Tom Pursglove

The Department does not hold information on how many civil servants are members of Trade Unions. The Cabinet Office publishes data relating to Civil Service facility time on a quarterly basis. The latest data is Quarter 4, 2014 at and is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trade-union-facility-time.

The Department collects this information on a quarterly basis. The last period for which we have data is Quarter 2 of 2015, 1 April – 30 June 2015. During this period, the 33 TU reps claimed a total of 913 hours of facility time at a cost of £18,933.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) recognises three Trade Unions for the purposes of collective bargaining: the First Division Association (FDA), the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) and Prospect. As not all Trade Union members pay their subscriptions through payroll it is not possible to provide accurate data on the number of employees who are trade union members.

Local union representatives are elected by the employees who are members of the union in accordance with each union’s rules for filling these posts. In order to fulfil their trade union duties the unions also elect representatives to the roles of Departmental Trade Union Side (DTUS) Chair and Secretary. The DTUS Chair and Secretary are allocated re-approved facility time up to 50% of their working hours. All other representatives must request time off from their line manager.

Details of the working time claimed by unions representatives in DECC and the cost of the facility time to the Department is provided to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis. The details provided in the latest return covering the period 1 April to 30 June 2015 are as follows:

56 different energy intensive businesses across the UK have received a total of £131.7m in compensation since August 2013 – £65.6m in respect of the EU Emissions Trading System and £66.1m in respect of the Carbon Price Support mechanism. There is also a Climate Change Levy exemption, for energy used in metallurgical and mineralogical processes, which additionally covers a number of Energy Intensive Industries who claim EU ETS and CPS compensation.

The nationality of offenders referred to the court is not collated centrally.

The Ministry of Justice hold data on foreign nationals held in prisons in England and Wales and publish statistics quarterly. The data does not include those offenders who receive non-custodial sentences.

To obtain even the limited data which is held would require the consideration of the files in all cases over the past three years where the Court of Appeal increased a sentence of imprisonment previously imposed to ascertain if they contained sufficient information for the data to be requested from the Ministry of Justice.

The process that would have to be undertaken would incur costs above the current disproportionate cost threshold and would in any event only provide the nationality for a limited number of offenders referred to the court.

The nationality of the offenders referred to the court is not collated centrally and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

The Law Officers Departments do not hold complete records of the number of staff who are enrolled in a trade union as there is no obligation placed on a trade union to disclose this information to employers.

Records are however maintained on the amount of facility time claimed during the financial year 2014/15 and the cost involved, as detailed below.

¹ The GLD data also covers the Attorney General’s Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.

² Only nominated trade union representatives are granted facility time.

The Cabinet Office publishes data relating to Civil Service facility time on a quarterly basis. The latest data is Quarter 4, 2014 at and is available at

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trade-union-facility-time .

Central government does not record the value of contracts by supplier nationality.

However, in 2014, government published an analysis of contracts won by firms with UK addresses:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-uk-and-eu-balance-of-competences-call-for-evidence-on-the-single-market-free-movement-of-services

This information is not held centrally.

I refer my hon. Friend to ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation’, published in December 2015, a copy of which can be accessed on the gov.uk website.

The number of civil servants who are trade union members is a matter for individual trade unions.

The Cabinet Office publishes data relating to Civil Service facility time on a quarterly basis. The latest published data is for Quarters 1-4, 2014 and is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trade-union-facility-time

The provision and location of Post Offices is the operational responsibility of Post Office Limited.

Any proposal by Post Office Limited to relocate a post office within a community includes a six week local consultation conducted by the Post Office to let the community know what is happening and seek feedback from interested customers and stakeholders within the community. The Post Office carefully considers all feedback received during the consultation process before making a final decision on whether to relocate.

The Government recognises the importance of post offices to communities and will have invested £2 billion in the Post Office during the period 2010 to 2018 to maintain the network and invest in transformation of the business which includes money to help relocate post offices to more sustainable locations in their communities. This investment has led to the highest level of network stability in decades.

The Government has been working closely with industry to provide all the support we can during these difficult times.

We have made significant progress in addressing the challenges faced by the industry and we have convened a Steel Council to ensure our continued support is targeted in the right areas.

I refer my hon. Friend to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's response of 25th May 2016 to Question UIN 37198. This information is not collated centrally by the Department.

I refer the Hon Member to the Prime Minister's response of 25th May 2016. This information is not collated centrally by the Department.

Across all compensation schemes (EU ETS, CPS, RO & FiT) to date, we have paid out over £189m in compensation.

Of this, the steel sector has been paid over £80m.

Since 25 Nov 2015, the aluminium sector has been paid over £464,000.

Additionally, we are processing 2016 EU ETS/CPS claims, as well as RO/FIT compensation applications, so the amounts will increase significantly in coming months.

The National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of Olympic sports are responsible for the training of their athletes during the period leading up to the Olympic Games, and with it the facilities they choose. UK Sport is working closely with NGBs to determine the appropriate level of facilities needed to sustain Olympic success ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games, which are set to run from 24 July to 9 August 2020. The British Olympic Association (BOA), as the National Olympic Committee (NOC) for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is responsible for Team GB’s participation at the Olympic Games.

UK Sport’s high-performance system and investment approach is admired the world over, and Great Britain is now recognised as one of the world’s most successful sporting nations. Decisions over which sports to fund in each Olympic and Paralympic cycle are made independently of Government by UK Sport. This helps ensure that funding decisions are made free from political influence with a view to the best overall outcomes for our elite athletes.

Olympic sports' National Governing Bodies (NGB) are responsible for the training of their athletes during the period leading up to the Olympic Games, and with it the facilities they choose. UK Sport is working closely with NGBs to determine the appropriate level of facilities needed to sustain Olympic success ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games, which are set to run from 24 July to 9 August 2020.

The British Olympic Association (BOA), as the National Olympic Committee (NOC) for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is responsible for Team GB’s participation at the Olympic Games. The BOA – a privately funded organisation - has already announced its preferred training facilities for Tokyo 2020. Each sport’s National Governing Body (NGB) is responsible for the training of their athletes during the period leading up to the Olympic Games, and with it the facilities they choose. However, in the immediate run-up to each Summer Games, the BOA secures facilities for a multi-sport preparation camp within or near the host country. In 2017, the BOA secured three multi-sport facilities in the Greater Tokyo area to act as a multi-sport preparation camp for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The three sites, all based in the Greater Tokyo area in the cities of Kawasaki and Yokohama, will make up the BOA’s biggest ever pre-Games preparation camp, allowing athletes the opportunity to acclimatise and complete their final preparations for Tokyo 2020 a short journey from the heart of Tokyo in dedicated International Federation standard venues. These facilities will provide Team GB’s athletes with optimal pre-Games training in world-class facilities ahead of the Games, which are set to run from 24 July to 9 August 2020.

I refer the Hon Member to the Prime Minister's response of 25th May 2016. This information is not collated centrally by the Department.

Government recognises the important contribution that opportunities for sport and recreation make to the health and wellbeing of communities. Planning policies should be based on robust and up-to-date assessments of community needs. Any change of policy to allow Sport England (or any other public body) to have similar responsibilities for community leisure facilities, as it does for playing fields, would be a matter for DCLG.

Through the national funding formula, local authorities will receive growth funding to help them to respond to significant increases in pupil numbers. In 2018-19, we will allocate this funding based on local authority growth spending in 2017-18. This represents an improvement on the current system, which fails to recognise growing areas.

It is essential that everyone, irrespective of background and upbringing, has the opportunity to get the skills and training they need to get on in life. Tech levels and certificates in schools, Traineeships, Apprenticeships, National Colleges, Institutes of Technology and proposed technical education reforms set out in the Skills Plan, present real opportunities for people of all ages to acquire the high quality skills and vocational or technical education that employers demand. Opportunity Areas will be at the forefront of my Department’s drive to increase opportunities for young people to develop the skills they need to succeed.

I refer the Hon Member to the Prime Minister's response of 25th May 2016. This information is not collated centrally by the Department.

Funding for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) is allocated to local authorities through the dedicated schools grant, which includes both funding to be delegated to mainstream schools, and funding for the additional costs associated with educating children and young people with high needs.

Schools are funded through a formula set by their local authority, and local authorities are required to delegate funds to a level that enables schools to meet the additional cost of pupils with SEN up to £6,000 per annum. It is for individual schools to decide how they allocate their overall budget to ensure they meet the specific needs of children with learning difficulties.

For those pupils whose additional support costs more than £6,000 the local authority pays top-up funding to the schools from their high needs budget. Top-up funding rates are for local authorities to agree with their schools.

Northamptonshire County Council’s high needs allocation, within the dedicated schools grant, in each of the last three years was as follows:

• 2013-14 – £64.37 million

• 2014-15 – £65.74 million

• 2015-16 – £66.32 million.

We do not hold information on the total funding allocated by Northamptonshire County Council to schools in Corby and East Northamptonshire.

We encourage schools to make facilities available to the local community, including sports facilities, and many schools do.

Individual schools and their governing bodies or trusts are responsible for how they use their premises and facilities. We have published advice about the use of school premises for extended activities and community service in section 11.2 of the Governance Handbook. This can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/governance-handbook.

Sport England has developed a resource for schools, titled ‘Use Our School’, which provides additional support for schools in opening their facilities to the community and keeping them open, and can be accessed at www.sportengland.org/facilities-planning/use-our-school/

The Government's new strategy for sport, 'Sporting Future, A New Strategy for an Active Nation' includes an action for Sport England to review take up of and engagement with its ‘Use Our School’ guidance to ensure that facilities owned by schools and colleges are used as effectively as possible.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Prime Minister to PQ UIN 37198 on 25 May 2016.

The Government has spent £2.6 million on flood risk management capital and maintenance works in Corby and East Northamptonshire between 2011/12 to 2015/16. This figure is combined, as the funding is allocated to, and work undertaken in, ‘Flood Risk Management Systems’. These systems relate to the watercourses in these areas and the consequences of flooding, rather than to political boundaries. For example, the river Harpers Brook flows in and out of both Corby and East Northamptonshire several times and so the funding for these areas is combined.

Maintenance works include routine maintenance, such as blockage removal, and incident management response during a flood. Capital works include capital project work, including studies, refurbishment and improvement works.

In accordance with data retention rules, the Environment Agency does not hold financial records for more than five years.

The number of civil servants in the Core-Department, who are members of a trade union, is matter for the unions.

The Cabinet Office publishes data relating to the Civil Service facility on a quarterly basis. The latest data is Quarter 4, 2014 and is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trade-union-facility-time

UK aid is making a real difference in Syria, providing life-saving and life-changing support to millions of people displaced inside Syria, and millions more who have taken refuge in neighbouring countries.

Since 2012, UK aid supplied over 26 million food rations that feed a person for a month, and 10.3 million medical consultations that can mean the difference between life and death.

I refer the Hon Member to the Prime Minister's response of 25th May 2016. This information is not collated centrally by the Department.

Information on trade union membership is held by individual trade unions. The Cabinet Office publishes data relating to Civil Service facility time on a quarterly basis. The latest data is Quarter 4, 2014 at and is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trade-union-facility-time.

Further details on timings and the process to recruit for this important role will be made available in due course.

Her Britannic Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Australasia will be SCS Pay Band 2, in line with the other nine HM Trade Commissioners.

We are still determining the full remit and responsibilities of Her Britannic Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Australasia.

The next, and eighth, meeting of the Board of Trade will take place in the South of England. It will bring together businesses from across the Southern region to celebrate their contribution to UK trade and investment.

The Export Strategy sets out how the Government will encourage, inform, connect and finance UK businesses to enable them to take advantage of the international demand for British goods and services. Last month we launched an enhanced digital service on great.gov.uk, connecting businesses to over 20,000 export opportunities.