daily report monday, 4 march 2019 contents · 2019. 3. 4. · daily report monday, 4 march 2019...

Daily Report Monday, 4 March 2019

This report shows written answers and statements provided on 4 March 2019 and the

information is correct at the time of publication (06:42 P.M., 04 March 2019). For the latest

information on written questions and answers, ministerial corrections, and written statements,

please visit: http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers/

CONTENTS

ANSWERS 7

ATTORNEY GENERAL 7

Prosecutions 7

BUSINESS, ENERGY AND

INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY 8

Connect Airways: Flybe 8

Cosmetics 8

Energy: Prices 9

Minimum Wage: Non-payment 9

CABINET OFFICE 10

Blood: Contamination 10

Boundary Commission for

England 10

Breast Cancer: Greater

London 11

Cabinet Office: Mass Media 11

Cervical Cancer: Older People 12

Early Years Ministerial Group

On Family Support 12

Funerals: Duchy of Cornwall

and Duchy of Lancaster 13

Grenfell Tower Inquiry 13

Personal Income 13

DEFENCE 13

Armed Forces: Compensation 13

Armed Forces: Drugs 14

Defence: Procurement 15

India: Pakistan 15

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft:

Procurement 15

Members: Correspondence 16

Military Aid: Human Rights 16

Ministry of Defence:

Procurement 16

Type 31 Frigates 17

Veterans: Suicide 17

World War II: Veterans 18

Yemen: Military Intervention 18

DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND

SPORT 19

Cybercrime: Business 19

D-Day Landings:

Anniversaries 19

Department for Digital,

Culture, Media and Sport:

Brexit 19

Digital Technology 19

Leisure: Young People 20


Social Media: Disability 20

Third Sector 21

Voluntary Work: Young People 22

http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers

http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers

EDUCATION 22

Apprentices: Assessments 22

Children and Young People:

Visual Impairment 23

Children: Day Care 23

Department of Education:

Apprentices 25

Extended Services 26

Free School Meals: Primary

Education 27

Local Authorities: Work

Experience 27

Pre-school Education:

Closures 28

Pupils: Health 29

Schools: Asbestos 29

Schools: Sheffield Hallam 30

Schools: Surveys 31

Social Mobility Commission:

Annual Reports 31

Social Services: Children and

Young People 32

Special Educational Needs:

Finance 32

Students: Sexual Harassment 33

Teachers: Pay 33

Teachers: Pensions 34

Teachers: Stress 34

Teachers: Training 35

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND

RURAL AFFAIRS 36

Air Pollution: Liverpool City

Region 36

Beverage Containers:

Recycling 36

Biodiversity 37

Environment Protection 37

Fisheries 38

Flood Control: Finance 39

Food: Labelling 39

Food: Packaging 39

Livestock: Conservation 40

Microplastics 41

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust

Emissions 42

Nature Conservation 42

Packaging: Regulation 43

Palm Oil 44

Plastics 45

Plastics: Recycling 45

Plastics: Waste 46

Sea Bass 46

Solid Fuels: Heating 47

Water: South of England 47

EXITING THE EUROPEAN

UNION 48

Brexit 48

Department for Exiting the

European Union: Procurement 49

European Parliament:

Elections 49

European University Institute 49

Fisheries 50

FOREIGN AND

COMMONWEALTH OFFICE 51

Bangladesh: Diplomatic

Relations 51

Burma: Peace Negotiations 51

China: Pandas 51

Foreign and Commonwealth

Office: Procurement 51

India: Pakistan 52

INF Treaty 52

Interserve 52

Kashmir: Armed Conflict 53

Libya: Arms Trade 55

Libya: Undocumented

Migrants 55


Nicaragua: Third Sector 56

Russia: Foreign Relations 57

Russia: INF Treaty 57

Saudi Arabia: Arms Trade 58

Turkey: Minority Groups 58

USA: Overseas Workers 59

World War I and World War II:

Veterans 59

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 59

Accident and Emergency

Departments: Disclosure of

Information 59

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse 60

Allergies: Death 60

Autism: Psychiatric Hospitals 60

Care Homes 61

Cervical Cancer: Screening 63

Compulsorily Detained

Psychiatric Patients 64

Dementia 65

Dementia: Social Services 65

Eating Disorders: Health

Services 65

Epilepsy: Sodium Valproate 66

HIV Infection: Drugs 66

Influenza: Vaccination 67

Mental Health Services:

Children 67

Mental Health Services:

Merseyside 67

Midwives and Nurses: Training 67

NHS: Drugs and Medical

Equipment 68

NHS: Loans 69

NHS: Standards 70

Obesity: Children 70

Prescriptions: Universal Credit 71

Prostate Cancer: Medical

Treatments 72

Psychiatric Patients: Transport 72

Radiotherapy: Clinical Trials 72

Smoking: Health Services 73

Social Services 74

Tongue-tie 74

Tuberculosis: Health Services 75

Wirral University Teaching

Hospital NHS Foundation

Trust: Land 76

HOME OFFICE 77

Asylum: Applications 77

Asylum: Housing 77

Home Office: Procurement 78

Home Office: Urdu 78

Home Office: Written

Questions 78

Identification of Criminals:

Biometrics 79

Immigration: Equality 79

Immigration: EU Nationals 79

Immigration: Families 81

Independent Chief Inspector of

Borders and Immigration 81

National Crime Agency:

Holiday Leave 82

Passports: Fees and Charges 82

Police Pursuits 82

Seasonal Agricultural Workers'

Scheme 82

Sexual Offences: Prosecutions 83

Traffic Officers 83

Undocumented Migrants:

English Channel 84

Undocumented Migrants:

Fines and Sentencing 84

HOUSE OF COMMONS

COMMISSION 84

House of Commons:

Apprentices 84

HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND

LOCAL GOVERNMENT 86

[Subject Heading to be

Assigned] 86

Buildings: Insulation 87

Homelessness: Greater

London 90

Homelessness: Liverpool City

Region 90

Homelessness: Newcastle

upon Tyne 91

Housing: Construction 91

Local Government Finance 92

Multiple Occupation:

Birmingham Edgbaston 92

Philip Morris International 93

Sleeping Rough 93

Smoking: Health Services 94

Urban Areas 94

INTERNATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT 95

Burma: Human Trafficking 95

Department for International

Development: Brexit 96

Developing Countries:

Education 96

Developing Countries: Religion 97

Overseas Aid: Libya 97

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 97

Arms Trade: Trade Fairs 97

Developing Countries: Fossil

Fuels 98

Trade Agreements: Human

Rights 98

Trade Promotion 99

JUSTICE 99

Courts: Modernisation 99

HM Courts and Tribunals

Service 100


Service: Finance 100


Service: ICT 100

Homicide: Convictions 101

Legal Aid Scheme 101

Ministry of Justice: ICT 103

Sexual Offences:

Compensation 104

Styal Prison 104

LEADER OF THE HOUSE 105

Ethnic Groups: China 105

NORTHERN IRELAND 105

Brexit: Northern Ireland 105

PRIME MINISTER 105

Yemen: Armed Conflict 105

TRANSPORT 106

Cherwell Valley Railway Line:

Electrification 106

Crossrail: Contracts 106

Cycling and Walking:

Infrastructure 106

Cycling: Death 107

Heathrow Airport: Noise 107

High Speed 2 Railway Line 108

High Speed Two Railway Line:

Lancaster 108

Northern: Compensation 108

Railway Stations: Leigh 109

Railways: Tickets 109

Road Traffic Offences 109

Road Traffic Offences:

Schools 110

Roads: Safety 111

Southeastern: Standards 111

Speed Limits: Schools 112

Taxis: Guide Dogs 112

TREASURY 112

Aviation 112

Beverage Containers:

Taxation 113

Cash Dispensing 113

Community Housing Fund 114

Company Cars: Taxation 114

Credit: Interest Rates 115

Employers' Contributions 116

EU Budget: Contributions 116

Home Shopping: Taxation 116

Multinational Companies:

Taxation 117

Northern: Standards 117

Overseas Trade 117

Private Rented Housing: Rents 117

Public Works Loan Board 118

Revenue and Customs:

Unpaid Fines 118

Tax Avoidance 118

Tax Collection 120

Tax Evasion: Prosecutions 121

Taxation: Tribunals 121

Treasury: Procurement 124

UK Asset Resolution 124

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES 125

Fibromyalgia 125

WORK AND PENSIONS 126

Bereavement Support

Payment 126

Children: Maintenance 127

Employment and Support

Allowance: Arrears 128

Employment: Autism 128

Jobcentre Plus: Autism 129

Personal Independence

Payment: Medical

Examinations 130

Social Security Benefits 131

Social Security Benefits: EU

Nationals 131

Social Security Benefits: Fraud 131

State Retirement Pensions:

Females 132

Universal Credit 132

Universal Credit:

Disqualification 134

Universal Credit:

Homelessness 134

Universal Credit: Vulnerable

Adults 135

WRITTEN STATEMENTS 136

BUSINESS, ENERGY AND

INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY 136

Business Update 136

HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND

LOCAL GOVERNMENT 137

Housing Update 137

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 138

POST-COUNCIL: INFORMAL

TRADE FOREIGN AFFAIRS

COUNCIL 21 - 22 February

2019 138

Notes:

Questions marked thus [R] indicate that a relevant interest has been declared.

Questions with identification numbers of 900000 or greater indicate that the question was originally tabled as an

oral question and has since been unstarred.

ANSWERS

ATTORNEY GENERAL

Prosecutions

Steve McCabe: [226517]

To ask the Attorney General, how many cases have been passed to the CPS by the

police which the CPS has decided not to pursue (a) in each region and (b) at CPS Direct

in each year since 2009.

Robert Buckland:

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the number of

suspects (not cases) referred to prosecutors for a pre-charge decision and the

number of decisions not to prosecute suspects following a charging decision.

The tables at Annex 1 show the outcome of referrals from the police for a pre charge

decision. Data is provided for each one of the CPS’ regional Areas from 2009/10 to

2017/18. This dataset incorporates all decisions taken by CPS Direct over this period.

The outcome of a decision can be one of the following:

• Charge; Prosecutors must be satisfied there is enough evidence to provide a

"realistic prospect of conviction" against each defendant and that the prosecution is

in the public interest.

• Take no further action for either evidential or public interest reasons;

• Recommend that an out of court disposal is appropriate, such as a caution,

conditional caution or that the offence is taken into consideration with other

charges;

• Administratively Finalise in cases where an early investigative advice has been

sought by the police or, there is insufficient evidence to bring a charge at first

referral, the police have been asked to complete an action plan and no further

evidence is forthcoming. These cases may be reopened, if at a later date, new

material is provided to the prosecution enabling a charging decision to be made;

and

•

• Other, when the result of the charging decision is not known or has not been given

for that suspect.

The Charging and No Further Action (NFA) rates will vary from Area to Area

depending upon the practice of local police forces to NFA weak cases without

reference to the CPS. The Administratively Finalised rate is largely determined by the

number of cases referred to the CPS for early investigative advice. In recent years,

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-02-27/226517

there has been a rise in the proportion of cases administratively finalised following an

increased use of early investigative advice in rape cases.

Attachments:

1. Annex 1 [226517 - Annex 1.xlsx]

BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

Connect Airways: Flybe

Alan Brown: [225560]

To ask Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment

he has made of the treatment of shareholders by Flybe during the purchasing of its

working assets by the Connect Airways consortium.

Alan Brown: [225561]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he

has to assess the treatment of shareholders by Flybe during the purchasing of its working

assets by the Connect Airways consortium.

Kelly Tolhurst:

The treatment of shareholders of listed companies in the context of a takeover is

regulated by the Takeover Code, overseen by the Takeover Panel. This is

independent of Government.

Cosmetics

Ronnie Cowan: [225549]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress

his Department has made on creating a UK cosmetics portal as part of preparations for

the UK leaving the EU.

Kelly Tolhurst:

The UK’s new cosmetics database is being developed by the Office for Product

Safety and Standards (OPSS). OPSS have worked closely with cosmetics

businesses in creating the database, which is currently undergoing testing with the

sector.

OPSS will continue to communicate with businesses, trade associations and other

regulators regarding the steps businesses need to take for notification of new and

existing products.


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what

discussions his Department is having with the cosmetics industry on implications for that

industry of the UK leaving the EU.





Kelly Tolhurst:

Officials have been working closely with the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery

Association (CTPA) and individual businesses to help them prepare for the UK’s exit

from the EU. This includes helping the CTPA prepare their guidance for the UK

leaving the EU, including in the event of leaving without a deal, as well as attending

industry events and engaging with individual businesses.


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his

Department is providing financial support to the cosmetics industry as part of

preparations for the UK leaving the EU.

Kelly Tolhurst:

Delivering a deal negotiated with the EU remains the Government’s top priority.

However, officials have been working closely with the cosmetics industry to reduce

the potential impact on them should the UK leave the EU without a deal, including

providing for transitional arrangements for labelling changes and appropriate levels of

notification for cosmetic products already on the market. There are no further plans to

provide financial support to the cosmetics industry as part of the UK’s preparations

for EU exit.

Energy: Prices

Mr Steve Reed: [226673]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what

assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on consumer energy prices

of the UK leaving the EU (a) with and (b) without a deal.

Claire Perry:

The UK is seeking broad energy cooperation with the EU including arrangements for

trade in electricity and gas, cooperation with EU Agencies and bodies, and data

sharing to facilitate market operations. All these are designed to ensure continuity in

terms of effects on consumer energy prices. In line with our continued commitment to

ensuring that business is prepared for EU Exit in all scenarios, we set out the

implications of no deal for UK energy in our technical notices on trading electricity

and gas. In either scenario, the UK’s exit from the EU will not alter the fact that our

energy system is resilient, secure and drawn from a number of sources. The UK will

remain physically linked to the EU post-exit through interconnectors, and the UK gas

market is one of the most liquid and developed markets in the world and provides

security through diversity of supply, the majority of which does not depend on the EU.

Minimum Wage: Non-payment

Rebecca Long Bailey: [226132]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what

reasons his Department has not published the names of the companies who have

underpaid the national minimum wage since July 2018.




Rebecca Long Bailey: [226133]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his

Department plans to publish the names of employers who have underpaid the national

minimum wage since July 2018.

Kelly Tolhurst:

Everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage should receive it and we will

act where employers have been found to be in breach of the law. This Government

continues to invest heavily in minimum wage enforcement, almost doubling the

budget to £26.3 million for 2018/19, up from £13.2 million in 2015/16.

Last year, the Director of Labour Market Enforcement recommended making changes

to the scheme “to increase its compliance and deterrent effect.” Work has now begun

on this to ensure the scheme continues to best fulfil this purpose.

CABINET OFFICE

Blood: Contamination

Jo Platt: [226217]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make is his policy to implement any

recommendations from the contaminated blood inquiry.

Mr David Lidington:

Until the report of the Infected Blood Inquiry is received it is difficult to commit to

implement its recommendations. However, on receipt of the Inquiry’s report the

Government will make a full statement to Parliament and will give the Inquiry’s

recommendations full and proper consideration which we will do with the utmost

urgency, recognising that many infected people have passed away since the start of

the Inquiry, and every day that passes before the Inquiry completes its work risks

further tragic losses.

Boundary Commission for England

David Linden: [226737]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff in his Department have been

tasked with preparing Orders in Council to implement recommendations of the Boundary

Commission.

Chloe Smith:

We are preparing a draft Order in Council that will give effect to the recommendations

contained in the final reports of the four Boundary Commissions. I am not able to give

a figure of the number of staff involved in the preparation of the Order as they work

on a number of different projects at any one time.

We will lay the draft Order in Council before Parliament as soon as possible, and it

will be debated and there will be a vote in both Houses in the usual way.




David Linden: [226738]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, by what date he has asked for Orders in

Council to be prepared to implement recommendations of the Boundary Commission.

Chloe Smith:

We are preparing a draft Order in Council that will give effect to the recommendations

contained in the final reports of the four Boundary Commissions. I am not able to give

a figure of the number of staff involved in the preparation of the Order as they work

on a number of different projects at any one time.

We will lay the draft Order in Council before Parliament as soon as possible, and it

will be debated and there will be a vote in both Houses in the usual way.

Breast Cancer: Greater London

Stephen Timms: [226490]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many deaths in the Central and East

London area have been caused by breast cancer in each of the last five years.

Chloe Smith:

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority.

I have asked the Authority to reply.

Attachments:

1. UKSA Response [PQ226490.pdf]

Cabinet Office: Mass Media

Jo Platt: [226754]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the

effectiveness of his Department's Rapid Response Unit.

Chloe Smith:

Following a successful period of pilot operations from April 2018, the Rapid

Response Unit (RRU) was recently given permanent funding. The RRU is helping

government to understand the increasingly complex online news environment. This

ensures government communications are impactful and that we are able to act with

speed to ensure we tackle false information identified online, promoting a fact-based

public debate.

The unit is driving improvements across government, providing media offices with the

tools and skills needed to communicate effectively with citizens in an increasingly

fragmented media landscape. This involves raising standards of reporting and

evaluation, and ensuring communications professionals are able to quickly and

effectively respond to the modern news environment, including mis- and

disinformation.




Cervical Cancer: Older People

Colleen Fletcher: [226679]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many women aged 65 and over were

diagnosed with cervical cancer in each of the last five years.

Chloe Smith:



Attachments:

1. UKSA Response [PQ226679.pdf]

Early Years Ministerial Group On Family Support

Lucy Powell: [226113]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on how many occasions the ministerial group

on family support has met since its inception on 27 July 2018.

Mr David Lidington:

Members of the Ministerial Group have met informally to discuss the work of the

group and to hear from experts and the Chair also meets with members of the group

individually. The Group has met twice formally since its inception in July 2018, once

in November 2018 and once in February 2019.

The Ministerial Group Chair is supported by a private secretary who has portfolio

responsibility from within the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons. The

secretariat function for the Early Years Family Support Ministerial Group is provided

by the Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat in the Cabinet Office. The group

draws on resources from HM Treasury, Department for Work and Pensions,

Department for Education, Department for Health and Social Care, the Ministry of

Housing, Communications, and Local Government, and Home Office.

Lucy Powell: [226114]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials are assigned to work on the

Ministerial Group on family support for conception to age two from the (a) Office of the

Leader of the House of Commons, (b) HM Treasury, (c) Department for Work and

Pensions, (d) Department for Education, (e) Department of Health and Social Care and

(f) Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Mr David Lidington:

Members of the Ministerial Group have met informally to discuss the work of the

group and to hear from experts and the Chair also meets with members of the group

individually. The Group has met twice formally since its inception in July 2018, once

in November 2018 and once in February 2019.

The Ministerial Group Chair is supported by a private secretary who has portfolio

responsibility from within the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons. The

secretariat function for the Early Years Family Support Ministerial Group is provided




by the Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat in the Cabinet Office. The group

draws on resources from HM Treasury, Department for Work and Pensions,

Department for Education, Department for Health and Social Care, the Ministry of

Housing, Communications, and Local Government, and Home Office.

Funerals: Duchy of Cornwall and Duchy of Lancaster

Rosie Cooper: [225448]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance he provides to local authorities

in the Duchies of (a) Lancaster and (b) Cornwall on procedures relating to the estates of

people for whom they assume responsibility for a public health funeral.

Mr David Lidington:

The Cabinet Office does not hold information on public health funerals.

Grenfell Tower Inquiry

Emma Dent Coad: [225631]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Grenfell Tower Inquiry has

spent on legal representation for (a) bereaved, (b) survivor and (c) local resident core

participants since the inquiry was set up.

Mr David Lidington:

The independent Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry is committed to publishing its costs on

a regular basis. Costs for Phase 1 will be published once Phase 1 has completed.

Personal Income

Chris Ruane: [226065]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the proportion

changes in income for each income quintile from the financial year 2017 to financial year

2018.

Chloe Smith:



Attachments:

1. UKSA Response [PQ 226065.pdf]

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Compensation

Mrs Madeleine Moon: [225435]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many compensation payments of £500 or

less were made to armed forces service complainants in the (a) Army, (b) Royal Air Force

and (c) Royal Navy in (i) 2015-16 and (ii) 2016-17; and if he will make a statement.





Mrs Madeleine Moon: [225436]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide the reasons for all

compensation payments of £500 or less made to armed forces service complainants in

the (a) Army, (b) Royal Air Force and (c) Royal Navy in (i) 2015-16 and (ii) 2016-17; and

if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood:

The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate

cost.

Armed Forces: Drugs

Jim Shannon: [225504]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many drug tests have been administered

in the (a) Royal Air Force and (b) Royal Navy in each of the last five years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood:

The numbers provided in the table below relate to the number of drug tests

administered each calendar year.

Year

Number of drug tests administered each year in

Royal Air Force Royal Navy*

2014 12,618 13,082

2015 12,450 13,556

2016 14,061 12,846

2017 20,662 15,689

2018 27,199 24,032

*These figures are for the Naval Service which consists of the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines.

Although the selection of personnel for compulsory drug tests is primarily random, a small percentage of personnel are repeatedly selected for testing. Consequently, the number of personnel tested each year does not directly correlate to the number of drug tests completed.

*These figures are for the Naval Service which consists of the Royal Navy and the

Royal Marines.

Although the selection of personnel for compulsory drug tests is primarily random, a

small percentage of personnel are repeatedly selected for testing. Consequently, the



number of personnel tested each year does not directly correlate to the number of

drug tests completed.

Defence: Procurement

Leo Docherty: [225591]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps is he taking to support SMEs in the

Defence supply chain to develop innovative technologies.

Stuart Andrew:

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to making it easier for small and

medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to do business with defence, as we recognise that

they are a rich source of innovation. We are working to improve our engagement with

SMEs throughout our supply chain; for example, encouraging early visibility of

forthcoming requirements, and expressing our requirements as outputs rather than

detailed solutions to facilitate innovation.

The MOD is also encouraging SME involvement in the Defence and Security

Accelerator (DASA) and the £800 million Defence Innovation Fund. DASA helps

government defence and security departments collaborate with the private sector and

academia to rapidly develop innovative solutions to our most pressing national

security and defence challenges. Since its establishment, DASA has committed £53

million to suppliers, with around half of the contracts awarded to SMEs.

To help develop innovative technologies, the Defence Science and Technology

Laboratory has also just launched 'SME Searchlight', an initiative to actively find and

engage SMEs for defence research.

India: Pakistan

Mr Jim Cunningham: [226521]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with

NATO allies on the security situation between India and Pakistan.

Mark Lancaster:

The UK has been working closely with our international partners, including NATO, to

support the de-escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan. The UK has been

deeply concerned about rising tensions and urgently calls for restraint on both sides

to avoid further escalation. The UK is in regular contact with both countries urging for

dialogue and diplomatic solutions to ensure regional stability.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft: Procurement

Stephen Morgan: [226208]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government plans to allocate

funding for the purchase of F-35A or F-35B aircraft; and what assessment he has made

of the implications of that decision for the ability of the Royal Air Force to land aircraft on

aircraft carriers.




Stuart Andrew:

The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 stated our intent to buy 138 F-35

Lightning aircraft over the life of the programme. The first tranche of 48 aircraft will be

the carrier capable F-35B, of which 17 have been delivered so far. Decisions on

subsequent tranches of Lightning will be taken at the appropriate time.

Members: Correspondence

Norman Lamb: [226596]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to respond to the letter of 14

January 2019 from the right hon. Member for North Norfolk on the security of the UK’s

communications infrastructure.

Gavin Williamson:

You will have a response on behalf of Her Majesty's Government shortly.

Military Aid: Human Rights

Nia Griffith: [226635]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Overseas Security and Justice

Assistance assessments have required ministerial approval from his Department in each

financial year since 2015-16.

Mark Lancaster:

Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) assessments themselves do not

require approval by Ministers. OSJA assessments are written records of the

consideration of risks surrounding a proposed activity and they document those who

have been consulted. Ministerial approval may be required to authorise the proposed

activity being described by the OSJA assessment, depending on the level of risk

identified. If the hon. Member is seeking a record of those OSJA related activities, not

the assessments themselves, such approvals are not held centrally and could be

provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ministry of Defence: Procurement

Anneliese Dodds: [226749]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the guidance entitled,

Procurement policy note 03/14: measures to promote tax compliance, published on 6

February 2014, how many suppliers were allocated contracts by his Department as a

result of complying with (a) one and (b) more than one of the mitigating circumstances

after not meeting the tax compliance questions.

Stuart Andrew:

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 26 February 2019, to Question

224371.




Information on whether suppliers were allocated contracts as a result of complying

with the mitigating circumstances after not meeting the tax compliance questions is

not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Attachments:

1. 224371 - MOD Procurement [Hansard Extract 26 February 2019 UIN 224371.docx]

Type 31 Frigates

Stephen Morgan: [226207]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Type 31e frigates which are due

to be built will form part of the carrier strike.

Mark Lancaster:

The Type 31e Frigates will be tailored toward maritime security and defence

engagement, including the Fleet Ready Escort role at home, our commitments in the

South Atlantic, the Caribbean and the Gulf, and to NATO. These ships will fulfil

routine tasks to free up the more complex Type 45 Destroyers and Type 26 Frigates

for their specialist combat roles in support of the strategic nuclear deterrent and as

part of the carrier strike group.

Veterans: Suicide

Gordon Marsden: [226549]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the

number of UK veterans who have committed suicide (a) in the most recent year for which

information is available and (b) in the last five years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood:

The Government takes the welfare of Service personnel and veterans very seriously.

Any suicide is one too many and a tragedy for the individual, and their family and

friends. Whilst we recognise this is a problem in wider society, we take the wellbeing

of our Armed Forces very seriously.

Suicide data for veterans of the UK Armed Forces is not currently captured by the

Government. The recently announced Veterans Strategy will seek to improve data

collection of the veteran community.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has commissioned a new study to investigate causes

of death, including suicide, amongst all those who served in the UK Armed Forces

between 2001 and 2014, covering combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan at this

link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-study-into-iraq-and-afghanistan-veterans-

launched

This will include personnel who are still in service, and personnel who have now

transitioned into civilian life.



The MOD also publishes studies on the causes of death, including suicide, of

veterans from the 1982 Falklands war at the following links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/causes-of-deaths-among-the-uk-armed-

forces-veterans-of-the-1982-falklands-campaign

and from the 1990-91 Gulf war

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/causes-of-deaths-that-occurred-among-the-

uk-veterans-of-the-199091-gulf-conflict

Both studies show that the suicide rates amongst veterans were lower than

comparative rates in the civilian population.

World War II: Veterans

Emily Thornberry: [224796]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department holds information on

war service gratuity payments that were made at the end of the First and Second World

Wars to service personnel drawn from the British dominions and colonies.



the (a) number and (b) identities of veterans of the Caribbean regiment who served

alongside the British armed forces in the Second World War and are still alive.



the (a) number and (b) identities of veterans of the British Indian Army who served




the (a) number and (b) identities of veterans of the East Africa Force who served


Mr Tobias Ellwood:

The Ministry of Defence is investigating what, if any, information is held by the

Department. This process will take time to complete and I will write to the hon.

Member in due course.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: [226193]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether UK RC-135W Rivet Joint aircraft are

operating over Yemen in support of the Saudi-led coalition.






Mark Lancaster:

We do not comment on the operational deployments of RC-135W Rivet Joint as to do

so would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the

Armed Forces.

DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Cybercrime: Business

Chi Onwurah: [226106]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many businesses

have taken up the Cyber Essentials Scheme.

Margot James:

As of the end of January 2019, the total number of Cyber Essentials certificates

awarded to organisations was 23,097. The scheme was launched in 2014 and of this

total, around a half of certificates (11,789) were awarded in 2018.

82% of the total number of certificates have been awarded to small and medium

sized enterprises (SMEs.)

D-Day Landings: Anniversaries

Heidi Allen: [224817]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans his

Department has to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings this year.

Michael Ellis:

I refer the Hon member to the answer to written question 224816, answered on 28th

February.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Brexit


To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many officials

from (a) his Department and (b) the Office for Civil Society have been moved from their

normal duties to work on preparations for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Jeremy Wright:

I refer the Hon member to the answer given to PQ 218152 from 20th February.

Digital Technology


To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the target is for

digital inclusion.





Margot James:

The Government’s Digital Strategy, published in March 2017, sets out the

Government’s approach to tackling digital exclusion. Our objective is to tackle the

root causes of digital exclusion so that everyone can increase their digital capability

to make the most of the digital world. We also committed to facilitating strong

collaboration between the public, private and third sector to tackle the digital skills

gap in a coordinated and coherent way so the sum is greater than the parts and

everyone everywhere has better access to the training they want.

Leisure: Young People


To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has

made of the number of local authorities in England and Wales that have been unable to

meet their statutory duty to provide user-led recreational leisure activities for young

people in each of the last eight years.

Mims Davies:

My department is responsible for Section 507b of the 1996 Education Act that states

that: “every local authority in England must, so far as reasonably practicable, secure

for qualifying young persons in the authority’s area access to sufficient educational

and recreational activities.”

During the last eight years no one has sought to make the case to me or my

Department that any local authority is in formal breach of this duty. The guidance,

which sets out how this this statutory duty could be discharged, has not been revised

since 2012 and in the Civil Society Strategy published last August we committed to

review it. We will make a further announcement about our plans to do that in due

course.



To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to

respond to the letter of 14 January 2019 from the right hon. Member for North Norfolk on

the security of the UK’s communications infrastructure.

Jeremy Wright:

A response to the letter from the Hon Member will be sent shortly.

Social Media: Disability

Helen Jones: [226049]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he

has made of the adequacy of the policies that social media companies employ to prevent

the abuse of disabled people.




Margot James:

DCMS hosted a Ministerial roundtable before Christmas with disability organisations

to explore the issues faced by disabled people online and consult on the statutory

social media code of practice. The forthcoming Online Harms White Paper will set out

legislative measures to tackle the full range of online harms, including online abuse.

We will continue to engage with the disabled community and other stakeholders as

we develop our proposals.

Third Sector


To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page

74 of the Government's August 2018 Civil Society Strategy, what steps his Department

has taken to work with the Charity Commission and UK Community Foundations to

release at least £20 million over the next two years from inactive charitable trusts to

grassroots community organisations.

Mims Davies:

Working in conjunction, DCMS, the Charity Commission, and UK Community

Foundations have so far released £9.5 million through the Revitalising Trusts

programme. This funding will support local good causes across the country.

The programme is on track and we expect to release £10 million by the end of March

2019.



112 of the Government's August 2018 Civil Society Strategy, what steps he has taken to

(a) develop new guidance for all commissioners on grantmaking to small and local

charities and (b) update his guidance entitled Commissioning for social action.

Mims Davies:

Since the Strategy was published, we have started to scope a programme of work

around improving the use of grants. This has involved engagement with the Cabinet

Office and with stakeholders. We will confirm more detailed plans in due course.




has taken to work with Big Lottery Fund to use £55 million from dormant accounts to fund

a new, independent organisation which will work with partners across the private and

social sectors to tackle financial exclusion.

Mims Davies:

Last year, the Government committed £55 million from dormant assets to tackle

financial exclusion and problem debt. In the Civil Society Strategy, the government

announced that this funding would be directed to a new, independent organisation,

with a remit to address this social issue. This organisation was launched on 28th




February 2019, with Richard Collier-Keywood appointed as its Founding Chair. The

organisation has taken the name Fair4All Finance Limited.




has taken to explore the potential to use flexibilities in the law governing contracts (such

as the Mutuals Reservation) to reserve some competitions to other social purpose

vehicles.

Mims Davies:

The Civil Society Strategy is the beginning of an ambitious, evolving work programme

to help build a stronger society. The Strategy sets out a vision for government’s work

with and for civil society over the next 10 years and beyond.

We remain committed to exploring how potential flexibilities in the law governing

contracts has the potential as an important tool in creating a more diverse supply of

public services.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Cat Smith: [226156]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the

Answer of 25 February 2019 to Question 223803 on Voluntary Work: Young People, if

the Government will publish the (a) annual and (b) completed participation figures for

2018 once they are confirmed.

Mims Davies:

The Government will publish the annual and completed NCS 2018 participation

figures on gov.uk once they are confirmed.

EDUCATION

Apprentices: Assessments

Chris Green: [226152]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking with the Institute of

Apprenticeships to ensure that the required end-point assessments are available for new

apprenticeships without delay.

Anne Milton:

The Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfA) works with employer

trailblazer groups to understand the requirements of developing end-point

assessment materials and to design assessment plans that end-point assessment

organisations are able to work with to deliver high quality and consistent end-point

assessment.




The IfA also works with the Education and Skills Funding Agency to make sure that

there is appropriate coverage of apprenticeships assessment across all standards,

including by working with a wide variety of organisations to stimulate provision. The

register of end-point assessment organisations is always open and there are 215

organisations currently on the register. As new standards are developed, we continue

to work with the sector to make sure that new and existing end-point assessment

organisations are aware of the opportunity and can apply to the register for

employers to select them.

We are working with the IfA and external quality assurance providers to monitor the

progress of organisations once they are approved on the register and to quality-

assure the materials and assessment instruments they produce prior to first use. This

monitoring will, alongside our improvements to data reporting, give us a clearer

picture of market capacity and help apprentices to prepare for their end-point

assessment.

Children and Young People: Visual Impairment


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure sufficient

capacity for children and young people with vision impairments to be assessed by

education and habilitation VI specialists to enable a plan to be devised for them to (a)

access learning and (b) develop their independence.

Nadhim Zahawi:

In relation to the capacity of education and habilitation VI specialists to allow for the

assessment of all young people with vision impairment and to support their access to

learning and the development of independence, I refer the hon. Member for West

Lancashire to the answer I gave on 21 February 2019 to 222014.

Children: Day Care

Bridget Phillipson: [226095]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much central Government funding

childcare providers receive for providing free childcare to three and four-year-olds.


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the article entitled UK free

childcare funding woes forcing some providers out of business, published by the

Financial Times on 28 April 2018, what assessment his Department has made of the

accuracy of reports that the 30 hours’ free childcare for working parents of three and four

year olds is underfunded; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the level of

Government funding provided for that childcare on the fees charged by providers to

parents of younger children.




Nadhim Zahawi:

We will be spending around £6 billion on childcare support in 2019-20 - a record

amount. That will include funding for our early education entitlements, on which we

plan to spend around £3.5 billion this year alone.

Local authorities receive funding from central government for delivering the free early

years entitlements to 3 and 4 year olds through the dedicated schools grant. Our

provisional allocations to local authorities for 2018-19 can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2018-to-

2019.

Local authorities are responsible for setting the funding rates for their early years

providers in consultation with their schools forum. Data from local authority planned

expenditure for 2018-19 is publicly available. The data, as reported by local

authorities, is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/planned-la-and-school-expenditure-2018-to-

2019-financial-year.

The government recognises the need to keep the evidence base on costs and

charges up to date. The mean hourly fee charged by providers in England in Spring

2018 was estimated to be £5.02 for children under age 2, £5.01 for children aged 2

and £4.92 for 3 and 4 year old preschool children. Details can be found at the

following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-

2018.

We continue to monitor the provider market closely through a range of regular and

one-off research projects which provide insight into various aspects of the provider

market.


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what records his Department holds on the

socio-economic background of those claiming free childcare for three and four-year-olds.

Nadhim Zahawi:

The number of 3 and 4 year old children benefitting from universal funded early

education in receipt of early years pupil premium (EYPP) is published in table 20 of

the 'Provision for children under 5 years of age' statistical release:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/education-provision-children-under-5-years-

of-age-january-2018.

The EYPP gives childcare providers additional funding to support disadvantaged 3

and 4-year-old children. 3 and 4-year-olds will be eligible for EYPP if the child

receives the universal 15 hours funded early education and their family are in receipt

of specified benefits or the child is looked-after by a local authority or has left care.

The number of 3 and 4 year old children benefitting from extended funded early

education is published in table 3LA of the 'Provision for children under 5 years of age'

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2018-to-2019



https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/planned-la-and-school-expenditure-2018-to-2019-financial-year



https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2018




statistical release: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/education-provision-

children-under-5-years-of-age-january-2018.

Eligibility for the extended funded early education is based on parental income. The

additional 15 hours is available to families where both parents are working (or the

sole parent is working in a lone parent family), and each parent earns the equivalent

of a weekly minimum of 16 hours at national minimum wage or national living wage,

and less than £100,000 per year. This also includes self-employed parents and

parents on zero-hour contracts. The government has made provisions to ensure that

parents in certain circumstances will be regarded as being in work. This includes

couple families where one parent is in receipt of benefits relating to caring

responsibilities or their disability.

The department also gathers information about the demographic characteristics of

parents using childcare in the 'Childcare and early years survey of parents':

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-

parents-2018.

Department of Education: Apprentices

Angela Rayner: [226124]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the (a)

number and (b) proportion of staff employed in each group of his Department that are

apprentices.


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of staff at the

Institute for Apprenticeships are apprentices.


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of staff in his

Department working on apprenticeship strategy, policy, and delivery are apprentices.

Anne Milton:

The department currently employs 209 apprentices. This can be broken down into the

following groups in the attached table, which also shows the proportion against the

total number of employees.

Regarding the proportion of apprentices employed at the Institute for

Apprenticeships, this is a matter for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical

Education. I have asked the Chief Executive, Sir Gerry Berragan, to write to the hon.

Member for Ashton-under-Lyne and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries

of both Houses.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/education-provision-children-under-5-years-of-age-january-2018



https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents-2018






Within the Education and Skills Funding Agency, 5 employees working on

apprenticeships strategy, policy and delivery are apprentices, which represents 1.6%

of the total of 317 employees.

Attachments:

1. 226124_226125_226126_table_of_apprentices

[226124_226125_226126_table_of_apprentices_employed_by_the_Department_for_Educat

ion.doc]

Extended Services

Cat Smith: [226700]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2019

to Question 223144, which Minister is responsible for policy on play services for children

aged six and over which is not part of the early years foundation stage statutory

framework; and how much funding the Government allocated in support for play for

children in (a) after-school clubs, (b) holiday play schemes, (c) adventure playgrounds

and (d) play-ranger services in the last three years for which that information is available.

Nadhim Zahawi:

I am the minister responsible for children and families. The information on how much

government funding is allocated in support of play for children in (a) after-school

clubs, (b) holiday play schemes, (c) adventure playgrounds and (d) play-ranger

services is not held centrally.

As outlined below, the department has invested millions of pounds in enabling all

children to access and benefit from a range of enriching activities outside of school.

In the 2018 summer holidays we awarded £2 million to 7 organisations to ensure that

disadvantaged children in some of the most deprived areas in the country could

access free healthy food and enriching activities. In the 2019 summer holidays we will

invest up to £9 million to explore how the local coordination of this sort of provision

can help more disadvantaged children to access high quality programmes during the

school holidays.

We have invested £22 million for the academic years 2017/18 and 2018/19 to enable

disadvantaged children and young people living in some of the most deprived parts of

the country to participate in regular extra-curricular activities (including after school

and holiday provision) which will enable them to develop essential life skills and get

the best start in life.

This Essential Life Skills (ELS) programme is targeting disadvantaged children and

young people aged 5-18 across 12 Opportunity Areas. Within each Opportunity Area,

local authorities are receiving grants to develop their own ELS programme to meet

the needs of pupils and young people in their communities. It is up to the local

partnership board in each Opportunity Area to decide what programmes and activities

best meet the needs of children and young people in the area.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is formally responsible for

ensuring local authorities secure services for young people over the age of 13 as set


out in the section 507b of the Education Act (1996) (below that age local authorities

have discretion). However, a number of DCMS programmes such as #iwill and the

Youth Investment Fund do support organisations that provide 'youth and play'

programmes to a broader age range than that provided for in the act.

Free School Meals: Primary Education

Ms Angela Eagle: [226554]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in (a) Wallasey

constituency, (b) Wirral and (c) England that were (i) eligible and (ii) not eligible for free

school meals attended a primary school rated as (A) good and (B) outstanding in the

academic year ending August 2018.

Nadhim Zahawi:

The attached table shows the number of children eligible for free school meals

(FSM), in Wallasey, Wirral and England, who attended primary schools rated as

‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’. As at 31 August 2018, 87% of children are now in primary

schools in England rated as ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’.

Attachments:

1. 226554_table_on_free_school_meal_eligibility

[Table_for_PQ_226554_showing_number_and_percentage_of_pupils_eligible_for_free_sch

ool_meals_in_good_and_outstanding_schools .doc]

Local Authorities: Work Experience

Louise Haigh: [226704]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many supported internships have been

completed by local authority.

Nadhim Zahawi:

Data on the number of supported internships in each local authority, as at January

2018, is available in table 5 of the following data set:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statements-of-sen-and-ehc-plans-england-

2018.

There is some research evidence available which indicates that supported internships

may be effective in supporting young people to achieve positive outcomes. The

evaluation of a department-led trial of supported internships conducted across 15

colleges in 2012/13, for example, reported that 36% of the 109 supported internship

participants had obtained paid employment (including apprenticeships) by the end of

the year-long trial.

We are keen to do more to increase the uptake of supported internships and are

considering how we can build the evidence base further. This includes looking into

current models of supported internship delivery to enable us to share evidence with

providers of promising practice.



Louise Haigh: [226706]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has been made of the

adequacy of the availability of supported internships in each local authority.

Nadhim Zahawi:

The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms have been designed

to increase aspirations across the system, including among parents, children and

young people themselves and the education and health professionals that support

them. This includes making it a legal requirement that all children and young people

with SEND must be prepared for adulthood, including employment.

Supported internships offer young people with SEND a clear pathway into

employment. We are keen to do more to increase the uptake of supported internships

and are considering how we can build the evidence base further, including looking

into current models of supported internship delivery, to enable us to share evidence

with providers of promising practice.

We continue to fund a range of support across the system to raise aspirations and

also consistently communicate our expectations to stakeholders, including schools

and colleges. This includes providing £9.7 million to local authorities, in 2018, to

establish local supported internship forums, bringing together local partners to

develop and deliver supported internships in their area. Funding can also be used to

train job coaches.

Good practice examples of supported internships are also gathered by our delivery

partner, National Development Team for Inclusion, and published on the Preparing

for Adulthood website:

https://www.preparingforadulthood.org.uk/downloads/employment.

Pre-school Education: Closures


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his Answer of 21 February 2019

to Question 222632, on Pre-school Education: Closures, what estimate he has made of

the number of children with SEND affected by the closure of maintained nursery schools

in the last five years.


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his Answer of 21 February 2019

to Question 222629, on Pre-school Education, for what reasons his Department did not

refer to the reasons for the reduction in the number of maintained nursery schools since

2010 in that Answer.

Nadhim Zahawi:

Like all schools, maintained nursery schools (MNS) can close for a wide range of

reasons, and closures can happen at any time. Whether a MNS closes or not is a

matter for local authorities, and the statutory process for closing a MNS includes


https://www.preparingforadulthood.org.uk/downloads/employment

https://www.preparingforadulthood.org.uk/downloads/employment



consultation with all those who have an interest. The department does not hold

information on the reasons for closures.

The department does not hold information on the number of children with special

educational needs and disabilities who have been affected by MNS closures, as this

is also a matter for local authorities. If a MNS does close, the provision that replaces

it must be of equal quality, preserve expertise and be more accessible and

convenient for parents.

To ensure that local authorities can allocate places in MNS for the 2019/20 academic

year with confidence, I announced on 28 February that the government would extend

the supplementary funding paid to local authorities, by approximately £24 million.

This enables them to fully-fund MNS for the whole of the 2019/20 academic year.

What happens after that will be determined by the next Spending Review.

Pupils: Health

Sir Mark Hendrick: [226054]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to (a) collect data on the

wellbeing of every primary and secondary school in England and Wales and (b) publish

that data in a wellbeing league table.

Nick Gibb:

The Department has no plans to collect or publish school-level data on the wellbeing

of pupils in primary and secondary schools in England. Education is a devolved

matter; it is for the National Assembly to decide on policy for schools in Wales.

In October 2018, my right hon Friend, the Prime Minister made a commitment that

the Government will publish a ‘State of the Nation’ report every year on World Mental

Health Day, which will highlight the trends and issues in young people’s wellbeing.

The first of these will be published in October this year.

The Government also plans to provide schools with tools later this year to help

schools measure their students’ health, including their mental wellbeing, building on

the commitment to make education in mental health a compulsory part of the

curriculum. The tools are intended to be used voluntarily by schools and will not

include a requirement to report back to the Government.

Schools: Asbestos


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of

the number of UK schools that undertook (a) the partial removal of asbestos and (b) the

total removal of asbestos from school buildings in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb:

The Department started to collect data on asbestos management in schools in 2016.

All state-funded schools in England were invited to participate in the voluntary data

collection and 25% responded. The findings were published in a report on GOV.UK in



February 2017, but the data collection did not include information about how much

asbestos had been removed from the school estate.

The Department launched a second data collection, the Asbestos Management

Assurance Process, in March 2018, to help develop a more comprehensive

understanding of asbestos management in the school estate which does include a

question on asbestos removal. This data collection has just closed and responses are

being analysed. The Department intends to publish the findings from this report in

spring 2019.

To help local authorities, governing bodies and academy trusts to meet their legal

duties and manage asbestos effectively, the Department refers to advice from the

Health and Safety Executive (HSE). In February 2017, the Department also published

‘Asbestos Management in Schools’ guidance. The HSE advice is clear that if

asbestos is unlikely to be damaged or disturbed, then it is best managed in situ.

Although, the Department is also clear that when asbestos does pose a risk to safety

and cannot be effectively managed in situ, it should be removed.

Since 2015, the Department has allocated £6 billion to those responsible for school

buildings and for essential maintenance and improvements, including removing or

encapsulating asbestos when it is the safest course of action to do so. In addition,

through the Priority School Building Programme, the Department is rebuilding or

refurbishing buildings in the worst condition in over 500 schools across the country.

Asbestos was a factor in selecting buildings for the programme.

Schools: Sheffield Hallam

Jared O'Mara: [224830]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has plans to

increase the level infrastructure spending on schools in Sheffield Hallam constituency.

Nick Gibb:

The Department’s priorities for investment in the school estate are to ensure there

are enough school places and that the school estate is safe.

The Department has committed £7 billion to deliver new school places between

2015-2021, on top of the investment in the free school programme.

Local authorities are under a statutory duty to ensure that there is a school place

available for every child. Sheffield received £95.5 million to provide new school

places from 2011-2018 and has been allocated a further £22 million from 2018-2021.

Funding for school places is based on local authorities’ own data on school capacity

and pupil forecasts. There is, therefore, no shortfall between the number of places

funded and those that councils say they need to create.

Since 2015, the Department has allocated £6 billion in condition funding to those

responsible for maintaining school buildings across the country. Included within this,

Sheffield local authority receives an annual school condition allocation to invest in


maintenance priorities across its schools. In 2018-19, they received £2.7 million and

voluntary aided (VA) schools in the area were allocated £210,000.

Maintained schools in Sheffield also received their own direct capital allocations

totalling £2 million in 2018-19 and £109,000 for VA schools. This includes their

allocation from the additional £400 million of capital funding announced at Budget

2018. These figures do not include academies, which receive separate funding.

In addition, the Priority School Building Programme is rebuilding or refurbishing

buildings in the worst condition at over 500 schools across England, including 4

schools in Sheffield City Council’s area.

The Department is collecting updated data on the condition of the school estate in

England which is due to be completed in autumn 2019 and will help inform future

funding policy. The Department will also continue to look carefully at capital funding in

preparation for the next Spending Review, along with all its priorities for the education

system.

Schools: Surveys


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to introduce

statutory annual surveys for school staff in (a) primary, (b) secondary schools and (c)

colleges.

Nick Gibb:

Local authorities, local authority-maintained schools and academies must complete

the school workforce census each autumn. This is a statutory data collection on all

teaching and support staff in regular employment. More information is available here:

www.gov.uk/guidance/school-workforce-census.

The College Staff Survey was published in 2018. The report is available here:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/college-staff-survey-2018. This was a

standalone, voluntary exercise.

The Department would consider the introduction of any additional future surveys very

carefully, weighing up the potential benefits against the possible workload

requirements for schools and colleges.

Social Mobility Commission: Annual Reports

Lyn Brown: [226639]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the timetable is for the Social Mobility

Commission’s statutory annual report entitled State of the nation 2018 to be published.

Nadhim Zahawi:

The Social Mobility Commission is planning to publish the ‘State of the nation’ report

for 2018 in spring 2019.


http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/college-staff-survey-2018

http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/college-staff-survey-2018


Social Services: Children and Young People

Paul Farrelly: [226069]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the

implications for his policies of the February 2019 report by Action for Children and others

which linked reductions in local children's services with an increase in youth violence and

exploitation; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi:

At Autumn Budget, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced

an extra £410 million to address pressures on social care services, along with £84

million over 5 years to support up to 20 local authorities to improve their social work

practice and decision-making, enabling them to work more effectively with the most

vulnerable children and their families.

This builds on the £200 billion government has already made available to councils up

to 2020 to provide services in the best interests of local residents, including those for

children and young people.

We are also working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local

Government and the sector to ensure decisions around core funding made at

Spending Review, and how it is shared between local authorities as part of the review

of relative needs and resources, are informed by the best available evidence.

Additionally, the National Safeguarding Practice Review Panel has announced its first

review into adolescents at risk of criminal exploitation focusing on whether young

people get the help they need, when they need it and how services can be improved

to prevent further harm: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-

safeguarding-practice-review-panel-first-national-review.

Special Educational Needs: Finance


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the

potential merits of ring-fencing funding for low incidence high needs children, including

those with a vision impairment to ensure that resources go directly to the children to (a)

meet their needs and (b) ensure they are fully supported.

Nadhim Zahawi:

We believe that the decisions about the level of support required by individual

children, and how much funding will be required to provide that support, are best

taken by the child’s school or other education provider who works most closely with

them and their parents and is therefore best placed to gauge what they need.

The special educational needs and disabilities reforms in the Children and Families

Act (2014) have enabled greater personalisation of support through the use of a

personal budget to provide children’s parents and young people with choice and

control over the design of their care and education package. The personal budget is a

sum of money made available by the local authority at the request of a parent or


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-safeguarding-practice-review-panel-first-national-review




young person if it is clear that, without this additional funding, it will not be possible to

meet the child’s learning needs.

Part or all of the personal budget payment can be paid directly to the family as a

direct payment. This can be used for anything that achieves the child’s outcomes in

their education, health and care plan, out of school activities, overnight short breaks

or group activities supported by a personal assistant. It can also be used for targeted

support such as specialist teacher services, sensory impairment support or speech

and language therapy.

Students: Sexual Harassment


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions his Department has

had with universities on steps they can take to reduce levels of sexual misconduct

towards students.

Chris Skidmore:

The government takes any form of violence and sexual harassment, including in

higher education, extremely seriously. The department meets with individual

universities and representative bodies on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues

relating to student welfare. In addition, the department holds regular meetings with

Universities UK (UUK) and the Office for Students (OfS) specifically on matters of

sexual harassment and misconduct in higher education, including in relation to

progress on the implementation of the recommendations of the UUK Taskforce’s on

sexual violence, harassment and hate crime affecting university students.

Since the publication of these recommendations in 2016, a total investment of £4.7

million, match funded by higher education providers, has been invested by the OfS

and its predecessor, the Higher Education Funding Council for England, in 119

safeguarding projects; £2.45 million of which was given to 63 projects specifically

focussed on tackling sexual and gender-based violence in higher education. This

work remains a priority for the department, which is why my right hon. Friend, the

Secretary of State’s guidance for the financial year 2019-20 asks the OfS to continue

to support the student experience, including a focus on harassment and hate crime.

Teachers: Pay

Bob Blackman: [225482]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2019 to

Question 204600 on Teachers: Pay, what advice his Department received on the

decision to award the teachers’ pay grant to maintained schools and academies and not

sixth form colleges.

Nick Gibb:

Ministers received detailed advice from officials before announcing the Teachers’ Pay

Grant. Unions and other representative organisations also contacted the Department.



The Teachers’ Pay Grant was introduced in response to changes to the School

Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD), following recommendations from

the School Teachers’ Review Body. This document applies to maintained schools,

and as many academies choose to follow it, the grant was available to both

maintained schools and academies.

There are 16-19 maintained schools which must follow the STPCD. These were

included in the pay grant, alongside equivalent academies.

Further education (FE) and sixth form colleges have a different legal status and

relationship to Government. They are private institutions, independent of

Government, and it is for employers to agree pay structures, based on local needs.

The Department is considering carefully the needs of FE colleges, including in

relation to funding, in preparation for the next Spending Review.

Tim Loughton: [226006]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the

capacity of the schools budget to accommodate a pay increase of two per cent as

recommended by the School Teachers' Review Body.

Nick Gibb:

The Department has published its assessment of teacher pay affordability in our

latest schools’ costs technical note. This provides information on costs for schools in

2018-19 and 2019-20, and can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-costs-technical-note.

Teachers: Pensions

Darren Jones: [226196]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government will meet the costs

of changes associated with employer contributions to the Teachers' Pensions Schemes

for maintained nursery schools.

Nick Gibb:

The Department’s public consultation to gather evidence on the impact of increased

contributions to the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) for all TPS employers, which

included the initial proposal to fund Maintained Nursery Schools for 2019/20, closed

on 12 February 2019. Final funding decisions will be made in due course, once

consultation evidence has been reviewed.

Teachers: Stress


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to tackle increasing levels

of stress and of mental health issues experienced by primary and secondary school

teachers and head teachers.




Nick Gibb:

In January 2019, the Department launched the Teacher Recruitment and Retention

Strategy. This includes commitments to simplify the accountability system, limit the

amount of change that schools have to deliver and provide support to tackle

challenging pupil behaviour. The Department is also introducing an Early Career

Framework for teachers, which includes mentor training, so that newly qualified

teachers receive the support they need. The strategy can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-recruitment-and-retention-

strategy.

The strategy marks the beginning of a conversation with head teachers about how

they can be supported to reduce unnecessary planning, marking and data

requirements; supports teachers to deal with disruptive behaviour; and establishes a

culture that values continued professional development and flexible working at all

career stages.

The Department continues to work with unions, teachers and Ofsted to challenge and

remove unnecessary workload and a joint letter from my right hon. Friend, the

Secretary of State, and other key national organisations was sent to school leaders in

November confirming their support to help reduce workload in schools. The

Department has accepted all the recommendations of the Making Data Work report

and published a workload reduction toolkit as part of an ongoing programme to tackle

excessive workload in schools. The report and government response can be found

at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-workload-advisory-group-

report-and-government-response.

Teachers: Training

Karen Lee: [226211]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether additional funding will be provided

for supply teachers while permanent staff undertake the accelerated teaching

programme.

Nick Gibb:

Through the Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund, the Department for

Education is funding Accelerate – a professional development programme that will

provide specialist support for early career teachers.

Accelerate, delivered by the Education Development Trust, is free to eligible teachers

in their first five years of teaching. As a part of the programme, schools will be

remunerated for teachers or leaders who are involved in aspects of delivery, for

example, for coaching participants. No additional funding is provided to cover supply

staff costs for staff undertaking the programme.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-workload-advisory-group-report-and-government-response




ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Pollution: Liverpool City Region


To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent

discussions he has had with the Liverpool City Region Mayor on tackling air pollution in

the Liverpool City Region area.

Dr Thérèse Coffey:

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs attended the Clean

Air Summit on 14 February with the Liverpool City Region Mayor and city leaders

from across the country.

A range of issues were discussed at the Summit including the ambitious goals set out

in our new Clean Air Strategy, the need to focus on reducing emissions from a variety

of sources, and support for local authorities with powers and funding.

Defra officials have regular and ongoing engagement with those local authorities

named in the 2017 Plan for Tackling Roadside Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations to

support them in considering measures to address nitrogen dioxide exceedances in

their areas, including Liverpool City Council.

Liverpool City Council have been directed to develop a local plan by 31 October 2019

and on 28 February this year presented an update on their plan to senior

representatives in the Joint Air Quality Unit.

Due to the highly localised nature of the problem, local knowledge is crucial in solving

pollution problems in these hotspots. Local authorities, including Liverpool, are

considering a range of measures to tackle their nitrogen dioxide exceedances,

including, where appropriate, charging Clean Air Zones.

Beverage Containers: Recycling

Catherine West: [225578]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has

been made on the introduction of a national deposit return scheme.


The Government’s preference is to adopt a UK-wide approach to a deposit return

scheme (DRS) if one is introduced. Waste and recycling policy is a devolved matter,

but we are working closely with the Devolved Administrations in delivering our shared

ambitions to improve waste and recycling outcomes and promote resource efficiency

in the UK.

The recently published consultation on introducing a DRS is being undertaken jointly

by the UK and Welsh Governments and the Department of Agriculture, Environment

and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland.




To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whats steps he is

taking to encourage local authorities to adopt deposit return schemes for recycling

plastics.


Local authorities will not adopt a DRS themselves, as this is not how the scheme is

designed to operate. However, they are important stakeholders in a DRS due to the

interaction of such a scheme with waste collection duties.

Local authorities have been considered as part of the recently published consultation

on introducing a DRS for drinks containers with regard to their interaction with the

scheme.

Biodiversity

Helen Hayes: [225571]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what legislative

proposals his Department plans to bring forward to address the decline in biodiversity.


We are taking action through our widely welcomed Ivory Act to support the

conservation of elephants. We will launch a call for evidence in the coming months on

extending the ban on UK ivory sales to other ivory-bearing species.

Our forthcoming Environment Bill will include ambitious legislative measures to take

direct action to restore and enhance nature. Subject to consultation, we will legislate

on biodiversity net gain to ensure that new developments have a positive effect on

the environment. We will also consider proposals for conservation covenants. In

terms of trees, we will take action to stop illegal deforestation and deliver on our

manifesto commitment to ensure councils consult if they are removing street trees.

This will give the public a greater say in street tree management.

Environment Protection


To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his

Department has made in implementing the 25-Year Environment Plan.


The 25 Year Environment Plan sets out the Government’s aim to improve the

environment within a generation.

Since the plan was published, the Government has taken decisive action to tackle

some of the biggest environmental problems of our age, including:

• Preparations are now underway for the first Environment Bill in 20 years, which will

put the 25 Year Environment Plan on a statutory footing and create a new

independent watchdog to hold Government to account. Publishing a




comprehensive Resources and Waste Strategy to drive further action, while

introducing one of the world’s strongest microbeads bans and setting out plans to

ban plastic straws, cotton buds and stirrers.

• Publishing a new and world leading Clean Air Strategy, which the World Health

Organization has welcomed as ‘an example for the rest of the world to follow’.

• Launching the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance and consulting on plans for

more than 40 new marine conservation zones across the UK, marking the most

significant ‘Blue Belt’ expansion to date.

• Putting one of the world’s toughest bans on ivory into law through our landmark

Ivory Act.

• Committing £10 million for an Urban Trees Challenge Fund and announcing £50

million for a new Woodland Carbon Guarantee to stimulate the market in domestic

carbon offsetting.

• Making 2019 the Year of Green Action and putting young people at the heart of this

action by partnering with Step Up To Serve and its #iwill4nature campaign.

We will report annually to Parliament on the 25 Year Environment Plan, ensuring we

are transparent about our progress and achievements and that we can be held to

account. The first annual report is due to be laid before Parliament this spring.

Fisheries

David Duguid: [225597]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his

Department has to provide financial support to expand the UK fisheries sector following

the UK’s departure from the EU common fisheries policy.


On 10 December 2018 the Secretary of State announced £37.2 million of extra

funding for the UK seafood sector – to be spent in line with European Maritime and

Fisheries Fund (EMFF) priorities – for projects approved during 2019 and 2020 to

boost the industry as we become an independent coastal state.

The Secretary of State has also committed that the Government will put in place new

domestic, long term arrangements to support the UK’s fishing industry from 2021,

through the creation of four new schemes comparable to the EMFF to deliver funding

for each nation. The devolved administrations will lead on their own schemes. The

new schemes will be introduced after the EMFF has closed in 2020. Details of these

will be set at the 2019 Spending Review, alongside decisions on all other domestic

spending priorities.


Flood Control: Finance

Nigel Dodds: [225422]


discussions he has had with the devolved administrations on the new £70 million flood

defences scheme.


Flood defence spending is a devolved matter, so questions about flood management

spending and policy should be directed to the devolved administration as Defra does

not have information on devolved administration spending. The Barnett formula is

applied in the normal way to any new funding provided to UK Government

Departments, when the funding is allocated to those Departments’ budgets.

‘Barnetted’ funding to devolved administrations is not ring fenced.

Food: Labelling

Hugh Gaffney: [224357]


discussions he has had with EU representatives on labelling requirements for UK food

companies in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

David Rutley:

Negotiations with the EU are currently restricted to the withdrawal deal. The status of

UK food products in the EU market will depend on the outcome of those negotiations.

Following a consultation exercise with the food industry, discussions with the

European Commission, and agreement with Defra, the final design for the new health

and ID marks has been agreed. This will ensure the UK continues to have the ability

to export products of animal origin to the EU. We are also aiming to be recognised by

the EU as having equivalence to organic standards and establish reciprocal

arrangements though at present there is no agreement on this.

Leaving the EU with a deal remains the Government’s top priority. As a responsible

Government would, we are accelerating no deal preparations to ensure the country is

prepared for every eventuality. Businesses and citizens should ensure they are

similarly prepared.

Food: Packaging

David Simpson: [225469]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is

taking to encourage food manufacturers to reduce the use of plastic.


The Resources and Waste Strategy sets out the Government’s ambition to maximise

the value we get from resources and to minimise waste. We are committed to being

the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we found it, and to

eliminating avoidable plastic waste over the lifetime of the 25 Year Environment Plan.




The Government is currently consulting on reforming existing packaging waste

regulations to financially incentivise packaging producers, including those who

package food products, to take greater responsibility for the environmental impacts of

their products. Our plans for Extended Producer Responsibility include requiring

producers to pay the full cost of recycling and disposing of their packaging waste and

making producers pay more if their products are not easily recyclable. Current

packaging waste regulations operate on a UK-wide basis. The benefits of continuing

with a UK-wide approach are recognised and our consultation on reforming the

regulations is being undertaken jointly by the UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments.

As the Northern Ireland Assembly is not sitting, the UK Government has agreed to

consult on behalf of Northern Ireland.

Industry is already taking action. Last year, the Waste and Resources Action

Programme (WRAP) and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation published their Plastics

Pact with support from the Government and more than 80 businesses, including

major food manufacturers such as Birds Eye, Quorn, and McCain Foods GB. The

Pact brings these organisations together to aim to meet four key ambitions by 2025,

including making 100% of plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable.

The Government welcomes voluntary initiatives aimed at tackling plastic pollution and

will continue to seek opportunities to support such work through policy solutions.

Plastic packaging can have a role to play in reducing product damage, increasing

shelf life and reducing food waste. However, there are opportunities where offering

food loose may help to reduce plastic waste while not impacting on shelf life. The

Government is working with retailers and WRAP to encourage their efforts to reduce

waste and to explore the introduction of plastic free supermarket initiatives in which

fresh food is sold loose, giving consumers more choice. WRAP has published a

technical report on the evidence for providing fresh produce loose. This report will

inform future published guidance.

Livestock: Conservation



taking to protect rare breeds of UK (a) cattle, (b) sheep and (c) pigs.


The UK has one of the richest native rare breed populations in the world and their

importance is recognised at both international and UK levels. We have identified 104

UK native breeds of cattle, sheep and pigs.

To protect our native rare breeds Defra works with the Farm Animal Genetic

Resources Committee and the evolved administrations on all rare breed issues,

particularly their conservation and sustainable use.


We have:

1. Established an Annual Inventory to provide data on populations of breeds.

2. Published the UK Country Report on Farm Animal Genetic Resources which, in

part, outlines conservation plans and priorities for specialist and native breeds.

3. Carried out annual reviews of the lists of Breeds at Risk present in the UK using

statistics taken from the Annual Inventory.

4. Created contingency plan guidance for Breeds at Risk in the event of an exotic

disease.

Some rare native breeds are also supported through agri-environment schemes.

Details on total agreements and value of funding under Defra run schemes, including

Environmental Stewardship (HR2) and Countryside Stewardship (SP8) (grazing

supplement for rare native breeds), for the years 2015–2018 are:

2015 – 1,454 agreements totalling £2,958,854




Microplastics

Danielle Rowley: [226197]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his

Department is taking to (a) prevent microplastics from entering the natural environment

and (b) tackle the damage caused by microplastics that are in the natural environment.


Defra funded a 5-year-long study to investigate the potential harm caused by

microplastics in the marine environment. On the basis of the results of this study, last

year we introduced one of the world’s strongest bans on microbeads in rinse-off

personal care products. Microbeads, like other microplastics, do not biodegrade and

therefore accumulate in the environment.

To address the evidence gaps surrounding other sources of microplastics, we are

funding research by the University of Plymouth into textiles and tyres which are

estimated to be significant sources of microplastics in the marine environment.

Water infrastructure is an important pathway for contaminants, including

microplastics, to enter the aquatic environment. We are working with water

companies and researchers to understand the scale of the issue, evaluate the

effectiveness of treatment systems at removing microplastics and assess the impacts

of microplastics in aquatic environments.

Our priority will continue to be preventing plastic entering the environment in the first

place and eliminating avoidable plastic waste over the lifetime of the 25 Year

Environment Plan. The Resources and Waste Strategy, published in December last

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-farm-animal-genetic-resources-fangr-breed-inventory-results

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-farm-animal-genetic-resources-fangr-breed-inventory-results

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-country-report-on-farm-animal-genetic-resources-2012

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-country-report-on-farm-animal-genetic-resources-2012


year, sets out our plans to eliminate avoidable plastic waste. We will take action at

each stage of the product lifecycle: production, consumption and end of life.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions



discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on tackling air pollution in London.



discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on the (a) efficacy of the congestion

zone and (b) the introduction of the Ultra Low Emission Zone.



discussions he has had with (a) metro mayors and (b) local authority leaders on the

introduction of (i) low emissions zones (ii) charges on vehicles with high emissions.


The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs attended the Clean

Air Summit on 14 February with the Mayor of London, Metro Mayors and city leaders

from across the country. A range of issues were discussed at the Summit including

the ambitious goals set out in our new Clean Air Strategy, the need to focus on

reducing emissions from a variety of sources, and support for local authorities with

powers and funding.

My officials have regular and ongoing engagement with those local authorities named

in the 2017 Plan for Tackling Roadside Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations, to support

them in considering measures to address nitrogen dioxide exceedances in their

areas. Due to the highly localised nature of the problem, local knowledge is crucial in

solving pollution problems in these hotspots. Local authorities are considering a

range of measures to tackle their nitrogen dioxide exceedances, including, where

appropriate, charging Clean Air Zones.

I met the Mayor for the West Midlands, Andy Street, earlier this month and discussed

the progress of local authorities in the West Midlands who are developing local air

quality plans. I have also spoken with the Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, this month

about the development of Bristol’s local air quality plan.

Nature Conservation

James Cartlidge: [226184]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has

plans to preserve rare and native breeds by categorising genetic resources as public

goods.






The Agriculture Bill sets out an ambitious future for farming outside of the EU, moving

towards a system where public money is invested in things which the public value, in

particular protecting and enhancing our environment. Public goods include clean air,

clean and plentiful water, and thriving plants and wildlife.

Farmers and land managers can deliver these public goods through managing their

assets. Genetic resources are an important asset. For example, preserving genetic

resources can strengthen pest and disease resilience which contributes towards

improving the health and welfare of livestock (clause 1(1)(f) of Agriculture Bill).

Similarly, grazing native, local breeds in upland areas can contribute towards

enhancement of our cultural and natural heritage (clause 1(1)(c) of Agriculture Bill).

The financial assistance powers in clause 1(1) and 1(2) in the Agriculture Bill could

be used to support genetic resources where this contributes to the delivery of the

purpose set out in the clause.

Packaging: Regulation

Mr Laurence Robertson: [226515]


taking to reduce the amount of excessive and unnecessary packaging materials being

used; and if he will make a statement.


The Government set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan, published in January

2018, its commitment to reform the packaging producer responsibility system. Our

Resources and Waste Strategy was published in December 2018 and contains

details on how we will do this, including measures to incentivise packaging producers

to make better, more sustainable decisions at the design stage and point of

manufacture. Through replacing the current system with Extended Producer

Responsibility we will require producers to fund the full net cost of managing the

packaging they place on the market, once it becomes waste. These measures will

provide a strong incentive to producers to reduce the amount of packaging they use

and to make packaging that is more easily collected and recycled. The proposals are

open to consultation until 13 May 2019 and can be found here:

https://consult.defra.gov.uk/environmental-quality/consultation-on-reforming-the-uk-

packaging-produce/.

The Government has also committed in the Resources and Waste Strategy to review

the effectiveness of the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2015 by the

end of 2020. These regulations set out rules that producers of packaging must follow

when designing packaging, including the requirement that packaging should be kept

to a minimum volume and weight.


Palm Oil

Vernon Coaker: [226536]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the

Government is taking to reduce domestic demand for palm oil in the biofuel and food

industries; and if he will make a statement.


The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan sets out our ambition to support and

protect the world’s forests, supporting sustainable agriculture and zero-deforestation

supply chains, including for palm oil. The plan led to the establishment of a Global

Resource Initiative aimed at reducing deforestation caused by UK demand for

commodities, including palm oil.

The Government also helped convene the UK Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil

and is working with the signatories of the Amsterdam Declaration on increasing the

uptake of sustainable palm oil. The latest report from the UK Roundtable on

Sustainable Palm Oil indicates that the UK achieved 75% certified sustainable palm

oil in 2017.

Biofuels made from palm oil have not been reported for supply under the Renewable

Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) in the last three years and the use of non-waste

oils in biofuel is minimal. The Government has agreed to focus on utilising waste

derived biofuels, which generally have higher greenhouse gas savings. The most

recent changes to the RTFO, which set out the UK biofuel policy to 2032, include a

cap on the contribution of crop based biofuels in the UK, decreasing from 4% in 2020

to 2% in 2032.


To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment

he has made of the sustainability of palm oil production; and if he will make a statement.


The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan sets out our ambition to support and

protect the world’s forests, supporting sustainable agriculture and zero-deforestation

supply chains, including for palm oil.

The market for sustainable palm oil is dominated by the Roundtable for Sustainable

Palm Oil (RSPO) and so ’sustainable’ in this context is commonly understood to

mean products certified to RSPO standards and criteria.

The UK Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil convened by the UK Government is

working to improve reporting, traceability and understanding of supply chains to

ensure continuous improvement and increased use of certified palm oil. The UK

monitors the proportion of certified sustainable palm oil imported to the UK. The latest

annual report from the UK Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil indicates that the UK

achieved 75% certified sustainable palm oil in 2017.



Plastics

Danielle Rowley: [226198]


Department is taking to phase out the (a) production and (b) use of unneeded plastics.


This Government is taking action to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste. We have

introduced one of the world’s toughest bans on microbeads in rinse-off personal care

products, and have significantly reduced the use of plastic bags by around 86% with

our 5p carrier bag charge. We recognise that more needs to be done, which is why

we have set out an ambitious approach in our 25 Year Environment Plan.

The Resources and Waste Strategy, published December last year, sets out our

plans to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste. We will take action at each stage of the

product lifecycle: production, consumption and end of life. At the production stage,

this includes encouraging producers to take more responsibility for the environmental

impact of their products and making sure plastic items are more carefully designed.

At the consumer stage we want to reduce demand for single-use plastic. At the end

of life stage, we will make it easier for people to recycle and increase the amount of

plastic being recycled.

The Government has set out proposals to reform the current packaging producer

responsibility regulations, invoking the ‘Polluter Pays’ principle to financially

incentivise producers to take greater responsibility for the environmental impacts of

packaging they place on the market. This includes mechanisms to incentivise better

design, encourage the use of recycled material and ensure that producers pay the full

costs of disposal for packaging they place on the market. These measures aim to

reduce the amount of unnecessary and difficult to recycle packaging and increase the

amount of packaging that can and is recycled, including plastic packaging. We are

currently consulting on these proposals in conjunction with the Scottish Government.

The consultation will close on 13 May and can be accessed at:

www.gov.uk/government/news/government-sets-out-plans-to-overhaul-waste-system.

Plastics: Recycling


To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has

met with major supermarkets to discuss (a) reducing plastic packaging and (b)

introducing deposit return schemes for plastics.


The Secretary of State has met leaders from retailers, brands, manufacturers and

representative organisations to discuss the levels of plastic pollution and how to

increase the recyclability of plastics, including ‘on the go’ waste issues. Defra officials

have met representatives of major supermarkets where they discussed proposals

regarding the introduction of a deposit return scheme.


https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-sets-out-plans-to-overhaul-waste-system

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-sets-out-plans-to-overhaul-waste-system


Plastics: Waste

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: [225612]


taking to address the problem of plastic waste at design and manufacture level.


The Government set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan, published in January last

year, its commitment to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste and to reform the

packaging producer responsibility system. Our Resources and Waste Strategy was

published in December last year and contains details on how we will do this, including

measures to incentivise packaging producers to make better, more sustainable

decisions at the design stage and point of manufacture. Through reforming the

current system we will require producers to fund the full net cost of managing the

packaging they place on the market, once it becomes waste. We will strengthen the

incentives of these reforms by also setting minimum ecodesign requirements.

Other measures set out in the Strategy, as well as in the Budget 2018, will lead to an

increase in the supply and demand for secondary materials. These include the

introduction of a deposit return scheme for drinks containers in England, introducing

consistency in household and business recycling collections in England and a tax on

plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content, all subject to consultation.

These measures will provide a strong incentive for producers to design and make

plastic packaging that uses less virgin materials and is more easily recyclable.

The consultations setting out the Government’s proposals on the measures referred

to above were published on 18 February this year and can be found at:

consult.defra.gov.uk/environmental-quality/resource-and-waste-and-plastic-

packaging-tax-consu-1.

Sea Bass

Scott Mann: [226177]


Department will take to tackle the problem of illegal landing of undersized bass; and for

what reason the Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority might face a

legal challenge if they prohibited gill net meshes from 89 mm to 109 mm in order to stop

this practice.


There are clear rules in place requiring that undersized catches of species not yet

subject to the landing obligation, such as bass, are not retained on board, trans-

shipped, landed, transported, stored, sold, displayed or offered for sale, but shall be

returned immediately to the sea. This is a long standing principle which will continue

to be enforced accordingly.

Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) are independent statutory

authorities and have direct responsibility for the protection of sea fisheries resources


https://consult.defra.gov.uk/environmental-quality/resource-and-waste-and-plastic-packaging-tax-consu-1




in their districts, and for the sustainable management of their exploitation. When an

activity is occurring, or may occur, that is likely to impact the marine environment, the

IFCA, as regulator, is expected to consider the significance of this within its district.

Cornwall IFCA recently considered using its powers under Section 157(2) of the

Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 to introduce an emergency byelaw to address

bass netting issues. However, this was judged to not fully meet the qualifying criteria

for an emergency byelaw as stated in the Act and could potentially be challenged on

those grounds.

Solid Fuels: Heating

Philip Davies: [226080]


discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the

potential effect on heritage railways of the proposals outlined in the consultation on the

cleaner domestic burning of solid fuels and wood; and if he will make a statement.


The proposals in the consultation on domestic burning would not prevent heritage

railways purchasing the fuels they need, so there has been no need for the Secretary

of State to discuss this with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and

Sport.

Water: South of England

Layla Moran: [225620]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to

the report entitled, PR19 initial assessment of plans: South East Water company,

published by Ofwat in January 2019, how much of the £306.2 million of funding for South

and South Eastern water companies will be allocated to new reservoir infrastructure.




published by Ofwat in January 2019, what steps he is taking to ensure adequate public

scrutiny of the options for strategic water resources developed by South and South

Eastern water companies.




published by Ofwat in January 2019, how programmes will be funded by the allocation of

£306.2 million; and what the timeframe is for the allocation of that funding.






To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the tendering

process was in relation to the allocation of £306.2 million to water companies to develop

strategic water resources options for the South and South East of England.


As part of its initial assessment of water company business plans for the period 2020-

2025, the economic regulator, Ofwat, announced that it would make available up to

£358 million to companies for planning and pre-construction development of strategic

regional water supply options, which may be delivered over the next 5 to 15 years.

This funding is for pre-construction activities and not a commitment to construct. Of

this £358 million, approximately £109 million is expected to be allocated to planning

and pre-construction development of a South East Regional Strategic Reservoir. The

rest of the funding is for development of alternative options for meeting the future

water needs of the South East.

This funding will be made available through a gated process and Ofwat will claw back

funding where a water supply option does not progress. Ofwat expects water

companies to set out in revised business plans by 1 April, how they will work together

to develop strategic supply options, how they meet the gated process and costs of

completing works to achieve those gates, and how funding will be clawed back where

schemes fail to achieve their milestones to the expected quality.

Strategic water resources solutions will be subject to public scrutiny through the

statutory water resources management planning process and the planning regime,

which will include the Planning Act 2008 processes for nationally significant water

resources infrastructure.

EXITING THE EUROPEAN UNION

Brexit

Andrew Rosindell: [226617]

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what plans he has to

negotiate a separate transition period with the EU in the event that the UK leaves the EU

without a deal.

Mr Robin Walker:

The Implementation Period - as set out in Part Four of the Withdrawal Agreement - is

intended to give businesses and citizens certainty. Without a Withdrawal Agreement,

there can be no Implementation Period. That is why we are working with the EU so

Parliament can support a deal and the UK can leave the EU in a smooth and orderly

way on 29 March 2019.



Department for Exiting the European Union: Procurement


To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the

guidance entitled, Procurement policy note 03/14: measures to promote tax compliance,

published on 6 February 2014, how many suppliers were allocated contracts by his

Department as a result of complying with (a) one and (b) more than one of the mitigating

circumstances after not meeting the tax compliance questions.

Chris Heaton-Harris:

No suppliers have been excluded from bidding for contracts due to not meeting the

criteria in Procurement Policy Note 03/14 since the Department was created in 2016.

European Parliament: Elections

John Spellar: [226525]

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether extending Article

50 would lead to a requirement to hold elections in the UK to the European Parliament.

Kwasi Kwarteng:

As the Prime Minister said in her statement to the House, we do not want to see

Article 50 extended. She was also clear that any extension should be time-limited and

as short as possible, and a short extension would almost certainly have to be a one-

off.

As the Prime Minister has said, holding European Parliament elections would not be

consistent with the result of the referendum.

European University Institute

Dr Sarah Wollaston: [225488]

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps he is taking in

negotiations with his EU counterparts to ensure the UK’s continued membership of the

European University Institute Convention.

Mr Robin Walker:

The Government has made clear that it values international exchange and

collaboration. Officials in the Department for Exiting the EU and the Department for

Education have met with the EUI to hold discussions to explore options to provide

continuity and ensure UK students at the EUI can complete their studies.

Should Parliament approve the deal the Prime Minister has negotiated with the EU,

the UK will continue to apply the terms of the EUI Convention for the duration of the

implementation period. The UK’s rights and obligations under the Convention would

continue during that period, in accordance with the Withdrawal Agreement. The

Political Declaration sets out that we will establish general principles, terms and

conditions for UK participation in EU programmes in areas of shared interest, and

wider dialogues to allow us to share best practice and act together in our mutual

interest. On this basis, we will explore with the European University Institute options




for future participation in its activities and we will work to ensure that UK students at

the EUI will be able to complete their studies.

Furthermore, UK universities will be able to continue to collaborate with the EUI in

research projects even if the UK is no longer a member of the EUI Convention.

Dr Sarah Wollaston: [225489]

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether it remains the

Government’s assessment that the UK will automatically leave the European University

Institute Convention on 29 March 2019.

Mr Robin Walker:

The European University Institute Convention (EUIC) is an agreement between the

Member States of the European Union. After 29 March 2019, the United Kingdom will

cease to be a Member State of the European Union and, as such, the UK’s

membership of the EUIC will automatically cease. Should Parliament approve the

deal the Prime Minister has negotiated with the EU, the UK will continue to apply the

terms of the EUI Convention for the duration of the implementation period. The UK’s

rights and obligations under the Convention would continue during that period, in

accordance with the Withdrawal Agreement.

Officials in my department and in the Department for Education have met with the

EUI to explore options for future participation in its activities and we will work to

ensure that UK students at the EUI will be able to complete their studies.

Furthermore, UK universities will be able to continue to collaborate with the EUI in

research projects even if the UK is no longer a member of the EUI Convention.

Fisheries


To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions he has

had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on negotiations

on fishing policy after the UK leaves the EU.

Kwasi Kwarteng:

We continue to have regular conversations with ministerial colleagues across

Government on all aspects of exiting the EU, including on fisheries policy.

The Government has been absolutely clear that as we leave the EU, we will be

become an independent coastal state. For the first time in more than 40 years, we will

introduce our own independent fisheries policy and decide who can fish in our waters,

and on what terms.



FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE

Bangladesh: Diplomatic Relations

Keith Vaz: [225394]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met

with the Bangladesh High Commissioner to the Court of St. James.

Mark Field:

I most recently met the Bangladesh High Commissioner on 10 January 2019 in

London.

Burma: Peace Negotiations

Helen Goodman: [226071]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent

discussions he has had with his counterpart in Myanmar on the role of the military in the

peace process in that country.

Mark Field:

The Foreign Secretary discussed the civilian government's plans to bring an end to

Burma's long-running internal conflicts, through the peace process, when he met

State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi in September 2018. The UK is clear that the

Burmese military must adhere to international standards and that there must be

accountability and justice for any human rights abuses such as those reported in

Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States in the UN Fact Finding Mission report.

China: Pandas


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions

he has had with his counterpart in the Chinese government on the protection of pandas.

Mark Field:

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not recently discussed the protection of

pandas with the Chinese government.

We have close relations with a number of other organisations who are collaborating

with China on this important work, most notably the Royal Zoological Society of

Scotland.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Procurement


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to

the guidance entitled, Procurement policy note 03/14: measures to promote tax

compliance, published on 6 February 2014, how many suppliers were allocated contracts

by his Department as a result of complying with (a) one and (b) more than one of the

mitigating circumstances after not meeting the tax compliance questions.





Mark Field:

Authority to enter into contracts is devolved to Directorates within the Foreign and

Commonwealth Office in London and to our overseas Posts. Relevant data to answer

this question is not held centrally and could not be collated without disproportionate

cost.

India: Pakistan



assessment his Department has made of relations between India and Pakistan; and if he

will make a statement.

Mark Field:

The UK is deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan.

We welcome the fact that both countries have stated publicly they wish to de-escalate

tensions. We are working hard with them and our international partners to encourage

this and to ensure regional stability.

INF Treaty

Sir Nicholas Soames: [226007]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many ground-

based weapons have been destroyed under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces

Treaty.

Mark Field:

Only the US and the Soviet Union were parties to the INF Treaty when it came into

force. Each was permitted extensive on-site inspections for verification purposes.

According to the US Department of State and other non-government sources, a total

of 2,692 missiles were eliminated following the Treaty's entry into force.

Interserve

Stephen Gethins: [226153]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many staff

within his Department are at risk of redundancy under the current facility management

contract held by Interserve; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt:

There are no Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff that are at risk of redundancy

under the current facilities management contract.

The changes to the Interserve staffing on this contract are as a result of a change to

the delivery model for the contract, not as a result of the company's financial

situation. Negotiations are ongoing and we believe there are 9 roles in the current

structure which do not fit within the new model.




For any changes (including redundancies) Interserve will follow the appropriate

procedures, including consultation with individuals and their representatives, to meet

their duty to mitigate the risk of redundancy, including through exploring opportunities

for redeployment.


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his

Department was made aware of any financial insecurities when awarding a new contract

to Interserve in 2018 that could result in possible job losses in the following financial year.

Alistair Burt:

No. The contract was awarded after Interserve had secured refinancing in April 2018,

which had increased their financial stability and with the full agreement of Cabinet

Office and HM Treasury. Any changes to staffing on the contract delivered to the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office are a result of the change to the proposed service

delivery model and are not a result of Interserve's financial position.

Interserve announced on 27 February that its lenders, bonding providers and Pension

Trusteee have agreed to its proposed deleveraging plan, a significant milestone in

the delivery of their refinancing.


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions

he has had with Interserve on their decision to impose contractual changes with respect

to pay dates to its staff contracted to work in his Department.

Alistair Burt:

We are aware that Interserve has been in discussion with some of its employees that

may be affected by changing dates to payroll. We have been assured by Interserve

that employees will not be detrimentally affected by this change of dates and

Interserve have provided reassurance that staff will not have reductions in conditions

as a result of this change.

Kashmir: Armed Conflict


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his

Department is taking help resolve the hostilities in Kashmir; and if he will make a

statement.

Mark Field:

The UK is deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan. The

UK has been, and continues to be, in close contact at senior levels in India and

Pakistan. The Prime Minister spoke to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on 3

March to welcome his commitment to reducing tensions with India, and to emphasise

the importance of Pakistan taking action against all terrorist groups in support of

global efforts to combat terrorism. During a visit to India between 28 February and 3




March, I met Indian Foreign Secretary Gokhale in New Delhi to express the UK's

concern at current tensions and to encourage a peaceful diplomatic solution.

We are working hard, including with our international partners and the UN, to help

India and Pakistan reduce tensions in order to safeguard regional stability. We

welcome the fact that both countries have said they do not want to escalate tensions.


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has

to discuss with his Indian and Pakistani counterparts the current situation in Kashmir; and

if he will make a statement.

Mark Field:

We welcome the fact that both countries have said they do not want to escalate

tensions. The UK has been, and continues to be, in close contact at senior levels in

both countries. We are working hard with them and our international partners to

encourage de-escalation and to ensure regional stability.

The Prime Minister spoke to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on 3 March to

welcome his commitment to reducing tensions with India, and to emphasise the

importance of Pakistan taking action against all terrorist groups in support of global

efforts to combat terrorism. During a visit to India between 28 February and 3 March,

I met Indian Foreign Secretary Gokhale to express the UK's concern at current

tensions and to encourage a peaceful diplomatic solution. On Wednesday 27

February, I spoke to the Indian and Pakistan High Commissioners about these

issues. On Monday 25 February, the Foreign Secretary spoke to his Indian and

Pakistani counterparts, Sushma Swaraj and Shah Mahmood Qureshi respectively, to

discuss the situation. He spoke to Shah Mahmood Qureshi again on Thursday 28

February.

Mr Gregory Campbell: [226583]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make

representations to his counterparts in India and Pakistan on immediately reducing

tensions in that region.

Mark Field:

The UK is deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan. The

UK has been, and continues to be, in close contact at senior levels in both countries.

The Prime Minister spoke to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on 3 March to

welcome his commitment to reducing tensions with India, and to emphasise the

importance of Pakistan taking action against all terrorist groups in support of global

efforts to combat terrorism. During a visit to India on 1 March, I met Indian Foreign

Secretary Gokhale to express the UK's concern at current tensions and to encourage

a peaceful diplomatic solution. On Wednesday 27 February, I spoke to both the

Indian and Pakistan High Commissioners on these issues. On Monday 25 February,

the Foreign Secretary spoke to his Indian and Pakistani counterparts, Sushma



Swaraj and Shah Mahmood Qureshi respectively, to discuss the situation. He spoke

to Shah Mahmood Qureshi again on Thursday 28 February.

We welcome the fact that both countries have said they do not want to escalate

tensions. We are working hard with them and our international partners to encourage

de-escalation and to ensure regional stability.

Libya: Arms Trade


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment

he has made of the extent to which arms were shipped from the Libyan port of Benghazi

to Syria in 2012-13; who was involved in these shipments; and for which groups in Syrian

were those arms intended.

Alistair Burt:

We are aware of reports of arms shipments from Libya to Syria during the period in

question. It was out of concern about the situation in Libya, including flows of arms,

that the UK supported UN Security Council Resolution 1970 in 2011, which imposed

an arms embargo. We have supported subsequent UN Security Council Resolutions

authorising UN Member States to inspect vessels off the coast of Libya where there

are reasonable grounds to suspect they are violating the embargo. We continue to

work with our partners in the UN to support the implementation of the embargo, and

to address reports of violations.

Libya: Undocumented Migrants


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much the

Government has spent on programmes based in Libya aimed at countering irregular

migration from that country; who the Libyan executor was of those programmes; and

whether those programmes were funded from the UK aid budget, for each year since

2011.

Alistair Burt:

Since October 2015, the UK has allocated over £175 million of humanitarian

assistance in response to the Mediterranean migration crisis, including substantial

support in Libya. Projects related to migration, dating back to 2015, are listed below.

As part of the Department for International Development's £75 million programme

supporting interventions in origin, transit and destination countries across the sub-

Saharan and north African migration routes, up to £5 million will be allocated to

humanitarian assistance and protection for migrants and refugees in Libya. In

addition, a new multi-year programme worth £3.29 million focuses on multi-sector

humanitarian assistance and building capacity of primary health care services.

These programmes illustrate the UK's "whole of route" approach to supporting safe,

legal and well-managed migration. Drawing on a range of funding sources, including

UK Aid, the UK acts with and through key partners such as the UN High



Commissoner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for

Migration (IOM), and builds the capacity of key Libyan actors (for example in the

criminal justice sector) to provide the long-term capabilities to tackle the associated

threats and drivers.

The information back to 2011 is not readily available/held centrally and could

only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

• International Committee of the Red Cross Humanitarian programme in Libya £2

million

• IOM Med Migration programme £0.8 million

• UNHCR Med Migration programme £0.45 million

• IOM Safety Support and Solutions - Support to International Organisation for

Migration for direct assistance and protection for migrants inside Libya £1.5 million

• IOM Safety Support and Solutions - IOM AVR (support to voluntary returns) £0.5

million

• UNHCR Safety Support and Solutions (support to UNHCR refugee and returns

programmes in North Africa) £2.18 million

• Danish Refugees Council Safety Support and Solutions (to protect women and girls

from the heightened risks of trafficking and gender based violence faced in Libya)

£1.5 million

• UNHCR North Africa Joint Unit (NAJU) programme (support to UNHCR refugee

and returns programmes in North Africa) £0.85 million

• IOM NAJU Conflict Stability and Security Fund programme (support for voluntary

returns) £1.7 million



To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he plans to

respond to the letter of 14 January 2019 from the right hon. Member for North Norfolk on

the security of the UK’s communications infrastructure.

Mark Field:

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will issue a response on behalf

of government shortly.

Nicaragua: Third Sector

Patrick Grady: [225544]


he has made of the effect on civil society organisations in Nicaragua of the closure of the

Information Center and Advisory Services in that country; and if he will make a statement.



Sir Alan Duncan:

We strongly condemn the persecution of human rights organisations in Nicaragua,

including the steps taken by the authorities to revoke the legal status of human rights

Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The UK regularly raises our concerns with

the Nicaraguan Government. During meetings on 5-7 and 25 February, our

Ambassador urged the Nicaraguan Government to reinstate NGO registration and to

allow international bodies, such as the UN and the Organization of American States,

back to continue their vital work.

Russia: Foreign Relations


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in what (a) multi-

lateral and (b) bi-lateral fora he holds discussions with his Russian counterpart.

Mark Field:

Current planned contact between the Foreign Secretary and his Russian counterpart

has been suspended since March 2018, although they have simultaneously attended

the UN Security Council. On 16 February the Minister for Europe and the Americas

met Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Titov at the Munich Security Conference.

As he outlined to Mr Titov in that meeting, we have no quarrel with the Russian

people but Russia needs to choose a different path before there can be any

meaningful change in our relationship.

Russia: INF Treaty


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on what date was

the latest material breach of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty by Russia.

Mark Field:

On 4 December 2018, US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo declared Russia to be in

material breach of the INF Treaty. On the same day, NATO Foreign Ministers issued

a statement supporting the finding of the US. The US has been expressing concerns

about Russia non-compliance since 2013 and in 2014 declared its findings that

Russia was in violation of its Treaty obligations.


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the timeframe

is for Russia to comply with the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty after that country's

latest material breach.

Mark Field:

The US first declared Russia to be in violation of its INF Treaty obligations in 2014

and has done so many more times in the last five years. NATO Allies have also been

expressing shared concerns about Russian non-compliance since 2014. Russia has

offered no credible response.




On 2 February 2019, the US began the process of withdrawing from the INF Treaty.

The Treaty's formal withdrawal process takes six months and provides Russia with a

final opportunity to return to full and verifiable compliance with its Treaty obligations.

Saudi Arabia: Arms Trade



discussions he has held with his counterpart in the German Government on the sale of

arms to Saudi Arabia, and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan:

The United Kingdom and Germany have a close relationship which allows us to have

continual discussions on a broad range of matters at all levels. The Foreign Secretary

discussed, amongst other issues, arms sales to Saudi Arabia with his German

counterpart, Foreign Minister Maas, on 1 and 20 February. He has also written to Mr

Maas on this issue. All UK export licence applications for Saudi Arabia are assessed

rigorously against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing criteria.

Turkey: Minority Groups

Joan Ryan: [226491]


he has made of the Turkish Government’s treatment of (a) members of the Alevi

community and (b) other religious minorities.

Mark Field:

We strongly support all minority groups in Turkey, including the Alevi community, and

encourage the Turkish authorities to safeguard their welfare and respect their human

rights as enshrined in the Turkish constitution. Through our Embassy in Ankara we

are currently funding a range of projects covering issues including LGBTI rights,

freedom of expression, women's rights and workers' rights.

Joan Ryan: [226492]


representations he has his Turkish counterpart on (a) the treatment of Alevis in the

Turkish prison system and (b) those people's access to Dedes.

Mark Field:

We have not made specific representations to Turkey on these issues. We expect

Turkey to treat all prisoners, regardless of faith or ethnicity, fairly and in line with

internationally recognised standards.




USA: Overseas Workers

Jo Stevens: [226691]


assessment his Department has made of the potential risk to UK citizens working as

journalists in the US.

Mark Field:

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Travel Advice sets out our assessment of

the considerations British Nationals should be mindful of when travelling to the US.

The Advice does not include specific cautions with regard to British journalists.

World War I and World War II: Veterans


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his

Department holds information on war service gratuity payments made at the end of the

First and Second World Wars to service personnel drawn from the British dominions and

colonies.

Sir Alan Duncan:

Following searches, no information relating to war service gratuity payments made to

service personnel drawn from the British dominions and colonies at the end of the

First and Second World Wars can be found.

Publicly available files held at The National Archives that originated from a number of

government departments (including the Treasury, War Office, Foreign and Colonial

Offices) contain potentially relevant information about First and Second World War

service gratuity payments.

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

Accident and Emergency Departments: Disclosure of Information

Sir Edward Davey: [226507]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his

Department has made of whether the Information Sharing to Tackle Violence scheme is

fully compliant with data protection legislation.

Jackie Doyle-Price:

Individuals cannot be identified either directly or indirectly from the information that is

shared and because the scheme does not involve the sharing of personal data or

confidential patient information, the scheme is fully compliant with data protection

legislation. Anonymous information is not covered by the General Data Protection

Regulation or Data Protection Act 2018.




Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Daniel Kawczynski: [224801]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the public

purse was of the NHS treating preventable alcohol-related injuries in (a) 2016, (b) 2017

and (c) 2018.

Steve Brine:

Data on National Health Service spending on alcohol related injuries or conditions is

not available in the format requested. However, the costs to the NHS in England

associated with alcohol misuse are estimated at £3.5 billion each year.

Allergies: Death

Jo Swinson: [226072]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) men and (b)

women have died from anaphylaxis; and of those how many had an epinephrine

autoinjector administered prior to death in each of the past five years.

Steve Brine:

This information is not available.

Autism: Psychiatric Hospitals


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to

improve support for autism in inpatient mental health facilities.

Caroline Dinenage:

NHS Improvement has introduced Learning Disability Improvement Standards for

providers of National Health Service funded care in England to help ensure that trusts

monitor, improve and review the care they provide to people with a learning disability

or autism. Inclusion of the improvement standards in the NHS Standard contract

2019/20, mandated by NHS England for use by commissioners of all healthcare

services except primary care, means that all providers, including those that provide

mental health inpatient facilities, must have regard to the improvement standards.

On 13 February 2019 the Department launched a consultation on mandatory learning

disability and autism training to ensure that staff working in health and social care

understand the needs of people with learning disabilities and autism and have the

skills to provide them with the most effective care and support. Officials have worked

with people with lived experience of learning disabilities and autism to develop the

consultation proposals.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is undertaking a thematic review of the use of

restrictive interventions in settings that provide inpatient or residential care for people

with mental health problems and a learning disability and/or autism. It will review and

make recommendations on the use of physical restraint, prolonged seclusion and

segregation to ensure that the least restrictive approaches are adopted. The NHS




Long Term plan commits NHS England to work with the CQC to implement its

recommendations.

Care Homes


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department

has made of the total number of care home beds available in (a) Coventry, (b) the West

Midlands and (c) the UK each year since 2010.

Caroline Dinenage:

The following tables show the total number of care home beds available in Coventry,

the West Midlands and England each year since 2010, according to Care Quality

Commission records. Figures for the United Kingdom are not available from the

Department and are a matter for the devolved administrations.

ENGLAND

Number of Care Homes Total Number of

Care Homes

Number

of Beds

Date Nursing Home Residential

Home

Nursing Home Residential

Home

31 December

2010

1,844 6,035 7,879 92,518 118,22

5

31 December

2011

4,531 13,377 17,908 213,195 256,21

8

31 December

2012

4,534 13,005 17,539 215,747 253,00

7

31 December

2013

4,539 12,803 17,342 217,470 249,97

7

31 December

2014

4,566 12,572 17,138 220,840 247,72

1

31 December

2015

4,500 12,295 16,795 218,981 244,74

1

31 December

2016

4,460 12,003 16,463 219,658 241,94

1

31 December

2017

4,449 11,657 16,106 220,888 239,00

9

31 December

2018

4,422 11,389 15,811 221,756 235,92

1


West Midlands Region


Care Homes

Number

of Beds


Home


Home

31 December

2010

174 623 797 8,603 10,598

31 December

2011

479 1,407 1,886 22,164 24,430

31 December

2012

471 1,397 1,868 22,331 25,231

31 December

2013

477 1,372 1,849 22,783 24,883

31 December

2014

488 1,330 1,818 23,502 24,592

31 December

2015

487 1,308 1,795 23,554 24,307

31 December

2016

480 1,279 1,759 23,514 24,153

31 December

2017

485 1,246 1,731 23,967 23,953

31 December

2018

488 1,226 1,714 24,360 23,825

Coventry Local Authority


Care Homes

Number

of Beds


Home


Home

31 December

2010

7 33 40 345 611

31 December

2011

13 64 77 555 1,304

31 December

2012

13 62 75 555 1,327

31 December

2013

13 62 75 555 1,308

31 December

2014

15 64 79 692 1,379

31 December

2015

15 63 78 692 1,354

31 December

2016

15 60 75 692 1,319

31 December

2017

17 61 78 854 1,317

31 December

2018

16 59 75 777 1,311

Notes: A single location can have both service types of care: a home service with

nursing and a care home service without nursing, in which case it is classified as a

nursing home.

Number of beds and service types can change over time.

Cervical Cancer: Screening


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to extend

routine cervical screening to women aged 65 and over.

Steve Brine:

The National Health Service Cervical Screening Programme currently stops sending

invitations for cervical screening after a woman reaches 65, unless they need

ongoing surveillance or follow up. This is generally required if a woman has had an

abnormal result in any of her three most recent tests or is recommended for early

repeats owing to a previous abnormality.

The natural history of cervical cancer means that it is unlikely that women of 65 and

over who have been regularly screened and discharged from the programme will go

on to develop the disease. We also know that screening becomes more

uncomfortable after menopause.

The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UK NSC) recently reviewed a

proposal about the care of women aged 64 exiting the programme. The outcome of


this proposal will be published in the UK NSC’s minutes which will be available in six

weeks at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/uk-national-screening-committee-uk-nsc

Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients

Luciana Berger: [226090]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS

Digital figures for the number of detentions under the Mental Health Act for 2017-18

referred to on page 11 of the CQC report entitled Monitoring the Mental Health Act in

2017-18, what steps he is taking to address the underreporting of such detentions.

Jackie Doyle-Price:

NHS Digital is working in co-ordination with other arm’s length bodies to improve the

reporting of detentions under the Mental Health Act 1983.

The official source of detentions changed from the KP90 aggregate collection to the

administrative data source Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS) from 2016-17

data. Submission to the MHSDS is mandatory for all National Health Service and

independent providers that detain patients under the Mental Health Act. The

Information Standards Notice makes it a statutory duty for NHS funded mental health

services to submit this data to MHSDS.

To support data quality improvement, NHS Digital provides data quality feedback to

providers via reports when MHSDS submissions are made, followed by additional

feedback to providers in the monthly data submission cycle. Further improvements to

this feedback are being planned.

NHS Digital provides comprehensive technical guidance documentation to support

the accurate completion of MHSDS data. Providers and suppliers are kept updated

with developments via regular workshops and newsletters.

NHS Digital is supporting the Care Quality Commission in their ongoing work to

contact former KP90 submitters that have failed to make submissions to the MHSDS

about their detentions. This work will provide more detail on the reasons for non-

submission and we will work with partners to resolve the issues identified.

Further information is available in ‘Mental Health Act Statistics, Annual Figures:

Background Data Quality Report England, 2017-18’, which is available at the

following link:

https://files.digital.nhs.uk/3C/C59157/ment-heal-act-stat-eng-2017-18-back-data-qual-

rep.pdf




https://files.digital.nhs.uk/3C/C59157/ment-heal-act-stat-eng-2017-18-back-data-qual-rep.pdf



Dementia


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has

to increase the number of social care workers trained to level Tier 2 of the Dementia

Training Standards Framework.

Caroline Dinenage:

The Government’s Dementia 2020 Challenge and associated implementation plan

describes a programme of action to deliver sustained improvements in dementia

care. The Challenge commits to all staff having the training they need by 2020. The

requisite training needs are set out in the Dementia Training Standards Framework.

Good progress has been made to date in training the social care workforce with

around half of those estimated to need tier 2 have undertaken training to a level

equivalent to it. The Department is currently exploring options for further increasing

take up of tier 2 training to everyone who needs it.

Dementia: Social Services


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long

Term Plan, what proportion of the £4.5 billion allocated to community care will be

disbursed to support dementia patients.

Caroline Dinenage:

Following the publication of the NHS Long Term Plan, the National Implementation

Framework, to be published in the spring, will provide further information on how the

Long Term Plan will be implemented. Additional details, based on local health system

five year plans, will be brought together in a detailed national implementation plan in

the autumn.

We will continue to work closely with key partners and stakeholders, including the

Alzheimer’s Society and other voluntary sector partners, as we support the National

Health Service in England to deliver the commitments set out in the Long Term Plan.

Eating Disorders: Health Services


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when NHS England plans to

answer the Freedom of Information request submitted by the hon. Member for Newcastle-

under-Lyme on 21 January 2019 on specialist in-patient eating disorder services.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will undertake an

investigation into the reasons NHS England has not replied within the statutory timeframe

to the Freedom of Information request of 21 January 2019 from the hon. Member for

Newcastle-under-Lyme on specialist in-patient eating disorder services.





Jackie Doyle-Price:

NHS England has confirmed that the Freedom of Information (FOI) request was

received on 21 January 2019 but the statutory deadline was not met. A response to

the FOI was issued on 28 February 2019.

The investigation of instances when the statutory deadline for FOI cases are missed

by NHS England is a matter for the Information Commissioner.

Epilepsy: Sodium Valproate


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has

made any assessment of the reasons for shortages of the Epilim Chrono (sodium

valproate) drug available to people with epilepsy.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has

made any assessment of whether the UK's expected departure from the EU has affected

the supply of the drug Epilimchrono (sodium valproate).

Steve Brine:

Sanofi, the company who supply Epilim, have confirmed that all Epilim preparations

are currently available.

The Department is aware that some modified-release Epilim presentations have

recently been affected by manufacturing disruptions at Sanofi’s production site. This

has meant that stock levels of some presentations may be lower than usual, but

these issues have now been resolved. This supply issue is not related to the United

Kingdom’s departure from the European Union.

We fully understand the importance of this medicine to patients and are continuing to

monitor the situation closely to ensure the supply of Epilim products remain available.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Ruth Cadbury: [224811]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to

increase the number of places on the PrEP Impact Trial in (a) England and (b) Brentford

and Isleworth constituency.

Steve Brine:

On 30 January, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

announced that the Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Impact trial would be expanded

to 26,000 people. Work is underway with partners to take this forward. The PrEP

Oversight Board has requested information on local capacity to make the additional

places available and will review this shortly.




Influenza: Vaccination


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made a

comparative assessment of the level of up-take of the winter flu jab in 2018 among

people in (a) lower and (b) higher income groups.

Steve Brine:

Public Health England does not hold the requested data in this format.

Mental Health Services: Children


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 28 of the

CQC report entitled Monitoring the Mental Health Act in 2017-18, what steps he is taking

to reduce the number of child admissions to adult psychiatric wards.

Jackie Doyle-Price:

NHS England’s children and young people’s mental health transformation

programme, improvements in crisis services, and national specialised commissioning

of services are all contributing to ensuring children and young people get the help

they need from the right services.

Progress is being made, as evidenced by the continued downward trend in the use of

adult mental health beds, as recognised by the Care Quality Commission’s

‘Monitoring the Mental Health Act in 2017-18’ report, achieved against a background

of rising referrals.

Mental Health Services: Merseyside


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) available and (b)

occupied beds for mental illness were open overnight under the care of consultants in (a)

Wirral and (b) Merseyside on average in each of the last five years.

Jackie Doyle-Price:

The information is not held in the format requested and could only be obtained at

disproportionate cost.

Midwives and Nurses: Training

Jonathan Ashworth: [226670]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18

February 2019 to Question 220908 on Nurses: Training, if he will place in the Library a

list of the providers of nursing and midwifery courses in England; and how many nursing

and midwifery applications there were to each provider of nursing and midwifery courses






Stephen Hammond:

A list of nursing and midwifery providers is available at following link:

https://digital.ucas.com/search/results?SearchText=nursing&ProviderText=&SubjectT

ext=&AutoSuggestType

The Department is not responsible for collecting data on applications to individual

providers. University application data is collected by the Universities and Colleges

Admissions Service. More details are available at the following link:

https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/

NHS: Drugs and Medical Equipment


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference article entitled,

How will Brexit affect health services in the UK? An updated evaluation, published in the

Lancet on 27 February 2019,when his Department plans to publish the (a) medicines and

(b) medical devices for which his Department has supply concerns in the event that the

UK leaves the EU without a deal.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to tarticle

entitled, How will Brexit affect health services in the UK? An updated evaluation’,

published in the Lancet on 27 February 2019, what steps his Department is taking to

ensure access to insulin in the event that the UK leaves the EU (a) with and (b) without a

withdrawal agreement.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the article

entitled, How will Brexit affect health services in the UK? An updated evaluation,

published on 27 February 2019, whether his Department’s stockpiling contingency plans

will ensure medicinal supplies are secured in the long term after the UK leaves the EU.

Stephen Hammond:

The Department is working closely with trade bodies, product suppliers, the health

and care system in England, the devolved administrations and Crown Dependencies,

to make detailed plans to ensure the continuation of the supply of medical products to

the whole of the United Kingdom in the event of a ‘no deal’ European Union exit.

We have also assessed contract risks associated with potential EU exit in the broader

National Health Service and within the devolved administrations, and are working

with suppliers to ensure adequate mitigations are in place for non-clinical goods and

services (e.g. hospital food, laundry, IT contracts etc).

The key risk to supply is reduced traffic flow at the short straits crossing (i.e. between

Calais and Dover or Folkestone), which is where the majority of medicines and other

medical products imported from the EU/European Economic Area (EEA) come from.

Many companies across all sectors, have already taken measures to protect their

https://digital.ucas.com/search/results?SearchText=nursing&ProviderText=&SubjectText=&AutoSuggestType








own supply chain to avoid the possible delays at the Dover Straits. The Department

for Transport has also procured additional ‘roll on roll off’ freight capacity equivalent

of around an extra 2,200 heavy goods vehicle per week to help companies in

importing medicines and medical products into the UK.

The Government recognises the vital importance of medicines and medical products,

including insulin, and is working to ensure that there is sufficient roll-on, roll-off freight

capacity to enable these vital products to continue to move freely in to the UK.

The Government has agreed that medicines and medical products will be prioritised

on these alternative routes to ensure that the flow of all these products will continue

unimpeded after 29 March 2019.

In August 2018, the Department asked suppliers to confirm arrangements in respect

of prescription-only and pharmacy medicines that come from or via the EU/EEEA.

Company responses have provided the Department with an indication of industry’s

ability and preparedness to stockpile six weeks’ worth of additional supply of each of

the in-scope medicines in the UK ahead of 29 March 2019.

Since then, we have continued to receive very good engagement and are working

closely with industry on a product-by-product basis. Companies share our aims of

ensuring continuity of medicines supply for patients is maintained and able to cope

with any potential delays at the border that may arise in the short term in the event of

a ‘no deal’ EU exit.

NHS: Loans


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his department

has made of the total amount in interim financial support loans given to NHS Trusts and

Foundation Trusts and the associated interest rates in (a) London and (b) England in

each year since 2015.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department

has made of the (a) repayments and (b) interest paid on interim financial support loans by

each NHS Trust and Foundation Trust in (i) London and (ii) England in each year since

2015.

Stephen Hammond:

The Department publishes data annually on interim support loans, including new

loans issued, repaid and outstanding balances.

This report accompanies the Department’s annual report and the 2017-18 version

can be found using the following link (in section 4):

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm

ent_data/file/725278/2017-18_Section_40_Report_Final.pdf



https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/725278/2017-18_Section_40_Report_Final.pdf



The report does not include information on the interest rates charged on the interim

loans issued. This can be found in attachment A for London and for England.

The report does not include information on interest paid on interim loans by each

National Health Service trust and foundation trust. This can be found in attachment B

for London and England.

Attachments:

1. PQ226714 & PQ226715 linked - Attachment A [20190228 - PQ226714 & PQ226715

linked - Attachment A.docx]

2. PQ226714 & PQ226715 linked - Attachment B [20190228 - PQ226714 & PQ226715

linked - Attachment B.docx]

NHS: Standards


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to

undertake a public consultation on the proposed review of NHS performance times.

Stephen Hammond:

The clinically-led review of standards was announced by the Prime Minister in June

2018. The review is considering the appropriateness of operational standards for

physical and mental health relating to planned, unplanned urgent or emergency care,

as well as cancer.

The Long Term Plan provides a platform upon which innovative models of patient

care can and are being developed. In that context, the National Health Service’s

National Medical Director has been working with the Academy of Medical Royal

Colleges, Healthwatch England and many others to consider what matters most to

patients, on the clinical issues with the current target regime, and what NHS staff

believe will help them provide the best quality care for patients.

The review will report its interim findings in the spring of 2019, after which any

recommended changes will be carefully tested across the NHS and be subject to a

rigorous approach before they are implemented.

We are committed to ensuring that any potential changes to NHS performance

standards are based on clinical evidence, and work in the interest of patient safety. If

new standards are implemented they will not diminish current performance

standards.

Obesity: Children


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has put in place a

target for the national average rate of childhood obesity by the end of the current

Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine:

We have not set a target to reduce the national average rate of childhood obesity by

the end of the current Parliament.



Chapter two of our world-leading childhood obesity plan, published in June 2018, sets

a bold ambition to halve childhood obesity by 2030 and significantly reduce the gap in

obesity between children from the most and least deprived areas by 2030. We have

reiterated this ambition in our vision document ‘Prevention is better than cure’

published on 5 November 2018, and in the ‘NHS Long Term Plan’ published on 8

January 2019.

‘Childhood obesity: a plan for action, chapter 2’ is available at the following link:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/childhood-obesity-a-plan-for-action-chapter-2

Prescriptions: Universal Credit

Dr David Drew: [226024]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, why NHS prescription forms

have not been updated to include people in receipt of universal credit who are entitled to

free prescriptions.

Steve Brine:

A revised version of the FP10 prescription form, featuring a dedicated tick-box for use

by Universal Credit claimants who meet the criteria for free National Health Service

prescriptions, recently received Ministerial clearance. Any change to the form

involves major system and software updates across the NHS to allow the re-designed

form to be used and processed. The revised paper form is currently being prepared

for testing, to ensure it is compatible with the scanners used by the NHS Business

Services Authority. The revised form will be introduced at the earliest opportunity.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many individuals have

been wrongly issued with NHS prescription fines due to prescription forms not being

updated to include universal credit claimants; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine:

Work is ongoing to update the FP10 prescription form, to include a new exemption

tick box for use by Universal Credit (UC) claimants, is underway and the revised form

will be introduced at the earliest opportunity. In advance of this update both UC and

income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants who meet the criteria for free

National Health Service prescriptions are ticking exemption box K on the FP10

prescription form. As a result, the NHS Business Services Authority does not have a

data split that enables it to confirm how many penalty charges notices have been

issued to UC claimants alone and therefore, how many were issued to UC claimants

who had a valid prescription charge exemption.

http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childhood-obesity-a-plan-for-action-chapter-2

http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childhood-obesity-a-plan-for-action-chapter-2



Prostate Cancer: Medical Treatments


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to introduce

high-intensity focused ultrasound therapy for prostate cancer more widely through the

NHS.

Steve Brine:

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a technique where high frequency

ultrasound waves are aimed at the cancer, heating up the cells with the aim to

causing cell death and eradicating the cancer. The technique was reviewed by the

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in 2012 who concluded that the

evidence on the efficacy of treatment was limited and recommended that HIFU be

used in the research setting only (Interventional procedures guidance IPG424). For

this reason, use of the technique in the National Health Service is limited to research

only and there are currently no plans to extend use of the technique without

development of the current evidence base.

Psychiatric Patients: Transport


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 12

February 2019 to Question 220201 on Hospitals: Transport, by what date all of the new

mental health vehicles to reduce inappropriate use of ambulances and police vehicles will

be in place.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 12th

February 2019 to Question 220198 on Hospitals: Transport, whether his Department has

plans to make an assessment of the effect of police transportation on the recovery and

health of people in mental health crisis.

Jackie Doyle-Price:

NHS England will be setting out more detailed information about implementation of

the NHS Long Term Plan in the spring. This will include more detail on funding and

ambitions over the first five years of the plan, including the ambitions to improve the

capacity of the ambulance services to respond to mental health needs.

The Department has no plans to make an assessment of the effect of police

transportation on the recovery and health of people in mental health crisis.

Radiotherapy: Clinical Trials

Grahame Morris: [226655]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is

taking to ensure that there is no disruption to the quality assurance of radiotherapy

clinical trials and the patients who have enrolled in those trials after the Secure File

Transfer System is discontinued after 31 March 2019.





Jackie Doyle-Price:

To ensure that there is no disruption to the quality assurance of radiotherapy clinical

trials, or other trials using the Secure File Transfer Service (SFTS), NHS Digital has

identified alternative platforms. These alternatives are the Messaging Exchange for

Social Care and Health, the Data Landing Platform and the Strategic Data Collection

Service.

NHS Digital is advising users on the most suitable alternative service for their needs

and supporting transition. NHS Digital is also looking into the feasibility of extending

SFTS to 31 May 2019 to give users additional time to transfer to one of the

alternative platforms.

Smoking: Health Services

Andrew Gwynne: [226631]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his

Department has made of the effectiveness of services provided by local authorities to

help people give up smoking.

Steve Brine:

NHS Digital collects quarterly data from stop smoking services in England, recording

the number of people making a quit attempt, the numbers that are successful,

demographic variables and success rates by different quitting methods.

The effectiveness of services has remained steady in recent years with a 50% quit

rate on average, with substantially higher success rates for some quit methods. The

latest statistics on National Health Service stop smoking services in England are

available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-on-nhs-

stop-smoking-services-in-england


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what representations his

Department has received from local authorities on services provided by councils to help

people give up smoking in the last 12 months.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what representations his

Department has received from the charity sector on services provided by councils to help

people give up smoking in the last 12 months.

Steve Brine:

A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified no

correspondence received from local authorities or the charity sector on services

provided by councils to help people give up smoking in the last 12 months. This figure

represents correspondence received by the Department’s Ministerial correspondence

unit only.


https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-on-nhs-stop-smoking-services-in-england





Social Services


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the civil service

briefing entitled Introduction to no deal adult social care planning, as reported by The

Guardian on 26 February 2019.

Caroline Dinenage:

The Department does not comment on leaked documents.

Information on a ‘no deal’ European Union exit planning for adult social care is

available on GOV.UK at the following links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-to-the-health-and-care-sector-

preparations-for-a-potential-no-deal-brexit

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioners-and-providers-of-social-

care-brexit-planning-update


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) briefings and (b)

advice his Department has provided to social care providers on the potential effect on

that sector of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Caroline Dinenage:

Ministers and the Department have written to social care providers and

commissioners about the Government's preparations for a potential ‘no deal’

European Union exit, and about actions that providers and commissioners of social

care services should take to prepare for, and manage, the risks of a ‘no deal’ EU exit

scenario. This correspondence and guidance is available online on GOV.UK.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made

of local authorities' capacity to take over the social care of people if the existing providers

of that care fail.

Caroline Dinenage:

If an adult social care provider’s business fails, local authorities have a statutory duty,

under the Care Act 2014, to meet people’s care and support needs temporarily until

suitable, alternative provision can be arranged.

The Government is working with local authorities and providers to ensure that adult

social care services continue as normal. This includes ensuring that effective and up-

to-date contingency plans are in place.

Tongue-tie



taking to enable more midwifes to be qualified tongue tie practitioners.


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-to-the-health-and-care-sector-preparations-for-a-potential-no-deal-brexit



https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioners-and-providers-of-social-care-brexit-planning-update






Jackie Doyle-Price:

Student midwives are trained to look for tongue ties as part of the routine new born

examination that midwives undertake after birth. However, they are not always easily

identifiable at this stage and may not become apparent until babies have feeding

problems.

It is for the National Health Service locally to ensure appropriate services are

available for the diagnosis and treatment of tongue tie. Tongue tie practitioners may

be registered nurses, doctors or midwives and they undertake specialist post-

registration training to do this based on organisational need.

Tuberculosis: Health Services

Stephen Kerr: [224822]


taking to ensure the adequacy of (a) treatment and (b) support for people with with

tuberculosis.

Steve Brine:

‘The Collaborative Tuberculosis (TB) Strategy for England 2015 to 2020’ was

developed by Public Health England (PHE) in partnership with NHS England and

aims to reduce suffering and harm caused by TB through lowering the incidence of

the disease in England. The Strategy is available at the following link:


ent_data/file/403231/Collaborative_TB_Strategy_for_England_2015_2020_.pdf

The strategy aims to tackle TB in under-served populations through the

commissioning of integrated, multidisciplinary, case management and support for

under-served groups. This multidisciplinary support, which may include third sector

organisations, should provide targeted outreach interventions, informed by proven

models such as ‘Find and Treat’ in London, including specific services for active case

finding among homeless people and those attending substance misuse services.

In January 2016, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published a

clinical guideline that covers preventing, identifying and managing latent and active

TB in children, young people and adults. This is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng33

In 2017, PHE and the National Health Service issued a ‘TB Service Specification and

Clinical Policy’ for use by commissioners and TB services. This builds on the work of

the strategy to:

- improve rapid diagnosis and treatment of active TB disease;

- prevention of TB by treating latent infections; and

- focus on complex cases with antimicrobial resistance and patients with other risk

factors for poor treatment outcome, such as homelessness.


https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/403231/Collaborative_TB_Strategy_for_England_2015_2020_.pdf





NHS England is supporting those clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) with the

highest burden of disease to provide latent TB testing and treatment programmes

which are essential for reducing the incidence of active TB. In 2018/19, the 46 CCGs

with the highest burden of disease were supported with £3,594,000 to provide this

service.

According to the latest annual report ‘Tuberculosis in England: 2018’ published by

PHE, since the peak of TB incidence in England in 2011 the number of people

notified with TB had fallen by nearly 40% in 2017. The incidence rate in 2017 was 9.2

per 100,000 population, the lowest recorded rate for England, which for the first time

falls under the 10 per 100,000 World Health Organization definition of a low incidence

country. The report is available at the following link:


ent_data/file/774091/TB_Annual_Report_2018_2.pdf

Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust: Land


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of

the number of homes that will be built as a result of the sale of NHS assets held by Wirral

University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Sir Robert

Naylor's review of NHS Property and estates, what estimate he has made of the number

of acres of land held by Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust that

will be sold as a result of the outcome of that review; and what the total proceeds of those

sales is estimated to be.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Sir Robert

Naylor's review of NHS Property and estates, if he will publish the full list of Wirral

University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust sites under consideration for sale

under the recommendations of that review; what the (a) location and (b) estimated value

is of each of those sites; and whether each of those sites is currently being used for

patient care.

Stephen Hammond:

Sir Robert Naylor published his independent review on National Health Service

property and estates in March 2017. It made a series of recommendations designed

to support transformation of the NHS estate. The Review did not identify surplus land,

nor recommend the sale of specific sites. It is for NHS land owners to determine

which are surplus to requirements and to make them available for disposal. NHS land

owners contribute to sustainability and transformation partnerships (STP) estates

strategies which consider the nature of the estate that is required across an STP to

deliver clinical strategy and meet patient needs.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/774091/TB_Annual_Report_2018_2.pdf






The NHS Surplus Land Annual Data Collection collects data on land owned by NHS

trusts and foundation trusts which has been declared surplus and planned for future

disposal. Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust reported only

one planned disposal in the 2017-18 collection. This data is available at the following

link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-surplus-

land/2017-18-england

The planned disposal related to vacant land on the Clatterbridge Hospital site. The

land was disposed via statutory transfer to Homes England in March 2018. The sales

proceeds, as reported in the Trust’s Annual Report and Accounts, were £4.4 million.

In the 2017-18 data collection it was estimated that the site could deliver 95 homes.

This figure will be confirmed through the planning process.

HOME OFFICE

Asylum: Applications

Vernon Coaker: [R] [226040]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the average length of

time that an applicant for asylum has to wait for a decision.

Caroline Nokes:

The Home Office does not publish data relating to the average length of time an

applicant for asylum has to wait for a decision but does publish data on the

percentage of asylum applications processed within the previous service standard to

decide 98% of straight forward asylum claims within 6 months of the date of claim.

Data on performance against the current published service standard can be found on

tabs Asy_10 and Asy_11 of the Asylum Transparency Data November 2018 at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-transparency-data-november-

2018

In the November release of the transparency data, the Home Office are still reporting

performance against our previous service standard to decide all straight forward

asylum cases within 6 months of the date of claim. The next release of transparency

data, scheduled for 28 February 2019, will still contain data on performance and will

be labelled under the title of percentage of cases decided within 6 months rather than

explicitly referring to the service standard.

Asylum: Housing

Vernon Coaker: [R] [226039]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers live

in (a) National Asylum Support Service accommodation and (b) other accommodation.

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-surplus-land/2017-18-england




https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-transparency-data-november-2018




Caroline Nokes:

The number of asylum seekers and those supported asylum seekers living in asylum

accommodation are part of published statistics and can be found at

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-

september-2018/list-of-tables

Home Office: Procurement


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the guidance

entitled, Procurement policy note 03/14: measures to promote tax compliance, published

on 6 February 2014, how many suppliers were allocated contracts by his Department as

a result of complying with (a) one and (b) more than one of the mitigating circumstances


Victoria Atkins:

The information requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at

disproportionate cost. To obtain the information a manual search through individual

records would be required as this is not recorded on our systems.

Home Office: Urdu

Siobhain McDonagh: [226017]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Urdu speakers are

employed at the (a) British high commission in Islamabad and (b) Home Office to

investigate the background of people applying for entry clearance.

Siobhain McDonagh: [226018]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people are employed

as Urdu translators at the (a) British high commission in Islamabad and (b) Home Office

to investigate the background of people applying for entry clearance.

Caroline Nokes:

UKVI human resources do not compile information on the number staff employed in

the British High Commission in Islamabad, or at the Home Office, who assess entry

clearance applications and who speak Urdu.

In assessing applications for entry clearance, UKVI complies with the Home Office

policy for the use of translators.

Home Office: Written Questions

Drew Hendry: [214599]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to respond to

Question 193518 of 20 November 2018 tabled by the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn,

Badenoch and Strathspey.

Caroline Nokes:

The response for UIN 193518 was given on the 4th March 2019.





Identification of Criminals: Biometrics


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police forces in

England and Wales were using facial recognition software as of January 2019.

Mr Nick Hurd:

Facial recognition software takes two main forms. The first compares an image of an

unknown person (for example caught on CCTV committing a crime, reviewed after

the event) against a database of facial images of people who have been arrested. All

police forces use the Police National Database facial search facility. The second form

is live facial recognition (LFR), which compares images of passers-by taken from live

cameras with images on a watch list (a database of suspects). The Metropolitan

Police Service and South Wales Police are piloting LFR. The pilots are important to

test this technology, which has the potential to improve public safety. Both forces

have commissioned independent reviews of the pilots.

The Law Enforcement Facial Images and New Biometric Modalities Oversight and

Advisory Board oversees the police use of LFR, the retention of custody images, and

emerging new biometrics. The Board’s minutes are published on GOV.UK

Immigration: Equality

Drew Hendry: [193518]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessments are

undertaken to ensure that decisions to classify immigration cases as complex comply

with the Equality Act 2010.

Caroline Nokes:

Where an application is defined as non-straightforward due to complexity, the

customer will be written to within the normal processing time to explain why it will not

be decided within the normal standard, and to explain what will happen next.

All leave to remain applications that seek to rely upon Article 8 of the European

Convention on Human Rights and applications outside of the rules are deemed non-

straightforward (or ‘complex’). On the introduction of the current Article 8 rules

(Appendix FM), in July 2012, a Policy Equality Statement was published

demonstrating how these rules complied with the Equality Act 2010.

Immigration: EU Nationals


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department will

assess ways in which aspects of the EU Settlement Scheme could inform aspects of the

immigration system for non-EEA residents.

Caroline Nokes:

As set out in the Government’s White Paper “The UK’s future skills-based

immigration system” (Cm 9722) published on 19 December 2018, we will put the user




at the heart of the design of our new single system, including legitimate travellers

coming to visit, work or study here (and, of course, British and Irish citizens crossing

the border), and the organisations that educate or employ them. In developing the

new system and the technologies to support it, we will draw on lessons learnt during

the delivery of the EU Settlement Scheme and consider whether they might be

appropriate for use in the future system, for example the introduction of the ID

verification app and the integrated use of data.

John Grogan: [226041]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5

February 2019 to Question 213222, whether dual Irish/EU nationals who are also British

citizens are eligible to apply under the EU Settlement Scheme.

Caroline Nokes:

British citizens, including those with dual British/Irish or British/EU citizenship, are not

eligible to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme. This is because, under Section 1(1)

of the Immigration Act 1971, those with a right of abode in the UK (including all British

citizens) cannot be granted immigration status.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the planned locations are

for the ID Document scanners for the EU citizens settlement scheme for users unable to

access an Android phone in Wales.

Caroline Nokes:

The application process for the EU Settlement Scheme is straightforward and user-

friendly, and it is accessible on any smartphone, tablet or computer using internet

browsers.

The ‘EU Exit: Identity Document Check’ app – which allows applicants to prove their

identity remotely, without sending in their passport or national identity card – is

publicly available in the Google Play Store.

Applicants who do not have access to a device with a compatible operating system

can, if they wish, use a family member or friend’s compatible Android device to

access the app, and complete the rest of the process on their own device.

Additionally, we currently have 13 locations across the UK where applicants can have

their identity document scanned and verified, if they choose to do so. During the

public test phase for the scheme, there has been an identity document scanning

location in Caerphilly. We are working with local government bodies across the UK to

increase the provision of this service by local authorities.

This is an entirely voluntary test phase and once the EU Settlement Scheme is fully

open by 30 March, the app will be optional. Applicants will be able to post their

identity document to the Home Office to be checked and returned quickly. There will

also be over 50 locations across the UK where applicants can have their identity

document scanned and verified to provide further options for applicants.



Immigration: Families


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his

Department has made of the potential for reducing bureaucracy for non-EEA residents

seeking to bring family members to the UK.

Caroline Nokes:

The family Immigration Rules prevent burdens on the taxpayer and promote

integration. The Supreme Court agrees the family Immigration Rules strike a fair

balance between the interests of those wishing to sponsor family to settle in the UK

and of the community in general.

We have taken a number changes to simplify the process, for example, we have

created online application forms, improved customer guidance and no longer ask for

original documentary evidence in most cases. However, we recognise that there is

more that can be done to simplify the Rules even further and have asked the Law

Commission to review how this might be achieved. This work is ongoing and we will

carefully consider their findings in due course.

Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration

Keith Vaz: [R] [225386]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reports he has

received from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration in (a) 2016,

(b) 2017, (c) 2018 and (d) 2019.

Caroline Nokes:

The Secretary of State has received the following number of inspection reports from

the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI): 18 reports in

2016, 18 reports in 2017, 13 reports in 2018 and 5 reports to date in 2019.

Keith Vaz: [R] [225387]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reports he has

received from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration that have not

yet been published.

Caroline Nokes:

The Secretary of State has recently received 5 reports from the Independent Chief

Inspector of Borders and Immigration. The reports will be published within 8 weeks of

receipt, wherever possible.

Keith Vaz: [R] [225388]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he last met with the

Independent Chief Inspector of Borders.

Caroline Nokes:

The Secretary of State meets the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and

Immigration (ICIBI) on a regular basis, to discuss the annual inspection plan and





throughout the year as required. It is not the Government's practice to provide

specific details of all such meetings.

National Crime Agency: Holiday Leave

Tom Brake: [226012]


February 2019 to Question 221553 on National Crime Agency: Brexit, since what date

has leave for the month of April 2019 for staff of the National Crime Agency no longer

been authorised.

Mr Ben Wallace:

The date from which leave for the month of April 2019 for staff of the National Crime

Agency was no longer authorised was 14 January 2019

Passports: Fees and Charges


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has

plans to remove the fee for changing the marital name on a passport.

Caroline Nokes:

There are no current plans to remove the fee for the change to marital name on

passports. This service incurs the same cost as all other standard renewal passports

and undertakes the same levels of security checks so removing the fee would mean

that cost burden would fall to other passport applicants.

Police Pursuits

Stephen Twigg: [226499]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to publish the

results of his Department's consultation on police pursuits; and if he will make a

statement.

Mr Nick Hurd:

The Government fully recognises the difficult job that police drivers do every day to

keep road users and the wider public safe. That is why we have worked closely with

the Federation, other government departments and groups representing road users

and those advocating road safety to review the law, guidance, procedures and

processes surrounding police pursuits. We will shortly announce the next steps

following the consultation.

Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme

Steve Double: [226161]


February 2019 to Question 220952 on Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme, whether it

will be possible for seasonal workers who have spent six months in any twelve month





period working in the UK under the scheme and have left the UK to re-apply to the

scheme and return to the UK.

Caroline Nokes:

The Immigration Rules set no limit to the number of times a migrant worker can be

granted leave under the Seasonal Workers Pilot, provided that grant of leave would

not result in them spending more than six months in the UK during any rolling 12

month period.

Sexual Offences: Prosecutions


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans his Department has

to improve evidence gathering and ensure that the Crown Prosecution Service receives

actionable evidence in cases of historic childhood sexual abuse.

Victoria Atkins:

We recognise the need for the police to have appropriate resources in place to

manage complex child sexual abuse investigations. We have prioritised child sexual

abuse as a national threat to empower police forces to maximise their specialist skills

and expertise, and have invested significantly in transforming the police response to

child sexual abuse through the Police Transformation Fund.

Operation Hydrant was established to co-ordinate efforts across policing to respond

to the increasing volume of non-recent child sexual abuse cases being reported. We

have supported Operation Hydrant with £11.8m of po-lice Special Grant funding to

date. Additionally, the College of Policing has developed bespoke guidance to senior

investigating officers managing non-recent investigations.

Traffic Officers


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate his Department

has made of the total number of traffic officers in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and

(c) the UK in each year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd:

The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the primary function of

police officers, broken down by Police Force Area, as part of the ‘Police workforce,

England and Wales’ statistical bulletins, which can be accessed here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales .

These data include officers whose primary function is “Road Policing”, and officers

with multiple responsibilities are recorded under their primary function.

Data are collected from forces in England and Wales, and at Police Force Area level

only, therefore information on the number of traffic officers in Coventry is not

available, neither is the number of traffic officers for the UK.



https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales%20.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales%20.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has

made of the adequacy of the number of (a) vessels and (b) personnel patrolling the

English Channel in relation to people attempting to enter the country illegally.

Caroline Nokes:

During 2018, over 500 migrants - mostly Iranian - attempted to travel to the UK on

small vessels. 80% of them attempted this in the last three months of the year.

As a result, the Home Secretary redeployed two Border Force cutters from overseas

to the UK providing four cutters available to operate in channel UK waters. In addition

to the four cutters, Border Force has two Coastal Patrol Vessels on operation in the

English Channel.

However, this is not an issue that can be resolved by maritime resources alone.

Border Force Cutters form part of a layered approach to coastal defence, including

on-shore resources and intelligence and surveillance to detect efforts to smuggle

guns and drugs or facilitate illegal entry into the country.

But we haven’t been doing this work alone. We have been working closely with

French authorities to tackle this issue. Around 40% of the attempts last year were

either disrupted by French law enforcement or returned to France via French

agencies.

Through these efforts, we reduced the number of individuals attempting the crossing

from around 250 in December to around 90 in both January and February.

Undocumented Migrants: Fines and Sentencing


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is the Government's

policy to increase the level of (a) fines and (b) sentences for people transporting illegal

immigrants to the UK.

Caroline Nokes:

There are no plans to increase the penalty for the criminal offence of facilitating the

unlawful entry of a person into the UK from the current maximum of 14 years’

imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

House of Commons: Apprentices

Robert Halfon: [221745]

To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of

Commons Commission, whether the House of Commons currently meeting the Public

Sector Apprenticeship Target of employing at least 2.3 per cent of their staff as new




apprentice starts; and whether steps are being taking to ensure that target is met by

March 2021.



Commons Commission, whether the House of Commons is taking any steps to exceed

the public sector apprenticeship target.



Commons Commission, whether the Commission has plans to increase the (a) number

and (b) range of apprenticeship programmes provided by the House of Commons.

Tom Brake:

The House does not currently meet the public sector apprenticeship target but plans

to meet or exceed it by March 2021. That would require around 55 apprentices per

year based on current headcount. A new lead provider was appointed in September

2018 with a broader training offering. Work is also ongoing across the House to

identify apprenticeship roles including upskilling of existing employees through an

apprenticeship, and recruitment of new apprentices

The House’s priority is to meet the 2.3% target by March 2021. However, if in a

position to do so we will review this to see what more can be done, once the target

has been met

The number of apprenticeships offered has increased from 10 per year (2012–2018)

to 12 in January 2019, with further enrolments planned over the coming months to

reach around 25 to 30 apprentices by April 2019

The range of apprenticeship programmes on offer has been expanded from two to

fourteen Standards since September 2018 and this is expected to be expanded

further during 2019

A ‘Standard’ is the name of the apprenticeship training which replaced the older style

‘Frameworks’ training when the Apprenticeship Levy was introduced in May 2017.



Commons Commission, how many apprentices employed by the House of Commons are

working towards a degree apprenticeship qualification.



Commons Commission, if he will make a comparative estimate of the number of

apprentices employed by the House of Commons and the House of Lords who are

working towards a degree apprenticeship qualification.







Commons Commission, how many apprentices employed by the House of Commons are

working towards (a) Level 2, (b) Level 3, (c) Level 4 and (d) higher or degree

apprenticeship qualifications.

Tom Brake:

At present, none of our apprentices are working towards a degree apprenticeship but

we are still expanding our offering and have the capability to offer apprenticeships at

this level

We are working closely with our providers to ensure that each apprenticeship is an

appropriate match with the learner level and the role they are doing. In our plans for

the future we envisage degree apprenticeships as part of a structured approach to

our development across House teams

We do not hold information for the House of Lords.

(a) Three apprentices are working towards a Level 2 qualification and this will rise to

16 apprentices in April;

(b) Five apprentices are working towards a Level 3 qualification with a further four

apprentices enrolling in March and another four planned for later in the year

(c) One apprentice is working towards a Level 4 qualification; and

(d) Three apprentices are working towards a higher apprenticeship qualification.

HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

[Subject Heading to be Assigned]


What steps his Department is taking to ensure that safety standards are maintained when

residences are created under permitted development.

Kit Malthouse:

I can confirm that all homes, whether granted permission through a national permitted

development right or by a planning application are required to meet Building

Regulations, including fire safety.

Nigel Mills: [909534]

What his policy is on house building on the green belt.

Kit Malthouse:

The Government remains committed to protecting the areas that communities value,

including the Green Belt. I cannot comment on plans undergoing examination,

including Amber Valley, but national policy is clear that Green Belt should only be

used for housing as a last resort, and if exceptional circumstances exist.




James Cartlidge: [909536]

What plans his Department has to support local authorities in the delivery of services.

James Brokenshire:

In addition to the Funding Settlement, we provide grant aid to support councils with

improvement and realising further efficiencies.

We have also launched a Digital Innovation Fund, with 57 councils benefiting, and

Suffolk partnering successful three bids.

Buildings: Insulation

Sarah Jones: [226200]

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant

to the Answer of 6 February 2019 to Question 217589 on Buildings: Insulation and with

reference to the Buildings Research Establishment interim report entitled Fire

performance of cladding materials research – experimental methodology and

performance criteria, what part of the methodology will enable the Government to

determine whether samples are combustible.


To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with

reference to the Minister for Housing's oral evidence to the Housing, Communities and

Local Government Committee on 28 January 2019 on the independent review of building

regulations and to the Buildings Research Establishment's interim report entitled Fire


performance criteria, what measurements within the testing methodology his Department

will use to assess whether particular types of cladding should be removed from buildings.

Kit Malthouse:

At this stage the study is aimed at developing a better understanding of the behaviour

of a range of cladding products when exposed to fire and their possible contribution

to fire spread.

The performance criteria and how they will be measured are highlighted in table 2 of

the methodology. A copy of the methodology is available in the House library.

The findings of the research will help determine, in consultation with the Independent

Expert Panel, any further action we should take. This could include further testing at

large scale and/or advice to building owners.

My department published an advice note on external wall systems that do not

incorporate Aluminium Composite Material in December 2017 and updated it in

December 2018. This advice makes clear to building owners that wall systems on

existing buildings may only use materials that are of limited combustibility unless the

system has achieved the appropriate BR135 classification via a BS 8414 test. It

reiterates that the clearest way to ensure safety is to remove any unsafe materials.






reference to the Buildings Research Establishment interim report entitled Fire


performance criteria, how many meetings were held between his officials and

representatives of the Buildings Research Establishment between 19 June 2018 and 26

February 2019; and if he will publish the dates of those meetings.

Kit Malthouse:

Officials have been in regular contact (meetings, emails and phone conversations)

with the Building Research Establishment between June 2018 and February 2019.

The Department does not keep a record of all the exchanges between officials and

the Building Research Establishment.


To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the

value of the contract awarded by his Department to the Buildings Research

Establishment was for research and testing of fire safety standards of non-ACM cladding.

Kit Malthouse:

Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of

£10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February

2015 can be viewed at:

https://ckan.publishing.service.gov.uk/dataset/contracts-finder-archive.

Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

The Fire Performance of Cladding Materials Research contract can be found at the

following address:

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/88ccc1d7-608b-4631-957b-

0e9490abf05d?p=@UFQxUlRRPT0=NjJNT08.



reference to the interim report of the Building Research Establishment (BRE) for his

Department entitled Fire Performance of Cladding Materials Research – Experimental

methodology and performance criteria, whether the proposed methodology will enable his

Department to confirm if the samples tested meet the criteria set out in building

regulations guidance BR 135.

Kit Malthouse:

The research on non- Aluminium Composite Material materials is based on a

bespoke test. The classification criteria provided in Annex A and B of BR 135 are only

applicable to tests carried out in accordance with BS 8414-1 and BS 8414-2

respectively. These are therefore not applicable to this bespoke methodology.



https://ckan.publishing.service.gov.uk/dataset/contracts-finder-archive

https://ckan.publishing.service.gov.uk/dataset/contracts-finder-archive

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/88ccc1d7-608b-4631-957b-0e9490abf05d?p=@UFQxUlRRPT0=NjJNT08




The findings of the research will help determine, in consultation with the Independent

Expert Panel, any further action we should take. This could include further testing at

large scale.



to the Answer of 26 February 2019 to Question 224343 on Buildings: Insulation, for what

reasons there has been a period of six months between the bespoke test methodology

being approved by his Department on 22 August 2018 and the start of non-Aluminium

Composite material cladding testing taking place in March 2019; and if he will make a

statement.

Kit Malthouse:

Following the acceptance of the test methodology a new bespoke experimental frame

as shown in figure 1 of the methodology had to be built, trialled and calibrated in the

research facilities. In addition, some issues in acquiring the materials to be tested

resulted in some unexpected delays in the testing program.

The calibration of the test apparatus is now being finalised and testing will be starting

this month.




reason the bespoke test methodology was not subject to a full consultation.




reason the bespoke test methodology was not made available in the public domain when

it was agreed in August 2018.

Kit Malthouse:

Research projects are not usually subject to public consultation. A project steering

group was constituted for this research. A summary of the steering group comments

on the aims and objectives of the research is provided in Table 1 of the methodology.

A copy of the methodology is available in the House library.

Full details of the work will be published after it is completed.



to the Answer of 26 February 2019 to Question 224346 on Buildings: Insulation, what

plans his Department has to help ensure the removal of insulation materials that have

been deemed unsafe.

Kit Malthouse:

The Government has set up a comprehensive programme to oversee the remediation

of buildings with unsafe Aluminium Composite Material cladding systems. In addition,





my department published an advice note (available here) on external wall systems

that do not incorporate Aluminium Composite Material in December 2017 and

updated it in December 2018. This advice makes clear to building owners that wall

systems on existing buildings may only use materials, including insulation, that are of

limited combustibility unless the system has achieved BR135 classification via a BS

8414 test. It reiterates that the clearest way to ensure safety is to remove any unsafe

materials.

Homelessness: Greater London


To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what

plans his Department has to reduce homelessness in London.

Mrs Heather Wheeler:

This Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping, which

is why we have now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle it over the spending review

period, including the £75 million Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI). We are particularly

encouraged that across the 83 RSI areas rough sleeping numbers have fallen by

almost a fifth. In its first year, councils have used the investment to create an

additional 1,750 beds and 500 rough sleeping support staff this means there are

more people in warm beds tonight as a direct result of government funding

London is undoubtedly the most challenging area in terms of rough sleeping. The RSI

has provided a total of £7.8 million funding to 22 London boroughs in 2018/19 to

support rough sleepers off the streets. £9.4 million has provisionally been allocated

for 2019/20. The RSI also directly funds the Greater London Authority (GLA) and has

provided £3.3 million for 2018/19. Among other things, this has funded the expansion

London Street Rescue outreach, floating assessment hubs that tackle specific

problem areas, additional staging post accommodation to aid people in their journey

away from rough sleeping, as well as a winter night shelter fund and staff to help

people with mental health issues. We have provisionally allocated £2.9 million of RSI

funding to the GLA for 2019/20.

Homelessness: Liverpool City Region



long-term funding is available for tackling homelessness in Liverpool City Region.


This Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No

one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the

cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy which sets out an ambitious £100 million

package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures

that will end rough sleeping once and for all. Already, this has provided over 1,750



new bed spaces and 500 staff– this means there are more people in warm beds

tonight as direct result of government funding.

In all, the Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness

and rough sleeping over the spending review period. As part of the 1.2 billion,

Liverpool City Region has received £3 million, including Housing First Pilot funding to

help tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.

Future years funding (from 2020-21 onward) for homelessness and rough sleeping

are dependent on Spending Review negotiations, therefore we are not able to clarify

at this stage how much funding Liverpool City Region will receive in future to support

work to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, however there will be funding

opportunities open to all local authorities to bid for in the near future including the

Rapid Rehousing Pathway, an initiative to support rough sleepers and those at risk of

rough sleeping.

Homelessness: Newcastle upon Tyne



long-term funding is available for tackling homelessness in Newcastle.


This Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping, which

is why we have committed over £1.2 billion to tackle it over the spending review

period, including the £30 million Rough Sleeping Initiative. We are particularly

encouraged that across the 83 Rough Sleeping Initiative areas, rough sleeping

numbers have fallen by almost a fifth. In just a few short months since the funding

was announced, councils have used the investment to create an additional 1,750

beds and 500 rough sleeping support staff – this means there are more people in

warm beds tonight as a direct result of government funding.

Newcastle has been allocated over £2 million, including Flexible Homelessness

Support Grant and Preventing Homelessness Trailblazers funding, to help tackle

homelessness and rough sleeping.

Future years funding, from 2020-21 onward, is dependent on Spending Review

negotiations. I am therefore not able to clarify at this stage exactly how much funding

Newcastle will receive in the future to support this work. However, there are funding

opportunities open to all local authorities to bid for in the shorter term, including the

Rapid Rehousing Pathway - an initiative to support rough sleepers and those at risk

of rough sleeping.

Housing: Construction

Sir Greg Knight: [226066]


monitoring takes place to ensure that local authorities are fulfilling their duties in ensuring

that new buildings are compliant with building regulations.



Kit Malthouse:

The Department carries out a regular Building Control Performance Standards survey

to monitor work by local authorities to ensure that new buildings are compliant with

the building regulations. Local authorities are asked to report against those

standards, which are designed to encourage consistent, high-quality building control

services. The Government is assessing options for strengthening the performance of

building control bodies, as part of its response to Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent

review of building regulations and fire safety.

Local Government Finance



comparative assessment his Department has made of the effect on (a) value for money

and (b) service provision of providing funding to local authorities through (i) long-term

arrangements and (ii) one-off funding streams.

Rishi Sunak:

The Government recognises that local authorities value certainty, which is why we

agreed a multi year settlement for local government worth over £200 billion in the five

years to 2020, that was accepted by 97 per cent of councils in return for publishing

efficiency plans. Where there is evidence of increasing pressures in certain areas, the

Government has determined it has been right to provide additional funding.

Specifically, at Autumn Budget the Chancellor announced an additional £650 million

for social care in 2019-20. This includes £240 million of to support adult social care

services to reduce winter pressures on the NHS, in addition to the £240 million

provided for 2018-19, and £410 million for local authorities to support adults and

children’s social care services.

In the long term, the Spending Review will determine funding for local government

from 2020-21 onwards and will enable us to look at local government spending in the

round.

Multiple Occupation: Birmingham Edgbaston

Preet Kaur Gill: [226731]


to the Answer of 18 December 2019 to Question 202108 on Multiple Occupation, what

estimate he has made of the number of houses of multiple occupation in Birmingham

Edgbaston as at 27 February 2019.


Local authority data returns for 2018-19 will not be published until 2020 and we will

not have new data available until then.

As stated in response to the previous question on this matter, Question 202108, we

estimate from local authority data returns for the period 2016-2017, that there was a

stock of 495,208 Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in England at that time.



Since the 2016-17 figures were published, Government has extended mandatory

licensing of HMOs to properties of any size, given 5 or more people from more than 1

household and we estimate that this extension will bring an additional 170,000

properties within the scope of mandatory licensing. Birmingham City Council is

responsible for issuing HMO licences in Birmingham Edgbaston and therefore may

be able to provide an estimate of the number of HMOs as at 27 February.

Philip Morris International



meetings (a) Ministers, and (b) officials of his Department, have had with representatives

working on behalf of Philip Morris International since 2018 to date.

James Brokenshire:

Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretary meetings with external organisations

can be found at the following links on gov.uk:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dclg-ministerial-data

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/business-expenses-and-hospitality-for-

dclg-senior-officials

The Department does not maintain a record of all meetings which take place between

officials and external organisations.

Sleeping Rough



estimate his Department has made of the total spending under the Rough Sleeping

Initiative in each month in the financial year 2018-19 in (a) London Boroughs and (b)

England.


This Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No

one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the

cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy which sets out an ambitious £100 million

package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures

that will end rough sleeping once and for all. Already, this has provided over 1,750

new bed spaces and 500 staff– this means there are more people in warm beds

tonight as direct result of government funding. In all, the Government has now

committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the

spending review period.

The Rough Sleeping Initiative programme is led by a multi-disciplinary team that

includes MHCLG civil servants, expert rough sleeping advisers, seconded from the

homelessness sector, and specialist advisers from across government who provide

including health, prisons and probation and care leavers. The expert rough sleeping




https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/business-expenses-and-hospitality-for-dclg-senior-officials




advisers are funded by MHCLG and the specialist advisers are funded by their own

departments.

Rough Sleeping Initiative payments are not issued monthly. The table below

highlights the amount of funding allocated to local authorities in 2018/19:

ROUGH SLEEPING INITIATIVE (RSI) PROGRAMME 2018/19

RSI Main Grant - 6th July

London Boroughs £7,792,148

Greater London Authority £3,300,000

Local Authorities - England £18,879,39

6

Sub Total £29,971,54

4

Expert rough sleeping advisers £424,575

Cold Weather Payments - Feb £23,243

Overall Total £30,419,36

2

A list of provisional local authority funding allocations can be found at

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/funding-allocated-for-councils-to-help-rough-

sleepers.

Smoking: Health Services



representations his Department has received from local authorities on services provided

by councils to help people give up smoking in the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire:

A search of our records indicates no correspondence has been received from local

authorities on this matter in the last 12 months.

Urban Areas



assessment he has made of the potential merits of a comprehensive review of the town

centre first policy.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/funding-allocated-for-councils-to-help-rough-sleepers





Kit Malthouse:

The town centre first policy approach has been in place for two decades and has

helped to give confidence to many town centre regeneration projects across the

country.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework, which was published last year,

reaffirms our commitment to the town centre first approach by stating that main town

centre uses should, where possible, be located in town centres.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Burma: Human Trafficking


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to her

Department's press release entitled UK aid protecting women from trafficking in Burma –

and helping them into jobs published on 18 February 2019, how UK aid has been used to

help disadvantaged and conflict-affected people.

Alistair Burt:

DFID Burma is bringing disadvantaged and conflict affected people into the heart of

all its development programme. Our aim is to ensure that people who have been

affected by poverty, marginalisation and exclusion get access to quality services and

can retain and build their human capital, whatever the circumstances they find

themselves in. This means making sure groups, like the long-term displaced in parts

of Burma and on the Thai-border can get a good education, good health and nutrition

and the skills they can use to generate income or benefit from future jobs.


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to her

Department's press release entitled UK aid protecting women from trafficking in Burma –

and helping them into jobs published on 18 February 2019, whether the Government has

received assurances that UK aid provided to Sittwe General Hospital will not be used to

underpin reported apartheid practices at that hospital.

Alistair Burt:

The UK is working with the Ministry of Health in Burma to upgrade Sittwe General

Hospital to provide better health services for all communities in Rakhine State. The

refurbishment will go in hand with work to ensure that hospital access and referral

networks ensure that it serves all communities. The UK specifically supports the

women and children health ward and modernising the building to make it safer for

patients. This is in line with Recommendations 40 and 42 of the Kofi Annan-led

Rakhine Advisory Commission.

Through the Access to Health Fund, the UK is also providing funding to NGOs

working at the community level to improve health care in Rakhine for all communities

and expanding to areas which are hard to reach.



Department for International Development: Brexit

Mr Virendra Sharma: [226082]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many staff in her

Department have been seconded to support projects related to the UK leaving the EU (a)

within her Department and (b) to other Departments.

Harriett Baldwin:

As at 28 February, DFID has deployed 39 employees on short term loan to other

government departments and fewer than 10 staff internally to support projects related

to the UK leaving the EU.

Developing Countries: Education

Dan Carden: [226206]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which (a) for-profit private

companies and (b) private contractors received official development assistance for the (i)

delivery of education and (ii) facilitation of education programmes in (A) Liberia, (B) Sierra

Leone, (C) Mozambique, (D) Sudan and (E) Zambia in each year from 2015 to 2018.

Penny Mordaunt:

The table below sets out centrally let contracts with (a) for-profit private companies

and (b) private contractors in the last four years (2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18 and

2018/19 YTD) for education programmes in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mozambique,

Sudan and Zambia. During this same period, we have also had spend with not-for-

profit organisations for education programmes in the countries cited above.

SUPPLIER NAME

LIBERIA

(LR)

SUDAN

(SD)

MOZAMBIQUE

(MZ)

SIERRA

LEONE (SL)

ZAMBIA

(ZM)

OXFORD POLICY

MANAGEMENT

£0 £0 £0 £75,274 £0

OXFORD POLICY

MANAGEMENT

£0 £0 £0 £0 £325,323

OXFORD POLICY

MANAGEMENT

£0 £0 £1,217,611 £0 £0

MOTT MACDONALD LTD £0 £0 £4,323,891 £0 £0

BRITISH COUNCIL £0 £0 £0 £0 £2,876,402

COFFEY INTERNATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT LTD

£0 £0 £145,369 £0 £0

McKinsey & Co, Inc UK £0 £0 £0 £1,678,960 £0

MOTT MACDONALD LTD £0 £0 £0 £17,605,968 £0



SUPPLIER NAME

LIBERIA

(LR)

SUDAN

(SD)

MOZAMBIQUE

(MZ)

SIERRA

LEONE (SL)

ZAMBIA

(ZM)

PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS £0 £0 £0 £964,655 £0

£0 £0 £5,686,871 £20,324,857 £3,201,725

Developing Countries: Religion


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to

collect data on marginalised religious or belief groups in countries in which her

Department operates in a way which does not put those groups at risk.

Alistair Burt:

Through UK Aid Connect, DFID will provide funding to a consortium led by the

Institute of Development Studies to collect data on marginalised religious or belief

groups in a way which does not put those groups at risk. The Foreign and

Commonwealth Office is supporting a project to explore models for better data on

Freedom of Religion or Belief through the Magna Carta Fund.

Overseas Aid: Libya


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much UK funding is

allocated to the Department for Combating Illegal Migration in Libya; from which UK

Department that budget is drawn; and how much of that funding qualifies as official

development assistance.

Alistair Burt:

No UK funding is allocated to the Libyan Department for Combating Illegal Migration.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Arms Trade: Trade Fairs

Lyn Brown: [226638]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 18

February 2019 to Question 220155, which countries from the human rights priority list

were invited to and attended Defence and Security Equipment International 2017 as

official delegations.

Graham Stuart:

The six countries which were invited and attended Defence and Security Equipment

International 2017 as official delegations were:




Bahrain

Bangladesh

Colombia

Egypt

Pakistan

Saudi Arabia

Developing Countries: Fossil Fuels


To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions he has had

with the UN Secretary General on UK funding of fossil fuel projects overseas.

Graham Stuart:

My Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade has not discussed

UK financing of fossil fuel projects with the UN Secretary General.

Trade Agreements: Human Rights

Ann Clwyd: [223811]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which Governments have asked the

UK Government for concessions on human rights standards in talks on the conclusion of

bilateral trade deals.

George Hollingbery:

We are seeking to continue human rights provisions as the UK transitions existing EU

free trade deals into a UK form. The government will lay a report in Parliament for

each signed agreement laying out any changes from the original. These are largely

technical changes.

Ann Clwyd: [223812]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, the concessions on human rights

standards what have been requested by the Governments of other countries in talks with

the UK Government on the conclusion of bilateral trade deals.

George Hollingbery:

We are seeking to continue human rights provisions as the UK transitions existing EU

free trade deals into a UK form. The government will lay a report in Parliament for

each signed agreement laying out any changes from the original. These are largely

technical changes.




Trade Promotion


To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate he has made of the

cost to the public purse of his Department organising (a) UK, (b) overseas events, (c)

overseas missions and (d) webinars for UK companies.

George Hollingbery:

This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate

cost.

JUSTICE

Courts: Modernisation

Yasmin Qureshi: [224083]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to support employees

who are due to lose their jobs as a result of the courts modernisation programme.

Lucy Frazer:

HMCTS has recognised the impact that the Courts Reform Programme will have on

its workforce over the next few years. To support this change, HMCTS is providing a

new style of career transition support. This means that employees will get access to

career transition support services earlier. It has invested in an end to end career

transition support service for all employees to access. The comprehensive support

package has been designed to support employees to make a proactive choice in their

future via an online portal – My Future Matters. The portal is a central point for

employees to access support and practical career tools such as workshops, one-to-

one coaching, on-site support sessions, and a personal career coach to assist them

to develop their own transition plan. We are also committed to providing continuing

employment within HMCTS for all staff impacted by Courts Reform, including priority

access to suitable alternative roles within the organisation, and appropriate

opportunities within the Ministry of Justice and wider civil service departments.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the reduction in

staff as a result of the courts modernisation programme in (a) London, (b) Greater

Manchester, (c) Bolton and (d) England.

Lucy Frazer:

We do not hold expected staffing numbers for our end state in specific geographical

locations. as there are often changes as the Reform programme develops. End state

Service Centres are an example of this, where large numbers of our administrative

staff will be based, but locations have not been finalised. We will assess the impact of

reform as it is delivered on the number of courts we need, and will be carefully

considering where changes to the estate are required to maximise the benefits of

reform while making sure that effective access to justice is maintained.




HM Courts and Tribunals Service


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 18 of the January

2019 HM Courts and Tribunals Service document entitled Putting people at the heart of

reform: Response to PAC recommendation 2 which states that There will be clear

proportionality – complex and serious cases will continue to be handled with the full

majesty of the courtroom, what process he uses to make an assessment of

proportionality when deciding which cases will take place in a courtroom.

Lucy Frazer:

The joint statement made by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Chief Justice, and Senior

President of Tribunals in 2016 set out the three core principles for the transformation

of the courts and tribunals: just, proportionate, accessible. The independent judiciary

will continue to determine how hearings are conducted, in accordance with relevant

procedural rules and practice directions where applicable.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Finance


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the HM Courts and Tribunals

Service report, Evaluating our reforms: Response to PAC recommendation 4, published

in January 2019, what areas of that service have achieved savings of £158 million.

Lucy Frazer:

This government is investing over £1 billion to reform and modernise the justice

system, providing easier and more efficient justice for all. As we increase the use of

digital services, we reduce the number of staff needed to run the Courts and Tribunal

systems, decommission old IT systems and exit court and tribunal buildings which

are no longer needed.

Savings of £158m have been achieved between the start of the programme in 2014-

15 financial year and the date of the NAO report. Of this £76m arises from savings

from closing court and tribunal buildings we no longer need, with every penny raised

from selling these underused buildings reinvested back into the justice system; £68m

has been saved from the costs of administering the courts system through achieving

greater efficiency and the use of modern IT processes; £9m from more effective use

of judge time; and £5m from decommissioning old IT systems.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: ICT

Richard Burgon: [226709]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what contingency plans his Department has put

in place in the event of future probation and courts IT systems failure.

Edward Argar:

The department is conducting a review of the resiliency of our core IT systems. The

review is being conducted by a Non-Executive Director, with support from a third-




party technical consultancy, and will report within eight weeks. Individual agencies,

including HM Courts and Tribunals, the National Probation Service and Community

Rehabilitation Companies have their own operational contingency arrangements in

case of further IT systems failures.

Homicide: Convictions

Hannah Bardell: [226172]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many UK citizens have been convicted in

England and Wales for the (a) murder and (b) manslaughter of a UK citizen overseas.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many UK citizens have been convicted in

England and Wales for the (a) murder and (b) manslaughter of a non-UK citizen

overseas.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many UK citizens have been tried in

England and Wales for the (a) murder and (b) manslaughter of a UK citizen overseas.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many UK citizens have been tried in

England and Wales for the (a) murder and (b) manslaughter of a non-UK citizen

overseas.

Rory Stewart:

The number of defendants prosecuted and convicted for murder and manslaughter is

published up to December 2017 and available in the Outcomes by Offence data tool

available here:


ent_data/file/733981/outcomes-by-offence-tool-2017-update.xlsx

Detailed information on the nationality of the defendant/offender and victim may be

held on court record but to be able to identify these cases we would have to access

individual court records which would be of disproportionate cost.

Legal Aid Scheme

Gloria De Piero: [223957]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many civil legal aid offers have not taken

forward by the applicant following an assessment of the level of contribution that they will

need to provide through the legal aid means test in each year for which information is

available.

Gloria De Piero: [223958]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many grants of emergency legal aid have

been revoked when contributions determined through the legal aid means test were not

fulfilled in each year for which information is available.







Lucy Frazer:

[Holding answer 1 March 2019]: Applicants for civil legal aid are assessed against

the criteria set out in the Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for

Services) Regulations 2013. Where an offer of legal aid is made subject to the

payment of a contribution towards legal fees, this must be accepted in order to

receive public funding.

Legal aid is only revoked in such cases where an applicant chooses not to accept an

offer of funding when they have already agreed to begin receiving legal aid on an

emergency basis, and to make any necessary contribution based on their

circumstances which arises in connection with

Civil offers not taken forward:

FINANCIAL YEAR NUMBER

2000-2001 8,422

2001-2002 7,143

2002-2003 7,413

2003-2004 6,746

2004-2005 5,595

2005-2006 4,164

2006-2007 4,051

2007-2008 4,058

2008-2009 4,072

2009-2010 4,189

2010-2011 3,318

2011-2012 1,802

2012-2013 1,940

2013-2014 1,197

2014-2015 708

2015-2016 891

2016-2017 1,076

2017-2018 1,184

Certificates revoked for this reason:

FINANCIAL YEAR NUMBER

Financial Year Number

2000-2001 789

2001-2002 543

2002-2003 603

2003-2004 439

2004-2005 229

2005-2006 218

2006-2007 211

2007-2008 250

2008-2009 281

2009-2010 275

2010-2011 264

2011-2012 219

2012-2013 207

2013-2014 300

2014-2015 322

2015-2016 358

2016-2017 572

2017-2018 558

Ministry of Justice: ICT


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the planned completion date is for the

common platform programme.

Lucy Frazer:

Our aim is that by 2020, criminal justice partners and HMCTS will have co‐designed

and co-delivered the common platform fully. As with all programmes, timelines are

under continuous review.


Sexual Offences: Compensation


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of

the effectiveness of the use of compulsory compensation orders in ensuring that adult

survivors of childhood sexual abuse receive redress.

Edward Argar:

We have not made any such assessment. Compensation orders are made at the

discretion of the sentencing court, which must have regard to the offender’s means.

Section 130 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 gives the courts

power to order a person convicted of a criminal offence, including sexual offending

against children, to compensate a victim financially, primarily for personal injury, loss

or damage.

The Government believes that it is important for offenders to make reparation for their

crimes, and in recent years this regime has been strengthened by obliging courts to

consider making a compensation order in appropriate cases, and lifting the £5,000

cap on compensation awards in respect of offenders aged 18 or over in the

magistrates’ court.

Styal Prison

David Hanson: [224300]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women whose home address is in

North Wales served sentences of (a) less than six months and (b) six months or more at

HMP Styal in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: [224301]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women were on remand at HMP

Styal from courts in North Wales in each of the last five years.

Lucy Frazer:

The department is unable to identify the total number of women in each year as the

information is not centrally held. Table 1 in the attached instead sets out the number

of women with a home address in North Wales held at HMP Styal who were serving

less than/more than 6 months at quarterly intervals over the last 5 years.

Table 2 attached, shows the number of women remanded to HMP Styal by a court in

North Wales since 2014.

There is persuasive evidence that short custodial sentences do not work in terms of

rehabilitation and that community sentences, in certain circumstances, are more

effective in reducing reoffending, and therefore keeping the public safe. We will

therefore be looking at what more we can do to emphasise that short custodial

sentences should be viewed as a last resort.

In June we published our female offender strategy which makes clear that we want

fewer women serving short sentences in custody and more remaining in the




community, making use of women’s centres to address needs such as substance

misuse and mental health problems.

Attachments:

1. Table [Copy of PQ 224300 and 224301 - Women from North Wales in HMP Styal1.xlsx]

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Ethnic Groups: China

Helen Goodman: [202070]

To ask the Leader of the House, what recent discussions she has had with the Foreign

Secretary on the situation of Uyghur Muslims in China.

Andrea Leadsom:

Following Business Questions on 13 December, I raised the matter directly with the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The Government has serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang

due to the Chinese Government’s deepening crackdown; including credible reports of

the use of political re-education camps and widespread surveillance and restrictions

targeted at religious and ethnic minorities – particularly Uyghur Muslims.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Brexit: Northern Ireland

Martin Docherty-Hughes: [224810]

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the

effect on rights under the Good Friday Agreement of the UK leaving the EU without a

deal.

Karen Bradley:

The Government is firmly committed to the Belfast Agreement, its successor

agreements, the constitutional principles it upholds, the institutions established, and

the rights it protects. Leaving the EU, regardless of the terms of our departure, does

not change this position.

PRIME MINISTER

Yemen: Armed Conflict

Keith Vaz: [R] [225391]

To ask the Prime Minister, whether she raised the conflict in Yemen with her Saudi

Arabian counterpart at the EU-Arab Summit in Sharm El Sheikh on 24-25 February 2019.




Mrs Theresa May:

I refer the Rt Hon. Gentleman to the press release issued on 25 February 2019

following the meeting between the EU and the League of Arab States.

TRANSPORT

Cherwell Valley Railway Line: Electrification


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2019

to Question 206853 on Cherwell Valley Railway Line: Electrification, for what reasons that

answer did not specify when he expects the publication of the timetable for a decision to

be made on the future electrification of the railway line between Oxford and Didcot

Parkway.

Andrew Jones:

A decision on the electrification of the railway line between Oxford and Didcot

Parkway will be made at an appropriate time.

The case for funding enhancements in Control Period 6, covering the period from

April 2019 to 2024, will be subject to the Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline

process.

Crossrail: Contracts

Tulip Siddiq: [224819]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many of the current Crossrail engineers

and construction teams were under contract to transfer to work on HS2 after the planned

opening of Crossrail in December 2018; and how many of those contracts resulted in

penalty, retainer or other payments or fees to be made to either those individuals or the

companies they work for since December 2018.

Andrew Jones:

This is a matter for Crossrail Limited and the individual contractors working for

Crossrail Limited.

Cycling and Walking: Infrastructure


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to allocate funding to local

authorities to implement Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans.

Jesse Norman:

Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) are used by Local

Authorities to identify and prioritise investment for cycling and walking schemes from

local funds and relevant national funding streams, such as the Highways

Maintenance Fund, Integrated Transport Block, Transforming Cities Fund, Future

High Streets Fund, Housing Infrastructure Fund and the Clean Air Fund.




Decisions on future funding for cycling and walking will be made in the context of the

forthcoming Spending Review.

Cycling: Death


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many cyclists died as a result of road

traffic incident in (a) West Derby, (b) Merseyside and (c) the UK in each year since 2010.

Jesse Norman:

The number of cyclist fatalities in reported road accidents in each year between 2010

and 2017 is shown in the table attached.

The data we hold only covers reported personal injury road accidents in Great Britain,

we do not have data for Northern Ireland.

Attachments:

1. cyclist fatalities in reported road accidents [226500 - Table.docx]

Heathrow Airport: Noise

Mr Jonathan Lord: [224803]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the

effect of the addition of a third runway at Heathrow Airport on noise pollution levels in the

Woking constituency.

Jesse Norman:

The Appraisal of Sustainability[1] that accompanies the Airports National Policy

Statement provides a strategic level assessment of the potential social, economic,

and environmental impacts of expansion, including on noise, based on indicative

flight paths.

At this stage, it is not possible to identify the exact noise impacts on specific

communities, such as Woking, if expansion proceeds. These will depend on changes

to flight paths, which in the UK must be approved through the Civil Aviation

Authority’s (CAA) Airspace Change Process. This is a seven-stage process, often

taking a number of years between an airport alerting the CAA to a potential change,

and the CAA making a decision on whether that change can be implemented.

This regulatory process will provide further opportunities for people from local

communities, such as Woking, to comment on the detailed proposals for new

flightpaths.

Heathrow Airport Limited are currently at the second stage of the Airspace Change

Process. This stage is known as ‘Option Development’, and requires the airport to

design a number of options for new flight paths which will then be published for public

consultation.



High Speed 2 Railway Line

Dame Cheryl Gillan: [226005]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been disbursed from the

public purse on barristers' legal fees and expenses for work relating to High Speed Two

to (a) James Eadie QC, (b) Tim Mould QC, (c) James Strachan QC, (d) Justine Thornton

QC, (e) Philip Moser QC, (f) Karen Steyn QC, (g) Jemima Stratford QC, (h) James

Maurici QC, (i) Lisa Busch (now QC), (j) Andrew Sharland (now QC), (k) Julian Milford, (l)

Richard Wald, (m) John Joliffe, (n) Jacqueline Lean, (o) Richard Turney, (p) Mark

Westmoreland-Smith and (q) Clare Parry since 2010.

Ms Nusrat Ghani:

Having regard to the need to protect personal information the Department does not

consider it would be appropriate to itemise the amount paid to individual barristers. It

would also involve the Department in disproportionate cost to identify the fees paid

specifically to some barristers rather than their chambers or for HS2 matters alone.

High Speed Two Railway Line: Lancaster

Cat Smith: [226699]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2019

to Question 221779, High Speed Two: Lancaster, if he will meet (a) the hon. Member for

Lancaster and Fleetwood and (b) Lancaster business leaders to discuss High Speed

Two.

Ms Nusrat Ghani:

I understand the importance of HS2 to the north west and specifically to Lancaster.

As I stated in my recent letter to you, I have asked my officials to set up a meeting to

ensure that your concerns are heard.

Northern: Compensation


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people in the North-West have (a)

applied for and (b) received compensation from Northern Rail for (i) delays and (ii)

cancellations to services.

Andrew Jones:

The Department does not hold this information. However, in January the Office of

Rail and Road (ORR) published rail passenger compensation figures by train

operating company (TOC) for the first time, which included the number of claims

received and number of claims approved in each period for each TOC.

The figures can be found at:

https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/report/html/efefea78-e211-48b1-9f5e-

2b9de8792b0c




https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/report/html/efefea78-e211-48b1-9f5e-2b9de8792b0c



Railway Stations: Leigh


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to site any new

railway station for Leigh in Wigan borough.

Andrew Jones:

The Government’s policy is that it is for local authorities and Local Enterprise

Partnerships (LEPs) to determine the best way to meet local transport needs and

take the first step in evaluating benefits and prioritising available resources. It would

be for Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Transport for Greater

Manchester (TfGM) to develop such plans and secure funding.

TfGM is currently carrying out work to evaluate the feasibility of potential new rail

stations and Metrolink stops in Greater Manchester, with a view to developing more

detailed plans for a small number of stations that are likely to deliver the greatest

value for money. Further details can be found at https://tfgm.com/2040/delivery-plan-

2020-2025

Railways: Tickets

Kate Hoey: [226510]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what correspondence he has received from

London TravelWatch on reviewing the criteria for ticket office opening hours; and if he will

place a copy of that correspondence in the Library.

Kate Hoey: [226511]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what correspondence he has received on

London Overground ticket office opening hours from (a) London Overground, (b) the

Mayor of London, (c) London TravelWatch; and if he will place copies of that

correspondence in the Library.

Andrew Jones:

The Secretary of State for Transport has not received any correspondence from

London TravelWatch on reviewing the criteria for ticket office opening hours.

With regard to London Overground ticket office opening hours, the Secretary of State

has received correspondence from London Overground. No correspondence has

been received from London TravelWatch or the Mayor of London on this matter.

We do not routinely publish correspondence between Ministers and third parties.

Road Traffic Offences


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of

the number of people (a) charged and (b) found guilty of traffic offences in the UK in each

year since 2010.


https://tfgm.com/2040/delivery-plan-2020-2025






Jesse Norman:

Statistics on prosecutions and convictions for motoring offences are available from

the Ministry of Justice Motoring tool and shown below for years 2010 to 2017 for

England and Wales:

MOTORING OFFENCES

Number of defendants prosecuted

at Magistrates' Court

Number of offenders found guilty at all

courts

2010 681,594 586,515

2011 610,045 526,200

2012 570,481 489,588

2013 565,611 480,720

2014 591,118 512,043

2015 645,719 560,566

2016 667,317 590,260

2017 664,390 594,927

Source: MoJ Motoring Offences tool

The Ministry of Justice does not hold data for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

On motoring offences charges, the Home Office does not hold data on these charges

apart from ‘causing death by dangerous driving’, because these offences are non-

notifiable.

Road Traffic Offences: Schools


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many pedestrians were (a) killed and (b)

seriously injured in traffic incidents outside of schools in (i) Merseyside and (ii) England in

each of the last 10 years.

Jesse Norman:

The Department for Transport collects and publishes data on the location of road

traffic accidents. However, it does not collect data or define a variable as to whether

these accidents occurred outside schools, since the surroundings and road networks

of each school are different.


Roads: Safety


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department has

allocated to promote awareness of road safety for children in each of the last 10 years.

Jesse Norman:

The Department only holds data covering 2014/2015 onwards and can advise that

£4721692.47 has been spent on making our roads safer since then. The Department

cannot break down to exact figures as any funding given for road safety could have

sub-elements that is specifically used for children.

Southeastern: Standards

Sir David Evennett: [226578]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of trains on the Southeastern

rail network have been delayed in the last 12 months; and what proportion of those

delayed trains were the fault of (a) Southeastern and (b) Network Rail.

Andrew Jones:

Statistics on passenger rail performance are published by the Office of Rail and Road

(ORR).

The current standard measure of train punctuality is the Public Performance Measure

(PPM). PPM is defined as the percentage of trains arriving at the final destination

within five minutes of the planned timetable for London and South East, Regional and

Scotland operators, or within ten minutes for the Long Distance operators.

Published PPM statistics per train operator up to Rail Period 11 2018-19 (January

2019) are available on the ORR website at the below link:

https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/report/html/88127b42-8507-4261-bef7-

c65527ada55d

The latest available statistics show that in the year ending Period 11 2018-19, 88.1%

of planned Southeastern services arrived at their final destination within five minutes

of the planned timetable.

Statistics on train delay by cause are currently available up to Period 7 2018-19

(October 2018) and are also published by the ORR at the below link:

https://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0006/25179/delays-by-cause-by-toc.xlsx

In the year ending Period 7 2018-19 (October 2018), 87.7% of planned Southeastern

services arrived at their final destination within five minutes of the planned timetable.

Over this year, 61% of Southeastern PPM failures recorded were attributed to

Network Rail, whilst 32% of PPM failures were attributed to Southeastern. The

remaining PPM failures occurred as a result of delays attributed to other Train

Operators, as well as small proportion of delays for which it is not possible to attribute

to a specific cause.



https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/report/html/88127b42-8507-4261-bef7-c65527ada55d





Speed Limits: Schools


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the

potential effect of a reduction in speed limits outside schools from 30 mph to 20 mph on

the level of road traffic incidents.

Jesse Norman:

In November 2018, the Department for Transport published an evaluation into 20mph

limits (which are marked by signs only):

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/20-mph-speed-limits-on-roads.

The study found insufficient evidence to conclude that in residential areas the

introduction of 20mph limits had led to a significant change in collisions and

casualties. However, one city centre case study did show a significant reduction in

collisions and casualties.

Overall the introduction of 20mph limits led to a small reduction in median speed (less

than 1mph), but vehicles travelling at higher speeds before the change of speed limit

reduced their speed more than those already travelling at lower speeds.

Research in 1996 showed that 20mph zones (which have traffic calming) could

reduce the overall average annual collision frequency by up to two-thirds.

Taxis: Guide Dogs


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many complaints his Department has

received in each of the last five years on mini cab drivers refusing service to customers

with guide dogs.

Ms Nusrat Ghani:

Responsibility for investigating alleged instances of illegal discrimination by taxi and

private hire drivers, and for taking further action where appropriate, rests with

respective local licensing authorities, and the Government does not collate statistics

on the occurrence of individual incidents.

We plan to undertake research to understand why some drivers continue to refuse

passengers with assistance dogs, and what further steps could be taken to eliminate

such unacceptable behaviour.

TREASURY

Aviation

Henry Smith: [226652]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the of the

effect of air passenger duty on (a) developing and (b) maintaining aviation routes to (i)

priority and (ii) emerging markets.




Robert Jenrick:

The government monitors all taxes, including Air Passenger Duty. The aviation sector

in the UK is thriving, the UK has the third largest aviation network in the world and

passenger numbers are up by over 20% since 2010.

Further, this government has taken decisive action to support expansion at Heathrow,

where the majority of our long-haul flights depart.

Beverage Containers: Taxation

Caroline Lucas: [226084]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.59 of the Budget

2018 Red Book, what the evidential basis was for his Department concluding that a levy

on all cups would not at this time be effective in encouraging widespread reuse; and if he


Robert Jenrick:

The Government recognises the problems caused by disposable cups, which are

difficult to recycle and often littered. At Budget 2018, the Government concluded that

a levy on all cups would not at this point deliver a decisive shift from disposable cups

to reusable cups across all beverage types. This conclusion is based on the

submissions made to the government during the call for evidence on single use

plastic waste and examining alternatives to current single-use cups containing plastic.

The Government expects industry to go further in taking action on disposable plastic

cups and will return to the issue if sufficient progress is not made. The Government is

also considering the case for reducing the environment impact of disposable cups

within a reformed Packaging Producer Responsibility system and a potential Deposit

Return Scheme.

Cash Dispensing

Ged Killen: [226214]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the (a)

Bank of England, (b) Financial Conduct Authority and (c) Payment Systems Regulator on

the availability of access to cash through (i) ATMs and (ii) other means.


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if the Government will include in the statutory

objectives of the Payment Systems Regulator powers to protect access to cash; and if he



To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions the Government has

had with the Payment Systems Regulator on its review of cash infrastructure; and what

the timeframe is for the publication of (a) further details on the review and (b) the review

itself.





John Glen:

The Government recognises that widespread free access to cash remains extremely

important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK.

Government has been engaging and will continue to engage with the regulators and

industry, including both the Payment Systems Regulator and LINK (the scheme that

runs the UK’s ATM network), on this topic. For example, last year we conducted a

call for evidence on cash and digital payments in the new economy. This explored

how the trend from cash to digital payments impacts on different sectors, different

regions and different demographics. The Government will formally respond to the call

for evidence in due course.

The Government established the Payment Systems Regulator with a statutory duty to

ensure that payment systems work well for those who use them. As part of this, the

PSR regulates LINK and is closely monitoring developments within ATM provision.

LINK has committed to maintain the broad geographical coverage of the ATM

network in the UK. The PSR has used its powers to hold LINK to account over its

commitments and to ensure LINK reports to it on a regular basis.

Government also notes that LINK has commissioned an independent review (chaired

by Natalie Ceeney) which is looking at long-term access to cash.

Community Housing Fund

Caroline Lucas: [226646]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with the

Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government on extending the

Homes England Community Housing Fund to 2023; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss:

In July last year, Homes England re-launched the Community Housing Fund.

Community groups and local authorities are now able to apply for capital and revenue

funding to bring forward community-led housing schemes.Extending the Community

Housing fund to March 2023 concerns budgets beyond 2019-20. Day-to-day

departmental budgets for 2020-21 onwards have not yet been set and are a matter

for the Spending Review, which will take place later this year.

Company Cars: Taxation


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made

of the number of grey fleet vehicles that (a) are in use and (b) will be in use after the

introduction of Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure for tax purposes in

April 2020.


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has

made of the potential financial effect of the introduction of the Worldwide Harmonised

Light Vehicles Test Procedure on company car drivers.




Robert Jenrick:

As the Worldwide harmonised Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) aims to

replicate real-world driving conditions more closely, it is expected that reported CO2

values will increase.

Through the review of WLTP and vehicle taxes, the government has engaged with

stakeholders to determine the impact on tax liabilities and the UK’s environmental

objectives, including the role of company cars in reducing CO 2 emissions from road

transport.

The review closed on 17 February and the responses are currently being analysed.

The government has committed to publishing a response in the spring.

Credit: Interest Rates

Angela Crawley: [226162]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to reduce

the harm caused by high interest payday loans.

John Glen:

On 1 April 2014, regulation of the consumer credit market, including payday lenders,

was transferred to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The government has given

the FCA strong powers to protect consumers and to take action against firms and

individuals that do not meet its standards.

The government legislated to require the FCA to introduce a cap on the cost of

payday loans, which came into force on 2 January 2015. The FCA published a

feedback statement in July 2017, showing that the price cap has been effective,

leading to savings of approximately £150 million for 760,000 individuals using payday

loans each year.

At Autumn Budget 2018 the Government announced a package of measures to help

low income consumers access safe, affordable and sustainable credit.

Angela Crawley: [226163]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many fines the Financial Conduct Authority

has issued against payday lenders in the past year.

John Glen:

On 1 April 2014, regulation of the consumer credit market, including high-cost credit,

was transferred to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

We have passed the Honourable Members question on to the FCA, who will reply

directly by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.



Employers' Contributions

Dr Matthew Offord: [226089]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential

merits of increasing employer contributions to public pensions from 2020-21 in the next

Spending Review.

Elizabeth Truss:

Employer contributions in the unfunded public service pension schemes are set

following quadrennial valuations. The current valuations, which assess the schemes

as at 31 March 2016, are in the process of being finalised. As I announced in a

Written Ministerial Statement on 6 September 2018, these valuations indicate

employers need to pay more towards the schemes because of changes to the Office

for Budget Responsibility’s long-term GDP growth forecasts, reflected in the SCAPE

discount rate. The new employer contribution rates will take effect in 2019 and will

apply for a 4-year period.

EU Budget: Contributions


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the

UK's financial contribution to the EU since 24 June 2016.

Elizabeth Truss:

The EU annually publish a financial report, which details the levels of revenue and

expenditure, received and executed by the EU, relative to Member States. Between

2016 and 2017, the UK has contributed €30 billion to the annual EU budget, and

received €13 billion in receipts to both the public and private sector.

Additionally, HM Treasury produce an annual European Finances Statement which

details the UK’s contribution to the EU over the past year. While the OBR produce an

independent forecast for annual contributions to the EU.

Home Shopping: Taxation


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential

merits of a online sales tax.

Mel Stride:

I recently discussed the merits of an online sales tax in evidence to a joint session of

the House of Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Select

Committee and Treasury Select Committee, to inform an inquiry into High streets and

town centres in 2030.

This evidence is available at the following link:

http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/

housing-communities-and-local-government-committee/high-streets-and-town-

centres-in-2030/oral/94442.pdf




http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/housing-communities-and-local-government-committee/high-streets-and-town-centres-in-2030/oral/94442.pdf




The government keeps all tax policy under review as part of the normal policy making

process and will share any relevant announcements at the appropriate fiscal event.

Multinational Companies: Taxation

Peter Dowd: [226686]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many companies with (a) assets over £2

billion or (b) a turnover of over £200 million have published their tax strategy.

Mel Stride:

HMRC does not keep a central record that shows which companies with assets over

£2 billion or a turnover of over £200 million have published their tax strategies.

Northern: Standards


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the cost to the

economy of the North West of delays and cancellations by Northern Rail.

Elizabeth Truss:

I am sorry for the impact that delays and cancellations on Northern Rail have had on

passengers in the North West. We want passengers to receive the services that they

have every right to expect. That is why the Government’s focus has been on enabling

a return to stability for passengers and ensuring that those affected are properly

compensated for the disruption.

Overseas Trade

Mr Laurence Robertson: [226516]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the

amount of money that would accrue to the public purse annually as a result of tariffs on

imports from non-EU countries after the UK leaves the EU.

Mel Stride:

The amount of customs revenue collected from non-EU countries will be dependent

on the rates of import duty set. In the event of “no deal” the Government will make an

announcement, once a decision is finalised, and publish new UK duty rates, which

will apply equally to all countries.

Private Rented Housing: Rents

Vicky Foxcroft: [223843]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the most recent calculations of

average rents for two bedroom homes in each of the 152 Broad Rental Market Areas that

have been used to calculate local rental market statistics, including the Local Housing

Allowance.





Elizabeth Truss:

In February 2019, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) published the Local Housing

Allowance (LHA) rates that will go live from 1 April 2019. From April this year, VOA

will also publish the full List of Rents which underlie LHA rates.

Public Works Loan Board

Chris Philp: [225566]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many loans were made by the Public

Works Loan Board to local authorities; on what dates the loans were made; and what the

(a) value and (b) purpose was of each loan.

Elizabeth Truss:

The UK Debt Management Office publishes on its website information on loans

advanced by Public Works Loan Board on a monthly basis. This information is

publicly available for all loans since 1 October 2010 and covers the amount advanced

for each loan, the interest rate, the term and the repayment type of the loan. This

information is available at https://www.dmo.gov.uk/responsibilities/local-authority-

lending-pwlb/monthly-loans-report/.

Under the prudential regime, decisions on borrowing are devolved to local authorities

who are democratically accountable to their electorates. Information about the

purpose of Public Works Loan Board loans is not centrally held.

Revenue and Customs: Unpaid Fines


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HMRC has been owed in unpaid

penalties in each year since 2010.

Mel Stride:

The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Data on

unpaid penalties owed to HMRC are not readily available. HMRC does not produce

figures on unpaid penalties for all heads of duty where a penalty charge would apply.

Tax Avoidance


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has

made of the adequacy of HMRC's (a) powers and (b) resources to investigate tax-

avoidance enablers.

Mel Stride:

The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee recently made recommendations on

HMRC’s powers and resourcing (House of Lords Paper 242 - The Powers of HMRC:

Treating Taxpayers Fairly). The Government considered these points and responded

on 22 January 2019. This is available from:




https://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-committees/economic-

affairs/Govt%20HMRC%20Powers%20report%2022%20Jan%202019%20.pdf

As detailed in the response, the Government keeps the tax system under review and

notes the Committee's recommendation to update the powers review principles for

the digital age. HMRC will consider options for reviewing and updating the tax

administration framework, to ensure that it is effective in underpinning modern tax

administration. HMRC already has dedicated teams resourced to tackle those who

promote or enable tax avoidance.


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many high net worth individuals HMRC

investigated in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014, (f) 2015, (g) 2016, (h)

2017 and (i) 2018.

Mel Stride:

As of 3rd April 2017, HMRC has brought together the High Net Worth Unit and

Affluent teams to form a single Wealthy team.

The National Audit Office’s report on “collecting tax from high net worth individuals”

advised that as of 2015-16 there were 6,500 high net worth individuals. It reported

around a third of the High Net Worth Unit’s customers were subject to an enquiry at

the time of the report.


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 18 February 2019 to

Question 221022 on Tax Avoidance, whether it has always been HMRC's policy that

nobody would be forced to sell their main home to pay for their Disguised Remuneration

debt.

Mel Stride:

As advised by HMRC officials at the Treasury Select Committee on 30 January 2019

it is not HMRC’s policy to force the sale of a main residence in relation to a Disguised

Remuneration (DR) debt, or the loan charge.

Since the announcement of the 2019 loan charge at Budget 2016, HMRC has now

agreed settlements on disguised remuneration schemes with employers and

individuals totalling over £1 billion. Pay As You Earn (PAYE) liabilities fall on the

employer in the first instance. The charge on DR loans does not change this principle

and the employee will only be liable where the amount cannot reasonably be

collected from the employer, such as where the employer is offshore or no longer

exists. Around 85% of the settlement yield since 2016 is from employers, with less

than 15% from individuals.

HMRC is working hard to help individuals get out of avoidance for good and offer

manageable and sustainable payment plans wherever possible. It carefully considers

each case and there is no maximum limit on how long a customer can be given to

pay what they owe. HMRC considers a customer’s ability to pay on a case by case

basis and decisions are based on each individual’s personal circumstances.

https://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-committees/economic-affairs/Govt%20HMRC%20Powers%20report%2022%20Jan%202019%20.pdf





HMRC has simplified the process for those who want to settle their use of DR

schemes before the loan charge arises. DR scheme users who currently have an

income of less than £50,000 and are no longer engaging in tax avoidance can

automatically agree a payment plan of up to five years without the need to give

HMRC detailed information about their income and assets. This arrangement has

been extended to 7 years for scheme users who have an income of less than

£30,000.


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many cases of historical tax avoidance

HMRC has outstanding.

Mel Stride:

The Government is committed to tackling tax avoidance and ensuring that everyone

pays their fair share of tax to fund vital public services

In 2013 HMRC set up a dedicated Counter Avoidance Directorate, bringing together

technical, policy and operational expertise from across the Department into one

place, in order to concentrate their focus on tackling marketed tax avoidance

schemes. Since then over £8.7 billion has been brought in from accelerated

payments and settling marketed avoidance cases. HMRC currently have around

80,000 users of tax avoidance schemes under review.

Tax Collection


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the contribution

to the public purse from the work of the HMRC specialist unit for collecting tax from high

net worth individuals in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014, (f) 2015, (g)

2016, (h) 2017, and (i) 2018.

Mel Stride:

As of 3rd April 2017, HMRC has brought together the High Net Worth Unit and

Affluent teams to form a single Wealthy team. The figures below are the personal tax

paid by high net worth individuals (income tax, national insurance and capital gains

tax).

YEAR ESTIMATED TAX RECEIPTS

2009 - 10 £5.10bn

2010 - 11 £3.7bn

2011 - 12 £3.79bn

2012 - 13 £3.13bn

2013 - 14 £4.79bn



YEAR ESTIMATED TAX RECEIPTS

2014 - 15 £4.34bn

2015-16 £4.3bn

Tax Evasion: Prosecutions


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many cases HMRC has referred to the CPS


Mel Stride:

The table below shows the number of cases HMRC has referred to the CPS in each

year since 2010. HMRC do not refer operations for prosecution, we refer individuals

within operations for prosecution, in this instance, the CPS (Crown Prosecution

Service- prosecuting authority for England and Wales).

FY

NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS REFERRED TO

CPS

2010/11 No split available

2011/12 No split available

2012/13 834

2013/14 977

2014/15 1,437

2015/16 1,162

2016/17 1,203

2017/18 1,066

TOTAL 6,679

With regards to prosecutions in Scotland and Northern Ireland HMRC refers cases to

the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the Public Prosecution Service,

Northern Ireland respectively.

Taxation: Tribunals


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax tribunal cases HMRC has lost in

each year since 2010.



Mel Stride:

HMRC has lost the following tax tribunal cases in each year since 2010

First-tier Tribunal

YEAR

NUMBER OF TRIBUNAL

DECISIONS

TRIBUNAL DECISIONS IN

CUSTOMER FAVOUR

2010-11 1135 238

2011-12 1395 443

2012-13 1433 237

2013-14 2550 443

2014-15 1303 169

2015-16 1041 187

2016-17 1130 184

2017-18 1996 442

Upper Tribunal

YEAR

NUMBER OF TRIBUNAL

DECISIONS

TRIBUNAL DECISIONS IN

CUSTOMER FAVOUR

2010-11 Data not held Data not held

2011-12 Data not held Data not held

2012-13 52 8

2013-14 73 24

2014-15 78 23

2015-16 73 16

2016-17 78 13

2017-18 77 20


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax tribunal appeals failed in each

year since 2010.

Mel Stride:

The table below shows cases where the customers’ appeal to the tribunal has been

unsuccessful for each year since 2010.

First-tier Tribunal

YEAR

NUMBER OF TRIBUNAL

DECISIONS

TRIBUNAL DECISIONS WHERE THE

CUSTOMER HAS BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL

2010-11 1135 834

2011-12 1395 855

2012-13 1433 1095

2013-14 2550 1943

2014-15 1303 1050

2015-16 1041 782

2016-17 1130 867

2017-18 1966 1420

Upper Tribunal

YEAR

NUMBER OF TRIBUNAL

DECISIONS

TRIBUNAL DECISIONS WHERE THE CUSTOMER

HAS BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL

2010-11 Data Not Held

2011-12 Data Not Held

2012-13 52 43

2013-14 73 46

2014-15 78 54

2015-16 73 55

2016-17 78 62

2017-18 77 55


The table below shows the outcome of stood over cases where the customers’

appeal has been unsuccessful for each year since 2010. This is where the customer

has agreed to put the appeal on hold waiting for a decision in a related case that is

being litigated. These cases are not heard by the tribunal.

YEAR

NUMBER OF FOLLOWER CASES

SETTLED

TRIBUNAL DECISIONS WHERE

THE CUSTOMER HAS BEEN

UNSUCCESSFUL

2010-11 48 30

2011-12 100 47

2012-13 461 344

2013-14 682 613

2014-15 331 287

2015-16 1431 1209

2016-17 2015 1599

2017-18 5070 4426

Treasury: Procurement


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the guidance entitled,

Procurement policy note 03/14: measures to promote tax compliance, published on 6

February 2014, how many suppliers were allocated contracts by his Department as a

result of complying with (a) one and (b) more than one of the mitigating circumstances


Robert Jenrick:

The information is not held centrally.

UK Asset Resolution


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria in terms of protection for long-term

holders of former Northern Rock mortgages were established by UK Asset Resolution

before conducting such sales.


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria for the protection of mortgage

holders he plans to direct UK Asset Resolution to use in its future sales of mortgages and

loans.




John Glen:

The Government and UK Asset Resolution (UKAR) take treating customers fairly very

seriously. UKAR has always included non-negotiable customer protections as part of

the legal documents in every sale, past and present. Bidders must accept these

terms before their bids are considered on price. For past sales, these protections

required that: the servicer of the mortgages is regulated by the Financial Conduct

Authority (FCA); the terms and conditions of the mortgages are not changed; and

purchasers abide by restrictions on how the Standard Variable Rate (SVR) can be

set.

The Government and UKAR have listened to stakeholders on the issue of customer

protections and have enhanced the protections for current and future sales. New

protections include: requiring that both the servicer and legal title holder are FCA-

regulated; restrictions on setting SVRs for the lifetime of the mortgage; and no early

repayment charges, should a customer wish to switch mortgages.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Fibromyalgia


To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether he has plans to classify

fibromyalgia as a disability.

Victoria Atkins:

We believe that listing specific conditions would not help people with hard to

diagnose illnesses (as is currently often the case with fibromyalgia), as doing so

would make protection dependent upon a successful diagnosis rather than the

immediate impact of the illness on a person’s life.

The Equality Act 2010 is the principal means through which disabled people are

protected from discrimination in Great Britain but does not, except in a few specific

instances, specify conditions that may fall within the definition of disability. This is

because in most cases, it is the impact on the person’s life that is the qualifying

criteria rather than the condition itself.

The definition set out in the Act means that any person with a physical or mental

impairment that falls within this definition will already be protected as having a

disability, which may apply to many of those with fibromyalgia.


WORK AND PENSIONS

Bereavement Support Payment

Stella Creasy: [226098]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will provide an update on the

Government's plans to reform bereavement support payments.

Justin Tomlinson:

Bereavement Benefits were reformed in April 2017, with the introduction of

Bereavement Support Payment. We confirm that we intend to evaluate its impact

once there has been enough time for the reforms to fully bed in.


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department notifies

surviving spouses about their entitlement to Bereavement Support Payment as a matter

of routine; and how long after the death of a husband, wife or civil partner such

notification is issued.

Justin Tomlinson:

The Department does not notify surviving spouses or civil partners about any

possible entitlement to Bereavement Support Payment as a matter of routine.

However, information is available which aims to ensure people are aware of any

benefits to which they may be entitled and how to claim them. The way information is

made available about bereavement benefits is under constant review to try to ensure

bereaved people know about their possible right to benefit. As well as traditional

sources of information (such as leaflets), we have worked with funeral directors,

Registrars and voluntary groups to try to ensure people are fully informed of the

action to take following the loss of a husband, wife or civil partner.


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of

the take-up rate for Bereavement Support Payment in each of the last five years.

Justin Tomlinson:

Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) was introduced in April 2017, to replace

Widowed Parent’s Allowance, Bereavement Allowance and Bereavement Payments.

To date no assessment of the take up rate of BSP has been made.


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have received

their full entitlement to Bereavement Support Payment in each of the last five years; and

how many people have received a reduced entitlement to that payment due to a late

application.

Justin Tomlinson:

Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) was introduced in April 2017, to replace

Widowed Parent’s Allowance, Bereavement Allowance and Bereavement Payments.





As such we can only provide figures from April 2017 to June 2018 as this is the latest

available information that we hold

Bereavement Support Payment statistics can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dwp-benefits-statistical-summaries-2018

The information requested on reduced entitlement to a payment due to a late

application is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Children: Maintenance

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: [226667]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether any records pertaining to

the historical arrears-only cases from the 1993 and 2003 Child Maintenance Schemes

been destroyed, deleted or removed from the Child Maintenance Service since the Child

Maintenance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2018 came into force on 14

December 2018.

Justin Tomlinson:

There have been no records destroyed, deleted or removed from the Child

Maintenance Service since the Child Maintenance (Miscellaneous Amendments)

Regulations 2018 came into force on 14 December 2018.


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much in arrears accrued under

the historical arrears-only cases from the 1993 and 2003 Child Maintenance Schemes

has been written-off since the Child Maintenance (Miscellaneous Amendments)

Regulations 2018 came into force on 14 December 2018.


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many historical arrears-only

cases from the 1993 and 2003 Child Maintenance Schemes have been closed since the

Child Maintenance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2018 came into force on

14 December 2018.

Justin Tomlinson:

The Department routinely publishes information on the 1993 and 2003 Child

Maintenance schemes in the CSA Quarterly Summary of Statistics, available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-

statistics--2.

The next CSA Quarterly Summary of Statistics is due to be released in May. This will

include statistics on the amount of historical arrears written off and the number of

cases closed since the Child Maintenance (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations

2018 came into force.






Employment and Support Allowance: Arrears

Neil Coyle: [226128]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral

contribution of the Minister of State on 25 February 2019, Official Report, column 33,

when her Department plans to reach the target of Presenting Officers attending 50 per

cent of tribunals; what lessons her Department have learned from Presenting Officers

attending tribunals in the last 12 months; and what changes to the assessment and

decision-making process she has made as a result of those lessons learned.

Sarah Newton:

Presenting Officers (POs) represent the Secretary of State at ESA and PIP tribunals

and support them in understanding the detail of the case making the right decision.

POs are in the main used where: a) the Department is directed by the tribunal judge;

and b) asked to attend by a DWP Appeals Writer because the appeal relates to a

complex area of the law. Around 150 POs have been recruited with further

recruitment planned to enable increased attendance.

The feedback they provide for the Department’s Decision Makers and the

Assessment Providers, is an important element of the improvement work being done

to increase the overall quality of the decisions made. Examples of feedback include

how we present information to the Tribunal in the most effective way and ensuring

attention is drawn to new evidence that arrives after the appeal has been lodged. .

The Department continues to monitor and review how the feedback is collected and

shared – it is used in team talks, bulletins and workshops; and the impact it is having

on the quality of decisions made.

Employment: Autism

Darren Jones: [226195]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to introduce a

central employment forum for people on the Autistic Spectrum, to match skill sets and

employer needs.

Sarah Newton:

We have no plans to introduce a central employment forum for people on the Autistic

Spectrum. However, Disability Confident employers who use the Find a Job service

to advertise jobs can now add a searchable Disability Confident tag to their

vacancies. This allows disabled people to find Disability Confident employers who are

offering jobs that match their skills. Over 10,500 employers have signed up to

Disability Confident, and their number continues to grow.

Overall, improving employment opportunities for people with learning difficulties,

including those on the Autism Spectrum, disability is a Government priority. We take

a life course approach, working with other Departments to tackle barriers to

employment that start early in life.



For example:

• DWP is exploring ways to improve our support to this group through a Local

Supported Employment proof of concept, which is being tested in nine local

authorities.

• The new Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, which is rolling

out this year, will provide highly personalised packages of employment support for

people who are at least a year away from moving into work, including those with

the Autism Spectrum Disorder.

We are also running a number of local initiatives in jobcentres, such as:

• Calm and Quiet sessions in North London, where autistic people and their family

members or carers have an opportunity to discuss with trained staff opportunities to

move into or towards employment.

• In Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, we have contracted with two local organisations

to provide 40 places each to support autistic people in developing employment

skills, giving careers advice based on local demographics and the individual's

employment expectations.

Jobcentre Plus: Autism

Grahame Morris: [226654]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training has been provided to

Jobcentre Plus staff in the (a) UK and (b) Easington Constituency to support (i) people

with autism and (ii) family carers looking after a child with autism to ensure they can

access all necessary services.

Sarah Newton:

DWP is committed to providing the best possible support for all our claimants,

including the most vulnerable in society. We are continuously reviewing and

improving the service for vulnerable people to ensure that it is accessible and

responsive to their needs.

Work coaches undergo a comprehensive learning journey designed to equip them

with the tools, skills and behaviours required to provide a high quality service to all

claimants. Specific training and guidance is provided for working with different

vulnerable groups and those with complex needs including claimants with Autistic

Spectrum Conditions.

In addition, Work Coaches are supported by Disability Employment Advisers (DEA)

who work in partnership with Work Psychologists to improve the capability of all Work

Coaches to better support claimants with disabilities. DEAs based at Jobcentres

within the Easington constituency undergo additional training through the North East

Autism Society.

Nationally, there is a range of support available for young people with autism,

including:


•The Work and Health Programme, which offers a personalised local approach to

supporting people, overcome barriers to employment, by targeting specialist support

to those who are likely to be able to find work within 12 months.

•Access to Work, which has a Hidden Impairment Specialist Team offers advice and

guidance to help employers support employees with conditions such as Autism,

Learning Disability and/or Mental Health conditions.

•Young people who start a work placement with an employer as part of the

Department for Education supported internship programme or a traineeship are

eligible to apply for Access to Work support for the period of the work placement.

Supported internships are for young people aged 16—24 with learning difficulties or

learning disabilities, who want to get a job and need extra support to do this.

•The Disability Confident scheme, through which DWP is engaging with employers

and helping to promote the skills, talents and abilities of people with autism and

associated conditions. Over 10,000 businesses have signed up to Disability

Confident since it was launched in November 2016.

•The Disability Passport ‘About Me’, developed to encourage disabled claimants,

including individuals with autism, to disclose their disability/ health conditions at the

earliest stage to their Adviser, to improve communication and ensure reasonable

adjustments are put in place. The passport was launched in March 2017 and is

hosted on Autism Alliance’s website

•The Local Supported Employment Proof of Concept, which is being delivered with

nine local authorities and will support those with a learning disability or autism who

are known to adult social care, or those in contact with secondary mental health

services.

We are also improving access to apprenticeships for people with learning disabilities

and difficulties. For example, the government has introduced legislation which adjusts

the minimum English and Maths requirements for apprenticeships for people with a

learning difficulty or disability to entry Level 3. This change allows more people to

benefit from the opportunities available through apprenticeships and work.

Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations

Marion Fellows: [226157]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to what extent auditors of health

assessment reports on claimants of personal independence payment are independent

from her Department.

Sarah Newton:

Auditors of health assessment reports on claimants of Personal Independence

Payment are not independent of DWP; they are independent of the Assessment

Providers.


The DWP independent audit function, which was rolled out across the contracts in

2016, is used to judge how the providers are performing against set quality targets to

ensure that the advice provided to the Department’s decision makers is of suitable

quality, fully explained and justified.

Social Security Benefits

Neil Gray: [225528]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much money has accrued to

the public purse as a result of the benefits freeze in (a) each parliamentary constituency

(b) Scotland, (c) England, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland.

Justin Tomlinson:

An estimate of the notional loss to household income as a result of the benefit freeze

can be found at: https://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-

006C.pdf

No assessment has been made of this saving by parliamentary constituency or

country.

Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals

Christine Jardine: [226205]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish the guidance

provided to her Department's decision makers on the management of benefit entitlements

for EU nationals with settled or pre-settled status.

Alok Sharma:

EU citizens and their family members with settled status or pre-settled status will

have the same access as they currently do to healthcare, pensions and other benefits

in the UK.

Guidance for decision makers can be found in the Decision Makers’ Guide (DMG)

and Advice for Decision Making Guide (ADM) available online at

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/decision-makers-guide-staff-guide and

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advice-for-decision-making-staff-guide.

Departmental guidance is supplemented with updates when legal and procedural

changes are introduced.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 25

February 2019 to Question 223480 on Social Security Benefits: Fraud, what estimate her

Department has made of the cost to the public purse of recording that additional data.

Justin Tomlinson:

To provide a costing for adding this functionality the Department would need to

analyse this change in more detail, assess the amount of effort required to develop



https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/decision-makers-guide-staff-guide

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/decision-makers-guide-staff-guide

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advice-for-decision-making-staff-guide

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advice-for-decision-making-staff-guide


and test it, review the priority against other work that is already committed to, and

assess any potential impact it could have on current operational procedures. This

assessment process is resource intensive; therefore the Department cannot justify

the use of this resource as there is no business reason to add this functionality.

State Retirement Pensions: Females


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with

the Attorney General on the legal implications of the judicial review into complaints in

relation to the equalisation of state pension age on the handling of complaints by (a) her

Department, (b) the Independent Case Examiner and (c) the Parliamentary and Health

Service Ombudsman.

Guy Opperman:

Since WW2 and beyond, it is a longstanding convention observed by successive

governments that neither the fact that the Law Officers have (or have not) advised

nor the content of their advice is disclosed outside government without their authority,

which is rarely sought or given. This is also set out in Erskine May, and as a result it

is not appropriate to comment on live litigation.

Universal Credit


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people her Department

has helped through its Universal Support Assisted Digital Service.

Alok Sharma:

For the last completed financial year, 2017/18, the total number of claimants helped

through Universal Support Assisted Digital Support by Local Authorities was 55,941.

This figure is derived from the quarterly returns submitted by Local Authorities as part

of the funding arrangement. These figures provided by Local Authorities do not

include the large numbers of people helped daily with digital support by Jobcentres,

and other organisations, which are unrecorded.


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what funding has been allocated to

the Help to Claim Scheme.

Alok Sharma:

The Department is providing £51 million (which includes £12 million to set up delivery

in the run-up to April 2019) of funding to Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice

Scotland to deliver the Help to Claim service from April 2019. This was announced by

the Government, Citizen’s Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland and Government on

1 October 2018.





To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit

claimants have benefited from the provisions under section 119 (3) (a) and (b) of the

Universal Credit Regulations 2013 that hardship payments cease to be recoverable in the

event that such claimants have earnings above the thresholds specified in those

regulations in each month since August 2015.

Alok Sharma:

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur a

disproportionate cost.



the potential merits of bringing forward the increase of the maximum period for recovery

of universal credit advance payments from 12 to 16 months, currently scheduled for

October 2021.


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the new minimum rate of

monthly deductions towards repayment of universal credit advance payments will be as a

proportion of a claimant’s standard allowance once the maximum repayment period has

been extended to 16 months, as scheduled for October 2021.


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department have

carried out impact assessments on the requirement for universal credit advance

payments to be repaid at a minimum rate of 10 per cent of the standard allowance.



the potential merits of introducing a means-tested income and expenditure assessment in

respect of deductions from universal credit for the recovery of advance payments to

ensure that repayment rates are based on a claimant's ability to pay.

Alok Sharma:

Universal Credit new claim advances are made on account of a claimant’s expected

future Universal Credit entitlement. They are available to those who cannot wait until

their first Universal Credit payment is due, in order to provide extra financial support

for those who need it most. Because this payment is an advance of entitlement, this

is recovered over time.

It was announced at Autumn Budget 2018 that there would be an increase to the

maximum recovery period for Universal Credit advances from 12 to 16 months from

October 2021.

There is no minimum recovery rate for Universal Credit advances. The rate deducted

from a claimant’s Universal Credit is generally determined by the amount of their

entitlement advance divided by the number of monthly assessment periods which






they choose at the outset for the advanced amount to be recovered from. This is

subject to an overall maximum rate of 40 per cent of the claimant’s standard

allowance. As a result of the change introduced in the 2018 Autumn Budget, from

October 2019 this maximum will reduce to 30 per cent of the claimant’s standard

allowance.

During the recovery of the advance, exceptional circumstances may occur that were

not foreseen when the advance was taken out. For example, hospital visits resulting

in unexpected and regular bus/taxi fares. If these circumstances push the claimant

into genuine hardship resulting in difficulty repaying the advance over the agreed

recovery time, a maximum 3-month deferral can be considered.

Universal Credit: Disqualification


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8

February 2019 to Question 216934, on Universal Credit: Disqualification, how many

universal credit claimants have been sanctioned for refusing to accept the offer of a job

with a zero hours contract.

Alok Sharma:

The information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate

cost.

Universal Credit: Homelessness


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department

provides to help homeless applicants make a claim for universal credit.

Justin Tomlinson:

DWP is committed to providing the best possible support for all our claimants,

including the most vulnerable in society. We are continuously reviewing and

improving the service for vulnerable people to ensure that it is accessible and

responsive to their needs.

Universal Credit has been designed with accessibility in mind and we are committed

to providing personalised support for all claimants. Where a homeless claimant

requires assistance to complete the initial application process support is available

face to face in the Jobcentre. Service delivery teams within jobcentres provide a

professional and supportive environment for our customers, providing digital coaching

and helping claimants set up and maintain their Universal Credit claims.

If a claimant needs more intensive or specific support to make their claim, face-to-

face and other help is available through our current Universal Support Assisted

Digital Service offer, which provides bespoke help, support and skills for claimants to

make and maintain their digital account online. Since 2017, Universal Support has

been delivered by local authorities, funded by grants from DWP.



From 1 April 2019 Citizens Advice (England and Wales) and Citizens Advice

Scotland will deliver a new “Help to Claim” service to support vulnerable claimants

through the process of making a claim to Universal Credit.

Jobcentres in England refer claimants considered to be homeless or at risk of

homelessness, to the local authority to receive further housing support. The referral is

voluntary and there is no impact on the claimants Universal Credit award if they do

not consent to the referral being made.

Additional safeguards in place and support available to assist homeless people in

making a claim for Universal Credit include:

• If a person doesn’t have a fixed address, they can register their hostel or temporary

accommodation as their address, and if they are sleeping rough they can use the

address of their local jobcentre.

• A work coach can use other methods to identify a person where someone does not

have ID, including the use of biographical questions and third party biographical

verification.

• Measures are in place to make payments through other methods where someone

doesn’t have a bank account, including post office card accounts or the Payment

Exception Service. Work coaches can also help people through the process of

setting up a bank account where appropriate.

Universal Credit: Vulnerable Adults



the need for reasonable adjustments for vulnerable universal credit claimants, who

cannot read or write, to have access to alternative means of communication with their

work coach other than through the online journal.

Sarah Newton:

The Department is committed to providing personalised support for all claimants,

including those who cannot read or write. Each individual’s circumstances are

different and therefore the support that we provide must be tailored to these individual

needs.

Claimants who cannot communicate through their online journal can access face-to-

face assistance via their Jobcentre. Further support is also available via our free

phone Universal Credit helpline to help them maintain their claim.

In certain circumstances, where a claimant is unable to manage their own affairs, an

appointee can act on their behalf, taking responsibility for making and maintaining

any benefit claim. An appointee can be an individual, e.g. a friend or relative, an

organisation or representative of an organisation, e.g. a solicitor or local council. The

process for enlisting a DWP appointee includes a visit to the claimant and an

interview with the potential appointee.


WRITTEN STATEMENTS

BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

Business Update

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and

Corporate Responsibility (Kelly Tolhurst): [HCWS1373]

The Government has today published a consultation on measures to tackle misuse of

confidentiality clauses in situations of workplace harassment or discrimination. These

proposals will boost understanding amongst workers and employers of their rights and

legal responsibilities and is part of our modern Industrial Strategy to create a fairer

workplace.

There is increasing evidence that confidentiality clauses are being abused by a minority

of employers to intimidate victims, conceal harassment and discrimination in the

workplace – including sexual assault, physical threats and racism. This is unacceptable.

Today’s proposed reforms will help put an end to the unethical use of these agreements

and encourage good practice from employers and lawyers. This includes:

• Legislating that confidentiality clauses cannot prevent any disclosure to the police

• Requiring a clear description of the limits of confidentiality provisions within a

written statement of employment particulars (in the case of confidentiality clauses

in employment contracts) or within settlement agreements

• Extending the law that means a worker agreeing to a settlement agreement

receives independent advice, by specifying that the advice must cover the limits of

any confidentiality clauses in the settlement agreement

Most businesses legitimately use NDAs and confidentiality clauses in agreements to

prevent the disclosure of confidential information. In addition, Settlement Agreements are

often utilised to help resolve workplace disputes without the need to escalate matters

further.

However, a minority abuse their power in the workplace to conceal victims of harassment

or discrimination through NDAs or confidentiality clauses. For example, by suggesting

that a worker cannot ‘blow the whistle’, despite the fact that no provision can remove a

worker’s whistleblowing protections.

In addition, through an NDA or Settlement Agreement, employers could insist that a

worker is unable to discuss an issue with other people or organisations, such as the

police, a doctor or a therapist. This can leave victims afraid to report an incident or speak

out about their experiences, leaving others exposed to similar situations, and putting

customers and other businesses at risk. The proposals set out today will help end this

unethical practice, through extending the requirement to receive independent advice to

cover limits on confidentiality clauses, and by requiring that signatories must be provided

with a clear overview of their rights.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-03-04/HCWS1373/

Our modern Industrial Strategy is creating a fairer and more equal workplace, to boost

productivity and earning power for all. Our proposals support this by helping to create a

more level playing field between workers and employers, providing more understanding

over rights and legal responsibilities.

The consultation period will run for eight weeks until 29 April 2019. The consultation can

be found at www.gov.uk/government/consultations/confidentiality-clauses-measures-to-

prevent-misuse-in-situations-of-workplace-harassment-or-discrimination

I am placing copies of the consultation in the Libraries of the House.

HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Housing Update

Secretary of State for Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

(James Brokenshire): [HCWS1374]

Private Rented Sector Access Fund

I have announced over £19.5 million in direct funding to 66 local authorities to provide

support to those who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, to secure

accommodation in the private rented sector.

Everybody deserves a stable, safe and secure place to call home. It is vital we give

people facing homelessness a route out of it and a chance to rebuild their lives. The

private rented sector has an important role to play in this. This announcement adds

another powerful tool for local authorities to use to help prevent and relieve

homelessness for thousands of households.

Through this funding local authorities will be able to provide financial support to help

people access the private rental market and maintain their tenancies, through the

payment of deposits or rent payments. It will enable authorities to provide support to

tenants to help them overcome difficulties that might otherwise threaten their tenancies. It

will also enable 35 authorities to purchase an insurance policy to cover the costs of

landlords if tenants default on their rent or damage their rented property, enabling

individuals to access parts of the private sector they could not previously access.

This funding complements existing government action to tackle homelessness and rough

sleeping. It sits alongside our £1.2 billion funding programme to tackle homelessness,

and the Homelessness Reduction Act, the most ambitious legislative reform in decades,

to ensure more people receive the help they need, at an earlier stage. It also forms part

of our wide-ranging reforms to rebalance the relationship between landlords and tenants,

and deliver a fairer, more affordable, higher quality and more secure private rented

sector, and ensures that vulnerable people receive the support they need to navigate

housing options at a local level.

The full list of successful areas and allocations of funding can be found here:

https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fconsultations%2Fconfidentiality-clauses-measures-to-prevent-misuse-in-situations-of-workplace-harassment-or-discrimination&data=02%7C01%7Cgeorgina.mallows%40beis.gov.uk%7C28500ed9cf9541ce340e08d69d6d5124%7Ccbac700502c143ebb497e6492d1b2dd8%7C0%7C0%7C636869490164043834&sdata=UxY9NgJ%2Ft9MgYah69cOALkG4kOplqEKQehvN9UZnIwc%3D&reserved=0




https://www.gov.uk/government/news/housing-minister-unlocks-private-rented-sector-for-

most-vulnerable

As part of this work to protect vulnerable people, I would like to stress the Government’s

commitment to ensuring those who receive housing support are able to access the

properties they need. Our latest figures show that around half of landlords said they

would not be willing to let to tenants on Housing Benefit – ruling out thousands of

vulnerable people and families. As the Prime Minister recently stated, we have already

started working with Shelter following their campaign raising awareness of so-called ‘No

DSS’ adverts. Over the coming months, Ministers will meet with industry representatives

including mortgage providers, landlord associations, tenant groups and property websites

to develop ways to stop the unfair exclusion of tenants in receipt of housing support. This

will help us take steps to eradicate this practice and ensure people in receipt of housing

support can access the homes they need.

Rapid Rehousing Pathway 2019/2020 funding round

Separately, I have also announced that we are inviting local authorities to apply for the

Rapid Rehousing Pathway 2019/2020 funding round. This second round of funding

invites local authorities to bid for all or any elements of the Rapid Rehousing Pathway

which includes Somewhere Safe to Stay hubs, specialist Navigators, Local Lettings

Agencies and Supported Lettings. This follows the announcement of a combined 53

‘early adopter’ areas in December 2018 and February 2019. The link to the applications

page can be found here

http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rapid-rehousing-pathway-2019-to-2020-

funding

Applications for the new funding round will be accepted up to 23:59 on 29 th March 2019,

and we intend to announce successful bids in the spring.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

POST-COUNCIL: INFORMAL TRADE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COUNCIL 21 - 22 February

2019

Minister of State for Trade Policy (George Hollingbery): [HCWS1375]

The Informal EU Foreign Affairs Council (Trade) took place in Bucharest on 21 - 22

February 2019. The formal agenda covered the World Trade Organization (WTO) and

EU-US trade. I represented the UK at the meeting. A summary of the discussions follows:

WTO Modernisation

Commissioner Malmström highlighted that the risk to the multilateral system was real, but

was not sufficiently appreciated by much of the WTO membership.

Discussion focused on the need to keep the US engaged and anchored within the

multilateral system whilst addressing US concerns about the appellate body. I stressed

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/housing-minister-unlocks-private-rented-sector-for-most-vulnerable



http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rapid-rehousing-pathway-2019-to-2020-funding




the seriousness of the current situation. Commissioner Malmström mentioned the recent

launch of e-commerce negotiations as a positive development.

US Trade

Commissioner Malmström said the Commission was focused on delivering the outcomes

of the July 2018 Juncker-Trump meeting. She did not know the contents of the US 232

report into cars and reiterated that €20 billion (£17.2 billion) of EU ‘rebalancing measures’

had been prepared. She called on Member States to endorse the mandates.

In discussion, the mandates were endorsed by an overwhelming majority of Member

States. I urged the importance of moving forward at pace, emphasising the significant UK

interests. Discussion revolved around timing. The Commission highlighted their

commitment to moving forward as quickly as possible. The Presidency offered an

extraordinary Council meeting if needed to facilitate this.

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