Daily Report Thursday, 7 June 2018...

Daily Report Thursday, 7 June 2018

This report shows written answers and statements provided on 7 June 2018 and the

information is correct at the time of publication (06:31 P.M., 07 June 2018). For the latest

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

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

CONTENTS

ANSWERS 5

ATTORNEY GENERAL 5

Attorney General:

Procurement 5

BUSINESS, ENERGY AND

INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY 5

Energy: Waste 5

Lighting: EU Action 5

Mental Health: Research 6

Migrant Workers: EU Nationals 6

Pay 6

Unpaid Work 7

CABINET OFFICE 7

Ballot Papers 7

Children in Care 8

Civil Servants: Flexible

Working 8

Elections 9

Elections: Campaigns 9

Elections: Finance 9

Elections: Young People 10

Electoral Commission 10

Electoral Register 10

Electoral Register: Internet 13

Local Government: Elections 14

Marriage: Children 16

National Democracy Week 16

Politics: Education 16

Poll Cards 17

Voting Rights 17

Voting Rights: Young People 17

DEFENCE 18

Afghanistan: Armed Forces 18

Arctic: Climate Change 18

Arctic: Russia 18

Armed Forces Compensation

Scheme 19

Ministry of Defence: Chief

Scientific Advisers 19

Ministry of Defence:

Procurement 19

Nigeria: Military Aid 19

Royal Air Force College 20

Royal Military Academy 20

Royal Naval College 21

DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND

SPORT 23

Gaming Machines 23

Museums and Galleries 23

Theatres 24

EDUCATION 24

Apprentices: Skilled Workers 24

http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers

http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers

Music: GCE A-level 25

Music: GCSE 26

Music: Higher Education 27

T-levels 28

T-levels: Publicity 28

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND

RURAL AFFAIRS 29

Air Pollution: West Midlands 29

Animal Welfare 29

Cats and Dogs: Sales 30

Forestry 30

LEADER Programme 31

Litter 31

Palm Oil: Labelling 31

Poultry 32

Rural Areas: Crime 32

Rural Areas: Scotland 33

Tree Planting 33

Viridor 33

FOREIGN AND

COMMONWEALTH OFFICE 34

Nigeria: Armed Conflict 34

Nigeria: Churches 34

Nigeria: Religious Freedom 35

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 35

Antibiotics: Drug Resistance 35

Bridgewater Community

Healthcare NHS Foundation

Trust 35

Care Homes: Minimum Wage 36

Carers 36

Cochlear Implants 36

Department of Health and

Social Care: Non-departmental

Public Bodies 37

Doctors and Nurses:

Qualifications 38

Doctors: Training 38

Gambling: West Midlands 38

HC-one 39

Health Services: Reciprocal

Arrangements 39

Health: Children 40

Heart Diseases 40

Hospitals: Disclosure of

Information 40

Medical Treatments: British

Nationals Abroad 41

Medical Treatments: Foreign

Nationals 44

Mental Health Services 46

Mental Health Services:

Children and Young People 46

Microbiology: Laboratories 47

NHS Trusts: Recruitment 48

NHS Trusts: Subsidiary

Companies 48

NHS Walk-in Centres: North

West 49

NHS Walk-in Centres: West

Midlands 50

Pain: Females 50

Pharmacy Integration Fund 50

Pharmacy: Negligence 51

Prescriptions: Fees and

Charges 52

Psychiatry: Children and

Young People 52

Social Services 53

University Hospitals Coventry

and Warwickshire NHS Trust:

Eating Disorders 54

University Hospitals Coventry

and Warwickshire NHS Trust:

Mental Health Services 54

Wirral University Teaching

Hospital NHS Foundation

Trust: Eating Disorders 55

HOME OFFICE 55

Andy Hall 55

Anti-terrorism Control Orders:

Libya 56

Defence Fire and Rescue

Service 56

Domestic Violence: Males 56

Fire and Rescue Services:

Recruitment 57

Members: Correspondence 57

Police 57

Police and Crime

Commissioners: Elections 58

Police: Recruitment 58

Police: Working Hours 59

Windrush Generation:

Compensation 59

HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND

LOCAL GOVERNMENT 60

Affordable Housing 60

Council Tax: Exemptions 60

Fracking: Planning Permission 61

Housing Associations:

Regulation 61

Housing Associations: Rents 62

Local Government Finance 62

Local Government:

Constitutions 63

Non-domestic Rates: Rural

Areas 63

Planning Permission: Vauxhall 63

Social Rented Housing:

Tenants' Rights 64

Social Services: Finance 64

INTERNATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT 65

Democratic Republic of

Congo: Minerals 65

Developing Countries:

Education 65

Developing Countries: Private

Education 66

Save the Children Fund 66

South Sudan: Humanitarian

Aid 66

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 67

Export Controls 67

Financial Services: Exports 67

Overseas Trade:

Commonwealth 68

JUSTICE 68

Compulsorily Detained

Psychiatric Patients: Appeals 68

Courts: Floods 69

National Probation Service 69

Personal Independence

Payment: Appeals 69


Payment: Wallasey 70

Personal Injury: Compensation 71

Prison Officers: Protective

Clothing 73

Prison Service: Members 74

Prisoners' Incentives and

Earned Privileges Scheme 74

NORTHERN IRELAND 74

Northern Ireland Government 74

Northern Ireland Office: Non-

departmental Public Bodies 75

UK Border Force: Northern

Ireland 75

TRANSPORT 76

Aviation: Facilities 76

Department for Transport:

Chief Scientific Advisers 76

East Midlands Trains:

Compensation 76

Rail Industry Readiness Board 77

Shipping 78

Shipping: Fuels 78

TREASURY 79

Child Benefit 79

Disaster Relief 79

WORK AND PENSIONS 80

Children: Maintenance 80

Employment and Support

Allowance 80

Members: Correspondence 80

Pension Protection Fund 80


Payment 81

Social Security Benefits:

Children 81

Social Security Benefits:

Cryptocurrencies 81

WRITTEN STATEMENTS 83

CABINET OFFICE 83

Northern Ireland 83

DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND

SPORT 83

Transport, Telecoms and

Energy Council 83

EXITING THE EUROPEAN

UNION 84

EU Exit 84

HOME OFFICE 84

Security Industry Authority

Review 84

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 85

EU Foreign Affairs Council

(Trade) 22 May 2018 85

TRANSPORT 86

East Midlands Invitation to

Tender 86

WORK AND PENSIONS 86

Universal Credit 86

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

Attorney General: Procurement

Philip Davies: [146799]

To ask the Attorney General, how many contractors currently employed by his

Department are paid £1,000 or more per day.

Robert Buckland:

CONTRACTORS DATA AS OF 30 TH MAY, 2018

CPS SFO HMCPSI AGO GLD

1 0 0 0 0

BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

Energy: Waste

Rebecca Pow: [147494]

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

is taking to increase the use of energy recovery from waste.

Claire Perry:

Energy from waste (EfW) plays an important role in diverting waste from landfill sites,

however we are working across Government to ensure that it does not compete with

greater recycling, reuse and prevention.

EfW technologies, including EfW with combined heat and power, and waste

gasification, are eligible for support under the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme.

To date the CfD scheme has supported two EfW projects and nine waste gasification

projects.

The Clean Growth strategy announced that up to £557 million will be available for

future CfDs and that the next CfD auction is planned for spring 2019.

Lighting: EU Action

Stephen Lloyd: [147880]

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

representations he has made to the European Commission on its proposals to remove

the exemption for stage lighting from EU energy efficiency regulations.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-05-22/146799



Claire Perry:

Officials from the Department attended the EU consultation forum in December 2017,

the most recent discussion of this issue in Brussels, to discuss the latest Ecodesign

lighting proposals. The Department has subsequently made representations to the

European Commission in writing and in person to discuss the issue of stage lighting

and potential solutions. I understand that representatives from the industry have also

met with the Commission and will be drafting an alternative proposal for stage lighting

for their consideration.

It should be noted that this is only a proposal at this stage and remains open for

discussion, with a final decision on the draft regulation likely to be made towards the

end of the year. We will continue to engage with both industry and the European

Commission in the meantime.

Mental Health: Research

Norman Lamb: [149626]

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

the Answer of 23 April 2018 to Question 136508, what proportion of the Medical

Research Council's budget was spent on mental health research in 2017-18.

Mr Sam Gyimah:

Information on the Medical Research Council’s (MRC) spend on research relating

directly to mental health and total research spend for 2017/18 will be made available

once the MRC’s Annual Report and Accounts are laid before Parliament. We would

expect the data to be available by the end of the Summer.

Migrant Workers: EU Nationals

Jo Stevens: [146290]

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

Department has made an estimate of the number of workers working in the UK who are

covered by the EU Posted Workers’ Directive.

Andrew Griffiths:

The Government does not hold information on the number of workers working in the

UK who are covered by the EU Posting of Workers Directive.

Pay

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: [149680]

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

discussions he had with (a) workers, (b) trade unions and (c) employers in advance of the

Government's annual advertising campaign to encourage workers to take action if they

are not receiving the national living wage or the national minimum wage.




Andrew Griffiths:

Key stakeholders, including large and small businesses, trade unions and business

representative bodies, were briefed on key elements of the National Living and

Minimum Wage campaigns ahead of the launch at the end of March.

The Department also created communications packs for employer and employee

stakeholders, each with important information to share with members in advance of,

and during, the advertising campaign. The packs were also translated into Welsh.

Unpaid Work

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: [149681]

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

he has made of the number of people who have undertaken unpaid work trials in 2017-

18.

Andrew Griffiths:

I am meeting worker and employer representatives to discuss guidance on the limited

circumstances when short unpaid trials as part of a genuine recruitment process are

legitimate.

CABINET OFFICE

Ballot Papers

Cat Smith: [148916]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's press

release entitled New Electoral Laws proposed to combat intimidation in public life,

published on 6 February 2018, what progress has been made on removing the

requirement for candidates’ home addresses to be included on ballot papers.

Cat Smith: [148917]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has plans to remove the statutory

requirement to publish the home address of election agents.

Chloe Smith:

The Government is committed to removing the requirement for candidates standing

as local councillors to have their home addresses published on the ballot paper. This

requirement will be replaced with an option to include a statement of residence based

on an electoral area the candidate lives in rather than having to include a specific

address, in line with the provisions in place for candidates at UK parliamentary

elections. We are currently working through the detail in discussion with relevant

stakeholders, including what level of location information is appropriate, and how the

provisions will be implemented in practice.

As part of this work, we will consider the existing requirements for the publication of

the home address of election agents.




Children in Care

Tim Loughton: [147777]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the report from 2017 on the

rise in the number of care applications which was conducted by the Cabinet Office

Implementation Unit.

Oliver Dowden:

The Cabinet Office Implementation Unit supports the Prime Minister by tracking the

delivery of the Government's programme. It is not the practice of the Government to

disclose internal advice to Ministers.

Civil Servants: Flexible Working

Laura Smith: [149045]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria his Department is using to assess

the effect of The Way We Work programme on wellbeing in the civil service.

Oliver Dowden:

Delivery of the Way We Work (now Smart Working) initiative is with individual

departments. As a consequence tracking any wellbeing benefits would be at

department level and are not collected centrally.


To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the

effect of The Way We Work programme on wellbeing in the civil service.

Oliver Dowden:





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

The Way We Work programme on levels of productivity in the civil service.

Oliver Dowden:





To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the (a) IT equipment, (b) training, (c)

project delivery and (d) other costs have been of the The Way We Work programme to

date.






Oliver Dowden:




Elections

Cat Smith: [148908]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions has he had with the

Electoral Commission on changes to electoral law.

Chloe Smith:

Ministers and officials meet regularly with representatives from the Electoral

Commission to discuss a range of topics. Any change of policy or process could

entail a change to legislation so many of the discussions touch on changes to

electoral law.

Elections: Campaigns

Cat Smith: [148915]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government's policy is on the

recommendation by the Committee on Standards in Public Life Review of Intimidation in

Public Life to extend electoral law requirements for an imprint on campaigning materials

to electronic communications.

Chloe Smith:

The Government will begin a consultation this summer which considers whether to

extend the rules on imprints on printed electoral material to online electoral material.

The consultation will seek views on introducing an electronic imprint and how such a

requirement could be appropriately framed.

Elections: Finance

Cat Smith: [148882]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to A regulatory review of the

UK’s party and election finance laws: Recommendations for Change, published by the

Electroal Commission in June 2013, what assessment he has made of the implications

for his policies of the Electoral Commission's recommendation that political parties that

receive and spend less than £500 annually should be exempt from submitting a full

statement of accounts.

Chloe Smith:

The Government has no plans to amend the current legislation.




Elections: Young People

Cat Smith: [148888]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to

encourage youth engagement in (a) national and (b) local elections.

Chloe Smith:

The December 2017 Democratic Engagement Plan sets out our ambition to increase

democratic participation across several under-registered groups, including young

people. It includes a pledge to launch the inaugural National Democracy Week in July

this year. The Week will see Cabinet Office and partners deliver events and activities

to promote democratic engagement.

Further to this work, as part of the Government’s Suffrage Fund Centenary

Programme, Cabinet Office, the Government Equalities Office and Department for

Education are working together on projects aimed at improving young people's

understanding and knowledge of both national and local democracy. As already

announced, this includes recruiting and training youth democracy ambassadors. We

have also already published a youth engagement toolkit for parliamentarians. Later

this year we will launch a secondary schools resource.

In addition, the Government has taken steps, linked to the Higher Education and

Research Act 2017, to facilitate student registration.

Electoral Commission

Chris Ruane: [146124]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2018 to

Question 144210 on Electoral Commission: Fines, on what date the last contact between

the Electoral Commission and his Department took place.

Chloe Smith:

My department has regular contact with the Electoral Commission on a range of

issues, including its powers, and keeps those matters under review.

Electoral Register

Cat Smith: [148872]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he has taken to investigate the

reasons for changes in the level of electoral registration in each local authority in each of

the last three years.

Chloe Smith:

Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) have the statutory responsibility to maintain

complete and accurate electoral registers.

While there are many reasons why levels of electoral registration in any given area

may vary over time, the overall trend since the introduction of Individual Electoral

Registration has been for electoral registers to grow overall. The most recent full




assessment of registration was conducted in 2016 by the Electoral Commission,

based on the December 2015 registers. Electoral Commission reports on electoral

registration are available online:

https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/our-work/our-research/research-report-

library#registration.

Cat Smith: [148873]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds from

electoral registration officers on the number of names removed from electoral registers in

each local authority, for each permissible reason, in each of the last five years.

Oliver Dowden:

This information is not collated or held centrally.

Cat Smith: [148881]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with Ministers of

the devolved administrations on increasing the levels of voter registration.

Chloe Smith:

The Government is working closely with the Welsh and Scottish Governments on

elections and registration issues. We are also working closely with the Northern

Ireland Office and the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland, for example, on the

imminent introduction of online registration.

Cat Smith: [148895]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if his Department will make an assessment of

the potential merits of piloting polling day voter registration to increase voter turnout.

Chloe Smith:

The Government has no current plans to pilot polling day voter registration. The

current system strikes an appropriate balance between ensuring eligible citizens can

register close to an election and allowing electoral administrators to finalise registers

allowing for the effective conduct of polls.

Cat Smith: [148904]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has made a

comparative assessment of the adequacy of national electoral registers used by (a) EU

and (b) other countries in relation to the introduction of a centralised, national electoral

register in the UK.

Chloe Smith:

The Government has not made a comparative assessment of other countries’

electoral registers. We have no plans to introduce a centralised, national electoral

register in the UK.

Cat Smith: [148912]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress he has made on reforming the

annual canvass of electors.

https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/our-work/our-research/research-report-library#registration








Cat Smith: [148913]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress his Department has made on

electoral registration improvement programmes.

Chloe Smith:

Although it continues to play an important role in helping to maintain register

accuracy and completeness, alongside online registration, the current one-size-fits-all

annual canvass process is widely recognised as being burdensome and inefficient.

The Government intends to implement changes to this process that will make the

canvass easier for citizens and administrators and improve overall efficiency

considerably.

In 2016 and 2017 we delivered a range of pilots that have tested alternatives to the

current process. The evidence from these pilots is currently being analysed and we

expect to publish findings later this month. We are currently working in close

partnership with the Electoral Commission, the Association of Electoral

Administrators, the Scottish Assessors Association and electoral administrators to

discuss what improvements to the canvass process could be made, based on the

evidence from the pilots. We are engaging directly with the devolved administrations

in this work. We intend to consult on proposals later this year.

More widely, since the transition to Individual Electoral Registration and the

introduction of online registration, we have delivered a number of reforms, again in

partnership with the wider electoral community. This has included making a number

of changes to the law (for example to allow Invitations to Register to be sent by e-

mail) as well as non-legislative improvements such as continual improvement of the

online platform (both the citizen interface and behind-the-scenes). In addition, in

December 2017 the Government published the first ever Democratic Engagement

Plan.

Cat Smith: [148914]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress he has made on the introduction

of changes to the Register to vote website.

Chloe Smith:

We adopt a continual improvement approach to the maintenance and operation of the

Register to Vote website. Since 2016, this has included a complete technology

refresh: the new platform facilitated the flawless operation to support registration

ahead of the 2017 General Election. We have also:

- Completed an accessibility audit to ensure the service is accessible for all UK

citizens. This will be conducted annually.

- Ensured the service supports recent changes to the law to make anonymous

registration easier.

- Changed the content on the homepage of the website so as to reduce the number

of duplicate applications



- Reviewed the technical operation of the postcode database to allow more regular

updates, ensuring citizens living in new homes can apply to register to vote more

easily

- Provided more guidance for citizens with protected national insurance numbers

- Improved information to citizens about the timescales in which their application will

be processed.

These changes reflect feedback on the website provided by electoral administrators

and others, as well as our own improvement priorities. We will continue to act on

feedback to ensure the website meets user needs and retains the consistently

excellent user satisfaction it enjoys.

Cat Smith: [148925]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment his Department has

made of the potential effectiveness of auto-enrolment onto the electoral roll for all UK

citizens eligible to vote.

Chloe Smith:

The Government is not giving consideration to automatic electoral registration

because automatic registration would not be compatible with the principles of

Individual Electoral Registration.

Alongside the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration, the implementation of

online registration has transformed the ease with which citizens can get on the

electoral register, for example after moving house. Applying online takes less than

five minutes. The online system is widely used, especially around elections, enjoys

high levels of user satisfaction and is highly efficient.

Electoral Register: Internet

Cat Smith: [148892]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of people who registered to

vote by means of the online registration service did so without providing a national

insurance number in (a) 2014, (b) 2015, (c) 2016, (d) 2017 and (e) 2018.

Chloe Smith:

The online registration service is very popular and enjoys consistently high user

satisfaction. The overwhelming majority of people successfully use the service and

are able to provide a National Insurance number when doing so. The figures are as

follows:



ONLINE REGISTRATION APPLICATIONS THAT DID NOT INCLUDE A NATIONAL INSURANCE NUMBER

(PERCENTAGE)

2014 (from launch) 2.21%

2015 2.19%

2016 1.57%

2017 1.69%

2018 (to date) 1.56%

As can be seen, over time the number of applications without a National Insurance

number has been falling from already very low levels. This suggests that

communications activity making it clear that having a National Insurance number to

hand makes online applications easier has had an effect.

These figures also clearly justify the use of National Insurance numbers as the

primary means of verifying the identity of applications received through the online

system.

Local Government: Elections

Cat Smith: [148879]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whats steps his Department took to increase

voter registration prior to the 2018 local government elections.

Chloe Smith:

The Electoral Commission has a responsibility for promoting public awareness of

elections, including registration. Ahead of the 2018 local government elections, the

Electoral Commission ran a successful campaign - Got 5? - which encouraged

people to register to vote online using the Government’s Register to Vote website. In

turn, the Government supported the Electoral Commission’s campaign through social

media.

Information on the use of the website in the run up to the local elections can be found

here: http://gov.uk/performance/register-to-vote

Cat Smith: [148887]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the

number of cases of alleged electoral fraud relating to nomination that took place at the

2018 local government elections.

Cat Smith: [148909]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many allegations of impersonation were

made to the police in relation to the 2018 local government elections; how many of those


http://gov.uk/performance/register-to-vote

http://gov.uk/performance/register-to-vote



allegations are under investigation; and what the proportion of the votes cast at those

elections those cases represent.

Chloe Smith:

This Government is committed to creating a clear and secure democracy that works

for

everyone and, as part of this, wants to ensure that fraud is stamped out in all

elections. Any

instance of electoral fraud is one instance too many. The Electoral Commission

collates information on allegations of electoral fraud at elections and in due course

will publish a report covering polls held in 2018.

Cat Smith: [148896]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government has made a recent

assessment of the potential merits of the introduction of all-postal voting in local elections.

Chloe Smith:

No assessment has been made of the use of all-postal voting since the need to

provide personal identifiers was introduced in the Electoral Administration Act 2006.

Unless personal identifiers are held for every elector, all-postal voting cannot be

utilised.

Cat Smith: [148910]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many allegations of impersonation were

made to the police in each of the five local authorities piloting voter ID at the 2018 local

government elections; and what proportion of votes cast in each of the five local

authorities those cases represent.

Chloe Smith:

Voter ID is an important step to ensuring the public can have greater confidence in

our democratic system.

Information relating to the number of allegations of impersonation is not held centrally

by the Cabinet Office. This information is a matter for each relevant police force and

Returning Officer.

The impact of voter ID, including data from police forces will be the subject of the

Electoral Commission’s independent, statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes and it

will publish its findings in the summer of 2018:

https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/242016/Backgro

und-Briefing-Electoral-Commission-evaluation-of-voter-ID-pilots.pdf



https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/242016/Background-Briefing-Electoral-Commission-evaluation-of-voter-ID-pilots.pdf



Marriage: Children

Mr Virendra Sharma: [149646]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, in how many marriages was the (a) woman or

(b) man between the 16 and 18 years of age for each year for which information is

available.


To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of

trends in the level of marriages involving a party under 18 years old in each of the last ten

years.

Chloe Smith:

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

I have asked the Authority to reply.

National Democracy Week

Cat Smith: [148919]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the Government's partners

that will deliver National Democracy Week 2018.

Chloe Smith:

Details of our partners for National Democracy Week are available here:

https://democracyweek.campaign.gov.uk/. The list of partners was published in

March this year.

Our campaign website also includes materials for use by partners.

Politics: Education

Cat Smith: [148893]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Every Voice Matters: Building

A Democracy That Works For Everyone, published by his Department on 19 December

2017, whether his Department has had recent discussions with the Department for

Education on increasing the level of political education in schools for young people in line

with the objectives of that document.

Chloe Smith:

The Cabinet Office and Department for Education are working together on the

democratic engagement agenda. For example, our Departments are collaborating

with the Historical Association in the development of an online secondary schools

resource to be launched later this year. The resource is aimed at 13-16 year olds and

will raise awareness of UK democratic history and inspire and engage young people

in their own democratic choices through case studies.





Poll Cards

Cat Smith: [148920]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions his Department has

had with Royal Mail on mailing options for poll cards.

Chloe Smith:

Government officials discuss issues regularly with Royal Mail and met them to

discuss options for delivery of Poll Cards on 9 March along with print suppliers,

electoral administrators and representatives from the Electoral Commission and the

Association of Electoral Administrators. Officials also met with Royal Mail, the

Electoral Commission and the Association of Electoral Administrators on 22 May for a

further meeting on this subject ahead of a notice going out via the Electoral

Commission and the Association of Electoral Administrators and the Society of Local

Authority Chief Executives about changes being introduced by Royal Mail.

Voting Rights

Cat Smith: [148894]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government's policy is on extending

the franchise to all legal residents of the UK.

Chloe Smith:

Those entitled to vote at UK Parliamentary and local government elections include

those who have attained the age of 18 and who are British citizens; citizens of

Commonwealth countries who are resident in the UK on a permanent basis or have

leave to enter or remain; and citizens of the Republic of Ireland resident in the UK.

Resident citizens of other European Union (EU) Member States are eligible to vote at

local government elections.

Citizens of other countries do not have the right to vote in UK elections. Citizenship

restrictions are the norm for participating in national elections in most democracies,

including the UK. The Government has no plans to extend the franchise to all legal

residents at this time.

Voting Rights: Young People

Cat Smith: [148921]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent conversations he has had with the

devolved administrations on the potential merits of extending the franchise to 16 and 17

year olds.

Chloe Smith:

The Government has no plans to lower the voting age, having been elected on a

manifesto commitment to retain the current franchise for parliamentary elections at

18. Under the devolution settlements, franchise and registration arrangements for

local elections and elections to the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales

are a matter for those devolved administrations.




DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Armed Forces

Leo Docherty: [149000]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to deploy additional troops

to Afghanistan; what role those troops will have; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster:

No decisions have been taken on sending additional UK troops to Afghanistan. The

UK makes an important contribution to the non-combat NATO Resolute Support

mission in Afghanistan, and as a result, our contribution is kept under regular review

to ensure it remains suited to the needs of the mission.

Arctic: Climate Change

Sir Nicholas Soames: [149566]

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

implications of climate change in the high north.

Mark Lancaster:

The Arctic is currently an area of high international cooperation and low tension, and

indications point to this remaining the case for the near future. Over time the receding

ice will enable greater maritime traffic in the region, from fishing, commercial shipping

and tourism. Competition for natural resources in the area in conjunction with the

increased traffic could present greater opportunity for sources of international tension,

terrorism, and piracy. Increased distances of maritime vessels from sovereign

coastlines may exacerbate the difficulties of search and rescue in the region. The UK

and our allies remain vigilant to changes in the region and their potential impact.

Arctic: Russia


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

Russian military threat in the High North.

Mark Lancaster:

Russia's Arctic Command has increased its military presence and activity in the High

North. Russian submarine patrols in the North Atlantic are now at a higher level than

at any time since the end of the cold war. Russia also conducts regular strategic

bomber training missions in the region.

These actions are legal and Russia currently acts within existing conventions,

engaging with the Arctic Council and respecting the rulings of the UN Convention on

the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). We would be concerned if in the future Russia

changed its stance and chose to interfere with our freedom of navigation in the High

North.




Armed Forces Compensation Scheme

Dr Philippa Whitford: [149676]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many veterans have paid solicitors to

represent them at tribunals to challenge decisions made under the Armed Forces

Compensation Scheme since 2015.

Mr Tobias Ellwood:

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

cost.

Ministry of Defence: Chief Scientific Advisers


To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many meetings he had with the

Government's Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 January and 31 March 2018.

Gavin Williamson:

Between 1 January and 31 March 2018, I have had no meetings with the

Government Chief Scientific Adviser.

Ministry of Defence: Procurement

Philip Davies: [147412]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many contractors currently employed by

his Department are paid £1,000 or more per day.

Mr Tobias Ellwood:

The Department does not routinely maintain current details of those individuals who

are paid £1,000 or more per day.

Nigeria: Military Aid

Emily Thornberry: [148699]

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

implications for his policy of providing military assistance to the Nigerian armed forces of

the Amnesty International Report, They betrayed us, published on 24 May 2018.

Mark Lancaster:

Nigeria is a key partner for the UK and we are fully committed to helping the Nigerian

Government in its fight against terrorism. However, the UK's position on human rights

is clear: they are universal and must apply equally to all. Any member of the Nigerian

security forces found to have been involved in human rights violations must be held

accountable.

The National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security sets out how the UK

Government will integrate a gender perspective into its work to build security and

stability overseas and protect the human rights of women and girls. The UK military

training and assistance to the Armed Forces of Nigeria has consistently emphasised





the importance of adherence to internationally recognised Rules of Engagement, as

well as the importance of International Human Rights and International Humanitarian

Law. We have also made clear to the Nigerian authorities the importance of

protecting civilians in conflict and detention, and that human rights standards must be

upheld.

We continue to monitor the situation in Nigeria, and regularly assess the risks

associated with the delivery of UK military assistance in line with the UK's Overseas

Security and Justice Assistance guidance.

Royal Air Force College


To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of

people entering courses at the Royal Air Force College at Cranwell in each of the last five

years; and on which courses each of those enrolled.

Mark Lancaster:

The number of people entering courses at the Royal Air Force College at RAF

Cranwell in the last five calendar years; and on which courses each were enrolled is

as follows:

COURSE 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Initial Officer Training 214 328 311 390 401

Special Entrant & Re-Entrant 39 44 28 40 36

Reserve Officer Initial Training 8 15 20 10 21

Commissioned Warrant Officer Course ~ 12 18 21 16

Non-Commissioned Aircrew Initial Training Course 19 20 40 44 61

Due to the small populations generated by this level of detail, and the possibility of

identifying individual personnel, "~" denotes a number less than 5.

Royal Military Academy



people entering courses at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in each of the last

five years; and on which courses each of those people enrolled.

Mark Lancaster:

The number of recruits beginning courses at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in

each of the last five years are shown on the tables below:



TRAINING YEAR

Course Title 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18

Reserves Commissioning Course 110 120 150 130 160

Regular Commissioning Course 560 520 570 580 590

Professionally Qualified Officers

Course

60 60 90 100 90

CALENDAR YEAR

Course Title 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Late Entry Officers Course (LEOC) 220 230 260 270 150

Soldier Conversion Officer Course

(SCOC)

30 20 20 20 -

Notes/Caveats:

These figures are single service estimates and are not official statistics produced by

Defence Statistics.

The year of commencement may not equate to the year of completion.

LEOC and SCOC are shorter courses ran throughout the year at different intervals.

Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, except where specified; numbers

ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic

bias.

“-” denotes zero or rounded to zero

Royal Naval College



people entering courses at the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth in each of the

last five years; and on which courses each of those enrolled.

Mark Lancaster:

The number of individuals entering each course conducted at the Britannia Royal

Naval College (BRNC) in each of the last five calendar years is provided in the table

below.


2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Initial Naval

Training

(Officer)

243 272 344 361 356

International

Courses

- 10 19 26 26

Royal Fleet

Auxiliary

23 42 94 60 39

Junior Officers’

Leadership

Course

- 166 133 167 183

Warrant

Officers’ Staff

Course

- 73 60 114 79

Naval Analysis

Course

192 192 192 192 192

Royal Naval

Reserve

Confirmation

Course

23 15 31 21 23

Royal Naval

Reserve

Accelerated

Officer

Programme

- - 39 30 28

Notes:

1. Initial Naval Training (Officer). Represents the annual totals for the 29-week,

Phase 1 training.

1. International Courses. Represents the total number of overseas officers studying

on academic courses hosted at BRNC and run in partnership with the University of

Plymouth. This programme commenced in 2014.

1. Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Training. Seven-week Phase 1 training for the RFA. A

peak in RFA training numbers occurred in 2015 due to an increase in direct

entrants.

4. Junior Officers’ Leadership Course. Two-week, through life, course run by the

Royal Naval Leadership Academy (RNLA) but conducted at BRNC. Due to changes

to the manner in which information was recorded by RNLA, figures for 2013 are not

centrally held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

5. Warrant Officers’ Staff Course. One week, through life, course run by the RNLA

but conducted at BRNC. Due to changes to the manner in which information was

managed by RNLA, figures for 2013 are not centrally held and could be provided only

at disproportionate cost.

6. Naval Analysis Course. One-week course to prepare for the Intermediate

Command and Staff Course.

7. Royal Naval Reserve Confirmation Course. Two-week course held at BRNC as

the culmination of a two-year Reserve training programme.

8. Royal Naval Reserve Accelerated Officer Programme. A fast track, eight-week

course (four of which are hosted at BRNC) introduced in 2015.

DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Gaming Machines

Mr Barry Sheerman: [147334]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when will the

timetable is for the reduction in the maximum stake on fixed odds gambling machines to

be implemented.

Tracey Crouch:

The Government published its response to the consultation on changes to gaming

machines and social responsibility measures on 17 May. The Government will

engage with the gambling industry to ensure they are given sufficient time to

implement and complete the technological changes for the reduction in maximum

stake for Fixed-Odds Betting Terminals. The Government will deliver the reduction in

stake through secondary legislation in due course.

Museums and Galleries

Yvette Cooper: [149604]

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

Answer of 4 June 2018 to Question 147813 on Museums and Galleries: Closures, if he

will publish the (a) names and (b) postcode locations of the 29 museums which gained

museum accreditation from Arts Council England in 2017-18.

Michael Ellis:

The following 29 institutions gained full accreditation under the Museums

Accreditation Scheme administered by Arts Council England in the twelve months

between April 2017 and April 2018.



Due to the complexity of the accompanying table, the link below is to the web version

of the answer:

https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-

statements/written-question/Commons/2018-06-04/149604

Theatres

Yvette Cooper: [149603]

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

Answer of 4 June 2018 to Question 147814, if he will publish the (a) names and (b)

registered postcode locations of the 190 theatres and touring companies into which £100

million of public money is being invested over four years.

Michael Ellis:

Data on which organisations Arts Council England fund is public information and can

be found on their website here:

https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/national-portfolio-2018-22/more-data-2018-22

Arts Council England does not publish the postcode of organisations; however the

area, Local Authority & parliamentary constituency are available.

EDUCATION

Apprentices: Skilled Workers

Nic Dakin: [149665]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reasons the Post-16 skills plan for

(a) protective services, (b) sales, marketing and procurement, (c) Social Care and (d)

transport and Logistics will be delivered primarily through apprenticeships.

Anne Milton:

Following extensive analysis and stakeholder engagement, the Independent Panel on

Technical Education led by Lord Sainsbury, identified that four technical routes would

be better suited to delivery via work-based training (apprenticeships), rather than

classroom-based provision (T Levels). These were ‘Transport and Logistics’, ‘Sales’,

‘Marketing and Procurement’, ‘Social Care’ and ‘Protective Services’. The

government accepted these recommendation and these routes formed the basis for

developing the occupational maps, which are now owned by the Institute for

Apprenticeships.

T Levels will not be available in all areas for which vocational qualifications currently

exist. This is because some occupations are more suitable for delivery through an

apprenticeship. However, our review of level three qualifications – confirmed in the

recent response to the T Level consultation – will be comprehensive, and will ensure

that there is continued provision where there is a genuine need for a qualification. For

example, where they serve a genuine and useful purpose, are of a high quality and

enable students to progress to meaningful outcomes.

https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-06-04/149604

https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-06-04/149604



Music: GCE A-level

Kevin Brennan: [149624]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students (a) in total and (b)

eligible for free school meals took A Level Music in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb:

The total number of students in each year, entering A level music, split by Free

School Meal eligibility, is provided below: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]

YEAR

STUDENTS

ELIGIBLE FOR

FSM[4]

ALL OTHER

STUDENTS[6] TOTAL STUDENTS

THE PERCENTAGE

OF ALL A LEVEL

STUDENTS

ENTERING MUSIC

2010/11 94 5,142 5,236 2.0%

2011/12 120 4,912 5,032 1.9%

2012/13 79 4,570 4,649 1.8%

2013/14 95 4,448 4,543 1.8%

2014/15[7] 102 4,246 4,348 1.6%

2015/16 90 3,694 3,784 1.2%[8]

2016/17 92 3,841 3,933 1.2%[8]

[1] For 2010/11 – 2015/16 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-level-

attainment-by-pupil-characteristics. For 2016/17 -

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results-2016-to-

2017-revised (open the ‘A level exam results and A level and vocational participation

csv’ and then the ‘A level subjects by characteristics’ file).

[2] Students, at the end of their 16-18 study, who entered A level music.

[3] Includes entries into A level music qualifications which are eligible for inclusion in

performance tables. Where qualifications taken by a student are in the same subject

area and similar in content, ‘discounting’ rules have been applied to avoid double

counting qualifications.

[4] The methodology through which students ethnicity is identified was changed in

2016/17. Up to 2015/16 a student’s ethnicity was taken from their census record

three years prior to the academic year the figures are reported for. In 2016/17 a

student’s ethnicity is taken from the census record of their final year of Key Stage 4

study (normally, three years prior). Due to this change, 2016/17 figures can not be

compared to earlier years.

[5] Figures are based on final data.


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-level-attainment-by-pupil-characteristics



https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results-2016-to-2017-revised



[6] Includes students whose ethnicity is unknown. A student’s ethnicity may be

unknown for several reasons, including if they attended an independent secondary

school (which do not complete the school census).

[7] Figures from 2012/13 to 2014/15 cover students at the end of advanced level

study who were entered for at least one A level, applied single award A level, applied

double award A level or combined A/AS level in the reporting year. Figures for earlier

years cover students who were entered for at least one A level, applied single award

A level, applied double award A level or combined A/AS level in the summer of the

reporting year.

[8] From 2010/11 – 2014/15 these figures are based on students entered for A levels,

from 2015/16 these figures are based on students entered for AS and A levels,

resulting in a much bigger cohort. This artificially reduces the percentage in

comparison to previous years and therefore comparisons between the percentages of

2015/16 and 2016/17 and earlier years cannot be made.

Music: GCSE


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students (a) in total and (b)

eligible for free school meals took GCSE Music in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb:

The number of pupils[1], in state-funded schools, eligible for Free School Meals, at

the end of Key Stage 4, who entered into GCSE (or equivalent) music[2], between

2012/13 – 2016/17[3] are provided in the table below:

PUPILS ENTERING GCSE MUSIC

Academic year Free School Meal

eligible pupils[4]

All other pupils

[5]

Total pupils Percentage of all

pupils entering

music

2012/13[6] 5,804 30,614 36,418 6.4

2013/14[7] 6,575 30,673 37,248 6.7

2014/15[8] 7,320 31,660 38,980 7.0

2015/16 7,185 30,200 37,385 6.9

2016/17 6,788 27,962 34,750 6.6

[1] Total number of entries include pupils who were absent, whose results are

pending and results which are ungraded or unclassified.

[2] Discounting has been applied where pupils have taken the same subject more

than once and only one entry is counted in these circumstances. Only the first entry is

counted, in all subjects, in line with the early entry guidance


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-4-qualifications-discount-

codes-and-point-scores.

[3] All figures are based on final data.

[4] Free School Meal (FSM) status is taken from the pupils census record for that

academic year and indicates that they were eligible for FSM in at least one of the

previous 6 academic years.

[5] Includes pupils whose FSM status was unknown.

[6] Data for periods prior to 2012/13 are not available.

[7] In 2013/14, two major reforms were implemented which affect the calculation of

Key Stage 4 performance measures data: 1) Professor Alison Wolf’s Review of

Vocational Education recommendations which: restrict the qualifications counted;

prevent any qualification from counting as larger than one GCSE; and cap the

number of non-GCSEs included in performance measures at two per pupil, and 2) an

early entry policy to only count a pupil’s first attempt at a qualification, in subjects

counted in the English Baccalaureate.

[8] From 2014/15, early entry policy, under which only a pupil’s first attempt at a

qualification is counted in performance measures, is extended to all subjects.

Music: Higher Education


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

students that have studied music at higher education establishments by ethnic group in

each year since 2010.

Mr Sam Gyimah:

The Higher Education Statistics Agency collects and publishes statistics on

enrolments at UK Higher Education Institutions. The breakdown of higher education

enrolments in music subjects by ethnic group is included in the tables attached;

undergraduate and postgraduate enrolments have been provided separately.

The free school meals status of all students (all domiciles, all ages) who enrolled onto

music subjects is not available.

Attachments:

1. 149622_149625_enrolments_in_music_subjects

[149622_149625_enrolments_in_music_subjects.doc]


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

the number of students (a) in total and (b) eligible for free school meals who studied

music in higher education in each year since 2010.

Mr Sam Gyimah:

The Higher Education Statistics Agency collects and publishes statistics on

enrolments at UK Higher Education Institutions. The breakdown of higher education

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-4-qualifications-discount-codes-and-point-scores





enrolments in music subjects by ethnic group is included in the tables attached;

undergraduate and postgraduate enrolments have been provided separately.

The free school meals status of all students (all domiciles, all ages) who enrolled onto

music subjects is not available.

Attachments:

1. 149622_149625_enrolments_in_music_subjects

[149622_149625_enrolments_in_music_subjects.doc]

T-levels

Nic Dakin: [149667]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to

ensure that T-levels enable learners to move between disciplines as their priorities and

interests change.

Anne Milton:

We recognise that, as is the case for current provision, some students will choose to

change T Levels after starting their course. We want to ensure that T Level courses

accommodate this flexibility.

We will be working with the providers of the first T Levels in 2020/21 and 2021/22 to

explore how courses could be designed which allow students to change to another T

Level early on in the course without it affecting their progress. The core component of

the T Level includes content common across all T Levels within a route, which will

help when students move between courses. Where students transfer onto another T

Level within the same route, where possible, we will make sure that if they have

already attained the core component and this is recognised in their new T Level.

Once T Level content is finalised, we will work with higher education providers to

identify where a bridging provision may be needed, to allow students to progress from

T Levels to an academic route should they wish to do so.

T Levels are much broader in content than apprenticeships. Students will learn about

a range of different occupations in the sector and develop skills common to each,

meaning they will have more options and scope to move occupations once in work.

T-levels: Publicity

Nic Dakin: [149666]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to ensure

that (a) current year 9 learners and (b) future cohorts are aware of T-levels.

Anne Milton:

We are already communicating with the education sector and employers to increase

awareness and understanding of T Levels. As we move towards the first teaching of

T Levels in 2020, the scale and pace of this communication will increase to make

sure that parents, teachers, students and careers professionals know about T Levels

and when they will be available.



Schools are legally responsible for providing independent careers guidance for all

year 8-13 pupils on the full range of education and training options, including further

technical education and apprenticeships. The government’s careers strategy sets out

how we will go further to make sure that young people can talk regularly to employers

and training providers to inform the decisions that they make at important transition

points. The strategy includes new legislation, introduced in January 2018, which

requires all maintained schools and academies to make sure that there is an

opportunity for a range of providers to talk to year 8-13 pupils about approved

technical education qualifications or apprenticeships. Further information about the

new law can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/skills-minister-

highlights-new-provider-access-law-for-schools. The Careers & Enterprise Company

are also building on their network of Enterprise Coordinators, Advisors and

Cornerstone Employers.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Pollution: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: [149591]

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

taking to bring air pollution within legal limits in (a) West Midlands; (b) Coventry and (c)

Coventry South constituency.

David Rutley:

As part of our £3.5billion plan to tackle roadside nitrogen dioxide (NO2)

concentrations, we have required 61 local authorities to complete local plans to

deliver compliance with NO2 limits as soon as possible. These include Birmingham

City Council, Coventry City Council, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, Sandwell

Metropolitan Borough Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, Walsall Council

and City of Wolverhampton Council.

Animal Welfare

Jo Platt: [149081]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the

Oral Answer of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of 26 April 2018, Official

Report, column 1007, how many charities have made representations to his Department

to register (a) concerns about the potential burden of and (b) support for introducing

licensing and regulation for animal rescue homes in each of the last five years.

Jo Platt: [149082]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has

had recent discussions with representatives of the animal charity sector on the potential

merits of introducing legislative proposals for the regulation and licensing of animal

rescue centres.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/skills-minister-highlights-new-provider-access-law-for-schools






George Eustice:

We do not have precise numbers available of the charities that have expressed an

opinion on the regulation of animal rescue homes over the last five years. However,

Defra is aware that animal rescue homes have expressed views on both sides of the

argument in relation to the regulation of such establishments. Ministers have not held

any recent discussions with animal charities about the regulation of animal rescue

homes.

Cats and Dogs: Sales

Giles Watling: [905706]

When his Department plans to publish its response to the evidence that it received on

banning third party sales of puppies and kittens in England.

George Eustice:

We will set out the results of our call for evidence in due course.

Forestry

Dr David Drew: [149587]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to

his Department's Clean Growth Strategy, published in October 2017, what the timetable

is for the establishment of the first forestry investment zone.

David Rutley:

Local stakeholders in Cumbria are developing their proposition to pilot the first

Forestry Investment Zone. More detail will be available later in the year.


To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to

publish the areas of England that will be designated as forestry investment zones.

David Rutley:

Local stakeholders and the forestry sector will be encouraged to identify potential

areas for Forestry Investment Zones and to develop these in partnership with

government. We anticipate these proposals will be based on the emerging findings of

the first pilot Forestry Investment Zone in Cumbria, later in the year.


To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to

his Department's 25-Year Environment Plan, when he plans to appoint a national tree

champion.

David Rutley:

A decision on the appointment of the national Tree Champion will be made shortly.





LEADER Programme

Ben Lake: [149031]

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

he has made of the potential merits of the UK providing and maintaining funding allocated

by the EU's LEADER programme at the same level after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice:

Rural development is a devolved matter.

The agreement in principle between the UK and the EU states that we will continue to

participate in EU programmes until they close in 2020. The UK will therefore receive

its full allocation of 2014-2020 LEADER funding.

All decisions on future spending will be made at the Spending Review.

Litter

Mr Philip Hollobone: [149634]

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

he holds on the amount of litter that was dropped in (a) Northamptonshire and (b)

England in the last year for which figures are available.

David Rutley:

Defra does not hold data on the amount of litter collected, either locally or at a

national level.

Further to the commitments given in the Litter Strategy, earlier this year we published

a new ‘dashboard’ of indicators which, taken together, help us to understand the

extent of litter and littering in England. The dashboard can be found online at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/litter-and-littering-in-england-2016-to-

2017/litter-and-littering-in-england-2016-to-2017.

Palm Oil: Labelling

Tulip Siddiq: [149688]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it

his policy to ensure that the labelling on products containing palm oil specifies whether

that palm oil was produced sustainably.

George Eustice:

Defra is committed to supporting the implementation of deforestation-free supply

chains for key commodities, including palm oil. We are a signatory to the Amsterdam

Declarations and have endorsed the New York Declaration on Forests which support

a fully sustainable palm oil supply chain from 2020. We are also a member of

Tropical Forest Alliance 2020; a public-private co-operation working to help

organisations achieve their deforestation-free commitments.

In 2012 Defra published the UK Statement on the Sustainable Production of Palm Oil

; which was signed by trade associations, NGOs and Government. The 2017 review



https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/litter-and-littering-in-england-2016-to-2017/litter-and-littering-in-england-2016-to-2017.




https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/256254/pb13833-palm-oil-statement-1012.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/256254/pb13833-palm-oil-statement-1012.pdf

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/590474/cpet-annual-review-palm-oil-consumption.pdf

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/590474/cpet-annual-review-palm-oil-consumption.pdf

notes that signatories have achieved a high level of success in delivering the

Statement’s ambition of working towards 100% sourcing of credibly certified

sustainable palm oil by the end of 2015. There are no plans to implement a separate

policy requiring products containing palm oil to be labelled to specify sustainable

production.

Poultry

Tom Brake: [148597]

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

taking to ensure that the poultry meat sector has adequate access to skilled staff after the

UK leaves the EU.

Tom Brake: [148598]

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

Department has made an assessment of the effect of leaving the EU on the labour

requirements of the poultry business to (a) sustain and (b) increase levels of production.

Tom Brake: [148599]

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

Department is taking to ensure the maintenance of the poultry meat sector workforce

after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice:

Access to a sufficient and appropriately-skilled workforce is essential to continued

industry growth, productivity and safety. We are working with industry to ensure that

we understand the labour supply and demand across the food chain, including the

poultry sector, and the effect of leaving the EU.

Until we have left the EU, employers can continue to recruit EU workers to meet their

labour needs. In December 2017 the UK Government reached an agreement with the

EU that will allow those EU citizens to work and live here broadly as they do now.

Defra is working closely with the Home Office as we work towards developing a new

immigration system following our departure from the EU. As part of this, the

Government has commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee

(MAC) to assess the role that EU citizens play in the UK economy and society.

For the longer term, Defra is working with industry to raise awareness of the career

opportunities within the agriculture and food industry to attract domestic workers, and

is exploring the potential for innovation and automation in meeting future labour

demands.

Rural Areas: Crime

Gillian Keegan: [905718]

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

he has had with the Home Secretary on the effect of rural crime on farmers.





George Eustice:

We are working closely with the Home Office on a range of issues in relation to rural

crime, including waste crime and fly-tipping and issues like sheep worrying and

wildlife crime. We both also work closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and

the National Rural Crime Network on these issues.

Rural Areas: Scotland

Luke Graham: [147509]

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

initiatives his Department has implemented to support rural communities in Scotland in

the last six months.

George Eustice:

Responsibility for policy, and any related initiatives, to support rural communities in

Scotland rests with the Scottish Government.

Tree Planting


To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans

to consult the Committee on Climate Change on the tree-planting targets required in

England to meet the UK's climate change commitments.

David Rutley:

The Government’s Clean Growth Strategy, published in October 2017, sets out how

we will decarbonise the UK. The Strategy identified the important role for tree planting

to contribute to carbon budget commitments, particularly in later carbon budget

periods.

The Committee on Climate Change emphasised the importance of tree planting in its

independent assessment of the Strategy, published in January this year.

Furthermore, in April the government announced plans to ask the Committee on

Climate Change to report on the implications of the Paris Agreement's target.

Viridor

Derek Twigg: [149606]

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

maximum tonnage of waste is that the Viridor Energy is entitled to burn at its waste

facility in Runcorn under its permit; and what the tonnage of waste is that is currently

being burnt at that site.


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

the composition of fuel being burned at the Viridor Runcorn Energy from Waste facility

been allowed to be changed from that permitted under its original permit.





David Rutley:

The maximum throughput of waste specified in the permit for Viridor’s Runcorn

Energy from Waste site is 850,000 tonnes per year. This was based on the predicted

number and length of plant stoppages for inspection, maintenance and repair. In

2017 this routine shut down was shorter than expected, and the Environment Agency

authorised a temporary increase of throughput on a trial basis. The total throughput of

waste for 2017 was 890,933 tonnes. This increase will not have led to an

unacceptable impact on the environment.

Viridor will need to apply for a permit variation in order to permanently increase its

annual throughput of waste. Any such permit variation is likely to be subject to public

consultation.

There has been no change in fuel composition from that specified in the permit in

2009.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE

Nigeria: Armed Conflict

Stephen Timms: [149574]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment

he has made of the accuracy of reports that Nigeria’s armed forces may be complicit in

attacks by Fulani militia on communities in northern Nigeria.

Harriett Baldwin:

We have seen no evidence of collusion by the Nigerian armed forces in attacks

against farming communities in northern Nigeria. All action taken by the Nigerian

armed forces and security services should be in accordance with International

Human Rights and Humanitarian Law and all incidents fully investigated. We

welcome President Buhari's commitment to prioritise ending violence in Northern

Nigeria and echo his calls for calm and reconciliation between the many ethnic

groups and communities that make up and contribute to the strength and diversity of

the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Nigeria: Churches


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent

representations he has made to his Nigerian counterpart on reports of violence and the

destruction of churches in northern Nigeria.

Harriett Baldwin:

The Nigerian Constitution provides for the protection of religious freedom, which we

discuss regularly with the Nigerian Government at the highest levels. We continue to

work with the Nigerian Government, non-governmental organisations and civil society

to improve both the security situation and protection of human rights for all in Nigeria.



Nigeria: Religious Freedom


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent

assessment he has made of the effectiveness of protections on discrimination against

religious minorities in the northern and central states of Nigeria.

Harriett Baldwin:

Nigeria is a secular, multi-ethnic and multi-religious country. We are aware of

concerns that in some cases prosecutions have not been secured for some religion-

related crimes and that a full assessment of the effectiveness of prosecution in such

cases might not have been made. However, the UK is committed to promoting and

protecting the freedom to practise faith or belief without discrimination The Nigerian

Constitution provides for the protection of religious freedom which we raise frequent

at the highest levels of government.

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

Antibiotics: Drug Resistance

Sir Kevin Barron: [149598]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timetable is for the

publication of an updated five year antimicrobial resistance strategy.

Steve Brine:

Work is underway across Government, the devolved administrations and a wide

range of stakeholders to develop a refreshed United Kingdom antimicrobial

resistance strategy. Publication is planned by the end of the year.

Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons (a) the

Bridgewater NHS Trust's retinal screening staff administration team are being transferred

to the private company Emis Care and (b) the timing is before the end of the contract due

in to finish in April 2019.

Steve Brine:

Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Trust provides a diabetic eye screening

service to patients through the Central Mersey Diabetic Eye Screening Programme.

The administration of this service is provided by Emis.

Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Trust and Emis have agreed to combine the

administration function with the clinical delivery element within Bridgewater

Community Healthcare Trust to deliver greater safety assurance as quickly as

possible. Therefore the contract for administration which was due to finish in April

2019 will now finish on 10 August 2018.




Emis have agreed to continue to work with Bridgewater Trust in order to ensure a

smooth transition and alleviate any concerns that the current staff members may

have regarding the Transfer of Undertakings - Protection of Employment process,

and the Trust has confirmed that staff will be given full support through the process to

ensure a safe and secure transfer.

Care Homes: Minimum Wage

Neil Coyle: [148822]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of

the number of the Social Care Compliance Scheme participants that will cease to be

viable by the completion of that scheme.

Caroline Dinenage:

The Social Care Compliance Scheme (SCCS) is an interim scheme administered by

HM Revenue and Customs. The SCCS has been designed to assist social care

providers in becoming compliant with National Minimum Wage legislation.

HM Revenue and Customs does not discuss individual cases, as such no

assessment can be made. However, the Government is exploring options to minimise

the impact of sleep-ins liabilities on the social care sector.

Carers


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish his

Department’s action plan for carers.

Caroline Dinenage:

The Department published ‘Carers Action Plan 2018-2020: Supporting carers’ on 5

June 2018. The plan sets out a two-year programme of targeted cross-Government

work that seeks to build carer friendly communities and support carers to provide

care in a way that protects their own health and wellbeing, employment and life

chances.

Cochlear Implants

David Simpson: [148719]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients have

received a cochlear implant in each of the last three years.

Caroline Dinenage:

The information requested is not collected centrally. This is because Hospital Episode

Statistics are a count of episodes and not people. We are able to provide a count of

finished admission episodes (FAEs) with a primary or secondary procedure or

intervention for cochlear implants between 2014/15 and 2016/17. These are activity

in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity

in the independent sector.




A count of FAEs with a primary or secondary procedure or intervention for cochlear

implants in each of the years between 2014/15 and 2016/17 is shown in the following

table:

YEAR FAE COUNT OF COCHLEAR IMPLANT

2014/15 1,016

2015/16 1,136

2016/17 1,256

A FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one

healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the

admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a

person may have more than one admission within the period.

Department of Health and Social Care: Non-departmental Public Bodies

Rachel Reeves: [148760]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) women and (b)

men his Department has appointed to each of his Department's non-Departmental Public

Bodies in each of the last five years.

Caroline Dinenage:

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care appoints Chairs and other non-

executive members to the Department’s national public bodies. The appointments are

regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments who gathers and publishes

diversity data.

The following table shows the number of public appointments, including new

appointments and re-appointments, made to public bodies regulated by the

Commissioner, and in each of the last five financial years. The figures do not include

those who were appointed and chose not to declare their gender.

Declared gender of public appointments to the Department’s national public bodies

by year

YEAR FEMALE MALE % FEMALE

2013/14 27 42 39%

2014/15 28 42 40%

2015/16 41 60 41%

2016/17 29 35 45%

2017/18 21 33 39%


Doctors and Nurses: Qualifications

Rushanara Ali: [148798]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his

Department has made of the potential effect on the NHS of an agreement not being

reached with the EU on mutual qualification recognition for (a) doctors and (b) nurses

after the UK leaves the EU.

Stephen Barclay:

The Government is confident that an agreement will be reached with the European

Union on the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications. The Department is

working with our partners across Government and the public sector to understand the

effect on the National Health Service of an agreement on mutual recognition with the

European Union.

Doctors: Training

Nic Dakin: [148782]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had

with his Cabinet colleagues on expanding the Medical Training Initiative to meet the (a)

the demand for places and (b) needs of NHS Trusts.

Stephen Barclay:

My Rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has regular

discussions with Ministerial colleagues on a number of issues, including on the

operation of the Medical Training Initiative.

The Government recognises the value of this initiative both to the National Health

Service and to those who work and learn in the NHS on this scheme. However we

also need to balance the operation of the scheme in order to avoid permanently

draining lower income countries of their supply of doctors.

Gambling: West Midlands


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many addiction treatment

services there are for gambling in (a) the West Midlands, (b) Coventry and (c) the

Coventry South constituency; and whether he plans to increase the provision of those

services.

Ms Angela Eagle: [149612]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many gambling addiction

treatment services there are in (a) Merseyside, (b) Wirral and (c) Wallasey constituency;

and whether his Department has plans to increase provision of those services.

Steve Brine:

Information about gambling addiction treatment services is not held centrally

therefore no assessment has been made of the number and range of services. There





are a range of services available across England to problem gamblers, details of

which can be found on the NHS Choices website at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/gambling-addiction/

The national problem gambling clinic, which accepts referrals from all over the United

Kingdom, is set within the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust.

Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/cnwl-national-problem-gambling-clinic/

HC-one

Nick Smith: [147870]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has received

representations of the potential sale of HC-One; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Smith: [147871]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has received

representations on the takeover of Four Seasons Healthcare by H/2 Capital Partners.

Caroline Dinenage:

Both myself and my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Jackie

Doyle-Price) have met with representatives of Four Seasons Healthcare, Terra Firma

and H/2 Capital Partners to emphasise the importance of ensuring continuity of care

for those in receipt of care from Four Seasons.

The Department has not received any specific representations on the potential sale of

HC-One.

The social care market is a combination of independent and publicly funded services,

and sales are a normal part of a functioning market.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has been closely monitoring the situation at

both HC-One and Four Seasons, and will continue to do so. The CQC has been clear

that service disruption is not likely at the current time.

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Liz McInnes: [149673]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his

Department has had with the Department for Exiting the European Union on reciprocal

healthcare arrangements with the EU after the UK leaves the EU.

Stephen Barclay:

The Department of Health and Social Care has frequent discussions and regular

meetings with the Department for Exiting the European Union to ensure that The

Department of Health and Social Care’s EU exit priorities are considered as part of

the Government’s overall approach on reciprocal healthcare arrangements and a

range of cross-cutting issues.








The Department of Health and Social Care worked closely with the Department for

Exiting the European Union to inform the United Kingdom’s paper ‘Safeguarding the

position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU: summary

proposals’, published in June 2017. The Department of Health and Social Care

officials, alongside colleagues from the Department for Exiting the European Union,

participate in negotiations with the EU.

The Department of Health and Social Care will continue to liaise with the Department

for Exiting the European Union on all matters regarding reciprocal healthcare

arrangements with the EU.

Health: Children

Rushanara Ali: [148796]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is

taking to improve child health outcomes.

Jackie Doyle-Price:

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Colne Valley

(Thelma Walker) on 8 May 2018 to Question 905179.

Heart Diseases

Jon Trickett: [147810]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people with a patent

foramen ovare are on a waiting list for treatment in (a) West Yorkshire and (b) England.

Steve Brine:

The information is not held centrally.

Hospitals: Disclosure of Information

Mr Nigel Evans: [148625]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospitals are

complaint with the Accessible Information Standard.

Caroline Dinenage:

Information on how many hospitals are compliant with the Accessible Information

Standard is not held centrally.

Compliance with the Standard is a legal duty and organisations that provide National

Health Service care or adult social care have been required to follow the Standard in

full since 1 August 2016. Compliance with the Standard is also a requirement of the

NHS Standard Contract 2018/19.

The specification for the Standard makes it clear that commissioning organisations

must actively support compliance by organisations from which they commission

services and must also seek assurance from providers in this regard.




Medical Treatments: British Nationals Abroad



the number of UK residents that have travelled abroad for medical treatment in the most

recent year for which figures are available.

Stephen Barclay:

The Department does not hold information on the number of United Kingdom

residents who have travelled abroad for medical treatment. The Department does

hold information on UK insured persons who have travelled to the European

Economic Area (EEA) to receive medical treatment.

There are two routes through which a UK insured person can receive medical

treatment in the EEA:

- S2 – the S2 route may entitle a person to UK funded treatment in another EEA

country or Switzerland. For healthcare to be funded under the S2 route, a person

would need to apply for funding before treatment and there are certain qualifying

criteria that need to be met.

- EU Cross-Border Healthcare Directive – the Directive grants a right to purchase

healthcare services across the EEA for all EEA-insured residents and to apply for

reimbursement from their home system. A person using this route will have to pay the

costs of treatment upfront and then claim eligible costs from the National Health

Service on returning home. For some treatments, residents in England will need to

get prior authorisation from NHS England before receiving treatment. Switzerland is

not a signatory and the Directive does not apply there nor for its residents.

The following tables outline the number of S2s issued in 2016, and the number of

reimbursements under the Directive.

S2

In 2016, a total of 1,347 UK-insured individuals received planned medical treatment

via the S2 route, in the countries listed as follows.

MEMBER STATE NUMBER OF S2 ISSUED IN 2016

Belgium 40

Bulgaria 4

Czech Republic 63

Denmark 1

Germany 97

Estonia 1

Ireland 38


MEMBER STATE NUMBER OF S2 ISSUED IN 2016

Greece 14

Spain 148

France 131

Croatia 3

Italy 54

Cyprus 0

Latvia 0

Lithuania 31

Luxembourg 2

Hungary 57

Malta 1

Netherlands 13

Austria 23

Poland 502

Portugal 5

Romania 7

Slovenia 0

Slovak Republic 71

Finland 4

Sweden 27

Iceland 0

Liechtenstein 0

Norway 2

Switzerland 8

Total 1,347

Cross-Border Healthcare Directive

In 2016, a total of 1,113 UK-insured individuals received medical treatment via the

Directive route, in the countries listed as follows.

MEMBER STATE NUMBER OF REIMBURSEMENTS IN 2016

Austria 9

Belgium 17

Bulgaria 21

Croatia 1

Cyprus 16

Czech Republic 37

Denmark 2

Estonia 5

Finland 1

France 84

Germany 55

Greece 32

Hungary 26

Iceland 0

Ireland 72

Italy 15

Latvia 30

Liechtenstein 0

Lithuania 150

Luxembourg 0

Malta 2

Netherlands 11

Norway 0

Poland 408

Portugal 14

MEMBER STATE NUMBER OF REIMBURSEMENTS IN 2016

Romania 11

Slovakia 27

Slovenia 4

Spain 62

Sweden 1

Total 1,113

Medical Treatments: Foreign Nationals



the number of people who have visited the UK for medical treatment in the most recent

year for which figures are available.

Stephen Barclay:

The Department does not hold information on the number of people who have visited

the United Kingdom for medical treatment. However, we do hold information on the

number of insured people from the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland

who receive planned medical treatment in the UK.

There are two routes through which an EEA/Swiss-insured person can receive

medical treatment in the EEA:

- S2 – the S2 route may entitle a person to UK funded treatment in EEA country or

Switzerland. For healthcare to be funded under the S2 route, a person would need to

apply for funding before treatment and there are certain qualifying criteria that need to

be met.

- EU Cross-Border Healthcare Directive – the Directive grants a right to purchase

healthcare services across the EEA for all EEA-insured residents and to apply for

reimbursement from their home system. A person using this route will have to pay the

costs of treatment upfront and then claim eligible costs from the National Health

Service on returning home. For some treatments residents in England will need to get

prior authorisation from NHS England before receiving treatment. Switzerland is not a

signatory and the Directive does not apply there nor for its residents.

The following table outlines the number of S2s issued in 2016. We do not hold

information on the number of reimbursements under the Directive as it is held by

other Member States.

In 2016, a total of 1,126 individuals from the EEA/Switzerland received planned

medical treatment via the S2 route, issued by the countries listed as follows:


MEMBER STATE NUMBER OF S2S

BELGIUM 5

Bulgaria 5

Czech Republic 0

Denmark 11

Germany 7

Estonia 5

Ireland 946

Greece 36

Spain 7

France 5

Croatia 1

Italy 33

Cyprus 22

Latvia 3

Lithuania 0

Luxembourg 2

Hungary 0

Malta 0

Netherlands 12

Austria 9

Poland 4

Portugal 2

Romania 1

Slovenia 3

Slovak Republic 2

Finland 2

MEMBER STATE NUMBER OF S2S

BELGIUM 5

Sweden 3

Iceland 0

Liechtenstein 0

Norway 0

Switzerland 0

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: [149663]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much of the funding

allocated to Future in Mind was spent in financial year 2017-18.

Jackie Doyle-Price:

In 2017/18, the allocated funding for Future in Mind was £280 million, which included

funding for eating disorders and perinatal mental health. The underspend against this

budget was under £4.3 million.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Paula Sherriff: [149679]


the number of (a) children and (b) adolescents admitted to out of area mental health beds

in 2017-18.

Jackie Doyle-Price:

This information is not available in the format requested. The Child and Adolescent

Mental Health Services Tier 4 Report, NHS England, 2014 includes the latest

available analysis of out of area placements for children and young people and is

available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/camhs-tier-4-rep.pdf

On 31 March 2017, NHS England announced the next steps to ensure children and

young people do not have to travel far from home for mental health care. As well as

funding between 150 and 180 new beds, we are increasing the availability of services

in the community to ensure the right beds are in the right place. This includes a

programme of work to improve timely treatments in the community for those needing

urgent or emergency assessment as well as the development of, and recruitment for,

community eating disorder services.





Microbiology: Laboratories


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to

ensure the availability of (a) effective and (b) up to day diagnostic equipment with 24-hour

remote communication facilities in the reorganisation of microbiology laboratory services

in the NHS.

Caroline Dinenage:

NHS Improvement is leading the transformational changes in pathology services

across England, with the formation of 29 Pathology Networks serving England well

underway. These networks will realise an improved quality of service, timely access

to diagnostic results and access to expert clinical advice in this very diverse clinical

specialty.

One of the most significant benefits of this reconfiguration will be to increase the

availability of microbiology services, so vital in the diagnosis of life threatening

conditions such as sepsis. Currently not all microbiology services are available 24/7

and access to state of the art equipment is variable.

The establishment of networked pathology services will allow for best practice to be

deployed across trusts, not only allowing for 24/7 services and faster access to

targeted treatment, but also ensuring the latest technology such as molecular genetic

testing is available to more patients. To support this development, this year the

Government announced £61.5 million to develop the laboratory and IT infrastructure

needed to monitor and review results and systems from any point in the network.

NHS Improvement are also working closely with the Office of Life Sciences to ensure

digitisation and deployment of artificial intelligence is built in to ensure maximum

benefit to the National Health Service and patient outcomes as these technologies

develop.

These transformational changes are being performed with the full engagement of the

pathology professional bodies and working with the Department’s procurement

category tower 8 to improve the purchasing power and choice of equipment to the

NHS.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to SMI B 37:

Investigation of blood cultures (for organisms other than Mycobacterium species), if he

will make it his policy that each microbiology laboratory in the NHS undertakes an audit of

their blood culture pathway to ensure effective antibiotic stewardship.

Steve Brine:

United Kingdom Standards for Microbiology Investigations (UK SMIs) B 37:

Investigation of blood cultures (for organisms other than Mycobacterium species) are

developed by the UK SMI Working Groups under the auspices of Public Health

England. SMI B 37 describes the processing and microbiological investigation of

blood cultures and aims to set standards for each stage of the investigative process.



These can then be used as a benchmark to audit against by certification and

accreditation bodies if they wish.

The UK SMIs are not mandatory and there is no legal obligation to follow the

recommendations in UK SMIs. In using UK SMIs, laboratories should take account of

local requirements and undertake additional investigations where appropriate.

UK SMIs are National Institute for Health and Care Excellence accredited and

represent a good standard of practice. NHS England has included compliance with

UK SMIs in the National Health Service Standard Contract 2017-18.

NHS Trusts: Recruitment

Nic Dakin: [148781]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is

taking to ensure that NHS Trusts are able to recruit (a) junior doctors and (b) consultants

meet short-term increases in patient demand.

Stephen Barclay:

It is the responsibility of National Health Service trusts to determine their local

workforce needs and NHS trusts have worked hard to deliver a new flexible

workforce to meet the ebbs and flows of patient demand. This includes wider multi-

professional teams, such as advanced clinical practitioners, and increased use of

staff banks. NHS Improvement is working with NHS trusts to support and improve

how they manage their existing workforce more flexibly.

Health Education England is working with employers, the Royal Colleges, junior

doctor representatives and the General Medical Council to increase flexibility in

training and improve the support available to doctors outside of training pathways, so

that NHS trusts can attract doctors into locum posts when needed.

There are now near record numbers of NHS staff. NHS Digital workforce statistics

show that there are over 14,900 more doctors since 2010, and we are increasing the

number of doctors we train by 25%.

NHS Trusts: Subsidiary Companies

Imran Hussain: [148829]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there are mechanisms

in place to prevent the sale of wholly owned subsidiaries established by NHS Trusts to

external private companies.

Stephen Barclay:

Legislation permitting foundation trusts to set up subsidiary companies has been in

place since 2004 and specific restrictions on subsequent sale were not put in place at

that time or subsequently. We would expect any proposals to make a sale to be

reported to NHS Improvement who would be able to intervene if appropriate.




To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has

issued guidance to NHS Trusts on consulting their staff before establishing wholly owned

subsidiaries.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what representations his

Department has received on the effect of wholly owned subsidiaries established by NHS

Trusts on patient safety.

Stephen Barclay:

The Health and Social Care Act 2003 gives foundation trusts the freedom to establish

wholly owned subsidiaries. It is up to individual trusts to ensure good governance,

including consulting with staff, when setting a wholly owned subsidiary.

A search of the Department’s ministerial correspondence database has identified one

item of correspondence received since 1 January 2018 about the effect of wholly

owned subsidiaries established by National Health Service trusts on patient safety.

This figure represents correspondence received by the Department’s ministerial

correspondence unit only.

We would expect NHS providers to place patient safety at the heart of all they do.

Wholly owned subsidiaries are usually set up to provide back room services, not to

deliver patient care.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his

Department has had with the Treasury on the use of wholly owned subsidiaries

established by NHS Trusts for tax avoidance.

Stephen Barclay:

There have been no such discussions, however the Department does discuss issues

relating to National Health Service finances on a regular basis. The Department wrote

to the finance directors of all NHS providers in September 2017 reminding them of

their responsibilities around tax and advising that tax avoidance arrangements should

not be entered into under any circumstances. We would expect all NHS providers to

follow this guidance when considering any new arrangements or different ways of

working.

NHS Walk-in Centres: North West


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many walk-in centres have

closed in (a) the North West, (b) Merseyside and (c) Wirral since 2010.

Stephen Barclay:

The requested information is not centrally held.





NHS Walk-in Centres: West Midlands


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many walk-in centres have

closed in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Coventry since 2010.

Stephen Barclay:

The requested information is not centrally held.

Pain: Females

Alex Sobel: [147966]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were

prescribed GnRH analogue treatment by the NHS in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine:

The following table provided by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA),

shows the number of people prescribed GnRH analogue treatment by the National

Health Service in England in a primary care setting. Figures are provided for the last

three years as patient information for prescribing is only available from April 2015

onwards.

NUMBER OF PATIENTS RECEIVING PRESCRIPTIONS FOR DRUGS IDENTIFIED AS "GNRH ANALOGUE

TREATMENT

Financial Year Number of identified patients Proportion of prescription

items where the patient could

be identified

April 2015 - March 2016 128,524 94.88%

April 2016 - March 2017 130,238 95.75%

April 2017 - March 2018 131,178 96.33%

Note:

Care should be taken when interpreting the patient counts as some patients could

appear in the results for multiple time periods. Therefore, the patient numbers should

not be combined and reported at any other levels than as provided in the dataset.

NHS numbers are not captured for every prescription and hence the NHS BSA has

included the number of patients who could be identified along with the proportion of

applicable prescription items for which the patient data could be identified.

Pharmacy Integration Fund

Julie Cooper: [147485]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral

contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health of 20 December




2016, Official Report, what projects have been funded through the pharmacy integration

fund to support improvements in (a) repeat prescriptions and (b) minor ailment services in

England.

Steve Brine:

The Pharmacy Integration Fund (PhIF) has been used to support the employment of

pharmacists in integrated urgent care, general practice and care homes where their

expert knowledge is helping to optimise the use of medicines and improve clinical

effectiveness to deliver better outcomes for patients, including in respect to repeat

prescriptions. They receive additional training enabling them to prescribe and have

access to the full clinical record meaning they are well placed to support patients with

complex polypharmacy and multiple co-morbidities. Alongside this, the NHS Urgent

Medicines Supply Advanced Service has made it easier and faster for patients to

access medication that they have previously been prescribed.

To further support and promote the use of pharmacies by patients with minor

ailments, the Digital Minor Illness Referral Service is piloting new urgent care

pathways to direct patients into community pharmacy from NHS 111 Online and the

NHS 111 phone line. In parallel, Government continues to promote pharmacy as the

first port of call for a wide range of minor health concerns through the “Stay Well

Pharmacy” campaign.

Underpinning these work streams the PhIF is also funding training and leadership

programmes which are also expected to drive improvements across these areas.

Pharmacy: Negligence


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23

April 2018 to Question 136485, what recent assessment he has made of the level of

uptake and adoption of technology for reducing inadvertent dispensing errors in (a)

pharmacies and (b) acute settings.



January 2018 to Question 123567, if he will encourage the owners of pharmacies not

meeting the standards set by the General Pharmaceutical Council to adopt technology for

reducing inadvertent dispensing errors as part of their action plans to improve the

services they provide and safeguard the health, safety and well-being of patients and the

public.

Steve Brine:

The Department has not made any recent assessment of the level of uptake or

adoption of technology for reducing inadvertent dispensing errors in pharmacies or

acute settings.

There are many ways to reduce the incidence of near misses and errors, and the

solution to responding to these will vary depending on the nature of the error. The



professionalism of the pharmacy workforce and robust systems of governance are

the first line of defence in preventing dispensing errors. New technologies, such as

the as electronic prescribing, the electronic prescription service, auto-mated

dispensing and barcode scanning are being adopted by pharmacy teams, which will

further help reduce risks of some types of dispensing errors.

All registered pharmacy professionals and registered pharmacies are required to

meet the relevant standards set by the General Pharmaceutical Council.

Documenting, reflecting and learning from near misses, dispensing errors or incidents

is critical to compliance with the standards and ensuring that patients and the public

receive safe and effective care from pharmacy.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges



the contribution of prescription charges to the public purse in 2017-18.

Steve Brine:

The Department’s Annual report and accounts for 2017/18, which show how the

Department has funded its activities and used its resources, have not yet been

published. NHS England received £554.9 million in revenue from the National Health

Service prescription charge for the financial year 2016/17.

Source: Department of Health Annual Report and Accounts 2016-17.



the contribution to the public purse of prescription charges from people who paid for four

or more prescriptions 2017-18.

Steve Brine:

The information requested is not held centrally, and could only be obtained from the

NHS Business Services Authority at disproportionate cost.

Psychiatry: Children and Young People


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons the NHS

recruitment agency HCC is rejecting BCP, UKCP, and BACP accredited and registered

child and adolescent psychotherapists for CAMHS roles.

Jackie Doyle-Price:

NHS Employers is not aware of this issue.

There is detailed advice and guidance on the checks and measures which National

Health Service organisations must undertake as part of their recruitment processes in

order to protect the quality and safety of patient care and services. The checks are




outlined in the Employment Check Standards published by NHS Employers, which is

available at the following link:

https://www.nhsemployers.org/your-workforce/recruit/employment-checks


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hours of unpaid

training a trainee child and young person’s psychotherapist has to undertake during their

training period.

Jackie Doyle-Price:

None - child and adolescent psychotherapist clinical trainees are employed by the

National Health Service trust with which they are based during the period of their

training.

Social Services

Diana Johnson: [147847]


March 2018 to Question 65063 on care homes: standards, if he will publish the number of

social care provider de-registrations for all NUTS1 regions between 2010-11 and 2017-

18.



March 2018 to Question 65063 on care homes: standards, how many of those de-

registrations occurred because (a) the care home closed or (b) a legal entity change or

change of the provider.

Caroline Dinenage:

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) have provided the attached data to show the

number of adult social care providers that deregistered between 1 April 2010 and 31

March 2018, by financial years and the reasons for deregistration over the same

period. This data should be set against the context that the number of overall social

care beds has remained constant over the last seven years, whilst the number of

care home agencies in England has increased since 2010 which reflects the push to

care for people in their own homes. The data is as at 3 April 2018.

The CQC have provided the attached data showing those de-registrations which

occurred because the care home closed or because of a legal entity change or

change of the provider.

Attachments:

1. PQ147847,147848 attached document [PQ147847,147848 - Tables of Data

(format).docx]

Neil Coyle: [148824]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has

plans to ban 15-minute personal care visits.







Caroline Dinenage:

The Care Act 2014 is clear that commissioning services without properly considering

the impact on people’s wellbeing is unacceptable. However, it would be inappropriate

to introduce a blanket ban on 15 minute homecare visits. They may be appropriate in

certain circumstances, for instance, checking a person’s medication has been taken.

Ultimately, local authorities are responsible for the commissioning of services. We are

supporting local authorities to improve commissioning of care.

The Department has also worked with local government and the care sector to

develop and encourage good practice in commissioning and managing local adult

social care markets. A suite of guidance is now available at the on-line Hub on

GOV.UK.

The Department is working with organisations from across the adult social care

sector to implement Quality Matters – a shared commitment to take action to achieve

high quality social care. Under this initiative, the Local Government Association has

published the Integrated Commissioning for Better Outcomes framework to support

sector-led improvement in adult social care commissioning.

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust: Eating Disorders


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many in-patient eating

disorder beds there have been for (a) adults and (b) children in University Hospitals

Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust in each year since 2010.

Jackie Doyle-Price:

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust is a local acute trust and

provides neither mental health nor eating disorder services.

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust: Mental Health Services


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been

allocated to University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust for the provision

of mental health services in each of the last seven years.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been

allocated to Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for the provision

of mental health services in each of the last seven years.

Jackie Doyle-Price:

The information is not available in the format requested. NHS England does not

allocate funding to provider trusts, allocations are made to clinical commissioning

groups (CCGs), which are able to commission services as to meet the needs of their

local populations. Funding at CCG level is available from the Five Year Forward View




for Mental Health dashboard, published by NHS England, and is available at the

following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/taskforce/imp/mh-dashboard/

Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust: Eating Disorders


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many in-patient eating

disorder beds have been available at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS

Foundation Trust for (a) adults and (b) children in each year since 2010.

Jackie Doyle-Price:

Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is a local acute trust and

provides neither mental health nor eating disorder services.

HOME OFFICE

Andy Hall

Kerry McCarthy: [147396]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has (a)

made a submission to and (b) had other forms of engagement with Interpol on the

potential issuance of a red or diffusion notice by the Interpol National Central Bureau of

Thailand in relation to Mr Andy Hall’s human rights work in Thailand.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support his Department is

providing under the UN Guiding Principles On Business and Human Rights to human

rights defender Mr Andy Hall on a potential red or diffusion notice being issued by

Interpol.

Mr Ben Wallace:

In line with the Government’s longstanding policy, I can neither confirm nor deny

whether Mr Hall is the subject of an INTERPOL notice or diffusion. The National

Crime Agency hosts the UK National Crime Bureau which is responsible for handling

INTERPOL requests in the UK. It is operationally independent from the Home Office,

it would not be appropriate for me to pursue such issues directly with the NCA or

INTERPOL.

However, I can assure you that any misuse of INTERPOL notices is taken very

seriously by the government. The then Home Secretary raised this issue with

INTERPOL Secretary General Stock on 18 April, and the UK has taken a strongly

supportive stance in relation to INTERPOL’s efforts to ensure robust systems are in

place to protect human rights and preclude interventions or activities of a political,

military, religious or racial character.






I note that any person who is the subject of information processed in the INTERPOL

information system may submit a request directly to INTERPOL’s Commission for the

Control of INTERPOL’s Files (CCF), an independent body which ensures processing

of personal information by INTERPOL complies with its regulations for access to,

correction or deletion of data relating to them.

Anti-terrorism Control Orders: Libya

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: [149021]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many control orders on

Libyan nationals living in the UK who were suspected members of the Libyan Islamic

Fighting Group were lifted in 2011.

Mr Ben Wallace:

We do not comment on the personal circumstances of individuals who were subject

to control orders.

Defence Fire and Rescue Service

Gareth Snell: [149694]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he has

had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the effect on local authority fire and rescue

services of his Department's proposal to contract out the Defence Fire and Rescue

Service.

Mr Nick Hurd:

There have been no discussions between the Secretary of State for the Home

Department and the Secretary of State for Defence on the effect on local authority fire

and rescue services of the MOD’s proposal to contract out the Defence and Fire and

Rescue Service.

Domestic Violence: Males


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data his Department

collects on domestic abuse cases involving a male victim.

Mr Nick Hurd:

The Home Office collects information from police forces in England and Wales on the

number of recorded crimes which have been identified by them as domestic abuse-

related.

This data is supplied to the Office for National Statistics and the latest data was

published in a cross-departmental bulletin ‘Domestic abuse in England and Wales:

year ending March 2017’. Statistics on domestic abuse-related offences by sex of the

victim can be found in Figure 6 of the bulletin, available here:




https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/do

mesticabuseinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2017#domestic-abuse-recorded-

by-the-police

Fire and Rescue Services: Recruitment

Toby Perkins: [147875]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications of

employment have been made to each fire service from each ethnic group in each of the

last 10 years.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many appointments have

been made to each fire service from each ethnic group in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Nick Hurd:

Last year, for the first time, the Home Office collected information on the diversity of

those joining fire and rescue services, for 2016/17. This data can be found, broken

down by job role in table FIRE1121 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-

data-sets/fire-statistics-data-tables#workforce-and-workforce-diversity

Data are not available for previous years. The Home Office does not collect data on

the number of applications of employment made to each fire service.

Members: Correspondence

Mr David Lammy: [149582]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department plans to

respond to the letters by the hon. Member for Tottenham to the Commonwealth

Taskforce dated 24 April 2018, 30 April 2018, 8 May 2018, 9 May 2018, 11 May 2018 and

26 May 2018, and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes:

The Home Office apologises for the delay in responding to the two oldest letters. The

UKVI MP Account Management Team wrote to the office of the Hon. Member for

Tottenham on 5 June with an update on the letters of 24 April and 30th April 2018,

listed on Home Office systems as B13863/18 and B15910/18.

The remaining letters will be responded within the Cabinet Office service standard of

twenty working days.

Police


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of

the number of (a) police officers, and (b) PSCOs funded by Government in each (i) police

authority area, (ii) local authority area, and (iii) Welsh parliamentary constituency in each

year for which information is available.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/domesticabuseinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2017#domestic-abuse-recorded-by-the-police








Mr Nick Hurd:

With the exception of funding for counter-terrorism policing, central Government

funding to the police is provided to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) on a

non ring-fenced basis. Decisions about the allocation of police resources and

deployment of officers, within the force area, are for Chief Constables and

democratically accountable PCCs. They are responsible for ensuring the needs of the

local community are met.

Before making decisions on the 2018/19 police funding settlement, I spoke to every

police force in England and Wales to understand how demands on them were

changing. This year, police funding will increase by £460m including a £280m

increase in funding from precept. Most PCCs have set out plans to use this additional

income to protect or enhance front line policing, and several are currently recruiting

new officers.

Police and Crime Commissioners: Elections

Cat Smith: [148903]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Police and Crime

Commissioners are subject to a purdah period in relation to elections.

Mr Nick Hurd:

Directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are accountable to the

public via the ballot box for ensuring the policing needs of local communities are met

effectively.

Restrictions are placed on local authorities, applicable to PCCs and their Deputies, by

the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity, which refers to

periods of heightened sensitivity during elections.

Police: Recruitment


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many employment

applications have been made to each police force from each ethnic group in each of the

last 10 years.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many appointments have

been made to each police force from each ethnic group in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Nick Hurd:

The Home Office does not hold centrally all the information requested.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of police officers who

join the police workforce, as standard direct recruits, broken down by Police Force

Area, and the ethnicity of the officer. Data on the ethnicity of standard direct recruits

are broken down only into two groups: White or Black and Minority Ethnic.




Data are published annually in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical

bulletins.

The latest data available, covering joiners up to 2016/17, can be found inthe joiners

Open Data Table, which accompanies the main release, here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/629367

/open-data-table-police-workforce-joiners.ods

The Home Office does not collect any data on employment applications made to the

police. The next release of ‘Police workforce’ statistics is due to be published on 19th

July.

Police: Working Hours

David Hanson: [149618]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many rest days are owed to

police officers by forces in England and Wales as at 1 June 2018; and if he will make a

statement.

Mr Nick Hurd:

The Home Office does not hold the information requested centrally. It is the

responsibility of chief constables to manage working time and support the workforce

effectively, ensuring police officers are able to take the rest days they are entitled to.

Windrush Generation: Compensation

Kate Green: [R] [149668]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his

Department’s consultation entitled Windrush compensation: call for evidence, published

on 10 May 2018, what meetings he has had with black majority church leaders since

announcing that review.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many responses his

Department has received to its consultation paper entitled Windrush compensation,

published on 10 May 2018.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for his

Department's response to its consultation on Windrush compensation.

Caroline Nokes:

Following the opening of the Call for Evidence on the compensation scheme,

meetings have taken place with a number of individuals and organisations with links

to affected communities, including those representing faith groups. This programme

of engagement will continue in the weeks ahead, working with Martin Forde QC, the

Independent Person that is overseeing the design of the scheme

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/629367/open-data-table-police-workforce-joiners.ods







In his Written Statement to the House of 24 May, the Home Secretary outlined that

almost 100 responses had been received at that point as part of the Call for

Evidence. Responses continue to be received and this number has, and will continue

to, increase up until the Call for Evidence closes on 8 June.

The Government will publish a further public consultation on the design and shape of

the scheme, as soon as the time has been taken to analyse the responses to the Call

for Evidence and use the information gathered to inform design and implementation

considerations.

HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing


To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether

his Department has assessed the potential merits of using a prospective tenant's income

to establish whether a property offers affordable rent; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Heather Wheeler:

The social rent formula, used to set the initial rent on the vast majority of rented social

housing, takes account of relative local income levels (as well as the relative value

and size of the property).

The Government’s Affordable Homes Programme includes funding to support the

delivery of both affordable rent and social rent homes, to help meet the needs of a

range of people in different circumstances and in different housing markets.

Council Tax: Exemptions

Andrew Gwynne: [147833]

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with

reference to Regulation 10 of the Council Tax Administration and Enforcement

Regulations 1992, what records his Department keeps on local authorities and their duty

to notify residents and owners of dwellings which are exempt from council tax.



reference to Regulation 10 of the Council Tax Administration and Enforcement

Regulations 1992, whether his Department has received reports of local authorities not

fulfilling their duty to notify the residents or owners of dwellings which are exempt from

council tax.

James Brokenshire:

The Department does not collect information about notifications issued to council tax

payers. Such matters are the responsibility of local authorities, which administer

council tax.




Fracking: Planning Permission

Sammy Wilson: [149644]

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what

steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken to process planning applications

for shale gas extraction.

Dominic Raab:

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement on planning policy

made by the Secretary of State on 17 May (HCWS689), which announced a range of

planning measures to facilitate timely decisions on shale planning applications.

Sammy Wilson: [149645]

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the

average time taken to process a shale gas exploration application was in each of the last

three years.

Dominic Raab:

Mineral Planning Authority decisions to grant or refuse planning permission for shale

gas exploration proposals in England over the last three years have taken between

17 and 83 weeks, from the date of validation of that application to the date the

decision was issued.

Housing Associations: Regulation



he has (a) made an assessment of the merits and (b) collected evidence on the

effectiveness of the co-regulation of housing associations; and if he will make a

statement.

Dominic Raab:

The Regulatory Futures Review, published by Cabinet Office in January 2017 looked

at what made effective regulatory delivery models and concluded that regulated self-

assurance or co-regulation represented good practice. This approach focuses, as far

as possible, on outcomes and makes use of a wide range of levers to reduce harm

and improve quality. These levers include using the influence of user/consumer

pressure as well as the quality-management systems of regulated entities themselves

to ensure assurance processes meet the desired regulatory outcomes, whilst

delivering efficiencies and reducing burden on businesses.

The Review can be found here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm

ent_data/file/582283/Regulatory_Futures_Review.pdf

This type of regulated self-assurance or co-regulation has been adopted by the

Regulator of Social Housing. It meets the requirement in the Housing and

Regeneration Act 2008, as amended by the Localism Act 2011, that the Regulator for

Social Housing is required to perform its functions in a way that minimises




https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/582283/Regulatory_Futures_Review.pdf



interference, and so far as is possible is proportionate, consistent, transparent and

accountable.

The effectiveness of co-regulation is demonstrated through the robust financial health

of the sector. The latest Quarterly Survey published by the Regulator on 31 May 2018

shows that the social housing sector has sufficient access to finance and is in a

robust position to respond to any changes to the wider economic environment.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rsh-quarterly-survey-published-covering-q4-

january-to-march-2018

Housing Associations: Rents


To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how

many meetings he has held with (a) Genesis and (b) Peabody housing association since

his appointment; whether he has made written representations to those associations on

the imposition of rent increases for secure tenants; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Raab:

The Secretary of State has so far not met with either Peabody or Genesis housing

associations and has not made written representations regarding their rents.

A landlord or a tenant of a secure tenancy can make an application to have a fair rent

registered by Valuation Office Agency (VOA). Landlords must then apply to have the

rent re-registered if they want to increase it. If there have been no major changes to

the property, the re-registration will be subject to the Maximum Fair Rent calculation.

This is based on the existing registered rent multiplied by a figure (based on the

change to the Retail Price Index from the last registration to the current registration)

plus 5 per cent, then rounded up to the next 50 pence.

Local Government Finance


To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant

to the Answer of 17 May 2018 to Question 140664 on local government finance, if he will

make it his Department's policy to record all cross-departmental discussions between (a)

political advisers and (b) civil servants on the effects of the UK leaving the EU.

James Brokenshire:

It is not the Department’s policy to record all cross-departmental discussions between

officials. Engagement between officials routinely takes place through a wide range of

channels and fora. Information on such discussions is not held centrally and it would

not be feasible to do so.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rsh-quarterly-survey-published-covering-q4-january-to-march-2018





Local Government: Constitutions



reference to section 37 of the Local Government Act 2000, whether it is his Departments

policy to keep records of all written constitutions by local authority.



reference to section 37 of the Local Government Act 2000, whether his Department

monitors the written constitutions of each local authority.

James Brokenshire:

The Department neither has records of, nor monitors, local authority constitutions

which are for each council to adopt, maintain, and make publicly available, as

required by the Local Government Act 2000.

Non-domestic Rates: Rural Areas



reference to section 42B of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, what records his

Department keeps on a local authorities duty to maintain a rural settlement list.



reference to Section 42B of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, whether his

Department monitors the rural rate relief provided by local authorities through that duty.

James Brokenshire:

The compilation and maintenance of rural settlement lists, as required by sections

42A and 42B of the Local Government Finance Act 1998, are the responsibility of

local authorities. Authorities submit data on the amount of rural rate relief awarded to

eligible properties within such settlements through the annual National Non-domestic

Rates statistical returns. This data is published online and available at the following

link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-non-domestic-rates-collected-by-

councils-in-england-forecast-for-2018-to-2019

Planning Permission: Vauxhall

Kate Hoey: [149585]

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he

plans to make a decision on whether to call in the application by VCI Property Holdings to

develop the island site at Vauxhall Cross.





https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-non-domestic-rates-collected-by-councils-in-england-forecast-for-2018-to-2019




Dominic Raab:

The planning application by VCI Property Holdings to develop the island site at

Vauxhall Cross is still being considered by Lambeth Council. The Council is expected

to issue a draft decision in July 2018 following which they will consult with the London

Mayor in order for him to decide whether he should direct the Council to refuse the

application. The Secretary of State will await the Mayor's decision before considering

whether or not to call-in the planning application.

Social Rented Housing: Tenants' Rights



the Government plans to give housing association tenants a right to return after

refurbishments have taken place in their properties; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Raab:

Where a housing association landlord needs to carry out major repairs or

refurbishment to a property, for example to bring it up to the decent homes standard,

it may be necessary for the tenant to move out of the property temporarily while the

works are carried out. In such circumstances, we would expect that the tenant would

normally move back into the property after the works are completed.

Social housing tenants cannot be evicted from their home unless a court grants

possession to a landlord. The court has discretion to do this if a landlord intends to

carry out redevelopment or major works that could not be completed otherwise and it

is satisfied that suitable alternative accommodation will be available for the tenant.

Some landlords choose to offer to pay residents’ home removals costs and offer a

guaranteed right of return with an equivalent tenancy once the redevelopment or

major works are complete.

In December 2016 we published the Estate Regeneration National Strategy. This

good practice guidance sets out the Government’s expectation that all existing

housing association and council tenants, whether on a lifetime or fixed-term tenancy,

should have the option to return to the estate following regeneration work.

Social Services: Finance



reference to his Department’s policy paper on the allocations of the additional funding for

adult social care, published on 9 March 2017, how much of that funding is being delivered

through the (a) the innovation and Better Care Fund and (b) Relative Needs Formula

used for the 2017-18 Adult Social Care Support Grant for each local authority in (a) 2017-

18, (b) 2018-19 and (c) 2019-20.

Rishi Sunak:

The £2 billion for adult social care announced at Spring Budget 2017 has been

allocated almost entirely using the improved Better Care Fund formula, which takes



account of ability to raise money through the council tax precept for social care. That

means it is very well targeted at areas of greater need and market fragility. However,

as we recognise that all councils face social care pressures, 10 per cent of the

funding is allocated using the Relative Needs Formula (RNF). All the additional £2

billion supplemented the improved Better Care Fund and is to be used for those

purposes.

As part of the Local Government Finance Settlement in 2017-18, Government also

provided £241 million of funding through the Adult Social Care Support Grant,

allocated entirely using the RNF. And in February 2018, the Local Government

Finance Settlement announced Adult Social Care Support Grant for 2018-19 of £150

million.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Democratic Republic of Congo: Minerals

Mrs Anne Main: [148707]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her

Department provides to help prevent children from being forced into the mining of conflict

minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Harriett Baldwin:

The UK is working to promote socially responsible practices, including eliminating

child labour, in the mining sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Through

funding of the EU European Partnership for Responsible Minerals, DFID helps

promote responsible sourcing of minerals; and also funds the Carter Center to

improve transparency and governance of the sector.

Developing Countries: Education

Giles Watling: [149085]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is she taking

to enable women and children to access education in developing countries.

Harriett Baldwin:

DFID’s new Education Policy, Get Children Learning, sets out how we will reach the

most marginalised children, including the hardest to reach girls, children with

disabilities and children caught up in emergencies and conflict. DFID does this

through significant investments both bilaterally and multilaterally. In 2016 the UK

spent £964 million bilaterally on education, whilst remaining the largest bilateral donor

to the Education Cannot Wait and Global Partnership for Education programmes. In

addition, the UK is a global leader on girls’ education, with our Girls’ Education

Challenge programme helping a million marginalised girls access a quality education

since 2012.



Developing Countries: Private Education

Preet Kaur Gill: [149699]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of

21 May 2018 to Question 144381 on Developing Countries: Private Education, for what

reason that Question could only be answered at disproportionate cost when such

information was provided in the Answer of 17 November 2016 to Question 52765 on

Developing Countries: Private Education.

Harriett Baldwin:

The question from November 2016 refers specifically to four countries. DFID has 32

country offices across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, so an answer would come at

a disproportionate cost.

Save the Children Fund

Preet Kaur Gill: [149700]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to

ensure that existing Save the Children projects continue following the decision of that

organisation not to bid for further UK funds.

Harriett Baldwin:

DFID is committed to driving up standards across the aid sector and we expect every

organisation that we work with to have rigorous reporting and complaints

mechanisms in place to protect beneficiaries and employees alike. Following the

launch of a statutory inquiry by the Charity Commission, Save the Children UK

withdrew from bidding for new UK Government funding until they can meet the high

standards we expect of all our partners. Existing programmes with Save the Children

will continue, governed by our risk management processes. For the time being, as an

enhanced level of scrutiny, the Secretary of State is approving all payments DFID

makes to Save the Children.

South Sudan: Humanitarian Aid

Emily Thornberry: [148690]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent representations

she has made to her counterpart in South Sudan on the protection of aid workers from

violence in that country.

Harriett Baldwin:

South Sudan is one of the most dangerous operating environments in the world for

humanitarian workers, with at least 100 killed since the conflict began in 2013.

Violence against those individuals delivering lifesaving assistance is completely

unacceptable, and the UK has consistently made clear to South Sudan’s leaders that

this must stop. We raise this issue regularly at Ministerial level.




INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Export Controls

Graham P Jones: [149658]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure

that information on licences granted by the Export Control Joint Unit is (a) accessible and

(b) comprehensible to the public.

Graham Stuart:

The Government publishes Official Statistics on a quarterly and annual basis on

export licences granted and refused on GOV.UK. These include a country level data

report, providing data per country and a statistical commentary report that

summarises and provides context and explanation for the key data trends. These are

available to view at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-

controls-licensing-data.

A searchable database that allows bespoke searches of this information, based on

specific licence types, destinations and goods, is also available at

https://www.exportcontroldb.trade.gov.uk/sdb2/fox/sdb/SDBHOME.

All information published on GOV.UK must comply with guidelines set by the

Government’s Digital Service. This includes a mandatory requirement for all

published information to be written in plain English to ensure that it is clear and

concise.

We are reviewing all export control content on GOV.UK to ensure it is as clear and

simple as possible for exporters and other members of the public.

Financial Services: Exports


To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment his Department

has made of which non-EU markets have the greatest potential for increasing UK

financial services exports after the UK leaves the EU.

Graham Stuart:

We are determined to help UK business from every sector make the most of

opportunities around the world. To support the financial services industry, the

Department for International Trade (DIT) is running in-depth export promotion

campaigns in markets where we have identified the best immediate prospects. The

countries for those campaigns were selected based on economic analysis,

intelligence from British Embassies and feedback from industry experts.

As well as addressing the opportunities available now, we are also designing a fully-

independent UK trade policy. This will unlock further opportunities in markets where

UK firms are currently still facing barriers to access. DIT and HM Treasury are

currently working with businesses to identify the most important priorities for the

sector.


https://www.exportcontroldb.trade.gov.uk/sdb2/fox/sdb/SDBHOME

https://www.exportcontroldb.trade.gov.uk/sdb2/fox/sdb/SDBHOME


Overseas Trade: Commonwealth

Chi Onwurah: [146850]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what targets the Government has

set for increased trade with Commonwealth countries after the United Kingdom leaves

the European Union.

Graham Stuart:

[Holding answer 4 June 2018]: UK-Commonwealth Trade was worth £94.4 billion in

2016. Whilst the Department for International Trade has no trade target with the

Commonwealth, we are committed to increasing the trade and investment with

Member States. At the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

(CHOGM) in April, we announced a package of initiatives that would contribute to this

including projects building capacity amongst female entrepreneurs, improving and

aligning standards and Trade Facilitation assistance.

JUSTICE

Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients: Appeals


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Proposal to amend the

Tribunal Procedure (First-Tier Tribunal) (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber)

Rules 2008, published on 22 March 2018 by the Tribunal Procedure Committee, what

estimate his Department has made of the potential savings to the public purse of the

recommendations in that document of (a) abolishing pre-hearing examinations and (b)

giving First-Tier Mental Health Tribunals the power to take decisions without an oral

hearing where a patient has been automatically referred to a Tribunal.

Lucy Frazer:

The Ministry of Justice has made an initial estimate that there may be a potential

saving of up to £5.8 million from removing the requirement for medical members to

carry out a pre-hearing examination and enabling the Mental Health Tribunal to

decide referral cases without an oral hearing. This figure would be reduced if legal aid

costs rose because of appellants’ legal representatives commissioning Independent

Medical Reports.

In terms of the proposal to decide referral cases without an oral hearing, the appellant

would still have the right to request an oral hearing and an oral hearing will be

directed by the judge if they feel one is necessary.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what number and proportion of patients

discharged at tribunal (a) had and (b) had not received a pre-hearing examination in each

of the last five years for which data is available.




Lucy Frazer:

The number of patients who receive a pre-hearing examination is not recorded

centrally. This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Courts: Floods

Richard Burgon: [148965]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions courts have had to be

closed as a result of flooding since 2010.

Lucy Frazer:

Since 2010 to date, business continuity records indicate that there have been 20

instances where court or tribunal hearing centres have been closed to the public as a

result of flooding.

National Probation Service

Graham P Jones: [149657]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to meet staff representatives

of the National Probation Service to discuss their pay and conditions.

Rory Stewart:

There are no plans at present to meet with staff representatives of the National

Probation Service, but we recognise the significant role that probation officers play

within the criminal justice system, implementing the orders of the courts, rehabilitating

offenders and protecting the public.

Since the creation of the National Probation Service in June 2014, officials from HM

Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) have held regular and lengthy discussions

with the National Association for Probation Officers (NAPO) (the trade union for

probation officers), Unison and GMB SCOOP over pay and working conditions.

There have also been constructive and exploratory talks on pay reform.

We are working to progress a case, consistent with the Government’s overall

approach to public sector pay, which can be agreed with Ministerial colleagues at HM

Treasury at the earliest opportunity.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

David Simpson: [148716]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals have been made by

claimants of personal independence payment since its inception.

Lucy Frazer:

Information about the number of Personal Independence Payment appeals received

by the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) from appellants living in

England, Scotland and Wales is published on GOV.UK.




The most recent statistics, for the period October to December 2017, published on 8

March, can be viewed at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-

recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2017

The Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service administers appeals for appellants

living in Northern Ireland.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will place in the Library a copies of the (a)

guidance and (b) procedures his Department has issued to tackle long waiting times for

personal independence payment appeal tribunal dates.

Lucy Frazer:

I will place a copy of the general listing guidance, together with supplementary

guidance issued in relation to case management “triage” sessions (introduced with

the aim of reducing the time taken for appeals to reach final determination), in the

Library. Listing is the responsibility of the independent Judiciary and the guidance is

issued in support of this.

Tackling long waiting times in response to increased volumes of appeals is achieved

through additional capacity. In order to achieve this we have recruited extra fee paid

judicial office holders: 250 Judges across the First-tier Tribunal, 125 disability

qualified members and 230 medical members (subject to confirmation of

appointment) and are developing a new digital system which enables speedier

processing of appeals and a better service for all parties to the tribunal.

Personal Independence Payment: Wallasey


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 May 2018 to

Question 142352 on Personal Independence Payment, for what reasons that information

is not held centrally.

Lucy Frazer:

There is no report which accurately captures the average time taken from receipt to

hearing.

Data is available for the average time for an appeal to be cleared. However, the

average time for an appeal to be cleared includes (amongst other things) those

cleared both after an initial hearing and those cleared after an initial hearing was

adjourned. It also includes those cleared without any hearing as cases can be

disposed of on the papers, withdrawn by the appellant, or lapsed by the Department

for Work and Pensions.

There are no waiting times recorded for delivery of judgments as, wherever possible

and in most cases, the tribunal gives its decision on the day of the hearing. However,

there may be very few circumstances when that is not possible. The tribunal may, for

example, need more time to consider the issues; or there maybe particular

circumstances which cause the tribunal to consider providing a decision on the day

http://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2017





inappropriate. In those cases, the decision will be sent out to the parties as soon as

practicable after the hearing.

Personal Injury: Compensation

Gloria De Piero: [147861]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the savings that

will be passed on to motorists through reduced insurance premiums as a result of

changes proposed in the Civil Liabilities [HL] Bill.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how his Department plans to calculate the

estimated savings to insurance premiums as a result of changes proposed in the Civil

Liabilities [HL] Bill.

Rory Stewart:

A legislative stage Impact Assessment detailing the Government’s estimates for

savings to motor insurance premiums arising from the whiplash reforms, including the

data sources and evidence used, was published alongside the Civil Liability Bill on 20

March 2018. The impact assessment shows estimated savings to be passed on to

consumers of on average, around £35 per policy.

This Impact Assessment covers both the measures being taken forward in the Civil

Liability Bill, and the supplementary measures to increase the small claims limit for

personal injury claims, and is available at

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2017-2019/0090/whiplash-IA.pdf.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure

that savings to insurance premiums are passed on to motorists as a result of changes

proposed in the Civil Liabilities [HL] Bill.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has to monitor

insurance premium cost changes made as a result of provisions in the Civil Liabilities [HL]

Bill.

Rory Stewart:

Motor insurance is intensely competitive on price and the Government expects that

insurance companies will have little choice but to pass on savings, or risk being

priced out of the market. Insurance providers covering 84% of the UK motor and

liability market have already publicly committed to pass on to consumers the savings

arising from Government reforms.

The Government will continue to closely monitor the industry’s reaction to these

reforms following implementation and will regularly engage with them on how they

are meeting their commitment. In addition, if the industry in part, or as a whole sought



https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2017-2019/0090/whiplash-IA.pdf




to avoid passing on savings the Financial Conduct Authority and/or the Competition

and Markets Authority would investigate and take appropriate action.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's press

release, Justice Secretary unveils new bill to cut car insurance premiums, published on

20 March 2018, what steps his Department is taking to improve transparency in the

system when calculating the personal injury discount rate.

Rory Stewart:

A number of measures have been included in the Civil Liability Bill to ensure that the

discount rate is set fairly and transparently in future. These include a requirement for

the Lord Chancellor to consult an independent expert panel when determining the

rate. In addition, the Lord Chancellor must give reasons for the determination made

and publish such information about the expert panel’s response to consultation as he

or she considers appropriate. This will include the panel’s report to the Lord

Chancellor.

The government has also committed, in its response to the Justice Select

Committee’s report, to publishing an impact assessment of the effect that a change in

the discount rate will have each time it is changed.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department provides to

insurers on (a) investigating and (b) not paying out to fraudulent motor insurance claims.


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

proportion of motor insurance claims that were fraudulent in each of the last eight years.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of

motor insurance claims that were fraudulent in each of the last eight years.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how the Government measures the number of

motor insurance claims that are fraudulent.

Rory Stewart:

Whether to settle or contest a claim is a decision for individual insurers and other

compensators to make based on the merits of each case.

The Government does not collate information in relation to fraudulent personal injury

claims, as the nature of fraud makes it difficult to accurately identify the number of

unmeritorious claims, meaning that not all fraud is detected. There are, however,

alternative sources of such data available, including data published by the

Association of British Insurers which can be found at https://www.abi.org.uk/products-

and-issues/topics-and-issues/fraud/.






https://www.abi.org.uk/products-and-issues/topics-and-issues/fraud/



The Government is introducing measures to deter fraud in claims and counter the

wider compensation culture. The Civil Liability Bill, currently before Parliament, will

introduce a ban on making offers to settle whiplash claims without medical evidence,

which will ensure that unmeritorious claims cannot be settled without verification that

they are genuine. In addition, supplementary measures to be introduced in secondary

legislation to increase the small claims limit for personal injury claims will reduce the

costs of civil litigation, encouraging greater challenge to potentially fraudulent claims.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made on the potential

effect of his Department's proposed personal injury reforms on people who are not driving

a car who are involved in traffic accidents.

Rory Stewart:

A legislative stage Impact Assessment detailing the Government’s estimates of the

impacts on a number of affected groups was published alongside the Civil Liability Bill

on 20 March 2018. The Impact Assessment does not break down affected groups by

sub-sets, and claimants are defined as a single group.

This Impact Assessment covers both the measures being taken forward in the Civil

Liability Bill, and the supplementary measures to increase the small claims limit for

personal injury claims, and is available at

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2017-2019/0090/whiplash-IA.pdf.

The measures taken forward in the Civil Liability Bill will only cover those claimants

and defendants who are using or being carried in a motor vehicle. Cyclists,

pedestrians, motorcyclists and horse riders are excluded. The proposal to increase

the small claims track to £5,000 for RTA related PI claims will however, apply to all

road traffic accident claimants.

Prison Officers: Protective Clothing

David Hanson: [147817]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on prison officers wearing (a)

smoke hoods and (b) other respiratory protective equipment when attending an incident

in a cell involving the use of a psychoactive substance.

Rory Stewart:

Smoke Hoods are designed explicitly for the purpose of protecting prison officers

from the harmful effects of fire and smoke gasses when tackling cell fire incidents.

The set is limited to short-duration cell fire response operations and is not designed

and should not therefore be used for any other purpose, such as to protect from

psychoactive substances. All prison officers are trained in its use including annual

refresher training.

Prison officers are trained to visually inspect cells via the cell door’s observation

window to assess the condition of the cell and the behaviour and position of its

occupant(s) prior to entry. Procedures are in place to defer entry and to take other





measures if there is evidence of the potential for noxious fumes or smoke to be

present other than where there is an apparent immediate risk to life. Respiratory

protective equipmentis not mandated for all entry into cells as the vast majority of

entries into cells present no significant respiratory risk.

Prison Service: Members

Hugh Gaffney: [147945]

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

merits of introducing a prison service parliamentary scheme.

Rory Stewart:

I recognise that it could be useful to give participants first-hand knowledge of the

good work and innovation as well challenges being faced across the Service. We are

carefully considering how a scheme for Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service

(HMPPS) could operate.

Prisoners' Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2018 to

Question 128402, when the review of the Incentives and Earned Privileges scheme will

conclude; and what steps are being taken to ensure that that scheme is not used as a

determining factor for access to family days for any prisoner regardless of their gender.

Rory Stewart:

As the Secretary of State said in his speech at the Royal Society of Arts we want to

reset and reinvigorate the system of incentives in our prisons so they work much

more in the favour of those prisoners who play by the rules and who want to turn their

lives around, whilst coming down harder on those who show no intention of doing so.

The new Incentives and Earned Privilege (IEP) Policy Framework will exclude the

use of IEP as a determining factor for access to family days for any prisoner,

regardless of their gender. We expect to consult stakeholders on a draft IEP Policy

Framework shortly, and to conclude the review of IEP after this consultation.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Northern Ireland Government

Lady Hermon: [147373]

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what timetable she has set for re-

starting the talks between the main political parties in Northern Ireland; and if she will

make a statement.




Karen Bradley:

The Government continues to engage closely with the political parties, and the Irish

Government as appropriate, to encourage and support work towards an

accommodation to restore the Executive. This remains a top priority.

Northern Ireland Office: Non-departmental Public Bodies

Rachel Reeves: [148767]

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many (a) women and (b) men his

Department has appointed to each of her Department's non-Departmental Public Bodies

in each of the last five years.

Mr Shailesh Vara:

The Northern Ireland Office sponsors three non-Departmental Public Bodies; the

Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland, the Parades Commission for Northern

Ireland and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.

There have been 16 new appointments to these bodies (8 women, 8 men) over the

last five years as follows:

PUBLIC

BODY 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017

2017-

2018

M F M F M F M F M F M F

Boundary

Commission

for Northern

Ireland

- - - - - - - 1 - - - -

Parades

Commission

for Northern

Ireland

- - 3 3 - - - 2 - - - -

Northern

Ireland

Human

Rights

Commission

- - - - 1 - - - - - 4 2

UK Border Force: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: [147372]

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to her oral contribution of 9

May, Official Report, column 662, what representations she has made to the Home



Secretary on ensuring that the criteria applied in Northern Ireland by the UK Border Force

in its recruitment drive are not discriminatory; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley:

Following discussions with my officials, the Home Office has confirmed that the

criteria in Northern Ireland for the UK Border Force opens up the recruitment

campaign to a representative profile of candidates. The Border Force has confirmed

that it values the experience of people who have worked in the military and law

enforcement, and that current and former members are free to apply for the Border

Force recruitment campaign.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Facilities

Sir Roger Gale: [147288]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the amount of

historic public investment in aerodromes in years for which information is available.

Sir Roger Gale: [147289]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support his Department plans to make

available for the provision of new aerodromes.

Jesse Norman:

The majority of airfields in the UK are privately run and owned. Like other business

enterprises, potential investors and owners of new aerodromes can benefit from a

range of measures that the Government has set in place to support businesses and

promote growth, as well as support from regional and local government. Information

on the amount of historic public investment in aerodromes is not held centrally.

Department for Transport: Chief Scientific Advisers


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many meetings he had with his

Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 January and 31 March 2018.

Ms Nusrat Ghani:

The Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser has had seven meetings with members of

the Ministerial team during this period.

East Midlands Trains: Compensation

Mohammad Yasin: [149696]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on

its negotiations with East Midlands Trains on compensation payments as a result of peak-

time trains not stopping at Bedford.





Joseph Johnson:

In the case of journeys from north of Bedford during the peaks when trains are not

stopping at Bedford, East Midlands Trains has introduced a temporary 50% reduction

for season ticket holders and there is also a 25% reduction on anytime fares for those

passengers who are affected by the introduction of the rail replacement bus service

for the duration of this operation. Passengers who have already bought a season

ticket for travel to Bedford should contact [email protected] to

arrange a partial refund. The discount will automatically be applied to tickets bought

after 20th May 2018.

In the case of journeys between Bedford and London during the peaks, Thameslink

are providing two fast services per hour to mitigate the loss of EMT services. These

services come with an equivalent journey time to the fast EMT services which have

been removed. Each of these services provide direct access to Farringdon, City

Thameslink, Blackfriars and London Bridge.

This is a temporary arrangement whilst we deliver the biggest upgrade to the Midland

Main Line since it was completed in 1870 and which will help deliver enhanced

services from 2020 .

Rail Industry Readiness Board


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who the members of the Rail Industry

Readiness Board are.

Joseph Johnson:

The parties represented at the Thameslink Industry Readiness Board are:

Chris Gibb (Independent Chair),

Network Rail – South East Route

Network Rail – London North Eastern Route

Network Rail – Anglia Route

Network Rail – System Operator

Network Rail – Thameslink Programme team (part of Network Rail Infrastructure

Projects)

Southeastern

Govia Thameslink Railway

Stagecoach Group (Representing East Midlands Trains and Virgin Trains East

Coast)

Arriva Rail London

Department for Transport

Office of Rail and Road


Siemens (supplier of the new Thameslink Fleet)

Chris Green - Independent Assurance Panel representative


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many occasions in the last year he

has met the rail Industry readiness Board.

Joseph Johnson:

The Thameslink Industry Readiness Board is independently chaired by Chris Gibb

and in his role as chair of this Board he has met or had conference calls with the

Secretary of State for Transport on at least three occasions over the past year.

Shipping

Brendan O'Hara: [149099]

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

reasons for the recent delays at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency of six weeks in

issuing a Coding Certificate for UK registered vessels.

Ms Nusrat Ghani:

An assessment has not been made because the Maritime and Coastguard Agency is

not aware of any recent delays of six weeks in issuing a coding certificate for UK

registered vessels. Most Code vessel work is undertaken by Code Vessel Certifying

Authorities (CAs) who work on behalf of MCA.

The MCA can look at the specifics of the case(s) that have led to this enquiry, but

would require further details, noting that should this case refer to a certificate issued

by a CA, then that information will be shared with them.

Shipping: Fuels

Dr Alan Whitehead: [148586]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on developing

improved fuel efficiency technologies for domestic shipping.

Ms Nusrat Ghani:

The government is committed to driving down emissions from ships and reducing the

impact of emissions from the maritime sector on the environment, climate and public

health. In the current Clean Air Strategy consultation, we have set out our intention to

focus on the role domestic shipping and ports activities can play in delivering these

improvements.

Reducing shipping emissions and improving ship efficiency is a complex issue and

there is no single solution to the problem. There are a number of alternative fuels and

technologies that are available to shipowners and ports. For this reason, the

Department for Transport is improving its evidence base to produce a comprehensive

body of data on emissions from all ships operating in UK waters. This will establish

the extent of the problem and underpin the appraisal of proposed interventions.




To meet the vision of Maritime 2050, a long-term strategy for the UK’s maritime

sector currently being developed, the government will publish the first Clean Maritime

Plan by spring 2019. Recognising that a holistic approach is needed, this plan will set

out our ambition of zero emission shipping and policies covering both alternative fuels

and fuel efficiency technologies to achieve this. We will also establish a Clean

Maritime Council to bring together different parts of the maritime sector to drive the

uptake of cleaner technologies and greener fuels.

TREASURY

Child Benefit

Frank Field: [147351]

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exechequer, how many new parents received bounty packs

with paperwork containing information on applying for child benefit in 2016-17.

Elizabeth Truss:

In the period from the beginning of April 2016 to end March 2017 HMRC distributed a

total of 743,733 packs.

Disaster Relief

Nigel Dodds: [147368]

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the devolved

administrations on the replacement of emergency natural disaster payments that are

currently made from the EU Solidarity Fund.

Elizabeth Truss:

Under the implementation period included within the draft Withdrawal Agreement, the

UK will continue to participate in 2014-2020 EU programmes until they close.

In the longer-term, the funding choices we take will be based on the UK’s domestic

priorities and will be affected by the economic environment, the fiscal position and the

outcome negotiated with the EU.

The UK Government and devolved administrations are discussing EU exit through

the Joint Ministerial Committee (EU Negotiations) and the Ministerial Forum (EU

Negotiations).

I also discuss funding matters with the devolved administration finance ministers on a

regular basis, both bilaterally and through the Finance Ministers’ Quadrilateral.



WORK AND PENSIONS

Children: Maintenance

Jon Trickett: [148613]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been

contacted by the Child Maintenance Service in error in the last 12 months.

Kit Malthouse:

We do not keep statistics or records of people who we have contacted in error. In

order to confirm the contact details for a customer the Child Maintenance Service has

a number of trace tools, including interfaces with other Government Departments and

Credit Reference Agency, which we utilise to facilitate this.

Employment and Support Allowance

Emma Dent Coad: [146986]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant the Answer of 16 May

2018 to Question 142517, whether the change in wording to the ESA65B letter to

claimants’ doctors was authorised by the Cabinet Secretary at the request of the then

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

Sarah Newton:

[Holding answer 4 June 2018]: Officials from this Department engaged with the

Cabinet Office on the development of new wording of the ESA65B letter, but changes

were authorised by the then Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, who has

responsibility.

Members: Correspondence

Luke Pollard: [149089]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the

average amount of time her Department has taken to respond to correspondence from

(a) hon. Members and (b) hon. Members' offices over the last 12 months.

Kit Malthouse:

Information on the performance of departments and agencies on handling

correspondence from Members is published annually by way of a written statement

by the Cabinet Office. The most recent statement, covering 2016, was made on 11

July 2017, Official Record Vol. 627 HCWS35. The figures for 2017 will be made

available in due course.

Pension Protection Fund

Layla Moran: [149712]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the

number of crown guaranteed pension schemes that operate under the pension protection





fund; and if she will provide (a) a list of the names of those schemes, (b) details of the

crown guarantee liability and (c) the date when those schemes entered that fund.

Guy Opperman:

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) was set up to pay compensation to members of

defined benefit schemes where the sponsoring employer is insolvent and the scheme

has insufficient assets to secure pensions at PPF compensation levels of above.

There are no pension schemes in the PPF with a crown guarantee, as the guarantor

would be required to make up any shortfall in the event of insolvency.

Personal Independence Payment

Neil Gray: [146880]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of disability living

allowance claimants who have been asked to attend a re-assessment for personal

independence payments have requested their assessment take place at home; and how

many of those who have made such a request had that request rejected.

Sarah Newton:

[Holding answer 4 June 2018]: The information requested is not readily available and

could only be provided at disproportionate cost.


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of

personal independence payment decisions have been overturned at (a) the mandatory

reconsideration, (b) the appeal and (c) any other stage as a result of information being

incorrectly recorded during face-to-face consultations.

Sarah Newton:

The information requested is not held by the Department.

Social Security Benefits: Children


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her decision to

amend the ordering restriction on the exemption from the two child limit for children in

kinship care, whether she has plans to amend the ordering restriction on the exemption

for children born as a result of non-consensual conception.

Alok Sharma:

We currently have no plans to make further amendments to the policy.

Social Security Benefits: Cryptocurrencies

Martin Docherty-Hughes: [147473]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recommendations were made

to her Department as a result of the trials that GovCoin undertook on the use of





blockchain technology for the welfare and benefits system; and whether the findings of

those trails will be published.

Kit Malthouse:

In 2016, DWP ran a trial proof of concept on a small scale and the findings concluded

that it was not viable due to limited take up potential and the expenses it would incur.

No other companies were involved in the trial and no benefit or personal data was

shared with GovCoin (DISC) on claimants.

Martin Docherty-Hughes: [147916]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether other companies have

been involved in the GovCoin contract to undertake trials on the use of blockchain

technology for the welfare and benefits system; and whether any claimant information

was shared with (a) those other companies and (b) GovCoin during the period of that

contract.

Kit Malthouse:

In 2016, DWP ran a proof of concept pilot to explore GovCoin’s (DISC) capability. No

other companies were involved in the pilot and no benefit or personal data was

shared with GovCoin (DISC) on claimants.


WRITTEN STATEMENTS

CABINET OFFICE

Northern Ireland

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Mr David

Lidington): [HCWS744]

Today we are publishing a document produced by the UK negotiating team for discussion

with the EU.

This covers:

Temporary customs arrangement between the UK and the EU

These will be available on GOV.UK today and copies will be placed in the Libraries of

both Houses.

DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Transport, Telecoms and Energy Council

Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Margot James):

[HCWS743]

The Transport, Telecoms and Energy Council (TTE) will take place in Luxembourg. Lord

Ashton of Hyde will represent the UK at the Telecoms session of the Council on 8 June.

This Council will begin with a progress report/policy debate on the proposed regulation

concerning ePrivacy.

This meeting of the Council will then ask Member States to vote on a General Approach

(GA) on the Cybersecurity Act Regulation. DCMS has deposited clearance/waiver

requests with the European Scrutiny Committee (ESC) & European Union Committee

(EUC) and will hope to support this GA at Council.

This session of the Council will also hold a policy debate on the directive on the re-use of

Public Sector Information (PSI).

Also tabled for this session is information from the Presidency on the directive on the

European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) [Recast], and the regulation on the

Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).

In addition, information will be provided from the Commission on the state of play of the

Digital Single Market (DSM).

To conclude this session of the Council, there will be information from the Austrian

delegation, setting out their work programme as the incoming Presidency for the second

half of 2018.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-06-07/HCWS744/


EXITING THE EUROPEAN UNION

EU Exit

Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Mr David Davis):

[HCWS746]

Today we are publishing two documents produced by the UK negotiating team for

discussion with the EU.

These cover:

Data

Transport

These will be available on GOV.UK today and copies will be placed in the Libraries of

both Houses.

HOME OFFICE

Security Industry Authority Review

The Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service (Mr Nick Hurd):

[HCWS742]

I am pleased to announce that the Review of the Security Industry Authority is today

being published on www.gov.uk. This is part of a programme of regular reviews of public

bodies to provide assurance and challenge for good governance and efficiency. A copy of

the Review will also be placed in the House Library.

I welcome publication of the Review of the Security Industry Authority. The Government

is committed to ensuring the integrity of the private security industry. I am pleased the

Review concludes that regulation of the industry remains relevant and that the Security

Industry Authority has performed its role to a satisfactory standard.

The Review makes a number of recommendations about the future of the regulatory

regime. These require further consideration and analysis, in particular of the balance

between improving public protection and the need to support and not overburden the

private security industry, including the smaller organisations.

The Home Office will support the Security Industry Authority as it works to continue to

improve its performance and risk based approach and to realise efficiencies, with the aim

of achieving regulatory best practice and showing leadership in taking the industry

forward.





http://www.gov.uk/

http://www.gov.uk/

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

EU Foreign Affairs Council (Trade) 22 May 2018

Minister of State for Trade Policy (Greg Hands): [HCWS741]

The EU Foreign Affairs Informal Council (Trade) took place in Brussels on 22 nd May

2018. I represented the UK at the meeting. A summary of the discussions follows:

Commissioner Malmström provided an update on her latest contact with Wilbur Ross on

US tariffs on steel imports. A further temporary exemption was not expected. I supported

the outcome of the Leaders’ discussion the previous week and emphasised active UK

engagement with the US in support of the EU position.

Ministers adopted the conclusions on the negotiation and conclusion of EU trade

agreements. These follow the CJEU decision on competence boundaries in May 2017.

They note the Commission’s proposal to pursue EU-only trade agreements, with the

option of separate mixed investment protection agreements, and assert the role of the

Council in deciding on a case by case basis whether to open negotiations in this manner

(or to split existing agreements which are yet to be signed). The Conclusions make clear

that investment protection agreements and Association Agreements containing provisions

of shared competence will remain mixed agreements and will continue to require

ratification at the national level. Amongst other things, the Council Conclusions also state

that Member State parliaments, civil society and other interested stakeholders should be

kept duly informed from the beginning of the trade agreement negotiation process, and

that Member States should continue to involve their parliaments in-line with their

respective national procedures.

Ministers thanked the Commission for its work on the EU-Japan Economic Partnership

Agreement along with the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement and the EU-Singapore

Investment Protection Agreement (IPA). Commissioner Malmström confirmed the IPA

would not be provisionally applied, coming into force only when all Member States had

ratified.

Ministers adopted mandates for negotiations with Australia and New Zealand, which

would be launched during Commissioner Malmström’s visit to the region in June.

Commissioner Malmström debriefed Ministers on her recent engagement in the World

Trade Organization (WTO). Ministers agreed that the EU should continue engaging with

the US and discussed the extent to which significant WTO reforms should be considered.

I cautioned against portraying the WTO as being in “crisis” and urged maximising the

opportunities including the “Joint Statement Initiative” on e-commerce and encouraged

further consideration of WTO reform.


TRANSPORT

East Midlands Invitation to Tender

Minister of State for Transport (Joseph Johnson): [HCWS740]

I am pleased to inform the House that this morning the Department for Transport

published the Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the East Midlands rail franchise and the

consultation document for the Cross Country franchise signalling the start of a 12 week

public consultation.

East Midlands Rail Franchise

The ITT for the East Midlands franchise sets out an exciting future that will deliver a

brand-new fleet of trains, more seats for passengers, reduced peak journey times

between Nottingham, Sheffield and London and a dedicated, high quality, express

service between Corby and London. These improvements will mean more comfortable

journeys for both long distance and commuting passengers at the busiest times of the

day.

We have listened to what improvements passengers want to see and will be requiring the

next operator to deliver a wide range of improvements across the network including

improved compensation for delays, smart ticketing, high quality Wi-Fi connection, more

frequent and increased capacity on local services and services that start earlier and finish

later.

As the Secretary of State set out in the Government’s Strategic Vision for Rail in

November 2017, we are now fixing the operational divide between track and train so that

both Network Rail and train companies share one imperative: putting the passenger first.

Better performance and reliability on the East Midlands franchise will be delivered

through a new collaborative partnership between the next operator and Network Rail.

Cross Country Rail Franchise

The current Cross Country franchise, operated by Arriva Cross Country is due to end late

2019 (though it can be extended by up to a year). I am therefore pleased to launch today

a public consultation which will run for 12 weeks and will help to inform and develop the

franchise specification for inclusion in the ITT. We will encourage responses to the

consultation through: meetings around the network with formal stakeholders; promoting it

directly to passengers on Cross Country trains; and one or more webinars to reach out to

people across this extensive franchise.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Universal Credit

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Esther McVey): [HCWS745]

Today we publish a summary of the Universal Credit Full Business Case, signed off by

HM Treasury, which shows that when fully rolled out, Universal Credit is forecast to



incentivise 200,000 more people to take employment than would have under the previous

system and deliver £8bn of benefits to the UK economy per year.

Universal Credit is the biggest change of the welfare system since it was created. It is a

modern, flexible, personalised benefit reflecting the rapidly changing world of work.

It has brought together the six main benefits, including tax credits, providing support in

and out of work and assisting career progression. The Government has used a ‘test and

learn’ approach as it rolls out across the country.

The Government has already made a commitment that anyone who is moved to

Universal Credit without a change of circumstance will not lose out in cash terms.

Transitional protection will be provided to eligible claimants to safeguard their existing

benefit entitlement until their circumstances change.

Today I am announcing four additions to these rules to ensure that Universal Credit

supports people into work, protects vulnerable claimants and is targeted at those who

need it.

In order to support the transition for those individuals who live alone with substantial care

needs and receive the Severe Disability Premium, we are changing the system so that

these claimants will not be moved to Universal Credit until they qualify for transitional

protection. In addition, we will provide both an on-going payment to claimants who have

already lost this Premium as a consequence of moving to Universal Credit and an

additional payment to cover the period since they moved.

Second, we will increase the incentives for parents to take short-term or temporary work

and increase their earnings by ensuring that the award of, or increase in, support for

childcare costs will not erode transitional protection.

Third, we propose to re-award claimants’ transitional protection that has ceased owing to

short-term increases in earnings within an assessment period, if they make a new claim

to UC within three months of when they received the additional payment.

Finally, individuals with capital in excess of £16,000 are not eligible for Universal Credit.

However, for Tax Credit claimants in this situation, we will now disregard any capital in

excess of £16,000 for 12 months from the point at which they are moved to Universal

Credit. Normal benefit rules apply after this time in order to strike the right balance

between keeping incentives for saving and asking people to support themselves.

The process of migrating claimants on legacy benefits will begin in July 2019 as

previously announced. In order to make the changes to the system it will be necessary to

extend the completion of UC to March 2023. As throughout UC roll out, we will keep the

exact timetable under review to do what is sensible from a delivery and fiscal perspective.

These changes will form part of the Universal Credit Managed Migration and Transitional

Protection Regulations which we intend to bring forward in the Autumn.

This Government is committed to delivering a welfare system that supports claimants and

is fair to taxpayers.

Daily Report Thursday, 7 June 2018...

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