To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2010, Official Report, column 862W, on departmental internet, what the cost was of the website redesign. (321925)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 9 February 2010, Official Report, column 888W.

To ask the Prime Minister which constituencies he has visited in the East of England in 2009; and what the date was of each such visit. (322383)

I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 16 July 2009, Official Report, column 76WS. A list of my UK visits for 2009-10 will be published in the usual way.

To ask the Prime Minister which (a) envoys and (b) special representatives personally appointed by him have (i) resigned and (ii) been dismissed. (320719)

I refer the hon. Member to the Press Notices issued by my office, which can be found at:

http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/press-notices

A current list of Government appointed tsars, envoys, champions and ambassadors has been published on page Ev 41 of the Public Administration Select Committee's Eighth Report of Session 2009-10: Goats and Tsars: Ministerial and other appointments from outside Parliament. Copies are available in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish the (a) current and (b) former guidelines issued by his Department to officers of those intelligence services which fall within his responsibilities on interviewing prisoners abroad and on co-operating with interviews conducted by other countries; and if he will make a statement. (321501)

The consolidated guidance to intelligence officers and service personnel on standards during the detention and interviewing of detainees overseas will be published shortly. We will not be publishing previous documents.

To ask the Prime Minister (1) when he informed the hon. Member for Reading, West of his visit to Reading on 1 March 2010; (321540)

For security reasons, my engagements are announced as and when appropriate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has made a recent assessment of the level of the administrative burden on the agriculture industry. (322311)

In DEFRA's recent Simplification Plan ‘Simplifying the Business Environment: Driving Burdens Down’, published in December 2009, DEFRA reported that it was on target to achieve a 20 per cent. reduction in administrative burdens by May 2010. The report details measures that affect the agriculture industry. Between the simplification measures already implemented and other activities currently in progress, we anticipate DEFRA will meet and may even exceed the 25 per cent. target by May 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to encourage retailers to purchase domestically-produced agricultural products. (322312)

The purchasing decisions of retailers are a commercial matter for them, and EU state aid guidelines on advertising specifically preclude publicly subsidised “Buy British” campaigns.

However, we recognise the importance of providing consumers with information on a food’s production and its provenance to enable them to make informed choices about the food they buy. That is why we have been encouraging retailers to comply with the Food Standard Agency’s best practice guide on origin labelling, and recent evidence from the agency has shown that compliance has increased in recent years. More specifically, the Pig Meat Supply Chain Task Force which we established bringing together producers, processors, retailers, the food service industry, and a consumer representative has developed a voluntary industry code on the labelling of pork and pork products. This code, which was launched at the National Farmers Union conference last month, covers origin labelling, the use of breed names on labels and product definitions. Support from both the retail and food service sector has been strong.

Retailers are putting in place policies aimed at sourcing more domestically-produced food and drink products. This in turn provides opportunities for UK farmers to capture a greater market share by becoming more competitive.

We also appreciate the need to improve our food and drink producers’ access to market in order to meet the growing demand for more food with a regional provenance. We have done this by providing funding for a range of measures including “meet the buyer” events with retailers and the encouragement of food hubs and shared distribution facilities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the UK's progress towards reaching the EU target to halt biodiversity loss by 2010; and if he will make a statement. (321448)

The European Commission and member states are currently compiling data to allow an assessment of progress against the targets in the EU Biodiversity Action Plan. We measure our progress towards the EU's 2010 target to halt biodiversity loss through the UK Biodiversity Indicators. Progress was reported in the National Statistics publication ‘Biodiversity Indicators in Your Pocket 2007’, which was updated most recently in April 2009. Statistics for wild birds were updated in October 2009 and those for Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) are updated monthly.

Overall, 23 (72 per cent.) of the 32 measures that comprise the UK Biodiversity Indicators are “improving” or show “little or no overall change” since the year 2000. In particular, almost 91.2 per cent. of SSSIs are in favourable or recovering condition, agri-environment schemes are leading to significant improvements, and we have made great strides with the Marine and Coastal Access Act.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to discuss with the devolved administrations his Department’s policy on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy after 2013. (322310)

DEFRA have ongoing discussions with the devolved Administrations on a wide range of agricultural issues of shared interest, including the UK’s ambitions for the future of the common agriculture policy after 2013.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people resident in each local authority area were (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (i) between the date of entry into force of the Act and 1997 and (ii) in 2009. (321963)

The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, England and Wales 1991 to 1997 and 2008 (latest available) has been placed in the House Library.

Court Proceedings data are not available at local authority area level.

The Ministry of Justice advise that court proceedings data for 2009 are planned for publication in the autumn of 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood of 9 February 2010, Official Report, columns 924-25W, on departmental information officers, what the (a) title and (b) division is of each of the seven embedded communicators working within the business; and on what date each of these positions was first established. (320912)

The information requested is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost of contracts with public relations consultancies was for each non-departmental public body within his Department’s remit in each of the last five years. (320489)

This information is not held centrally and there is no specific procurement category or account for expenditure with public relations consultancies. To obtain the information for each of the last five years from each non-departmental public body would incur disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will set out, with statistical information related as directly as possible to Manchester, Gorton constituency, the effects on that constituency of the policies of his Department and its predecessors since 1997. (322140)

Due to the broad nature of the question and the wide range of DEFRA and its predecessor’s policies implemented in Gorton, it is not possible to provide a detailed answer in the form requested.

Gorton is obliged through statute to comply with central Government legislation. DEFRA’s policy responsibilities are summarised in its departmental strategic objectives (DSOs) that have been agreed with the Treasury:

To promote a society that is adapting to the effects of climate change, through a national programme of action and a contribution to international action.

To promote a healthy, resilient, productive and diverse natural environment.

To promote sustainable, low carbon and resource efficient patterns of consumption and production.

To promote an economy and a society that are resilient to environmental risk.

To champion sustainable development.

To promote a thriving farming and food sector with an improving net environmental impact.

To encourage a sustainable, secure and healthy food supply.

To provide socially and economically sustainable rural communities.

To be a respected Department delivering efficient and high quality services and outcomes.

DEFRA publishes annual departmental reports which set out progress against its public service agreement targets and DSOs. The 2009 report is available at:

www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/about/how/deprep/2009-report.htm

Past reports are available online in the National Archives.

For information on a specific DEFRA policy in Gorton, the Government office for the North West is able to provide information on implementation and the benefits to the area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many tonnes of (a) carpet and (b) mattresses were sent to landfill in each of the last five years; and what proportion of annual landfill each such figure represents. (322023)

[holding answer 12 March 2010]: DEFRA does not hold this information. The Environment Agency publishes data on wastes to landfill from permitted site returns, recorded by the European Waste Code (EWC). The EWC classification does not allow the identification of individual product categories, such as those requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons Natural England has declined to consider evidence on damage to the Lymington Marshes Ramsar site presented by the Lymington River Association; and if he will make a statement. (322345)

Natural England has not declined to consider evidence presented by the Lymington River Association on damage to the Lymington Marshes Ramsar site.

This evidence was presented as part of the Wightlink/Natural England stakeholder engagement exercise which finished on 5 February. Natural England is currently reviewing the points made by all those who responded, and will respond to the Lymington River Association in the next few weeks to enable discussion at a meeting which has already been agreed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department consulted with (a) the RSPB, (b) the Hawk and Owl Trust and (c) other animal welfare groups on its assessment of the European Eagle Owl as an invasive non-native species which should not be introduced into the wild. (321914)

Between November 2007 and January 2008, DEFRA and the Welsh Assembly Government held a public consultation on proposals to review schedule 9 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (‘the Act’), and to ban the sale of certain non-native species in England in Wales. Schedule 9 lists species which, under section 14 of the Act, are prohibited from being introduced into the wild.

The European eagle owl was included amongst the species being consulted upon, and on 21 December 2009 the Government announced that it would be added to schedule 9 in April this year.

This was a general public consultation and organisations directly contacted about it included the RSPB and the Hawk and Owl Trust as well as a number other organisations concerned with animal welfare and conservation. The full list of consultees is available on the DEFRA website.

As part of the process for collating evidence to support policy decisions on management of invasive species, full risk assessments are being developed for a number of species. When risk assessments (including that for the eagle owl) are published for expert comment, the GB Non-native Species Secretariat notifies all the stakeholders on its database who have shown an interest in invasive non-native species policy. This includes the RSPB and a wide range of other organisations; however the Hawk and Owl Trust is not recorded among the organisations in the database.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on office refurbishments in each of the last 10 years. (320469)

The amount spent on office refurbishment is not separately costed or invoiced and could be answered only at disproportionate cost.

Expenditure on all maintenance and minor works for each financial year since 1999-2000 is shown in the following table. These figures include the cost of refurbishments, fit out of new accommodation, reactive and planned maintenance, health and safety works, repairs to mechanical and electrical systems, and associated professional fees.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) disciplinary and (b) capability procedures have been (i) initiated and (ii) completed in his Department in each of the last five years; how much time on average was taken to complete each type of procedure in each such year; how many and what proportion of his Department's staff were subject to each type of procedure in each such year; and how many and what proportion of each type of procedure resulted in the dismissal of the member of staff. (320626)

Details for 2009 and 2010 are shown in the following table.

A breakdown of the information required for the years 2005 to 2008 is not held centrally. We are unable to specify the time taken to complete each type of procedure as this is not recorded.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost of travel for his staff between England and Northern Ireland was in each of the last six years. (321269)

The cost of flights and ferries for staff from my Department between England and Northern Ireland in each of the last three years is shown in the following table. We do not have complete information for the other three years.

Other expenditure associated with travelling between England and Northern Ireland, such as rail or taxi fares to the airport, can be provided only at disproportionate cost. All travel by staff is undertaken in line with departmental policy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2010, Official Report, column 1489W, on the Afghan Campaign Medal, whether he has agreed to the proposed change to the criteria for Aero-Medical personnel Afghan campaign medals; and whether the service chiefs have approved the proposed change. (321623)

The Ministry of Defence is aware of the situation regarding Aero-Medical personnel and their eligibility to receive the Afghanistan Campaign Medal. The eligibility of this group and others is currently under active consideration. We hope to reach a conclusion shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to his speech in Portsmouth on 25 February 2010, what recommendations of a future defence review could lead to the cancellation of the future aircraft carrier programme. (321413)

[holding answer 11 March 2010]: I cannot foresee an outcome of the Strategic Defence Review that could lead to the cancellation of the future carrier programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of whether the armed forces are able to undertake a military operation on the scale and complexity of that undertaken for the Falklands War. (321374)

We take our responsibility to defend the Falkland Islands and the other UK Overseas Territories in the South Atlantic very seriously indeed. We maintain a permanent garrison in the Falkland Islands in order to deter any aggression and regularly deploy other military assets to the region to demonstrate military capability and political resolve. The level of forces required is reviewed regularly. We retain both the commitment and the capability to defend the UK Overseas Territories in the South Atlantic.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department will provide funding for production of the water purification systems ordered by the US administration for deployment in prototype form to Haiti and Afghanistan. (321376)

We have not received any requests from the Haiti or Afghanistan authorities, or from the US administration, for UK funding for production of water purification systems.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the nutritional value of food provided to military personnel serving in combat operations abroad. (320751)

The Military Dietary Reference Values published by QinetiQ in 2008 are used as the basis of input for in-barrack feeding in the UK, as the nutritional basis for operational feeding, the future development of operational ration packs, and as a benchmark when assessing the current nutritional value of armed forces feeding.

As part of the benchmarking process, the Surgeon General-sponsored Armed Forces Feeding Project is conducting an evaluation of the actual food and energy intake, and the efficacy of nutritional education, in trained military personnel while in-barracks and on operations. Gender, ethnic and cultural differences in relation to nutritional requirements, intake and dietary habits will also be investigated. The study is due to report in December 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on education in independent schools for the families of members of the armed forces in each of the last 12 years. (321669)

[holding answer 11 March 2010]: Details are only held for financial years 2007-08 and 2008-09. Financial information for earlier years prior to the implementation of the Joint Personnel Administration System is held on single service legacy systems, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

In the armed forces, the allowance paid to service personnel to fund the education of their children in independent schools is known as the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA). The purpose of the CEA is to allow children of armed forces personnel to achieve a stable education against a background of frequent parental postings both at home, and overseas.

In financial year 2007-08, the total cost to the Ministry of Defence was £162,189,373. This includes tax and national insurance on the benefit paid to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs by the Department on behalf of individuals. In financial year 2008-09, the total cost to the MOD was £172,844,735.

Limits apply in respect of the amount that can be claimed per school term by the service person, and all claims are subject to a parental minimum contribution of 10 per cent. per child, per term.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what other aircraft his Department has with the capability equivalent to a Nimrod MR2 in (a) co-ordinating major off-shore incidents and multi-agency rescues and (b) locating vessels that are in distress during adverse weather and low-light conditions. (321325)

The Aeronautical Air Rescue Co-Ordination Centre (ARCC), based at RAF Kinloss, is responsible for co-ordinating major off-shore incidents and multi-agency rescues. The ARCC works in consort with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, an Executive agency of the Department for Transport, who has a statutory duty under the coastguard Act 1925 for the initiation and co-ordination of civil maritime search and rescue within the United Kingdom Search and Rescue Region. All requests for assistance from the other emergency services throughout the United Kingdom—police, fire, ambulance and coastguard—are handled by the ARCC.

An on the scene co-ordinator may be designated, if required, by the ARCC. If appropriate, this could be an RAF aircraft. All large aircraft are capable of contributing to a search and rescue operation and are equipped with the long and short-range radios required to communicate with the ARCC. The UK has a range of air assets fitted with radars that can be used to support search and rescue tasks in adverse weather and low-light conditions over water. Additionally C-130 and Sea King Mk 3/3A aircraft can carry crew members equipped with night vision goggles.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what proportion of the membership of the (a) Territorial Army, (b) Royal Navy Reserve, (c) Royal Marine Reserve and (d) Royal Auxiliary Air Force was available for deployment on the most recent date for which figures are available. (314473)

Availability for mobilisation is dependent on a number of factors, in particular which section of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 is being used to make a call-out order. Therefore, while reservists may be unavailable for mobilisation under one section of the Act, they will be available under another. This effectively means that nearly all reservists remain available for mobilisation, dependent upon the nature of the operation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many army weapons have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen in each of the last 12 months. (319720)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Secretary of State for Defence gave on 30 November 2009, Official Report, columns 419-20W, to the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Willie Rennie).

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the (a) required, (b) actual and (c) fit-for-task strength is of each corps of the Army; (312658)

Manning in the Army is currently strong. As at 1 January 2010, the trained strength of the Army, including full-time reserve service personnel, was 101,500, This is the highest figure since 1 January 2006. This good position is due to a greater number of recruits entering training and passing out into the Field Army, coupled with an improvement in retention. While this may be attributed in part to the economic climate, a combination of financial incentives and other retention measures have also had an impact. In September 1998 trained strength was 100,490.

In the following table “required strength” and “actual strength” figures are shown as “funded liability” and “trained strength” respectively.

The latest liability figures are as at 1 January 2010. Comparative figures from 1997 are no longer available. The earliest liability data held are as at 1 September 1998.

1 January 2010 figures have been taken from the Army Personnel Statistics Report (APSR). APSR data is derived from the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system.

Figures for the Regular Army are as follows:

“Fit for Task” has been interpreted as fit to deploy for any form of duty on deployment, including personnel listed as having limited deployability. Data are calculated from Personnel Unable to Deploy (PUD) which is derived from unit returns and includes Gurkha manpower. As at 1 January 2010, Infantry Fit for Task strength was 20,439. Royal Armoured Corps Fit for Task strength was 4,475. No Fit for Task data are available prior to 2007. Similar figures for other corps are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what part of his Department is to provide the support for operational design presently given by the Defence Academy's Advanced Research and Assessment Group following its closure, with particular reference to operational support for UK intervention in Afghanistan. (321472)

The Defence Academy's Research and Assessment Branch (R and AB) formally known as Advanced Research and Assessment Group has never provided extensive or critical support to operational design.

The Ministry of Defence Operations Directorate, which comprises both civilians and military staff, has and will continue to provide advice to Ministers and senior officers and officials within MOD and across Government on strategy and policy for operations. In the case of Afghanistan, the Operations Directorate works closely with other teams both within MOD and across other Government Departments, e.g. Department for International Development, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Cabinet Office, in providing advice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) Ministers and (b) civil servants in his Department received coaching in a foreign language in the last 12 months; what expenditure his Department incurred in providing such coaching; and in what languages such coaching was provided. (320415)

No Ministers have received any coaching in foreign languages over the past 12 months. Information on civil servants is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many full-time equivalent staff of each grade are employed by his Department to assist special advisers. (321133)

The two special advisers in the Ministry of Defence are supported by one full-time civil servant at band C2 level.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions applications for employment in (a) the Ministry of Defence and (b) the Armed Forces have not passed beyond vetting procedures due to (i) suspected al-Qaeda sympathies and (ii) other suspected extremist views in each year since 1997. (318337)

I am withholding information for the purpose of safeguarding national security.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what methodology his Department uses to determine the number of veterans in prison in England and Wales. (321207)

The number of veterans in prison in England and Wales, which has been estimated at just over 2,200, was determined by matching a database of all remand and sentenced prisoners aged 18 and over from the Ministry of Justice, around 81,000 offenders as at November 2009, against a database of Service leavers (Regulars only) from my Department, some 1.3 million records. The variables available for matching were surname, forename, middle name, date of birth and gender.

The full report of the matching by the Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) is available in the Library of the House or the following website:

http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index .php ?page=48&thiscontent=540&pubType=3&date=2010-01-25&disText=Single%20Report&from=historic&topDate =2010-01-25 &PublishTime=16:00:00

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how often the Met Office Review Group has met in the last 12 months. (321861)

The Operational Efficiency Programme Met Office Review Group has met regularly in undertaking the review in the last 12 months.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department’s officials next plan to meet the Shareholder Executive to discuss the future of the Met Office. (321862)

Ministry of Defence officials and the Shareholder Executive meet on a regular basis to discuss the future of the Met Office. The next formal Review Group meeting is due in May 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there have been any changes in membership of the Met Office Review Group since it was established. (321863)

No. Membership of the Met Office Review Group has remained the same since it was established and comprises of officials from Ministry of Defence, Met Office, Shareholder Executive and HM Treasury.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Met Office staff are paid more than £100,000 per year. (321643)

Details of the remuneration of the Met Office's Executive Directors are disclosed in the Remuneration Report in the Met Office Annual Report and Accounts. This shows that in 2008-09, four members of the Executive were paid more than £100,000. Outside of the Executive, no Met Office staff are paid more than £100,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will use the assets of the Royal Navy to protect Free Gaza ships in international waters. (321680)

[holding answer 11 March 2010]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Ivan Lewis) on 11 March 2010, Official Report, column 428W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the concept design for the Trident successor submarines to be finalised; and what effect the delay in this process will have on the timetable for the delivery of the Trident successor submarines. (321415)

[holding answer 11 March 2010]: We need a few more months to ensure we take design decisions based on robust information. We do not expect this extension of the concept phase to affect the timetable for delivery of the successor submarine.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the number of claimants of employment and support allowance who have moved into paid employment in the last 12 months. (321782)

Specific information on employment and support allowance is not available. However, between October 2003 and April 2009, Pathways has helped over 189,000 people into work.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps she plans to take to reduce the level of pensioner poverty. (321794)

We have a good track record.

Today there are 900,000 fewer pensioners living in relative poverty than in 1997. We continue to look at ways to further improve pension credit take up and have taken forward radical reforms which will deliver a fairer, more generous state pension and enable millions more to save for their retirement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2010, Official Report, columns 76-77W, on the Pension Service: Torbay, whether she plans to provide additional support to Age Concern Torbay to enable it to provide face-to-face advice surgeries. (322087)

PDCS Local Service is working closely with Age Concern in Torbay in order to offer a range of services to pensioners in the Torbay area. The Age Concern office is an accredited alternative office, which offers customers an alternative channel to access benefits and services.

PDCS Local Service provides additional support to Age Concern by undertaking regular reviews and delivering training sessions for staff. This enables Age Concern staff to be accredited to accept claims from people aged 60 or over for Social Security benefits, or from a person under age 60 for disability and carers benefits.

In addition PDCS Local Service accepts referrals directly from Age Concern to undertake home visits to pensioners. Ongoing support with complex cases is also provided.

The PDCS Local Service manager in the area regularly meets with the manager of Age Concern Torbay to discuss the joint service offering and explore ways in which Local Service and Age Concern can work together in partnership to their mutual benefit to offer access to services in the community.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will review the requirement that a carer must provide at least 35 hours of care a week to receive the carer's allowance for the purposes of taking into account the work of young carers. (320289)

The Government acknowledged in the revised National Carer Strategy, published in June 2008, that the current system of carers' benefits is not flexible enough to adapt to the wide variety of circumstances, responsibilities and needs that carers face.

The 10-year strategy has a long-term commitment to review the structure of benefits available to carers in the context of wider benefit reform and the fundamental review of the care and support system.

It highlighted, as a priority, that children and young people will be protected from inappropriate caring and have the support they need to learn, develop and thrive, and to enjoy positive childhoods. We are committed to young carers having the same access to education, career and life choices as their peers and to enabling and encouraging them to attend and enjoy school and further or higher education.

The Government's vision for young carers is one where active prevention—protecting young people from falling into inappropriate caring—is the priority and a guiding principle behind the planning and delivery of services to support them and their families.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the carer's allowance on the standard of living of carers and their dependants. (320307)

The Department for Work and Pensions has commissioned the Centre for Research into Care, Labour and Equalities, based at the University of Leeds, to conduct a detailed investigation into the circumstances of carer's allowance recipients. This involves a survey of 1,600 carers who receive the allowance, followed by in-depth interviews and focus group meetings with 90 individuals, selected as representative of the overall carer's allowance population, as well as discussions with professionals working with these customers. We expect to publish the research in summer 2010.

The Department for Work and Pensions is also assisting the Department of Health in carrying out a large-scale survey of carers in England. This includes a number of questions designed to yield information about carer's allowance recipients. Headline results are expected in July 2010, with a full report in autumn 2010.

In addition to carer's allowance, carers on low incomes can also receive a carer premium or additional amount for carers with income-related benefits such as income support and pension credit. The premium has been progressively increased from £14.15 a week in April 2000 to its current level of £29.50.

We are also providing further help for carers who are able to combine some paid employment with their caring responsibilities by increasing the carer's allowance weekly earnings limit from £95 to £100 in April 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the monetary value of (a) claimed and (b) unclaimed council tax benefit by each client group in 2008-09. (321120)

The information is not available for the year requested.

Estimates of the value of claimed and unclaimed council tax benefit are provided in the National Statistics series ‘Income Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-Up’.

The latest available report provides information for 2007-08. A copy is available in the Library and online at:

http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/irb.asp

The report provides the following information in relation to council tax benefit for Great Britain in 2007-08:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much her Department spent on office refurbishments in each year since its inception. (320472)

The Department occupies the vast majority of its properties under the terms of a PFI contract for which it pays a unitary charge in return for fully fitted and serviced accommodation. The unitary charge includes works carried out over the life cycle of the accommodation which contain an element of refurbishment that cannot be disaggregated from overall expenditure.

Some refurbishments are not covered by the unitary charge and are funded separately as capital expenditure, which would include major projects, and the fit out of new buildings. Expenditure increased from 2002 when the Department embarked on a major programme funded by the Treasury to improve the services delivered to the public, including those provided by Jobcentre Plus, the Pension Service and Debt Management Services. The Department's expenditure on these major refurbishment projects since its creation in 2001 is set out in the following table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) disciplinary and (b) capability procedures have been (i) initiated and (ii) completed in her Department in each of the last five years; how much time on average was taken to complete each type of procedure in each such year; how many and what proportion of her Department's staff were subject to each type of procedure in each such year; and how many and what proportion of each type of procedure resulted in the dismissal of the member of staff. (320623)

The information sought is not available prior to April 2007. Such information as is available for subsequent years is as follows:

The figures in table 3 do not include staff dismissed for health related reasons.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff in her Department were responsible for each instance of fraud or attempted fraud attributable to such staff (a) against the benefits system and (b) in other areas in each of the last five years. (316400)

[holding answer 8 February 2010]: The figures in the following table show the number of staff involved in instances of attempted or actual fraud where the investigation was completed in the year stated. The figures relate to all the benefits administered by DWP, theft of assets and financial irregularities. This analysis is consistent with the way in which the Department reports information on staff investigations to HM Treasury.

While recognising that only a very small number of our staff commit fraud, the Department has a robust approach to the detection, prevention and deterrence of staff fraud consistent with HM Treasury guidance. Where fraud is proven, staff are subject to disciplinary action and, in the case of criminal offences, the Department will normally seek to prosecute, engaging the police where necessary.

The Department has a whistleblowers’ hotline to enable staff to report suspicions of fraud.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the losses from (a) the benefits system and (b) other areas attributable to fraud committed by staff of her Department, in each of the last five years. (316401)

[holding answer 8 February 2010]: Information is not available in the exact format requested from 2004 as losses were only broken down into the specified categories from April 2005. Overall totals are therefore provided for 2004-05.

The following tables contain the estimated losses arising from attempted or actual fraud by staff where the Department’s investigation was completed in the year stated (not including the value of the fraud arising from false employment applications where the loss to the Department is notional).

While recognising that only a very small number of our staff commit fraud, the Department has a robust approach to the detection, prevention and deterrence of staff fraud consistent with HM Treasury guidance. Where fraud is proven, staff are subject to disciplinary action and, in the case of criminal offences, the Department will normally seek to prosecute, engaging the police where necessary.

The Department has a whistleblowers’ hotline to enable staff to report suspicions of fraud.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff in her Department and its agencies have the status of (a) embedded communicators or (b) are members of the Government Communications Network but are not listed in the Central Office of Information White Book. (315596)

The DWP's communications professionals include press office, internal and stakeholder communication, and digital media. They work right across the breadth of the Department's responsibilities and also provide services for Jobcentre Plus and the Pensions, Disability and Carers Service and Directgov.

The work includes communicating with staff, the public, business and stakeholders on the help and support available, eligibility for entitlements, pensions, additional help and support as well as the detailed work on pension reform. The Directgov website provides extensive help and information on the public services available to citizens across national and local government.

From a total of 119,625 members of staff, DWP has 155 embedded communications staff outside of its central communications function. From 1 April 2010 that will reduce to 119, the majority working for Directgov which is the Government website for public services in the UK. Others work on internal communications in central Directorates and delivery businesses. Staffing figures are provided as Staff in Post figures rather than whole time equivalents as to do otherwise would incur disproportionate cost.

Government Communications Network (GCN) membership data are not held by individual departments. Therefore accurate information cannot be produced without incurring disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations she has received on provision of Jobcentre Plus services through the private sector. (321770)

DWP receives numerous representations from both individuals and organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors to deliver a range of welfare to work services. All opportunities to tender for the provision of employment programmes are advertised on the Supplying DWP section of our website. This is to ensure open and fair competition in accordance with public procurement policy and EU regulations. We also have strict criteria for those wishing to apply to deliver services through our Right to Bid procedure.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2010, Official Report, columns 1028-29W, on employment schemes: young people, which (a) Jobcentre Plus districts, (b) local authorities and (c) constituencies have no Future Jobs Fund jobs; and in which (i) Jobcentre Plus districts, (ii) local authorities and (iii) constituencies elements of the young person's guarantee are (A) available and (B) not available. (321467)

Any organisation in England, Scotland and Wales can bid to the Future Jobs Fund. However, details of specific locations where Future Jobs Fund jobs have been created can be obtained only at disproportionate cost at (a) Jobcentre Plus district and (b) local authority level. Details of the location of Future Jobs Fund are not broken down by (c) constituency and are therefore not available.

The Young Person's Guarantee has been available in (a) all Jobcentre Plus districts, (b) all local authorities and (c) all constituencies, since 25 January 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps her Department has taken to obtain the support of businesses for its work to assist young people into employment. (321788)

The Department has actively sought the support of businesses and other employers to assist young people into employment. Over 920 organisations from business, public sector, and third sector have signed up to the Backing Young Britain campaign to provide more opportunities for young people to gain apprenticeships, jobs and work experience. Over 110,000 jobs have been created by a variety of employers, mainly for long term unemployed young people, through the Future Jobs Fund.

Many employers have responded by agreeing to work with Government through local employment partnerships, to open up employment and training opportunities to unemployed jobseekers. Over 70,000 employers across the country have recruited through local employment partnerships since they were introduced in 2007, and more than 567,000 people have been helped into work during that time.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobs have been provided by the Future Jobs Fund in each local authority area; what estimate she has made of the range of administrative charges made by local authorities by the management of the fund; and if she will make a statement. (318166)

Details of the availability of the Future Jobs Fund at local authority level can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Job start information can be classified by Jobcentre Plus district level. However, this information would detail which Jobcentre Plus district processed the job, not the actual location of the job itself.

We did not set specific targets for the costs of administration as we wanted organisations to be free to deliver the jobs fund and to tailor jobs to the needs of the client group. Therefore, the Department for Work and Pensions does not have an estimate of the administrative charges made by local authorities in connection with the Future Jobs Fund. The key specifications are that the jobs should be of a minimum of 25 hours per week; that they should be paid at least at the National Minimum Wage; provide enhanced training and support to the employee, as well as cover other costs incurred in the delivery of the Future Jobs Fund. This is required to be delivered within the maximum unit cost of £6,500 provided by the Government.

Jobcentre Plus provides administrative support to local authorities and other lead bidders by putting forward suitable candidates to fill Future Jobs Fund vacancies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobs have been created under the Future Jobs Fund by (a) local authorities and (b) third sector organisations to date. (318532)

Of the 110,000 Future Jobs Fund jobs we have agreed to fund from the first seven rounds of bidding, there have been 56,000 jobs from bids where a local authority has been the lead bidder and over 41,000 jobs from bids where a third sector organisation has been the lead bidder.

Other jobs have been created in local authorities and third sector organisations, where these organisations were not the lead bidder. However, the data have not been captured and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much her Department spent on sending customer documents by courier between jobcentres and benefit delivery centres in the last financial year for which figures are available; which courier companies were used; how much was paid to each; and if she will make a statement. (316961)

[holding answer 22 February 2010]: TNT UK Ltd. is DWP's contracted courier provider that delivers a single dedicated network service that is accessed jointly by DWP and HMRC. In 2008-09 DWP courier service expenditure with TNT was £9.5 million.

Our latest volume information confirms that TNT transport around 13 million items per year for DWP alone—around 11 million standard service (undocumented) where items are not recorded or tracked; and around two million consignments fully tracked (documented) where they are recorded at all stages of their transfer from collection to delivery through the TNT network. DWP has recently moved to a combined DWP/HMRC dedicated courier service which now carries both standard and fully tracked mail. This new service was introduced on 18 January 2010 . This service provides an industry standard and more secure courier service, provide improved value for money and will reduce the risk associated with the transfer of our courier mail.

Our MI data do not provide specific details of the courier traffic between Jobcentre Plus and Benefit Delivery Centres—although Jobcentre Plus accounts for approximately 90 per cent. of all DWP business courier transfers. However, please note that the level of information available does not detail courier transfers between Jobcentres and Benefit Delivery Centres.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) claimants and (b) claimants aged 16 to 24 years registered as new claimants in respect of jobseeker’s allowance following the completion of their period on the New Deal without finding employment in each year since the inception of the New Deal. (311758)

The available information can be found in tables (a) and (b).

We are currently in the process of introducing the Flexible New Deal which replaces the existing New Deals with more flexible, tailored support. The Flexible New Deal will be available in most areas of the country by October 2010.

The small number of people who may finish the Flexible New Deal without finding sustained work, normally at the 24-month point of unemployment, will return to Jobseeker’s Allowance at the Supported Work Search stage (Stage 3). This will allow the claimant to make the best use of their experience with the Flexible New Deal provider while being required to actively seek work.

From November this year, we will also be testing two new types of support for those who finish the Flexible New Deal without finding sustained work.

In two pilot areas—Greater Manchester and Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire—people who complete Flexible New Deal without securing employment will undertake either the Work for Your Benefit programme or the Jobcentre Plus based Enhanced Support Period.

Work for Your Benefit is a programme of full-time work experience backed with additional employment support for up to six months. This is designed to help them to build up their work habits and gain practical experience which will be of value to themselves and to employers.

In addition, a new Jobcentre Plus based Enhanced Support Period will deliver more intensive one to one adviser support backed up with a ring fenced Personal Support Fund of £500 per person.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what reports she has received on alternatives to oil storage tanks at the Oikos site in Haven Road, Canvey; what representations she has received from the Health and Safety Executive on such alternatives; and if she will make a statement. (321603)

[holding answer 11 March 2010]: The Secretary of State has received no reports on alternatives to oil storage tanks at the Oikos site on Canvey Island or representations from the Health and Safety Executive on such matters.

Consent for the storage of hazardous chemicals at this site, or any alternative sites, is the responsibility of the local planning authority, which for Canvey Island is Castle Point borough council.

HSE's role is to monitor safety at this site. HSE will continue to do this and will assess any significant changes made to the site and to the site's COMAH safety report as a result of any changes that Oikos may propose.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment the Health and Safety Executive has made of possible risks to local residents and businesses from the operation of the Oikos Canvey Island site. (321962)

[holding answer 22 March 2010]: Oikos Oil Storage Ltd. are responsible under the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 (as amended) for assessing any risks to local residents and businesses from the operations at their Canvey Island site, and for implementing all necessary measures to prevent major accidents and limit their consequences for people and the environment.

Oikos Oil Storage Ltd. has an existing Hazardous Substances Consent from Castle Point borough council to store at its Canvey Island site up to 232,501 tonnes of highly flammable liquids which may include petrol and petroleum mixtures. When the consent was granted in 1992, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) assessed the risks to people off-site from the consented quantity of hazardous substances for the purpose of providing land use planning advice to the borough council. A more detailed assessment was conducted in 2002 to set the current land use planning zones around the site.

Following the explosion and fire at the Buncefield fuel storage terminal, HSE introduced precautionary arrangements to strengthen development controls in the areas closest to sites engaged in filling large storage tanks with petrol at a specified rate.

Petrol is not currently stored at the Oikos Canvey Island site. HSE will review its risk assessment and, if necessary, revise its land use planning advice to Castle Point borough council once Oikos Oil Storage Ltd. provides details of its arrangements for receiving and storing petrol at the site.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what information her Department holds on the number of jobs under the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority contract for scheme administration services to be based in (a) the UK and (b) each other country. (321405)

[holding answer 9 March 2010]: Staffing numbers required to administer NEST on an ongoing basis will depend upon the number of scheme members.

All the public facing elements of service provision are due to be carried-out by staff based in the UK. Back-office, administrative processing and IT functions are due to be delivered in India. Once fully established, we estimate that between 40 and 45 per cent. of staff will be based in the UK.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of those aged 16 to 24 years old were classed as living in poverty in each financial year since 1996-97. (313162)

In response to the recession, the Government have put in place significant additional support for young people through the Young Person's Guarantee and Backing Young Britain campaign. In December 2009, we published ‘Investing in Potential’, the cross-Government strategy to increase the proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds in education, employment and training.

For young people claiming jobseeker's allowance the New Deal has helped almost 900,000 people into work. Independent evaluation found that without New Deal, there would be twice as many young people claiming jobseeker's allowance for six months or more than at present.

The requested information is given in the following table, for periods where data are available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what criteria recipients of (a) disability living allowance and (b) attendance allowance under special rules are required to meet; (322178)

The Special Rules provision applies to individuals who are in the last stages of a progressive disease and who are expected to die within six months. The individual's GP or other health care professional submits a medical report to the Department confirming the diagnosis. Those who meet this criterion do not need to serve the normal qualifying periods for attendance allowance and disability living allowance before receiving benefit assistance. There is no requirement to qualify for support though the social care system in order to be eligible to claim these benefits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much funding her Department has allocated to increase access to (a) benefits and (b) back-to-work schemes for low-paid and unemployed adults with children in 2009-10. (320795)

The Budget 2008 introduced the Child Poverty pilots, which are jointly funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, and the Department for Work and Pensions. For 2009-10, the Department for Work and Pensions contribution is £9.7 million.

One of the objectives of the pilots is to look at new and innovative ways to support parents into and to remain in work, as well as helping those out of work. The pilots include outreach work for Jobcentre Plus around Children’s Centres and schools, as well as providing help back into work for those with younger children.

These are in addition to mandatory and voluntary programmes such as jobseeker’s allowance, Flexible New Deal and the New Deals for Lone Parents and Partners, active labour market interventions such as Lone Parent Obligations and Progression to Work and infrastructure measures such as child care investment. Financial support may also be available including working tax credit aimed at ensuring that work pays and In Work Credit to help make the transition into work.

From October 2010 the Department for Work and Pensions will be implementing an enhanced Better off in Work Credit so that everyone who has been unemployed for 26 weeks or more will receive an income of at least £40 a week more on moving into work. The credit is expected to be available nationally from January 2011.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many 18 to 25-year-olds are claiming jobseeker's allowance or other benefits. (321787)

As at August 2009, there were 988,780 young people aged 18 to 25 claiming DWP-administered benefits in Great Britain, of which 491,060 were claiming jobseeker's allowance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment she has made of the effect on benefit claimants of the period between which they move into work and have their benefit stopped and their first payment from their employer; what steps she is planning to take to help deal with this issue for benefit claimants; and whether she has considered allowing providers more flexibility to cover this gap using their service fee. (315695)

We keep the transition of claimants from benefits to employment under regular review and have put in place a number of schemes that give people extra financial support on returning to work. For example, we introduced the job grant to specifically help customers who move into work manage until they receive their wages. It provides eligible customers a non-taxable payment of £100 for single people and couples without children, and £250 for lone parents and couples with children. In addition, housing costs are paid for four weeks after returning to work to customers who have been on income support or jobseeker's allowance for 26 weeks or more. As benefits are generally paid two weeks in arrears, this goes some way to filling any gap before payment of first wages.

For all customers leaving jobseeker's allowance for work, Jobcentre Plus staff can help them make claims to working tax credit using a special fast track procedure, which means that in many cases tax credit is paid in advance of first wages. As a last resort, in cases of very urgent financial need, customers can apply for interest-free crisis loans from the social fund.

Flexible New Deal providers already have the flexibility to use their service fee to provide help and support tailored to the needs of each jobseeker's allowance customer, to enable them to move into and stay in work.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many and what proportion of people claiming (a) incapacity benefit and (b) employment and support allowance attended a medical assessment in the latest period for which figures are available; (317621)

Incapacity benefit and employment and support allowance customers are not medically assessed by the Department, they are assessed to determine their functional capability. All claims must be assessed in order to qualify for continued entitlement. Information on the number of initial awards following these assessments is not available. The available information for incapacity benefit is provided in the following table:

For employment and support allowance claims we have data on claims from the introduction of employment and support allowance on 27 October 2008 to May 2009. The main data relating to Work Capability Assessment claims are published at:

http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/esa_wca/esa_wca_19012010.pdf

A copy of this report has also been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many winter fuel payments were made to persons living outside the UK in 1996-97; and what estimate she has made of the number of winter fuel payments made to persons living in (a) Spain, (b) Italy, (c) Greece, (d) Portugal and (e) other countries outside the UK in the last financial year. (320314)

Winter fuel payments were first introduced in winter 1997-98 and paid to eligible people living in the United Kingdom (UK).

Since 2002 winter fuel payments have been made to eligible former UK residents living elsewhere in the European Economic Area or Switzerland provided they qualified for a winter fuel payment before leaving the UK. Under European Union law some benefits acquired in one member state must be paid to people who live outside that state but within the European Economic Area. Winter fuel payments are one of these benefits and the UK is bound by European Union law.

Information for winter 2008-09 (the last year for which information is available) is in the following table.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many retailers have been convicted of an offence of persistent sale of alcohol to a person under 18 years in each year since 2006. (315154)

The number of defendants found guilty at all courts of an offence of persistent sale of alcohol to a person less than 18 years, England and Wales can be viewed in the following table. Data are only available for 2008, when the offence came into force. Court proceedings data for 2009 are due to be published in autumn 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) with reference to the answer of 26 June 2009, Official Report, columns 1204-5W, on crime, how many incidents related to public safety/welfare were recorded in each category in 2008-09; (313815)

[holding answer 2010]: The number of incidents recorded by police forces in each category classified as public safety/welfare as defined within the National Incident Category List (NICL) for 2008-9 is attached in Table A. The data are normally for management information only and are not subject to the detailed checks that apply to National Statistics publications. They are provisional and may be subject to change. The data represent calls for service as recorded by police forces under the relevant categories and may be subject to local variation in reporting and classifying.

A reliable figure for incidents with the qualifier hate/discrimination for England and Wales is not available. More than 10 per cent. of police forces were not able to return qualifier data for 2008-09¹. The data are normally for management information only.

The administration data categories are for local management purposes only and were not required from police forces for the Annual Data Return in 2009. The Home Office continues to review the data required from police forces and to balance user needs against burdens on police forces.

A reliable England and Wales figure for incidents with the qualifiers requested is not available. More than 10 per cent. of police forces were not able to return qualifier data for 2008-09¹. The data are normally for management information only.

¹ It was only mandatory for police forces to return data until June 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with shopkeepers and representatives of small businesses to identify methods of enhancing the security and safety of their properties and staff. (321469)

I chair the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) which was set up by the Home Office in partnership with the British Retail Consortium in 2007. The NRCSG provides a forum for representatives from Government, law enforcement agencies, the larger retailers and business and trade organisations such the Association of Convenience Stores and Federation of Small Businesses to discuss and devise strategies for tackling crimes of concern to retailers and includes addressing the security and safety of staff and premises.

The NRCSG published a joint Retail Crime Action Plan which details a range of work to tackle crime. For details of the plan see:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/retail-crime-action-plan.html

Both the Home Office and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) fully support USDAW 's Freedom from Fear campaign to promote the safety and well-being of shop workers. We are working with the HSE to help reduce the incidence of work-related violence in the retail sector. In October 2008, the HSE published a toolkit to help employers cut the risk of violence against shop workers. The toolkit provides practical advice on how to conduct a risk assessment and how to take action to prevent or control work-related violence. It contains information on a wide range of possible control measures and good practice that other businesses have found effective.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with representatives of the security industry on the provision of cheaper and more up-to-date security systems for shops and small business premises. (321470)

I chair the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG), which provides a forum for representatives from Government, law enforcement agencies, the larger retailers and business and trade organisations such the Association of Convenience Stores and Federation of Small Businesses to discuss and devise strategies for tackling crimes of concern to retailers.

My advice on security systems and equipment is provided by the Home Office Scientific Development Branch which is a key member of the NRCSG. They are preparing a CCTV standards leaflet for small shops and for licensed premises to contain all the basic information on what to expect from a CCTV system, and provides a list of key requirements such as minimum image quality, recording, camera placement.

We are currently distributing the Small Retailers Capital Grants Fund which is designed to help fight crime and is being allocated to around 1,000 small retailers in 50 priority areas across England and Wales. The grants are being used for a variety of purposes including purchasing security equipment for individual retailers such as CCTV; infrared security cameras; security shutters and rollers; safes; alarms; anti-fraud equipment such as UV markers to detect counterfeit notes, and anti-graffiti paint.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports of (a) violent crime and (b) serious violent crime there were in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) England and Wales in each year since 1997. (321592)

The term 'violent crime' is no longer used. Data are supplied for violence against the person offences. The requested information is shown in the table. Recorded crime statistics at constituency level are not collected centrally.