known be practicing Christians. Reports suggest that neither have been charged with any crime defined under Iranian or international legislation, nor have they been permitted access to lawyers. The UK has genuine concerns for their safety and well-being, which are heightened by the fact that the Iranian Parliament is currently debating a draft Bill which could codify life imprisonment for female apostates.
We have made clear to the Iranian authorities on many occasions that we believe persecution of individuals on the grounds of their ethnicity or religious beliefs is unacceptable, and will continue to do so through the EU and bilaterally. We will continue to press the Iranian authorities to take seriously their international human rights obligations and uphold the right to freedom of religion and belief as described in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (to which Iran is a state party).
Iraq: Oil
The Government have not received any specific representations from the Government of Iraq (GoI) on the oil-for-food programme. However, the GoI has asked us to help it resolve outstanding UN resolutions relating to Iraq. We support the review of those UN Security Council Resolutions that are still in effect as part of the process to help Iraq normalise its relationship with the international community.
We will continue to work with other members of the UN Security Council to resolve outstanding issues on the oil-for-food programme so that it can be concluded with the mutual agreement of all parties, including the Iraqi Government.
We have not received any representations from the GoI on the disbursement of international development commitments. Any outstanding commitments from the international community regarding the disbursement of development funds are a matter for the GoI to address direct with donors.
Malta: Illegal Immigrants
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary last met Foreign Minster Dr. Tonio Borg on 20 November 2008. During this meeting migration was discussed, and Dr. Borg mentioned co-operation with Italy on illegal migration.
Illegal migration was also raised by Malta and Italy at the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council on 27 April 2009, where Ministers noted the challenges that migration across the Mediterranean poses for all member states.
In addition, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary attends the Justice and Home Affairs Council, where illegal transit migration routes from Africa through the Mediterranean are regularly discussed.
Mauritania: Diplomatic Relations
We regularly assess our relationship with Mauritania, and the political situation in the country, following the 2008 coup.
We remain concerned that there has been little progress towards the restoration of democracy, despite increasing international pressure. We, in line with international partners like the EU, US, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the African Union, maintain working level contact with Mauritanian officials.
The UK continues to fully support the EU in its efforts to restore democracy through the provisions of the Cotonou Agreement.
Middle East: Armed Conflict
The UK continues to call for the immediate, unconditional, and safe release of Gilad Shalit, in public and in private. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary reiterated this most recently in his statement to the UN Security Council on 11 May 2009. The case of Corporal Shalit was also discussed during an EU Foreign Ministers’ meeting in March 2009.
(2) whether his Department has taken steps since 25 June 2006 to seek to secure the release of Israeli soldier Corporal Shalit.
The UK continues to call for the immediate, unconditional, and safe release of Gilad Shalit, in public and in private. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary reiterated this most recently in his statement to the UN Security Council on 11 May 2009. We have also shown our support to Corporal Shalit’s family by meeting his parents on several occasions.
Morocco: Human Rights
We are aware that a Mr. el Hafed Aaza has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. At this time we do not know what conditions he is being held in or what he has been convicted of.
Our embassy in Rabat is making further inquiries and will continue to monitor the situation closely in partnership with European colleagues.
Piracy
A senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office Legal Advisor will attend the Kuala Lumpur International conference on piracy and crimes at sea on 18 and 19 May 2009.
Spain: Anti-Semitism
We have not received any specific reports of serious anti-Semitic incidents having taken place recently in Spain although we are aware of surveys which have suggested a rise in unfavourable views of Jews.
As an EU member state, Spain is a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights and is fully committed to combating discrimination and upholding the rights of minority groups.
Sri Lanka: Armed Conflict
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has been in regular contact with his counterparts in the UN Security Council on the situation in Sri Lanka. Most recently he held talks at the UN on 11 May 2009 with the UN Secretary General, other UN Security Council members and non-governmental organisations. The UK again raised Sri Lanka at the UN Security Council on 13 May 2009, under ‘Other Matters’, and UN Security Council members released a statement urging the Government of Sri Lanka to extend full co-operation to the UN in order to resolve the humanitarian crisis.
We welcome the continued engagement by the UN, sometimes in the face of opposition from others, and we will continue to look for further opportunities to keep the UN focused on the situation in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka: International Assistance
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary regularly discusses the situation in Sri Lanka with his counterparts in the UN Security Council, most recently on 11 May 2009. However, the International Monetary Fund has not yet presented a programme for Sri Lanka and the UK has not been asked to vote on a programme yet. Once a programme is presented, it will be assessed on its merits and the situation on the ground in Sri Lanka at the time to decide whether it will help the people of Sri Lanka.
Territorial Waters
There have been no recent talks between the UK and either Spain or Gibraltar on the sovereignty of territorial waters. The Government are fully confident of its sovereignty over British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW) and continues to make this clear to Spain whenever appropriate.
However, the UK has made written and oral representations to Spain regarding European Commission Decision 2009/95/EC. Under the decision, Spain has put forward a site of community importance under the Habitats Directive which encompasses BGTW, including an existing site designated by the UK under the same directive. As the UK is the only member state competent to propose a site covering BGTW, we do not recognise the validity of the adopted site. The UK is deeply concerned that Spain should seek to designate an area of BGTW and that this designation should have been approved.
USA
[holding answer 18 May 2009]: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary regularly discusses issues of international security with representatives of the US Administration—including in his frequent conversations with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
He most recently discussed international security issues during his visit to Washington on 11-12 May 2009 where he met with Secretary Clinton, Deputy Secretary Steinberg and other representatives of the US Administration.
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during his visit to Washington on 11-12 May 2009. They had a wide ranging discussion covering key foreign policy issues including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Sri Lanka.
Secretary Clinton and the Foreign Secretary also agreed a joint statement on Sri Lanka which was issued following their meeting.
Uzbekistan: Human Rights
The UK remains concerned about allegations of the use of child labour in the cotton industry in Uzbekistan. We have raised these concerns with the Uzbek Government most recently in discussions with the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March. Our embassy also remains in regular contact with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on the issue of child labour in Uzbekistan.
In order to help establish stronger child labour monitoring systems our embassy in Tashkent is supporting a project that estimates the prevalence of child labour in remote rural cotton growing areas of Uzbekistan. The project aims to prevent child labour through informal education and vocational training. We have also welcomed Uzbekistan's recent ratification of the International Labour Organisation Conventions on the minimum age of employment and on the worst forms of child labour, and stand ready to work with the Uzbek Government to implement its international obligations in this regard.
We remain concerned at the overall level of respect for human rights in Uzbekistan, and regularly raise these concerns through a critical, but constructive dialogue with the Uzbek authorities in Tashkent and in discussions with the Uzbek Embassy in London. In addition, the EU has a comprehensive human rights dialogue with Uzbekistan, which includes a focus on the need for further progress in Uzbek promotion and protection of human rights. The third round of talks is due to take place on 10 June 2009.
Innovation, Universities and Skills
Higher Education: Admissions
The information is given in the tables. The figures cover students who apply to full-time undergraduate courses via UCAS. UCAS does not cover applications to part-time undergraduate or postgraduate courses, or students who apply directly to institutions.
Home domicile of student Year of entry England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Grand total 1998 298,923 8,088 6,936 13,053 327,000 1999 296,081 7,617 6,781 12,546 323,025 2000 295,555 7,219 6,748 12,174 321,696 2001 302,400 6,927 5,965 12,272 327,564 2002 302,698 6,762 5,472 11,962 326,894 2003 309,561 7,114 5,407 12,273 334,355 2004 314,556 7,813 5,064 12,001 339,434 2005 342,927 8,836 5,281 12,675 369,719 2006 329,842 8,545 5,120 12,060 355,567 2007 350,127 9,068 5,032 11,950 376,177 2008 389,065 8,833 4,774 12,145 414,817
Home domicile of student Year of entry England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Grand total 1998 234,828 2,359 2,174 6,478 245,839 1999 239,573 2,250 2,149 6,388 250,360 2000 243,347 2,129 2,177 6,262 253,915 2001 257,705 2,229 2,109 6,527 268,570 2002 262,657 2,171 2,064 6,365 273,257 2003 263,958 2,613 1,989 6,423 274,983 2004 263,773 2,833 1,799 6,102 274,507 2005 287,909 3,174 1,881 6,324 299,288 2006 277,237 2,995 1,743 5,434 287,409 2007 294,533 3,203 1,754 5,306 304,796 2008 330,400 3,214 1,774 5,491 340,879 Notes on UCAS applicant data: 1. The applicant figures cover applicants submitting one or more applications to an English institution (up to 2007 each applicant could submit up to six applications, this was reduced to five from 2008). Students in this table applying to English institutions may also have applied to institutions in one or more of the other home countries, and some may have been accepted to institutions in those countries. 2. In 2008 the Nursing and Midwifery Admissions System (NMAS) was subsumed in to the UCAS application system and part of the increase from 2007 to 2008 can be attributed this factor. There were 14,184 applicants who were accepted to former NMAS courses, the majority of whom were English domiciled (and NMAS was only for English institutions). Source: UCAS
Students: Finance
The latest available information is given in the table.
Number Proportion (percentage) Proportion of all higher educationenrolments4(percentage) Total higher education enrolments at further education colleges5 172,160 100.0 8.4 Of which: Directly funded by HEFCE6 52,775 30.7 2.6 Funded via a University2,7 50,015 29.1 2.4 Funded by LSC 47,140 27.4 2.3 1 The figures have not been adjusted for colleges that transferred during this period from the FE to the HE sector, or for those which merged with HE institutions. 2 Funded via a university figures come from the 2005/06 HESA record and were provided by HEFCE analysts. 2006/07 and 2007/08 HESA data are available but the equivalent analysis has not yet been performed by HEFCE. Therefore proportions given in the table for students funded via a university are estimates based on earlier data, and may not reflect 2007/08 actual proportions. 3 2007/08 data are provisional. The final 2007/08 data will be available in January 2010. 4 All Higher Education enrolments cover Higher Education enrolments at Further Education Colleges plus Higher Education enrolments at Higher Education Institutions. The underlying Higher Education Institution data come from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record and are on a DIUS whole year count basis. Includes students registered by an English HE institution that are taught at any UK FE college (not just English FE colleges). 5 Includes students with other sources of funding, therefore the sum of HEFCE funded, funded via a university and LSC funded will not sum to the number of all enrolments; likewise the proportions will not sum to 100 per cent. 6 Includes students funded via a HEFCE-recognised funding consortium led by an HE institution. 7 Includes students registered at any English HE institution, this includes HE colleges as well as universities. Notes: 1. ILR figures are on a DIUS whole year count basis, which counts students enrolled at any point in the academic year. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five and proportions have been rounded to one decimal place. Source: Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Individualised Learner Record (ILR) apart from funded via a University figures which are from the 2005/06 Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record.
Community Relations: Islam
Since the Government designated Islamic studies as a strategically important subject in 2007, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), following a period of research and consultation, has been working with other funding agencies in the UK to develop a programme of work designed to address its strategic importance and to provide additional support for it as a subject in UK higher education.
HEFCE research and consultation showed that Islamic studies scholars are often relatively isolated experts affiliated to different departments, with weak links to scholars doing related work at other institutions.
HEFCE is, for this reason, funding a national network to bring the community of Islamic studies scholars closer together.
This network aims to provide information on courses and staff, facilitate events, seminars and exchange of ideas, and enable academics to connect. The network will be managed through a website and complemented by a programme to digitise Islamic studies resources developed by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).
The Higher Education Academy has been funded for a short development phase to plan and develop the national network, which we expect to be operational from the autumn.
Although a national network, the web facility and international links within the UK academic community should further enrich this work and strengthen the UK’s position as a leading centre for the study of the subject.
Further details can be found on HEFCE’s website at:
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/aboutus/sis/islamic/
UK network and digitisation programme
In January 2009, HEFCE awarded £95,000 to the Higher Education Academy to work with the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) on the development of a full business case for an Islamic studies UK network. We expect that this work will inform a further three-year implementation phase.
HEFCE has awarded £350,000 to the JISC Digitisation Programme to support two specific strands of work relating to the digitisation of resources for use in Islamic studies research and teaching. This is based on recommendations in Exeter University’s 2008 “Review of User Requirements for Digitised Resources in Islamic Studies”.
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Departmental Lost Property
During the period 1 February 2008 to 28 February 2009, this Department’s records show that 71 items were reported as lost or stolen on the BERR central London estate with an estimated total replacement value of £13,500. Of these, 17 items were subsequently found with an estimated replacement value of £1,000.
In addition to the above, during the period 1 March 2009 to 30 April 2009, a further 16 items were reported lost or stolen with an estimated total replacement value of £4,400. One of these items was subsequently found with an estimated value of £50.00.
This figure includes small, low value personal items reported lost or stolen as well as a small number of mobile phones, multi media equipment and other electrical accessories.
Duchy of Lancaster
Departmental Pay
An element of the Cabinet Office’s overall pay award is allocated to non-consolidated variable pay related to performance. These payments are used to drive high performance and form part of the pay award for members of staff who demonstrate exceptional performance, for example by exceeding targets set or meeting challenging objectives. Non-consolidated variable pay awards are funded from within existing pay bill controls, and have to be re-earned each year against pre-determined targets and, as such, do not add to future pay bill costs.
For details of the cost of end of year non-consolidated variable payments in 2004 to 2007 I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on:
2 July 2007, Official Report, column 901W, to the hon. Member for Upper Bann (David Simpson).
6 June 2008, Official Report, column 1185W, to the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond).
Details of total paybill and headcount for each year can be found in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Resource Accounts, which are published on the Cabinet Office website.
We would not normally give out information pertaining to an individual’s remuneration. However, the average senior civil service non-consolidated award paid by the Cabinet Office over the past five years is:
Average non-consolidated award (£) 2008 9,260 2007 7,280 2006 6,820 2005 4,520 2004 5,000
I have asked the chief executive of the Central Office of Information (COI) to write to the hon. Member with the information relating to COI.
Copies of the COI letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Disadvantaged
I have been asked to reply.
We conduct regular research on regeneration and economic development including the impact of government programmes on the most deprived areas, and publish research reports regularly on our website. Other Government Departments undertake and publish similar research.
Written Questions: Government Responses
A response has been sent to the hon. Member.
Children, Schools and Families
Building Schools for the Future Programme
[holding answer 18 May 2009]: There were 18 signed projects at the end of March 2009 involving private finance; the average all-in rate of interest was 5.88 per cent.
[holding answer 18 May 2009]: The rate of interest to be charged by the Treasury's Infrastructure Finance Unit (TIFU) to assist Building Schools for the Future PFI projects is not set in advance. It will lend on a commercial basis and at rates applicable in the market at the time of financial close of a project.
The £2.4 billion relates to the value of BSF PFI projects in procurement at the time of the announcement according to figures provided to HMT as part of the pre-Budget PFI data collection exercise.
Not every project is expected to require assistance, only those projects which cannot secure debt finance on acceptable terms.
Cam House School Dursley
I can confirm that the Secretary of State has not, to date, received a copy of a statutory proposal notice relating to Cam House school.
When the school was placed in special measures the local authority (LA) temporarily suspended residential provision. Should the LA decide to permanently close residential provision then it would be considered as a prescribed alteration and the authority would be obliged to follow statutory procedures relating to school organisation.
The LA received approval from the Secretary of State on 13 February 2009 to set up an Interim Executive Board for the school.
Primary Education
[holding answer 18 May 2009]: The Department's current estimates for the number of full-time equivalent pupils in education in maintained primary schools in England are shown in the following table:
As at January Primary schools pupils 2009 3,954 2010 3,980 2011 4,035 2012 4,110 2013 4,201 2014 4,300 2015 4,387 2016 4,462 2017 4,528 1 Full-time equivalents, counting each part-time pupil as 0.5. The numbers have been rounded to the nearest one thousand. 2 Experience has shown that totals in maintained primary schools are usually within ±0.2 per cent. for the first projected year. There is less certainty in the longer term. Factors which contribute to differences between projections and outturn data include the underlying population trends, participation among under fives and variations of proportions attending independent schools. Projections are increasing in uncertainty.
Updated projections for the number of pupils in primary and nursery schools are due to be published in the departmental annual report on 8 June 2009. These will take into account the provisional annual school census figures for January 2009. Projections are not shown beyond 2017 because of the increasing degree of uncertainty over time.
Secondary Education
The Department does not hold data on the number of pupils who entered state secondary schools in September 2008. The latest available data about the number of admissions to schools can be accessed in the statistical first release (SFR) “Admission Appeals for Maintained Primary and Secondary Schools in England, 2006/07”
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgatewav/DB/SFR/s000789/index.shtml (table 3).
Data for 2007/08 are due to be published in late June.
The Department also collects data about offers of secondary school places. The data on offers made in March 2008 (which will relate to the number of pupils who entered state secondary schools in September 2008) can be accessed in the SFR “Secondary School Applications and Offers”
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STA/t000791/index.shtml.
These figures are likely to have changed slightly by September for a number of reasons, such as appeals being successful, children moving home and late applications being processed. However, local authorities are not required to submit updated data in September.
The Department does not collect data on the admission arrangements applied to determine which school places are offered, or on the number of children that have transferred to state secondary schools from primary schools in the independent sector.
Teachers: Disciplinary Proceedings
The operation of disciplinary procedures in schools, including those that result in suspension, is a matter for local determination. Accordingly the information requested about the suspension of teaching and non-teaching staff is not held centrally.
Young Offender Institutions: ICT
[holding answer 14 May 2009]: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is responsible for overseeing the management of services in young offender institutions. The Youth Justice Board (YJB) is responsible for monitoring the services provided by contractors in secure training centres.
Neither NOMS nor the YJB have received any reports of malware being detected in young offender institutions or secure training centres in 2008.
Young Offenders: Essex
I have been asked to reply.
Available information provided in the following table shows the number of 15-17 year olds and young adults under sentence in prison establishments in Essex as at the end of June 2003 to June 2007 (latest available).
Young adults are those aged 18-20 and those 21 year olds who were aged 20 or under at conviction who have not been reclassified as part of the adult population.
As at 30 June each year 2003 2004 2005 20061 2007 Bullwood Hall1 114 108 105 0 0 Chelmsford 110 150 120 142 199 1 HMP Bullwood Hall previously a female prison was re-roled to take male Category C inmates only. The young offender institution unit and the female juvenile institution unit at HMP Bullwood Hall closed and stopped taking inmates.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Communities and Local Government
Armed Forces: Housing
A dwelling (including married quarters) of which the Secretary of State for Defence is the owner, held for the purposes of armed forces accommodation, is exempt from council tax under Class O of the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992 (SI. 1992/558). A local authority therefore cannot issue a council tax demand notice in respect of such a property, and the question of single person discount does not arise.
The Ministry of Defence pays a contribution in lieu of council tax to local authorities in respect of the totality of the dwellings on each of its estates, in an amount broadly equivalent to the amount of tax that would otherwise be due. As part of the terms and conditions under which service personnel occupy such quarters, an amount is recovered by the Ministry from the occupiers. The detail of those arrangements is determined by the Secretary of State for Defence.
Community Relations: Islam
I have been asked to reply.
Since the Government designated Islamic studies as a strategically important subject in 2007, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), following a period of research and consultation, has been working with other funding agencies in the UK to develop a programme of work designed to address its strategic importance and to provide additional support for it as a subject in UK higher education.
HEFCE research and consultation showed that Islamic studies scholars are often relatively isolated experts affiliated to different departments, with weak links to scholars doing related work at other institutions.
HEFCE is, for this reason, funding a national network to bring the community of Islamic studies scholars closer together.
This network aims to provide information on courses and staff, facilitate events, seminars and exchange of ideas, and enable academics to connect. The network will be managed through a website and complemented by a programme to digitise Islamic studies resources developed by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).
The Higher Education Academy has been funded for a short development phase to plan and develop the national network, which we expect to be operational from the autumn.
Although a national network, the web facility and international links within the UK academic community should further enrich this work and strengthen the UK’s position as a leading centre for the study of the subject.
Further details can be found on HEFCE’s website at
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/aboutus/sis/islamic/
UK network and digitisation programme
In January 2009, HEFCE awarded £95,000 to the Higher Education Academy to work with the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) on the development of a full business case for an Islamic studies UK network. We expect that this work will inform a further three-year implementation phase.
HEFCE has awarded £350,000 to the JISC Digitisation Programme to support two specific strands of work relating to the digitisation of resources for use in Islamic studies research and teaching. This is based on recommendations in Exeter University’s 2008 “Review of User Requirements for Digitised Resources in Islamic Studies”.
Departmental Buildings
The Department for Communities and Local Government and its predecessors incurred the following expenditure on building maintenance across the headquarters estate during the last five financial years:
Financial year Cost (£) 2004-05 1,493,230 2005-06 2,075,079 2006-07 1,646,722 2007-08 1,564,742 2008-09 1,713,495
The Department and its predecessors had not maintained records of their agencies’ and arms length bodies’ maintenance spend. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Contracts
The Department has outsourced its information technology and payroll services in the last five years.
Departmental ICT
It is not in the interests of the UK’s national security for Departments to confirm information on the number of malicious attacks against their IT systems.
Communities and Local Government complies with Mandatory Requirement 39 of the Security Policy Framework which requires a policy on managing risks posed by all forms of malicious software (‘malware’).
Departmental Pay
The Communities and Local Government total pay bill was £93,582,821, of which 0.63 per cent. was used for non-consolidated performance payments to staff. For the 2008-09 financial year non-consolidated performance payments of £428,157 were made to staff and £856,392 to senior civil servants.
All non-consolidated payments above are funded within existing pay bill controls and have to be re-earned each year against pre-determined targets and, as such, do not add to future pay bill costs.
The non-consolidated performance pay pot made to senior civil servants is based on the recommendations by the independent senior salaries review body. The Government has responded to current economic conditions by freezing the size of the SCS non-consolidated pot.
Communities and Local Government do not hold information centrally on non-consolidated payments made to staff within its agencies.
Derelict Land
The Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies have spent about £612 million on acquiring surplus public sector land sites since 2004. A number of the sites have since been sold and the estimated current value of the remaining sites purchased since 2004 that remain in HCA ownership is estimated to be £207 million as at March 2009. More detailed information cannot be provided without disproportionate costs.
The Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies have purchased around 134 sites covering approximately 2,400 hectares from the public sector over the last five years.
Derelict Land: Property Development
(2) how many sites on the Homes and Communities Agency's Register of Surplus Public Sector Land have been on the register for more than (a) six months, (b) one year and (c) two years.
Nearly 200 sites of the 704 currently on the Register of Surplus Public Sector Land have been assessed as suitable for residential development subject to planning approval being granted. Sites are assessed for their development potential when their details are first entered onto the Register.
The Register is a snapshot of current activity and sites are continually being added and removed by the responsible landowning department. Sites are often added to the Register a number of years before they become vacant and available for sale so that prospective buyers have early notification of their availability. Currently there are 704 sites on the Register. Of those 704 sites (a) 46 have been on the Register for less than six months (b) 89 sites between six months and one year (c) 164 sites between one and two years and (d) 405 sites longer than two years.
Economic Situation
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her on 7 May 2009, Official Report, column 387W.
Energy Performance Certificates
Enforcement of the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) England and Wales) Regulations 2007 is the responsibility of local weights and measures authorities. There is no requirement for the Department to be informed when they receive a complaint.
Penalty notices are issued by local weights and measures authorities who are empowered to enforce the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007. There is no requirement for the Department to be informed when a penalty charge notice is issued.
The contract between CLG and Landmark Information Group Limited for operating the non-domestic energy performance certificate (EPC) and display energy certificate (DEC) register makes provision for the lodgement fees to be reviewed at prescribed intervals. The first opportunity to review the fee structure for lodging EPCs and DECs on the non-domestic register arose in March of this year, at which time it was agreed that there was no need for a change in the fee. The next opportunity to review fees for the non-domestic register will arise in March 2012 and subsequently every three years thereafter.
Home Information Packs
There are no accreditation schemes for providers of home information packs.
Independent research into the impact of home information packs (HIPs) was undertaken by Europe Economics and published on 22 November 2007.
The cost of a home information pack (HIP) is set by the market and the Government have no role in this.
Homebuy Scheme
The following table shows the average household income of tenants who have purchased under the Social HomeBuy scheme in England, by year.
£ 2006-07 23,430 2007-08 23,410 Source: CORE (Continuous Recording) returns from registered social landlords to the Tenant Services Authority (TSA).
The Social HomeBuy (SHB) scheme was introduced in April 2006, so there are no Social HomeBuy sales before 2006-07. 2008-09 figures are not yet available from CORE.
The household income figures are calculated from the “monthly take home pay” figures, which are based on net earnings from any paid work. These figures do not include income from benefits such as income support, child benefit, child tax credit, or any payments received from the Child Support Agency (CSA).
Homes and Communities Agency: Finance
The predecessor bodies for the Homes and Communities Agency were English Partnerships, the investment arm of the Housing Corporation, and the Academy for Sustainable Communities. A range of departmental programmes also transferred to the agency from Communities and Local Government.
The Homes and Communities Agency has retained all of its receipts generated from the sale of development assets. These receipts have been used to fund the agency’s property and regeneration programme.
The Housing Corporation and the Academy for Sustainable Communities did not dispose of any development assets.
The former English Partnerships consisted of the Commission for New Towns (CNT) and the Urban Regeneration Agency (URA). The URA retained all of its receipts generated from the sale of development assets, for use in funding the agency’s programme. A total of £345 million of receipts from the CNT's sale of land was remitted to HM Treasury in 2008-09 in connection with the close down of the CNT and the launch of the HCA. It is not possible to disaggregate the proportion of these receipts that relate to the last five years without incurring disproportionate cost.
The predecessor bodies for the Homes and Communities Agency were English Partnerships, the investment arm of the Housing Corporation, and the Academy for Sustainable Communities. A range of departmental programmes also transferred to the Agency from Communities and Local Government.
The Homes and Communities Agency has not written-off any losses in excess of the delegated limits. The write-off of losses in excess of the delegated limit for English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation can be found in their published Annual Report and Accounts, copies of which are available in the Library of the House. The Academy for Sustainable Communities did not write off any losses in excess of the delegated limits.
(2) how many homes (a) in the social sector and (b) owned by investment partners who are not registered social landlords which were initially intended for low cost home ownership have subsequently been removed from the affordable housing sector in each region;
(3) how many requests the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessors received to sell properties outside the affordable housing sector from investment partners who are not registered social landlords in each of the last three years; and how many requests were granted.
In the last three years no grant has been repaid to the Homes and Communities Agency as a result of non-registered social landlord investment partners seeking to sell a property outside the affordable housing sector.
In each region no homes owned by investment partners who are not registered social landlords have subsequently been removed from the affordable housing sector.
No requests have been received by the Homes and Communities Agency to sell properties outside of the affordable sector from non-registered social landlord investment partners in the last three years.
Homes and Communities Agency: Location
As a public body, the Homes and Community Agency has conducted an equality impact assessment (EIA) screening on the proposals for restructuring and location; a full EIA is in the process of finalisation and will be published in due course. The impact assessment addresses the equality duty areas of race, gender and disability—in addition to considering the equality strands of religion, sexual orientation and age.
In completing the EIA, the HCA has taken account of consultation with staff and best practice knowledge, in order fully to consider the impact of its decisions on equality outcomes. The HCA is in the process of evaluating feedback from its most recent consultation exercise and this information will inform the full EIA which will be published on the HCA website.
Staff and staff representatives were initially consulted on the proposals for changes in Regional office accommodation on 11 February 2009. This period of initial consultation lasted for one month. Firm proposals were then circulated to staff representatives and staff, for consultation, on 1 April 2009. This further period of consultation also lasted one month and during this time, Regional Directors have been holding group and one to one discussions with staff.
The HCA has also, in recent months, had a number of discussions with stakeholder partners about the options for relocation including my Department, Regional Development Agencies and local authorities.
Homes and Communities Agency: Public Relations
The TSA engaged the public affairs company APCO to provide help in developing the core narrative and key messages of the TSA through work in the political environment and to engage key stakeholders to gain buy in and understanding of, and to test, the aforementioned. The brief was also to campaign with politicians to raise awareness of the TSA.
(a) APCO were initially employed from August 2008 to February 2009. An additional three months' work was then agreed, to a reduced specification.
(b) The fee for the initial project was a retainer of £9,500 per month for a period of seven months between August 2008 and February 2009, totalling £76,000. The additional three-month contract was for time spent up to the value of £1,500 per month.
(i) and (ii) I intend to place a copy of the briefs and contract in the Library once we have obtained agreement from APCO and removed any commercially sensitive information.
Housing
The cost of establishing and supporting the Working Group on Condition Information in the Home Buying and Selling Process is approximately 25 per cent. of an official's time and has been met as part of the normal working arrangements of the Department from within existing budgets.
Housing: Construction
The number of houses which have been built in millennium communities since the programme began in 1997 to date are:
Millennium community Completed homes Greenwich Millennium Village 1,099 New Islington 179 Allerton Bywater 172 Kings Lynn 109 Telford 53 Hastings 0 Oakgrove 14 Total 1626
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Wright) on 23 March 2009, Official Report, columns 69-70W. However to clarify, the purpose of the Register of Surplus Public Sector Land is to record sites for disposal that have been identified as surplus, vacant or under-used by Government Departments and their agencies which can be used for redevelopment including housing.
Information on the number of homes built on public sector land since 2004 is not held centrally as the Register does not capture such details. However, the Homes and Communities Agency estimates that since 2004 some 19,000 homes may have been built on sites formerly owned by the public sector. The cost of providing a more accurate figure would be disproportionate. This estimate will include a proportion of the 59,505 homes built since 1997, referred to in the previous answer of 23 March 2009. I should remind the hon. Member that these figures are likely to under-represent the number of homes built on land formerly owned by Government bodies.
Our latest estimate, as at January 2009, is that about 51,000 homes could be built on public sector sites in the next three years. This will be subject to sites remaining surplus or underused and planning approval being obtained. This forecast is under review and may reduce in the future to reflect the challenging market conditions.
Housing: Empty Property
The table shows estimates made of the number of empty dwellings in each London local authority area in each tenure group; and the percentage change in the equivalent figures between 2002-03 and 2007-08.
2008 Local authority Registered social landlords Private enterprise Total Number of vacants LA vacants as a percentage of LA stock Number of vacants LA vacants as a percentage of LA stock Number of vacants LA vacants as a percentage of LA stock Number of vacants LA vacants as a percentage of LA stock London 9,500 2.2 4,930 1.4 71,490 2.2 85,920 2.6 Barking and Dagenham 516 2.7 52 1.5 1,082 2.3 1,650 2.4 Barnet 103 0.9 41 0.6 3,892 3.3 4,036 3.0 Bexley 0 0.0 156 1.3 1,967 2.4 2,123 2.3 Brent 152 1.6 317 2.2 1,802 2.2 2,271 2.1 Bromley 0 0.0 319 1.8 3,298 2.9 3,617 2.7 Camden 308 1.3 123 1.3 2,464 3.8 2,895 2.9 City of London 3 0.7 1 0.3 94 1.8 98 1.7 Croydon 163 1.2 168 1.7 3,268 2.8 3,599 2.5 Ealing 407 3.0 155 1.7 2,515 2.4 3,077 2.5 Enfield 287 2.5 70 1.1 2,177 2.1 2,534 2.1 Greenwich 629 2.6 190 2.0 2,585 3.9 3,404 3.4 Hackney 1,139 4.8 250 1.4 1,947 3.6 3,336 3.5 Hammersmith and Fulham 325 2.5 182 1.5 1,626 3.0 1,734 2.2 Haringey 188 1.2 267 2.7 2,334 3.1 2,789 2.8 Harrow 34 0.7 52 1.5 657 0.9 743 0.9 Havering 442 4.2 55 2.2 1,970 2.3 2,467 2.5 Hillingdon 124 1.2 109 1.9 1,711 2.0 1,944 1.9 Hounslow 271 2.1 54 0.9 1,181 1.6 1,506 1.6 Islington 203 0.8 350 2.5 1,145 2.2 1,698 1.8 Kensington and Chelsea 56 0.8 159 1.2 3,181 4.8 3,396 3.9 Kingston upon Thames 50 1.0 23 1.1 2,110 3.7 2,183 3.4 Lambeth 1,058 3.9 287 1.4 2,435 3.0 3,780 2.9 Lewisham 126 0.6 163 1.0 1,746 2.2 2,035 1.8 Merton 87 1.4 26 0.5 1,618 2.4 1,731 2.2 Newham 698 3.9 131 1.1 3,262 4.6 4,091 4.1 Redbridge 185 3.9 39 0.9 2,129 2.4 2,353 2.4 Richmond upon Thames 5 10.0 124 1.3 1,685 2.4 1,814 2.3 Southwark 1,054 2.6 165 1.2 1,501 2.2 2,720 2.2 Sutton 83 1.2 35 0.9 2,256 3.3 2,374 3.0 Tower Hamlets 222 1.7 418 1.6 2,308 3.9 2,948 3.0 Waltham Forest 168 1.6 187 1.8 3,341 4.4 3,696 3.8 Wandsworth 179 1.0 86 0.9 2,853 2.8 3,118 2.4 Westminster 238 1.9 177 1.2 3,749 4.1 4,164 3.5
Local authority Registered social landlords Private enterprise Total London -4.2 -23.1 -12.2 -12.1 Barking and Dagenham 9.3 -40.2 -18.4 -8.2 Barnet 13.2 -64.0 13.8 14.9 Bexley 1— -17.5 -13.3 -6.4 Brent -8.4 -7.8 -29.8 -16.9 Bromley 1— -9.9 -21.6 -14.0 Camden -6.7 -30.9 -19.5 -14.6 City of London 1— 2— -33.3 -30.5 Croydon 16.4 -10.2 -28.7 -23.8 Ealing 88.4 3.3 -18.7 -7.0 Enfield -20.3 -68.2 -32.3 -29.2 Greenwich 20.7 -5.9 7.7 16.5 Hackney 70.8 -66.4 -23.7 3.6 Hammersmith and Fulham -4.1 -35.9 19.2 25.2 Haringey -16.8 50.0 -29.6 -21.2 Harrow -50.7 -16.1 -72.5 -69.8 Havering 16.0 400.0 -2.8 2.5 Hillingdon -23.0 38.0 -39.9 -35.4 Hounslow -42.7 -50.9 -19.1 -22.0 Islington -51.4 12.9 -68.2 -57.8 Kensington and Chelsea 51.4 -30.9 -2.8 2.7 Kingston upon Thames -35.1 -30.3 -6.5 -6.4 Lambeth 37.8 -39.3 -43.0 -25.0 Lewisham -86.1 19.0 -19.9 -34.0 Merton 52.6 -53.6 -36.2 -33.2 Newham 23.1 -29.9 65.8 61.4 Redbridge 52.9 -51.9 -11.7 -7.1 Richmond upon Thames 1— -38.9 -45.4 -41.2 Southwark 9.1 -26.7 -62.5 -45.3 Sutton -4.6 -5.4 5.1 6.3 Tower Hamlets -66.1 79.4 14.5 10.5 Waltham Forest 64.7 19.1 63.6 72.4 Wandsworth -40.1 -58.0 2— 2— Westminster -4.4 -49.9 -12.7 -8.4 1 Large Scale Voluntary Transfer 2 Not reported in 2003 Notes: Figures for registered social landlords are for self-contained general needs units only. Sources: Council Taxbase and Council Taxbase Supplementary (CTB1 and CTB1S) returns from local authorities for 3 November 2003 and 6 October 2008; Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) submitted to Communities and Local Government by local authorities for 1 April 2003, 2008; Regulatory Statistical Return (RSR) as reported to the Housing Corporation by registered social landlords for 31 March 2003, 2008.
Housing: Low Incomes
The following table shows the average household income of households purchasing under HomeBuy schemes in England in 2007-08, by region.
£ Region New build HomeBuy Open market HomeBuy Social HomeBuy All HomeBuy schemes North East 16,360 14,120 1— 16,080 North West 15,250 17,620 18,650 15,450 Yorkshire and Humberside 14,750 19,360 1— 15,600 East Midlands 16,010 22,220 1— 16,580 West Midlands 16,550 20,060 n/a 16,810 Eastern 20,550 25,340 1— 22,160 London 24,010 25,010 30,400 24,180 South East 19,620 27,480 19,300 21,250 South West 18,260 22,480 20,230 18,980 England 19,760 25,050 23,410 20,590 n/a = Not available due to small sample size of less than 5. 1 No sales. Source: CORE (Continuous Recording) returns from Registered Social Landlords to the Tenant Services Authority (TSA).
The figures do not include sales through HomeBuy Direct or Rent to HomeBuy, which commenced in 2008-09.
The household income figures are calculated from the “monthly take home pay” figures, which are based on net earnings from any paid work. These figures do not include income from benefits such as income support, child benefit, child tax credit, or any payments received from the Child Support Agency (CSA).
The following table shows the average price of a property purchased under HomeBuy schemes in England in 2007-08, by region.
£ Region New build HomeBuy Open market HomeBuy Social HomeBuy All HomeBuy schemes North East 135,090 111,870 n/a 130,940 North West 132,560 121,210 82,470 129,900 Yorkshire and Humberside 125,100 142,850 n/a 127,440 East Midlands 128,070 130,850 n/a 128,190 West Midlands 141,230 125,240 135,100 140,130 Eastern 166,490 154,430 n/a 162,650 London 221,080 189,990 227,860 218,440 South East 173,840 172,930 153,910 173,520 South West 154,730 149,810 145,580 153,710 England 174,610 163,910 155,860 172,870 n/a = Not available due to small sample size of less than 5. Source: CORE (Continuous Recording) returns from Registered Social Landlords to the Tenant Services Authority (TSA).
The figures do not include sales through HomeBuy Direct or Rent to HomeBuy, which commenced in 2008-09.
The property price figures are based on the total property price, not the amount paid by the purchaser, which could be to purchase a share of the equity in the property.
For 2008-09 provisional figures showing the average amount of grant per unit paid through the Homes and Communities Agency’s Affordable Housing Programme for each of the HomeBuy schemes in each region are set out in the following table.
£ English region New build HomeBuy Open market HomeBuy Social HomeBuy Rent to HomeBuy North East 21,590 22,610 9,000 38,810 North West 26,400 23,670 8,900 44,930 Yorkshire and Humberside 29,520 24,420 9,000 38,320 East Midlands 15,650 24,680 — 22,220 West Midlands 20,810 23,760 7,580 21,160 Eastern 18,240 31,930 13,500 38,770 London 42,650 48,490 12,160 56,320 South East 20,740 32,420 11,650 29,200 South West 14,420 28,620 — 33,690 England 23,340 28,960 7,980 35,940 Source: Homes and Communities Agency’s Investment Management System
Provisional figures indicate that there have been no homes completed under the HomeBuy Direct scheme in 2008-09.
The following is a breakdown of purchases from 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2009:
Schemes Total purchases Of which: key workers Open Market Homebuy 11,165 4,117 Of which: Own Home 799 260 MyChoice 3,123 1,026 New Build Homebuy 36,544 4,159 First Time Buyers Initiative 1,867 291
In addition there have been 306 purchases under Social HomeBuy but we do not collect data on key worker status for Social HomeBuy.
For New Build HomeBuy the table shows completions. Key worker figures are derived from the homes completed in specific Key Worker initiative schemes. It is possible that key workers have also bought homes on standard New Build HomeBuy schemes.
For HomeBuy Direct I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 27 April 2009, Official Report, column 1119W.
There have been no purchases under the Rent to HomeBuy scheme, which became operational in July 2008, and enables potential purchasers to rent a home for up to five years before buying a share.
The Department does not collect information on the income of tenants purchasing local authority property.
For average household income of tenants purchasing registered social landlord properties through HomeBuy schemes, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today (PQ 272225).
The following table shows the average price paid by a tenant purchasing a local authority property under the right to buy scheme in England from 2003-04 to 2007-08, by region.
Region 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 North East 20,270 36,020 40,270 45,980 54,140 North West 25,510 30,740 39,630 48,230 53,630 Yorkshire and Humberside 24,100 30,990 41,650 50,280 61,110 East Midlands 35,500 42,540 50,930 60,760 62,970 West Midlands 33,480 46,720 51,960 58,800 60,850 Eastern 58,390 67,170 78,640 87,770 103,160 London 80,570 91,120 107,620 125,960 141,260 South East 67,670 77,510 86,960 92,900 102,830 South West 50,670 56,620 64,790 76,630 79,830 England 42,200 51,520 57,910 67,800 78,130 Source: P1B returns from local authorities to Communities and local Government (CLG).
For the average price paid for registered social landlord properties purchased through HomeBuy schemes, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today, (PQ 272226).
The average price paid figures are the amount paid by the purchaser which could be less than the total purchase price of the property as usually a share of the equity in the property is purchased.
The term “social homes” has been interpreted as social rented dwellings let by local authorities or registered social landlords.
Estimates of the number of social sector domestic dwellings empty for more than six months in each region in England are shown in the following table.
Local authority Registered social landlord North East 1,217 2,507 North West 1,788 4,279 Yorkshire and the Humber 2,065 1,583 East Midlands 533 542 West Midlands 912 2,169 East 712 631 London 5,010 2,962 South East 856 1,209 South West 379 859 England 12,895 16,741 Sources: Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) and Business Plan Statistical Appendix (BPSA) submitted to Communities and Local Government by local authorities; Regulatory Statistical Return (RSR) as reported to the Housing Corporation by registered social landlords.
Figures for registered social landlords are for self-contained general needs units only and are vacant properties reported as not being available for letting. Not available for letting has been taken as a proxy for properties vacant for six months or longer as this enables the data to be presented at a regional level. Of the total number of RSL properties that have been vacant for at least six months at 31 March 2008, 90 per cent. were recorded as not available for letting.
We have not set individual targets for each HomeBuy scheme to ensure flexibility within the Homes and Communities Agency's Affordable Housing programme 2008-11.
Local authorities are required to provide a valuation when a tenant applies to purchase their home under the Right to Buy or Social HomeBuy schemes. In the case of Social HomeBuy, they must do so when a tenant applies to purchase an initial share and when they subsequently apply to purchase an additional share.
(2) what proportion of (a) local authorities and (b) registered social landlords participated in the (i) Social Homebuy, (ii) Right to Buy and (iii) Right to Acquire schemes in each year since 1997.
Landlords are not free to choose whether or not to participate in the Right to Buy or Right to Acquire schemes. If an eligible tenant applies to purchase under either scheme, and meets the scheme's criteria, the landlord is obliged to sell.
The Right to Buy is available to secure tenants of local authorities and registered social landlords and to those assured tenants of registered social landlords who held secure tenancies at the time their homes were transferred from a local authority to a registered social landlord as part of a large scale voluntary stock transfer.
The Right to Acquire is available to tenants of registered social landlords who live in a qualifying property.
For the position on Social Homebuy, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 6 May 2009, Official Report, column 241W.
A table showing the number of local authority Right to Buy sales, Right to Acquire sales, and Social HomeBuy sales by local authority for each year from 1997-98 has been sent to the House Library.
Data source:
Homes and Communities Agency Investment Management System (IMS), and quarterly PIB returns from local authorities to CLG
The majority of non-registered social landlords developing affordable housing enter into an “Agreed Transfer” grant agreement with the Homes and Communities Agency whereby grant is paid on condition that the ownership of the completed units is transferred to a registered social landlord.
A small number of non-registered social landlord investment partners developing affordable housing enter into a “Retention Model” grant agreement with the Homes and Communities Agency whereby grant is paid on the condition that they retain the ownership of the developed units and manage these within the affordable housing sector. The grant is secured by a rent charge registered against the freehold title of the affordable units and the non-registered social landlord partner would have to seek the Homes and Communities Agency's consent to sell the units.
If the non-registered social landlord investment partner sought to sell a unit outside of the affordable housing sector there would be an element of grant recovery. Where applicable, any increase in value would be recovered.
According to the annual returns received from registered social landlords the following amounts have been credited to the organisations’ Recycled Capital Grant Fund. Figures for 2008-09 are not yet available.
Total (£ million) 2005-06 29.26 2006-07 38.73 2007-08 34.13
Only New Build HomeBuy, Social HomeBuy and Rent to HomeBuy involve the purchase of a property through shares. Information on the number of buyers who have purchased subsequent shares to the initial purchase is not collected centrally.
We expect to publish completions data on the new supply of affordable housing, including low cost home ownership, in December. The data will include HomeBuy Direct.
The Department for Communities and Local Government does not hold data on HomeBuy Direct sales. The Homes and Communities Agency collects data on HomeBuy Direct sales to enable them to manage the Affordable Housing investment programme.
The following table shows the current number of Rent to HomeBuy providers by region.
Region Number of providers East Midlands 11 Eastern 10 London 13 North East 2 North West 7 South East 11 South West 8 West Midlands 5 Yorkshire and the Humber 6 Total 73
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 26 March 2009, Official Report, columns 719-720W.
(2) how much has been spent on Rent to Homebuy in each of the last three years.
We have not allocated specific funds in 2009-10 and 2010-11 for homebuy products, including rent to homebuy so as to allow full flexibility within the National Affordable Housing programme operated by the Homes and Communities Agency. Future estimates levels of expenditure beyond 2010-11 will be dependent upon the next spending review.
Rent to homebuy was launched in July 2008, and the provisional figure from the Homes and Communities Agency for expenditure in 2008-09 is £88 million.
Housing: Regeneration
From September 2008 to November 2008, the HCA implementation team ran a series of seminars which included sessions on the Single Conversation. There were a total of 10 events (nine regional and one national) in this period.
Since 1 December HCA regional teams have continued to engage with local authorities on the Single Conversation but there have been no further HCA-led events with this specific aim.
As the Single Conversation is the HCA’s main business process, whenever HCA representatives speak at events and conferences organised by other bodies, they use the opportunity to communicate with stakeholders the HCA’s approach to and progress on implementing the Single Conversation.
(2) how many local authorities have taken part in the Home and Communities Agency's Single Conversation to date.
There is no separate budget for the delivery of the Single Conversation.
The Single Conversation is being introduced via a phased approach. The target is a Single Conversation being initiated in half of the local authorities within each region by April 2010 and with all local authorities by April 2011. To date 141 local authorities have begun initial discussions.
Guidance on the Single Conversation has been published on the 12 May and is available from the HCA website and a copy will be placed in the House of Commons Library.
http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/page.aspx?pointerid=e5bfaf8d846a437d87ae0214b5e214fc
Housing: Sales
[holding answer 7 May 2009]: The following table shows the average market value of local authority properties purchased under the Right to Buy scheme in England from 2003-04 to 2007-08, by region.
Region 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 North East 35,120 54,820 61,380 66,990 75,610 North West 44,980 52,110 63,290 72,810 78,840 Yorkshire and Humberside 42,210 51,240 64,200 73,310 84,860 East Midlands 57,320 64,960 73,850 84,350 86,810 West Midlands 56,070 70,650 77,140 83,850 86,470 Eastern 89,750 99,750 112,020 120,780 136,930 London 117,760 126,610 137,800 147,110 161,960 South East 103,870 114,150 123,570 129,390 139,720 South West 79,100 85,480 94,130 105,930 109,510 England 66,840 77,180 83,460 92,770 103,470 Source: P1B returns from Local Authorities to Communities and Local Government (CLG).
For the average market value of Registered Social Landlord properties purchased through HomeBuy schemes, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today, (PQ 272226).
The market value figures are based on the total property price, not the amount paid by the purchaser, which could be to purchase a share of the equity in the property.
Housing: Standards
The information requested is provided in the following table. This is drawn from the Business Plan Statistical Appendix—Annual Monitoring data from Local Authorities for 2007-08 and from the Regulatory Statistical Return—Annual Monitoring data from Registered Social Landlords for 2007-08. The decent homes programme also covers non decent homes in the private sector occupied by vulnerable households but we do not have any figures at local authority level.
Local authority housing RSL housing Barking and Dagenham 7,708 101 Barnet 2,708 346 Bexley 1— 1,065 Brent 121 763 Bromley 1— 3,175 Camden 10,874 658 City of London 668 39 Croydon 1,464 990 Ealing 3,785 411 Enfield 2,641 432 Greenwich 7,359 1,181 Hackney 7,842 983 Hammersmith and Fulham 3,316 1,021 Haringey 6,758 869 Harrow 2,323 512 Havering 2,982 157 Hillingdon 23 290 Hounslow 0 563 Islington 9,633 859 Kensington and Chelsea 1,354 1,350 Kingston upon Thames 1,323 76 Lambeth 8,951 3,390 Lewisham 9,870 6,354 Merton 4,002 190 Newham 9,629 515 Redbridge 1,281 183 Richmond upon Thames 1— 364 Southwark 18,320 1,204 Sutton 2,768 301 Tower Hamlets 6,859 3,774 Waltham Forest 5,576 1,051 Wandsworth 0 1,147 Westminster 0 1,043 1 Do not own stock.
Lobbying
The Department’s Executive agencies and NDPBs are required to operate in accordance with “Managing Public Money” and other HM Treasury expenditure rules and guidance.
Mortgages: Government Assistance
There are two options available to eligible households under the Mortgage Rescue Scheme—Shared Equity and Government Mortgage to Rent. Under the Shared Equity option a household must have a minimum of 25 per cent. but no more than 40 per cent. equity in their property to be considered eligible. Under Government Mortgage to Rent, a household must have less than 25 per cent. equity and any negative equity should not exceed the market value of the property by more than 20 per cent.
It was announced in the Budget 2009 that the mortgage rescue scheme will be expanded to include households in negative equity where their mortgage and secured debts did not total more than 20 per cent. above the market value of their property. This change came into force from 1 May and demonstrates our commitment to keep the scheme under review to reflect market conditions and scheme demand.
Details were added to the DirectGov website on the Mortgage Rescue Scheme (MRS) on 16 January 2009 and on Homeowners Mortgage Support (HMS) on 21 April 2009.
DirectGov is the official Government website for citizens and is designed to provide easy access to information on public services and information, delivered by the UK Government.
The rules governing the homeowners mortgage support scheme require lenders to maintain the rate of interest that is contracted with the borrower at the time of entry to the scheme. Before entering the scheme the borrower must seek independent money advice to help establish an affordable level of payment, provided that the borrower can pay at least 30 per cent. of the monthly interest due. This should substantially reduce the risk of late or missed payments. Should the borrower default while on the scheme the standard terms of their mortgage will govern the rate of interest that is applied.
An information leaflet on Homeowners Mortgage Support is currently available on the DirectGov website and has been distributed to delivery partners, including lenders and money advice agencies, for use in branches at their discretion. An information leaflet on the Mortgage Rescue Scheme is made available by local authorities to households who are likely to be eligible for the scheme during the application process, rather than by the lender. Additional information on both schemes is available on the DirectGov website.
Advice on the range of support available to homeowners is also available through a National Homelessness Advice Service (NHAS) leaflet “Are you worried about your mortgage?”, which is widely available online and through money advice agencies, local authorities and lenders.
The Government Mortgage Rescue Scheme has only been operational across the country since 1 January 2009, following successful ‘fast tracking’ by 80 local authorities in December 2008. The scheme is one part of a comprehensive package of measures to help households at risk of repossession.
Headline data from the first monitoring returns submitted by local authorities implementing the scheme were published on the CLG website on 30 April 2009 at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/repossessions
Based on the January-March 2009 monitoring returns, housing associations did not proceed to complete the mortgage rescue process on eight properties during this reporting period—seven due to the property being in negative equity and one because of the property’s condition.
In the Budget 2009 it was announced that the Mortgage Rescue Scheme criteria would be expanded from 1 May to include some eligible households in negative equity. Local authorities are encouraged to reconsider cases previously found ineligible.
(2) when the data in relation to Live Table 1303 on her Department’s website will next be updated.
Headline data for April 2009 from the monitoring returns submitted by local authorities implementing the Government’s Mortgage Rescue Scheme are due to be published on the CLG website on Friday 29 May 2009 at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/repossessions
Similar to the publication of data for January-March 2009 published on 30 April, the published tables will be broken down by Government Office region. Updated data for March 2009 will also be published.
Non-domestic Rates
For the purpose of business rates, the Valuation Office Agency may collect data on business turnover in order to determine the rateable value for certain types of properties. These normally include leisure properties, the utilities and some specialist commercial and industrial properties. The Valuation Office Agency do not normally collect turnover information on retail premises.
We have no plans to change the current system of uniform business rates under which the same multipliers are applied to the rateable value of property in all parts of England, providing certainty to business. However, changes in the relative value of different sectors and regions are reflected in rates bills, as the rateable value of property is based upon annual rental values and reassessed every five years.
The Government will publish an impact assessment when it tables the regulations implementing the deferral scheme in Parliament. Analysis of the benefits of the scheme for ratepayers will be included in that document.
The 2010 Financial Statement and Budget report published figures estimating the costs of the scheme over the next three years. These were:
£ million 2009-10 -700 2010-11 +335 2011-12 +320
Pay
Please refer to the following table for expenditure incurred by the Tenant Services Authority and the Homes and Communities Agency (and its predecessor bodies) in relation to reimbursable staff expenses.
The figures contained in the table relate to staff and board members expenses for each of the last three years.
Tenant Services Authority Homes and Communities Agency English Partnerships Academy of Sustainable Communities Housing Corporation1 2006-07 — — 1,823,000 26,000 491,575. 2007-08 — — 1,896,000 22,000 437,820. 2008-09 81,584 928,000 £,538,000 21,000 287,200. 1 Housing Corporation expenditure cannot be disaggregated between personnel who transferred to the TSA and those to the HCA. As a result, these are quoted in total.
Prisons: Planning Permission
Assuming the proposed prison at Beam Park West has a volume of 2,500 square metres or more or covers a site area of more than one hectare, then the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation will have responsibility as planning authority for determining the planning application.
Rent to Homebuy Scheme
All Homes and Communities Agency investment partners are able to bid for grant funding to provide Rent to HomeBuy. Those whose bids have been successful are set out in the following list.
List of RSLs participating in rent to Homebuy
Newlon
Hastoe
Notting Hill
Riverside
Moat Homes
Leicester Housing
Islington and Shoreditch
Octavia Housing
Metropolitan Housing Trust
Devon and Cornwall
Manchester Methodist
Tees Valley
Hightown
Home Group Limited
Estuary
Orbit Housing Group
Chevin Housing
West Mercia
Amicus Group
Spectrum Housing Group
Places For People
Town and Country Housing
Gallions
Longhurst Group
Catalyst Housing Group Ltd.
Plus Housing Group Ltd.
Aster
Sovereign Housing Group Ltd.
Isos
Midland Heart
One Housing Group Ltd.
London and Quadrant Housing Trust
Hyde
Adactus
Aldwyck
East Midlands
Bedfordshire Pilgrim
Yorkshire Housing
Southern Housing Group Ltd.
Circle Anglia
Sentinel Hal
Eastern Shires
A2 South
Somer Community
East Thames Group
Accent Corporate Services
Knowsley Housing Trust
Bellway
Bovis
Gilliford
The rent to homebuy scheme was introduced in July 2008 to help eligible households benefit from an affordable rent while they save for a deposit for a pre-specified period (up to five years). No households had yet purchased through the scheme.
Right to Buy Scheme
The following table shows the average discount as a percentage of the average market value for all local authority properties sold through the Right to Buy scheme.
Average discount on sales (percentage) 1997-98 49 1998-99 50 1999-2000 48 2000-01 47 2001-02 44 2002-03 41 2003-04 37 2004-05 33 2005-06 31 2006-07 27 2007-08 24 Source: Quarterly P1B returns from local authorities to CLG
CLG do not hold figures on average social property prices, so the figures are taken from the average market value of local authority properties sold through the RTB scheme. Around 80 per cent. of RTB sales in 2007-08 were local authority properties, while 20 per cent. are of properties owned by registered social landlords.
Shelter: Eco-Towns
I have placed in the Library a copy of the formal bid for funding that Shelter submitted in July 2008, together with a copy of the updated funding agreement made between Shelter and my Department. This agreement covers the period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2010 and relates to the production of publications to provide factual information to local people about the housing situation in and around potential eco-town locations.
Social Rented Housing
Since establishment to 31 March 2009, the TSA issued 1,124 Section 9 consents; of those 371 were private finance consents and 753 were consents to dispose of land/properties or an interest in land/property and in the same period three applications for Section 9 consent were rejected. In April 2009 the TSA issued 95 Private Finance Section 9 consents and 224 consents for disposal. No applications were rejected in April.
Treasury
Child Benefit
The estimated cost to the Exchequer of child benefit payments is given in the following table:
£ billion 2008-09 11.3 2009-10 11.8 2010-11 11.8
The projections are based on indexation of the current first and subsequent child rates of child benefit and projections of the number of children in the UK from the Office for National Statistics.
Child Trust Fund: Plymouth
The most recent constituency level statistics on child trust fund accounts were published on 6 November 2008 and can be viewed on the HM Revenue and Customs’ website at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ctf/cons-stats-oct08.pdf
Crown Estate Commissioners
The Crown Estate has not purchased any voluntary home condition reports in respect of residential sales to date because they have received no specific requests for them from would be buyers.
Economic Situation
The UK labour market has weakened as the economy turned down through 2008. The Workforce Jobs Survey points to manufacturing, distribution and business services as the sectors where the number of jobs has fallen the most. Although the Office for National Statistics does produce estimates of claimant count unemployment by occupational category these do not provide specific estimates of employment of, “blue collar” and “white collar” workers.
Equity Release
None. Local authority loans do not fall within the FSA's remit. Where a local authority equity loan is combined with a conventional loan from a lender, the FSA would regulate only the lender part, not the local authority part.
European Union
The Government's latest forecast of UK net expenditure transfers to EC institutions in 2009-10 was published in Table C9 (page 238) of the 2009 Budget (HC 407).
The Single Market will continue to be a key driver for the UK economy in 2009-10 in particular in moving towards recovery, given the European Union's prominence as the UK's major trading partner.
Excise Duties: Diesel Fuel
An impact assessment on the changes to the schedule of vehicles entitled to use rebated gas oil (red diesel) was published in December 2006, and is available on HMRC’s website (www.hmrc.gov.uk). A memorandum of agreement published in January 2008 clarified this legislation in relation to agricultural vehicles.
Financial Institutions: Debt Collection
The matter raised in this question is the responsibility of the Financial Services Authority, whose day-to-day operations are independent from Government control and influence. The FSA will respond to the hon. Member directly
Government Departments: National Insurance Contributions
Employees of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development deployed overseas, in common with most ordinary employees, are kept in the UK's social security system and pay Class 1 National Insurance by the UK's extensive network of international agreements. However, where they are sent abroad to countries where there are no agreements then they will no longer be entitled to pay Class 1 National Insurance after 52 weeks. After this period they can, if they meet certain residence conditions, choose to protect their UK basic state pension and entitlement to bereavement benefit cover, by paying Class 3 National Insurance.
There are special rules for certain groups, such as HM Forces that have no choice but to work outside the UK when required. Social security cover is vital as the nature of their work may be hazardous. These rules keep them in the UK Social Security scheme, paying Class 1 National Insurance Contributions towards the full range of social security benefits. Without this, such groups would need potentially expensive private insurance for themselves and their families, or could be left without income replacement when subsequently sick, disabled or unemployed.
The Government have no plans to change the National Insurance treatments of these two groups when deployed overseas.
Income Support: Mortgages
I have been asked to reply.
Official figures on numbers of households entering HMS will be published later this year. We are working closely with lenders and money advisors to monitor progress and ensure the scheme is working effectively.
Inheritance Tax: Tamworth
Estimated numbers of estates paying inheritance tax are not available at local levels.
Members: Correspondence
[holding answer 15 May 2009]: A reply has been sent to the hon. Member.
I have replied to the hon. Member.
Pensions
[holding answer 15 May 2009]: The Government provide generous pensions tax relief to support saving to produce an income in retirement. These generous reliefs include the ability to take up to 25 per cent. of a pension fund as a tax free lump sum. The remainder should be used to produce an income throughout retirement. Where funds are considered small the member may be able to take the whole fund as a lump sum. These rules are regularly reviewed.
Planning Permission
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 February 2009, Official Report, column 899W, to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles).
Steering Committee on Harmonisation
For minutes of the 47th meeting of the Steering Committee on Harmonisation I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 26 November 2008, Official Report, column 1923W, to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill).
A copy of the minutes of the 48th meeting of the Steering Committee has been placed in the Library.
Tax Havens: Crown Dependencies
The negotiation of tax information exchange agreements with other jurisdictions, including the UK, is essentially a matter for the Crown Dependencies themselves. Such agreements are negotiated under entrustments granted by the UK. The UK offers assistance where appropriate and encourages dialogue between the Crown Dependencies and other countries.
Inclusion in the OECD list of jurisdictions that have substantially implemented the internationally agreed tax standard is based on assessments carried out by the OECD.
Taxation: Defence Equipment
The information is not available.
Valuation Office
The generic Method of Work Statement will be placed in the Library.
Valuation Office: Cole Layer Trumble
The Valuation Office Agency does not hold a copy of the agreement.
Valuation Office: Geographical Information Systems
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) does not have a geographical information system working group. However, the VOA does have a Project Board that oversees the development of their geographic information system (GIS). Members of the GIS Project Board include the following senior staff of the VOA: Paul Sanderson, Director of Data Strategy and Jon Wrennall, Chief Information Officer. The job titles of other VOA staff who sit on the GIS Project Board include: Business Project Manager; IT Project Manager; IT Business Analyst; Head of Portfolio Delivery; HR Learning Manager.
Valuation: Business Premises
(2) what the average rental value in pounds per square metre per year for a (a) type 1, (b) type 2, (c) type 3, (d) type 4 and (e) type 5 industrial premises was in England according to Valuation Office Agency records in the closest period to (i) April 2008 and (ii) April 2003 for which records are held;
(3) what the average rental value in pounds per square metre per year for a (a) type 1, (b) type 2 and (c) type 3 shop premises in England was, according to Valuation Office Agency records, in the closest period to (i) April 2008 and (ii) April 2003 for which records are held.
This information is not available and cannot be prepared without disproportionate cost. The Valuation Office Agency’s Property Market Reports give average rental values for these categories in a number of different localities. National figures cannot be derived from these reports, as not all localities are included and there is variation in numbers of properties in each of the localities that are included.
Health
Benzodiazepines and Antidepressants
The information requested is in the following tables.
Benzodiazepines, British National Formulary chemical name Items dispensed in 2008 (thousands)1 Alprazolam <0.1 Chlordiazepoxide Hydrochloride 259.2 Clobazam 160.1 Clonazepam 520.8 Diazepam 4,863.1 Flurazepam Hydrochloride <0.1 Loprazolam Mesilate 104.2 Lorazepam 898.6 Lormetazepam 92.0 Midazolam 2.6 Midazolam Hydrochloride 58.9 Midazolam Maleate 5.2 Nitrazepam 1,172.8 Oxazepam 180.0 Temazepam 3,122.2 1 <0.1 indicates that less than 50 prescriptions were dispensed. Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system.
Anti-depressants, British National Formulary chemical name Items dispensed in 2008 (thousands)1 Amitriptyline Embonate <0.1 Amitriptyline Hydrochloride 7,208.1 Amoxapine <0.1 Citalopram Hydrobromide 8,992.4 Clomipramine Hydrochloride 362.1 Desipramine Hydrochloride <0.1 Dosulepin Hydrochloride 1,949.2 Doxepin 45.2 Duloxetine Hydrochloride 352.3 Escitalopram 1,271.1 Fluoxetine Hydrochloride 5,034.5 Flupentixol Hydrochloride 191.8 Fluvoxamine Maleate 29.6 Imipramine Hydrochloride 200.9 Isocarboxazid 3.1 Lofepramine Hydrochloride 387.4 Maprotiline Hydrochloride 0.1 Mianserin Hydrochloride 10.1 Mirtazapine 2,437.5 Moclobemide 26.0 Nefazodone Hydrochloride 0.6 Nortriptyline 217.4 Oxitriptan <0.1 Paroxetine Hydrochloride 1,690.4 Phenelzine Sulphate 23.2 Reboxetine 53.7 Sertraline Hydrochloride 2,128.7 Tranylcypromine Sulphate 12.5 Trazodone Hydrochloride 793.4 Trimipramine Maleate 137.4 Tryptophan 11.9 Venlafaxine 2,390.1 1 <0.1 indicates that less than 50 prescriptions were dispensed. Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system.
Blood
The Department has given careful consideration to the recommendations contained in Lord Archer’s report. We expect to publish the Government response to Lord Archer’s report by the end of May.
Bowel Cancer: Screening
The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme is co-ordinated by NHS Cancer Screening Programmes (NHSCSP) with funding and policy guidance from the Department. The NHSCSP developed the structure of the screening programme, comprising five regional programme hubs responsible for call and recall, laboratory processing of test kits, and the booking of clinic appointments. Each hub links to a number of screening centres within its region responsible for providing colonoscopy services to those with an abnormal screening result.
The first screening centre commenced operation in July 2006. As at 15 May 2009, there are 47 screening centres in operation across England, covering approximately 83 per cent. of the eligible population. The programme costs £1.40 per head of the total population per year. The structure of the programme has developed as planned and full roll out of the programme across the country is expected by the end of 2009.
From 27 April 2008 to 26 April 2009, 2,238,193 invitations for bowel screening were sent. For the same period, 2,159,497 kits were issued and 1,277,519 kits were returned.
Dental Services
Barry Cockcroft the Chief Dental Officer wrote to all stakeholders quoted in the previous reply with a draft of the General Dental Services (GDS) Statement of Financial Entitlement (SFE) on 2 October 2008. The Department met the British Dental Association (BDA) on 11 November to discuss the proposed changes and incorporated the points raised by the BDA in the GDS SFE, which came into force on 1 April 2009.
Dental Services: Pay
Following consultation on the content of the General Dental Services Statement of Financial Entitlements and subsequent to the publication of the 38th Report of the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration, Cm 7579, representatives of the British Dental Association were consulted and agreed the uprated figures at a meeting on 31 March 2009, prior to the signing of the directions.
Drugs: Rehabilitation
Data on those seeking treatment for drug use are not collected centrally. Data on those in treatment is collected and the following tables give figures for under 16-year-olds in treatment for cannabis, both for primary and adjunctive use, for England only, the East of England and Cambridgeshire. North West Cambridgeshire is not separately identifiable.
The increase in the numbers of young people in treatment for drugs (primarily cannabis) reflects both the growth in treatment services for young people, and our success in getting more young people into treatment, rather than any increase in the actual incidence of substance misuse.
Primary Adjunctive 2007-08 England 6,075 2,075 East of England 380 116 Cambridgeshire 23 5 2006-07 England 5,372 1,609 East of England 294 103 Cambridgeshire 10 1— 2005-06 England 4,723 1,128 East of England 194 57 Cambridgeshire 6 1— 1 Used to suppress figures < 5 Notes: 1. If a client starts the year already in treatment, age is taken at 1 April, if they begin treatment during the year, age is taken at triage. 2. Figures are provided for primary use (the substance that brought the client into treatment) and adjunctive use (a substance additional to the primary drug used by the client).
National data capture on under-18s did not begin until April 2005.
Epilepsy
Pregnancy should be planned with expert care and support from an epilepsy specialist. Preconception counselling will include discussion of:
the importance of healthy eating and taking 5mg of folic acid a day;
the possibility of early screening for foetal abnormalities at nine weeks of pregnancy rather than 12;
whether to continue to take anti-epileptic drugs; and
what the risk of the medication is to the baby.
One of the main reasons to have preconception counselling is to have the best possible treatment. Detailed advice on epilepsy and pregnancy is available on the NHS Choices website at:
www.nhs.uk/livewell/epilepsy/pages/epilepsyandpregnancy.aspx
Influenza: Vaccination
Based on current information, approximately 14 million doses of seasonal influenza vaccine will be available for winter 2009-10, which is similar to the number of doses available last year. This information refers to the United Kingdom.
Khat
(2) how many (a) teenagers and (b) others were admitted to NHS psychiatric units for mental health disorders associated with khat usage in each of the last 15 years.
The information requested is not collected centrally.
Maternity Services
In July 2008, the Healthcare Commission published ‘Towards better births, a review of maternity services in England’ which assessed the quality, capability and efficiency of maternity services in England.
In late 2008, an independent review of maternity services in Hertfordshire was carried out by the National Clinical Advisory Team.
NHS: Standards
(2) how many (a) independent and (b) internal investigations into the NHS (i) nationally and (ii) in Leicester have found that an NHS trust has not acted with due care and attention in the last (A) five years, (B) two years and (C) 12 months.
The information requested is not collected by the Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Osteoglophonic Dysplasia
(2) how many children under the age of 10 years were diagnosed with development dysplasia of the hip in each of the last three years;
(3) what the cost to the NHS is of treating children under the age of 12 years with late-diagnosed development dysplasia of the hip.
The number of children under the age of 10 years who are diagnosed with developmental dysplasia of the hip are not collected centrally.
Data relating to the specific cost to the national health service of treating children under the age of 12 years with late-diagnosed development dysplasia of the hip are not collected centrally.
The Department is not currently funding research into dysplasia of the hip in newborn children. However, there has been an Ultrasonography in the diagnosis and management of developmental hip dysplasia trial (UK Hip Trial) conducted at 33 hospitals in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland by researchers from Oxford and London Universities. This found no significant benefits in costs from screening with ultrasound rather than the Barlow and Ortolani tests used currently.
The Medical Research Council, one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research, although not currently funding any research directly relating to developmental dysplasia of the hip, is funding the UK resource of new models of bone and mineral disorders, a £1.86 million research project, which may lead to further understanding of the condition.
Starthere Scheme
[holding answer 18 May 2009]: The report has recently been received by departmental officials and a decision on publication will be made in due course.
Stem Cells
Within the United Kingdom, any use of an unlicensed stem cell medicinal product requires the approval of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Organisations involved in collection, processing and storage of stem cells must also have a license from the Human Tissue Authority.
The Department is aware of a growing number of unlicensed and unproven stem cell products that are being marketed from overseas. Regrettably, such marketing falls outside the jurisdiction of the UK. The Department, NHS Choices and the Gene Therapy Advisory Committee have issued warnings and provided advice on their respective websites for anyone who may be considering such ‘treatments'.
Surgery
Data on last minute cancellations for non-clinical reasons in each strategic health authority in England are shown in the following table.
A last minute cancellation is one that occurs on the day the patient was due to arrive, after they have arrived in hospital or on the day of their operation.
The number of last minute cancellations is also included in the Care Quality Commission’s annual health check assessments.
Number of cancelled operations As a percentage of all elective admissions Area 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 to date (3 quarters) 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 to date (3 quarters) England 52,005 57,382 43,852 0.9 0.9 0.9 North East 2,333 2,567 1,949 0.6 0.6 0.6 North West 8,415 8,973 6,271 1.0 0.9 0.8 Yorkshire and The Humber 5,655 7,183 5,335 0.8 1.1 1.0 East Midlands 4,246 4,331 3,532 0.9 0.9 0.9 West Midlands 4,760 5,587 4,652 0.7 0.8 0.8 East of England 5,633 6,893 4,839 1.0 1.1 1.0 London 8,153 8,662 7,288 0.9 0.9 0.9 South East Coast 3,657 3,518 2,595 1.0 1.0 0.8 South Central 3,670 3,472 2,344 1.0 0.8 0.7 South West 5,483 6,196 5,047 0.8 0.8 0.9 Notes: 1. 2008-09 figures for quarters one to three only. Quarter four will be published on 5 June 2009. 2. Activity figures based on number of elective admissions in the year. This is an approximation to the number of operations. Source: QMCO Cancelled Operations, monthly activity return.