To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many House of Commons staff have been recruited through employment agencies; and if he will make a statement. (277949)

The House of Commons does not fill any of its permanent vacancies with agency employed staff. Staff employed by agencies are used to cover temporary or interim vacancies. In 2008-09 expenditure on temporary agency staff equated to just over 4 per cent. of overall staffing costs.

To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission whether the information on hon. Members' expenses which has been leaked was obtained by the unauthorised (a) electronic and (b) physical copying of material. (276388)

The matter is subject to an internal inquiry. I will write to the hon. Member when it has reached conclusions.

To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission when the Commission expects publication by the House of information relating to hon. Members' allowances between 2004 and 2008; and if he will make a statement. (278002)

Preparation for publication of Members' allowances claims and supporting documentation from April 2004 until March 2008 is nearing completion. Final checks are being carried out, and any appeals by Members about the precise scope of what is included in the publication scheme are due to be heard and determined by the Committee on Members' Allowances during the course of next week. Subject to testing the public internet access arrangements, publication will follow as soon as possible after that.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to appoint a special director for Network Rail. (277841)

The Department for Transport has no plans to appoint a special director to the board of Network Rail.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much each English shire county has received in transport grant in each of the last five years. (278030)

The Department for Transport’s website contains details relating to the allocation of capital transport grant to local transport authorities including the shire counties at:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/ltp/capital/

This funding is not ring-fenced and local authorities have discretion to spend their allocations in line with their priorities.

Revenue expenditure on transport is generally supported through the Department for Communities and Local Government’s formula grant.

To ask the Leader of the House what arrangements she plans to make for consultation on the Government’s draft legislative programme for the 2009-10 Session; and if she will make a statement. (277952)

My right hon. Friend, the Leader of the House of Commons, will make an announcement shortly.

To ask the Leader of the House if she will discuss with the Leader of the House of Lords the establishment of a Joint Committee to consider co-ordinated publication on the parliamentary intranet and website of details of the expenses of individual hon. Members and Peers. (277951)

The Government will bring forward legislation to establish a new, independent Parliamentary Standards Authority to oversee the expenses regimes of both Houses. It will be open to the new Authority to co-ordinate the publication of information about the expenses of Members of both Houses.

To ask the Leader of the House what steps she is taking to ensure the completeness of answers to Parliamentary Questions for written answer. (277953)

My right hon. and learned Friend the Leader of the House of Commons and I are fully committed to making sure that Ministers give faithful, honest, complete and timely answers to written parliamentary questions. We keep the matter under continuous review.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 11 November 2008, Official Report, column 1083W, on bank services, for what reasons people with funds held in Icelandic banks were not alerted to the circumstances which prompted the Financial Services Authority to intensify its supervision of retail deposit-taking by Icelandic banks at the beginning of 2008. (270426)

The authorities acted responsibly throughout and, for very good reasons, have a policy of not commenting publicly on individual institutions. In line with usual practice, the authorities did not make people aware of these circumstances. To have done so in the case of the Icelandic banks could have caused precisely the consequences that the authorities were seeking to avoid.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the likely effects on levels of (a) carbon dioxide emissions and (b) revenue which would accrue to the Exchequer arising from a change in rates of motorcycle vehicle excise duty to the same carbon dioxide emission scales as private cars; (278003)

The information requested is not available.

Carbon dioxide based vehicle excise duty for cars rests on data produced through the European-wide system of vehicle type approval. This system does not produce carbon dioxide data for motorcycles. Vehicle excise duty for motorcycles is instead set on an engine capacity basis.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether HM Revenue and Customs offices were open to receive post on Saturday 31 January 2009. (277779)

HM Revenue and Customs Enquiry Centres were closed on Saturday 31 January 2009. Post found and opened on Monday 2 February 2009 was treated as received on Friday 30 January 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects the first meeting of the Adaptation Sub-Committee of the Committee on Climate Change to take place. (277394)

The Government and the devolved Administrations recently announced the appointment of Lord John Krebs as the Chair of the Adaptation Sub-Committee to the Committee on Climate Change. As the Chair of the Sub-Committee, Lord Krebs will also sit on the main committee. The UK Government and the devolved Administrations are in the process of appointing five to eight board members to serve on the sub-committee. We hope to have the sub-committee in place by the end of June and the first meeting should take place as soon as possible after that.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice his Department has issued to local authorities on the control of wild deer. (278026)

DEFRA has not issued any advice on deer specifically for local authorities. For those involved in deer management, advice on the sustainable management of deer is available from the Deer Initiative. Some local authorities will have received advice from the Deer Initiative on local deer management issues relevant to their area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what financial and other support his Department has made available to encourage the development of local food hubs; how many such food hubs are in existence; and at which locations. (276892)

I recognise the benefits of well run local food hubs in helping to make it easier for local food producers to access markets, including public sector customers. Under the Regional Food Strategy both DEFRA and the regional development agencies have provided support for a number of initiatives, including food hubs, aimed at facilitating access to market for local food producers.

Funding to encourage the development of local food hubs in England has come from a number of sources:

The additional £5 million over five years (2003-04 to 2007-08) which DEFRA made available to Food from Britain (FFB) to support the quality regional food sector;

The regional development agencies' (RDA) single pot funding;

The Rural Development Programme; and

The private sector.

Examples of food hub-related activities which have received public funding include:

Under the previous England Rural Development Programme a 50 per cent. Rural Enterprise Scheme grant of £228,500 which helped fund the conversion of existing traditional buildings into Plumgarths Farm Shop and Lakelands Food Park in Cumbria;

The Ludlow Food Centre which has received funding (£159,000) from the West Midlands RDA; and

A study being funded by the South East of England, East of England and London RDAs examining the feasibility of using food hubs to serve London with local and regional produce.

In addition to the above, other examples of food hub facilities can be found in Bedfordshire (Woburn Country Foods), Essex (Ashlyns Organics); Shropshire (Weston Park); Nottinghamshire (Southglade Food Park) and Cumbria (Redhills near Penrith). In the south-west, the development of food distribution hubs is being driven by local demand through the supermarkets and food manufacturers without the need for public sector intervention.

Finally, DEFRA has also helped fund, via FFB, the research by Westley Consulting Ltd. and John Geldard (Plumgarths Farm) which led to the ‘Supplying Local Food to Mainstream Customers’ report published in August 2008. A copy of this report, which recognised the role that well run food hubs could play but was cautious about recommending public investment in establishing more hubs, can be found at the Westley Consulting website.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Minister of State plans to respond to the letter from the right hon. Member for West Derbyshire of 30 March 2009 on the dumping of industrial waste in Roston. (278095)

I have now responded to the right hon. Member’s letter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to respond to the letter from the right hon. Member for West Derbyshire of 4 March 2009 on charges on compost. (278096)

I responded to the right hon. Member’s letter on 3 June.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) whether his Department has received any representations on whether the reference to fuels manufactured from waste in the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 Schedule 1, Part 2, Section 1.1 reflects the Court of Appeal ruling in the OSS Group v. Environment Agency case; and if he will make a statement; (275101)

DEFRA officials have received correspondence from representatives of companies whose business involves the processing of waste to produce fuels about issues arising from the Court of Appeal ruling in the case of OSS Group v. Environment Agency. Officials at the Environment Agency have also held meetings with the companies concerned to discuss these issues. The Government's response to the amendment of the Environmental Permitting (England Wales) Regulations 2007 in the light of the Court's decision is still being considered.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many officials in his Department have been suspended from duty in each month since January 2007. (274190)

In the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), excluding the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), central records of suspension exist from April 2007 only.

The information for MoJ excluding NOMS is set out in the following table:

These figures represent the number of new suspensions in each month; there is no cumulative element to the totals.

The National Offender Management Service does not hold the requested information centrally, and to obtain the information now would incur disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the names and addresses were of each organisation that supplied goods and services to his Department in 2008-09, based on the purchase order data held in the Department's financial database. (276413)

The information requested will be placed in the Libraries of the House. The data provided have been sourced from two Enterprise Resource Planning Systems, one from the system covering the Courts, Tribunals, Former Department for Constitutional Affairs, and the other from the National Offender Management Service System. It is a complete list of suppliers against whom a purchase order was raised in the 2008-09 financial year across each system.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice to which Commonwealth governments the Government have indicated a wish to discuss reform of male-preference primogeniture for the line of succession for the Crown; and if he will make a statement. (273805)

Any changes to the rules of succession would have to be agreed to by all Commonwealth countries of which the Queen is head of state. Discussions have started and are continuing but it would be inappropriate to release details at this stage.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the rate of reoffending among those who have completed high-visibility community payback schemes. (278102)

Reoffending rates for those who have completed high-visibility community payback schemes are unavailable as the data source used to produce reoffending rates does not differentiate between those on the scheme, and those who are not.

Reoffending rates are available for those who serve both community and suspended sentence orders with an unpaid work requirement; however the latest available data are for those who commenced such a sentence between 1 January and 31 March 2007. The high-visibility community payback scheme did not commence until December 2008, therefore reoffending rates for the period covered by the scheme will not be available until data for the 2009 cohort are published in 2011.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the Big Lottery Fund awarded to brass bands in each of the last five years. (275822)

The Big Lottery Fund has been able to supply the following figures for the value of relevant grants across the UK in the last five years, including grants made under the Awards for All joint scheme:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the National Anti-Doping Organisation expects the governing authorities for football to have introduced anti-doping procedures compliant with its requirements; and if he will make a statement. (277268)

[holding answer 1 June 2009]: UK Sport, the UK’s National Anti-doping Organisation, is currently working with the Football Association (FA) to ensure that their anti-doping rules and procedures are compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code (WADA) and accompanying international standards.

We understand that the FA Council will be considering this when it meets over the summer to agree their rules for the 2009-10 season. Government expect the FA to ensure that their anti-doping rules and procedures are fully compliant with WADA’s code and standards.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of progress towards a fully independent National Anti-Doping Organisation; and if he will make a statement. (277270)

[holding answer 1 June 2009]: I met recently with UK Sport, who are leading on the project to establish the new stand alone National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO), UK Anti-Doping.

At this meeting, UK Sport reported that work to establish UK Anti-Doping is progressing well, with the project on-schedule to meet vesting, as proposed, by the end of the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what budget has been allocated to the National Anti-Doping Organisation in each year to 2012. (277269)

[holding answer 1 June 2009]: For 2009-10, the budget for the National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO), currently delivered by UK Sport, is approximately £7 million, including £1.8 million that has been budgeted for transition costs toward the establishment of the new stand alone NADO, named UK Anti-Doping.

The budget for 2010-11, the first full year of operation for UK Anti-Doping, is approximately £7.2 million.

Funding for subsequent years will be finalised in light of the Department’s forthcoming comprehensive spending review settlement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much of the £36 million allocated to the Sport Unlimited scheme has been spent; and how many of the 4,000 planned taster sessions have taken place. (277134)

Sport England has advised that in the first year of the three year Sport Unlimited scheme, £10,487,000 has been spent from the year 1 funding allocation of £10,500,000.

The Sport Unlimited scheme will enable 900,000 more 11 to 19-year-olds to become involved in a range of sports. Sport England will publish end of year results on year 1 of Sport Unlimited later on this month, which will include information about the number of individuals participating in the scheme against year 1 targets. Sport England has undertaken to write to the hon. Member with a copy of their report.

The number of taster sessions that have taken place is not recorded centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Japanese counterpart on the arrest and trial of Aung San Suu Kyi. (277407)

The Japanese Government released a statement on 15 May 2009 expressing their deep concern at the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi. The Japanese Foreign Minister, Hirofumi Nakasone, raised Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention with his Burmese counterpart on 25 May 2009. We have raised her current trial and ongoing detention with the Japanese at official level. Japan, like the UK, is a major contributor of humanitarian aid to Burma and we remain in regular contact concerning the current situation both at the UN Security Council and via the UN Secretary-General’s Group of Friends of Burma.

Most recently, I spoke with the Japanese Foreign Minister on 25 May 2009 in Vietnam. I also discussed Aung San Suu Kyi’s arrest and the situation in Burma with Asian and European Ministers at the Asia-Europe Meeting in Hanoi on 25-26 May 2009 and at the EU-ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh on 27-28 May 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has paid Employment Conditions Abroad in each year since the inception of the contract; and what the future monetary value of any outstanding contracts is. (275460)

We do not hold figures for spending on this contract before 2004. To recalculate them would incur disproportionate cost. The cost of the contract to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office each year since then has been:

Our contract with Employment Conditions Abroad is ongoing. We anticipate the cost of the contract and their services to be approximately £84,525 in 2009. Prices have been frozen at 2008’s rates.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the expansion of settlements in the West Bank; and if he will make a statement. (277207)

Settlement expansion is a major obstacle to peace. We receive regular reports, including from the Israeli non-governmental organisation Peace Now. During 2008, Peace Now reported that the West Bank settler population increased 15,000 to 285,000. They report that there are plans for at least 73,300 additional housing units in the West Bank.

We are also deeply concerned about any changes to the character of East Jerusalem.

I raised this issue during my meeting with Foreign Minister Lieberman and in my statement to the UN Security Council on 11 May 2009. We will continue to press the Israeli Government to freeze all such activity.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many times the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission has (a) deducted maintenance payments or arrears from bank accounts without going through a court, (b) issued a liability order under section 32M of the Child Support Act 1991, (c) applied to a court for (i) a disqualification from holding or obtaining a passport and (ii) a curfew and (d) recovered arrears from a deceased person’s estate. (277682)

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.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty

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

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission has (a) deducted maintenance payments or arrears from bank accounts without going through a court, (b) issued a Liability Order under section 32M of the Child Support Act 1991, (c) applied to a court for (i) a disqualification from holding or obtaining a passport and (ii) a curfew and (d) recovered arrears from a deceased person’s estate. [277682]

The new enforcement powers required to allow the Commission to take the actions noted in your question are provided by the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 and are yet to be commenced. It is therefore not possible to provide the requested information at this time.

The Commission plans to commence the deduction order powers later this year to administratively remove funds from bank accounts, either periodically or in a lump sum, without going to court. A Deduction Order can be used in cases where a Deduction from Earnings Order cannot, for example, where the non-resident parent is self-employed.

No dates have yet been set to for implementation of Administrative Liability Orders, application to court for passport disqualification / curfew, or recovery of maintenance arrears from a deceased person’s estate.

I am sorry on this occasion I can not be more helpful.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Hendon constituency received cold weather payments in 2008-09; and what the average amount received by such individuals was. (272299)

Information on the number of pensioners in Hendon who received Cold Weather Payments in 2008-09 is not available. Hendon constituency is linked to Heathrow weather station which triggered once in 2008-09.

The amount received by eligible pensioners was £25 for each week that the cold weather payment was triggered in their area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008, Official Report, column 1980W, on Jobcentre Plus: manpower, if he will provide a description of each job in Jobcentre Plus in each pay grade. (249409)

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

*The full answer and the information requested appear at XXXX

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons jobseeker’s allowance customers are required to ring 0845 telephone numbers to apply for jobs on Jobseeker Direct; what free alternatives there are to this service; and if he will make a statement. (271324)

[holding answer 27 April 2009]: The cost of calling 0845 numbers remains lower than many alternatives and, where it is possible, using BT landlines to call 0845 numbers is usually the lowest cost option. Research was carried out in 2008 to estimate the additional telephony charges DWP would incur by switching all existing 0845 services to 0800. We do not have a precise amount, but it is estimated that the switch would cost £10 million a year. In addition, there would be one-off transition costs of changing literature and raising awareness with staff, estimated at £1 million.

BT account for two-thirds of landline provision and our recent research shows that over 80 per cent. of our customers contact us using landlines. We believe that 0845 numbers offer the best solution for the majority of our customers, including those wishing to apply for jobs with Jobseeker Direct. We understand that not everyone has access to a BT landline and if that is the case, we will always call back if asked to do so, so that we absorb the cost of the call.

If customers are unable to call Jobseeker Direct on the 0845 number, Jobcentre Plus offices have touch screen Jobpoint terminals installed for customers to use to access the same full range of vacancies available through Jobseeker Direct. In addition, all vacancies can be accessed online via the Directgov Jobseekers website and there are normally places available locally, such as libraries, which offer free internet access to jobseekers who are unable to get to a jobcentre or unable to access the internet in any other way.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Cardiff of 10 March 2009, Official Report, column 269W, on jobseeker's allowance, what (a) quantitative and (b) qualitative evaluation has been undertaken of (i) the extent to which signposting takes place and (ii) the outcomes it achieves; and if he will make a statement. (264352)

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

*The full answer and the information requested appear at XXXX

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the oral answer to the hon. Member for Lichfield, Official Report, 11 May 2009, columns 545-6, when he plans to write to the hon. Member for Lichfield. (278031)

I wrote to the hon. Member for Lichfield on 1 June 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the assets of the Pension Protection Fund have been in each year since 2005; what payments have been made from that fund in each such year; and what pension payments he expects to be made from that fund in each of the next six years. (276837)

The information requested is given in the following table.

Forecast information on expected pension compensation payments for the next six years is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Coventry South of 13 May 2009, Official Report, column 865, on Rover Group: pensions, what estimate his Department made of the extra costs which would be imposed consequent on the changes to the operation of the Pension Protection Fund in respect of people who took early retirement before the relevant scheme entered that fund; and what assessment he made of the capacity of the Pension Protection Fund levy to meet those extra costs. (276895)

As at April 2008, the estimated cost of removing the 90 per cent. compensation limit and the compensation cap for the people who had taken early retirement before April 2005 in a scheme that had already been admitted into the Pension Protection Fund was around £4 million. That figure is based on the number of individuals affected at that time and does not reflect the costs in relation to early retirees in schemes which entered the PPF after April 2008 or those which may do so in the future as such information is not readily available. The pension protection levy is a matter for the board of the Pension Protection Fund, but any extra costs would be borne by levy payers.

The estimated costs are one factor in the Government's decision not to change the way in which the Pension Protection Fund treats early retirees. The second is equality of treatment between those people who receive PPF compensation. Removing the compensation limit and the cap for some individuals who were under scheme pension age at the time their pension scheme entered the Pension Protection Fund would introduce inequalities in treatment of individuals under normal pension age and lead to a two tier system. The 90 per cent. limit and the cap ensure consistent treatment based on the individual's age at the time their pension scheme enters the PPF. They ensure that people who are able to take early retirement are not placed in a more beneficial position than those who stay in employment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners were estimated to be living in poverty in each English region in (a) 1997 and (b) 2007-08. (276265)

Poverty is a complex and multidimensional issue and, as such, there are many possible measures of poverty.

Our public service agreement “Tackle poverty and promote greater independence and wellbeing in later life” includes a range of indicators related to low income for pensioners. These are relative low income (below 50 and 60 per cent. contemporary median household income), and absolute low income (below 60 per cent. of 1998-99 median income uprated in line with prices), all measured after housing costs have been taken into account.

The estimated number of pensioners living below each of these low income thresholds by each English region in 1996-97 and 2007-08 are published in Households Below Average Income 1994-95 to 2007-08, a copy of which is available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to answer Question 258770, on deprived areas funds, tabled on 20 February 2009. (265555)

I replied to the hon. Member’s question on 30 April 2009, Official Report, column 1488W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department has taken to adapt its activities to climate change in the last two years. (277646)

The MOD is involved in the cross-Government Adapting to Climate Change Programme, which brings together and drives forward work on adapting to climate change across Government and the public sector in England. The programme was established in January 2008, and its work includes implementation of the adaptation aspects of the Climate Change Act, such as development of the national Climate Change Risk Assessment. Information about the programme and its work can be found at the following link:

www.defra.gov/adaptation.

As well as working together to tackle issues that affect all Departments and their work, each Government Department is adapting to climate change in its own operations and policies.

In December 2008 the Ministry of Defence published its climate change strategy, which sets out how the Department will adapt our policy planning, equipment and estate to a changing climate. Information about this can be found at the following link:

www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/73ED201B-CC03-41B4-8936-6BED49469D6E/0/ClimateChangeStrategy2009.pdf

The Department has ongoing research into climate change impacts around the globe to determine the potential security threats that may arise as a result of climate change and how our policies and force development may need to alter to reflect this.

For our estate, we are in the early phases of developing a Climate Impacts Risk Assessment Methodology that will consider the risks, incidents and geological effects associated with climate change events. We have begun the first pilot exercise for this model, the findings of which will be built into our long-term strategic development plans.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of his Department's potential gross (a) costs and (b) savings arising from its climate change adaptation measures in the next three years. (277726)

It is not currently possible to provide estimates of the potential costs and savings arising from MOD climate change adaptation measures over the next three years. It has, however, been shown in the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change that timely and well-targeted climate adaptation measures will yield benefits in excess of their costs. Some of these benefits will accrue to Departments as cost-savings over the next three years, and in future years. The main rationale for MOD investment is to address climate risk and contribute to reduction of the UK's vulnerability to longer-term climate change impacts.

The Government is undertaking a Climate Change Risk Assessment and Economic Analysis, which will provide estimates of the costs and benefits of adaptation to the UK. This analysis will be presented to Parliament in 2011.

The Government will also be publishing supplementary appraisal guidance this summer. This will help to ensure that adaptation measures are designed and implemented in a cost-effective manner.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether a health and safety impact assessment has been conducted on the proposed programme of redundancies at the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency; (277902)

The Defence Storage and Distribution Agency’s proposed planned programme of efficiencies is currently under review and I will write to the hon. Member once a decision has been made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many people under the age of (a) 26, (b) 31, (c) 36 and (d) 41 years and resident in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) the UK have been recruited to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service in the last five years; (277790)

The Royal Navy does not hold the information in the format requested. However, it is able to provide figures for the residency, which is taken from current address records, of those joining the Royal Fleet Auxiliary by postcodes for the North East. For this information the North East has been identified as incorporating the area from Berwick upon Tweed in the north, Barnards Castle in the west and Middlesbrough/Stockton/Darlington in the south.

The figures for 2009 are provided up until 31 May.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 28 April 2009, Official Report, column 1159W, on Somalia: piracy, whether all of the 45 individuals captured by Royal Navy forces were Somali nationals; and if he will make a statement. (273046)

The eight suspected pirates who were detained on 11 November 2008 and were subsequently transferred to the Kenyan authorities were Somali nationals.

We believe that the remaining 37 suspects, who have been questioned but not detained by Royal Naval personnel, were also Somali nationals. However, we cannot be sure that they were all Somali nationals as we are almost wholly reliant on their own statements to determine their nationality.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the expenditure of £100 million to design a new missile compartment for the Vanguard replacement submarine announced in 2009 was included in the cost figures for the new submarine provided in the 2006 Defence White Paper. (277759)

The provision necessary to deliver the common missile compartment design requirement was included within the £11-14 billion estimate for the submarines contained in the 2006 White Paper (Cm 6994).

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people (a) in total and (b) under the age of 25 have died with epilepsy being recorded as a contributing factor to the death in each of the last five years. (278133)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated June 2009:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people (a) in total and (b) under the age of 25 have died with epilepsy being recorded as a contributing factor to the death in each of the last five years. (278133)

The attached table provides the number of deaths where epilepsy was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate for persons (a) of all ages and (b) under the age of 25 in England and Wales, for the years 2003 to 2007 (the latest year available).

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps his Department is taking to increase the effectiveness of the use of information communications technology in (a) the Cabinet Office, (b) 10 Downing Street and (c) the civil service. (271089)

The Department is improving the effectiveness of its use of information communications technology (ICT) by leading and participating in the Public Sector Flex framework. Public Sector Flex is an ICT shared service for the public sector offering a core desktop computing environment and a comprehensive range of additional ICT services. It will provide economies of scale and significant cost reductions, but with clear service quality standards.

The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of Cabinet Office and therefore follows its guidelines and policies in the use of ICT.

The Government's strategy for increasing the effectiveness of its use of technology more widely in the civil service is set out in “Transformational Government—Enabled by Technology” (Cm. 6683). The latest Annual Report is available at:

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/cio/transformational _government/annual_report2007.aspx

and is available in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster who the Chair of the Arts and Media Honours Committee is; on what date the appointment was made; and for how long a term. (273105)

[holding answer 6 May 2009]: The Chair of the Arts and Media Honours Committee is Lord Stevenson of Coddenham.

He was appointed in line with the recruitment process set out in the Government's White Paper ‘Reform of the Honours System’ (Cm 6479), which was a response to the Public Administration Select Committee's July 2004 Report ‘A Matter of Honour: Reforming the Honours System’ (HC212-I), and Sir Hayden Phillips' report on his review of the honours system.

The post of the Chair of the Arts and Media Honours Committee was advertised in the Sunday Times on 9 March 2008 and on the Public Appointments Unit's website. Lord Stevenson's application was considered by an interview panel which drew up a shortlist of candidates who were interviewed.

Lord Stevenson was appointed on 18 June 2008. The position is unpaid. The normal term of appointment is three years.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has made of the number of people in Darlington constituency whose income rose following the introduction of the national minimum wage. (275750)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking for an estimate of the number of people in Darlington constituency whose income rose following the introduction of the national minimum wage. (275750)

Estimates for the number of jobs paid below the national minimum wage by Parliamentary Constituency are not available.

For the UK as a whole, the number of employee jobs paid below the 1999 national minimum wage in 1998 was 1,280 thousand (6 per cent), in 1999 it was estimated at 490 thousand jobs (2 per cent).

A guide to measuring low pay and associated articles can be found on the National Statistics website at:

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=5837

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions he has had with the Office of Fair Trading on renewal of consumer credit licences. (277507)

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is responsible for the licensing of businesses who offer credit services. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform maintains a continuous dialogue with the OFT regarding all aspects of its regulatory business.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what activities have been undertaken by his Department's Euro Minister in that capacity. (277164)

Euro Ministers are responsible for euro preparations in their department and attend Euro Ministers Steering Group meetings. Meetings are held only when necessary to discuss practical preparations to ensure a smooth changeover.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he plans to reply to the letter of 19 January 2009 from the hon. Member for Northavon sent on behalf of Mr. I Hill of Wick on consumer protection. (269023)

I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding. I answered the hon. Member's correspondence on 3 June.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when a reply will be sent to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, dated 18 March 2009, transferred from the Treasury on 27 March, PO Ref: 1/69691/2009), about tax. (277102)

[holding answer 1 June 2009]: I responded to the hon. Member on 14 May. I apologise for the delay which was caused by the current high volumes of correspondence.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State plans to respond to the letter from the right hon. Member for West Derbyshire of 17 March 2009 on problems with a business. (278094)

I apologise to the right hon. Member for the delay in responding. The right hon. Member will receive a response shortly by the relevant Minister.

7. To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the viability of tidal impoundment schemes for electricity generation. (277924)

The Severn Tidal Power feasibility study led by my Department is investigating the potential for tidal impoundment in the Severn Estuary. Work so far suggests that three barrage and two lagoon options are potentially commercially and technically viable.

8. To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which estuaries in Great Britain are being considered for possible electricity-generating barrages; and if he will make a statement. (277925)

Tidal power generation is under consideration by the Government in the Severn Estuary, and by private business consortia and community interest groups in a number of other estuaries including the Mersey, the Solway Firth and the Thames.

9. To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he last met the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to discuss Government policy on adaptation to climate change. (277927)

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and DECC officials meet regularly with colleagues in DEFRA to discuss a range of issues, including adapting to climate change.

It is essential that our Departments work closely together, so that our work on managing the impacts of climate change in the UK complements and reinforces our work to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

10. To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he next plans to review the effectiveness of the law on the export of nuclear waste; and if he will make a statement. (277928)

Current legislation, some put in place as recently as December, effectively controls the export of nuclear waste.

11. To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the current efficacy of carbon capture technologies in coal-fired power stations. (277932)

There are a few small scale CCS pilots operating successfully around the world already. The real issue now is large commercial-scale demonstration and we announced in April plans to support up to four such demonstration projects in the UK.

12. To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he next expects to meet representatives of renewable energy companies to discuss offshore wind farms. (277935)

DECC Ministers and officials regularly meet renewable energy companies. For example, I am scheduled to speak at the British Wind Energy Association’s Offshore Wind conference on 24 June.

13. To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his timetable is for consultation on the framework for development of new coal-fired power stations; and if he will make a statement. (277937)

We plan to publish it soon.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress has been made on the establishment of plants to demonstrate carbon capture and storage technology; and if he will make a statement. (277930)

In Budget 2009, the Government announced plans to accelerate the demonstration of carbon capture and storage. This included the announcement of £90 million of public funding for FEED studies. The competition is now moving to the next stage of invitation to negotiate.

In addition, the Chancellor announced proposals to expand our demonstration effort through a financial mechanism to support up to four demonstration projects, including the competition.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he last met his US counterpart to discuss climate change. (277931)

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has held a number of discussions with senior figures in the US administration, including the Climate Change Envoy and the Secretary of Energy during his recent visit to Washington and during subsequent discussions at the US-chaired Major Economies Forum and in the margins of other multilateral meetings.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) BlackBerry devices and (b) mobile telephones have been lost by (i) Ministers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) civil servants in his Department in each year since its creation. (274474)

The Department uses BlackBerrys and mobile phones provided by both the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs. The detailed process of reallocating resources from these Departments has not yet been completed and losses of these devices will be included in any BERR or DEFRA returns.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects smart meters to have been installed in every home in North West Leicestershire constituency. (277933)

Last year the Government announced their intention to mandate smart metering for all households. This will be a major project involving the installation of about 47 million smart meters. There is a substantial programme of work to complete to prepare for the roll-out, but we have set an indicative timetable for a completion of the roll-out by the end of 2020.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many complaints he has received about the operation of the Warm Front scheme in 2009. (277934)

The Department has only recorded the number of complaints it has received about Warm Front since the beginning of April this year. Up until the end of May, DECC has received 275 expressions of dissatisfaction with the scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will bring forward measures to promote community ownership of wind energy generation. (277926)

The Government currently support community energy projects through the Renewables Obligations and the Low Carbon Buildings Programme.

We have committed to feed-in tariffs for renewable energy generation, from April 2010.

Within the context of the Renewable Energy Strategy the Government are considering options for greater community involvement in the development of renewables projects.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the effect of the operation of wind turbines on public health. (277936)

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and his officials have had discussion with relevant Government Departments, including the Department of Health, on the content of the suite of energy National Policy Statements (NPSs) being introduced under the Planning Act 2008. This will include guidance on the effects of wind turbines.

The Government’s Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 22 on renewable energy sets out the Government’s policies for renewable energy, which planning authorities should have regard to when preparing local development documents and when taking planning decisions.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of asylum cases were brought to a conclusion, including appeals, (a) within two months, (b) between two and six months, (c) between six and 12 months and (d) over 12 months in each of the last five years. (242777)

[holding answer 16 December 2008]: Data on conclusion performance by year of application are only available from the introduction of end-to-end processing of new asylum applications in April 2006. Prior to that date, performance targets were based on the length of time it took to reach an initial decision on an asylum application, rather than the length of time it took to conclude a case.

The PSA Delivery Agreement 3, Indicator 2 refers to the reduction in the time to conclusion of asylum application. The measure is to ensure a target percentage of cases should be resolved within six months as per the following:

35 per cent. by end of April 2007;

40 per cent. by end of December 2007;

60 per cent. by end of December 2008;

75 per cent. by end of December 2009;

90 per cent. by end of December 2011.

The method of reporting against the target is based on the performance of the specific monthly cohort of cases reaching six months. Hence all reporting is done against a six months timeframe. A cohort is specified as those new applications received between 1st and 31st of each month.

The conclusion measurement requires applications to be granted asylum or some form of leave to remain in the UK, allowed at appeal or removed within 182 days (six months) to be counted as concluded.

Performance against the targets has been published in National Statistics as follows:

38 per cent. of new applications received in September 2006 were concluded in six months by the end of by April 2007;

46 per cent. of new applications received in June 2007 were concluded in six months by the end of December 2007;

62 per cent. of new applications received in June 2008 were concluded in six months by the end of December 2008.

Published information is not available in relation to conclusion of applications in timescales other than six months.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training UK Border Agency staff will receive as part of the introduction of e-borders. (269240)

e-Borders is being rolled out in a phased approach. In advance of each phase, a dedicated team will work closely with the business to identify staff affected and assess any required learning needs.

A detailed Learning Needs Assessment, Strategy and Plan for Phase 1 has been delivered and accepted and the same approach for Phase 2 is in development and will be delivered in time for roll out has been designed to support delivery. Training will be delivered either directly from the e-Borders team, or via the “Train the Trainer” format, using existing agency trainers in the business.

Training includes the skills and knowledge required to use the system and the necessary behavioural changes to support this. Data handling and security of personal data will be an integral part of the training.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2009, Official Report, column 1278W, on crime: statistics, which classification each of these offences now belongs to. (262496)

The information requested is given in the table. Data under these new offence classifications will be presented for the first time in the annual crime statistics to be published in July 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many educational institutions have received a rating of (a) A, (b) B and (c) F from the UK Border Agency under the new Tier 4 registration system. (271977)

As of 29 April 2009, there have been 1,491 educational establishments awarded an A rating and 41 educational standards awarded a B rating under the Tier 4 Points Based System. There is no F Rating.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what requirements there are for UK internet service providers wishing to use deep packet inspection targeted advertising systems to obtain consent from individual internet users prior to the collection of data relating to individuals. (277873)

I have been asked to reply.

The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) requires all data controllers, including internet services providers, to comply with the DPA and the data protection principles, when processing personal data. Personal data must not be processed unless, amongst other things, at least one of the conditions in Schedule 2 to the DPA is met. In the case of sensitive personal data, a condition in Schedule 3 must also be met. Consent is one condition for processing personal data, but it is not the only one, and whether consent is required for certain processing to take place will depend upon the particular circumstances.

Additionally the Internet Advertising Bureau has recently launched a code of practice which focuses on free and informed consent. Many internet services providers and key players have signed up to this, including Phorm, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL.

Anyone with concerns or complaints about the way in which personal data are being processed can refer the matter to the Information Commissioner, the independent regulator for the DPA, to investigate.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter of 4 December 2008 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Mrs. Shakeela Band. (250867)

I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 21 January 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to reply to the letter dated 20 January 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Mrs. Kadididja Benguana Epse Benneddall. (263653)

I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 20 April 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter of 20 April 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. S. Tygier. (277530)

I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 28 May 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many attempted frauds in applications for passports have been detected by the Identity and Passport Service in each of the last five years. (276827)

The following table gives figures for attempted frauds detected in passport applications for each of the last five financial years.

The measurement of fraud is a complex issue. Historically IPS has counted as fraudulent only those cases which it has been possible to confirm absolutely as fraud. In recent years IPS has been engaged in a programme of work to better understand the nature and level of fraud within the passport application process and the success of existing measures in preventing fraud. This work has established that there were a significant number of cases in which IPS routinely prevents the issue of passports to fraudsters without actually recording those cases as fraudulent.

As a result, processes to provide a more accurate measure of IPS performance in countering fraud have been developed and refined. This is the reason for the significant step change in success that IPS is now able to report. IPS currently uses a tiered approach to recording fraudulent applications based on the level of likelihood of fraud. Fraud is now categorised as confirmed fraud, probable fraud and possible fraud.

IPS continues to undertake analysis to better understand the fraud perpetrated against it and to more accurately measure and record its performance in this complex but important area.

These figures do not constitute part of National Statistics as they are based on internal management information. The information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols, should be treated as provisional and is subject to change.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports have been issued to individuals who were subsequently found to have used the identities of deceased British citizens to obtain those passports in each of the last five years. (276830)

The following figures show the number of instances in which Identity and Passport Service has identified and recorded passports issued to individuals subsequently found to have used the identities of deceased British citizens in their applications:

These figures do not constitute part of National Statistics as they are based on internal management information. The information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols, should be treated as provisional and is subject to change.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what timetable she has set for returning to custody sergeants the power to charge individuals in respect of all offences triable in magistrates' courts; and by what date this change will have been implemented nationally. (272984)

We have no plans at this stage to reverse the policy of statutory charging.

A recent joint HMIC/HMCPSI inspection reported that statutory charging has delivered good quality final charging decisions by prosecutors, and had caused weak cases to be discontinued earlier, thereby saving time and cost for the police service, CPS and the courts.

We are working with Jan Berry, the independent Reducing Bureaucracy Advocate, and criminal justice partners to improve the custody and charging processes so that they deliver the best possible service to the police, prosecutors and the public.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to answer Question (a) 241867, on personal data, (b) 241874, on departmental procurement, (c) 241656, on visas, (d) 241601, on work permits, (e) 241609, on business visitors and (f) 241610, on business visitors tabled by the hon. Member for Beaconsfield on 4 December 2008. (264900)

My hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration replied to the hon. Member for Beaconsfield on (a) 1 June 2009, Official Report, column 148W; (b) 20 April 2009, Official Report, column 163W; (c) 30 March 2009, Official Report, columns 952-53W; (d) 30 March 2009, Official Report, column 952W and (e) 30 March 2009, Official Report, column 952W.

To ask the Prime Minister who is responsible for determining the UK's strategy in Afghanistan. (278024)

I accept responsibility for UK strategy in Afghanistan. I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made to the House on 29 April 2009, Official Report, column 869-73.