To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the asset value is of the (a) vehicles and (b) plant referred to in the answer of 30 October 2006, Official Report, column 205W; and why vehicles and plant will not be covered by the draft licence which is being developed by the Department of Regional Development. (103646)

The asset value of (a) the vehicles was £4,010,000 and (b) the plant £2,056,000 (this relates to mobile plant). The licence has been developed taking account of regulatory best practice in the sector and the inclusion of such assets within the licence does not reflect best practice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the estimated transformation costs are in 2006-07 and 2007-08 for Water Service to Northern Ireland Water Ltd. (103666)

The Invest to Save budget for 2006-07 is £39.5millon. This funds transformation costs including major projects to deliver efficiencies and operational improvements. The transformation budget for the financial year 2007-08 will be defined in the strategic business plan which has not yet been finalised.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which companies held the four contracts extended beyond the original agreement dates referred to in the answer of 30 October 2006, Official Report, column 191W; and what percentage of the original contract the extension value represented. (103675)

The hon. Gentleman's previous question had asked how many contracts, related to the reform of water and sewerage services since 2001, had been extended in terms of (a) costs and (b) services required.

The information requested on each of the four contracts referred to in the answer of 30 October 2006, Official Report, column 191W, is as follows:

The Strategic and Financial Consultancy was provided by a UBS-led consortium; the contract was extended by £33,700 which represents just under 9 per cent. of the original contract value.

The Financial Advisory consultancy was let to Deloitte and Touche; this contract was extended by £351,000 and represents a 30 per cent. increase in the value of the original contract.

The Programme Management Consultancy was let to Hedra Consortium and was extended by £95,000; this represents an 86 per cent. increase in the value of the original contract.

With regard to the efficiencies and risk management consultancies, on further examination these were each let under separate contracts to the same firm (Ashburn Consulting). Neither contract was extended or exceeded the planned value. I apologise for the error in the answer of 30 October 2006.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the reasons were for the overspend on consultancy budgets for the Water Service referred to in the answer of 30 October 2006, Official Report, column 191W. (103644)

There is no reference in the answer of 30 October 2006, Official Report, column 191W, to overspends on consultancy budgets for the Water Service.

The reasons for the extensions referred to are set out in the answer of 30 October.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what factors were taken into account when determining the salary of the (a) chief executive, (b) chairman and (c) non-executive directors of the Water Service. (103645)

In considering the remuneration for all of these positions the Department took account of the need to strike a balance between attracting the calibre of individuals required for these high profile posts and the impact on current and future appointments in the Northern Ireland public sector.