To ask the Leader of the House what average time her Office took to answer questions for (a) ordinary written answer and (b) written answer on a named day in the last 12 months. (313672)

The average time taken by the Office of the Leader of the House to answer ordinary written parliamentary questions between January 2009 and December 2009 was 3.2 days. 100 per cent. of the ordinary written questions during this period were answered within the working week target. All named day questions were answered on time.

With effect from the current Session of Parliament, each Department will provide the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics on the time taken to answer written questions. This implements recommendation 24 of the 3rd report from the Procedure Committee, Session 2008-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive on the cross-border provision of winter road salt supplies; and on what dates. (314401)

The Department for Transport, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government have been regularly monitoring salt supplies and stock levels across Great Britain with the help of their agencies, local authorities and the companies which supply salt. The Government and the devolved Administrations decided that due to the exceptional weather they should work in partnership to advise salt suppliers on priorities for deliveries across Great Britain.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children were living in poverty in Salford in each year since 1993; and what the percentage change in this figure was from each year to the next. (313323)

Estimates of poverty for children are published in the households below average income (HBAI) series. These figures only allow a breakdown of the overall numbers in poverty at Government office region level. Therefore, information is not available for Salford.

The number of children living in poverty (in households with less than 60 per cent. of contemporary household income, before housing costs) in the north-west Government office region can be found in the following table. These data are based on three-year averages and changes are rounded to the nearest 100,000.

Please note that because regional figures are presented as three-year averages, a percentage change between each year is not available. Data are not available prior to 1994.

A local child poverty indicator has been developed to try and replicate this national measure as closely as possible. It captures the number and proportion of children in families in receipt of out-of-work benefits, or in receipt of tax credits where their reported income is less than 60 per cent. of median income. Details can be found at:

www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/child_poverty.htm

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what measures are in place to ensure that assessments of risk to children undertaken by local authorities assess all close family members. (304155)

The Government’s statutory guidance “Working Together to Safeguard Children” (2006) sets out the processes to be followed when undertaking an assessment of a child who is suspected to be suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm. That assessment will include consideration of the capacity of the parents or caregivers to respond appropriately to the identified needs of the child. This may involve interviews with the child’s parents or caregivers and with those known to the child, for example members of the wider family. It may also include interviews with professionals or other people who know the child’s parents or caregivers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding his Department has allocated in respect of children’s centres in Eltham constituency since their introduction. (314396)

Greenwich local authority is responsible for Sure Start Children’s Centres across its area and will decide how much funding to allocate to centres in Eltham constituency.

The first Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLPs) were set up in 1999-2000. The SSLPs received a single capital allocation for the period 1999-2000 to 2005-06. Greenwich local authority was allocated £3,913,042.

Data on the SSLP revenue allocations prior to the introduction of the Sure Start IT system in 2003-04 are not readily available at a local authority level. Greenwich’s SSLP revenue allocations from 2003-04 are shown in table 1.

Funding for Sure Start Children’s Centres was made available from 2003-04. The Children’s Centres allocations for Greenwich are shown in table 2.

From 2006-07 Children’s Centres Capital formed part of the wider Main Capital Funding Block. Funding in this block is not ring fenced and the authority has the freedom to decide how much of their total capital allocation to spend on children’s centres, in line with local priorities. This allocation was not broken down further in 2006-07 and 2007-08. The Main Capital allocation has been quoted for 2006-07 and 2007-08 in table 1.

The Main Capital Block included funding for child care sustainability and extended schools as well as for Children’s Centres in 2006-07 and 2007-08. From 2008-09 the block comprised funding for Children’s Centres, early years provision, child care and integrated projects (those which support more than one policy objective). Funding in the Main Capital Block is not ring fenced and local authorities have the freedom to decide how much to spend on children’s centres in line with local priorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the total cost was of bonuses paid through the education maintenance allowance for submitting course work on time in (a) North Cornwall constituency and (b) Cornwall in the latest period for which figures are available. (313918)

This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Geoff Russell, the LSC's Acting Chief Executive, will write to the hon. Member for North Cornwall with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries. Since 2008, the conditions for all EMA payments have included behaviour and effort as well as attendance. We have never stipulated that bonuses are only payable where a student has submitted all coursework on time. The decision to award a bonus payment is made by the learning provider and the reasons behind individual decisions are not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding was allocated for the provision of extra-curricular activities in schools in (a) the South West and (b) Torbay constituency in each year since 1997. (313332)

The Government are committed to every school providing access to a core offer of extended services, including a varied menu of extra-curricular activities from 8 am to 6 pm, by 2010. My Department has provided significant funding to support the delivery of extended services, including over £1 billion in the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. The table sets out the extended services funding allocated from 2003-04, the start of the Full Service Extended School pilot, to 2010-11 for local authorities in the Government Office South West region, and Torbay.

This funding is passed to local authorities to support the development of the core extended services offer in every school. The exact amount of funding spent on extra-curricular activities, as part of supporting delivery of the broader extended services core offer, is a matter for local decision making by local authorities and schools.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what funding he plans to allocate to the new support activities for families referred to in Chapter six of his Department's Green Paper, Support for All. (313543)

The funding for the new support activities for families as outlined in Chapter 6 in Support for All: the Families and Relationships Green Paper has been allocated from current budgets. These include:

£122 million on Family Intervention Projects between 2006-07 – 2010-11;

£60 million on the Family Information Direct (formerly ParentKnowHow) programme which provides information and advice for families (including grandparents and family and friends carers) between 2008-09 – 2010-11; and

£1.135 billion in revenue funding and £101 million in capital funding for Sure Start Children's Centres and Local Programmes in 2010-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding was provided through the Family Fund in each of the last five years; what assessment he has made of the level of take-up of such funding by low-income families with one or more severely disabled children; and when he last met the Chief Executive of the Family Fund. (309985)

The Family Fund Trust (FFT) (England) provides grants to families with severely disabled children or young people under 18. Families are eligible to apply for grants if they have an annual income of less than £23,000 before tax. Over the last five years the FFT has received the following in grant funding from the Department:

As a result of commitments in The Children's Plan, the FFT was allocated an additional £8.4 million, payable over the current CSR period; with this additional funding the FFT changed the eligibility criteria for receipt of grants to include families with disabled children/young people under 18. Prior to that grants were made to families with disabled children under 16. The additional funding has been reflected in the table above.

Since extending eligibility criteria, the FFT have awarded grants to an additional 2,586 16-year-olds in 2008-09. Their target for 2009-10 is to issue between 4,750 and 5,000 grants to 16 and 17-year-olds.

The total numbers of families helped by FFT over the last five years are as follows:

The FFT is required to provide the Department with annual accounts and details of its activities during the year, which is reviewed by officials. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families last meet with the chief executive of the Family Fund Trust on 16 April 2008.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he expects to reply to the letter dated 24 November 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Father Tom Connod. (310493)

The Department of Children, Schools and Families try to respond to all correspondence within 15 working days. We regret the delay in this matter. The Department has identified the letter in question and has sent a response on 20 January.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will publish the curriculum vitae of the head of the National Safeguarding Delivery Unit. (312042)

Jacky Tiotto, the Head of the National Safeguarding Delivery Unit is a qualified social worker by profession. She has held a number of senior positions in London local authorities, and as a practitioner specialised in work with vulnerable children and those in need of protection, working in residential, field and hospital services. Most recently she was the Director for Children and Learners at the Government Office for London, having previously worked for the Department for Children, Schools and Families where she had been seconded as a deputy director leading on performance and improvement and then as a professional adviser to Lord Laming on his progress report on safeguarding children in England. Earlier posts include senior national adviser for children and adult services at the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), and performance specialist at the Audit Commission. Her CV contains personal information and its disclosure would be likely to contravene the Data Protection Act.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what recent assessment his Department has made of the merits of non-formal learning; and if he will make a statement; (301869)

The Department believes that every young person should experience non-formal learning as an essential part of learning and personal development, whatever their age, ability or circumstances. In 2008, through the Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) manifesto, the Department funded ‘Every Experience Matters’—an evidence-based review on the role of learning outside the classroom for children's whole development from birth to 18 years.

The report demonstrates the important role that LOtC could have in raising young people's engagement by drawing on research from around the globe and providing evidence that children achieve higher academically, have greater levels of physical fitness, increased confidence and self-esteem, show leadership qualities, and have greater engagement and motivation in learning. The report is available at

www.lotc.org.uk

Where a child is educated at home on a full time basis the level of formality will vary according to the wishes of the parent and the needs of the child. Some parents will adopt a more child led approach to learning while others will prefer a more formal approach or something that takes in elements of a range of different approaches. In each case the education provided must be suitable to the age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs that the child may have. It will not always be possible to distinguish between formal learning and non-formal learning in this context.

There are no plans to establish a formal system to accredit non-formal learning undertaken by children outside of school.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on what dates his Department received drafts of Ofsted reports into Haringey children's services in November and December 2008. (308100)

Ofsted published the report of a joint area review of services for children and young people in Haringey, undertaken with the Healthcare Commission and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, on 1 December 2008. The Department received a final draft of the report for information on 30 November 2008. Ofsted published a letter, informing Haringey local authority of its annual performance assessment of services for children and young people, on 17 December 2008. The Department saw no draft of the letter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on stationery in each of the last five years. (314209)

The Department's expenditure on stationery for financial years 2004-05 to 2008-09 is set out in the table.

To ask the Minister for the Olympics when she expects the London Secure Communications Network to be fully implemented. (313599)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Home Secretary gave on 21 October 2009, Official Report, column 1550W.

The implementation of the Olympic enhancements for the UK-wide Airwave radio system continues to progress according to schedule and will be ready for the 2012 Games.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what targets her Department has set for local authorities on the (a) administration and (b) collection of housing benefit. (314323)

The Department for Work and Pensions does not set targets on housing benefit administration and collection. The Department encourages and supports local authorities to set their own targets to achieve and maintain an effective housing benefit service for customers and taxpayers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases of asbestos-related mesothelioma have been recorded in London in the last 10 years. (313767)

[holding answer 28 January 2010]: The total number of mesothelioma deaths where the last residence of the deceased was recorded as being within the Government Office for London region¹ between 1998 and 2007 (the latest year for which data are available) was 1761 (source: HSE, British Mesothelioma Register). The great majority of these will be due to asbestos exposure but there is evidence to suggest a small number of cases have some other unidentified cause.

¹ The Government Office for London region includes both inner and outer London boroughs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many death certificates mentioning mesothelioma as (a) primary cause of death and (b) secondary cause of death have been issued in each of the last 10 years. (313768)

[holding answer 28 January 2010]: The number of mesothelioma deaths each year from 2001 to 2007 (the latest year for which data are available) where mesothelioma was recorded as (a) the underlying cause of death and (b) an associated cause of death, are shown in Table 1.

It is not possible to separately identify from readily available data the number of mesothelioma deaths before 2001 in each category since mesothelioma was not included within the framework used for classifying causes of death before then. A small number of deaths occur each year where mesothelioma is mentioned on the death certificate but not recorded as either the underlying or associated cause of death.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport (1) which guided busways are in service in each local authority area; on what date each commenced operations; and what the length of each is; (312525)

There are currently five guided bus systems in operation in England. Details on when these started operations and the length are in the following table:

The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, which includes 25 kilometres of guided busway, was given funding approval by the Department in 2006 and construction is now under way with the scheme expected to be completed and open for operation in 2010.

No assessments to date have been undertaken by the Department with regards to the safety of operation of guided busways. Guided busways are exempt from the requirements of the Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety Regulations) 2006 and it is, therefore, the responsibility of the promoter of the scheme to satisfy itself that safety systems are appropriate both prior to the system commencing and once in operation.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what assessment he has made of the safety case for children to wear cycle helmets. (313813)

The Department commissioned a research project on cyclists' road safety, which included a new review of cycle helmet effectiveness.

The review concludes that, assuming cycle helmets are a good fit and worn correctly they should be effective at reducing the risk of head injury, in particular cranium fracture, scalp injury and intracranial (brain) injury for users of all ages but would be expected to be particularly effective for children.

The full review of the evidence was published on 15 December 2009 and can be found online at:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/research/rsrr/theme1/ppr446.pdf

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many layers of management reporting from the most senior to the most junior there are in his Department and each of its agencies; how many officials are employed in each such layer; and how much was spent on salaries and associated employment costs of staff at each such layer in the latest year for which information is available. (312821)

The Department for Transport has nine layers of management reporting from Permanent Secretary down to Executive Officer. The table below shows how many officials are employed in each such layer and how much was spent on salaries and associated employment costs of staff at each such layer in the latest year.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what modelling the Government has done on the use of hard shoulder running; and if he will place a copy in the Library of the outcomes of such modelling. (313002)

The Department for Transport has modelled the use of hard shoulder running in its National Transport Model (NTM). The outcomes of this analysis were presented in “The Advanced Motorway Signalling and Traffic Management Feasibility Study” which, together with its technical annex, were published in March 2008.

These two documents are available on the Department’s website at:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/network/policy/mtorsigntrafmanagement/

The key modelling impacts presented in this analysis were also published as part of “Road Transport Forecasts 2008: Results from the Department for Transport’s National Transport Model”, which is available at:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/economics/ntm/roadtransportforcasts08/

The Department announced the inclusion of a number of new hard shoulder running schemes in its major schemes programme on 15 January 2009 in “Britain’s Transport Infrastructure Motorways and Major Trunk Roads”.

This report, which also contains details of the modelling outcomes, is available on the Department’s website at:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/network/policy/motorways/

Copies of these reports have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what percentage of the Government Car and Dispatch Agency's diesel-powered vehicles are fitted with diesel particulate filters. (312850)

The Government Car and Despatch Agency operates 107 diesel powered vehicles of which 62 are cars and 45 are commercial vans. Of these, 25 cars and two vans are fitted with diesel particulate filters, representing 25.23 per cent. of the combined diesel fleets.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what he estimates the cost to the public purse will be in 2010 of removal from train operating companies of the individual ticket price flexibility hitherto available to them in producing their overall retail price index +1 increase in regulated fares. (314164)

Commercial negotiations are taking place with individual train operators to agree the level of compensation, if any, due as a result of this change to their franchise agreements. Any release of information concerning the assessment of the financial impact would be prejudicial to these negotiations.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what financial penalties apply in respect of each franchised train operating company serving Kent when scheduled trains (a) are cancelled and (b) arrive late. (313429)

Financial penalties are not applied on a per-train basis under the franchise agreement with Southeastern which operates passenger rail services in Kent.

However, penalties can be applied under the franchise agreement if Southeastern exceeds a threshold for overall delay or cancellations. These penalties are outlined in the Department's enforcement policy which provides for a range of actions that may be applied in the event of a contravention of a franchise agreement. These can include requiring an operator to put in place remedial plans, making performance-based payments, and ultimately an operator's franchise can be terminated.

The enforcement policy can be found on the Department's website at:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport which body has responsibility for (a) investigating accidents causing (i) injuries and (ii) fatalities on guided busways and (b) making recommendations for action in consequence. (312631)

It is the responsibility of the operator of a guided busway to satisfy itself that safety systems are appropriate.

The police would take the lead in any investigation of an accident involving guided buses in the same way as any other road traffic incident.

The police may refer cases or liaise with the Vehicle Operator Services Agency and the Health and Safety Executive where evidence indicates that serious health and safety management failures have significantly contributed to an incident and these cannot be addressed by road traffic legislation.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much his Department has contributed to funding for the renewal of street lighting in each year since 1997; what guidance his Department issues on criteria for the renewal of street lighting; and if he will make a statement. (313274)

The Department for Transport provides capital funding to local authorities for maintenance of their highways, which they can use for the renewal of their street lighting assets. The level of local transport plan funding to local authorities in England (excluding London) for highway maintenance for each year since its introduction since 2001, and its predecessor the Transport Supplementary Grant, is given as follows.

In addition this Department has provided PFI credits for local authority street lighting projects. 24 projects are operational with a further five in procurement. The table below lists the awards to local authorities in the year they reached financial close, including awards to London authorities.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what criteria were used to determine the distribution of salt during the recent severe weather conditions; and if he will make a statement. (313931)

Recommendations to salt producers by the Salt Cell on prioritisation of deliveries take into account highways authorities' existing stocks; recommended reductions in gritting rates; planned deliveries from suppliers and mutual aid between authorities; and forecast weather, three to four days ahead.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many snow ploughs provided by his Department were in operation in Milton Keynes in December 2009 and January 2010. (313948)

The Highways Agency had four salt spreading vehicles equipped with plough-blades that were in operation through Milton Keynes in December 2009 and January 2010. Two of these vehicles operated on the A5 and the other two vehicles on the M1.

Winter service provision on local authority roads is a matter for Milton Keynes Council. The Department for Transport does not provide snow ploughs or other equipment.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent discussions he has had with local authorities in England on the sharing of road salt supplies so as to ensure that the areas worst affected have access to salt. (314400)

The Department for Transport, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government have been regularly monitoring salt supplies and stock levels across Great Britain with the help of their agencies, local authorities and the companies which supply salt. The monitoring involved the Department and Government regional offices having regular discussions with local authorities.

The Government and the devolved Administrations with the support of the Local Government Associations for England, Wales, Transport Scotland and Transport for London decided that due to the exceptional weather they should work in partnership to advise salt suppliers on priorities for deliveries across Great Britain.

To ask the Solicitor-General how much has been paid in bonuses to civil servants in the Law Officers' Departments in each year since 2003. (306421)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 28 January 2010, Official Report, column 1014W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had on the EU’s military presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and if he will make a statement. (314172)

The EU peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina was discussed at the EU Foreign Affairs Councils in November and December 2009, and in January 2010. In January, the Council agreed conclusions deciding to start providing non-executive capacity-building and training support within the framework of the operation, noting that the executive mandate will continue in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1895 (2009), and expressing the EU’s readiness to maintain an executive military role beyond 2010, should the situation require it, under a UN mandate. The Government welcome these conclusions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much consultants employed by his Department and its agencies have been paid (a) in total and (b) in reimbursable expenses in each of the last 10 years. (313991)

Responsibility for procuring external consultants within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is devolved to individual FCO directorates, departments and overseas posts.

Annual expenditure on consultants is published each year in our annual departmental report, copies of which are available in the Library of the House and on our website. Actual consultancy expenditure in 2008-09 was £29.9 million rather then the estimated figure of £63.6 million noted in the 2008-09 departmental report. This included estimated costs of managed service delivery and other professional services, which are not classed as ‘Consultancy’ spend by the Office of Government Commerce.

These published figures include the costs of reimbursable expenses. To separate these out retrospectively would incur disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the quantity of oil exported from Iraq in each of the last 10 years. (314161)

According to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), average crude oil export figures for Iraq from 1999 to 2008 are as follows:

Figures for 2009 are not currently available from the OPEC website. However, data available from the Government of Iraq’s Ministry of Oil website indicate that average oil export rates in 2009 were 1.9 million barrels of oil per day, available at

http://www.oil.gov.iq/EXPORT%20CAPACITIES.php

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Spanish authorities seek payment from the Government in respect of the costs of imprisonment in Spain of British citizens awaiting trial. (314270)

No. The cost of detaining prisoners awaiting trial is the responsibility of the state in which the prisoner is detained.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether his Department has purchased ADE-651 bomb detectors from ATSC; (314328)

No ADE-651 bomb detectors have been purchased by the Ministry of Defence, and as such the ADE-651 has not been used where UK personnel control access to establishments either in the UK or overseas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many families have been evicted from service family accommodation in each of the last 12 months. (314196)

Service Family Accommodation (SFA) is provided to accommodate entitled Service personnel and their families. When occupants cease to be entitled to SFA and do not vacate, the Department is required to take steps to recover possession of the property. In the first instance Defence Estates (DE) will write to the occupant advising that they are required to vacate the property within 93 days. DE will be as flexible as possible and will extend this so as to accommodate children's schooling and holidays or to allow occupants the maximum possible time to secure alternative accommodation arrangements.

The number of eviction orders applied for against occupants of SFA in 2009 is shown in the following table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many houses owned by his Department were rated as grade (a) 1, (b) 2, (c) 3 and (d) 4 in each of the last five years. (314197)

The majority of the 70,000 Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties worldwide are leased rather than owned by the Department. SFA is graded for charge and by Standard for Condition (SfC), a detailed measure of the physical condition of a property.

For the latest number of UK properties at each SfC (as at December 2009) I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 26 January 2010, Official Report, column 794W to the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr Fox).

The following number of UK SFA properties were at each SfC in each of the last five years:

Like for like figures are not available for overseas SFA. However, as at October 2009 overseas properties were at the following SfC:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2010, Official Report, column 203W, on armed forces: housing, how many requests for repair call outs were made in respect of family housing. (314204)

I will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings he has had with representatives of the Atomic Weapons Establishment on the development of new facilities at Aldermaston in the last 12 months. (313383)

The Secretary of State for Defence visited the Atomic Weapons Establishment on 23 September 2009. I visited on 27 February and 9 November 2009. As part of these visits briefing was provided on a range of subjects, including developments on the ongoing capital facilities programme. Ministry of Defence officials maintain a constant dialogue with AWE plc and other stakeholders on these matters, providing advice to Ministers as appropriate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on Atomic Weapons Establishment facilities at Aldermaston in each of the last five years. (313384)

The capital facilities expenditure figures for the two Atomic Weapons Establishment sites at Aldermaston and Burghfield are shown in the following table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether (a) agencies and (b) non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible sell information on a commercial basis to (i) companies or individuals in the private sector and (ii) other organisations. (313222)

The Ministry of Defence and its agencies make suitable information available for free re-use under the Public Sector Information Click-Use Licence. The Department’s Trading Funds are able, under their trading fund status, to charge for the services they provide in order to cover their costs, with both the Meteorological Office and UK Hydrographic Office licensing information for commercial re-use. Also, the museums for the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force are registered charities classified as executive non-departmental public bodies and levy a charge for requests of photographic images, video material and copies of historical documents to commercial companies and individuals at commercial rates. Charitable or other not-for-profit organisations are either not charged or charged at cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has allocated for the (a) procurement, (b) maintenance, (c) compliance testing and (d) security of information technology systems in 2010-11. (313553)

Available resources for Defence expenditure are set during spending rounds. The most recent comprehensive spending review set the Department's budget for the financial years 2008-11.

Departmental expenditure plans for 2010-11 and beyond have not yet been agreed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on information technology in the last three financial years; how much of this was spent on (a) software development and testing and (b) application including (i) staff training, (ii) the cost of new hardware and software and (iii) the cost of launching into the live environment. (313554)

The Department spent the following on information technology and telecommunications in the last three financial years:

The detailed breakdown requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Further information can be found in the Department's Annual Report at the following link:

http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/AnnualReports

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department expects to spend on research and development, excluding expenditure from the science, innovation and technology budgets, in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12. (314194)

Research and development spending in the MOD is spread across a number of key areas within the department. As such, no centralised R and D budget exists. In financial year 2007-08, the total MOD R and D spend, excluding science innovation technology, was some £1.6 billion. We anticipate that this will remain at a comparable level over the next few years, although departmental expenditure limits have not yet been set for the years beyond 2010-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on research and development, excluding expenditure from the science, innovation and technology budget, in the financial year 2008-09. (314195)

R and D figures for 2008-09 are part of a National Statistic and the release of these figures is embargoed until their publication in late March. The most recent figures that are available 2007-08, indicate some £1.6 billion was spent by MOD on R and D, excluding the science innovation technology spend.

Figures for 2007-08 and earlier are available in the annual MOD Defence Statistics publication, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent by his Department in providing logistical support to the emergency services in Haiti following the recent earthquake. (314039)

Spending by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in support of Operation Panlake, the assistance provided by MOD to Haiti on behalf of the Department for International Development (DFID), will be recovered from DFID. At present, it is not possible to say how much MOD has/will spend in support of Operation Panlake. The work is still being scoped and costings are incomplete.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether a final decision has been made on the procurement of the Boeing RC-135 to replace the Nimrod R.1. (314373)

A decision is expected shortly regarding the replacement of the Nimrod R1.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with BAE Systems on the procurement of a successor to the Nimrod R1; and when he last met representatives of BAE Systems to discuss such procurement. (314374)

I met with local MPs, BAE Systems Union representatives and BAE System officials on 15 December 2009 to discuss the replacement of the Nimrod R1 and to listen to their concerns regarding the closure of BAE Systems Woodford.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which ships of the Royal Navy are deployed on operations at sea; and where each is deployed. (314054)

As at 28 January 2010 the following Royal Navy ships are deployed on operations:

Middle East

HMS Monmouth

HMS Atherstone

HMS Chiddingfold

HMS Grimsby

HMS Pembroke

HMS Lancaster

RFA Cardigan Bay

RFA Lyme Bay

RFA Bayleaf

Horn of Africa

HMS Chatham

Mediterranean

HMS Sabre

HMS Scimitar

HMS Enterprise

South Atlantic

HMS York

HMS Clyde

RFA Gold Rover

HMS Scott

Home Waters

HMS Mersey

HMS Severn

HMS Tyne

HMS Gleaner

Royal Navy ships deployed on Exercises:

Norway

HMS Bulwark

RFA Mounts Bay

Mediterranean

HMS Manchester

In addition two Frigates, two Mine Counter Measures Vessels and one RFA ship are at notice for contingent operations in home waters and RFA Largs Bay is preparing to sail on Op Panlake off Haiti.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2010, Official Report, columns 17-18W, on radioactive materials: imports, what the provisions are of the strict materials accountancy regime to which reference was made in the answer; which organisation carries out the accountancy checks; and to whom that organisation reports. (313541)

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) materials accountancy regime reflects requirements in the Ionising Radiation Regulations 1999, including its associated Code of Practice, and International Atomic Energy Agency standards. These require the maintenance of accounts for radioactive material holdings and for annual inventory verification.

Within the MOD, the application of the materials accountancy regime is the responsibility of the Strategic Weapons Project Team (SWPT), part of the Defence Equipment and Support area. Individual site operators are responsible for accurate accountancy and reporting of accountable material by quantity and location; their arrangements are required to include a robust internal audit process and physical checks of holdings.

The responsibility for ensuring the conduct of audits of site operator arrangements, in respect of MOD-owned accountable material, lies with the head of SWPT, who is accountable to me in this capacity. Such an audit would include further physical inventory checking to verify the operator’s on-site inventory.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to answer question (a) 310011, (b) 310012 and (c) 310013 on Milngavie reservoir, tabled on 6 January 2010. (314200)

I replied to the hon. Member on 26 January 2010, Official Report, column 797W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were convicted of (a) domestic burglary and (b) drug offences in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) England and Wales in each year since 2006. (313487)

Information showing the number of persons found guilty at all courts in the north-east Government office region (GOR) and England and Wales for domestic burglary and drugs offences in 2006 and 2007 (latest available) can be found in the following table.

Court proceedings data are not available at parliamentary constituency level. Data are given in the table for the north-east GOR in which the Jarrow constituency and South Tyneside are located.

Data for 2008 were published on 28 January 2010 but were not available at time of preparing the response. The hon. Member may wish to request 2008 data in a further question.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what average time his Department took to answer questions for (a) ordinary written answer and (b) written answer on a named day in the last 12 months. (313671)

The Ministry of Justice answered 2,923 ordinary written questions and 790 named day questions from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009. On average it has taken 6.14 sitting days to answer ordinary written questions and 2.22 sitting days to answer named day questions in Parliament.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much he expects to be raised from the victims surcharge in each of the next five years. (313523)

The victims surcharge is a £15 charge imposed on fines given in the magistrates and Crown courts in England and Wales on all offences committed on or after 1 April 2007.

As receipts are dependent on the number of fines imposed and the enforcement rates achieved it is difficult to forecast future revenue from the surcharge with exactness. It is estimated that, as currently implemented, around £8 million will be raised from the surcharge, on fines, in 2009-10 and each year thereafter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign nationals were charged with a criminal offence in each year since 2005. (313502)

Statistical information recorded centrally on the Court Proceedings database held by the Ministry of Justice does not include a defendant’s nationality. This information would be recorded should the defendant be sentenced to custody.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many hours on average were worked by prisoners in prisons in the latest period for which figures are available; and how much remuneration on average prisoners received per week for such work in that period. (313863)

During the period April to December 2009 prisoners in England and Wales spent on average 11.82 hours a week in employment activities. Figures for the average remuneration received by prisoners over the same period are not available. However, a snapshot survey carried out in April/May 2007 showed an average rate of £9.60 a week.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been prosecuted for non-payment of council tax in each local authority area in each of the last 10 years. (314382)

Proceedings at magistrates courts for offences of non-payment of council tax cannot be separately identified on the Ministry of Justice Court proceedings database as they form part of a miscellaneous group which cannot be separately analysed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the costs to his Department arising from the severe weather conditions in the period 4 January to 18 January 2010; and if he will make a statement. (313591)

No overall assessment has been made of the financial impact of the severe weather conditions in the period 4 January to 18 January 2010 on the Ministry of Justice and its executive agencies (the National Offender Management Service, Her Majesty's Courts Service, the Tribunals Service and the Office of the Public Guardian).

Regular communications were issued to staff across the organisation via intranet and email ahead of, and during, the period of severe weather advising on the actions to be taken. Advice was as follows:

Managers were instructed to have their business continuity plans and key contacts readily available for activation.

Staff were advised not to take undue risks to travel to work if it was not safe.

Staff who were unable to attend their normal place of work must inform their manager that they are delayed or will not attend for duty. Where possible in these circumstances, staff were expected to work from home or, subject to management authorisation and organisation, attend another Ministry of Justice office or location.

Following the adoption of these principles, the impact on departmental business is considered to be relatively low. There were a number of closures of courts and tribunals at various stages and some courts, offices and prisons had to cope with fewer staff for short periods. In general, business continuity plans were activated without incurring additional expenditure, with work being prioritised and postponed. It would incur disproportionate cost to contact every local office, prison, court, probation board or trust and tribunal to obtain a financial impact assessment and to analyse and collate this information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Streatham constituency, the effects on Streatham constituency of changes to his Department's policies since 1997. (313393)

The Ministry of Justice's work spans criminal, civil and family justice, democracy, rights and the constitution. Every year around nine million people use our services in 900 locations across the United Kingdom, including 650 courts and tribunals and 139 prisons in England and Wales.

The range of the Department's policies and actions is wide and the statistical information relating to it is not normally collected on a constituency basis. Consequently, some of the information requested in the question cannot be provided in the form requested except at a disproportionate cost.

Although data on sentencing for the period are not available for the constituency of Streatham, it is available for London. These shows an increase in the total number of offenders sentenced annually from 202,478 in 1997 to 226,891 in 2007, the latest period for which such information is available.

Likewise, the number of offences brought to justice for the London area increased from 122,500 in 2001-02 (the earliest period since which such data have has been compiled) to 230,000 in 2007-08.

With regard to prosecutions, data are not available for the constituency of Streatham. However, the total number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts by the Metropolitan police increased from 260,328 in 1997 to 265,709 in 2007.

Although data on reoffending are not available for the constituency of Streatham, it is available for the borough of Lambeth The latest data, which cover reoffending in the period 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009, showed that the three month reoffending rate for offenders on the probation caseload in Lambeth was 8.05 per cent. After controlling for changes in the characteristics of offenders on the probation caseload, there was a reduction in reoffending of 6.88 per cent compared to the 2007-08 baseline. Data are not available prior to 2007 on this basis.

The number of persons commencing supervision by the Probation Service in London was 16,019 in 1997 and 22,233 in 2008.

158,440 civil non-family proceedings were started in the county courts of London Civil and Family HM Courts Service (HMCS) area in 2008, compared to 263,305 in 1998, the first year for which these figures are available. In respect of family law, there were also 15,512 private law applications and 870 public law applications made in the county or High Courts of this HMCS area in 2008-09, compared to 11,684 and 1,095 respectively in 2003-04, the first annual period for which these figures are available.

In addition, at a national level:

local communities are being better engaged in criminal justice by giving them a say in the types of Community Payback projects offenders carry out and allowing them to see justice being done, for example through the use of high visibility jackets. Offenders have now worked more than 14 million hours, with an estimated value to the taxpayer of over £80 million.

Major constitutional reforms have been delivered, including devolution, the Human Rights Act, Freedom of Information, Lords Reform, and a new Supreme Court for the UK.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to answer Question 300893, on departmental pay, tabled on 18 November 2009. (313137)

I replied to the hon. Member on 25 January 2010, Official Report, columns 692-94W. I apologise for the delay.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) when he next plans to raise in the Council of Ministers the subject of long distance transportation of horses to slaughter; (314055)

The review of Council Regulation 1/2005 on the welfare of animals during transport, which was brought forward from the deadline of 2011, was postponed by the European Commission in October last year because of a lack of internal agreement on the draft proposals. We expect to see fresh proposals within the next year. The Secretary of State's call for improved enforcement and finite times for journeys to slaughter made at Agriculture Council in September last year still stands.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects on the photography industry of non-remunerated photography contracts issued by the Environment Agency; and if he will make a statement. (314169)

The Environment Agency has not issued any non-remunerated photography contracts and currently has four contracts in place with professional photographers. Each of these suppliers has gone through the tender process which is evaluated on both cost and quality.

Any photographer employed by the Environment Agency will be paid in full for their work. The Environment Agency has strict criteria on working with suppliers and takes its responsibilities seriously when it comes to paying people the right rate, on time, and getting good value for the taxpayer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 16 June 2009, Official Report, column 156W, on rodents, whether his Department has reviewed the revised sewer protocols between Thames Water and Yorkshire Water and their relevant local authorities; and if he will make a statement. (314243)

No. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 2 Dec 2009, Official Report, column 732W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his most recent assessment is of progress in the transfer of private drains to water companies in 2011; and if he will make a statement. (314262)

On 15 December 2008, the Government announced that the transfer of all private sewers and lateral drains linked to the public sewerage system to water company ownership would take place from 2011. Transfer is the only comprehensive solution to the range of problems presented by private sewers.

I anticipate consulting early this year on the content of regulations to effect transfer, prior to them being presented to Parliament for approval.

To ask the Prime Minister what average time he took to answer questions for (a) ordinary written answer and (b) written answer on a named day in the last 12 months. (313674)

My office aims to answer all ordinary written parliamentary questions within five working days, and named day written parliamentary questions on the day named.

This information is a matter of public record and can be found in the Official Report.

To ask the Prime Minister what matters were (a) discussed and (b) agreed upon in his meeting on 19 January with the President of the Council of the European Union. (313544)

I refer the hon. Member to the press notice issued by my office on 19 January 2010. A copy is available on the Number 10 website:

http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page22179

Tuesday 19 January 2010

President of the European Council and PM discuss strategy for growth

The Prime Minister has said that members of the EU must raise the level of ambition for Europe’s future growth and employment.

The UK Government has published a compact designed to “reinvigorate” EU economies and build “strong, sustainable and balanced” growth.

Gordon Brown welcomed the new President of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy, to Downing Street this morning to discuss the priorities for Europe including action on the economy, climate change and security.

They also discussed the situation in Haiti following last week’s devastating earthquake. Mr van Rompuy said the EU has responded swiftly to the situation, with EU members already pledging €400 million, including €30 million from the UK. The EU is committed to helping Haiti with longer term reconstruction, Mr van Rompuy said.

On the economy, Mr Brown said EU countries must agree co-ordinated measures that will build a strong recovery.

President van Rompuy and I are agreed that at this critical point in Europe’s history, we must now more than ever, raise our level of ambition for Europe’s future growth and employment.

The European Union, despite the challenge of Asia and the rest of the world, remains the world’s largest trading block.

We are the biggest export market in the world, we are the largest internal market in the world and we have to forge a new economic strategy for our future following the economic crisis.

Gordon Brown said measures to improve growth and job prospects include investment in the low-carbon economy, open markets, the completion of the single market, and more flexible labour markets.

Mr van Rompuy said he has called an informal meeting of the European Council in February to look at formulating a new economic strategy for the region.

To ask the Prime Minister which recommendations made by the report of the committee investigating the use of intelligence on Iraq chaired by Lord Butler accepted by the Government have been implemented; and when each other recommendation accepted by the Government will be implemented. (312691)

The Government accepted and implemented all of Lord Butler’s recommendations, following his review in 2004. We continue to look to improve the quality of analysis of intelligence across Government.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects his Department to publish figures on occurrences of anti-Semitic incidents. (306341)

The Home Office intends to publish figures on occurrences of anti-Semitic incidents in April 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers have been assaulted in each of the last 10 years. (306394)

Data for the numbers of assaults on police officers in 2004-05 and years previous to this can be found in the HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Annual Reports, available in the Library of the House. A weblink to the 2004-05 report is provided for the member's convenience:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc0506/hc08/0842/0842.pdf

Data for the numbers of assaults on police officers for 2005-06 onwards can be found in the supplementary tables of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin “Police Service Strength, England and Wales”, available in the Library of the House. A weblink for the 2008-09 data is again provided for the member's convenience:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb1309supp.pdf

Earlier data from HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary reports and later data from Home Office supplementary tables are not comparable with each other as HMIC data were taken from Crime Recording Systems and Home Office data were taken from self-reported HR systems.

In the 10-year period, the number of police officers has increased by 14 per cent. (from 123,841 in 1998-99 to 141,647 in 2008-09). The number of assaults relates to only a very small proportion of these police officers—in 2008-09 there were an average of 0.07 assaults per officer.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated amount was of (a) support costs, (b) administration costs, (c) housing costs, (d) legal costs, (e) deportation costs and (f) other costs of the asylum system in each year since 1997. (305999)

[holding answer 10 December 2009]: It is not possible to provide an accurate estimate of the full costs of the specific breakdown of costs for each of the years requested except at disproportionate cost as the information was not recorded in the required format.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) original planned and (b) current estimated budget is of the e-Borders Programme; and if he will make a statement. (306315)

[holding answer 14 December 2009]: The original planned expenditure for e-Borders from award of the contract to Trusted Borders in November 2007 through to November 2017 was £1.2 billion.

The current forecast of expenditure for this period, including contingency, is £1.2 billion.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps an individual who has been subject to (a) a phishing attack, (b) installation of malware or adware and (c) other interference with their computer activities should take to report the incident for criminal investigation; how many such incidents were reported in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. (306544)

Any individual who believes that they have been the subject of such attacks or interference on their computer should report the matter to the police, who can then investigate the complaint.

The offences mentioned would in most cases appear to be covered by the Computer Misuse Act 1990. However, the Home Office does not collect statistics centrally on reports of these offences, and therefore I am unable to provide the hon. Member with the figures requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether (a) his Department and (b) its agencies plan to sign up to the 10:10 campaign to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in 2010. (313043)

[holding answer 25 January 2010]: The Secretary of State welcomes the 10:10 campaign and has signed up in a personal capacity. Staff have also been encouraged to take part. The Department and its agencies plan to sign up to the 10:10 campaign to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in 2010-11 against a 2009-10 baseline.

The Department and its agencies have had targets to reduce emissions since 1999 stretching to 2020 and carbon budgets which set out the Department's carbon emission reduction requirements to 2050. Performance against carbon emissions is published annually, the most recent data for the Home Office showed a 23.8 per cent. reduction against baseline.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much revenue was raised through fines consequent on (a) parking, (b) speeding and (c) other driving offences in each year since 2005. (313427)

The information requested is not collected centrally.

Information reported to the Home Office on fixed penalty notices for motoring offences as well as data on court fines held by the Ministry of Justice does not include information on revenues as not all fines imposed will have been paid.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Edinburgh West of 15 July, 17 September and 14 October 2009 on his constituent Mr. Neil McAlpine and the visa for Analia Hasson. (304739)

[holding answer 7 December 2009]: I replied to the hon. Member on 20 January 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to reply to the letter of 5 October 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton on Miss Prisla Joy Kalva. (305113)

I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 4 December 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to reply to the letter of 10 November 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton with regard to Mr Ali Hosseni. (309159)

A full substantive response was sent to the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton on 16 December in reply to his letter of 10 November 2009 about Mr Ali Hosseni.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners have been removed from the UK since 1 January 2009. (306681)

[holding answer 14 December 2009]: We have published provisional management information which shows that we deported or removed a total of 3,890 foreign national prisoners between 1 January and 30 September 2009. This figure is taken from the “Control of Immigration: Quarterly statistical Summary for Q3 2009”, which can be accessed at:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent consideration he has given to allowing British citizens resident in (a) the European Union and (b) Switzerland to submit passport renewal applications to be processed by post. (313533)

The Identity and Passport Service does not accept postal applications made from overseas, including those made from other European Union countries and Switzerland, and no consideration has been given to accepting applications by post from overseas.

If British citizens resident in any of these countries want to renew their passport, they would need to contact their local British embassy or consulate. Alternatively, they could return to the United Kingdom and apply in person to the Identity and Passport Service.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been questioned and been (a) cautioned and (b) subsequently prosecuted in relation to terrorism offences in (i) Ribble Valley constituency, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) the UK in each of the last five years. [Official Report, 23 February 2010, Vol. 506, c. 5MC.] (314349)