daily report tuesday, 28 november 2017...
TRANSCRIPT
Daily Report Tuesday, 28 November 2017
This report shows written answers and statements provided on 28 November 2017 and the
information is correct at the time of publication (07:07 P.M., 28 November 2017). For the latest
information on written questions and answers, ministerial corrections, and written statements,
please visit: http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers/
CONTENTS
ANSWERS
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Domestic Violence:
Prosecutions
BUSINESS, ENERGY AND
INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
Antidumping Duties
Business: Local Government
Climate Change Convention
Coal: Mining
Combined Heat and Power:
Non-domestic Rates
Electricity Generation: Waste
EU Grants and Loans
Foreign Companies
Industry: North East
Lithium: Mining
Productivity: North East
CABINET OFFICE
Average Earnings
Blood: Contamination
Cabinet Office: Telephone
Services
Cabinet Office: Written
Questions
Carillion
Cervical Cancer
Deloitte
Domestic Violence Protection
Orders
Electoral Register
Electoral Register: Databases
Electoral Register: Disability
Electoral Register: Internet
Electoral Register: North West
Electronic Government
Emigration: Zimbabwe
Government Chief Scientific
Adviser: Public Appointments
Government Departments:
Business Plans
Government Departments:
Contracts for Services
Government Departments:
Equality
Government Departments:
Grants
Government Departments:
Procurement
Government Departments:
Staff
Government Departments:
Telephone Services
Intelligence and Security
Committee
Local Government: Elections
Low Pay
Members: Email
Ministers: Autobiography
Prime Minister: Italy
Public Sector: Cybercrime
Public Sector: Procurement
Technology
TREASURY
Children: Day Care
Emergency Services: Scotland
Employee Benefit Trusts:
Regulation
Financial Services
Financial Services: EU Law
Income Tax: Tax Rates and
Bands
Job Creation
Research and Development
Expenditure Credit
Roadchef: Employee Benefit
Trusts
Tax Collection
Treasury: Postal Services
Unionlearn
Universal Credit
COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENT
Department for Communities
and Local Government: Postal
Services
Fireworks: Accidents
Grenfell Tower: Fires
Housing Estates:
Regeneration
Local Government:
Procurement
Religious Hatred: Islam
DEFENCE
Army
Army: Recruitment
Army: Resignations
Clyde Naval Base
Defence Equipment: Repairs
and Maintenance
Defence Nuclear Safety
Regulator
Islamic State: British Nationals
Abroad
Islands: Hurricanes and
Tornadoes
Military Exercises
Ministry of Defence: Postal
Services
National Security
Royal Air Force Centre of
Aviation Medicine
Trident
DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND
SPORT
Arts: EU Grants and Loans
European Capital of Culture
Gaming Machines
Government Departments:
Procurement
Licensed Premises
Mass Media: Internet
Olympic Games 2012
Sports: EU Grants and Loans
EDUCATION
Adult Education
Adult Education: Basic Skills
Adult Education: Finance
Adult Education: ICT
Adult Education: Student
Numbers
Child Minding
Children: Day Care
Department for Education:
Postal Services
Further Education
ICT: Teachers
Music: GCSE
Pre-school Education:
Apprentices
Pupils: Health
Schools: Sheffield
Soft Drinks: Taxation
Steve Lamey
Students: Finance
Supply Teachers: Expenditure
Teachers: ICT and
Mathematics
Teachers: Mathematics
Unionlearn: Finance
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND
RURAL AFFAIRS
Agriculture: Exports
Air Pollution
Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease
Control
Flood Control
Flood Control: Cumbria
Recycling
School Milk
Wild Boar
EXITING THE EUROPEAN
UNION
Charter of Fundamental Rights
(EU)
Department for Exiting the
European Union: Postal
Services
EU Law
FOREIGN AND
COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
Burma: Rohingya
Burma: United Nations
Companies: Ownership
Foreign and Commonwealth
Office: Postal Services
Foreign and Commonwealth
Office: Public Expenditure
India: Prisoners
Israel: Human Rights
Palestinians: Detainees
Poland: Hate Crime
Press Freedom
Russia: LGBT People
Syria: Kurds
Tajikistan: LGBT People
Turkey: Politics and
Government
Zimbabwe: British Nationals
Abroad
HEALTH
Autism
Contraceptives
General Practitioners: Finance
GP at Hand
Grenfell Tower: Mental Health
Services
Health Services and Social
Services
Health: Children and Young
People
Mental Health Services:
Children and Young People
Pregnancy: Mental Health
Services
Prisoners: Drugs
Prisons: Drugs
Self-harm and Suicide: Kent
Self-harm and Suicide: Young
People
Social Services
HOME OFFICE
Asylum: Children
Asylum: Sudan
British Nationality
Grenfell Tower: Fires
Immigrants: English Language
Immigrants; English Language
Immigration
Immigration Controls:
Australasia
Immigration: Biometrics
Marriage Certificates
MI5
HOUSE OF COMMONS
COMMISSION
House of Commons: Staff
INTERNATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
Bangladesh: Rohingya
Department for International
Development: Staff
Developing Countries: Poverty
Pakistan: Non-governmental
Organisations
Swaziland: Overseas Aid
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Department for International
Trade: Internet
Department for International
Trade: Postal Services
Exports
Higher Education: Exports
Overseas Trade: Sri Lanka
Saudi Arabia: Arms Trade
Small Businesses
Trade Agreements
USA: Overseas Trade
JUSTICE
Bedford Prison
Berwyn Prison
Convictions: EU Nationals
Debt Collection
Magistrates' Courts
Ministry of Justice: ICT
Ministry of Justice: Vacancies
Oakhill Secure Training Centre
Offenders: Rehabilitation
Personal Injury: Compensation
Prisoners' Transfers: Gender
Recognition
Prisoners: Drugs
Prisoners: Suicide
Prisons: Drugs
Prisons: Smoking
NORTHERN IRELAND
British Irish Council
Magilligan Prison
TRANSPORT
Department for Transport:
Postal Services
Department for Transport:
Staff
Department of Transport:
Vacancies
Electric Vehicles
Electric Vehicles: Rural Areas
Electric Vehicles: Wales
Railways: Compensation
Railways: Concessions
Railways: Greater Manchester
Railways: Leigh
Railways: Mobile Phones
Railways: North East
Railways: Tickets
Rolling Stock
Taxis: Disability
Taxis: Vetting
Thameslink Railway Line
Thameslink Railway Line:
Timetables
Transport: Contracts
Transport: Finance
Transport: North of England
Uber
Volkswagen
WALES
Agriculture: Subsidies
WOMEN AND EQUALITIES
Equality and Human Rights
Commission
Females: Voting Rights
WORK AND PENSIONS
Department for Work and
Pensions: Vacancies
Employment and Support
Allowance
Farms: Safety
Funeral Payments
Unemployment
Universal Credit
WRITTEN STATEMENTS
DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND
SPORT
Post-Council Written
Ministerial Statement for
Education, Youth, Culture and
Sport Council
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND
RURAL AFFAIRS
November Agriculture and
Fisheries Council
EXITING THE EUROPEAN
UNION
EU Exit: Release of sectoral
reports to the Committee on
Exiting the EU and Lords EU
Committee
General Affairs Council
November 2017
FOREIGN AND
COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
Developments in Zimbabwe
Foreign Affairs Council – 13
November 2017
Foreign Affairs Council – 16
October 2017
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Trade Remedies
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
Domestic Violence: Prosecutions
Diana Johnson: [112584]
To ask the Attorney General, how many charges the Crown Prosecution Service has
brought against people under section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 for alleged
controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship in each year since
that section of that Act came into force.
Jeremy Wright:
[Holding answer 28 November 2017]: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does
not collect data on defendants prosecuted by specific offence. However, the table
below shows the number of offences recorded in the magistrates' courts for the
offence of controlling or coercive behaviour since its implementation on 29 December
2015. This figure relates to the number of offences and not the number of individual
defendants.
2015-2016 2016-2017
5 309
BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
Antidumping Duties
Gareth Snell: [115072]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what
discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for International Trade and (b) the
Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential effect of adopting the lesser duty rule as
part of a future trade remedy scheme once the UK leaves the EU.
Margot James:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial
Strategy regularly discusses trade policy issues with his colleagues. The Trade White
Paper, published 9 October, set out the Government’s proposals for an independent
UK trade remedy scheme once we have left the EU. Our policy is for the amount of
any duties to be set at the lower of either: the level of the dumping or subsidy; or the
level of injury caused to a UK industry as identified during the investigation process.
This approach is known as the lesser duty rule. The Taxation (Cross-Border Trade)
Bill, introduced on 20 November, included provisions to apply the lesser duty rule
where remedies are recommended to address injury caused by dumping or
subsidies.
Business: Local Government
Chi Onwurah: [114952]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to
the Answer of 16 October 2017 to Question 107986, whether the Government provides
any guidance to local authorities on assessing the effect of local council business support
programmes.
Claire Perry:
Local and combined authorities are responsible for evaluating any business support
programmes they deliver and reporting on outcomes to funders. Government has
therefore given local and combined authorities more powers and autonomy to decide
how to spend public money in their area and for deciding how the impact of locally
owned business support programmes should be assessed. At the same time,
Government has made local and combined authorities more transparent and
accountable for their actions.
The hon. Member might also like to note that we fund the What Works Centre (WWC)
for Local Economic Growth. The Centre assesses business support, and provides a
range of resources to help local government assess the impact of their business
support programmes.
Climate Change Convention
Dr David Drew: [115262]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he
plans to continue to participate in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change when the UK leaves the EU.
Claire Perry:
The UK is a world leader in climate change and has always been a party to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) individually as
well as through the EU and we are bound by all the obligations of the Paris
Agreement under international law.
The UK’s commitment to action to tackle climate change and to the UNFCCC
process is not in doubt; we remain firmly committed to the Paris Agreement and to
our emissions reduction and climate finance efforts under it. We have demonstrated
our commitment domestically – we were the first country to introduce legally binding
emissions reduction targets through the Climate Change Act, and we have recently
published our highly praised Clean Growth Strategy, which is ambitious and robust in
setting out how we will decarbonise the UK economy through the 2020s. The UK is
also committed to phasing out unabated coal power generation by 2025, and at the
recent twenty-third Conference of the Parties (COP23) the UK, joint with Canada,
announced the Powering Past Coal Alliance which gained the support of more than
20 partners. Internationally, through our International Climate Finance we have
committed to provide at least £5.8bn between 2016 and 2020 to developing
countries, to help them mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Whatever the nature of the future UK-EU relationship, the UK will remain committed
to international efforts to tackle climate change, and working closely with the EU will
remain very important.
Coal: Mining
Mary Glindon: [115389]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his
policy is on the development of new domestic coal mines and reducing fossil fuel usage;
and if he will make a statement.
Richard Harrington:
Domestic coal production fell to a record low of 4 million tonnes in 2016. The
development of any new domestic coal mines is subject to the relevant planning
consents, which include appropriate environmental impact and public safety
assessments.
Around two-thirds of demand for coal in 2016 was for electricity generation, which
has also fallen to record lows. The Government has made firm its commitment ending
unabated coal power generation by 2025 and to target an effective carbon price
ahead of then, to drive investment in cleaner, more flexible forms of generation.
Combined Heat and Power: Non-domestic Rates
Mr Roger Godsiff: [115377]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what
proportion of gas CHP plant qualifies as Good Quality for the purposes of exemption from
business rates.
Claire Perry:
The Department does not hold specific data on the proportion of gas CHP plant that
qualifies as Good Quality for the purposes of exemption from business rates.
However, in 2016, based on data from the Digest of UK Energy Statistics and the
Combined Heat and the Power Quality Assurance (CHP QA) programme database,
there were 2,182 CHP schemes in the United Kingdom. Of these, 1,155 were
certified as Good Quality CHP. If schemes that are not ordinarily liable for business
rates, such as those in the public sector, are excluded then our data suggests that
749 Good Quality gas CHP schemes would be eligible for an exemption from
business rates.
Electricity Generation: Waste
Dr David Drew: [115103]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much
electricity was generated by incineration in (a) 2015 and (b) 2016; and how much CO2 or
CO2e, CO2 equivalent, was emitted by incinerators in each of those years.
Richard Harrington:
Table 6.4 in the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics (DUKES) [i] shows
electricity generation from renewable sources. Figures for generation from waste in
2015 and 2016 are shown below:
Generation (GWh)
2015 2016
Biodegradable energy from waste (1) 2,585 2,741
Non-biodegradable wastes (2) 2,586 2,742
Total waste 5,171 5,482
(1) Biodegradable part only.
(2) Non-biodegradable part of municipal solid waste plus waste tyres, hospital waste and
general industrial waste.
The latest greenhouse gas emissions inventory, published in February 2017,
estimates that emissions from incineration plants were 3.3 million tonnes of carbon
dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2015. Figures for 2016 will be published in February
2018.
[i] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/renewable-sources-of-energy-chapter-6-
digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes
EU Grants and Loans
Nigel Dodds: [115147]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy what plans the
Government has made on its plans for a UK Shared Prosperity Fund; what the
Government's planned timeframe is for (a) the whole introduction of the fund and (b)
introducing draft legislation; what he plans the scope of that fund will be; and what
consultation and input in plans to seek from the devolved administrations on that fund.
Margot James:
The Government will create the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to boost productivity and
reduce economic inequality across the country following our departure from the
European Union.
As announced in the Industrial Strategy white paper, the Government will consult
widely on the design of the new Fund in 2018. We will work with devolved
administrations prior to public consultation.
Foreign Companies
Dr Rupa Huq: [115374]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the
Government plans to respond to consultation on Property ownership and public
contracting by overseas companies and legal entities: beneficial ownership register.
Margot James:
The responses to the call for evidence are currently being analysed and a response
will be published in due course.
Industry: North East
Mr Stephen Hepburn: [115331]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference
to paragraph 4.7 of the Autumn Budget 2017, how much of the additional funding in the
modern Industrial Strategy will be allocated on projects in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b)
South Tyneside, and (c) the North East.
Mr Stephen Hepburn: [115335]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference
to paragraph 4.41 of the Autumn Budget 2017, how much of the additional public
investment in economic infrastructure his Department plans to allocate to projects in (a)
Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, and (c) the North East.
Claire Perry:
The Government is committed to providing high quality infrastructure to support
economic growth and prosperity across all regions of the UK. We will ensure our
infrastructure investments actively support our long-term productivity, providing
greater certainty and clear strategic direction.
The Transforming Cities Fund will provide £1.7bn to drive productivity by improving
connectivity, reducing congestion and utilising new mobility services and technology,
transform local productivity in city-regions.
We have already seen investment for projects for the North East that include:
increasing national research and development spending to 2.4 per cent, boosting
the North East’s strength in research and innovation
815,000 people living and working in the North of Tyne will benefit from an
ambitious devolution deal agreed between the government and the North of Tyne
authorities. This includes a new £600 million long-term investment fund over the
next thirty years to be spent on local priorities, such as skills and employment,
adult education, and rural productivity.
a £337 million investment to support a transformative modernisation programme to
replace the Tyne & Wear Metro system’s 40-year old trains with a brand-new fleet.
This will help to ensure that the Metro system is reliable, runs efficiently, and helps
local people get to where they need to be.
the Tees Valley Combined Authority will receive £59 million from a new £1.7 billion
Cities Transformation Fund. Funding will be invested in transport projects which
drive productivity by improving connectivity and reducing congestion.
as announced at Budget, the government is investing £123 million to support the
safe development of the Redcar steelworks site in the Tees Valley. Mayor Ben
Houchen will set up a Mayoral Development Corporation and use this funding to
drive forward an ambitious programme of regeneration for the area.
The North East has already benefitted from Industrial Strategy funding when the
International Centre for Life in Newcastle benefitted from a £13 million funding pot
aimed at encouraging more of the public to engage with STEM (science,
technology, engineering and maths) learning. The money will enable the centre to
reinvigorate its visitor experience and develop new STEM learning activities.
Lithium: Mining
Scott Mann: [115033]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he
will consider the mining of Lithium in Cornwall as part of the industrial strategy.
Claire Perry:
Our Industrial Strategy is about driving growth right across the whole country. We will
work with places to build on their particular strengths and to address barriers to
growth.
The Government is aware that Cornwall has been identified as a having potentially
valuable lithium resource, which is a key element in battery technology. That
technology has great potential, which we are backing with £246m through a Faraday
Challenge to boost expertise in the UK.
The current exploration for lithium ore reserves and research to extract lithium from
geothermal brines has potential to provide a UK source, though it is for the private
sector to demonstrate there are commercial opportunities and this sort of opportunity,
clearly linked to a location, underpins the department’s local industrial strategy policy.
Productivity: North East
Mr Stephen Hepburn: [115339]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference
to paragraph 4.54 of the Autumn Budget 2017, how the Government plans to increase
the productivity levels of the North East in its upcoming Industrial Strategy.
Claire Perry:
Local industrial strategies will identify local strengths, future opportunities and the
action needed in each area to boost productivity and competiveness, based on
rigorous analysis.
Through our Industrial Strategy, we will make sure that we are using all the tools we
have to stimulate growth in places such as the North East. This includes through the
North East LEP Growth Deal which is supporting jobs growth and economic
development with £379.6m of Local Growth Fund. The North East LEP estimates that
their Growth Deal will lead to the creation of 8,000 jobs.
Whilst it is not region specific the North East can take advantage of the further
investment of £725m in a second wave of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund
across the UK to respond to some of the greatest global challenges and opportunities
and support sector productivity. We will also increase the National Productivity
Investment Fund, by £8bn taking it to £31bn and extending to 2022-23. This will
support investments in transport, housing and digital infrastructure. In addition:
815,000 people living and working in the North of Tyne will benefit from an
ambitious devolution deal agreed between the government and the North of Tyne
authorities. This includes a new £600 million long-term investment fund over the
next thirty years to be spent on local priorities, such as skills and employment,
adult education, and rural productivity.
Increasing national research and development spending to 2.4 per cent, boosting
the North East’s strength in research and innovation
The Tees Valley Combined Authority will receive £59 million from a new £1.7 billion
Cities Transformation Fund. Funding will be invested in transport projects which
drive productivity by improving connectivity and reducing congestion.
CABINET OFFICE
Average Earnings
Chris Ruane: [114933]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average income was for an (a) public
and (b) private sector employee for each income decile in each of the last thirty years;
and if he will make a statement.
Chris Skidmore:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority.
I have asked the Authority to reply.
Attachments:
1. UKSA response [PQ 114933.pdf]
Blood: Contamination
Jo Platt: [115417]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if his Department will require investigation into
allegations of cover-up as part of the inquiry into contaminated blood.
Jo Platt: [115422]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the inquiry into blood contamination
will include a panel of experts to assist the Chair of that inquiry.
Damian Green:
I refer the Honourable Member to my Written Ministerial Statement of 3 November, in
which I commit to making a further statement on the setting up of the inquiry before
the end of this year.
Cabinet Office: Telephone Services
Jon Trickett: [111471]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which public telephone lines for his
Department's services are charged at higher rates; and how much was taken by each
such telephone line in the last 12 months.
Caroline Nokes:
Cabinet Office has no public telephone lines that are charged at higher rates.
Cabinet Office: Written Questions
Justin Madders: [111181]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to Question 108821,
tabled on 19 October 2017 by the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston.
Caroline Nokes:
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to Question 108821 on 28 November
2017.
Anneliese Dodds: [112759]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to answer Question 109638,
tabled on 25 October 2017.
Caroline Nokes:
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to Question 109638 on 27 November
2017.
Carillion
Jon Trickett: [115143]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether a Crown Representative has been
assigned to Carillion.
Caroline Nokes:
As Carillion is a strategic supplier to Government, they have been assigned a Crown
Representative.
Jon Trickett: [115303]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what risk was identified during the procurement
process that identified Carillion as a service delivery contractor to (a) the operation of
public services and (b) value for money of the potential effect of Carillion plc going into
administration.
Jon Trickett: [115304]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, , what risk was identified during the
procurement process that identified Carillion as a service delivery supplier, to (a) the
operation of public services and (b) value for money in the event of any strategic supplier
to the Government going into administration.
Caroline Nokes:
It is the responsibility of the Contracting Authority to ensure it is compliant with EU
procurement legislation during any procurement process. Contracting Authorities will
assess the risk of appointing any given supplier, and this will be tailored to the
requirements of the specific procurement.
Cervical Cancer
John Mann: [114867]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office, what change there has been in the
number of deaths caused by cervical cancer in England in the last five years, broken
down by age group; what strains of HPV have been identified as causes of death; and
how many of those deaths occurred for women who had been vaccinated against HPV.
Chris Skidmore:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority.
I have asked the Authority to reply.
Attachments:
1. UKSA response [PQ114867.pdf]
Deloitte
Andrew Gwynne: [113309]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2017
to Question 111537, on Deloitte, on how many occasions Deloitte reported to
Government significant cyber security incidents in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017.
Caroline Nokes:
It is at the discretion of a company to choose whether to report cyber incidents to
Government. The Government maintains the confidentiality of these reports and does
not disclose the number of occasions an organisation has reported to us. The advice
from the National Cyber Security Centre is that timely notification is strongly
recommended.
Domestic Violence Protection Orders
Philip Davies: [114785]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Domestic Violence Protection
Orders have been (a) applied for and (b) granted in the latest year for which information
is available, broken down by the sex of the person subject to each order in each
category.
Chris Skidmore:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority.
I have asked the Authority to reply.
Attachments:
1. UKSA response [PQ 114785.pdf]
Electoral Register
Alex Norris: [111332]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of
eligible people not on the electoral register for the last five general elections in (a) the UK
and (b) Nottingham North.
Chris Skidmore:
[Holding answer 15 November 2017]: Information regarding the total number of
unregistered people of voting age is not held by the Government. Only totals for the
number of registered electors are held, and these can be accessed through the Office
For National Statistics website. It should be noted, however, that registration levels
have increased at every General Election since 2005, and the register used for the
2017 General Election was the largest in our history, standing at 46.9 million entries.
This is undoubtedly due, in large part, to the introduction of the Government’s
Register to Vote website, which has delivered great benefits to electors, making
registering to vote simpler and more accessible than ever before.
It is the Government’s intention to build on this success by publishing a Democratic
Engagement Plan in December, which will have the ambition of making the General
Election in 2022 the most inclusive to date.
Jim McMahon: [113169]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate his Department has
made of the number of adults not registered to vote in each year from 2010 to date.
Chris Skidmore:
[Holding answer 20 November 2017]: Data concerning the number people registered
to vote is held by Electoral Registration Officers, not by the Government. Each year,
figures relating to the 1 December published register are provided by Electoral
Registration Officers to the Office for National Statistics. After processing, the ONS
then publishes the collected statistics on its website. You can find these at
goo.gl/uXB4aK. Statistics relating to the 1 December 2017 register will be available in
2018.
Chris Ruane: [114798]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent steps his Department has taken to
encourage third sector organisations to help increase the level of electoral registration.
Chris Skidmore:
The Government recognises the vital role that civil society plays in promoting
democratic engagement and electoral registration. We will continue to work closely
with such organisations, including to deliver National Democracy Week in July 2018.
Electoral Register: Databases
Chris Ruane: [114804]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which (a) national and (b) local authority
databases may be interrogated by electoral registration officers.
Chris Skidmore:
Electoral registration officers have extensive powers in the Representation of the
People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 (RPR) and equivalent Regulations in
Scotland. Regulation 23 allows an ERO to require information from any person for the
purpose of fulfilling an ERO’s duty to maintain the electoral registers. This includes
seeking to identify electors missing from the register who appear on other data
sources. Failure of a person to comply with an EROs’ request under this regulation is
an offence and could result in that person being subject to a fine.
Other regulations within the RPR (35 and 35A) also allow an ERO to inspect, for the
purpose of his/her registration duties, records kept by their local authority (including
across different tiers of local councils) and any registrar of births, deaths and
marriages.
Electoral Register: Disability
Alex Norris: [111331]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of
the potential merits of (a) joining up existing disability registers with the electoral register
and (b) recording preferences on accessing information on the electoral register.
Chris Skidmore:
[Holding answer 15 November 2017]: In response to the recent Department of
Health consultation on the future use of the CVI, I expressed my support to allow
someone to provide their consent for the local authority to use the information to
provide support at elections for blind and partially sighted voters, and my officials are
currently working with their DH colleagues to determine how this can be
implemented.
Local authorities already hold a register of partially sighted and blind people and are
expected to use this information to ensure that election communications are provided
to named citizens in accessible formats.
On 5th September, at the meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Learning
Disability, I launched a Call for Evidence to support the Government’s commitment to
ensure the electoral system is accessible for all electors. The deadline for responses
was 14th November 2017 and around 250 responses have been received.
The Government, in partnership with the members of the Cabinet-Office-chaired
Accessibility of Elections Working Group, which includes representatives from leading
charities and key electoral stakeholders, will now review the evidence received and
produce a report of key findings and recommendations. The aim is to publish the
report in Spring 2018.
Electoral Register: Internet
Alex Norris: [110232]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of
the potential merits of setting up an online service for voters to check whether they are
already registered to vote for the purposes of reducing the number of duplicate
applications.
Chris Skidmore:
I refer you to my answer to the member for Lancaster and Fleetwood. Determining an
individual’s registration status is the responsibility of Electoral Registration Officers
and only EROs hold up-to-date information allowing a citizen to check if they are
registered. This means that citizens can contact their local electoral administration
office to make enquiries about registration status.
Making information about registration status available on-line on a national basis
would be a significant undertaking and we have no current plans to introduce such a
system. It may be more appropriate for EROs to work with their software suppliers to
make registers available for checking on-line.
Electoral Register: North West
Dan Carden: [113051]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many more people were registered to vote
as of 1 November 2017 than was the case at the time of the publication of the official
2015 electoral register in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Liverpool and (c) the
North West.
Chris Skidmore:
[Holding answer 20 November 2017]: Data concerning the number people registered
to vote is held by Electoral Registration Officers, not by the Government. Each year,
figures relating to the 1 December published register are provided by Electoral
Registration Officers to the Office for National Statistics. After processing, the ONS
then publishes the collected statistics on its website. You can find these at
goo.gl/uXB4aK. Statistics relating to the 1 December 2017 register will be available in
2018.
Electronic Government
Jon Trickett: [110275]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what products have been sold through
Common Technology Services; to which Departments those products have been sold;
and what the value is of each such product.
Caroline Nokes:
Information on the range of services available under the Crown Commercial Service’s
Technology Services Framework (RM1058) can be found at:
http://ccs-agreements.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/contracts/rm1058
A total of £92, 568, 225 has been spent on services through this framework.
The following organisations have used this framework:
Aberdeen City Council
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Arena and Convention Centre Ltd
Army Training Department
Bank of England
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
Barnfield West Academy
Barts Health NHS Trust
Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
BBC
BBC Procurement
Bedford Borough Council
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Big Lottery Fund
Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Bracknell Forest Borough Council
Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Trust
Bristol City Council
British Transport Police
Cabinet Office
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service
Cardiff Council
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service
Cleveland College of Art and Design
Community Health Partnerships
Competition Commission
Corby Business Academy
Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
Criminal Justice Inspectorate
Defence Electronics and Components Agency
Defence Equipment and Support (Bath)
Defence Equipment and Support Information Services and Systems
Department for Business Energy & Industrial Strategy
Department for Education
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Department for International Development
Department for Transport
Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Derbyshire Constabulary
Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
East Ayrshire Council
East Cheshire NHS Trust
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust
East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
Eden District Council
Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust
Essex Police
Frimley Park Hospital Nhs Trust
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Government Actuary's Department
Government Commercial Function
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
Hanover Housing Association
Health and Safety Executive
Health Research Authority
Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust
Highways England
Historic England
HM Prison Service Shared Services
Home Office
Home Office Scientific Development Branch
Homes and Communities Agency
HS2 Limited
Information Centre for Health and Social Care
James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Kent County Council
Kent Police
Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Land Registry
Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Council
London Borough of Lambeth Council
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust
Manchester City Council
Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency
Medway NHS Foundation Trust
Met Office
Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust
Mid Essex NHS Trust
Midland Heart
Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Ministry Of Defence Director Financial Management
Ministry of Justice
Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Trust
National Archives
National Audit Office
National Library Of Scotland
National Museums Of Scotland
NHS Blood And Transplant
NHS Connecting for Health
NHS Digital
NHS Forth Valley
NHS Hertfordshire
NHS Hillingdon Clinical Commissioning Group
NHS North and East London Commissioning Support Unit
NHS South East London
North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust
North East London NHS Foundation Trust
North Lanarkshire Council
North West London Commissioning Partnership
North Yorkshire Police
Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust
Northern Lighthouse Board
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Nottinghamshire County Council
Ordnance Survey
Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust
Public Health England
Registers of Scotland
Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Royal Bournemouth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust The
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust
Rural Payments Agency
Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
Scottish Police Authority
Scottish Prison Service
Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust
Shropshire Council
Skills Development Scotland
South Ayrshire Council
South Tees Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
South Wales Police
St Georges Healthcare NHS Trust
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust
Stratton Upper School
Student Loans Company
Supplier Nil Return
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
Surrey County Council
Telford and Wrekin Council
The National Archives
The Pensions Regulator
The Water Services Regulation Authority
UK Atomic Energy Authority
UK Hydrographic Office
UK Shared Business Services Limited
University Hospital of North Midlands NHS Trust
University Hospitals of Bristol NHS Foundation Trust
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust
University of Aberdeen
University of Gloucestershire
Victoria Health Centre
Wakefield MDC
Warrington Borough Council
Watford Borough Council
West Midlands Police Authority
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Zero Waste Scotland
To provide information on the cost of each item provided would incur a
disproportionate cost.
RM1058 was replaced by Technology Services 2 (RM3804), which came into effect
on 6 September 2017. Information on the range of services available under this
framework can be found at
http://ccs-agreements.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/contracts/rm3804
As this is a new agreement, no spend data is available at present.
Emigration: Zimbabwe
Liz McInnes: [115286]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate his Department has
made of the size of the Zimbabwean diaspora in the UK.
Chris Skidmore:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority.
I have asked the Authority to reply.
Attachments:
1. UKSA response [PQ115286.pdf]
Government Chief Scientific Adviser: Public Appointments
Jon Trickett: [114544]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many candidates were considered for the
position of Chief Scientific Adviser.
Damian Green:
There were 18 applications for the position of Government Chief Scientific Adviser.
Government Departments: Business Plans
Martyn Day: [114990]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance he gives to government
departments on the (a) timetable for publication of their Single Departmental Plans and
(b) extent of content reference in those plans to steps to attain the Sustainable
Development Goals; and if he will make a statement.
Caroline Nokes:
Following the election, Cabinet Office asked departments to update their Single
Departmental Plans. The Government intends to reflect updated SDPs on GOV.UK
later this year.
In updated plans, departments have been asked to outline how planned activity will
support the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Government Departments: Contracts for Services
Jon Trickett: [114743]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department issues on the
contractual obligations of private companies delivering Government services and the
complaints procedures available to the public when those obligations are not met.
Caroline Nokes:
The Cabinet Office has issued a Model Services Contract, which includes sections on
contractual obligations and remedial procedures:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/526358
/Model_Services_Contract_v1.02.pdf
The Crown Commercial Service also published Procurement Policy Notes (PPNs) on
a range of issues including supplier past performance and prompt payment in supply
chains. PPNs can be found on GOV.UK:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/procurement-policy-notes
The Government Commercial Function has published a Supplier Code of Conduct,
which sets out the standards we expect of those companies supplying goods and
services to government:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/646497
/2017-09-13_Official_Sensitive_Supplier_Code_of_Conduct_September_2017.pdf
Government Departments: Equality
Jo Stevens: [114744]
To ask the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office, what form of technical capacity the
Government plans to provide to each relevant department to enable it to implement
Sustainable Development Goal 5.
Caroline Nokes:
The Government is committed to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals
including Goal 5.
The Cabinet Office's role is primarily to co-ordinate the departmental planning
process to ensure all of our obligations are adequately reflected. My department also
provides support to DfID as the lead department, however, all departments are
responsible for their respective contributions to the delivery of the Goals by 2030.
The departmental planning process is an effective tool in ensuring the Government is
making progress in meeting our obligations, including on gender equality.
Government Departments: Grants
Mr Steve Reed: [112173]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Government Grant Information
Service will standardise its use of the 360Giving format across all Government
departments.
Chris Skidmore:
[Holding answer 13 November 2017]: The Cabinet Office Grants Efficiency Function
developed the Government Grants Information system (GGIS) in close collaboration
with 360Giving to align GGIS data collection requirements with their recommended
standards. Data will be published at scheme level covering the 2017/18 financial year
in 2018. It is not currently possible to estimate how many departments will be in a
position to publish data to 360Giving Standards in 2018 because full data for 2017/18
has not yet been captured.
Government Departments: Procurement
David T. C. Davies: [115358]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of the Government's direct
cash spend in England on (a) general goods and services, (b) social care and (c)
construction works was won by firms registered in England in the last 12 months for
which figures are available.
Caroline Nokes:
Information on the nationality of suppliers is not routinely held centrally.
However, figures for contracts won by firms with UK addresses were set out in HMG's
Balance of Competences Service review in the summer of 2014:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-uk-and-eu-balance-of-
competences-call-for-evidence-on-the-single-market-free-movement-of-services .
This showed that UK firms won more than 95% of UK contracts advertised EU-wide,
either by number or value.
Government Departments: Staff
Jon Trickett: [115220]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to Answer of 14 November 2017 to
Question 111108 on Department for Exiting the European Union: Staff, what estimate he
has made of the number of staff to be recruited in each Department; the grade at which
staff will be recruited and what professions will be recruited.
Caroline Nokes:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 14 November 2017 to
Question 111108.
Government Departments: Telephone Services
Chris Stephens: [110803]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that third-
party telephone providers do not have access to Government helplines; and if he will
make a statement.
Caroline Nokes:
Government Helpline services are procured from a wide range of Telecommunication
providers in the UK. These services are contracted by Government from the
Telecommunication market in accordance with both Ofcom regulation and the Data
Protection act. As such third party telecommunications providers are an integral part
of the Government supply chain, and Government is taking no steps to remove third
party Telecommunications providers from ensuring that citizens can communicate
with Government easily.
Jon Trickett: [111594]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department's 2013 guidance that
ordered Departments to stop using higher-rate telephone lines for key services was ever
revoked or updated.
Caroline Nokes:
[Holding answer 13 November 2017]: In December 2013 the Government published
guidance on departments’ use of telephone prefixes and freephone numbers. This
was updated and published in October 2015 and can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/470411
/20151006_Customer_phone_lines_draft_guidance_October_2015.pdf
Intelligence and Security Committee
Paul Flynn: [107524]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he expects the Intelligence Security
Committee for the current Parliament to be formally reconstituted; and if he will make a
statement.
Damian Green:
[Holding answer 17 October 2017]: The Intelligence and Security Committee has
been appointed following the approval of motions in both Houses of Parliament.
Local Government: Elections
Chris Green: [112666]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which local authorities expressed interest in
conducting a voter ID pilot in polling stations for the May 2018 local elections but
subsequently decided not to proceed with that pilot.
Chris Skidmore:
The opportunity to pilot voter ID in May 2018 was offered to all local authorities in
Great Britain and Woking, Gosport, Bromley, Swindon and Watford have committed
to do so. In addition, Tower Hamlets will be piloting measures to improve the integrity
of the postal vote process. In September 2017 we announced that Slough would also
be piloting voter ID however it subsequently voted to withdraw from the pilot.
While working with those that expressed interest over the following months the
Cabinet Office and the local authorities themselves agreed on the extent of their
participation, including their continuation to a live pilot or as a supportive reference
authority. Participation is voluntary and a matter for each local authority
Low Pay
Mr Gregory Campbell: [115135]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the change has been in the number of
people employed full-time and earning less than £11,000 per annum from January (a)
2012 to (b) 2017.
Chris Skidmore:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority.
I have asked the Authority to reply.
Attachments:
1. UKSA response [PQ 115135.pdf]
Members: Email
Justin Madders: [108821]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether electronic communications from hon.
Members to Ministers are passed through any third parties before they reach their
recipient.
Caroline Nokes:
Electronic communications are passed across the internet via internet service
providers and the routing of an email between an Hon Member and a Government
department is dependent on which system and service an email is sent. Ministers’
Private Offices and correspondence teams routinely handle and respond to emails on
behalf of their Ministers.
Ministers: Autobiography
Jon Trickett: [110706]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what records his Department holds on the use
of the Radcliffe exclusion rule recommended by the Radcliffe Committee of Enquiry into
Civil Service Security Procedure.
Caroline Nokes:
The then Prime Minister (Mr Blair) announced to the House on 19 June 1997 (Col
WA 246) the creation of the independent Security Vetting Appeals Panel, to hear
appeals against the refusal or withdrawal of security clearance. The establishment of
the Panel, chaired by a senior retired member of the judiciary, brought to an end the
role of the Three Advisers who, since 1948, had been available to consider cases
where security clearance was refused or withdrawn on the grounds of subversion.
The last reference to the Three Advisers was made in 1967. In his statement to
Parliament on 27 July 2010, the Prime Minister (Mr Cameron) set out HMG policy on
security vetting underlining its critical importance in protecting UK interests and its
application to those with access to sensitive Government assets and placed in the
library a document setting out Government policy in this area (Government Security
Controls)
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/299547
/HMG_Personnel_Security_Controls.pdf.
This includes the mechanisms available to individuals to appeal against adverse
security vetting decisions. The Government continues to attach importance to
security vetting as part of its work to protect the country and its citizens, but it
recognises the rights of individuals to appeal against adverse decisions internally
and, if they are aggrieved about the outcome, to appeal to the Panel.
Prime Minister: Italy
Martin Docherty-Hughes: [112045]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse was of
translating and promoting the Prime Minister's speech in Florence on 22 September 2017
in (a) English, (b) German, (c) French, (d) Italian, (e) Spanish, (f) Polish, (g) Dutch and (h)
any other languages.
Martin Docherty-Hughes: [112046]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse was of his
Department's advertising of the Prime Minister's speech in Florence on 22 September
2017 on (a) Facebook, (b) Twitter and (c) all other social media platforms.
Chris Skidmore:
The Government regularly uses digital advertising to reach audiences with key
messages both at home and abroad. Annual government advertising spend is around
£140 million, of which £60 million is spent on digital channels. The Florence speech
was an important moment as we approach the next stage of Brexit negotiations -
discussing our future relationship with the EU once we have left. More detailed
information will be published in the Government Communication Service’s annual
report.
Public Sector: Cybercrime
Mr Jim Cunningham: [115042]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans his Department has to record
centrally the number of cyber attacks on public services.
Caroline Nokes:
The Cabinet Office does currently not plan to record centrally the number of cyber
attacks against public services as each department manages incidents which affect
the services they are responsible for. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC),
working with law enforcement partners, strongly encourages all organisations to
report cyber attacks but this is currently voluntary for all such incidents. Those reports
received by the NCSC are recorded.
Public Sector: Procurement
Catherine West: [111733]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Government will implement a moratorium
on those companies which are being investigated as a result of the Paradise Papers
being awarded public sector contracts.
Catherine West: [111779]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government plans to take as a
result of information in the Paradise Papers relating to companies that hold existing
government contracts.
Caroline Nokes:
The 2015 Public Contract Regulations implemented the latest EU Public Procurement
Directive, and introduced a new obligation for public bodies to exclude suppliers from
a procurement where the supplier has been found guilty of breaching its obligations in
relation to payment of taxes. This has been established by a judicial or administrative
decision having final effect within the relevant jurisdiction.
Jon Trickett: [114989]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect of
the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 set at in Procurement Policy
Note 04/15 on restricting the taking into account of past performance in awarding
contracts on competition, social value and value for money from the public purse.
Caroline Nokes:
UK public procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of value for money,
which means the optimum combination of cost and quality over the lifetime of the
project. Wider socio-economic criteria can be taken into account at tender evaluation
stage if they relate directly to the subject matter of a contract from the point of view of
the contracting authority.
The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 explicitly allows past performance to be taken
into account, and we issued Procurement Policy Note 04/15 to assist public procurers
to do so.
Technology
Andrew Percy: [113183]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of
the (a) effect, (b) uptake and (c) observance of Government non-statutory guidance in the
IT, technology and digital sector by industry, civil society and others.
Caroline Nokes:
The Government Digital Service has lead responsibility for digital and technology
guidance and standards in central Government, through the Digital by Default Service
Standard, Government Service Design Manual and Technology Code of Practice. All
Government departments are required to follow the standards and guidance when
developing new IT and digital solutions. All standards and guidance are fully open
and other organisations are welcome to follow the good practice set out in these
documents.
Although my department makes no formal assessment of the uptake of these
standards and guidance beyond central government, we assure that central
government meets these standards through spending controls and service
assessments and via the monitoring of service performance on GOV.UK to assure
that high quality services are delivered to users.
TREASURY
Children: Day Care
Lucy Powell: [115530]
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people eligible for tax-free childcare
earn (a) less than £10,000, (b) £10,001 to £19,999, (c) £20,000 to £29,999, (d) £30,000
to £39,999, (e) £40,000 to £49,999, (f) 50,000 to 59,999, (g) 60,000 to £69,999, (h)
£70,000 to £79,999, (i) £80,000 to £89,999 and (j) £90,000 to £100,000.
Lucy Powell: [115536]
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many households eligible for tax-free
childcare are on incomes of (a) less than £19,999, (b) £20,000 to £39,999, (c) £40,000 to
£59,999, (d) £60,000 to 79,999, (e) £80,000 to 99,999, (f) £100,000 to £119,999, (g)
£120,000 to £139,999, (h) £140,000 to £159,999, (i) £160,000 to 179,999, and (j)
£180,000 to £200,000.
Elizabeth Truss:
The income critiera for Tax-Free Childcare is that parents (and their partner if they
have one) earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours per week at national living wage,
and less than £100,000 per annum, and not be claiming tax credits or Universal
Credit.
Tracy Brabin: [115571]
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November to
Question 113353, whether there has been no change in the number of tax-free childcare
accounts since 16 October 2017.
Elizabeth Truss:
As of 24 November there were live Tax-Free Childcare accounts for approximately
170,000 children.
Emergency Services: Scotland
Alan Brown: [115290]
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many meetings he has had with the hon.
Member for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock to discuss a VAT exemption for police and fires
services in Scotland; and when those meetings took place.
Alan Brown: [115292]
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many meetings he has had with the hon.
Member for Banff and Buchan to discuss a VAT exemption for police and fires services in
Scotland; and when those meetings took place.
Alan Brown: [115293]
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many meetings he has had with the hon.
Member for Dumfries and Galloway to discuss a VAT exemption for police and fires
services in Scotland; and what the dates of those meetings were.
Alan Brown: [115294]
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many meetings he has had with the hon.
Member for East Renfrewshire to discuss a VAT exemption for police and fires services
in Scotland; and when those meetings took place.
Alan Brown: [115295]
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many meetings he has had with the hon.
Member for Moray to discuss a VAT exemption for police and fires services in Scotland;
and when those meetings took place.
Mel Stride:
Government ministers regularly meet with Members of Parliament to discuss policy
issues.
Employee Benefit Trusts: Regulation
Ian Austin: [114708]
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review the regulation of employee
benefit trusts with reference to representations made on behalf of the Roadchef
Employees Benefit Trust.
Mel Stride:
I refer the Hon Member to my written answer of 5 July 2017 (UIN 1465).
Financial Services
Stephen Timms: [115454]
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to promote the UK as a global
financial centre?
Stephen Barclay:
The UK is home to the world’s preeminent financial centre. In addition to our natural
advantages, such as a central time zone and the English language, we have
strengths across all the major sectors – banking, asset management, and insurance
– alongside a globally respected regulatory system, and world-class legal and
professional services.
The government is committed to further enhancing this position, as well as
strengthening the UK’s already world-leading positions in the markets of the future,
whether in FinTech, green and sustainable finance, or rupee and renminbi products.
In addition, the government maintains an open and constructive dialogue with the
financial services sector. This includes through the Financial Services Trade and
Investment Board, which is tasked with boosting and promoting the competitive
position of UK financial services.
The UK also holds a number of annual Economic and Financial Dialogues (EFD) with
key emerging markets, such as the UK-Brazil EFD last held in July, the UK-China
EFD taking place this December, and the UK-India EFD which will take place again
next year. These EFDs are Chancellor led Treasury to Treasury dialogues, aimed at
increasing financial cooperation and establishing the UK as the partner of choice for
priority overseas markets.
Financial Services: EU Law
Stephen Timms: [115458]
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the extent to
which the UK will be able to influence detailed regulation being developed from the
Markets in Financial Instruments Directive; and if he will make a statement.
Stephen Barclay:
The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) II implements commitments
made by the G20 in 2009 in light of the financial crisis. The UK achieved its key
objectives in negotiations for MiFID II, which introduces changes that are necessary
to support the effective functioning of financial markets.
The detailed regulations under MiFID II, which take the form of delegated acts and
regulatory technical standards, are largely complete ahead of their application on 3
January 2018. The UK authorities have been fully engaged in their development. The
Chancellor has no plans to make a specific statement at this time.
Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands
Mr Gregory Campbell: [114838]
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of
people who pay higher-rate income tax in the last five years.
Mel Stride:
Estimates of the number of taxpayers by marginal tax rate are published in National
Statistics table 3.4, which is part of HMRC’s Personal Incomes Statistics collection.
The latest available tax year is 2014-15.
Tables for tax years 2010-11 to 2014‑15 can be found at the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-tax-liabilities-of-starting-savers-
basic-and-higher-rate-taxpayers-by-largest-source-of-income-2010-to-2011
For convenience, the numbers of individuals for each of the five years have been
collated in the table below:
TAX YEAR TOTAL NUMBER OF TAXPAYERS (THOUSANDS)
Higher rate Additional rate
TAX YEAR TOTAL NUMBER OF TAXPAYERS (THOUSANDS)
2010-11 3,020 236
2011-12 3,570 262
2012-13 3,720 273
2013-14 4,200 311
2014-15 4,300 328
Notes on the table
1. Counts of individuals are rounded to the nearest thousand and to three significant
figures.
2. Counts of individuals liable at the Higher marginal rate excludes those liable at the
Additional rate, which are therefore shown separately.
3. Marginal tax rate is the rate paid on the last unit of income.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-incomes-statistics
Mr Stephen Hepburn: [115324]
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.5 of the Autumn
Budget 2017, what estimate he has made of the number of taxpayers in (a) Jarrow
constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England who will benefit
from the increase of the personal allowance and higher rate threshold.
Mel Stride:
The Government is increasing the income tax personal allowance and higher rate
threshold to £11,850 and £46,350 respectively in 2018-19, as set out in paragraph
3.5 of the Autumn Budget 2017.
In England, government increases to the PA and HRT will have lifted around 986,000
people out of income tax altogether in 2018-19 compared to 2015-16, and 26.1m
people will have gained by an average of £195.
In the North East of England, government increases to the PA and HRT will have
lifted around 52,000 people out of income tax altogether in 2018-19 compared to
2015-16, and 1.2m people will have gained by an average of £185.
HM Treasury does not publish this information at district or constituency level.
Job Creation
Richard Graham: [902596]
What progress is being made on creating jobs and reducing unemployment.
Elizabeth Truss:
The unemployment rate is the lowest since 1975 / in over 42 years (at 4.3%)
Research and Development Expenditure Credit
Mr Stephen Hepburn: [115325]
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.26 of the Autumn
Budget 2017, what estimate the Government has made of the number of businesses that
will benefit from the increase in R&D expenditure credit in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b)
South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England.
Mel Stride:
The number of businesses registered in (a) Jarrow constituency and (b) South
Tyneside which claim the R&D expenditure credit (RDEC) cannot be disclosed for
reasons of taxpayer confidentiality.
The estimated numbers of businesses registered in (c) the North East and (d)
England which claimed RDEC in 2015-16 are published in Table RD5 of the R&D Tax
Credits National Statistics:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/corporate-tax-research-and-development-
tax-credit
These statistics also show the estimated number of businesses which claimed under
the large company scheme that has now been replaced by RDEC.
Roadchef: Employee Benefit Trusts
Ian Austin: [114706]
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on
repayment of monies held by HM Revenue and Customs to the Roadchef Employees
Benefit Trust.
Mel Stride:
The Government receives representations on a wide range of issues. It is not normal
practice to release details of representations regarding specific cases.
Tax Collection
Ian Austin: [114709]
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will issue guidance to HM Revenue and
Customs on unjust enrichment as a result of the case of the Roadchef Employees Benefit
Trust.
Mel Stride:
The administration of the tax system, including where appropriate the repayment of
tax or duties, is a matter for HM Revenue and Customs. It would not be appropriate
for Treasury Ministers to become involved in specific cases.
Treasury: Postal Services
James Gray: [114611]
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what security measures his Department has in
place relating to the receipt by his Department of incoming post and parcels; and what
discussions he has had with the British Forces Postal Office on providing such services.
Andrew Jones:
The department’s mail is initially scanned offsite for suspect content, before being
delivered by private delivery service to our offices. We have had no discussion with
BFPO on providing such services.
Unionlearn
Paula Sherriff: [R] [115570]
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Autumn Budget 2017,
paragraph 4.23, how much financial support will be provided to Unionlearn in the next two
years.
Elizabeth Truss:
As announced in the Autumn Budget, the government will provide £8.5 million over
the next two years to support Unionlearn. This additional funding will bring the total
government investment in Unionlearn to £12 million per year for the next two years.
Universal Credit
Fiona Onasanya: [902584]
What discussions he has had with Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the
potential effect of the roll-out of universal credit on levels of household income?
Elizabeth Truss:
I refer the hon member to my oral answer of earlier today to the hon member for
Midlothian (Danielle Rowley).
COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Department for Communities and Local Government: Postal Services
James Gray: [114612]
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what security
measures his Department has in place relating to the receipt by his Department of
incoming post and parcels; and what discussions he has had with the British Forces
Postal Office on providing such services.
Mr Marcus Jones:
My Department follows guidance issued by the Centre for the Protection of National
Infrastructure for establishing secure postal monitoring services. We have had no
discussions with the British Forces Postal Office on providing screening mail
services.
Fireworks: Accidents
Toby Perkins: [114692]
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information
his Department holds on the number of (a) people and (b) animals injured in incidents
involving fireworks during November in each of the last five years.
Jake Berry:
The Department for Communities and Local Government does not hold data for
people or animals injured in incidents involving fireworks.
Grenfell Tower: Fires
Mr David Lammy: [114653]
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his
oral contribution of 5 September 2017, Official Report, column 78, what steps his
Department has taken to establish a family bereavement centre for families affected by
the Grenfell Tower fire.
Alok Sharma:
The Family and Friends Assistance Centre is a centre for bereaved families providing
them with access to professional support from a multi-disciplinary team and space to
spend time together. The centre has been operational since the immediate days
following the fire, overseen initially by the Grenfell Response Team and then the
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council. Confidential rooms provide a
comfortable environment with staff on hand to provide support and advice.
The Centre recently moved to new long-term premises and services include
emotional support and counselling; NHS Post Traumatic Stress Disorder support;
financial advice by the Red Cross and support from specialist keyworkers, Family
Liaison Officers and Victim Support. The Senior Investigatory Officer from the
Metropolitan Police Service also attends the Centre to provide a link to the ongoing
police investigation.
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry will be engaging with bereaved families at the Centre,
explaining processes and answering queries.
At the Autumn Budget the Government announced £28 Million to enable the Royal
Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council to support the victims and communities.
This includes £3 million towards the operating costs of the Friends and Family
Assistance Centre for the next three years
Mr David Lammy: [114664]
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many
families affected by the Grenfell Tower fire have a key worker; and how many families
each such key worker is responsible for.
Alok Sharma:
As of the 21 November there are 155 keyworkers providing support to 508 families
affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.
Housing Estates: Regeneration
Mr David Lammy: [114674]
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funds his
Department has provided to local authorities and housing associations to support estate
regeneration since June 2017.
Alok Sharma:
The Estate Regeneration Programme is currently supporting and working with over
100 estates across the country.
The programme has been allocated £722 million of loans and grants to accelerate
schemes at the early stages of regeneration, build access to commercial skills and
provide long term finance for estate regeneration.
Local Government: Procurement
David T. C. Davies: [115355]
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of
local authority cash spend in England on (a) general goods and services, (b) social care
and (c) construction works was won by firms registered in England in the last 12 months
for which figures are available.
David T. C. Davies: [115359]
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of
capital contacts worth more than (a) £100,000, (b) £250,000, (c) £500,000 and (d) £1
million was won by firms registered in England in the last 12 months for which figures are
available.
Mr Marcus Jones:
The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect data on the
amount or proportion of local government procurement going to companies registered
in England.
Religious Hatred: Islam
Martyn Day: [114722]
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an
assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the Tell MAMA Annual Report
for 2016 on Anti-Muslim Hatred; and what steps his Department plans to take to address
the increase in the proportion of directly abusive and violent anti-Muslim incidents.
Mr Marcus Jones:
We take hate crime in all its forms very seriously that is why the United Kingdom has
some of the strongest hate crime legislation in the world. The increase in hate crime
reported to Tell Mama in part reflects a greater encouragement and confidence
around reporting as well as an increasing number of data sharing agreements with
police forces.
Nevertheless, it is deplorable that any Muslim citizens should be subjected to abuse
on account of their belief or appearance.
My Department works with Muslim communities through our anti-Muslim-hatred
working group to address the problem of hate crime and to encourage greater
reporting.
DEFENCE
Army
Toby Perkins: [114672]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members there were of each
Regiment of the British Army on 1st November 2017.
Mark Lancaster:
The number of personnel within each Army Arm/Corps as at 1 October 2017, latest
available figures, is shown below:
ARM/SERVICE TOTAL REGULARS
ARMY FUTURE
RESERVES 20
Staff 860 710 140
Household Cavalry/ Royal Armoured Corps 6,540 4,950 1,590
Royal Regiment of Artillery 8,450 6,240 2,210
Royal Engineers 11,350 8,370 2,980
Royal Corps of Signals 8,730 6,820 1,910
Infantry 29,050 21,470 7,580
Army Air Corps 2,170 1,740 430
Royal Army Chaplains' Department 200 130 60
Royal Logistic Corps 16,790 11,750 5,040
Royal Army Medical Corps 6,100 3,390 2,710
Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical
Engineers
10,140 8,440 1,700
Adjutant General's Corps 7,020 5,640 1,390
ARM/SERVICE TOTAL REGULARS
ARMY FUTURE
RESERVES 20
Royal Army Veterinary Corps 480 360 120
Small Arms School Corps 150 150 10
Royal Army Dental Corps 300 240 60
Intelligence Corps 3,120 1,790 1,330
Royal Army Physical Training Corps 470 440 30
Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps 1,690 950 740
Corps of Army Music 770 770 -
Senior Soldier Continuity Posts 230 230 -
General Service Corps/ General List 830 650 180
Others - - -
Officer Training Corps 110 - 110
Data Source Def Stat (Army) 01 October 2017
Notes:
Those figures marked ‘Regulars’ include Regulars, Gurkha’s, Full Time Reserve
Service Full Commitment ( FTRS (FC)) (excluding Lead First).
Those figures marked ‘Army Future Reserves 20’ include volunteer reserves who are
mobilised, High Readiness Reserves and those volunteer reserves serving on Full
Time Reserve Service and Additional Duties Commitment. Sponsored Reserves who
provide a more cost effective solution than volunteer reserve are also included.
Figures are for both untrained and trained strength.
For the purpose of this answer, FTRS have not been double counted in both FR20
and Full Time Strength and are within the FR20 column.
All Officers of Paid Rank Colonel and above are included in Staff, regardless of
previous Arm/Service.
For presentation purpose, figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in "5"
have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
Totals have been rounded separately and so may not appear to be the sum of their
parts.
“-” denotes zero or rounded to zero.
Army: Recruitment
Toby Perkins: [114675]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, How many new recruits have joined each
regiment of the British Army in 2017.
Mark Lancaster:
The following table shows the number of Untrained Regular, Gurkha’s and Future
Reserves 2020 (FR20) Intake of each Army Arm/Corps from 1 January 2017 to 30
September 2017.
ARM/SERVICE REGULARS ARMY FUTURE RESERVES 20
Staff - -
Household Cavalry/ Royal Armoured Corps 340 110
Royal Regiment of Artillery 420 150
Corps of Royal Engineers 560 150
Royal Corps of Signals 260 120
Infantry 1,820 700
Army Air Corps 60 20
Royal Army Chaplains' Department 10 -
Royal Logistic Corps 790 270
Royal Army Medical Corps 250 230
Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical
Engineers
580 120
Adjutant General's Corps 190 90
Royal Army Veterinary Corps 20 20
Royal Army Dental Corps 10 -
Intelligence Corps 40 110
Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps 30 50
Corps of Army Music 30 -
General Service Corps/ General List 590 30
Officer Training Corps - 40
Notes:
Those figures marked ‘Regulars’ include Regulars and Gurkha’s untrained intake.
Full Time Reserve Service (Full Commitment) (FTRS (FC)) population have not been
included in the figures as they must be trained on starting their FTRS engagement
and have previous service within the Armed Force.
Those figures marked ‘Army Future Reserves 20’ (FR20) include volunteer reserves
that are mobilised, High Readiness Reserves and those volunteer reserves serving
on Full Time Reserve Service and Additional Duties Commitment. Sponsored
Reserves who provide a more cost effective solution than volunteer reserve are also
included.
Personnel who transferred between the untrained Regular populations and the
untrained FR20 populations are included in the inflow figures. Intake to untrained
FR20 populations could include personnel coming from any other reserve population
not included in the FR20.
Regular officers (excluding Professionally Qualified Officers) join the Army as Officer
Cadets in the General Service Corps.
Professionally Qualified Officers (PQO) commission on entry to the appropriate
Regiment/Arm/Service on enlistment.
All Officers of Paid Rank Colonel and above are included in Staff, regardless of late
Arm/Service.
Figures are for untrained intake from 1st Jan 2017 to 30th Sept 2017, who inflow to
Phase 1 training, as well as those who direct entry into Phase 2 Training upon joining
the Army.
For presentation purpose, figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in "5"
have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
Totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not appear to be the
sum of their parts.
“-” denotes zero or rounded to zero.
Army: Resignations
Toby Perkins: [114677]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the British Army have
left each regiment in 2017.
Mark Lancaster:
The information to answer this question will take time to collate. I will write to the hon.
Member shortly.
Clyde Naval Base
Jo Stevens: [114654]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse of the
Government's planned nuclear infrastructure projects at Faslane and Coulport will be.
Harriett Baldwin:
I refer the hon. member to the answer I gave on 21 November 2017, to Question
112912 to the hon. Member for Leeds North East (Fabian Hamilton).
Attachments:
1. 112912 - Nuclear Weapons: Scotland
[20171122_112912_Nuclear_Weapons_Scotland.docx]
Jo Stevens: [114655]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what projects and programmes he plans to
expand nuclear infrastructure at Faslane and Coulport.
Harriett Baldwin:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 November 2017, to Question
112913, to the hon. Member for Leeds North East (Fabian Hamilton).
Attachments:
1. 112913 - Nuclear Weapons: Scotland
[20171121_112913_Nuclear_Weapons_Scotland.docx]
Jo Stevens: [114657]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether expenditure for planned nuclear
infrastructure projects at Faslane and Coulport will be allocated from the budget for
Trident.
Harriett Baldwin:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 November 2017 to Question
112914 to the hon. Member for Leeds North East (Fabian Hamilton).
Attachments:
1. 112914 - Nuclear Weapons: Scotland
[20171113_112914_Nuclear_Weapons_Scotland.docx]
Defence Equipment: Repairs and Maintenance
John Spellar: [115059]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has his Department made of
the potential merits of the use of 3D printing for equipment maintenance for operations.
Harriett Baldwin:
The impact of 3D Printing on defence is being studied thoroughly, through research
programmes, international collaboration and trials. Areas of study include the
potential impact on logistics, in-field repair, reducing equipment development times
and enhancing the performance of defence components.
Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator
Jo Stevens: [114659]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to publish recent reports of the
Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator.
Jo Stevens: [114661]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the
safety of the trident nuclear weapons system; and if he will make a statement.
Harriett Baldwin:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 November 2017 to Questions
112915 and 113221 to the hon. Member for Leeds North East (Fabian Hamilton).
Attachments:
1. 112915 - WQnA extract on Trident [Hansard Extract Hansard Extract 21 November
2017, HOC 112915.docx]
Islamic State: British Nationals Abroad
Clive Lewis: [114631]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures are in place to determine
whether British-born ISIS combatants have surrendered following the fall of Mosul and
Raqqa.
Clive Lewis: [115531]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures are in place to determine
whether any British-born ISIS combatants have surrendered as a result of the fall of
Mosul and Raqqa.
Mark Lancaster:
The surrender of Daesh fighters in Iraq and Syria - no matter what their nationality - is
a matter for local Iraqi Forces or Syrian Democratic Forces operating on the ground.
If a British national is detained in Iraq, we would expect to be notified by the Iraqi
authorities. The UK has no diplomatic representation in Syria and all consular
services are suspended. As a result, we are unable to confirm the status of British
nationals in Syria.
Islands: Hurricanes and Tornadoes
John Spellar: [115053]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has received from
the Department for International Development for its operation in support of hurricane hit
islands in 2017.
Mark Lancaster:
The detailed costs of the Defence response to hurricanes Irma and Maria are being
compiled and will be reported on in due course.
The Ministry of Defence will recover the majority of its additional costs from the cross-
Government Immediate Response fund established for the relief effort. Any additional
costs will be funded from the Deployed Military Assistance Pool, which exists to
support unforeseen short term military activity.
The cross-Government fund includes contributions from the Conflict Security and
Stabilisation Fund, Department for International Development and the Treasury
Reserve.
Military Exercises
Mrs Madeleine Moon: [114633]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Departmental guidance or regulations
stipulate a requirement to take temperature readings using a (a) mobile phone or (b) car
thermostat prior to (i) commencing (ii) continuing an exercise, training, or selection test;
and if he will make a statement.
Mr Tobias Ellwood:
Current Departmental guidance or regulations do not stipulate the use of a mobile
phone or car thermostat. This is because the risk of heat illness is not just from still
air temperature (as measured by a thermometer). Humidity and wind effects also
need to be factored in to give a more accurate predictor of risk.
Mrs Madeleine Moon: [114635]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Departmental guidance allows
exercise, training or selection events to take place in high temperatures where a wetbulb
globe temperature reading is not available; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Tobias Ellwood:
Departmental guidance does not preclude events taking place in high temperatures
where a Wet Bulb Globe Temperature index reading is not available. However, the
Commander must assess the risks (in accordance with the guidance), reduce them to
as low as reasonably practicable and then decide if the risk is acceptable.
Mrs Madeleine Moon: [114637]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether an exercise, selection or training
event would be cancelled in the event that some participants collapsed from heat
exhaustion; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Tobias Ellwood:
Current Departmental guidance calls for an activity to be 'paused' when a participant
is known to be suffering from heat exhaustion to allow time to assess the participant
and the risk to all other participants. If others are deemed to be at risk, further control
measures should be considered, including stopping the activity.
Ministry of Defence: Postal Services
James Gray: [114621]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what security measures his Department has in
place relating to the receipt by his Department of incoming post and parcels; and what
discussions he has had with the British Forces Postal Office on providing such services.
Mr Tobias Ellwood:
All mail received by the British Forces Postal Office (BFPO) is screened for potential
security threats. These security measures are reviewed annually.
The BFPO screens mail to international security standards assured by the Civil
Aviation Authority.
No discussions between Ministers and BFPO about security measures have taken
place.
National Security
Jo Stevens: [114663]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to publish the findings of the
national security capability review.
Gavin Williamson:
The National Security Capability Review is being conducted by the National Security
Adviser, with individual strands taken forward by cross-departmental teams. Defence
is one strand of the overall work programme. Any decisions on whether, when or to
what extent the conclusions of this work are made public are for Ministers to decide.
Royal Air Force Centre of Aviation Medicine
Sir Nicholas Soames: [114588]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the (a) location and (b) establishment
by rank of the Royal Air Force Centre of Aviation Medicine.
Mr Tobias Ellwood:
The Royal Air Force Centre of Aviation Medicine is based at RAF Henlow.
The establishment by rank is as follows:
NUMBER RANK
~ Air Commodore
~ Group Captain
10 Wing Commander
10 Squadron Leader
10 Junior Officers
NUMBER RANK
~ Warrant Officer
10 Chief Technician/Flight Sergeant
20 Sergeant
30 Corporal
10 Senior & Leading Aircraftsman
Due to the small populations generated by this level of detail and the possibility of
identifying individual personnel, data has been rounded to 10. When rounding to the
nearest 10, numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to
prevent systematic bias. “ ~ ” denotes a number less than or equal to 5.
Trident
Jo Stevens: [114665]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the (a) safety, (b) affordability and (c)
strategic relevance of the trident nuclear weapons system will be considered as part of
the national security capability review.
Harriett Baldwin:
On 18 July 2016, Parliament decisively supported our commitment to maintain the
UK's independent nuclear deterrent. That decision has been taken, and it is not under
consideration as part of the National Security Capability Review.
Jo Stevens: [114667]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to reduce defence
expenditure in some areas to pay for the cost of trident replacement.
Harriett Baldwin:
The Dreadnought submarine replacement programme remains within its budget and
will provide the ultimate guarantee of our national security.
DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Arts: EU Grants and Loans
Tom Watson: [115479]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if it is her
Department's policy that the UK should continue to pay in and be a member of the
Creative Europe programme once the UK has left the EU.
Matt Hancock:
We remain committed to supporting the UK creative industries and are consulting
closely with stakeholders to ensure that any ongoing funding commitments best serve
the UK's national interest.
The Prime Minister made clear in her speech in Florence that, where possible, and
where they are greatly to the UK and EU's joint advantage, we will want to continue
taking part in specific policies and programmes like Creative Europe.
European Capital of Culture
Alex Sobel: [115410]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to
Istanbul's being the European Capital of Culture in 2010, whether she plans to appeal the
European Commission decision to withdraw the UK from the European Capital of Culture
competition.
Chris Law: [115461]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she
has had with the European Commission on the decision to discontinue participation of the
UK in the European Capital of Culture competition.
Tom Watson: [115478]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her
department is negotiating with the European Commission on its reversing the decision
that the UK cannot participate in the European Capital of Culture 2023.
Hilary Benn: [115584]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what representations
she has made to the European Commission on its decision to exclude (a) Leeds and (b)
other UK cities from bidding for the European Capital of Culture 2023.
John Glen:
The European Commission wrote to the Permanent Secretary for the Department for
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 22 November 2017. A copy of the letter has
been placed in the Library. The five candidate cities were informed of the European
Commission’s decision on 23 November 2017.
Chris Law: [115465]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on what date her
Department received notification of the European Commission's decision to discontinue
participation of the UK in the European Capital of Culture competition.
Chris Law: [115487]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what representations
her Department has received from the European Commission on the reasons for its
decision to withdraw the UK entry for the European Capital of Culture in 2023.
John Glen:
The European Commission wrote to the Permanent Secretary for the Department for
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 22 November 2017. A copy of the letter has
been placed in the Library. The five candidate cities were informed of the European
Commission’s decision on 23 November 2017.
Tom Watson: [115470]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much
participating cities have spent on their bids to be European City of Culture 2023.
John Glen:
The information requested is not held by Government.
Gaming Machines
Stephen Timms: [115452]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will place in the
Library an estimate of the fiscal impact of each of the options in the Consultation on
Changes to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures?
Tracey Crouch:
On 31 October the Government published the Consultation on Proposals to Changes
to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures, together with its impact
assessment. The Consultation can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-proposals-for-changes-
to-gaming-machines-and-social-responsibility-measures
As policy develops in this area, DCMS will work closely with HM Treasury to establish
the fiscal effect.
Government Departments: Procurement
Jim McMahon: [115580]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the
Answer of 26 October 2017 to Question 109191, on Big Ben: iron and steel, whether the
Government plans to extend the provisions of the Social Value Act 2012 to ensure that
central government contracts have an area of interest defined as the UK.
Tracey Crouch:
The Office for Civil Society is responsible for Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.
Currently there are no plans to extend the reach of the act, but we are taking steps to
encourage uptake and will invite input on the topic of social value as part of the Civil
Society Strategy announced last week.
Licensed Premises
Jo Stevens: [115411]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the
Government intends to assess the importance of the night-time economy to regional
economies.
Matt Hancock:
We recognise the significant contribution that the night-time industries can make to
regional economies. Accessible culture is integral to this, so we have: revised
entertainment licensing and planning to make it easier for music and cultural venues
to operate and; ensured that public arts funding supports community organisations
and Creative Industry tax reliefs promote the development of new cultural
endeavours across the UK. As announced in the budget, DCMS will invest £2 million,
to support the role culture can play in regeneration and local growth.
Mass Media: Internet
Mr Jim Cunningham: [115432]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her
Department has commissioned research on the prevalence of so-called fake news across
social media and other internet platforms
Matt Hancock:
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has not commissioned any
research on the prevalence of fake news across online platforms including social
media. However as part of our Digital Charter we are looking at the role that such
platforms play in the news environment.
Olympic Games 2012
John Spellar: [114589]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much Olympic
legacy funding has been disbursed in respect of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell;
and if she will make a statement.
Tracey Crouch:
Government’s strategy ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for An Active Nation’ and
Sport England’s strategy ‘Towards an Active Nation’ highlight the importance of
focusing on groups that are particularly unlikely to take part in sport and physical
activity, such as women and girls and some Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME)
groups. It places a clear emphasis on putting the customer first and there are some
innovative programmes to encourage female and BAME participation in sport, such
as the This Girl Can Swim campaign.
But as the Government’s sport strategy makes clear, participation is not just about
playing sport, and the "Sports Governance Code", launched in October 2016, seeks
to ensure the very highest standards of governance across all sport bodies that
receive public money, including in terms of diversity, and aims to help the sport sector
to be more inclusive and welcoming to all. If sports bodies do not adhere to the code
and cannot demonstrate full commitment to becoming compliant with its requirements
they will not be eligible to receive public funding.
Sports: EU Grants and Loans
Jo Stevens: [115409]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much (a) funding
in total UK sports have received from the EU in each of the last 10 years and (b) funding
for infrastructure assistance, such as artificial pitches.
Tracey Crouch:
UK organisations have been able to access EU funding for sports projects since
2014, through Erasmus+. Erasmus+ is the EU's programme to support education,
training, youth and sport in Europe, and runs from 2014-2020. Its focus is on
educational mobility and exchange projects, and it does not provide assistance for
infrastructure projects.
Erasmus+ has seen UK-led sports partnerships allocated around €4m between 2014-
16. Sport England received £42,843 in 2014-15 and £33,440 in 2015-16 from
Erasmus+ for activity in support of the European Week of Sport.
EDUCATION
Adult Education
Mr David Lammy: [114682]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of (a) the
number of general further education colleges that offered evening and weekend course
for adult learners and (b) how many adult students attended such courses in each of the
last three years.
Anne Milton:
The government does not collect information on the number of general FE colleges
that offer evening and weekend courses for adult learners or the number of adult
students that attend those courses.
Evening and weekend courses play an important role in adult education; giving the
flexibility needed to attract those learners who have weekday commitments. These
courses are provided not only by Further Education (FE) colleges but also by other
training and learning providers, including those who receive Community Learning
funding as part of the Adult Education Budget.
However, a survey of adult and community learning commissioned last year showed
that evening classes are run in 1,380 local centres. The survey results from 97
providers suggested that approximately a third of those providers use more than 40%
of their budget for evening classes.
The government wants to explore new ways of making learning more accessible. On
31 October, we launched the £10 million Flexible Learning fund to support new and
flexible ways of delivering adult education. The deadline for bids is 31 January and all
successful pilots will be monitored to ensure they are engaging adults in learning.
Adult Education: Basic Skills
Mr David Lammy: [114681]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to protect the rights
of adults with poor literacy and numeracy skills to the national entitlement after the
devolution of the adult education budget.
Anne Milton:
Devolution of some aspects for adult education to the Mayoral Combined Authorities
(MCAs) will mean they are responsible for delivering the legal entitlements of maths
and English to those who have low numeracy and literacy skills.
The department is working with MCAs on their preparations to take on this duty
through the establishment of Strategic Skills Plans that will play a key role in aligning
local and national priorities.
Adult Education: Finance
Mr David Lammy: [114648]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many general further education colleges
sub-contract their adult education budget; and how many adult students have been
educated in this way in each year since 2010.
Anne Milton:
We are unable to provide accurate data for the total number of adult students that
were educated by Further Education (FE) colleges in this way.
FE colleges have historically submitted declarations for subcontracting activities. At
the time of making a declaration, each college details the maximum value of the
contract they have in place with each of their adult education budget subcontractors,
which is referred to as their ‘subcontracting commitments’.
We typically ask colleges (and other providers) to make their subcontractor
declarations each Autumn and again each Spring. While this provides relevant data
during the funding year, it does not offer the end of year figures. We are unable to
ascertain from this particular data what the end of year position is for each college
because some may have recruited new subcontractors after the Spring declaration.
Others may have employed a subcontractor, though a learner might not of started a
course. Therefore, these declarations do not provide an accurate picture of the
subcontracting that took place each year.
Adult Education: ICT
Mr David Lammy: [114645]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many adult students have received their
digital entitlement since it was announced in 2016.
Anne Milton:
The entitlement to free digital skills training for adults was provided through the Digital
Economy Act 2017. This entitlement is yet to commence, although the government is
currently working with Further Education institutions, employers and other
stakeholders to develop the appropriate training.
In advance of adults benefiting from the new entitlement, learners continue to study a
wide range of digital courses. In the 2013 to 2014, the Skills Funding Agency funded
201,000 learners to take digital qualifications and approximately £100 million was
spent through the Adult Skills Budget on training that provided a qualification in digital
skills.
The government will confirm in due course when the new provision for digital skills
will commence.
Ian Austin: [114697]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will set out approved digital
qualifications for adult learners and the examination bodies that offer them.
Anne Milton:
There are a range of digital qualifications approved for adult learners.
Digital qualifications and the examination bodies that offer them at level 3 and above
for adults are included in the Advanced Learner Loans catalogue which is published
online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advanced-learner-loans-
qualifications-catalogue.
Digital qualifications and the examination bodies that offer them at levels 2 and 3 are
included in the list of qualifications which form part of the statutory entitlements for
learners aged 19 to 23 which published online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/qualifications-getting-approval-for-
funding.
There are also basic digital qualifications and units available as part of the local
flexibility offer within the Adult Education Budget.
The Digital Strategy published in March 2017 confirmed that the government will
introduce an entitlement for adults who lack basic digital skills to undertake fully-
funded training. The entitlement to free digital skills training for adults was provided
through the Digital Economy Act 2017. This will mirror the approach taken for adult
literacy and numeracy training.
The government is currently working with Further Education institutions, employers
and other stakeholders to develop the appropriate training. The department will set
out specific basic digital qualifications for adult learners eligible for fully-funded
training in due course.
Adult Education: Student Numbers
Mr David Lammy: [114646]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students aged 24 and over have
completed an (a) adult literacy, (b) adult numeracy, (c) GCSE and (d) functional skills
course in each year since 2010.
Anne Milton:
The table below provides the number of learners achieving their learning aim, for
students aged 24+ for English, Maths, GCSE and Functional Skills courses in each
year since the 2011/12 academic year.
ACADEMIC
YEAR
ENGLISH AND
MATHS ENGLISH MATHS GCSE
FUNCTIONAL
SKILLS
2011/12 481,600 286,600 279,600 11,400 35,200
2012/13 460,200 263,900 261,700 17,700 131,900
2013/14 430,600 251,000 237,900 20,900 238,600
2014/15 405,500 234,600 212,500 26,300 246,300
2015/16 358,300 205,700 193,500 27,400 222,200
Notes:
Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.
Figures for 2011/12 onwards are not directly comparable to earlier years as a Single
Individualised Learner Record data collection system has been introduced. Small
technical changes have been made in the way learners from more than one provision
type are counted, leading to a removal of duplicate learners and a reduction in overall
learner numbers of approximately 2 per cent.
Figures for English and Maths, and English includes achievements on English for
Speakers of Other Languages courses.
Child Minding
Tracy Brabin: [115567]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to
increase the number of childminders.
Mr Robert Goodwill:
Childminders are an important part of the childcare sector and can often provide a
level of flexibility that other providers cannot. To encourage new childminders into the
market and to support existing childminders, we have made it easier for them to work
outside of the home and play a full role in the 30 hours free childcare entitlement.
This includes setting an expectation that they should be paid monthly by councils,
offering start-up grants to new childminders delivering the free offer, supporting
childminders to improve their business skills and creating new partnerships between
childminders and schools.
Children: Day Care
Tracy Brabin: [115550]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether a local authority has the power to
(a) withdraw or (b) threaten to withdraw funding for 30 hours free childcare if it believes
that charges placed by a setting onto parents for additional extras such as food and
consumables are excessive.
Mr Robert Goodwill:
Local councils have the power to impose requirements on childcare providers as a
condition of funding in order to ensure that the early years’ provision is free of charge
and/or that any financial assistance provided by the local council is used properly and
in accordance with the provisions of the agreement between the provider and the
local council. It is for local councils to work together with providers when developing
their agreements.
Department for Education: Postal Services
James Gray: [114619]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what security measures her Department has
in place relating to the receipt by her Department of incoming post and parcels; and what
discussions she has had with the British Forces Postal Office on providing such services.
Mr Robert Goodwill:
The department follows guidance issued by the Centre for the Protection of National
Infrastructure for establishing secure postal monitoring services. We have had no
discussions with the British Forces Postal Office on providing screening mail
services.
Further Education
Anna Turley: [114571]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number
of parliamentary constituencies in England that have no further education institution that
provides A-Levels.
Anne Milton:
We do not hold data for further education (FE) institutions not providing A Levels by
parliamentary constituency.
From the Single Individualised Learner Record for the 2015/16 academic year, there
were 280 parliamentary constituencies where there were no learners participating in
A Level courses in FE institutions based on the delivery location.
It is important to note that this does not include A level provision in school sixth forms.
There are significantly more school sixth forms than FE institutions providing A levels.
ICT: Teachers
Angela Rayner: [115546]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 4.25 of Autumn
Budget 2017, how much of the £84million allocated to upskill computer science teachers
will be spent in each year of the 2017 Parliament.
Nick Gibb:
The Department has been allocated £13 million in 2018-2019, £21 million in 2019-
2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022, and £8 million in 2022-2023 (total of £84 million) to
upskill up to 8,000 computer science teachers and establish a National Centre for
Computing Education.
Music: GCSE
Tom Watson: [115227]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether students taking music as a GCSE
subject perform better overall in the Progress 8 measure.
Nick Gibb:
Pupils who take music have higher progress 8 scores. This may not be the result of
taking music and may be the result of taking more GCSEs.
The average progress 8[1] scores of pupils in state funded schools[2], at the end of
key stage 4[3], split by whether they entered a GCSE or equivalent[4] qualification in
music[5], are presented in the tables below.
ACADEMIC YEAR 2016/17 [6]
Total pupils Average
Progress 8 score
Lower
confidence
interval [7]
Upper
confidence
interval 7
Pupils not
entering music 5
460,593 -0.05 -0.05 -0.05
Pupils entering
music 5
39,028 0.21 0.20 0.22
ACADEMIC YEAR 2015/16 6
Total pupils Average
Progress 8 score
Lower
confidence
interval 7
Upper
confidence
interval 7
Pupils not
entering music 5
469,513 -0.05 -0.05 -0.05
Pupils entering
music 5
42,540 0.18 0.17 0.19
1. Progress 8 is a new measure which schools and pupils are still adjusting to and
with the ongoing transition to reformed GCSE’s, it is expected that Progress 8
scores will be prone to fluctuations initially. Progress 8 is a measure which focuses
on each pupil’s ‘starting point’ (key stage 2 attainment) and the progress they
make, therefore more analysis is required to unpick which, if any, factors have a
definitive influence on these scores. With data for only two years, it is too soon to
draw conclusions. More information on Progress 8 is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/6598
60/Secondary_accountability_measures_guide.pdf.
2. State-funded schools include academies, free schools, city technology colleges,
further education colleges with provision for 14- to 16-year-olds and state-funded
special schools. They exclude independent schools, independent special schools,
non-maintained special schools, hospital schools, pupil referral units and alternative
provision.
3. Pupils are identified as being at the end of key stage 4 if they were on roll at the
school and in year 11 at the time of the January school census for that year. Age is
calculated as at 31 August for that year, and the majority of pupils at the end of key
stage 4 were age 15 at the start of the academic year. Some pupils may complete
this key stage in an earlier or later year group.
4. Includes entries in graded music qualifications.
5. Pupils are recorded as ‘entering music’ if they sat at least one exam in any music
qualification which is counted in the secondary school performance tables as a
GCSE, equivalent or graded music qualification.
6. 2015/16 data is final; 2016/17 data is provisional.
7. Progress 8 scores are estimates and the confidence intervals provide the likely
bounds of the true score. Further information can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/6598
60/Secondary_accountability_measures_guide.pdf. There are also significantly
fewer pupils entering music than those who do not, this can lead to undue influence
by outliers in the smaller cohort and it is not advised to draw definitive conclusions
when the data is mismatched in this way.
Pre-school Education: Apprentices
Tracy Brabin: [115552]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason there is only one PVI
representative on the Childcare and Education Panel recruited to scrutinise the Level 3
apprenticeship standard; and what assessment her Department has made of whether
that is representative of the childcare and early education sector.
Anne Milton:
The Institute for Apprenticeships is an independent body with responsibility for the
development and approval of apprenticeship standards. I have therefore asked the
Chief Executive of the Institute, Sir Gerry Berragan, to write to the hon. Member for
Batley and Spen directly responding to the question about the Childcare and
Education Route Panel.
A copy of that response will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses when it is
available.
Tracy Brabin: [115556]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many early years apprenticeships have
been started in each of the last three years; and what proportion of those apprentices
were employed in PVI settings.
Anne Milton:
The number of starts for the sector framework ‘Children’s Care Learning and
Development’ by academic year are below.
ACADEMIC YEAR 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17
Number of starts 21,900 24,160 27,200
Further information on breakdowns by framework or standard are available at the
links below.
For final 2016/17 data:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/661049
/201617_apprenticeships_by_framework_and_sector_subject_area.xlsx.
For data on previous years:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/650226
/201617_Oct_Apps_Level_SSA_And_Framework_Data_Tool_FINAL.xlsx.
These data are collected from the Individualised Learner Record. We do not collect
information on types of settings and so are unable to identify private, voluntary or
independent settings from the collection.
Pupils: Health
Andrew Gwynne: [114597]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2017
to Question 110581, on pupils health, what assessment she has made of the ability of
schools to (a) prepare for and (b) comply with that statutory guidance.
Andrew Gwynne: [114605]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2017
to Question 110581, on pupils: health, what assessment he has made of the
effectiveness of his Department's social media campaign; whether that campaign
reached all schools in England; and how his Department will monitor compliance with the
statutory guidance by schools in England.
Andrew Gwynne: [114607]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2017
to Question 110581, on pupils: health, what discussions she has had with representatives
from Health Conditions in Schools Alliance on compliance by schools in England with the
statutory guidance.
Mr Robert Goodwill:
We worked with a range of stakeholders in the development of the statutory
guidance, including the Health Conditions in Schools Alliance, school leaders,
academy organisations, unions, young people and their parents, and Department of
Health officials. We then consulted publicly on the draft guidance, receiving 265
responses. Respondents included headteachers, teachers, school governors and
local councils, in addition to many voluntary and community sector organisations who
support children and young people with various medical conditions. 89% of
respondents said that, overall, the statutory guidance would be helpful in supporting
pupils with medical conditions effectively. Neither the consultation nor our discussions
with stakeholders identified concerns about schools not being prepared or able to
comply with the guidance.
The department recently promoted the guidance through the department’s social
media channels and reached over 32,000 people. We do not hold data on whether
this reached all schools in England. Ofsted’s Common Inspection Framework
requires inspectors, in making judgements upon schools, to pay particular attention to
the outcomes of a range of groups of pupils, including those with medical needs.
My officials are in regular communication with the Health Conditions in School
Alliance. My department will be inviting representatives to a roundtable in the near
future to discuss the issue of keeping children with medical conditions safe in school.
Schools: Sheffield
Jared O'Mara: [114685]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the net change in funding will be for
schools in Sheffield under the new funding formula in the next 12 months.
Nick Gibb:
In 2018-19, Sheffield local authority will see a funding increase across the schools,
high needs, and central school services blocks of 2.7%, or £10.0 million. Within this,
the schools block element will also see a 2.7% increase in 2018-19, or £8.3 million,
and every school in Sheffield will attract at least a 0.5% per pupil increases under the
national funding formula. When the national funding formulae are fully implemented,
Sheffield would see an increase of up to 7.9%, or £29 million. This information is
available in the summary table at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-tables-for-
schools-and-high-needs.
These increases are subject to changes in pupil data; we will publish updated
allocations for 2018-19 in December, which take account of the latest pupil numbers
from the October 2017 census.
Soft Drinks: Taxation
Lucy Powell: [115152]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will provide (a) breakdown of forecast
expenditure of the proceeds of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy for (i) 2017-18, (ii) 2018-19
and (iii) 2019/20; and (b) unallocated funding for those years.
Paula Sherriff: [115565]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much and what proportion of the
proceeds from the soft drinks industry level will be allocated to (a) the PE and Sport
Premium, (b) the Healthy Pupil Capital Fund, (c) expanding the opening hours of
secondary schools and (d) providing healthy breakfasts for primary school pupils over
each of the next two financial years; and what additional sums are to be allocated to
those programmes from the public purse.
Mr Robert Goodwill:
The 2016 Budget announced funding for a number of programmes linked to the
revenue from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy. The department will receive £575 million
during the current spending review period, which will be used to:
Double funding for the primary physical education and Sport Premium to £320
million a year from 2017. The Department for Education and the Department of
Health contribute £100 million and £60 million per year to the premium
respectively, with the Soft Drinks Levy funding contributing £415 million over the
remainder of the current spending review period, table attached.
Provide £100 million in 2018/19 for a new healthy pupils capital fund.
Provide £60 million to other relevant projects, for example breakfast clubs (£26
million over the next three years) and essential life skills programme.
Expected revenue from the levy during the Spending Review period is £550 million
for the UK as a whole. The total funding provided for these programmes in England is
£575 million. In addition, the devolved administrations will continue to benefit in full
from the Barnett formula arising from the levy-funded spending package announced
at the 2016 Budget.
We announced in February 2017 that the healthy pupils capital programme will build
on the government’s plans for schools to provide a longer school day, by changing
the focus of the scheme to provide new facilities or improve existing ones to make it
easier for a range of extra-curricular activities to be provided.
Attachments:
1. Funding for the premium from the soft drinks levy [115152, 115565 Table.docx]
Steve Lamey
Gordon Marsden: [115547]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answers of 21 November to
Questions 113368, 113370 and 113371, for what reasons those answers did not refer to
discussions with (a) the Minister for the Cabinet Office, (b) Sir Paul Jenkins and (c) fellow
shareholders in the Student Loans Company on the circumstances surrounding the
dismissal of the chief executive of that company.
Joseph Johnson:
I have had no discussions with either the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Sir Paul
Jenkins, or fellow shareholders in the Student Loans Company (SLC) on the
circumstances surrounding the dismissal of the chief executive of that company.
As I stated previously, the dismissal of Steve Lamey following independent
investigations into allegations raised was a matter for the SLC to consider as his
employer, in line with established SLC processes.
Students: Finance
Mr David Lammy: [114644]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students aged 24 or over will
have their funding delivered via a devolved budget in 2019-20.
Anne Milton:
The department is not yet able to set out the level of funding that will be devolved in
2019/20.
Devolution is dependent on agreement between the department and the Mayoral
Combined Authorities (MCAs) to a number of readiness conditions. From 2019/20 the
MCAs will be responsible to deliver the Adult Education Budget in their areas.
Supply Teachers: Expenditure
Anna Turley: [114566]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the
proportion of the schools budget spent on supply teachers in (a) Redcar and Cleveland
local authority area (b) the North East and (c) England in the last 12 months for which
figures are available.
Nick Gibb:
The below data has been taken from ‘income and expenditure in academies in
England 2015/16’ and ‘consistent financial returns 2015-16 data’ for maintained
schools. It covers directly employed supply teachers, agency supply teachers and
supply teacher insurance.
Academies
AREA SCHOOL COUNT TOTAL EXPENDITURE (£)
TOTAL SUPPLY SPEND
PERCENTAGE
Redcar and Cleveland 19 53,618,000 3.05%
North East 222 742,382,000 2.52%
England 5,266 17,095,395,000 2.28%
Maintained schools
AREA SCHOOL COUNT TOTAL EXPENDITURE (£)
TOTAL SUPPLY SPEND
PERCENTAGE
Redcar and Cleveland 41 70,969,936 3.43%
North East 953 1,410,755,499 3.18%
England 16,774 27,728,910,048 3.26%
In July 2017 we announced an additional £1.3 billion for schools and high needs
across 2018-19 and 2019-20, in addition to the schools budget set at Spending
Review 2015. This means funding per pupil for schools and high needs will be
maintained in real terms for the next two years.
Alongside our substantial investment, we are committed to helping schools improve
outcomes for pupils and promote social mobility by getting the best value from all of
their resources. This includes providing support to schools – on issues like managing
teacher workload, implementing flexible working, the recruitment of supply staff and
the effective deployment of support staff – so that as much resource as possible is
focused on enabling teachers to improve outcomes for pupils.
Teachers: ICT and Mathematics
Angela Rayner: [115548]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Autumn Budget 2017,
table 2.1, line 32, how much of the (a) £30 million in 2018-19 and (b) £50 million in 2019-
20 will be spent on each policy listed in paragraphs 4.24 and 4.25.
Nick Gibb:
The £30 million of funding in 2018-19 and £50 million of funding in 2019-20 in table
2.1 includes the costs in 2018-19 and 2019-20 for the below measures.
£13 million in 2018-19 and £21 million in 2019-20 to upskill computer science
teachers and set up a National Centre for Computing Education
£6 million in 2018-19 and £6 million in 2019-20 to expand the Teaching for Mastery
of Mathematics programme
£7.2 million in 2018-19 and £6.5 million in 2019-20 for Further Education Centres
of Excellence
£3 million in 2019-20 for more specialist maths schools
£5 million in 2019-20 to provide £600 for every pupil who decides to take Maths or
Further Maths A levels or Core Maths
The figures in table 2.1 includes the Barnett consequential for these measures, which
is provided to the Devolved Administrations.
Teachers: Mathematics
Angela Rayner: [115549]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Treasury Department's
press release of 21 November 2017 entitled Britain to benefit from multi-million pound
investment in education, how much will be spent from the public purse on each
programme covered by the £177m investment in maths teaching.
Nick Gibb:
The £177 million investment in Maths announced at the recent Budget comprises:
£8.5 million for the post-16 basic Maths pilot;
£40 million for Further Education Centres of Excellence;
£27 million to expand the Teaching for Mastery of Mathematics programme;
£83 million to provide £600 for every pupil who decides to take Maths or Further
Maths A levels or Core Maths; and
£18 million additional funding for specialist Maths Schools.
This £177 million investment includes the costs of these measures until 2022-23.
Unionlearn: Finance
Paula Sherriff: [R] [115554]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 4.23 of Autumn
Budget 2017, how much her Department will provide to Unionlearn in each of the next
two years.
Paula Sherriff: [R] [115574]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department provided
to the Union Learning Fund in each of the last two financial years.
Anne Milton:
Funding for Unionlearn was previously provided by the Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills (BIS) but following the machinery of government changes in
2017, this responsibility moved across to the Department for Education.
BIS provided Unionlearn with £14 million in the financial year 2015-16 and £12 million
in the financial year 2016-17.
The department is providing £11.89 million funding in the current financial year and a
further £12 millon in financial year 2018-19 and £12 million in financial year 2019-20.
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Agriculture: Exports
Seema Malhotra: [114979]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment
he has made of the potential effect on agricultural exports of there being no deal between
the UK and the EU.
George Eustice:
In 2016, UK food, feed and drink exports to the EU were worth £12 billion and EU
food, feed and drink exports to the UK were worth £30 billion. It is in the interests of
both parties to conclude a comprehensive customs agreement. We are conducting
rigorous analysis on various trade scenarios for the future to inform Government
policy.
Air Pollution
Alex Sobel: [115022]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has
to change the number of active clean air monitoring sites.
Dr Thérèse Coffey:
The national monitoring network consists of 276 sites across the UK. Monitoring
stations for a wide range of pollutants are sited in accordance with criteria set out in
the EU Air Quality Directive to ensure that the data gathered are representative and
also comparable across all Member States.
The network is kept under review by the Environment Agency and the Department to
ensure it remains fit for purpose and compliant, while delivering value for money.
There are no immediate plans to make significant changes to the number or location
of sites that are part of the national network.
Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control
Mr Mark Prisk: [113496]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the annual
cost to the public purse is of employing staff as part of the current testing regime for
controlling bovine tuberculosis.
George Eustice:
The direct costs of TB tests for routine surveillance and control are met by
government although no staff in my department are employed full time on TB testing.
In England government staff costs associated with TB testing totalled £2,454,234 in
2016-17. In the same year the cost to government of TB testing carried out under
contract by delivery partners totalled £17,489,217. Cattle keepers pay for pre- and
post-movement TB tests, however they can use a government-funded surveillance
test instead if it takes place within the required time period.
Flood Control
Trudy Harrison: [114929]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has
taken to ensure that water companies invest in flood mitigation.
Dr Thérèse Coffey:
On 13 September, the Government issued a strategic policy statement to Ofwat. This
set out clear priorities for Ofwat to secure the water industry’s long-term resilience to
flooding, drought, and other risks, and to protect vulnerable customers. The policy
statement makes clear that we expect Ofwat to challenge companies to assess the
resilience of their systems and infrastructure against flooding and take proportionate
steps to improve resilience where required.
Flood Control: Cumbria
Trudy Harrison: [114930]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the
Government has invested in Cumbria to reduce the risk of flooding downstream of
reservoirs in each of the last five years.
Dr Thérèse Coffey:
The Environment Agency has strategic oversight of all sources of flooding and
coastal erosion, including reservoir flooding. The Environment Agency also has a
regulatory role in managing flood risk with reservoirs and works to make sure
reservoir owners effectively manage their own flood risk.
Where appropriate, reducing the risk of flooding downstream from reservoirs is
integrated within flood risk management schemes. The Environment Agency does not
collect separate financial information for measures to reduce this specific flood risk.
The Government is committed to reducing flood risk and has made the following
capital investment to flood and coastal erosion risk management in Cumbria in each
of the last five years:
2012/13 £ 4.3 MILLION
2013/14 £ 2.4 million
2014/15 £ 2.1 million
2015/16 £ 3.0 million
2016/17 £ 14.3 million
Recycling
Emma Hardy: [114903]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his
Department is taking to encourage more people to recycle.
Dr Thérèse Coffey:
The Government is committed to increasing recycling rates. With the Waste and
Resources Action Programme (WRAP) we are working with local councils and
industry to make it easier for households to recycle, by rationalising packaging
formats (in particular ridged plastic packaging) to those that are recyclable and to
expand the range of materials collected for recycling.
WRAP has refreshed and relaunched its national Recycle Now campaign with new
communication materials for local authorities and others. Information on what
householders can recycle locally is available on the Recycle Now website.
School Milk
Lucy Powell: [115151]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to
begin discussions on a new domestic school milk subsidy programme to replace the
current EU Scheme.
George Eustice:
As we leave the EU we have a great opportunity to reshape policies to meet our
national priorities. We are considering the longer term approach to the EU school milk
scheme in the context of our domestic schemes. Any future changes in this area will
be subject to wide consultation with stakeholders.
Wild Boar
Jim Shannon: [114841]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has
to reduce the number of wild boar to protect their habitat.
Dr Thérèse Coffey:
Defra has no plans to reduce the number of wild boar. The responsibility for carrying
out the management of wild boar, as with other wildlife, lies with local communities
and individual landowners and managers. The Government and its partner
organisations, such as the Deer Initiative, facilitate boar management by providing
advice and guidance.
EXITING THE EUROPEAN UNION
Charter of Fundamental Rights (EU)
Jo Platt: [114599]
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if his Department will
publish a memorandum setting out what rights contained in the EU Charter of
Fundamental Rights the UK will retain when the UK leaves the EU.
Mr Steve Baker:
The Government has committed to publishing a detailed memorandum setting out
how each Article in the Charter of Fundamental Rights will be reflected in UK law
after we leave the European Union. This will be published on 5 December.
Department for Exiting the European Union: Postal Services
James Gray: [114618]
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what security measures his
Department has in place relating to the receipt by his Department of incoming post and
parcels; and what discussions he has had with the British Forces Postal Office on
providing such services.
Mr Steve Baker:
This information cannot be disclosed as it may jeopardise the Department’s
Protective Security stance.
However, as Department Exiting the European Union is a tenant in other government
department’s buildings, it abides by the rules and regulations that they stipulate for
the delivery and management of mail and parcels.
All secure mail is handled as part of the Government Secure Mail Service, which may
include the use of the British Forces Postal Office, but the Department has not had
any direct communications with the BFPO about providing these services.
EU Law
Bill Esterson: [112767]
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 1
November 2017 to Question 110712, on EU law, what representations he has received
from businesses on differences to rules and regulations between the UK and the EU after
the UK leaves the EU.
Mr Robin Walker:
The UK Government is committed to making the UK the best place in the world to do
business and ministers from across Government have carried out extensive
engagement on EU exit - with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the
economy and all regions of the UK.
To make the UK the best place to do business means fostering a high quality, stable
and predictable regulatory environment. This means the Withdrawal Bill will, so far as
possible, maintain the status quo in this regard and provide a good starting point for a
deep and special partnership with the EU. Through the Withdrawal Agreement and
Implementation Bill we will legislate for the Implementation Period. As the PM said in
her Florence speech, the framework for this strictly time-limited period, which can be
agreed under Article 50, would be the existing structure of EU rules and regulations.
With regards to the future regulatory relationship this is subject to negotiations, but as
the PM set out this should be straightforward in areas where regulation is outside the
scope of our trade and economic relations. But there will be areas which do affect our
economic relations where we and our European friends may have different goals; or
where we share the same goals but want to achieve them through different means.
This is where we recognise that the single market is built on a balance of rights and
obligations, and so our task is to find a new framework that allows for a close
economic partnership but holds those rights and obligations in a new and different
balance.
As negotiations progress, we will continue to seek the input of businesses across a
range of issues, including on the subject of rules and regulatory differences between
the EU and UK.
Jo Platt: [114596]
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the legal status of
retained EU law under the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill will be; and whether it will be
liable to judicial review.
Mr Steve Baker:
Retained EU law includes both preserved domestic legislation and converted direct
EU legislation. The latter was not made by UK legislators and will operate in a
different way to both primary and secondary legislation. It would therefore not be
appropriate to assign a single status to this legislation for all purposes.
Preserved domestic legislation will continue to hold the same status as it does
currently (i.e. primary or secondary). Converted EU legislation will not automatically
have primary or secondary status. Instead, the Bill sets out the status of this
legislation for specified purposes in a number of places. For example, for the
purposes of the Human Rights Act, it will be treated as primary legislation. Further
regulations may be made under the Bill for the purpose of status under other statutes.
Existing domestic legislation will remain amenable to judicial review as at present. In
general (and subject to any further regulations made under the Bill), it will not be
possible to challenge the validity of converted EU legislation. To do otherwise would
raise uncertainties and practical difficulties as the EU instruments being converted
were not made by UK Ministers but by EU institutions.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
Burma: Rohingya
Catherine West: [115310]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, what
discussions he has had with his counterpart in Myanmar counterparts on the Bangladesh-
Myanmar deal to return Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar.
Mark Field:
The UK has been clear that an agreement on returning the Rohingya refugees to
their homes in Burma must provide for voluntary, safe and dignified return. I made
these points to the Bangladesh High Commissioner Nazmul Quaunine and Foreign
Secretary Shahidul Haque when they met on 2 November. The Foreign Secretary
has spoken to Aung San Suu Kyi three times since this crisis began, most recently on
21 October, when he urged her to implement her commitment to ensure the return of
refugees. At ASEM (20-21 November) I met with Minister of Defence U Sein Win, the
Chief of Staff to State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, U Kyaw Tin Swe and the
Deputy Foreign Minister U Kyaw Tin and in each meeting raised the need for early
returns. The principle of non-refoulement is also detailed in the United Nations
Security Council Presidential Statement made on 6 November – a statement the UK
was instrumental in achieving.
Catherine West: [115311]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, what
discussions he has had with his Bangladeshi counterparts on the Bangladesh-Myanmar
agreement to return Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar?
Mark Field:
The UK has been clear that an agreement on returning the Rohingya refugees to
their homes in Burma must provide for voluntary, safe and dignified return. I made
these points to the Bangladesh High Commissioner Nazmul Quaunine and Foreign
Secretary Shahidul Haque when they met on 2 November. The Foreign Secretary
has spoken to Aung San Suu Kyi three times since this crisis began, most recently on
21 October, when he urged her to implement her commitment to ensure the return of
refugees. At ASEM (20-21 November) I met with Minister of Defence U Sein Win, the
Chief of Staff to State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, U Kyaw Tin Swe and the
Deputy Foreign Minister U Kyaw Tin and in each meeting raised the need for early
returns. The principle of non-refoulement is also detailed in the United Nations
Security Council Presidential Statement made on 6 November – a statement the UK
was instrumental in achieving.
Richard Burden: [115467]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is
taking to secure humanitarian access to northern Rakhine in Burma.
Mark Field:
The Red Cross and the World Food Programme are currently the only aid
organisations with permission to provide humanitarian support in Northern Rakhine.
The UK has provided £2 million to the World Food Programme and £1 million to the
Red Cross. We continue to urge the Burmese authorities to grant full access to UN
and other agencies so that they can help meet the urgent need in Northern Rakhine.
During my visit to Burma on 20-21 November, I met Burma's Minister of Defence Sein
Win and the Deputy Foreign Minister U Kyaw Tin and pressed again the need for full
humanitarian access.
Richard Burden: [115472]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his
Department is taking to support the documentation and investigation of sexual violence
against Rohingya women and girls in Rakhine State, Burma.
Mark Field:
The UK has been clear about the need for the Burmese authorities to end all violence
including gender-based violence in Rakhine. I urged an independent investigation of
reports of atrocities and incidents of sexual violence when I met Burma's Minister for
the Office of the State Counsellor on 20 November in Nay Pyi Daw. The Foreign
Secretary has raised his concerns about reports of sexual violence directly with State
Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.
The UK Government has deployed two civilian experts to Bangladesh to conduct a
capacity needs assessment on the investigation and documentation of sexual
violence. This will provide recommendations for the UK Government to consider on
support for evidence gathering: it is vital that any evidence or testimony gathered is
collated in the proper way. The UK is also funding the provision of medical services,
counselling and psychological support to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh who have
either witnessed or are survivors of sexual violence. An FCO official recently travelled
with the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence to
meet victims and witnesses of sexual violence in Bangladeshi refugee camps; the UK
is supporting the Special Representative's proposal to brief the UN Security Council
on her findings.
Burma: United Nations
Richard Burden: [115468]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his
Department is taking to support the United Nations fact-finding mission in Rakhine State,
Burma.
Mark Field:
The UK co-sponsored the resolution at the Human Rights Council in March 2017
which set up a Fact-Finding Mission to look into the human rights situation in Burma.
We also supported the extension of its mandate until September 2018. We have
repeatedly urged Burma to cooperate with the Fact-Finding Mission and grant it
access to Rakhine State, and shall continue to do so. I look forward to meeting the
members of the Fact-Finding Mission during their visit to London in December.
Companies: Ownership
Layla Moran: [115266]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the
Answer of 13 November 2017 to Question 111541, on companies: ownership what
access the Government has to registers of beneficial ownership in each British Overseas
Territory.
Sir Alan Duncan:
Central registers of beneficial ownership information or similarly effective
arrangements are in place in Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands
and Gibraltar.
Under bilateral arrangements concluded in 2016 with Overseas Territories with
financial centres, UK law enforcement authorities have the automatic right of access
to beneficial ownership information held on companies incorporated in those
Territories within 24 hours or one hour in urgent cases.
Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos Islands have not yet established a central register
or similarly effective arrangement. We continue to monitor progress and to offer
support to both these Territories.
Montserrat has committed to establish a public central register and is expected to
introduce new legislation to implement its central register shortly.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Postal Services
James Gray: [114622]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what security
measures his Department has in place relating to the receipt by his Department of
incoming post and parcels; and what discussions he has had with the British Forces
Postal Office on providing such services.
Mark Field:
All Royal Mail post and parcels addressed to the FCO buildings in King Charles
Street and Lancaster House in London are diverted to the British Forces Postal Office
(BFPO) Northolt, where they are security scanned by trained staff, before being
forwarded to their destination. Mail destined for the FCO's overseas posts is either
processed at BFPO Northolt or Hanslope Park. The latter also handles mail for staff
working at Hanslope Park and Northgate House.
FCO Services has already moved the majority of post and parcel receipt and security
scanning requirements to the BFPO. FCO Services is in discussions with BFPO
about transferring further elements of this work to them during 2018.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Public Expenditure
Tommy Sheppard: [115306]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many losses
and special payments have been made by his Department in the 2017-18 financial year
to date; and what the value of those losses and payments have been.
Sir Alan Duncan:
The figures requested form part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s annual
report submitted to Parliament. The outturn for the 2017-18 financial year has not yet
been finalised.
India: Prisoners
Dr Rupa Huq: [114524]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he plans to make
an assessment of the adequacy of consular support provided to British nationals in Indian
prisons.
Mark Field:
Consular assistance is provided to all British national prisoners, if they request it.
Consular staff endeavour to contact the prisoner, by telephone or in person, as soon
as possible after being notified of their arrest. If there are problems accessing the
prisoner, they seek the support of the local authorities to provide access. Consular
staff provide tailored assistance to prisoners, according to their individual
circumstances and the local conditions.
Israel: Human Rights
Richard Burden: [114537]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has
plans to encourage the Israeli Government to engage with the United Nations Human
Rights Council Universal Periodic Review taking place in January 2018.
Alistair Burt:
The UK values the Universal Periodic Review, which allows an open and constructive
dialogue on the key human rights concerns of all 193 UN member states. We
encourage all UN member states to reap the benefits of such a dialogue by engaging
fully with the Universal Periodic Review process.
Palestinians: Detainees
Jo Stevens: [114705]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment
he has made of the humanitarian needs of Palestiinian detainees in Israeli prisons.
Alistair Burt:
The Government has concerns about allegations of mistreatment of Palestinian
detainees and about Israel’s respect for its relevant obligations as an Occupying
Power under applicable international law. While we have not made an assessment of
the humanitarian needs of Palestinian detainees, a focus of UK human rights
engagement is Palestinian minors in Israeli military detention, as we have concerns
about the treatment of minors during arrest and interrogation. We have raised these
concerns with the Israeli authorities on many occasions, and will continue to do so.
Poland: Hate Crime
Lyn Brown: [114569]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will assess the
diplomatic implications of reports of anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, racist and anti-refugee
hate speech during the recent march in Warsaw to mark Poland’s Independence Day.
Sir Alan Duncan:
Her Majesty's Government strongly condemns all types of hate speech and we
encourage all countries to investigate and tackle any reported incidents of hate
speech. The UK and Poland have worked together on combatting hate crime through
a joint workshop in London in 2017 and by co-hosting an expert panel at an
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe event in September 2016. Our
Embassy in Warsaw is in contact with local NGOs who monitor incidents of hate
crime.
Press Freedom
Jo Stevens: [115412]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions
his Department has had with organisations that promote press freedom in the last 12
months
Mark Field:
The FCO and its network of Embassies and High Commissions overseas has had
extensive contact in the last 12 months with organisations that promote press
freedom. This information is not recorded centrally and accordingly it would be
impractical to attempt to produce a comprehensive list of such meetings and
discussions. The Foreign Secretary himself met his Human Rights Advisory Group on
10 October to discuss current challenges to press freedom.
The FCO also supports projects run by organisations that promote press freedom. In
the past 12 months, the FCO has granted more than £1.3 million from the Magna
Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy to projects dedicated to freedom of
expression and support for civil society.
Russia: LGBT People
Emma Hardy: [114636]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions
he has had with his counterpart in Russia on the rights of LGBT people in (a) Chechnya
and (b) Russia and if he will make a statement.
Sir Alan Duncan:
I refer the Hon. Member to my answer of 17 November 2017 (PQ 111577).
Syria: Kurds
Chris Williamson: [115392]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he
plans to take help ensure that Kurdish authorities in northern Syria can participate in
future peace talks.
Alistair Burt:
Kurdish groups have been represented in Syrian peace negotiations in Geneva
through the Kurdish National Council, as part of the opposition High Negotiations
Committee. Invitations for any other groups to the Geneva peace negotiations are a
matter for the UN Special Envoy for Syria. The UN Envoy has involved Kurdish and
other minority groups in civil society discussions alongside formal negotiations in
Geneva.
We maintain that any political settlement must be inclusive. All Syrian constituencies
must ultimately be represented in discussion on Syria's future – this is a key principle
in the 2012 Geneva communique and UNSCR 2254.
Tajikistan: LGBT People
Lyn Brown: [114563]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what
representations he has made to his counterpart in Tajikistan on reports that authorities in
that country have drawn up lists of LGBTQ citizens in an operation titled morality and
purge.
Sir Alan Duncan:
Following reports that the government of Tajikistan had required 367 people to
register and undergo medical testing because of their sexual orientation, our
Ambassador made representations to the Tajik Ministry of Foreign Affairs about
Tajikistan's international commitments to combat all forms of discrimination.
In addition, our delegation to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in
Europe (OSCE) in Vienna took the lead in drafting and submitting an EU statement at
the OSCE Permanent Council. The statement raised our concerns and urged the
Tajik authorities to ensure the safety and security of all its citizens including those
identifying as LGBTQ.
Lyn Brown: [114565]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent
assessment he has made of the ability of LGBTQ support organisations to operate freely
in Tajikistan.
Sir Alan Duncan:
There is an increasingly difficult operating environment for NGOs in Tajikistan. Three
Tajik NGOs working with the LGBTQ community have closed in the past two years.
The operating environment for NGOs, for example the pressure and harassment
imposed on NGOs by the burdensome inspections, fines and registration
requirements, was raised at the October 2017 EU Human Rights Dialogue with the
Government of Tajikistan.
Our Ambassador meets members of the LGBTQ and other minority communities in
Tajikistan to give them the opportunity to share their concerns. Something which
demonstrates UK leadership in the area of human rights.
Turkey: Politics and Government
Chris Williamson: [115379]
To the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will condemn the
Turkish Government for imprisoning almost 100 elected representatives and more than
5,000 activists from the Peoples' Democratic Party.
Sir Alan Duncan:
Following the failed coup in 2016 and the subsequent imposition of a State of
Emergency, we expect Turkey, as a modern democracy, to undertake any legal
processes against elected representatives and activists fairly, transparently and with
full respect for the rule of law. It is important that legal measures under the State of
Emergency be proportionate, justified and in line with Turkey's democratic principles
and its international human rights obligations. We have made these points
consistently with Turkish Ministers, as has the Prime Minister and the Foreign
Secretary.
Zimbabwe: British Nationals Abroad
Liz McInnes: [115284]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent
estimate has made of the number of British citizens living in Zimbabwe.
Rory Stewart:
We estimate there are approximately 20,000 British citizens living in Zimbabwe, many
of whom are long-term residents.
We ask all British nationals to regularly check travel advice.
HEALTH
Autism
Luciana Berger: [115537]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children in England have been
diagnosed with autism in each of the last three years.
Jackie Doyle-Price:
Information on the number of children diagnosed with autism each year is not
collected centrally.
Contraceptives
Diana Johnson: [114535]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many training sessions for Long-Acting
Reversible Contraception have been provided to General Practitioners in each year since
2009-10.
Diana Johnson: [114536]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of general
practitioners were qualified to provide long-acting reversible contraception in each year
from 2009-10.
Steve Brine:
This information is not collected centrally.
Diana Johnson: [114538]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time for appointments
for contraceptive advice at sexual and reproductive health services in each local authority
was in England in each year since 2009-10; and what steps he is taking to reduce those
waiting times.
Steve Brine:
Information on waiting times for appointments for contraceptive advice at sexual and
reproductive health services is not collected centrally. Public Health England (PHE)
published an action plan in August 2017 to address concerns identified in their report
entitled Sexual health, reproductive health and HIV: a review of commissioning,
which is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/640578
/Sexual_health_reproductive_health_and_HIV_a_survey_of_commissioning.pdf
As part of the action plan, PHE will take forward a range of activities aimed at
strengthening commissioning, including providing evidence and data to
commissioners to support commissioning, and the monitoring of outcomes and
building capacity and capability in sexual and reproductive health commissioning.
Diana Johnson: [114539]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much NHS England provided to GP
surgeries to fund contraceptive services in each year since 2009-10; and what the
average waiting time to access GP contraceptive services was in each of those years.
Steve Brine:
This information is not collected centrally.
Diana Johnson: [114540]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve co-ordination
of local-authority-provided sexual and reproductive health services, clinical
commissioning group-commissioned abortion services and NHS England-funded
contraceptive services funded under GP contracts.
Steve Brine:
Public Health England (PHE) published an action plan in August 2017 to address
concerns identified in their report entitled Sexual health, reproductive health and HIV:
a review of commissioning, which is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/640578
/Sexual_health_reproductive_health_and_HIV_a_survey_of_commissioning.pdf
As part of the action plan, PHE will take forward a range of activities aimed at
strengthening commissioning, including providing evidence and data to
commissioners to support commissioning, and the monitoring of outcomes and
building capacity and capability in sexual and reproductive health commissioning.
General Practitioners: Finance
Jo Platt: [114582]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made changes to the level
of income of GP practices as a result of patients enrolling in the GP at Hand service.
Steve Brine:
Patients have the ability to change the general practitioner (GP) surgery they are
registered with and since January 2015 all GP practices in England have had the
option to register patients that live outside their practice boundary area.
Hammersmith and Fulham Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS England
recognise the need to ensure general practice is stable and sustainable. The roll-out
and impact of GP at Hand will be monitored and evaluated.
Jo Platt: [114584]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to provide support to GP
practices that are affected by the roll-out of GP at Hand service.
Steve Brine:
Hammersmith and Fulham Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS England
recognise the need to ensure that general practice is stable and sustainable. The roll-
out and impact of GP at Hand will be monitored and evaluated.
GP at Hand
Jo Platt: [114583]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of patients have
enrolled in the GP at Hand service in the areas that the service has been rolled out.
Steve Brine:
According to NHS England, about 5,000 patients have registered with GP at Hand.
This is a very small proportion of the population that GP at Hand have made their
service available to which comprises of anyone that lives or works within London
travel zones 1 to 3.
Jo Platt: [114590]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how her Department will monitor the (a) quality,
(b) cost and (c) effect of the GP at Hand Service.
Steve Brine:
The Hammersmith and Fulham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) primary care
commissioning committee has asked that a robust evaluation is carried out of the
development following the clinical review. In addition, an oversight group has been
set up with representation from the CCG and NHS England London region which will
monitor progress on a regular basis.
Grenfell Tower: Mental Health Services
Mr David Lammy: [114658]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made of the mental
health support needs of survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire; and what additional
resources have been provided to fund this support.
Mr David Lammy: [114660]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire
have received (a) mental health support, (b) bereavement counselling and (c) trauma
counselling; how many survivors had to wait more than four weeks to receive (i) mental
health support, (ii) bereavement counselling and (iii) trauma counselling; and how many
individuals are on waiting lists for (A) mental health support, (B) bereavement counselling
and (C) trauma counselling.
Jackie Doyle-Price:
Mental health support for people affected by the Grenfell Tower fire has been co-
ordinated by West London Clinical Commissioning Group and Central and North
West London (CNWL) Foundation Trust.
Since August a proactive ‘screen and treat’ programme has been underway to
support individuals in the local area potentially affected by the fire. Latest data
provided by West London Clinical Commissioning Group details that 767 adults
identified as having an urgent need have been screened to date. The programme will
reach up to 23,000 people in the area who may have a need for treatment.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea have commissioned Cruse
Bereavement Support to provide support to bereaved families.
There are currently 357 adults in treatment for mental health conditions and 38 adults
have completed treatment. In addition 162 children and young people have been
referred into Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services to date. Local children’s
services are also conducting screening and treatment. At present there are 51
children receiving specialist care, and 22 of these children have completed their
treatment.
Information on waiting times for these services is not collected centrally.
Emotional support is being provided by Hestia, a well-established local care provider.
Hestia is providing outreach and intervention capacity to support to those in need of
emotional support. This provision includes a wide range of drop-in support,
psychological first aid, counselling and support groups which can be accessed by
anyone in the local community. At night Hestia are based in a number of hotels with
the most Grenfell residents and will contact CNWL if more significant needs are
identified.
Mental health support by the National Health Service is being funded from existing
budgets. Future NHS funding for Grenfell mental health support will have to be met
from local budgets. NHS England will need to consider budget allocation to CNWL in
light of the additional demands on services post Grenfell.
The Chancellor indicated in the Budget statement of 22 November that the
Government will provide £28 million for Kensington and Chelsea council to provide
counselling services and mental health support for victims of the Grenfell fire and for
regeneration of surrounding area.
Mr David Lammy: [114673]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what mental health support and counselling has
been (a) offered and (b) provided to emergency workers who were present at the Grenfell
Tower fire.
Jackie Doyle-Price:
Emergency workers present at the Grenfell fire were offered support via London Fire
Brigade Counselling and Wellbeing team and other internal employee assistance
programmes. Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust has indicated
they will be seen quickly and offered assessment and treatment if approached.
Health Services and Social Services
Andrew Gwynne: [114649]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of
the effectiveness of health and social care integration at a local level.
Andrew Gwynne: [114652]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to support
local authorities to integrate health and social care.
Steve Brine:
In March 2017, the Department of Health and the Department for Communities and
Local Government, working with the Local Government Association, Association of
Directors of Adult Social Services and NHS England, published the Integration and
Better Care Fund Policy Framework 2017-19. The document includes the policy
framework for the implementation of the Better Care Fund (BCF), which is the first
national, mandatory integration policy. The BCF has helped to join-up health and care
services so people can manage their own health and wellbeing, and live
independently in their communities for as long as possible. In both 2015-16 and
2016-17, local areas voluntarily pooled more than the minimum required taking the
total to £5.3 billion and £5.9 billion respectively.
The Policy Framework also sets out our proposals for going beyond the BCF towards
further integration, including that areas will be allowed to ‘graduate’ once they have
demonstrated that they have moved beyond the requirements of BCF reporting and
are exemplars of integration. To help local areas understand whether they are
meeting our integration ambition, we are developing integration metrics for assessing
process, particularly at the interface where health and social care interact. The
Department is working with the Social Care Institute for Excellence to better
understand ‘what good looks like’ in integrated care and how we could develop a
more balanced set of measures of success in this area.
Health: Children and Young People
Luciana Berger: [114970]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what date he expects the National Study of
Health and Well-being: Children and Young People to be published.
Jackie Doyle-Price:
The Department has commissioned a new prevalence survey of children and young
people’s mental health. The survey is due to be published in autumn 2018. It will
estimate prevalence of mental ill health in 2-19 year olds, as well as consider impact
of social media, cyberbullying, self-harm and eating disorders.
Mental Health Services: Children and Young People
Luciana Berger: [115533]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November to
Question 112701, on mental health services: children and young people, whether the
money underspent in the Future in Mind programme from (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17
will be added to the budgets for (i) 2017-18 (ii) 2018-19 and (iii) 2019-20.
Jackie Doyle-Price:
The Government sets annual funding limits for the National Health Service in the
Government Mandate for the NHS, along with clear expectations on use of that
funding and that the NHS budget will balance in every year. It is for local decision
makers to ensure the best use of that funding within those expectations, during any
given year. As an exception, a commitment has been made to allow for underspends
in the Future in Mind budget in 2015-16 to be added to future years’ NHS budgets.
Luciana Berger: [115535]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children in England (a) were referred
to CAMHS and (b) completed treatment through CAMHS in each of the last three years.
Jackie Doyle-Price:
This information is not held in the format requested.
Pregnancy: Mental Health Services
Luciana Berger: [114971]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2017 to
Question 112698, and with reference to the Answer of 16 January 2017 to Question
60196, whether his Department has recently stopped holding data on available perinatal
beds in an annual format.
Mr Philip Dunne:
The earlier answer to Question 60196 provided the number of in-patient perinatal
mental health beds whereas my answer to the hon. Member’s Question 112698
provided information about the number of maternity beds. NHS England’s specialised
commissioning function continues to hold information on the numbers of in-patient
perinatal mother and baby beds as part of its normal commissioning practice with
providers.
The following table shows the numbers of commissioned mother and baby beds for
each year since 2013/14:
YEAR COMMISSIONED BEDS (ENGLAND)
2013/14 110
2014/15 110
2015/16 112
2016/17 120
Mother and baby beds are commissioned by NHS England (Specialised Services),
which came into existence in April 2013. As such, robust data are only available from
2013/14.
Prisoners: Drugs
David Hanson: [114694]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prisoners have been identified as
suffering a drug-induced psychosis in prison in each year since 2010.
Jackie Doyle-Price:
The information requested is not collected centrally.
David Hanson: [114701]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many emergency callouts for prisoners
suffering the effects of drug usage there have been (a) in each prison and (b) broken
down by primary healthcare provider in each year since 2010.
David Hanson: [114702]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many occasions emergency services
have attended prisoners affected by illegal drug use by (a) prison and (b) primary
healthcare provider in each year since 2010.
Jackie Doyle-Price:
The information requested is not collected centrally.
In February 2013, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) (now HM
Prison and Probation Service) issued guidance to prisons and immigration removal
centres operated by NOMS concerning emergency ambulance call-outs. This
guidance, Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 03/2013 Medical Emergency Response
Codes outlines the medical symptoms in a prisoner, but not behaviours such as drug
misuse, for which a prison must always call out an emergency ambulance. This PSI
is mandatory in all prisons in England.
Prisons: Drugs
David Hanson: [114687]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of
the effectiveness of Project NEPTUNE in prisons.
Jackie Doyle-Price:
No such assessment has been made.
NHS England is currently revising the National Substance Misuse Specification which
will be published in December 2017. The Project NEPTUNE clinical guidance will be
referenced within the specification.
David Hanson: [114703]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prisons use the National Early
Warning Score to respond to symptoms of new psychoactive substances.
David Hanson: [114704]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the
effectiveness of use of the National Early Warning Score in prisons in Liverpool.
Jackie Doyle-Price:
Information is not collected centrally on how many prisons use the National Early
Warning Score to respond to symptoms of new psychoactive substances.
The Government has not made an assessment of the effectiveness of the use of the
National Early Warning Score in prisons in Liverpool.
Self-harm and Suicide: Kent
Sir Michael Fallon: [114528]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the rates of (a)
suicide and (b) self-harm in West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group in each (i) 2005, (ii)
2009, (iii) 2010, (iv) 2015 and (v) 2017.
Sir Michael Fallon: [114529]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he as made of the rates of (a)
suicide and (b) self-harm in Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley Clinical Commissioning
Group in (i) 2005, (ii) 2009, (iii) 2010, (iv) 2015 and (v) 2017.
Sir Michael Fallon: [114530]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the rates of (a)
suicide and (b) self-harm rates in West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group for people
aged (i) 11 to 18, (ii) 19 to 24 years old, and (iii) over 25 years old.
Sir Michael Fallon: [114531]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of rates of (a)
suicide and (b) self-harm rates in Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley Clinical
Commissioning Group for people aged (i) 11 to 18, (ii) 19 to 24, and (iii) over 25 years
old.
Jackie Doyle-Price:
The information is not available in the format requested.
Self-harm and Suicide: Young People
Sir Michael Fallon: [114532]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the rates of (a)
suicide and (b) self-harm for people aged 11 to 18 years old in (i) England and (ii) Kent in
(A) 2005, (B) 2009, (C) 2010 and (D) 2015.
Sir Michael Fallon: [114533]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the rates of (a)
suicide and (b) self-harm for people aged 19 to 24 years old in (i) England and (ii) Kent in
(A) 2005, (B) 2009, (C) 2010 and (D) 2015.
Sir Michael Fallon: [114534]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the rates of (a)
suicide and (b) self-harm for people over 25 years old in (i) England and (ii) Kent in (A)
2005, (B) 2009, (C) 2010 and (D) 2015.
Jackie Doyle-Price:
The information is not available in the format requested. Data is not collected on rates
of self-harm either nationally or by local area.
Social Services
Andrew Gwynne: [114651]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment the Government has
made of the capacity of local authorities to implement the prevention duty under the
provisions of the Care Act 2014.
Jackie Doyle-Price:
The Department has prioritised prevention and through the Care Act 2014 it requires
local authorities to provide or arrange for the provision of services, facilities or
resources that will contribute towards preventing, delaying or reducing the needs for
care and support of adults and carers.
For 2017/18, the Department has provided £7.274 million funding to the Local
Government Association to provide sector led improvement support to councils. This
includes support to help councils meet their prevention responsibilities. The
programme is focusing on building leadership capacity and capability on integration
and providing evidence-based decision-making in prevention and early intervention.
HOME OFFICE
Asylum: Children
Andrew Gwynne: [115493]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20
November 2017 to Question 113318, whether her Department collected data on the
number of people aged 18 to 25 who applied for asylum as unaccompanied children and
were then served with removal directions in previous years.
Brandon Lewis:
Service of Removal Directions to adult failed asylum seekers does not take into
consideration whether the individuals were former unaccompanied asylum seeking
children.
Published Stats on Returns (vol 2) includes returns by age, gender and nationality
and can be found in the following table.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-
2017/list-of-tables#returns
Asylum: Sudan
Dr David Drew: [115260]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, will she list how many Darfur
asylum seekers have been (a) granted and (b) refused leave to remain for each of the
last five years for which figures are available.
Brandon Lewis:
Published data relating to the outcomes of asylum claims from each country
(including Sudan) can be found in tab as_01 at volume 1 of the quarterly Immigration
Statistics release:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-2017-
data-tables
British Nationality
Anna McMorrin: [115367]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessments her
Department has made of what changes may be required to the process of obtaining
British citizenship for those with permanent residency status in the UK once the UK has
left the EU.
Brandon Lewis:
EU nationals and their family members are already required to meet the same
statutory requirements as non-EU nationals when seeking to naturalise as British
citizens. This includes a requirement, amongst others, to demonstrate that they are
free from any immigration restriction on the period for which they might remain in the
UK.
Grenfell Tower: Fires
Mr David Lammy: [114984]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Grenfell Tower fire
survivors have been granted (a) limited leave to remain in the UK and (b) permanent
residence.
Brandon Lewis:
The dedicated Grenfell immigration policy is a targeted scheme that we expect to
benefit a limited number of people.
We have plans to publish statistics on the Grenfell immigration policy in due course
and will not be providing updates on numbers in the meantime.
Immigrants: English Language
Keith Vaz: [115194]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Tests of English for
International Communication cases have not yet been received.
Brandon Lewis:
Evidence given to the Home Affairs Select Committee inquiry into English Language
Testing provides information on the number of tests affected
http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-
select/home-affairs-committee/inquiries/parliament-2015/inquiry3/
Additionally, UKVI transparency data provides details of refusal, curtailments and
removal decisions in response to the abuse of secure English language testing. A link
to the most recent available data is provided here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/temporary-and-permanent-migration-
data-february-2017
The table in SELT_02 is the closest match to the information requested.
The data was last published in February 2017 and only contains data to the last
quarter (December 2016). ETS data is no longer published after this date.
Keith Vaz: [115195]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Test of English for
International Communication cases resulted in people being deported.
Brandon Lewis:
UKVI transparency data provides details of refusal, curtailments and removal
decisions in response to the abuse of secure English language testing. A link to the
most recent available data is provided here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/temporary-and-permanent-migration-
data-february-2017
The table in SELT_02 is the closest match to the information requested.
The data was last published in February 2017 and only contains data to the last
quarter (December 2016). ETS data is no longer published after this date.
Immigrants; English Language
Keith Vaz: [115193]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons independent
experts have not been appointed to review Tests of English for International
Communication cases.
Brandon Lewis:
Evidence given to the Home Affairs Select Committee inquiry into English Language
Testing provides details of the methods through which the validity of TOEIC were
determined and the subsequent reports into those methods. A link to the evidence
given to the inquiry is provided here:
http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-
select/home-affairs-committee/inquiries/parliament-2015/inquiry3/
Immigration
Sarah Champion: [115094]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the
Government has made of provision of discretionary leave to remain for survivors of
modern slavery identified in the UK.
Sarah Champion: [115095]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government has
plans to protect the right to work for victims of modern slavery identified in the UK?
Brandon Lewis:
There is no right to work in the UK based on a person being confirmed as a victim of
modern slavery. A person’s immigration status will determine whether a person has
the right to work in the UK.
Confirmed victims of modern slavery who do not qualify for leave to remain in another
immigration route can be considered for a grant of Discretionary Leave to remain in
the UK based on the particular circumstances of the individual case. This can include
needing to stay in the UK in order to pursue a claim for compensation against their
traffickers, the need to assist with police enquiries or due to personal circumstances.
Those granted Discretionary Leave have recourse to public funds and permission to
work.
Not all victims of modern slavery will wish to remain in the UK and so the
Government is also committed to supporting those who wish to return home. The
Home Office’s Voluntary Returns Service can assist victims of modern slavery to
return home.
The Home Office has recently produced a leaflet to raise awareness about
immigration options for victims of modern slavery which can be found at the following
link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/help-for-adult-victims-of-modern-slavery
Immigration Controls: Australasia
John Spellar: [115051]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13
September 2017 to Question 8860, whether her Department has discussed with the
Australian Government the operation of e-passport gates in that country for nationals of
designated countries.
Brandon Lewis:
We engage regularly with our international partners to share ideas and learn from
their approaches to border control. However the Australian Government is
responsible for the policies relating to the usage of their e-passport gates, just as the
UK determines the policies for our own e-passport gates.
Immigration: Biometrics
Luciana Berger: [115278]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department holds
data on biometric resident permit cards that have required revision due to errors in
England.
Brandon Lewis:
This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Marriage Certificates
Layla Moran: [115275]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many officials in her
Departmental are working on (a) administrative, (c) technical and (c) legislative tasks
relating proposals to include a mother's name and details on marriage certificates.
Brandon Lewis:
The Home Office has a number of officials who are working, or have worked, on
proposals to include mothers’ names on marriage certificates. This work forms just
part of these officials' wider responsibilities.
Layla Moran: [115276]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (a) how many and (b) which
computer systems will need to be altered to allow mothers names and details to be given
on marriage certificates.
Brandon Lewis:
All marriage registrations in England and Wales are recorded on a computer system
that is used by registration officers administrating the registration service. Changes
would need to be made to this system to allow mothers names and details to be
recorded. This can only be achieved once the necessary legislation is in place.
Layla Moran: [115277]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which acts of Parliament need to
be amended in order to allow mothers' names and details to be given on marriage
certificates.
Brandon Lewis:
Any change to the content of the marriage entry to include mothers’ names would
ideally also bring forward reform to how marriages are registered to introduce
efficiencies and create a more secure system for the maintenance of marriage
records.
To introduce such reform would require changes to primary legislation, in particular
the Marriage Act 1949, and associated regulations. We continue to look for
opportunities to introduce the legislative change required.
MI5
Philip Davies: [114796]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much MI5 spent from the
public purse on sponsorship of the National Diversity Awards 2017; and how many full-
time equivalent MI5 staff worked on that project.
Mr Ben Wallace:
Any law enforcement or intelligence agency must represent the diverse communities
it serves, to enable them to gather the intelligence they need to keep us all safe.
Diversity is therefore recognised as a crucial component of the intelligence agencies’
workforce. The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament recognised as
much when they carried out an inquiry on Parliament’s behalf into women in the
intelligence agencies.
It has been the longstanding policy of successive Governments not to reveal details
of the budgets or spending of the intelligence agencies. Statutory oversight for this is
provided by the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.
HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION
House of Commons: Staff
Chris Ruane: [114915]
To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of
Commons Commission, what steps the Commission is taking to improve the (a) physical
and (b) mental well-being of all employed staff.
Tom Brake:
The Parliamentary Health and Wellbeing Service (PHWS) support staff to help
maintain and improve their physical and mental well-being.
PHWS offer a number of services including:
healthcare advice to improve fitness and wellbeing
wellbeing classes on the Parliamentary Estate, including yoga, pilates and
mindfulness
advice and guidance for staff with disabilities
support to give up smoking plus dietary and lifestyle advice
access to physiotherapy services.
The House also has a contract with Westminster Gym which provides employees,
amongst others, to access to gym facilities and a range of classes and treatments.
Wellbeing support is also provided and includes counselling by Wellbeing
Practitioners. Support, advice and guidance is also provided to help with issues such
as:
Mental Health
Problems at home or work
Ill health or ill health of loved ones
Financial difficulties and debt
Bereavement
Alcohol and Drug issues
A minor treatment clinic is located in the Palace of Westminster. The Clinical Nurse
Adviser can provide advice and information about illness, injuries at work, lifestyle
and wellbeing issues. The Clinical nurse is able to refer clients onto specialist
agencies or in-house services where necessary. Minor treatments such as dressings,
ear syringing, removal of stitches and blood pressure monitoring can take place at
this clinic.
The Service also runs Health & Wellbeing events. These are organised regularly
during the parliamentary year and include an annual Wellbeing Day. This gives staff
the opportunity to have an individual health check and obtain advice and guidance on
health & wellbeing related issues.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Bangladesh: Rohingya
Richard Burden: [115469]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department
is taking to help ensure there are confidential spaces for Rohingya women and children
refugees to report any abuse and sexual violence in Bangladesh
Alistair Burt:
We are committed to protecting vulnerable groups in the refugee camps in
Bangladesh, and are providing support for survivors and addressing the risk of
Gender Based Violence (GBV). DFID is supporting the establishment of Child
Friendly Spaces and Women and Adolescent Friendly Spaces to provide protective
services, and psychosocial and psychological support. Through UK funding to the UN
Population Fund (UNFPA), UK support will reach over 10,000 women suffering from
trauma, and over 2000 survivors of sexual violence, as part of the larger response to
the risks. We are now planning to scale-up our GBV response.
Department for International Development: Staff
Anna McMorrin: [115540]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate he has made
of changes in staff numbers at each grade and salary band which will be needed in her
Department after the UK leaves the EU.
Alistair Burt:
DFID, at this point, is not projecting any change in staffing numbers. Any future
requirements will be addressed via DFID’s annual workforce planning process which
allows identification of future resourcing and capability requirements.
Developing Countries: Poverty
Mr Gregory Campbell: [115393]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has
(a) recently had and (b) plans to have with her international counterparts on the
percentage of gross national income each of their countries contributes towards global
efforts to eradicate poverty.
Alistair Burt:
After taking office on 9 Nov, the Secretary of State is considering opportunities to
engage with her international counterparts, including strategic dialogues on
development with several of them in the New Year.
While it is for other governments to decide what percentage of gross national income
(GNI) to allocate as Official Development Assistance (ODA), the Secretary of State
will highlight the importance the UK Government places on meeting the international
commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI as ODA. She will make clear the vital role that
international development activity plays in tackling global challenges such as mass
migration and disease, as well as helping the world’s poorest and most vulnerable.
Pakistan: Non-governmental Organisations
Jim Shannon: [114849]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has
made of the potential effectiveness of using UK aid to Pakistan as leverage with which to
engage the Government of Pakistan on its relations with NGOs.
Alistair Burt:
International and national NGOs are important development partners, and the UK is
concerned about some of the restrictions they face. DFID and FCO officials regularly
press the Government of Pakistan to ensure registration and regulation is
implemented appropriately, and allow NGOs to continue their important work. Our aid
relationship with the Government of Pakistan is based on assessment against our
Partnership Principles and funding is subject to programme performance and
progress by government on key policy reforms.
Swaziland: Overseas Aid
Chris Ruane: [115380]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much aid she has
provided to Swaziland since her Department was established.
Alistair Burt:
The total amount of UK Net Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend to
Swaziland since 1997, when my Department was established, was £6.8 million. This
figure is sourced from the OECD DAC database and Statistics on International
Development (DFID).
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Department for International Trade: Internet
Anna McMorrin: [115538]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she plans to upgrade the
Department’s website to attract more foreign investment.
Mark Garnier:
Great.gov.uk was launched in November 2017. The platform’s purpose is to help UK
businesses secure their place on the global stage and present and promote the UK
as a natural choice for overseas investment. DIT continuously monitors the site for
opportunities to upgrade.
In addition, invest.great.gov.uk was launched in January 2017 and for China from
February 2017.
invest.great.gov.uk targets investors in eight languages: from November 2016 in
German, Chinese and English; from January 2017 in Spanish, Portuguese, and
Japanese; from February 2017 Arabic; and, French followed in February 2017.
Sector content is also updated regularly which now includes: Automotive, Creative,
Health and Life Sciences, Energy, Financial Services, and Technology, with later
additions in Retail, Food and Drink, Aerospace, and Advanced Manufacturing.
All content and features will be developed according to the processes outlined in the
Government’s Digital Service Standard. We continuously research the needs of
investors, iterate content and collect feedback to improve the service, as set out in
the standard. As such, updates to ensure the site remains relevant are ongoing.
Department for International Trade: Postal Services
James Gray: [114617]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what security measures his
Department has in place relating to the receipt by his Department of incoming post and
parcels; and what discussions he has had with the British Forces Postal Office on
providing such services.
Greg Hands:
The Department of International Trade (DIT) follows government security standards
relating to the receipt of incoming post and parcels, as laid out under the HMG
Security Policy Framework and as appropriate for each DIT location. DIT has not had
discussions with the British Forces Post Office on this matter.
Exports
Bill Esterson: [115414]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, for what reason the figures in the
Red Book, published on 22 November show growth in exports of goods and services in
the UK falling from 3.4% in 2018 to 0.1% in 2020.
Mark Garnier:
The Budget takes its trade projections from the Office for Budget Responsibility’s
(OBR) autumn forecast. Details of the OBR’s forecast can be found in its Economic
and Fiscal Outlook for November 2017. As the OBR stresses, there is considerable
uncertainty around these forecasts.
Higher Education: Exports
Angus Brendan MacNeil: [114598]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what target her Department has set
for the level of higher education exports in the next five years; and what steps her
Department plans to take to meet that target.
Mark Garnier:
A target to increase the value of exports across the education sector to £30bn by
2020 was set by the previous government. The target is rightly ambitious and the
Department for International Trade (DIT) remains committed to working with the rest
of government and the sector to drive progress towards achieving it.
The Government actively promotes study in the UK through the GREAT Campaign
and through the British Council, which promotes the UK in over 100 countries. There
continues to be no limit to the number of overseas students who can come here to
study, and the UK is second only to the USA in terms of our market share.
This Government continues to support growth in UK education exports, including
through the work of the team dedicated to education exports in DIT. I have recently
announced the establishment of a DIT Education Sector Advisory Group, chaired by
myself, which will support the aspirations of the sector internationally. The inaugural
meeting is scheduled for December.
Overseas Trade: Sri Lanka
Mr Ranil Jayawardena: [R] [114573]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking
to increase trade and investment relationships with Sri Lanka.
Mark Garnier:
The Department for International Trade (DIT) has a team in Sri Lanka which focuses
on significant opportunities. DIT works with Sri Lankan counterparts and the wider
business community to identify emerging opportunities that will continue to increase
bilateral trade and investment between the UK and Sri Lanka.
This financial year, DIT has already supported British companies in securing multi-
million pound projects in the advanced engineering and financial and professional
services sectors.
UK Export Finance, the UK’s export credit agency, has capacity to support UK trade
with Sri Lanka and welcomes new applications for support.
Saudi Arabia: Arms Trade
Christine Jardine: [114920]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will impose a ban on the export
of arms to Saudi Arabia.
Mark Garnier:
The Government takes its export licensing responsibilities very seriously and our
processes have been subjected to public and judicial scrutiny.
The Government operates a rigorous and robust process to ensure that any licences
for UK defence exports are consistent with the Consolidated EU and National Arms
Export Licensing Criteria. The policy remains as announced to parliament in a Written
Ministerial Statement on 25 March 2014.
http://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2014-03-
25/debates/14032566000018/ConsolidatedEUAndNationalArmsExportLicensingCriter
ia
The key test for the Government for our continued arms exports to Saudi Arabia in
relation to International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is whether there is a clear risk that
those weapons might be used in a serious violation of IHL. The situation is kept under
careful and continual review.
Small Businesses
Bill Esterson: [115416]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to his Oral Answer on 23
November 2017, what criteria he used to locate staff from the Export Hub on Small
Business Saturday.
Mark Garnier:
The Export Hub is invited to locations across the UK, and has so far visited 235 sites.
Any Member of Parliament is able to request for the Export Hub to visit their
constituency.
The logistics for managing the Export Hub is contracted through an external
company.
Many cross-party MPs have spoken highly of the work of the Export Hub at the
Department for International Trade’s (DIT) Monthly MPs Briefings which the DIT
Ministerial team hosts.
Bill Esterson: [115425]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Oral Answer on 23
November 2017, how much funding from UK Export Finance has been spent on (a)
supporting UK businesses and (b) advisers to those businesses.
Mark Garnier:
UK Export Finance (UKEF) operates at no net cost to the taxpayer, and has provided
£14 billion of support for UK exports in the last five years. Over that period,
administrative costs were £137 million, of which around £4m related to its network of
24 Export Finance Managers, who act as local points of contact for businesses
across the UK. UKEF generated £532 million in premium for the same period.
Trade Agreements
Angus Brendan MacNeil: [114600]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what representations he has
received from which countries on their seeking future trade deals with the UK.
Greg Hands:
As the Government has set out in the Department for International Trade’s (DIT)
White Paper, ‘Preparing for our future UK trade policy’, DIT is engaging with a broad
range of partners about future trading options, including new Free Trade Agreements.
The Government will aim – through Working Groups, Joint Trade Reviews and other
discussions – to improve trading relations and remove barriers affecting UK
businesses.
Bill Esterson: [115419]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade pursuant to his Oral Answer of 23
November 2017, what the timetable is for the agreement of each of the trade agreements
to be rolled over from the EU after the UK leaves the EU; and how many staff in his
Department have been allocated to each agreement.
Greg Hands:
The Department for International Trade is engaging with all countries with which the
European Union currently has free trade agreements with a view to replicating, as far
as possible, the effects of existing agreements as the United Kingdom leaves the
European Union, including in any implementation period that might be agreed
between the UK and the EU.
This work involves staff across the Department and in other government
departments.
Anna McMorrin: [115539]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimates his Department has
made of changes in staff levels needed to negotiate trade deals after the UK leaves the
EU.
Greg Hands:
The Department is already increasing staff levels to support future trade negotiations.
Since July 2016 our Trade Policy Group has grown significantly from 45 to around
400 today. The Group includes lawyers, analysts, trade policy and country specialists
drawn from across all relevant Government departments that will be involved in
developing policy for and negotiating trade deals.
USA: Overseas Trade
Chris Ruane: [115381]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the value of (a) imports from
and (b) exports to the US was for each region and nation of the UK in each of the last 30
years for which data is available.
Mark Garnier:
Data on the value of UK trade (exports and imports) in goods and services with the
USA since 1999 are available from the ONS at:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/adhocs/0077
16additionalcountrydatafortradeingoodsandservicesbetween1999and2016
Data on the value of UK trade in goods by UK region with the USA since 1996 are
available from HM Customs and Revenue (HMRC)’s Build Your Own Tables
application at:
https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/BuildYourOwnTables/Pages/Home.aspx (RTS
data)
Data on the value of exports of services (excluding travel, transport and financial
services) by GB region to the USA in 2015 are available from the ONS at:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/internationaltrade/articles/estimatin
gthevalueofserviceexportsabroadfromdifferentpartsoftheuk/2015 (data for earlier
years are not available).
Notes:
1. The data at the links above are not comparable due to differences in coverage and
methodology between sources
2. Data on the value of imports of services from the USA are not available
JUSTICE
Bedford Prison
Mohammad Yasin: [115333]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many additional days of imprisonment
were imposed as punishment on prisoners at HM Prison Bedford during 2016?
Mr Sam Gyimah:
The number of additional days awarded to prisoners at HM Prison Bedford as a result
of adjudications in 2016 was 26.
Discipline procedures are central to the maintenance of a safe custodial environment.
They are provided for by the Prison and Young Offender Institution Rules, which
require adjudications to be conducted lawfully, fairly and justly. Independent
Adjudicators are District Judges or Deputy District Judges who attend prisons and
young offender institutions when necessary to hear those adjudication cases which
are deemed to be sufficiently serious. Such cases may merit a punishment of
additional days to a prisoner’s time spent in custody if the prisoner or young person is
found guilty. Only Independent Adjudicators can make an award of additional days as
a punishment. The most serious offences will be referred to the Police.
Berwyn Prison
Liz Saville Roberts: [115125]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the level of
turnover in staff at HM Prison Berwyn since that prison opened in Spring 2017.
Mr Sam Gyimah:
Berwyn has to date (Friday 24 November) a total of 570 direct employees (this is
headcount and not Full Time Equivalents, FTE), since the start we have had 27
resignations. This is a total turnover of 4.7%, 11 of these were Prison Officers which
equates to a turnover of 1.9%.
Liz Saville Roberts: [115127]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of seizures of drugs at HM
Prison Berwyn have been recorded since that prison opened in Spring 2017.
Mr Sam Gyimah:
We take a zero-tolerance approach to drugs in our prisons. Anyone found with
contraband will be subject to disciplinary action and police investigation. We are
taking unprecedented action to stop the supply and use of drugs, including an
innovative new drug testing programme and have over 300 dogs to detect
psychoactive substances.
We have also invested £3 million in enhanced intelligence, to improve our targeted
intelligence and search capabilities. We are working closely with government partners
to address issues with drugs at every stage of the supply chain, including those
attempting to smuggle drugs into prisons.
Figures drawn from the HMPPS Incident Reporting System show that there were 24
incidents recorded where drugs were found in HMP Berwyn between March and
October 2017.
These figures have been drawn from the HMPPS Incident Reporting System. Care is
taken when processing and analysing the returns but the detail collected is subject to
the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.
Liz Saville Roberts: [115128]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of assault on prison staff
have been recorded as crimes at HM Prison Berwyn since that prison opened in Spring
2017.
Liz Saville Roberts: [115129]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many assaults by prisoners on staff at HM
Prison Berwyn have been dealt with by internal disciplinary hearings since that prison
opened in Spring 2017.
Liz Saville Roberts: [115130]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoner-on-prisoner assaults have
been recorded as crimes at HM Prison Berwyn since that prison opened in Spring 2017.
Liz Saville Roberts: [115131]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoner-on-prisoner assaults at HM
Prison Berwyn have been dealt with by internal disciplinary hearings since that prison
opened in Spring 2017.
Mr Sam Gyimah:
We take crime in prison extremely seriously. All allegations of assault by prisoners
are investigated, and rigorous action is taken against the perpetrators. Serious
assaults are referred to the Police for criminal investigation. We do not hold data on
how many such incidents are recorded as crimes.
HMP Berwyn opened on 28 February 2017. The figures in the table below cover the
period to June 2017, which is the latest for which data is available. “Adjudication”
refers to cases dealt with through internal prisoner disciplinary hearings.
PRISONER ASSAULTED MEMBER
OF STAFF
PRISONER ASSAULTED ANOTHER
PRISONER
Adjudication 8 2
Referred to Police 1 0
Liz Saville Roberts: [115132]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions ambulances have been
called to HM Prison Berwyn since that prison opened in Spring 2017.
Mr Sam Gyimah:
There have been 43 occasions where the ambulance service has been required to
enter HMP Berwyn since opening in Spring 2017.
Liz Saville Roberts: [115133]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions the North Wales Fire
and Rescue Service has been called to HM Prison Berwyn since that prison opened in
Spring 2017.
Mr Sam Gyimah:
There have been 4 occasions where the Fire Service has been required to enter
HMP Berwyn since opening in Spring 2017. All fires were extinguished by the time
the fire service arrived at Berwyn.
Liz Saville Roberts: [115134]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners from HM Prison Berwyn
have attended accident and emergency departments at local district general hospitals
since that prison opened in Spring 2017.
Mr Sam Gyimah:
Since opening in Spring 2017, a total of 69 men have attended the local Accident and
Emergency department at Wrexham Maelor Hospital.
Convictions: EU Nationals
Philip Davies: [114799]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) Romanian, (b) Bulgarian, (c)
Polish and (d) Croatian nationals were convicted of offences in the UK in each of the last
3 years.
Mr Sam Gyimah:
Any foreign national who comes to our country and abuses our hospitality by
breaking the law should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them. Since
2010 more than 38,000 have been removed from prisons, Immigration Removal
Centres and the community, and last year a record number of over 6,300 were
removed.
Information on convictions in England and Wales for these four nationalities is not
held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost. However,
information is available on the total number of foreign prisoners held by HM Prison
and Probation Service in England and Wales; this can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-
april-to-june-2017. This information provides the total number of prisoners by
nationality, with the total including unconvicted, convicted, and sentenced prisoners.
In relation to convictions in Scotland and Northern Ireland, these are matters for the
respective devolved administrations.
Debt Collection
Yasmin Qureshi: [10415]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an estimate
of the potential number of civilian enforcement officers who will transfer to the private
sector as a result of its decision to outsource the work of such officers.
Dominic Raab:
No decision has been made yet. Should a decision to include this work be made then
139 HMCTS Civilian Enforcement Officers may be in scope to transfer to a new
service provider under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)
Regulations 2006) if it applies.
Magistrates' Courts
Dr Matthew Offord: [114763]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons his Department uses the
Witness Service to supply drinking water to victims at magistrates courts.
Dr Phillip Lee:
The Ministry of Justice grant funds the court based Witness Service for the provision
of emotional and practical support to witnesses giving evidence in criminal courts in
England and Wales. The Witness Service does not have a specific responsibility to
provide drinking water in courts but has, in the past, put in place arrangements for the
provision of drinking water in a number of witness waiting areas where they did not
exist as this is an element of supporting witnesses as they prepare to give evidence.
Ministry of Justice: ICT
Philip Davies: [114787]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has spent on (a)
phones, (b) computers and (c) iPads in each of the last three years.
Dr Phillip Lee:
The information requested is not held centrally.
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) comprises many organisations including Arm’s Length
Bodies (ALBs). Each organisation holds separate contracts for these IT products and
this information is not held or collated centrally.
Ministry of Justice: Vacancies
Mr Jim Cunningham: [115435]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many vacancies there were in his
Department in each month since January 2015; and if he will make a statement.
Dr Phillip Lee:
The following table shows how many recruitment campaigns and how many vacant
posts (excluding Senior Civil Servants - SCS) were advertised by MoJ during each
month since October 2016, using the department’s e-recruitment system, WCN. Data
is not available prior to October 2016, as MoJ no longer has access to data from the
previous e-recruitment system, i-Grasp, that was in use before this date.
The data does not include campaign information for certain posts that are not
advertised on WCN, such as those that are part of certain professional, cross-
government schemes.
Table 1: Vacant posts advertised on WCN since October 2016 (excluding SCS)
DATE
NUMBER OF CAMPAIGNS
ADVERTISED ON WCN
NUMBER OF VACANT POSTS
ADVERTISED ON WCN
Oct 16 669 1830
Nov 16 966 2543
Dec 16 777 2043
Jan 17 819 2385
Feb 17 782 2331
Mar 17 884 2124
Apr 17 536 1569
DATE
NUMBER OF CAMPAIGNS
ADVERTISED ON WCN
NUMBER OF VACANT POSTS
ADVERTISED ON WCN
May 17 518 2049
Jun 17 545 1534
Jul 17 517 1485
Aug 17 582 1445
Sep 17 483 1132
Oct 17 535 1768
Nov 17 (until 24/11/17) 403 997
The following table shows how many Senior Civil Service (SCS) vacancies were
recruited for MoJ from January 2015.
Table 2: Vacant SCS posts advertised on behalf of MoJ by Civil Service Resourcing
since January 2015
NUMBER OF VACANT SCS POSTS ADVERTISED ON BEHALF OF MOJ BY CIVIL SERVICE
RESOURCING
Jan 2015 2
Feb 2015 2
Mar 2015 9
Apr 2015 0
May 2015 6
Jun 2015 2
Jul 2015 6
Aug 2015 1
Sep 2015 1
Oct 2015 3
Nov 2015 8
Dec 2015 2
Jan 2016 8
NUMBER OF VACANT SCS POSTS ADVERTISED ON BEHALF OF MOJ BY CIVIL SERVICE
RESOURCING
Feb 2016 2
Mar 2016 7
Apr 2016 5
May 2016 7
Jun 2016 12
Jul 2016 7
Aug 2016 2
Sep 2016 14
Oct 2016 3
Nov 2016 8
Dec 2016 6
Jan 2017 5
Feb 2017 4
Mar 2017 11
Apr 2017 8
May 2017 3
Jun 2017 5
Jul 2017 6
Aug 2017 8
Sep 2017 4
Oct 2017 3
Nov 2017 (until 24/11/17) 4
MoJ’s recruitment has been subject to a recruitment freeze since October 2015, and
recruitment controls are in place to support this.
MoJ implemented the Civil Service Recruitment Framework in April 2017, which
applies to all civil servants except SCS, and the recruitment approaches the
department uses are consistent with those in other departments. MoJ’s recruitment is
regulated by the Civil Service Commission, and MoJ adheres to its recruitment
principles.
Oakhill Secure Training Centre
David Hanson: [115010]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to further review the
performance and management of Oakhill training centre following the recent Ofsted
inspection report.
Dr Phillip Lee:
The Ofsted inspection report on Oakhill Secure Training Centre is unacceptable and
we have taken urgent action to address the concerns raised by Ofsted. A new interim
Director, with extensive experience, has been appointed at Oakhill and an
experienced HMPPS Governor has been brought in to provide extra scrutiny.
We are robustly monitoring performance against the contract and are clear that we
will take further steps, if needed, to improve delivery.
More widely across the estate, we are investing £64 million to reform youth custody
and increase staffing, to improve safety and reduce violence.
Offenders: Rehabilitation
Dr David Drew: [115123]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to implement the
recommendations of the HM Inspectorate of Probation and HM Inspectorate of Prisons
report Through the Gate resettlement services for prisoners serving 12 months or more,
published in October 2016.
Mr Sam Gyimah:
We acknowledge that current delivery of Through the Gate services is falling short of
our expectations. We are continuing work with providers to improve delivery
throughout England and Wales and the findings and recommendations from HMI
Probation’s thematic reports are informing this work.
The performance of Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs), including their
delivery of Through the Gate, is assessed through a range of service levels and
through a robust contract management and assurance process. Our contract
management teams continue to carry out regular assurance of Through the Gate
delivery, and host regular local review meetings with CRCs, the National Probation
Service (NPS) and prisons, identifying and working through resolutions of any issues.
We have made changes to how CRCs are paid for future years so they can focus on
activities that best rehabilitate offenders and keep society safe.
Personal Injury: Compensation
Craig Tracey: [114936]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to publish the results of the
Government's review of the latest draft clauses on the discount rate reforms.
Mr Sam Gyimah:
The Justice Select Committee is conducting a pre-legislative scrutiny inquiry into the
draft legislation published by the Ministry of Justice on 7 September (Cm 9500).
The Government will respond to the Committee’s conclusions and other comments
received on the draft legislation within two months of the publication of the
Committee’s report.
Prisoners' Transfers: Gender Recognition
Andrew Bridgen: [115348]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were transferred from a male
to a female prison after reassigning their gender in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017, and
how many of those prisoners in each of those years had been convicted of sex-related
offences.
Dr Phillip Lee:
The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at
disproportionate cost.
Prisoners: Drugs
David Hanson: [114686]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with
prison governors about the use of talking therapies to help prisoners with drug
dependency.
Dr Phillip Lee:
NHS England commission all healthcare services in prisons, including the use of
talking therapies. Since April 2017, we have empowered Governors to have greater
input into decision making with NHS England commissioners to ensure their prison
have effective healthcare services.
Health service providers and Governors recognise that talking therapies are an
integral part of all substance misuse psychosocial interventions.
Prisoners: Suicide
Luciana Berger: [115532]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September to
question 9658, on prison: suicides, how many prisoners have died by suicide in each
prison in England in each month of 2017 to date.
Mr Sam Gyimah:
Data on deaths in prison custody is published quarterly in the Safety in Custody
statistics. The most recent statistics were published on 26 October 2017 and cover
deaths in prison custody to September 2017. Data at individual prison level is
available at
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/654510
/deaths-data-tool.xlsx.
Prisons: Drugs
David Hanson: [114696]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of
the effect of the implementation of a smoking ban on narcotics use in prisons.
Mr Sam Gyimah:
Guidance has been developed, in conjunction with Public Health England to provide
information and practical advice to staff to assist with managing the potential risks
associated with narcotics. There are strategies in place to reduce the supply of
narcotics and detection of all psychotic substances (PS). This include the
empowerment and training of staff to tackle PS use.
We have also taken swift action to stop the supply of drugs into all our prisons,
equipping all prisons with portable and fixed detectors to tackle illicit use of phones in
prisons. We are working with the police to catch and convict criminal using drones to
smuggle contraband into prisons, and are testing physical and technological
countermeasures to stop incursions.
Philip Davies: [114793]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the level of
use of synthetic drugs in prisons in each of the the last three years.
Philip Davies: [114794]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many seizures of synthetic drugs there
have been in each prison in each of the last 3 years.
Mr Sam Gyimah:
Psychoactive substances are a significant driver of violence and instability in
prisons. We have put in place a range of supply and demand reduction measures
to address the availability and use of such harmful substances. This is based on a
multi-agency approach working closely with health partners and law enforcement
agencies. We are the first prison jurisdiction in the world to have developed a test
for psychoactive substances, and have trained more than 300 sniffer dogs to
specifically detect psychoactive substances. We have invested £3m in enhancing
our intelligence capability to identify the organised crime groups and individuals
behind supply routes, and are using this intelligence to work with the police to
disrupt them.
Figures drawn from the HMPPS Incident Reporting System suggest there were just
under 10,000 incidents where psychoactive substances were found in prisons
between October 2015 and October 2017 in England and Wales. Data prior to
October 2015 cannot be provided as this is when a new incident type was
introduced to the Incident Reporting System.
Testing for psychoactive substances was only in place across the whole prison
estate from September 2016 onwards. Between October 2016 and March 2017,
there were 27,277 random mandatory drug tests administered. Each sample taken
is tested for a range of illicit drugs, including psychoactive substances. As these
are random drugs tests, prisoners tested in a single month are unique, but an
individual prisoner could be chosen in multiple months. Figures for 2017/18 will be
published in the Annual HMPPS Digest in July 2018.
Prisons: Smoking
Philip Davies: [114788]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison disturbances have been
linked to the ban on tobacco use on the prison estate in each prison facility since that ban
was implemented.
Mr Sam Gyimah:
Maintaining order and control in our prisons is our priority and this large-scale project
has been carefully managed. There is no evidence to link smoking as the causal
factor in any incidents this year where national resources were deployed.
Philip Davies: [114789]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department received
representations from the Prison Governors Association on the banning of the use of
tobacco on the prison estate; and if he will place a copy of any such representations in
the Library.
Mr Sam Gyimah:
The Prison Governors Association (PGA) made no representation on the banning of
the use of tobacco on the prison estate.
Throughout the roll out, the PGA have been briefed regularly on the progress of the
project including details of the prisons which sit in each phase of the roll out.
Philip Davies: [114790]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department received
representations from Action on Smoking and Health on the banning of the use of tobacco
on the prison estate; and if he will place a copy of any such representations in the Library.
Mr Sam Gyimah:
There have been no representations received from Action on Smoking and Health
(ASH) on the banning of the use of tobacco on the prison estate.
The Director of ASH, Deborah Arnott is a member of the national smoke free prisons
project board and is informed of the progress of the roll out.
NORTHERN IRELAND
British Irish Council
Mr Gregory Campbell: [115391]
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the operation of the British-Irish
Council forum for consultation and co-operation will be in the absence of a Northern
Ireland Executive.
James Brokenshire:
The Government is fully committed to the British Irish Council as a forum to maintain
and strengthen relations between member administrations.
At the recent meeting of the British Irish Council on 9 and 10 November 2017,
Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the Council and its role in promoting
harmonious and mutually beneficial relationships across these islands as set out in
the 1998 Belfast Agreement. The Council agreed that political developments across
Member Administrations underlined the importance of this unique forum to share
views and strengthen relationships. The Council looked forward to the restoration of
the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland as soon as possible. This remains the
Government’s priority.
Magilligan Prison
Mr Gregory Campbell: [114843]
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether work is continuing on
preparations to rebuild HM Prison Magilligan.
James Brokenshire:
Responsibility for prisons in Northern Ireland are primarily a devolved area. Under the
devolution of policing and justice in 2010, the Department of Justice (DoJ) is solely
responsible for management of the prison estate.
TRANSPORT
Department for Transport: Postal Services
James Gray: [114613]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what security measures his Department has
in place relating to the receipt by his Department of incoming post and parcels; and what
discussions he has had with the British Forces Postal Office on providing such services.
Mr John Hayes:
The Department has protective measures in place to receive packages into the
Department safely and securely. We have not had discussions with the British Forces
Postal Office regarding such services.
Department for Transport: Staff
Diana Johnson: [115453]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November to
Question 112580, how many staff are employed in the Regional Transport Strategies
Directorate and in which NUTS 1 regions these staff are based.
Jesse Norman:
The Regional Transport Strategies Directorate was created to support the Northern
Powerhouse, with its remit subsequently expanded to support the Government’s re-
balancing agenda. Following a reorganisation, implemented on Monday 27th
November, Regional Transport Strategies has been restructured in order to support
the Department’s ‘place based engagement’ better. As a result, the Directorate has
been renamed Regions, Cities and Devolution.
The geographical spread of the new Directorate’s staff, which includes a mix of full-
and part-time working, by NUTS1 regions is set out below:
NUTS 1 REGION NO. OF STAFF
West Midlands (England) 6
Yorkshire & the Humber 5
North West (England) 1
North East (England) 16
London 44
Total 72
Whilst the staff in this Directorate are spread across the above five regions, their work
is not limited to the region in which they are based.
Department of Transport: Vacancies
Mr Jim Cunningham: [115436]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vacancies there were in his
Department in each month since January 2015; and if he will make a statement.
Mr John Hayes:
In looking at vacancies as target staffing levels compared to actual staffing levels, the
total for the Department and the Executive Agencies is outlined below.
There is some inconsistency with reporting which may skew the results, with DVLA
and DVSA both providing Full Time Equivalent numbers as opposed to Headcount.
Highways Agency was part of the Department between January 2015 and April 2015
but their figures are not included in subsequent months. DVSA was not able to report
on any information prior to April 2015.
MONTH DFT TOTAL MONTH DFT TOTAL MONTH
DFT
TOTAL
Jan-15 432.8 Jan-16 636.0 Jan-17 378.0
Feb-15 509.4 Feb-16 661.4 Feb-
17
404.1
Mar-15 590.4 Mar-16 594.0 Mar-
17
584.8
Apr-15 683.5 Apr-16 525.5 Apr-17 636.0
May-15 433.3 May-16 575.8 May-
17
644.3
Jun-15 446.5 Jun-16 587.9 Jun-17 617.4
Jul-15 535.2 Jul-16 621.6 Jul-17 588.9
Aug-15 520.4 Aug-16 583.7 Aug-
17
510.7
Sep-15 585.3 Sep-16 603.5 Sep-
17
626.8
Oct-15 664.5 Oct-16 476.8 Oct-17 587.6
Nov-15 615.7 Nov-16 519.0
Dec-15 622.2 Dec-16 585.7
Electric Vehicles
Jamie Stone: [114641]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to
incentivise manufacturers to produce more affordable electric cars.
Jesse Norman:
Through the Office for Low Emission Vehicles and Innovate UK, the Department for
Transport is investing over £200m to support UK businesses to build on their
strengths in electric vehicle technology and the design, development and
manufacture of electric vehicles. The Government is also incentivising the purchase
of electric vehicles with a grant of up to £4500 to consumers to offset the cost of this
technology.
Electric Vehicles: Rural Areas
Jamie Stone: [114642]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to
ensure the provision of suitably located charging points in remote and rural areas.
Jamie Stone: [114643]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many publicly available charging points
for electric cars there are in the UK; and what plans he has to increase the number of
charging points.
Jesse Norman:
The vast majority of charging takes place at home, overnight. To support this, the
Government provides funding for the installation of both on-street and off-street
charging infrastructure. In addition, support exists UK-wide, including for rural areas,
to enable workplaces to install infrastructure for use of employees and fleets.
The UK also now has over 11,500 publically accessible chargepoints, including over
900 rapid chargepoints. This is one of the largest rapid networks in Europe.
In addition, the Automated and Electric Vehicle Bill, currently going through
Parliament, will give powers to the UK Government to expand deployment of
infrastructure at motorway service areas and large fuel retailers, UK-wide.
As announced at Autumn Budget 2017, a new £400m electric car Charging
Infrastructure Investment Fund (£200m new Government investment to be matched
by private investors) will accelerate the roll-out of charging infrastructure by providing
access to finance to companies that deliver chargepoints.
Electric Vehicles: Wales
Daniel Kawczynski: [114678]
What assessment he has made of the adequacy of rapid charging point provision on the
strategic road network in Wales.
Jesse Norman:
The Department has funded rapid charge point roll-out through a competitive bidding
approach via Local Authorities, through the OLEV National Infrastructure Grant
Schemes, and Go Ultra Low Cities scheme (ongoing), which have provided funding
to projects to support rapids. These grant schemes have also been available to
Welsh local authorities.
The Welsh Government is also providing £2 million to help secure a network of
charging points throughout Wales in order to support the uptake of electric vehicles.
The funding will be released in 2018/19 and 2019/20. The Welsh Government is
currently scoping the priorities for deploying the money and delivery options, and will
be engaging with a range of stakeholders as part of the process. A key priority will be
the installation of a network of points along/near the trunk road network in Wales for
longer, through journeys to help alleviate range anxiety and therefore increase
electric vehicle uptake.
Railways: Compensation
Michael Fabricant: [114576]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to extend the
compensation package to rail season ticket holders for delays of under 30 minutes.
Paul Maynard:
In October 2016, we announced an improved compensation scheme under which rail
passengers, including rail season ticket holders, will be able to claim compensation if
their train is delayed by 15 minutes or more. ‘Delay Repay 15’, (DR15) which
provides compensation of 25% of the cost of the single ticket or 25% of the cost of
the relevant portion of the return ticket for delays of between 15 and 29 minutes, has
been introduced on Govia Thameslink Railway services and is being rolled out more
widely across DfT-franchised Train Operating Companies, starting with South
Western, West Midlands and South Eastern.
DR15 will be contracted as a requirement for new DfT franchises when contracts
come up for renewal. We have also asked a number of train operating companies for
proposals to implement DR15 before their contract expires; and will introduce DR15 if
the proposals are affordable and represent value for money for taxpayers.
Railways: Concessions
Andy McDonald: [115279]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the 26-30 year old travel discount
scheme is mandatory for all Train Operating Companies.
Paul Maynard:
The government is working with industry to extend the benefits of discounted travel.
My current expectation is that, after a trial period, this card will be subject to a binding
agreement between all franchised operators.
Railways: Greater Manchester
Andy McDonald: [115280]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to ensure that Orsdall
Chord of the Great North Rail Project delivers full capacity at (a) Manchester Piccadilly
and (b) Manchester Oxford Road stations.
Paul Maynard:
The Ordsall Chord connects Manchester’s three main railway stations for the first
time. It will enable more trains to run to Piccadilly from the south and will support new
and direct services across the region. By 2020, passengers as far afield as
Newcastle and Bradford will benefit from faster, more frequent journeys to
Manchester Airport as a result of this new link.
The corridor that includes Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Oxford Road will
increase from 12 to 15 trains per hour from May 2018. This increase in capacity is not
linked to the building of the Ordsall Chord, it is as a result of changing the rules about
how the corridor will operate.
Railways: Leigh
Jo Platt: [114760]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made
of the potential costs and benefits of installing a rail line and station to the town of Leigh.
Paul Maynard:
The Department for Transport has not made an assessment of the potential costs
and benefits of installing a rail line and station to the town of Leigh.
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 Transport for Greater Manchester to develop such plans and seek funding
opportunities.
Railways: Mobile Phones
Andrew Percy: [115316]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to
improve access to mobile phone networks on trains.
Paul Maynard:
In December 2016 my Department introduced a requirement that future rail
franchises have better mobile connectivity for their passengers. My Department is
also working closely with the Department of Digital, Culture Media and Sport (DCMS)
to see what further improvements can be made to mobile connectivity on trains.
DCMS will be shortly consulting upon commercial options to improve mobile
communications for rail passengers and will invest up to £35 million to enable trials,
as announced in the Budget. This will be used to: upgrade the Network Rail test track
in Melton Mowbray; install trackside infrastructure along the Trans-Pennine route
between Manchester, Leeds and York; and support the rollout of full-fibre and 5G
networks.
Railways: North East
Mr Stephen Hepburn: [115338]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 4.46 of the
Autumn Budget 2017, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people
aged 26 to 30 who will benefit from the proposed introduction of a new discount railcard
for that age group in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside and (c) the North East.
Paul Maynard:
The government is working with industry to extend the benefits of discounted travel.
The Department has not made estimates of the number of people who will benefit
from the proposed railcard on such a geographic basis. All people aged 26 to 30 who
purchase a card would be eligible for discounted rail travel under the proposal.
Railways: Tickets
Andy McDonald: [115282]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of the
roll-out of smart ticketing and what the timetable is for that roll-out across the UK.
Paul Maynard:
The Department has allocated a total budget of £80 million which, together with the
Rail Delivery Group’s mobile barcode programme and the work of Transport for the
North, will offer smart ticketing coverage to almost all of the country by the end of
2018.
Rolling Stock
Diana Johnson: [115566]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November to
Question 111721, whether the bi-mode trains commissioned for the services referred to
(a) will or (b) will not be more expensive to operate than electric trains.
Paul Maynard:
Government has been clear that bi-modes are likely to be more expensive to operate
than electric only trains but that is not the whole picture.
Bi-modes allow us reduce the up-front capital costs of infrastructure compared to
electric trains as overhead wires and gantries do not need to be installed along entire
routes. The trains provide greater flexibility for operators when developing their
timetables and increase service resilience during disruption. These factors are part of
what the government has considered in delivering both genuine benefits to
passengers and value to the taxpayer.
Diana Johnson: [115572]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November to
Question 111766, whether the (a) bi-mode Intercity Express trains on Great Western and
(b) Class 319 flex trains on Windermere will be slower than the trains they replace in (i)
diesel mode or (ii) electric mode.
Paul Maynard:
a) The Great Western Intercity Express Programme bi-mode fleet has been specified
to ensure they can deliver the timetable operated by current diesel trains. Once the
current planned electrification programme is complete the IEP trains will operate an
enhanced timetable with shorter journey times. At this point, passengers will see the
introduction of the full capacity benefits and a reduced journey time of up to 15
minutes between London and South Wales.
b) The Class 319 flex, otherwise known as a Class 769, is a bi-mode train, adapted
from a former electric-only train which will be able to run under its own power as well.
The trains can run at 100mph in electric mode and are designed to have very similar
diesel acceleration to the 75mph units they will replace.
Converting these trains will enable passengers in the Lake District to benefit from
double the number of direct services to Manchester Airport from May 2018. The train
operator, Northern, will be responsible for determining the precise timetables under
which these trains will run.
Taxis: Disability
Tim Farron: [115255]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to
ensure that licensing authorities (a) introduce disability equality training and (b) publicise
the 2010 Best Practice Guidance for taxi and private hire vehicle drivers.
Mr John Hayes:
Taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) services must be accessible to those who rely
upon them, and disability awareness training can be effective in equipping drivers
with the skills and knowledge to provide all passengers with the assistance they
require. The Department is currently considering the responses to the consultation on
the draft Accessibility Action Plan which will inform the updated Best Practice
Guidance for taxi and PHV licensing authorities. It is the Department’s expectation
that the guidance will include a recommendation that authorities should use their
existing powers to require prospective drivers to complete disability awareness and
equality training.
I announced in a Westminster Hall debate that I would be setting up a working group
to consider current issues concerning taxi and PHV licensing, reporting its findings to
me in the new year.
Taxis: Vetting
Daniel Zeichner: [114891]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the
potential merits of designating private hire drivers as Disclosure and Barring Service
regulated professionals.
Mr John Hayes:
There are certain circumstances, such as undertaking specific contracted work
driving children, which fall into the definition of a regulated activity. The definitions of
regulated activity that apply to work with children or work with adults are set out in
legislation and such activities include teaching or supervision of children and the
provision of health or personal care services.
In addition, all licensing authorities currently require an enhanced DBS check for
drivers of taxis and PHV, and are able to request a barred list check alongside this.
Consequently designating taxi and PHV driving as a regulated activity would not
mean any additional information would be disclosed. The Government considers that
it would be disproportionate to designate taxi and PHV driving as regulated activity
because not all taxi or PHV drivers take on such work with children or vulnerable
adults.
I announced in a Westminster Hall debate that I would be setting up a working group
to consider current issues concerning taxi and PHV licensing, reporting its findings to
me in the new year.
Thameslink Railway Line
Andy McDonald: [115464]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, assessment he has made of (a) the value for
money delivered by and (b) benefit:cost ratio of the Thameslink upgrade programme.
Paul Maynard:
The Department for Transport’s latest business case for the Thameslink Programme
records estimated total benefits of £9.6 billion in 2010 prices, and a benefit cost ratio
of 1.24 to 1. This was reported in the National Audit Office report ‘Update on the
Thameslink Programme’ published on 23 November.
Rachael Maskell: [115506]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timescale is to introduce (a) stabling
for new Thameslink trains and (b) new accommodation for Thameslink drivers.
Paul Maynard:
Stabling for Thameslink trains and accommodation facilities for Thameslink drivers
are planned to be provided to accord with the full introduction of the Thameslink
timetable in December 2019.
The Thameslink Programme has already provided stabling at the following locations:
new Thameslink depots at Hornsey (north London) and Three Bridges (Crawley) and
at Brighton, Bedford, Cricklewood, Horsham and Peterborough.
Rachael Maskell: [115509]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times the Thameslink Programme
Industry Readiness Board has met since it was established in 2016, and if he will publish
the minutes of the board’s meetings.
Paul Maynard:
The Thameslink 2018 Industry Readiness Board has met 10 times. The Board is led
by the rail industry and discusses commercially and operationally sensitive issues.
There are no plans to publish the minutes of meetings.
Thameslink Railway Line: Timetables
Rachael Maskell: [115503]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, (a) what planning his department has
undertaken to assess the impact of timetable changes to Thameslink services and (b)
what risk assessment has been undertaken of any changes
Paul Maynard:
The new Thameslink timetable to be introduced from May 2018 has been developed
by Govia Thameslink Railway as Thameslink operator, working with Network Rail and
other rail industry stakeholders including the Department for Transport (DfT).
The proposed timetable has been considered both by DfT and the rail industry and
the Secretary of State for Transport has agreed to phase its introduction to reduce
the risk of disruption to passengers.
Transport: Contracts
Andy McDonald: [115281]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the ability
of (a) Carillion and (b) Babcock to fulfil their contractual obligations in the transport sector.
Mr John Hayes:
In each procurement a risk assessment is taken based on the project or services
being delivered.
Transport: Finance
Jo Platt: [114627]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the planned criteria are for the
allocation of the £1.7bn Transforming Cities Fund to improve transport connectivity.
Jo Platt: [114628]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will allocate Transforming Cities funding
to improve transport connectivity in Leigh constituency.
Jesse Norman:
As the Chancellor announced at Budget, Greater Manchester will receive £243
million from the Transforming Cities Fund. It will be for the Mayor and the Greater
Manchester Combined Authority to decide whether to use this allocation to develop
projects to improve connectivity in Leigh constituency. After allowing for allocations to
the other Mayoral combined authorities, the remaining half of the fund will be open to
bids from English cities.
Transport: North of England
Jared O'Mara: [114700]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria his Department will use to
assess transport strategies proposed by Transport for the North.
Jesse Norman:
The Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 Section 102I provides that a
sub-national transport body’s transport strategy should contain its proposals for the
promotion and encouragement of sustainable, safe, integrated, efficient and
economic transport facilities and services to, from and within its area, as required to
meet the needs of persons (including pedestrians) living, working or visiting its area
and the needs of freight.
Uber
Wes Streeting: [115551]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many meetings have taken place
between Uber and (a) Ministers and (b) Officials of his Department in each year since
May 2010.
Wes Streeting: [115557]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from
police forces relating to Uber.
Wes Streeting: [115576]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations his Department has
received on the safety record of Uber.
Mr John Hayes:
The Department has received numerous representations regarding Uber from
individuals, trade bodies, driver representation organisations and regulatory bodies.
However, since the Department does not hold information categorised as requested,
this information could only therefore be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on a
quarterly basis and are available via the gov.uk website.
Officials at the Department are not required to keep record of meetings attended; it is
not therefore possible to provide a comprehensive list of meetings with any party,
including Uber. However, a search of diaries by officials most likely to meet with Uber
and that are still at the Department indicates that there was one meeting in 2015, six
in 2016 and three in 2017 (as of 24 November).
Wes Streeting: [115555]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of Uber's
fitness to operate in the UK.
Mr John Hayes:
The Government is responsible for setting the regulatory structure within which local
licensing authorities in England and Wales license private hire vehicle (PHV)
operators. It is the responsibility of these authorities to ensure that any person or
organisation to whom they grant an operator licence is ‘fit and proper’ to hold such a
licence and compliant with PHV legislation. Furthermore, once a licence has been
issued, licensing authorities have an ongoing responsibility to ensure that operators
continue to be ‘fit and proper’.
Volkswagen
Martyn Day: [114719]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made in expediting
compensation to vehicle owners affected by the Volkswagen emissions scandal since the
debate in Westminster Hall on 20 April 2017 on emissions and vehicle type approval;
whether such compensation will match that given to vehicle owners in the the US; and
whether his Department has made an assessment of the heightened incidence of
breakdowns and mechanical failures reported by the Volkswagen Diesel Customer
Forum after updates have been completed.
Jesse Norman:
The Government continues to take Volkswagen’s actions in relation to diesel
emissions extremely seriously and is working hard on behalf of UK consumers.
Following pressure from the UK Government, Volkswagen Group now offer a ‘Trust
Building Measure’ for all consumers that have had, and will have, the technical
measure applied. This commits Volkswagen to respond reasonably and appropriately
to every complaint which relates to the implementation of the service action. Officials
have met with the Volkswagen Diesel Customer Forum to hear their concerns and
plans for a further meeting in January 2018 are being finalised.
WALES
Agriculture: Subsidies
Jo Stevens: [115413]
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what meetings he has had with farmers’ unions
and representatives of rural communities on replacing common agricultural policy
subsidies to UK farmers.
Alun Cairns:
As befits their importance to the Welsh economy, my ministerial team and I regularly
meet with farmers’ unions and representatives of rural communities to discuss a
number of issues, including the impact of the UK leaving the European Union.
Most recently, the UK Government Minister for Wales, Guto Bebb MP, along with the
Minister for Farming, George Eustice MP, met with the Farmers Union of Wales on
13 November and the National Farmers Union Cymru on 15 November.
Both the FUW and NFU Cymru, along with the Country Land and Business
Association, are members of my Expert Panel. The panel meets regularly, and last
met on 6 November.
WOMEN AND EQUALITIES
Equality and Human Rights Commission
Mr Philip Hollobone: [115545]
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, on what date the the GEO informed the
Prime Minister's Office that the Equality and Human Rights Commission intended to
abolish the position of Disability Commissioner.
Nick Gibb:
The non-statutory roles and responsibilities of Board members of the Equality and
Human Rights Commission (EHRC), including the former ‘Disability Commissioner’
role are matters for the EHRC to decide. The GEO would not normally inform the
Prime Minister’s Office of intended EHRC changes to these roles and responsibilities
and did not do so in this case.
Females: Voting Rights
Helen Goodman: [115534]
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what the criteria for application for the £3.8
million for local and community projects within the centenary fund are and how people
can apply for that funding.
Anne Milton:
This week, the Chancellor announced that £1.2 million of the centenary fund will go
directly to seven Centenary Cities and towns in England with a strong suffrage
history, to strengthen the reach and legacy of the celebrations to inspire a new
generation with this story.
A further £1.5 million will be available to organisations and communities through a
grants scheme. We have appointed a grant administrator to oversee the application
and award process, and I will write to all Members with details of the scheme
including application criteria shortly.
We are developing an exciting national programme to celebrate and remember the
suffrage movement, which also includes funding the statue of Millicent Fawcett in
Parliament Square, and a suite of education programmes.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Department for Work and Pensions: Vacancies
Mr Jim Cunningham: [115437]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many vacancies there were in
his Department in each month since January 2015; and if he will make a statement.
Caroline Dinenage:
DWP have advertised 1,053 External Vacancies since January 2015 containing
21,432 posts. The breakdown provided by Government Recruitment Services is
provided as requested below. It is worth considering these vacancies are not
guaranteed to have been filled.
These are the vacancies we advertised. Not all roles advertised were filled and
therefore this data will include repeat adverts.
MONTH NUMBER OF VACANCIES NUMBER OF POSTSADVERTISED
Jan-15 8 214
Feb-15 15 353
Mar-15 9 60
Apr-15 8 62
May-15 13 54
Jun-15 20 311
Jul-15 15 326
Aug-15 26 1,698
Sep-15 15 1,479
Oct-15 13 469
Nov-15 28 397
Dec-15 14 239
Jan-16 14 290
Feb-16 47 1,274
Mar-16 50 2,107
Apr-16 74 1,309
May-16 31 500
Jun-16 58 1,081
Jul-16 26 214
Aug-16 34 804
Sep-16 61 1,251
Oct-16 50 542
Nov-16 34 567
Dec-16 5 48
MONTH NUMBER OF VACANCIES NUMBER OF POSTSADVERTISED
Jan-17 101 1,540
Feb-17 35 483
Mar-17 17 131
Apr-17 4 22
May-17 42 891
Jun-17 64 1,238
Jul-17 24 433
Aug-17 21 243
Sep-17 18 66
Oct-17 30 605
Nov-17 29 131
Total 1,053 21,432
Employment and Support Allowance
Frank Field: [115232]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is
taking to reimburse claimants of Employment and Support Allowance who were subject to
payment miscalculations between 2011 and 2015 when those people were moved from
incapacity benefit and if he will make a statement.
Sarah Newton:
We are aware that some individuals have been underpaid when moving to
Employment and Support Allowance. The department has started to put this right and
will bring these plans to parliament.
Farms: Safety
Mr Gregory Campbell: [115395]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps he has taken to
promote safety for those who visit, work and live on farms.
Sarah Newton:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for enforcement of health and
safety legislation on farms in Great Britain (GB). On 15 September 2017 HSE
published its sector action plan for agriculture, setting out actions HSE will take to
promote farm safety (http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/strategiesandplans/sector-
plans/agriculture.htm).
HSE is currently running a programme of Safety and Health Awareness Days
(SHADs) for farmers across GB ( http://www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/diary.htm ) and is
undertaking a targeted inspection campaign focussing on agriculture as set out in
HSE’s 2017/18 Business Plan (
http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/strategiesandplans/businessplans/plan1718.pdf ).
Working with HSE, Local Authorities carry out visits to open farms and animal visitor
attractions to deal with matters of visitor safety in relation to infection risks (
http://www.hse.gov.uk/lau/activities.pdf ).
HSE also works closely with industry stakeholders, through GB’s Farm Safety
Partnerships, to promote and support their activities to improve health and safety in
farming.
Funeral Payments
Neil Coyle: [114829]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has
received on concern about the adequacy of the funeral fund to cover basic funeral costs;
and whether he plans change to that fund.
Caroline Dinenage:
DWP have advertised 1,053 External Vacancies since January 2015 containing
21,432 posts. The breakdown provided by Government Recruitment Services is
provided as requested overleaf. It is worth considering these vacancies are not
guaranteed to have been filled.
These are the vacancies we advertised. Not all roles advertised were filled and
therefore this data will include repeat adverts.
MONTH NUMBER OF VACANCIES NUMBER OF POSTSADVERTISED
Jan-15 8 214
Feb-15 15 353
Mar-15 9 60
Apr-15 8 62
May-15 13 54
Jun-15 20 311
Jul-15 15 326
Aug-15 26 1698
MONTH NUMBER OF VACANCIES NUMBER OF POSTSADVERTISED
Sep-15 15 1479
Oct-15 13 469
Nov-15 28 397
Dec-15 14 239
Jan-16 14 290
Feb-16 47 1274
Mar-16 50 2107
Apr-16 74 1309
May-16 31 500
Jun-16 58 1081
Jul-16 26 214
Aug-16 34 804
Sep-16 61 1251
Oct-16 50 542
Nov-16 34 567
Dec-16 5 48
Jan-17 101 1540
Feb-17 35 483
Mar-17 17 131
Apr-17 4 22
May-17 42 891
Jun-17 64 1238
Jul-17 24 433
Aug-17 21 243
Sep-17 18 66
Oct-17 30 605
MONTH NUMBER OF VACANCIES NUMBER OF POSTSADVERTISED
Nov-17 29 131
Total 1053 21432
Unemployment
Sir Michael Fallon: [114858]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce
the time unemployed people spend out of work.
Damian Hinds:
The number of unemployed is currently 1.42m, down 59,000 this quarter, down
182,000 on the year, down over 1.08 million since 2010.
Jobcentre Plus has a flexible support model to provide support and District Managers
have discretion on how to target interventions. The model has three elements: a core
regime of regular face-to-face meetings; flexible work coach support; and a flexible
menu of support options.
Where Jobcentre Plus District Managers identify gaps in skills or other provision they
have discretion to purchase extra support to meet particular needs using the Flexible
Support Fund.
Jobcentre Plus work coaches can advise claimants on the localised provision and
support available, either by employment sector or skills/employability.
Universal Credit
Jamie Stone: [114640]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he will take to ensure
that people paid weekly do not lose universal credit entitlements in months that contain
five Fridays.
Damian Hinds:
No one on Universal Credit, who are weekly paid, will see a drop in their total income
from earnings and benefits in any assessment period with 5 paydays in it. In contrast
because of the way UC works in 5 payday assessment periods, the total income a
claimant will receive in that month will always be higher, whether their UC is reduced
or extinguished
For example if someone is weekly paid at a rate of £200, and has a gross UC
entitlement of £1400 a month their total UC entitlement (assuming no work
allowance) is £896 a month and £800 from earnings. Total income in the month,
benefits and earnings of £1696.
In a five payday month their earnings rise to £1000, UC falls to £770. Total income
from benefits and earnings £1770.
For someone on higher earnings of £450 a week, with the same UC gross entitlement
of £1400 will receive in a four payday month earnings of £1800 and UC of £266 a
month with a total monthly income of £2066. In a five week month their total earnings
rise to £2250, UC entitlement zero but total income in that month is higher than in the
four payday month.
Everyone who is weekly paid will have a higher income in the 5 payday month, either
through a combination of UC and earnings or on straight earnings. The UC taper
ensure that people keep every pound of their earnings, with only a 63% reduction in
UC entitlement. This is how the system works and how we make work pay. Media
reports to the contrary were wrong, misleading and alarmist for UC claimants and I
welcome the opportunity to put the record straight.
WRITTEN STATEMENTS
DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Post-Council Written Ministerial Statement for Education, Youth, Culture and Sport
Council
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Karen Bradley):
[HCWS279]
The Education, Youth, Culture and Sport (EYCS) Council took place in Brussels on 20
and 21 November 2017. The UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU
represented the interests of the UK at the Youth, Culture and Sport sessions of this
Council.
Youth
The Council achieved a General Approach among EU Member States on the proposals
laying down the framework for the European Solidarity Corps. The UK voted in favour of
the General Approach, which achieved almost unanimous support. The Commission
commented on how they would in consider the expansion of geographical scope of the
Corps, which is an important matter for the UK. Members also unanimously agreed to
adopt draft Council conclusions on Smart Youth Work.
The main policy debate focused on the issues that matter to young people and possible
European efforts to address these issues. The debate was positive, with the UK setting
out the importance of hearing directly from young people about the issues that matter to
them, as well as highlighting the important work of the British Youth Council. The
Commission also provided information on a new narrative for Europe, which further
emphasised the importance of giving a political voice to Europe’s youth.
Culture/Audiovisual
Draft Council conclusions on promoting access to culture via digital means, were adopted
by the Council with the UK supporting their adoption.
On audiovisual, the Presidency provided an update on the Audiovisual Media Services
Directive (AVMSD). This update acted as the first reading since a General Approach was
achieved at the last EYCS Council in May 2017. The discussion focused on the progress
thus far of Trilogue discussions between the Council and the European Parliament.
Crucial areas of agreement thus far between the EP and Council included the provision of
greater access of online digital content to people with disabilities. The UK emphasised
how it can be a valuable asset as discussion progressed with the EP.
A policy debate on the role of culture in building cohesive societies in Europe, and a later
item on Remaking Europe through Culture, put forward by the French delegation,
emphasised a number of important themes including cultural heritage, using culture to
integrate migrants, and the mobility of artists. The UK’s position, in line with the spirit of
the discussion, was supportive of the role culture plays in building community cohesion,
raising the importance of tourism, and how creative and cultural exports shape the way
member states, and the EU as a bloc, are viewed by the rest of the world.
Information was provided by the German delegation on the current legislative proposal
regarding the regulation on the import of cultural goods. This focused on the responsibility
of Member States to better regulate the illicit trade of cultural goods as a means to
prevent such trade funding terrorist activities. The UK did not comment on these
proposals, however my Department and HM Revenue and Customs continue to work with
the EU in developing this file. In addition to this item, information was provided on
international cultural relations, cultural property, and the role of the EU in the defense of
cultural heritage crisis areas.
Sport
The Council session on sport led with a policy debate, covering the main challenges
facing sport in the 21st century and cooperation between the EU, governments, and the
sport movement. The debate highlighted crucial role of sport for society as a whole and
the importance of protecting the autonomy and integrity of sport. The UK’s intervention
emphasised how we are ensuring all citizens can access sport, targeting the least active
in society. We also drew attention to the work that the UK government is doing to combat
corrupt practices in sport, through our Code for Sports Governance and our work
alongside the International Olympic Committee to develop an “International Partnership
Against Corruption in Sport”. Council conclusions on the role of coaches in society and a
Council resolution on the EU structured dialogue on sport were adopted, with the UK
supporting both items.
The Bulgarian delegation provided information regarding the Meeting of the World Anti-
Doping Agency (WADA) Foundation Board in Seoul on 16 November. The Polish
delegation then announced the 2019 World conference on doping in sport to be held in
Katowice, and provided an informal invitation to Member States. There was also
information from the Greek delegation on Supporting the Olympic Truce during the Winter
Olympic Games, to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018.
Other
The Council received information from the Bulgarian delegation, as the incoming
presidency for the first half of 2018, setting out their work programme for the next six
months. They highlighted a number of priorities for their presidency including:
continuing to move forward with the revision of AVMSD;
moving to the next stage of discussions on the EU Solidarity Corps, while focusing
on the role of young people in peace-keeping and security;
highlighting the importance of cultural heritage and strengthening international
relations through culture; and
fighting doping through information and education of young people.
The next Council is scheduled for 22 and 23 May 2018.
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
November Agriculture and Fisheries Council
Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (George Eustice):
[HCWS278]
I represented the United Kingdom at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 6
November in Brussels.
The Council opened with Member States responding to the Presidency’s questions
on the sustainable use of pesticides. There was widespread agreement that National
Action Plans are a good way for Member States to tailor their approach to meeting
the objectives of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive, and widespread support
for the principles of Integrated Pest Management. The UK welcomed the European
Commission’s report on the sustainable use of pesticides, highlighting that Integrated
Pest Management is the key to future crop protection.
The Presidency outlined the conclusions of the sustainable soil management
conference held on 4-6 October in Tallinn, which highlighted the importance of
managing soils and designing policies based on a strong evidence base. Responding
to questions posed by the Presidency, the UK informed Council that soil health goes
hand in hand with farming productivity.
Commissioner Hogan then updated the Council on EU agricultural trade.
Three further items were discussed under ‘any other business’:
the Slovakian and Czech delegations thanked Council for cooperation on the issue of
dual quality foodstuffs
the Agriculture Ministers of the Visegrad Member States informed Council about the
Renewable Energy Directive post-2020
the Agriculture Ministers of the Visegrad Member States informed Council about the
BIOEAST initiative.
On 23 June 2016, the EU referendum took place and the people of the United
Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. Until exit negotiations are concluded,
the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and
obligations of EU membership remain in force. During this period the Government will
continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation. The outcome of these
negotiations will determine what arrangements apply in relation to EU legislation in
future once the UK has left the EU.
EXITING THE EUROPEAN UNION
EU Exit: Release of sectoral reports to the Committee on Exiting the EU and Lords
EU Committee
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Mr Robin
Walker): [HCWS277]
Following the Opposition Day debate motion on 1 November, the Government committed
to making arrangements to respond to the motion which called on the Government to
provide the Committee on Exiting the European Union with impact assessments arising
from the sectoral analysis it has conducted with regards to the list of 58 sectors referred
to in the answer of 26 June 2017 to Written Question 239.
On 27 November the Department for Exiting the European Union provided analysis
covering these 58 sectors of the economy to the House of Commons Committee on
Exiting the EU and the House of Lords European Union Committee. The reports were
also shared with the devolved administrations on the same terms.
As the Government has previously made clear, the information requested in the motion
does not exist in the form requested. During the Opposition Day debate I told the House
"there has been some misunderstanding about what this sectoral analysis actually is. It is
not a series of 58 impact assessments." The Secretary of State for Exiting the EU also
made this clear before the House of Lords EU Committee on 31 October and to the
House at DEXEU oral questions on 2 November.
The reports cover:
i. a description of each sector;
ii. the current EU regulatory regime;
iii. existing frameworks for how trade is facilitated between countries in this sector; and;
iv. sector views.
We now consider the motion of 1 November 2017 to have been satisfied.
General Affairs Council November 2017
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Mr Robin
Walker): [HCWS280]
I represented the UK at the General Affairs Council (GAC) meeting in Brussels on
Monday 20 November, in place of Minister of State Lord Callanan. The main items on the
agenda were: preparations for the December European Council on 14 and 15 December;
a follow-up to the October European Council; legislative programming, with the
Commission presenting its 2018 Work Programme; the implementation of the Inter-
institutional Agreement; and a roadmap of the European Semester.
A provisional report of the meeting and the conclusions adopted can be found on the
Council of the European Union’s website at:
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/gac/2017/11/20/
Preparation of the European Council, 14 to 15 December 2017
The Presidency presented the Annotated Draft Agenda for the December European
Council, which included: Defence; and Social Issues, Education and Culture; and
Migration.
On the Defence agenda item, the Council welcomed a discussion of both PESCO
(Permanent Structured Cooperation) and EU-NATO cooperation. I intervened to agree on
the importance of EU-NATO cooperation. I also stressed the need for third country
participation in PESCO and welcomed early sight of the accompanying Council Decision.
Ministers also welcomed the agenda item on Social, Education and Culture following on
from the Gothenburg Social Summit on 17 November. The outcomes of this meeting
would provide the basis for Council Conclusions. I confirmed the UK’s ongoing
commitment to education and culture, as set out in the Prime Minister’s Florence speech
and agreed on the importance of mobility and exchange programmes such as Erasmus.
Under the Migration item, Ministers welcomed a discussion of both internal and external
aspects of migration which would be discussed by leaders over dinner.
October European Council follow-up
The Presidency and Commission highlighted the need to address the funding gap for the
EU Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF) for projects in Libya. I emphasised the UK’s significant
bilateral contributions to Libya, which contribute to EUTF outcomes.
Legislative Programming - Commission’s Work Programme (CWP) 2018
Following a presentation by the Commission, Ministers exchanged views on the CWP.
These views will determine the Council’s input for the Joint Declaration between the
European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on legislative priorities for 2018
and the first few months of 2019. I intervened to express support for open, flexible
markets which lead to prosperity and strong economies. I also reiterated the UK’s
unconditional commitment to ensuring European security.
Interinstitutional Acts Implementation
The Presidency provided an update on the implementation of the Interinstitutional
Agreement, particularly with regards to international agreements, delegated and
implementing acts and the Transparency Register. Meanwhile, the Commission
explained the role of the new task force on Proportionality and Subsidiarity, as set out
previously by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in his State of the Union
speech.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
Developments in Zimbabwe
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Boris Johnson):
[HCWS274]
Since I updated the House on the 15th November there have been historic developments
in Zimbabwe. Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule came to an end on 21st November, sparking
joyous celebrations as Zimbabweans looked forward to the opportunity for a brighter
future.
The UK’s objective has remained constant throughout these dramatic developments. We
want to support the people of Zimbabwe in building a democratic, stable and prosperous
country. The only way for Zimbabwe to achieve a legitimate government is through free
and fair elections held in accordance with the constitution. We stand ready to support a
legitimate government to rebuild their beautiful country, working alongside our
international and regional partners, with whom we are already engaging in order to lead
the response.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was inaugurated on the 24th November, has
stated that this marks the beginning of a “new unfolding democracy” in Zimbabwe. He
must now demonstrate his sincerity by delivering political and economic reform. In
particular, he must hold an election in which all Zimbabweans can participate without fear
of intimidation or violence. A transition from one despotic ruler to another would be a
tragedy for Zimbabwe and its people.
The process of democratisation and economic recovery will be led by Zimbabweans. The
Minister for Africa visited Harare on 23rd and 24th November and met with actors from
across the political spectrum to discuss the transition to democracy. He made clear to the
incoming administration that the UK stands ready to play a key role in support
Zimbabwe’s recovery, but only on the basis of genuine political and economic reforms,
including respect for human rights and the rule of law. In this moment of hope for
Zimbabwe, the UK will be looking for tangible indications of progress.
Foreign Affairs Council – 13 November 2017
Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Sir Alan Duncan):
[HCWS276]
My Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs and My Right Honourable Friend the Minister of State for Defence attended the
joint session of the Foreign Affairs Council (Foreign and Defence Ministers) on 13
November. The Council was chaired by the High Representative of the European Union
for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini. The meeting was held in
Brussels.
Foreign Affairs Council
EU Foreign Ministers discussed EU-Africa relations and EU strategic communications.
EU Defence Ministers discussed EU-NATO and met as the European Defence Agency
Steering Board. EU Foreign and Defence Ministers also participated in a joint session on
security and defence cooperation.
Venezuela The Council adopted Conclusions on Venezuela and agreed targeted
sanctions to encourage a peaceful, negotiated solution. These included an embargo on
arms and related material that might be used for internal repression, and a legal
framework for the possible targeted listing of persons.
EU-Africa relations Foreign Ministers discussed EU-Africa relations with particular
reference to the upcoming 5th African Union - EU Summit on 29-30 November in Abidjan,
Ivory Coast. EU Foreign Ministers welcomed the focus on youth and discussed the
common challenges which were expected to be covered at the Summit.
EU strategic communications
Foreign Ministers discussed the European External Action Service’s current work on
strategic communications for the Eastern Partnership region, the Southern
Neighbourhood and the Western Balkans. The Council agreed to further enhance the
work, and supported the development of the three task forces. EU Foreign Ministers
underlined the need to counter disinformation where and when needed.
Security and defence cooperation EU Foreign and Defence Ministers discussed the
implementation of the EU Global Strategy in the area of security and defence. In the
margins of the Council, 23 Member States signed a notification for the establishment of a
Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO). The UK did not sign.
EU-NATO
EU Defence Ministers discussed EU-NATO cooperation together with NATO Secretary
General Jens Stoltenberg.
European Defence Agency
EU Defence Ministers met as the European Defence Agency (EDA) Steering Board.
Ministers agreed a number of measures without discussion:
- The Council adopted the legal acts providing for the de-listing of the FARC from the EU
list of individuals and entities subject to restrictive measures to combat terrorism; - The
Council adopted conclusions on a strategic approach to resilience in the EU's external
action; - The Council appointed Toivo Klaar as EU Special Representative for the South
Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia; - The Council adopted a regulation reviewing the list
of luxury goods subject to an import and export ban on the Democratic People's Republic
of Korea; - The Council adopted a decision to open negotiations on a Missions
Framework Participation Agreement with Jordan; - The Council approved the
requirements catalogue 2017 which identifies the military capability requirements for the
Common Security and Defence Policy stemming from the EU level of ambition as agreed
by the Council in November 2016; - The Council endorsed the European Defence Agency
report and adopted the guidelines for the work of the European Defence Agency in 2018;
- The Council established the EU position ahead of the ninth meeting of the Stabilisation
and Association Council between the EU and Albania which will take place on 15
November in Brussels; and - The Council established the EU position ahead of the fourth
meeting of the Stabilisation and Association Council between the EU and Serbia which
will take place on 16 November in Brussels.
Foreign Affairs Council – 16 October 2017
Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Sir Alan Duncan):
[HCWS275]
My Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs attended the Foreign Affairs Council on 16 October. The Foreign Affairs Council
was chaired by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy, Federica Mogherini. The meeting was held in Luxembourg.
Foreign Affairs Council
The meeting covered discussions on Burma, Iran, Turkey, the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Human Rights.
Burma
The Council adopted Conclusions on Burma, in the light of the humanitarian and human
rights situation in Rakhine State
Iran
EU Foreign Ministers agreed a statement underlining EU commitment to the continued
full and effective implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), and
also expressing concerns related to Iran’s ballistic missiles programme and increasing
tensions in the region.
Turkey
Over lunch, EU Foreign Ministers discussed Turkey in preparation for the European
Council discussions held by EU Heads of State and Government on 19 October. They
focused on cooperation with Turkey in the region, including Syria, Iraq and relations with
Iran.
DPRK
The Council discussed the situation in the Korean peninsula following recent provocative
acts by the DPRK. EU Foreign Ministers agreed the need to maintain pressure on the
DPRK, including through engagement with regional actors and outreach efforts to
strengthen the implementation of UNSC Resolutions by all UN Member States. The
Council adopted additional EU sanctions on the DPRK to complement and reinforce the
UN Security Council sanctions.
Human Rights
EU Foreign Ministers discussed the EU’s policy on Human Rights. Conclusions were
adopted on the mid-term review of the Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy and
the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World in 2016.
EU Foreign Ministers agreed a number of measures without discussion: - The Council
adopted Conclusions on an EU strategy on Afghanistan; - The Council adopted
Conclusions on Bosnia and Herzegovina; - The Council approved the EU programme of
exercises and exercise-related activities under the Common Foreign and Security Policy
(CFSP) for the period 2017-2021; - The Council approved the signing and conclusion of a
Protocol to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement establishing a partnership
between the EU and the Kyrgyz Republic to take account of the accession of the
Republic of Croatia to the European Union; - The Council established and launched a
new CSDP mission to support security sector reform in Iraq. The Council also adopted
the Operation Plan and a decision authorising the opening of negotiations to conclude an
agreement on the status of the EU Advisory Mission (EUAM); - The Council adopted
three decisions authorising the opening of negotiations with Albania, Montenegro and
Bosnia and Herzegovina for agreements on activities carried out by the European Border
and Coast Guard Agency in those countries; - The Council adopted two decisions on
positions to be adopted by the EU at the joint Council of Caribbean States (Cariforum)
and EU Member States to be held on 17 November 2017; - The Council received the
High Representative's report on the six-monthly review of Operation Althea.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Trade Remedies
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND PRESIDENT OF THE
BOARD OF TRADE (Dr Liam Fox): [HCWS273]
On 28 November the Government published a Call for Evidence to identify UK interest in
existing EU trade remedy measures. Currently, there are a number of trade remedy
measures being applied by the EU, some of which are relevant and significant to UK
industry. In preparation for the UK being an independent trading nation, it is important
that we provide certainty and continuity to UK businesses, and avoid exposing them to
injury from known unfair trade practices.
The Call for Evidence will obtain the necessary information from UK businesses to enable
the Government to assess which measures matter to the UK and therefore can be
maintained when the UK begins to operate its own independent trade remedies
framework. The Government will take account of the terms of any time-limited
implementation period agreed between the UK and the EU.
We recognise that new EU measures may be put in place after the call for evidence
closes and before the UK begins to operate its independent trade remedies framework.
We will approach those interested parties ahead of the UK operating its independent
trade remedies framework to understand whether there is an interest for any future
measures to be maintained.
We will assess whether the transition of an existing measure is important to UK industry,
and can be retained based on three criteria:
We have received an application from UK companies which produce products
subject to trade remedies measures;
The application is supported by a sufficient proportion of the UK companies which
produce those products;
The market share of the UK companies which produce those products is above a
certain level.
The Government is committed to ensuring continuity to UK industry as the UK prepares
to leave the EU. We are also committed to maintaining a fair and transparent approach to
the handling of these existing remedies and aligning them as far as possible with our
WTO obligations.