daily report friday, 25 january 2019 contents

Daily Report Friday, 25 January 2019

This report shows written answers and statements provided on 25 January 2019 and the

information is correct at the time of publication (03:33 P.M., 25 January 2019). For the latest

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

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

CONTENTS

ANSWERS 3

ATTORNEY GENERAL 3

Serious Fraud Office 3

BUSINESS, ENERGY AND

INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY 3

Department for Business,

Energy and Industrial Strategy:

Pay 3

CABINET OFFICE 4

Cabinet Office: Pay 4

DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND

SPORT 4

Arts: Young People 4

Charities: Fund Raising 5

Department for Digital,

Culture, Media and Sport: Pay 5

Film: Equality 5

Film: Tax Allowances 6

EDUCATION 6

Academies 6

Children and Young People 7

Children: Social Services 7

Department of Education:

Secondment 8

Dyslexia 8

Erasmus+ Programme 8

Social Services: Greater

London 9

Teachers: Standards 10

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND

RURAL AFFAIRS 10

Curlews: Conservation 10

Department for Environment,

Food and Rural Affairs: Pay 11

Ivory 11

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 11

Department of Health and

Social Care: Legal Costs 11

HOME OFFICE 13

Crime: Lancashire 13

Disclosure and Barring

Service: Data Protection 13


Service: Standards 13


Service: Swiss Post Solutions 14


Service: Tata Consultancy

Services 15

Police: Pensions 15

HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND

LOCAL GOVERNMENT 16

Homelessness: Midlands 16

http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers

http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers

Ministry of Housing,

Communities and Local

Government: Pay 17

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 17

Board of Trade 17

JUSTICE 18

Ministry of Justice: Data

Protection 18

Ministry of Justice:

Recruitment 18

Offences Against Children:

Sports 19

Prison Officers 19

Prison Officers: Labour

Turnover 21

Prison Sentences: Females 23

Prisons: Restraint Techniques 23

Prosecutions: Drugs 24

Secure Training Centres 24

TRANSPORT 25

Department for Transport:

Legal Costs 25

Department for Transport: Pay 25

High Speed 2 Railway Line 26

High Speed 2 Railway Line:

Chalfont St Giles 26

Northern: Industrial Disputes 26

Railways: Wales 27

Roads: Accidents 27

TREASURY 28

Cash Dispensing: Fees and

Charges 28

Members: Correspondence 28

Migrant Workers: Taxation 28

WORK AND PENSIONS 29

Children: Maintenance 29

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

Serious Fraud Office

Kelvin Hopkins: [210429]

To ask the Attorney General, what his powers are in relation to the Serious Fraud Office.

Robert Buckland:

The Attorney General and Solicitor General superintend the Serious Fraud Office

(SFO) as set out in the Criminal Justice Act 1987 and are the ministers responsible to

Parliament for the work of the SFO. The SFO was created and given its functions and

powers by the Criminal Justice Act 1987; it exercises those functions on behalf of the

Crown. It is a non-ministerial department headed by the Director. The SFO is

therefore independent and makes its own investigative and prosecutorial decisions

independently. Part of the role of the Law Officer is to protect that independence.

The SFO also forms one of the ‘Law Officers’ Departments, and as such constitutes a

public arm’s length body sponsored by the Attorney General’s Office. The terms of

our sponsorship arrangement are set out in the Framework Agreement between the

AGO and the SFO which was published on 22 January, replacing the 2009 Protocol

document. The Framework Agreement is agreed between the Director of the SFO

and the Law Officers.

BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Pay

Gareth Snell: [209879]

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

information his Department holds on the rate of remuneration for (a) cleaners, (b) security

guards and (c) catering staff in his Department in (i) Greater London and (ii) outside

Greater London.

Richard Harrington:

Cleaning, security and catering services are delivered to the Department for

Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy by external contractors. We do not hold

detailed pay data for contractor employees.

Specific rates are a matter for each individual contractor, but assurances are

provided to ensure full compliance with the requirements of the National Living Wage.

In April 2019 Government will increase the National Living Wage to £8.21 per hour.

This is an above inflation increase that will see a full-time minimum wage worker over

£2,750 better off over the course of a year compared to when the policy was

introduced.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-01-21/210429


We value all of our staff and they all deserve a fair and competitive wage, whether

they are directly employed or working through our contractors. The Department has

agreed with its facilities management and catering contractors that they will align the

pay of their cleaning, catering, mailroom and security staff to the appropriate median

rates for that occupation, as identified in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.

The median applies from 1 March 2019 and will be aligned annually.

CABINET OFFICE

Cabinet Office: Pay


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

rate of remuneration for (a) cleaners, (b) security guards and (c) catering staff in his

Department in (i) Greater London and (ii) outside Greater London.

Oliver Dowden:

The majority of facilities management services, which include cleaning, security, and

catering, are outsourced to an independent provider with the exception of one central

London location that manages their own cleaning and security.

All outsourced and self-delivered facilities management staff are paid the National

Living Wage or above.

DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts: Young People

Ben Bradley: [209404]

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

taking to support young people from deprived backgrounds to progress in the creative

industries.

Margot James:

We recognise that more needs to be done to ensure that the workforce of the

Creative Industries better reflects the diversity of UK society. The need to broaden

access was highlighted in the 2018 Creative Industries sector deal.

Amongst other measures, we are providing £2 million seed funding for an industry-led

Creative Careers Programme over the next 4 years to improve the supply of talent

and open up opportunities to a broader audience.

Additionally, the British Film Institute (BFI) leads on a number of initiatives to

encourage people from all backgrounds to pursue careers in the screen sector, from

the BFI diversity standards to the BFI Film Academy. We will also continue to work

with industry through the joint government-industry Creative Industry Council to open



up employment opportunities in the sector. The CIC have identified this issue as a

priority, setting out a set of actions to improve diversity across the industry in its

“Create Together” growth strategy.

Charities: Fund Raising

Layla Moran: [210685]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to

ensure that online fundraising platforms advertise prominently on their webstes,

information on deductions from donations for fees charged.

Mims Davies:

Online fundraising platforms raise significant funds for charitable causes. Therefore

high standards of transparency are important to allow donors to make informed

decisions.

Part 2 of the Charities Act 1992 already requires all professional fundraisers,

including online fundraising platforms, to inform potential donors of fees and charges.

Furthermore, the Fundraising Regulator has updated the Code of Fundraising

Practice to include requirements for these platforms, including new transparency

requirements about charges.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Pay


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

Department holds on the rate of remuneration for (a) cleaners, (b) security guards and (c)

catering staff in his Department in (i) Greater London and (ii) outside Greater London.

Margot James:

DCMS is based only in Greater London, and all our properties have facilities

management provided by other Government departments.

Film: Equality

Chi Onwurah: [209380]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make it his

policy to require film companies to include in paperwork submitted for film classification,

data on the level of diversity of those companies.

Margot James:

We recognise the need to improve the collection of diversity data in the screen

industries to inform diversity and inclusion initiatives. Amongst other measures,

DCMS is working with its arm’s length body for film and moving image, the British

Film Institute (BFI) to promote the BFI Diversity Standards. These focus on training

as well as representation, and are designed to drive lasting change in the workforce.

The BFI has set a target of all producers active in the UK having voluntarily accepted




the BFI Diversity Standards by 2022. Monitoring and publishing the impact of the

standards is a core part of the BFI’s commitment to ensuring these standards drive

meaningful change.

Film: Tax Allowances

Chi Onwurah: [209376]

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

has made of the potential effect of the recommendation made by the Film Diversity Action

Group that film tax breaks should be conditional on the achievement of diversity targets

on the (a) finances of and (b) levels of diversity in companies in the film industry.

Margot James:

We recognise that there is more to be done to ensure that the screen sector and the

wider creative industries reflects the diversity of UK society. DCMS is working with

the British Film Institute (BFI) to drive improved diversity by promoting the uptake of

the BFI Diversity Standards. These focus on training as well as representation, and

are designed to drive lasting change in the workforce. The BFI has set a target of all

producers active in the UK having voluntarily accepted the BFI Diversity Standards by

2022. The operation of tax relief is a matter for the Treasury.

EDUCATION

Academies

Angela Rayner: [209841]

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

ministerial decision process relating to selection of sponsors of schools which are

converted to academies.

Nadhim Zahawi:

Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) act in the name of my right hon. Friend, the

Secretary of State for Education, and are accountable to him and to the National

Schools Commissioner. RSCs are advised and challenged by Headteacher Boards

(HTBs) comprised of outstanding academy headteachers and sector leaders. Half of

all HTBs are directly elected by the academy sector. Working with their respective

HTBs, RSCs are well placed to identify and commission the most appropriate support

and intervention for underperforming schools and academies.

The department publishes meeting notes of all HTB meetings. As well as containing

other RSC decisions, HTB meeting notes also contain RSC decisions on the

selection of sponsors for underperforming schools. HTB meeting notes are published

every six weeks and can be found on GOV.UK at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/headteacher-boards.



https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/headteacher-boards

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/headteacher-boards

Children and Young People

Teresa Pearce: [209837]

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

term economic benefits of early intervention services for children and young people.

Nadhim Zahawi:

The government has funded the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) since 2013,

including almost £2 million in 2018-2020, to assess, evaluate and disseminate

evidence of what works. The EIF has assessed the benefits of a wide range of

specific early intervention programmes, and suggested that whilst producing robust

estimates is challenging, there is a compelling argument that the costs of intervening

early are likely to pay off to society in economic terms. In particular, they highlight that

the long-term economic benefits are considerable where early intervention leads to

labour market gains, such as improvements in employment and earnings.

The value of early intervention is reflected in statutory guidance ‘Working together to

safeguard children’ (2018), which is clear that providing early help is more effective in

promoting children’s welfare than reacting later - playing an important part in

supporting children and young people to achieve better outcomes. The government

has also committed £920 million to the troubled families programme, an early

intervention approach which aims to achieve significant and sustained improvement

for families with multiple, high-cost problems.

Children: Social Services


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

of the adequacy of central Government funding for children’s services in the most recent

12 months for which figures are available.

Nadhim Zahawi:

Funding for children’s services is made available through the Local Government

Finance Settlement which gives local authorities flexibility to target spending

according to local needs and to fulfil their statutory responsibilities, including

children’s services. Through the Settlement, the government has made available over

£200 billion across this five-year spending period. Local authorities used this flexibility

to spend around £9.4 billion on children and young people’s services in 2017-18.

The government has listened to the sector which requested additional funding for

social care. That is why we have provided flexibility of £410 million in grant funding

for social care in 2019-20 to be directed according to what local authorities consider

their top social care priorities, including children’s services.



Department of Education: Secondment

Angela Rayner: [209386]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many civil servants in his Department

have been seconded to the Department for Exiting the European Union.

Anne Milton:

The department has established mechanisms to deploy resource across the Civil

Service to support the government’s most pressing priorities. Individual secondments

and loans are agreed by line managers and based on business need. Managers stay

in contact with staff throughout their time away and manage their return to the

department. The department does not hold a central record detailing loans and

secondments.

Dyslexia

Jim Shannon: [210612]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people have been diagnosed with

dyslexia in each of the last five years.

Nadhim Zahawi:

The information requested is not held centrally.

We publish the number and proportion of pupils with special educational needs,

including the type of need in the annual ‘Special educational needs in England’

statistical release, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-

special-educational-needs-sen.

In the 2018 release ‘Special educational needs in England: 2018’, available at

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england-

january-2018, table 8 covers types of need. Pupils with special educational needs are

recorded according to their primary type of need. The current types of need do not

include a specific breakdown for dyslexia alone. These cases are expected to be

recorded under ‘Specific Learning Difficulty’. No estimates of the number of children

with dyslexia within this category have been made.

Erasmus+ Programme

Dr Lisa Cameron: [209825]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government plans to replace

access to funding universities receive from the Erasmus+ programme for UK students

undertaking placements abroad before 2020 in the event that the UK leaves the EU on 29

March 2019 without a deal.



https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-special-educational-needs-sen



https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2018




Chris Skidmore:

In the event that the UK leaves the EU with no agreement in place, the government’s

underwrite guarantee will cover the payment of awards to UK applicants for all

successful Erasmus+ bids submitted before the UK exits the EU.

Further details are set out in the technical notice published in August 2018. We will

provide further advice shortly.

Social Services: Greater London


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were referred to

children’s social care for an assessment of need in (a) Greenwich and (b) Bexley in each

of the last five years for which figures are available; and what funding was provided for

children’s services in (i) Greenwich and (ii) Bexley in each of the last five years for which

figures are available.

Nadhim Zahawi:

The number of children referred to children’s social care is published in the annual

‘Characteristics of Children in need’ publication. The most recent publication is

available on the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/characteristics-of-children-in-need-2017-to-

2018/ and a table summarising the last five years for Greenwich and Bexley is

attached.

As children’s services are delivered through local government, the vast majority of

their funding comes through the Local Government Finance Settlement. However, as

the responsibilities, structure and makeup of local authorities and the Department for

Education have changed a great deal since 2009, central funding [department spend]

to local government and wider spending power measures therefore are not directly

comparable over this period.

Over the 5 year period from 2015-16 to 2019-20, councils have access, through the

Settlement, to over £200 billion to deliver local services. For Bexley and Greenwich

this means core spending power of:

(Available figures)

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20

Bexley £155,154,372 £157,014,982 £159,902,295 £162,024,253

Greenwich £219,920,182 £226,780,981 £231,040,760 £233,211,791

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/final-local-government-finance-

settlement-england-2018-to-2019.


https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/final-local-government-finance-settlement-england-2018-to-2019



This core spending power is un-ring fenced and it is for local authorities (LAs) to

determine spend across different areas according to local priorities, including

children’s services.

In addition to this the Autumn Budget announced a further £410 million in 2019-20 for

LAs to invest in adult and children’s social care services. It also announced £84

million of extra funding, over the next five years, to support LAs to invest in initiatives

that improve social work practice and decision making.

Attachments:

1. 209766_Number_of_referrals_in_the_years_&_rate

[209766_Number_of_referrals_in_the_years_and_rate.pdf]

Teachers: Standards

Nic Dakin: [210600]

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

document, Teachers’ standards: Guidance for school leaders, school staff and governing

bodies, last updated in June 2013; and for what reason care experienced children are not

identified as a cohort of children in Standard 5 of that document.

Nick Gibb:

The Department is committed to ensuring that all children, regardless of background,

have the opportunity to fulfil their potential. There are currently no plans to update the

document, Teachers’ Standards: Guidance for school leaders, school staff and

governing bodies. The document does reflect the needs of looked after children by

setting out the expectation for teachers to: have a secure understanding of how a

range of factors can inhibit pupils’ ability to learn and; have a clear understanding of

the needs of all pupils, and be able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching

approaches to engage and support them.

Further information, including the reports of the independent review of the Teachers’

standards, is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/teachers-

standards.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Curlews: Conservation

Dr David Drew: [209298]

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

Answers of 8 November 2018 to Question 186211 and of 28 November 2018 to Question

196767 on Birds: Conservation, and with reference to the completion in November 2017

of phase 2 of the Special Protection Area review, what guidance he has received on

improving the network for breeding and non-breeding curlew.


https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/teachers-standards




Dr Thérèse Coffey:

The phase two report highlights that there are currently no Special Protection Areas

(SPAs) classified for breeding curlew in the UK. In England, the review identifies

some potential areas that could be considered for classification including at existing

SPAs. We are still considering this review.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Pay


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

his Department holds on the rate of remuneration for (a) cleaners, (b) security guards and

(c) catering staff in his Department in (i) Greater London and (ii) outside Greater London.

George Eustice:

Defra’s office cleaners, security guards and catering staff are provided through

outsourced suppliers. These suppliers hold information on the rate of remuneration of

their staff, however our contracts with the suppliers require all staff to be paid the

Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation, as a minimum.

The Living Wage Foundation rates can be found at the Living Wage Foundation

website ( https://www.livingwage.org.uk/ ). There is a rate for London based staff and

a rate for staff based outside of London.

Ivory

Sue Hayman: [210623]

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

has made on the consultation to include additional ivory species in the Ivory Act 2018,

and whether he has set a date for this consultation to be published.

Dr Thérèse Coffey:

We are currently preparing for a call for evidence to be issued in the spring.

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

Department of Health and Social Care: Legal Costs

Richard Burgon: [209813]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the highest hourly rate

was that (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department's arms-length bodies paid for

legal advice in 2018.

Caroline Dinenage:

The Government Legal Department (GLD) provides almost all of the Department’s

legal services. The largest components are for general advisory and commercial

advisory work. The Department pays for both of these on a fixed fee basis, and

therefore hourly rates are not applicable for these areas of legal work.


https://www.livingwage.org.uk/

https://www.livingwage.org.uk/



Hourly rates do apply where employment advisory and litigation work is provided by

the GLD. In 2018, the highest hourly rate paid for such legal services was £180 for a

Queen’s Counsel.

It is only where specific legal advice is required that specialist firms of solicitors

provide services for the Department, and these are engaged with the guidance of the

GLD.

The Department’s arm’s length bodies (ALBs) each have their own arrangements for

securing legal services. The following table sets out the highest hourly rates for legal

services in 2018 that ALBs paid.

NAME AMOUNT

Care Quality Commission £280

Health Education England £250

Health Research Authority £200

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority £350

Medicines and Healthcare Products

Regulatory Agency

£180

NHS Blood and Transplant £200

NHS Business Services Authority £145

NHS Counter Fraud Authority £228

NHS Digital £280

NHS Improvement £250

NHS Resolution £250

National Institute for Health and Care

Excellence

£200

Public Health England £222

The Department and two of its bodies, NHS England and the Human Tissue

Authority, have engaged legal services from organisations other than the GLD. It has

not been possible in these instances to provide the information requested as it could

only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

HOME OFFICE

Crime: Lancashire

Sir Mark Hendrick: [209770]

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

of the trends in the level of (a) knife crime, (b) gun crime, (c) homicides and (d) gang-

related crime in (i) Preston constituency and (ii) Lancashire.

Victoria Atkins:

On 9 April 2018, the Government published the Serious Violence Strategy to set out

the action it is taking to address serious violence, and in particular the recent

increases in knife crime, gun crime and homicide.

We have reviewed the evidence and the strategy sets out the trends and drivers of

serious violence. The evidence shows that homicide, knife crime and gun crime have

increased since 2014 across virtually all police force areas in England and Wales,

including Lancashire. The increases have been accompanied by a shift towards

younger victims and perpetrators. The analysis in the Serious Violence Strategy

shows that changes in the drugs market is a major factor in the recent increases.

The attached table shows the statistics for offences involving knives or sharp

instruments, firearms, robbery and homicide in England and Wales at police force

level. Data is not collected for areas below police force level.

Attachments:

1. SV June 2018 - Stats [SV June 2018 stats v2.xls]

Disclosure and Barring Service: Data Protection

Ms Diane Abbott: [209745]


of whether the tool to redact sensitive case information used by the Disclosure and

Barring Service is fit for purpose.

Victoria Atkins:

DBS uses a tool to redact sensitive documents which was selected by its technology

service provider, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). DBS has reported some issues

with the redaction functionality. These issues have been raised with TCS, and a new

software release is currently in test for deployment.

Disclosure and Barring Service: Standards


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of

the number of occasions on which referrals to the Disclosure and Barring Service have

been set aside for over (a) one, (b) six, and (c) nine months.




Victoria Atkins:

Referrals to the Disclosure and Barring Service are not set aside as their operating

procedures do not allow for this. Barring cases are triaged and reviewed upon receipt

and allocated in line with workflow processes.

Under DBS’ published service standards their aim is to close more than 65% of

barring cases within three months. Performance data on attainment of this standard

in 2017-2018 can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dbs-

annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018.

DBS also publishes quarterly performance data on barring cases and appeals against

barring decisions relating to revised internal performance standards here

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dbs-dataset-4-barring-cases-and-appeals.

Disclosure and Barring Service: Swiss Post Solutions


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total value is of

contracts between his Department and Swiss Post Solutions for work outsourced from

the Disclosure and Barring Service.



contracts between his Department and Swiss Post Solutions for work outsourced from

the Disclosure and Barring Service.



of the quality of service provided by Swiss Post Solutions on work outsourced from the

Disclosure and Barring Service; and if he will make a statement.



the number of occasions on which sensitive information has been attached to incorrect

case files by Swiss Post Solutions in the course of work outsourced from the Disclosure

and Barring Service.

Victoria Atkins:

DBS do not have a contract with Swiss Post Solutions. Swiss Post Solutions is a sub-

contractor of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

Swiss Post Solutions, as a sub-contractor, are managed by TCS. TCS report on

service level agreements and key performance indicators relating to work conducted

by Swiss Post Solutions and their performance is monitored by the DBS.

Swiss Post Solutions handle more than 6,000 pieces of correspondence each month

relating to DBS barring business, and have been used for barring since 4 September

2017. In this time the DBS have been informed of one occasion on which information

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dbs-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018.









was attached to an incorrect case file. This error was identified and remedied

internally before any correspondence was sent.

Disclosure and Barring Service: Tata Consultancy Services



contracts between his Department and Tata Consultancy Services for work on the

Disclosure and Barring Service; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins:

As published in the DBS’ 2017/18 Annual Report and Accounts the overall value of

agreed costs with Tata Consultancy Services is £224m (inc.VAT). This includes the

values of the original contract plus any agreed Contract Change Notes and Requests

for Change.

Police: Pensions

Liz Saville Roberts: [209868]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has

estimated the potential cost of granting lifelong pensions for all police widows in England

and Wales.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police widows

pensions ceased due to remarriage in each year since 1987.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the differences are in

provision for police widows in the police pension schemes of (a) 1987, (b) 2006 and (c)

2015.



the cost per annum of reinstating widows pensions that have been revoked under the

1987 Police pension regulations for each Police Service in England and Wales.



the current average police widows pension under the 1987 police pension regulations for

each police service in England and Wales.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many serving police officers

in each police force in England and Wales are members of the Police pension scheme

1987.









To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police widows have

had their pensions revoked under the Police Pensions Regulations 1987 because they

have remarried or moved in with a new partner for each police service in England and

Wales.

Mr Nick Hurd:

All three occupational police pension schemes provide valuable benefits for survivors

on the death of the member. The 2006 and 2015 scheme benefits are broadly the

same. The main differences between these schemes and the 1987 scheme are:

benefits paid for life, rather than ceasing on remarriage or cohabitation; benefits for

partners as well as spouses and civil partners; and lower survivor benefits as a

proportion of the pension payable to the member.

The Home Office does not hold information on the number of survivors’ pensions

surrendered on remarriage or cohabitation. Detailed information on the police

pension scheme is held by each Police Pension Authority.

We have estimated with the Government’s Actuary’s Department, by using historical

actuarial data, that the total cost of retaining benefits for all police survivors would

increase the police scheme liabilities by around £144m. Reinstatement of pensions

already surrendered, would increase the police scheme liabilities to around £198m.

No annual estimate is available.

As at 31 March 2016 there were 82,268 serving police officers who were active

members of the 1987 police pension scheme, including those who had moved to the

2015 scheme for future pension accrual. The average survivor’s pension as at 31

March 2016 was £9,450 a year – while this is not exclusively attributable to the 1987

police pension scheme, most pensions in payment in 2016 will be in respect of that

scheme.

HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Homelessness: Midlands


To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what

schemes that tackle homelessness in the Midlands receive government funding.

Mrs Heather Wheeler:

This Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No

one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the

cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy which sets out an ambitious £100 million

package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures

that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed

over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review

period.



Local authorities in the Midlands are receiving funding from the following government

programmes:

• Homelessness Prevention Trailblazers

• Rough Sleeping Initiative

• Housing First Pilots

• Rapid Rehousing Programme

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Pay


To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what

information his Department holds on the rate of remuneration for (a) cleaners, (b) security

guards and (c) catering staff in his Department in (i) Greater London and (ii) outside

Greater London.

Jake Berry:

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government does not directly

employ (a) cleaners (b) security guards and (c) catering staff.

Cleaning, security guarding and catering services in buildings managed by the

Department are outsourced under facilities management contracts. Suppliers are

responsible for setting rates of pay for their staff and rates vary dependent on their

age, location and market rates. All suppliers are required to pay, as a minimum,

either the National Minimum Wage or the National Living Wage. The rates set by

government for the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage are to rise

in April 2019.

Cleaning, security guarding and catering services to the Department’s headquarters

based in 2 Marsham Street are provided under a contract managed by the Home

Office.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Board of Trade

Douglas Chapman: [209848]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, who the members of the

reconvened Board of Trade are; and what assessment he has made of the most

significant achievements of that Board for the Scottish economy have been since June

2017.

George Hollingbery:

The Rt Hon Dr Liam Fox MP Secretary of State for International Trade, in his role as

President of the Board of Trade, Chairs the Board of Trade meetings. The advisers

can be found online: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/board-of-trade.



The Board meets four times a year, with meetings rotated around the UK. Doing so

guarantees all parts of the Union have a chance to raise the issues most important to

them. The Board has met five times since it was convened in October 2017.

The third meeting took place at Stirling Castle on 17 May 2018. The networking

reception involved local Scottish businesses and government representatives, and

aimed to support and celebrate trade and investment with Scotland. During the

reception the Secretary of State for International Trade launched the High Potential

Opportunities programme (part of the FDI Strategy) and presented Board of Trade

Awards to Aggreko, Alexander Dennis Limited, Bowalds Energy Ltd, Speyside

Distillers Company Limited, Enerquip Limited and McGavigan Ltd. The Board of

Trade Awards celebrate businesses which show exceptional innovation, deliver

prosperity to their local communities, and champion free trade.

The National Trade Academy Programme also ran a Global Trade and Investment

Seminar on 17 May 2018 in Stirling, which brought together expert speakers from

academia, business and government to discuss the importance of trade and

internationalization for business. Over 50 students from three local academic

institutions had the opportunity to gain insight into the importance of international

trade and investment in national economic

JUSTICE

Ministry of Justice: Data Protection

Mr George Howarth: [209297]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, where the contact details for his Department's

Data Protection Officer are published; and (a) how and (b) when those contact details

were communicated to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Lucy Frazer:

Contact details for the Department’s Data Protection Officer are published in the

Department’s Personal Information Charter available on the GOV.UK website. Those

contact details were communicated with the Information Commissioner’s Office by

email in advance of Data Protection Act 2018 coming into force. The URL for the

Charter is www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/personal-

information-charter.

Ministry of Justice: Recruitment

Mr George Howarth: [209296]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, who was appointed to the role of Data

Protection Officer in his Department on 4 November 2018.

Lucy Frazer:

Mr J Chimes was appointed to the role of Data Protection Officer (Acting) (DPO) on 4

November 2018 for the parts of the Department that do not have their own DPO



arrangements. Contact details for the DPO are available through the Department’s

Personal Information Charter on the GOV.UK website. The URL is

www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/personal-information-

charter.

Offences Against Children: Sports

Mrs Madeleine Moon: [209768]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to bring forward legislative

proposals to extend position of trust laws to sports coaches.

Lucy Frazer:

Any sexual activity with a child under 16 is a criminal offence, regardless of whether

consent is given. Any non-consensual sexual activity is also a crime, whatever the

age of the victim and whatever the relationship between the victim and perpetrator.

Where a manipulative offender grooms a child prior to them reaching the age of

consent and then engages in a sexual relationship with them when they are over 16,

this could be prosecuted under offences such as Section 15a of the Sexual Offences

Act 2003.

We remain absolutely committed to protecting children and young people from sexual

abuse and we already have a wide range of criminal offences under which to

prosecute and sentence those who carry out such acts. We continue to keep this

under review.

Prison Officers

Imran Hussain: [209827]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many band three to five prison officers at

each high-security institution had (a) less than three years' experience and (b) three or

more than three years’ service in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2018.

Rory Stewart:

Table 1: HMPPS Prison Officer1 staff in post, by length of service2 (full time

equivalent) as at 30th September 2010 and 2018

SEPTEMBER 2010 FTE

Organisation Less than 3 years 3

years

and

over

Total

Prison

Officer

%

less

than

3

years

Belmarsh 28.5 469.6 498.2 6%

Frankland 29.0 564.3 593.3 5%



SEPTEMBER 2010 FTE

Full Sutton 13.0 411.3 424.3 3%

Long Lartin 66.3 322.8 389.0 17%

Manchester 20.0 460.6 480.6 4%

Wakefield 14.0 398.2 412.2 3%

Whitemoor 31.0 369.0 400.0 8%

Woodhill 44.0 398.0 442.0 10%

SEPTEMBER 2018 FTE

Organisation Less than 3 years 3

years

and

over

Total

Prison

Officer

%

less

than

3

years

Belmarsh 169.0 257.8 426.8 40%

Frankland 106.0 432.9 538.9 20%

Full Sutton 117.0 310.9 427.9 27%

Long Lartin 49.0 266.2 315.2 16%

Manchester 182.0 302.6 484.6 38%

Wakefield 70.0 261.5 331.5 21%

Whitemoor 102.0 263.0 365.0 28%

Woodhill 227.5 237.0 464.5 49%

Notes to Table 1:

1. Includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officer

and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.

2. Length of service in HMPPS calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff

have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in

through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to

HMPPS.

As with all HR databases, extracts are taken at a fixed point in time to ensure

consistency of reporting. However the database itself is dynamic and where updates

to the database are made late, subsequent to the taking of the extract, these updates

will not be reflected in figures produced by the extract. For this reason, HR data are

unlikely to be precisely accurate.

Prison Officers: Labour Turnover


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many band three to five prison officers at

each high-security institution left within three years of starting their role in each year from

2010.

Lucy Frazer:

We commend our hard-working prison officers who do a vital job in protecting the

public every day, often in challenging and difficult circumstances.

We want prison officers to stay and progress their careers. We’ve improved induction

processes to ease transition into the job, provide care and support for our staff and

offer additional training. These measures are part of the work we are doing directly

with Governors to address local issues and ensure experienced staff and new

recruits remain in the service.

Prison officer recruitment levels have varied in recent years as can be seen in table 1

below. In the four years to March 2014 1,358 officer were appointed. In the four years

to March 2018 11,221 officer were appointed.

There will be more junior role officer leavers with short service in recent years as

there are more staff in post with short service.

Table 1:

BAND 3 PRISON OFFICERS 1 APPOINTED

12

months

ending

31 Mar

2011

12

months

ending

31 Mar

2012

12

months

ending

31 Mar

2013

12

months

ending

31 Mar

2014

12

months

ending

31 Mar

2015

12

months

ending

31 Mar

2016

12

months

ending

31 Mar

2017

12

months

ending

31 Mar

2018

12

months

ending

30 Sep

2018

Total 780 234 206 138 1,680 1,976 2,322 5,243 6,060

Note to Table 1:

1. Includes officer conversions as well as direct recruits.

Table 2: HMPPS Prison Officer 1 leavers, with length of service 2 at leaving of

less than three years for High Security prisions (headcount)


PRISON

12

MONTH

S

ENDING

31/3/10

12

MONTH

S

ENDING

31/3/11

12

MONTH

S

ENDING

31/3/12

12

MONTH

S

ENDING

31/3/13

12

MONTH

S

ENDING

31/3/14

12

MONTH

S

ENDING

31/3/15

12

MONTH

S

ENDING

31/3/16

12

MONTH

S

ENDING

31/3/17

12

MONTH

S

ENDING

31/3/18

12

MONTHS

ENDING

30/09/1

8

Belmarsh 3 ~ ~ ~ 5 ~ 5 10 10 16 (p

)

Frankland ~ ~ ~ 0 0 0 ~ ~ 8 8 (p

)

Full Sutton 3 0 ~ ~ 0 ~ ~ ~ 7 17 (p

)

Long Lartin 5 5 ~ 0 ~ ~ ~ 4 10 9 (p

)

Mancheste

r

~ 0 0 0 0 0 ~ 8 21 29 (p

)

Wakefield ~ 0 0 0 0 0 ~ 0 5 7 (p

)

Whitemoor ~ ~ ~ ~ 0 3 8 7 6 7 (p

)

Woodhill 6 3 ~ 3 ~ 4 4 10 28 34 (p

)

Total 22 13 9 9 7 11 18 42 95 127

Notes to Table 2

1. Includes Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officer

and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.

2. Length of service in HMPPS calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff

have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in

through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to

HMPPS.

3. As with all HR databases, extracts are taken at a fixed point in time, to ensure

consistency of reporting. However the database itself is dynamic and where

updates to the database are made late, subsequent to the taking of the extract,

these updates will not be reflected in figures produced by the extract. For this

reason, HR data are unlikely to be precisely accurate.

(p) Provisional data.

~ Denotes suppressed values of 2 or fewer or other values which would allow values

of 2 or fewer to be derived by subtraction. Low numbers are suppressed to prevent

disclosure in accordance with the Data Protection Act, 1998.

Prison Sentences: Females

Victoria Prentis: [209383]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the use of

short prison sentences for women.

Lucy Frazer:

In June 2018, we published the Female Offender Strategy which set out the

Government’s aim to see fewer women in custody, especially on short term

sentences. There is persuasive evidence that many women, particularly on short

custodial sentences, can be better supported in the community on robust and

effective community sentences.

The Strategy set out a new programme of work to improve outcomes for female

offenders and shift our emphasis from custody to the community. This included a

£5m investment in community provision for female offenders over 2018/19 and

2019/20. We awarded £3.3m to 12 organisations last November, and on 23 January

we announced a further £1.6m, which will benefit 17 organisations and 83 female

rape support centres.

We consider that the availability of intensive residential support packages, both at the

point of sentencing and on release, is one important element in achieving the

changes we want to see. We are therefore committed to working with local and

national partners to develop a ‘residential women’s centre’ pilot in at least five sites

across England and Wales.

The Strategy is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/female-

offender-strategy.

Prisons: Restraint Techniques


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many uses of force in each year from 2010

were (a) recorded at each high-security institution and (b) involved staff with less than

three years’ experience.

Lucy Frazer:

Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service require that all use of force in prisons

must be rigorously reported and locally recorded. However, the data collated at the

national level throughout all of the period specified is of unsatisfactory quality and

consistency. Satisfactory nationally-collated data relating to the frequency of use of

force in prisons is available for the period 2008/09 – 2011/12, and was published as

part of the Equalities Annual Review (2011-2012).


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/female-offender-strategy




HMPPS are committed to ensuring that all use of force in prisons is lawful and

reflects the highest standards. As part of our commitment to ensuring robust

governance over the use of force we are working to identify ways to improve the

quality, granularity and availability of use of force data locally and nationally.

The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at

disproportionate cost.

Prosecutions: Drugs


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has

made of trends in the level of prosecutions for psychoactive substances dealing.

Lucy Frazer:

The number of prosecutions for offences relating to supply of psychoactive

substances for the last 5 years are published and can be found in the ‘Experimental

statistics: Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code

data tool’ at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-

justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2017.

The relevant offences can be found by searching the ‘Detailed offence’ filter for

psychoactive substances.

Home Office are responsible for policy relating to the Psychoactive Substances Act.

Secure Training Centres


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many hours on average per day young

people spent unlocked from their rooms in each secure training centre in each of the last

five years.

Edward Argar:

The information requested is provided in the attached table.

HMPPS are in the process of reviewing how this data is collected across each

establishment in the Youth Estate. We are reforming youth custody to reduce

violence and improve outcomes for children and young people. Our vision for a

distinct service designed around the needs of young people includes staff specifically

recruited and trained to work with children, education and healthcare provision that is

tailored to need, and specialist units for the most vulnerable.

Attachments:

1. Table [Copy of PQ 209824 - STC Time Out of Room.xlsx]



TRANSPORT

Department for Transport: Legal Costs


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the highest hourly rate was that (a) his

Department and (b) each of his Department's arms-length bodies paid for legal advice in

2018.

Jesse Norman:

The Department consists of the central Department and four executive Agencies as

follows:

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)

Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)

Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA)

The highest hourly rate that the Department paid for legal advice in 2018 is £640.00.

The highest hour rate that each of the Department’s arms-length bodies paid for legal

advice in 2018 as follows:

HIGHWAYS ENGLAND £360.00

Transport Focus £350.00

British Transport Police Authority £400.00

Northern Lighthouse Board £250.00

Trinity House Lighthouse Service £400.00

High Speed 2 Ltd £446.74

Network Rail £690.00

Department for Transport: Pay


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

rate of remuneration for (a) cleaners, (b) security guards and (c) catering staff in his

Department in (i) Greater London and (ii) outside Greater London.

Jesse Norman:

The Department for Transport does not hold remuneration rates for cleaners, catering

staff and security guards as these services are provided through a Total Facilities

Management (TFM) contract, which has a fixed single monthly payment covering all



services. Under that TFM contract all staff employed by the service provider are paid

at least the National Minimum Wage.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Lee Rowley: [209867]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will assess the potential

merits of introducing a discretionary compensation scheme for tenants of properties let on

a non-commercial basis who are impacted by the HS2 line construction.

Ms Nusrat Ghani:

The Secretary of State has no plans to assess the potential merits of introducing a

discretionary compensation specifically for tenants of non-commercial properties who

are directly impacted by the construction of the HS2 line.

The Secretary of State remains satisfied that existing statutory compensation

arrangements, set out in the response to the hon. Member’s written question 206029

on 14 January 2019, remain the most appropriate way to support tenants who are

directly impacted by the construction of the line.

A package of non-statutory measures already exists, and continues to be developed

by the Government, in order to properly support tenants and owners of properties

which will not be required for construction but are in close proximity to HS2 works.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Chalfont St Giles

Dame Cheryl Gillan: [209725]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many of the 38 owner-occupiers in

Chalfont St Giles who were sent a Land Interest Questionnaire by HS2 in the last three

months will now have their land or part of their land taken on a temporary basis; for what

period of time that land will be required; and what compensation will be offered.

Ms Nusrat Ghani:

In late 2018, 38 enquiry documents (36 Land Interest Questionnaires and two

Confirmation Schedules) were issued to the residents of Jack Hearne House. Design

and investigation works are continuing and at this stage it is not known whether this

land will ultimately be needed as part of the scheme. Subject to the results of

investigation works it is expected that, if needed at all, any temporary requirement for

land would relate to access to undertake works on the River Misbourne and should

not directly impact the residents of the flats. It is premature to establish what, if any,

level of expected compensation would be payable under Schedule 16 of the High

Speed Rail (London to West Midlands) Act 2017.

Northern: Industrial Disputes

Faisal Rashid: [209878]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to resolve the

industrial dispute affecting the Northern Rail network.




Andrew Jones:

The industrial dispute is a matter between Northern, its employees and their union

representative in which the Government cannot intervene directly. However, the

Government is keen for these strikes to end. They are having a big impact on the

people and businesses of so many communities across the North. The Government

has written to the Rail North Partnership (through which the Department and

Transport for the North co-manage the Northern franchise) expressing our clear

support for a second member of staff on Northern trains who is focused on delivering

excellent customer service. Northern have now confirmed to the RMT that there will

continue to be a second appropriately trained member of staff on board the trains,

and have guaranteed jobs and pay will be protected. The Government therefore

continues to call on both parties to engage in talks and resolve the dispute.

Railways: Wales

Daniel Kawczynski: [209757]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to

ensure that British Members of Parliament are able to engage adequately with the Welsh

Government on Wales and Borders train services; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones:

The new Welsh rail devolution arrangements established in 2018 in line with the

recommendations of the Silk Commission strengthen the protection of English

interests in the Wales & Borders franchise. In particular, a new dedicated Borders

Business Unit will be established to act as a focal point for liaison with relevant

stakeholders and users of Wales & Borders rail franchise train services in England.

Roads: Accidents

Sir Mike Penning: [209303]

If he will bring forward legislative proposals to allow roadside rescue and recovery

operators to use red warning light on their vehicles; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman:

The Government recognises the important work that recovery operators perform. The

Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations (RVLR) 1989 permit the use of amber warning

beacons capable of emitting a flashing or rotating beam of light to raise awareness of

vehicles during recovery operations. Amber is a universally recognised signal colour.

RVLR also permits the use of an illuminated warning sign which must show a steady

light, and be red if showing to the rear of the vehicle, and white or in some

circumstances yellow if showing to the front.

There are no current plans to change the law.



TREASURY

Cash Dispensing: Fees and Charges

Ruth Smeeth: [209838]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions his Department has had

with LINK on the interchange rate for ATMs.

John Glen:

The Government recognises that widespread access to cash remains extremely

important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK.

Government is continuing to engage with the regulators and industry, including LINK,

on this issue.

LINK has cancelled its third interchange fee reduction, due in January 2020, and put

on hold its fourth reduction, due in January 2021, pending further review.

The Payment Systems Regulator, who regulates LINK, has welcomed these

adjustments, having stated that LINK must carefully review its decisions on

interchange fees to reflect changing market conditions.

Members: Correspondence

Mrs Madeleine Moon: [209310]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department plans to respond to the

letter from the hon. Member for Bridgend of 13 November 2018, reference

MM/JH/12/11/2018.

Mel Stride:

HM Revenue and Customs are currently investigating the issues raised in your

original correspondence as they relate to operational tax matters. They aim to get

back to you as soon as possible.

Migrant Workers: Taxation

Andrew Gwynne: [209308]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what contribution to the pubic purse has been

made by non-EU citizens in employment via (a) National Insurance contributions, (b)

income tax, and (c) indirect taxation in each of the last three years.

Mel Stride:

The table below shows the total Income Tax and National Insurance contributions

(class 1 and class 4) paid by non-EU citizens in the tax years 2013-14, 2014-15 and

2015-16. Estimates for 2016-17 will be published as official statistics in August 2019.

It is not possible to identify from indirect tax receipts how much was paid by non-EU

nationals.




TAX YEAR TOTAL INCOME TAX (£MILLIONS)

TOTAL NATIONAL INSURANCE

CONTRIBUTIONS (£MILLIONS)

2013-14 10,312 6,771

2014-15 10,502 6,943

2015-16 11,316 7,350

The estimates provided are based on HMRC’s Survey of Personal Incomes and

HMRC’s records of individuals’ nationality at the point of registering for a National

Insurance number. Nationality in this dataset does not update if the individual

changes their nationality.

Equivalent statistics for EU and EEA nationals are published by HMRC:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-tax-nics-tax-credits-and-child-

benefit-statistics-for-eea-nationals-2015-to-2016

The estimates have been produced using the same methodology as for the published

statistics on EEA nationals

WORK AND PENSIONS

Children: Maintenance

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: [209800]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many historical arrears cases

there were at the beginning of the migration of cases from the Child Support Agency to

the Child Maintenance Service.


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many historical arrears cases

have been transferred from the Child Support Agency to the Child Maintenance Service.


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many arrears-only cases are

registered with the Child Maintenance Service.

Justin Tomlinson:

Data is available on the number of arrears only cases registered with the Child

Support Agency (CSA). This is available in Table 2 of the Child Support Agency Case

Closure Statistics: June 2014 - September 2018 (below).

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-case-closures-june-

2014-to-september-2018

Statistics on the total number of Child Support Agency arrears only cases that have

been transferred to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), and the number of CSA

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-tax-nics-tax-credits-and-child-benefit-statistics-for-eea-nationals-2015-to-2016






https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-case-closures-june-2014-to-september-2018



arrears only cases on the CMS caseload are published in Table 8 of the same

publication (Child Support Agency Case Closure Statistics).

This publication shows that as of September 2018 there were 171,700 CSA arrears

only cases on the Child Maintenance Service Caseload.

Data on the number of cases with arrears accrued within the Child Maintenance

Service is available from Child Maintenance Service Administrative Data. This shows

that, as of September 2018, there were 6,700 cases where arrears have been

accumulated solely within CMS and liability has ended. There are a further 2,700

cases with both CMS and CSA arrears where liability has ended.*

Case closure is part of the government’s 2012 vision for child maintenance reforms

designed to encourage parents to consider making collaborative family based

arrangements.

Since 2014, cases with the Child Support Agency have been closed in a phased

manner as part of the transition to the Child Maintenance Service.

To provide CSA clients with an opportunity to consider their choice of future

maintenance arrangement – including whether they could make a family based

arrangement – they are signposted to the Child Maintenance Options service as part

of the closure process.

Following Parliamentary approval of new regulations in December 2018, the

Department is now implementing its Child Maintenance Compliance and Arrears

Strategy which includes finally dealing with the remaining arrears only CSA cases.

Where there is a prospect that it may be cost effective to do so, we are offering

parents a chance to ask the department to attempt to collect the outstanding arrears.

Arrears that are not cost effective to attempt to collect and those which parents do not

want us to pursue, will be written off.

*Please note that the data supplied on arrears accrued within the Child Maintenance

Service are derived from unpublished management information which was collected

for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National

Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated

with caution.

daily report friday, 25 january 2019 contents

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