In 2014-15, the London Borough of Croydon is forecast to receive £428 million in government grants, excluding mandatory housing benefits, equivalent to £2,877 per dwelling. Including mandatory housing benefits, the forecast is £693 million (source: Revenue Account budget returns). The Greater London Authority also delivers services (police, fire, transport, strategic housing and planning) in Croydon, and is forecast to receive £4.5 billion in government grants in 2014-15, equivalent to £1,311 per dwelling. Taken together, this is equivalent to £4,189 per dwelling in Croydon.

Leaving aside education spending which has changed due to the funding shift from local authorities to academies directly, in 2014-15 Croydon’s net current expenditure excluding education is forecast to be £546 million (source: Revenue Account budget returns). This compares with £490 million in 2009-10 (source: Revenue Outturn returns). This represents an 11 per cent increase in cash terms.

It has been brought to my attention that the Council has put up posters on council-owned billboards asserting: “Government is cutting its funding to you by £100 million over the next three years”. This is factually incorrect, given no decisions have been made on local government funding beyond 2015-16. Moreover, such polemical publicity is not only potentially contrary to the provisions of the local government Publicity Code, but is in itself a waste of money – the Council could be using its advertising space to sell commercial advertising and generate revenue to support frontline services, rather than peddle political messages.

The six monthly report on Hong Kong covering the period July-December 2014 was published on 26 February.

On the day of my visit, the Hong Kong Government was focused on the launch of the second public consultation on constitutional reform. They were consequently unavailable to meet me. It was nevertheless valuable for me to visit Hong Kong on my way back from mainland China, in light of recent events and our ongoing interest under the Joint Declaration. I was able to meet the President of the Legislative Council and a wide range of legislators, which was particularly important given their key role in the next stage of the constitutional reform process, as well as Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma and representatives of the business community.

The following table gives the salary range for each DFID pay band in (a) 2012, (b) 2013 and (c) 2014.

In June 2014, there were 97 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by the Salvation Army, of which, 59 were female victims, 37 were male victims and one was a transgender victim. In the interests of victim safety, only the region in which the victim was encountered is provided, and not the county, parliamentary constituency or details of the specific shelters at which victims are supported. The scope of the victim care contract does not extend (a) beyond the date on which a victim exits government funded support or (b) to the safety and protection of victims post the recovery and reflection period. The Salvation Army therefore does not routinely maintain contact with victims outside the scope of the victim care contract.

Details are provided in the table below.

Selective licensing allows local authorities to license all privately rented housing in a designated area that suffers from low housing demand and/or significant antisocial behaviour. The Department does not routinely collect information on the number or extent of licensing schemes although local authorities were asked on a one-off voluntary basis to provide this information last year. 194 local authorities responded, of which, 14 had introduced licensing. While an assessment of the impact of licensing on private sector rents has not been undertaken, we believe that licensing puts unnecessary extra costs on good landlords, thereby pushing up rents and reduces choice.

We plan to publish an analysis of the replies and proposed next steps, including any decision that may be made on restrictions of borough-wide licensing schemes, in the summer.

Government analysis has shown that high corporate taxes have a negative impact on investment, jobs and growth, so we have cut the corporation tax rate from 28% to 21%. Next year, it will fall to 20%, the joint lowest rate in the G20. Increasing corporation tax, as some propose, would damage the economy, cost jobs and drive away investment. It is anti-business and we will not do it.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

As my right hon. Friend knows, an independent report published by NHS London in June 2012 identified a systemic failure of financial management within NHS Croydon, which caused an inaccurate picture of the organisation’s financial position to be presented. However, the report found that that there was no adverse effect on local patient care.

The United Nations released revised population projections on 13 June. The population in north Africa is projected to increase from 200 million in 2010 to 319 million in 2050, while in west Africa the projected rise is from 305 million in 2010 to 815 million in 2050.

The Government are committed to fighting human trafficking, as my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary set out in an earlier answer. Over £2 million has been recovered from traffickers in the past three years. Victims can apply for criminal injuries compensation and the Government pay £3 million a year for support services for victims through our contract with the Salvation Army. The figures on compensation paid to trafficking victims are not collected centrally.

The Metropolitan police are conducting an investigation under the supervision of the Independent Police Complaints Commission. My hon. Friend will understand that there is nothing that I can add to that in Parliament without straying into the territory of a criminal IPCC investigation.

The Government are delivering a coherent package of measures to tackle metal theft, which includes: banning cash payments for scrap metal; enhancing law enforcement through the national metal theft taskforce; and improving the traceability of stolen metal. We are also working with my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon South (Richard Ottaway) to support his private Member’s Bill to reform the scrap metal industry.

I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), to the House on 3 September 2011, Official Report, columns 59-68.