Written Answers to Questions
Monday 12 October 2009
Solicitor-General
Gary Critchley
No representations have been received concerning the safety of the conviction of Gary Critchley.
Police Cautions: Crimes of Violence
I have been asked to reply.
Information showing the number of offenders cautioned and defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for serious violent offences in Northamptonshire and England from 2005-07 (latest available) is shown in the following table. Data for 2008 are due to be available towards the end of 2009.
2005 2006 2007 Cautioned Proceeded against Number cautioned as a percentage of those cautioned or proceeded against Cautioned Proceeded against Number cautioned as a percentage of those cautioned or proceeded against Cautioned Proceeded against Number cautioned as a percentage of those cautioned or proceeded against Northamptonshire 20 5172 5— 32 5121 5— 27 556 5— England 911 11,233 8 875 10,721 8 666 10,496 6 1 From 1 June 2000, the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These figures have been included in the totals. 2 Covers the following: Homicide and child destruction Causing death by dangerous driving Attempted murder Wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent Racially aggravated wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm Causing death by aggravated vehicle taking 3 The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 4 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 5 The number of defendants proceeded against for Northamptonshire reflects the data received from the magistrates courts. However, during the period covered by the table, there were data quality issues. Hence, it would be unwise to place much credence in the drop of prosecutions over time and thus in the increase in the percentage cautioned if derived. Source: Evidence and Analysis Unit, Office for Criminal Justice Reform.
Olympics
CLM: Finance
As outlined in the Olympic Delivery Authority's (ODA) 2008-09 Annual Report, performance payments are payable to CLM for the achievement of pre-agreed key performance indicators for the delivery of programme milestones and cost targets.
Payments to CLM during the financial year 2008-09 reflect the increase in scale of the project in the last year as construction activity increased, and the strong progress being made as the project remains on track and within budget.
The ODA, working with CLM, achieved significant savings of £390 million in the last year. The savings derive primarily from reduction in scope and value engineering changes, procurement savings, inflation and VAT savings, and have been applied to cost pressures as they have arisen. In particular, they have been used to help fund the Olympic Village and ensuring that the programme overall can be delivered within budget.
CLM's contract is heavily incentivised and payment to them is dependent on meeting strict performance measures tied to delivering on time, to budget and to a high standard.
Departmental Advertising
In 2008-09, the amounts spent on newspaper advertising were as follows:
Private office of the Minister for the Olympics—Nil.
Government Olympic Executive—£16,210.44 (comprising payments of £5,551.96 to the Central Office of Information; and £10,658.48 to Sports Recruitment International for advertisements in the Guardian and Timesonline). All advertising expenditure by the Government Olympic Executive was for recruitment purposes.
Members: Correspondence
[holding answer 21 July 2009]: On receipt of the letter dated 16 February, my officials forwarded a copy of my response (via email) to the hon. Member's constituency office in February 2009.
Due to an administrative oversight a written response was not sent to the hon. Member's letter of 16 February. I have replied to this letter on 29 July 2009 and apologise for the delay.
Olympic Delivery Authority: Pay
Staff are broken into pay bands across the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). Details of performance related pay (PRP) payments in each pay band for the year ended 31 March 2009 are set out in the following table:
Pay band Employee type Numbers of employees Total PRP paid1 (£) Average PRP payment (£) 1 Projects/Administrative support 54 82,937 1,535 2 Executives/Officers 39 134,746 3,455 3 Managers/Technical professionals 77 686,708 8,918 4 Heads of function 28 514,882 18,389 5 Directors 7 282,629 40,375 6 CEO 1 2104,783 104,783 Total 206 1,806,685 8,770 1 Excluding national insurance. 2 Actual bonus agreed by the Remuneration Committee was £209,566. The CEO voluntarily deferred half that amount.
The equivalent figure for the year ended 31 March 2008 is approximately £1.7 million. A breakdown into pay bands for that year appears in the following table:
Pay band Employee type Numbers of employees Total PRP paid1 (£) Average PRP payment (£) 1 Projects/Administrative support 45 69,468 1,544 2 Executives/Officers 27 76,038 2,816 3 Managers/Technical professionals 66 553,602 8,388 4 Heads of function 26 487,246 18,740 5 Directors 7 316,457 45,208 6 CEO 1 204,930 204,930 Total 172 1,707,741 9,929 Note: Excluding national insurance.
The chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), David Higgins, has a performance-based pay element within his contract agreed by the Minister for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This is linked to delivery on time and within budget. The basis of performance pay is agreed by DCMS and the level is determined by the remuneration committee of the ODA Board.
The ODA’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2008-09, copies of which have been placed in the House Library, records the progress in 2008-09. This records significant achievements including:
keeping the programme on track and on budget;
delivering the first venue, Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy in November 2008, on time and within budget;
delivering the £288 million Power Lines Undergrounding Project in December 2008 on time and on budget;
starting work on the Main Stadium, the Aquatics Centre and the Velodrome ahead of schedule; and
meeting challenging cost and health and safety targets.
On the basis of his contract the remuneration committee determined that a performance related payment of £209,566 was the appropriate amount to recognise the chief executive’s performance, However, Mr. Higgins said, in July, that he had voluntarily agreed to defer half of his performance-based pay until 2012, subject to the satisfactory delivery of the current programme and scope, within the maximum available funding agreed by the Minister.
As John Armitt, Chair of the ODA said “None of our progress over the year would have been possible without the hard work of the team at the ODA led by David Higgins”.
A summary of expenses for the Olympic Delivery Authority chairman, chief executive, board members and directors is available on the London 2012 website. The summary is itemised for hotel, entertainment and other costs.
Olympic Games 2012
[holding answer 16 September 2009]: There are a number of possible categories that the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is exploring to raise sponsorship revenue, including in the alcoholic drinks sector. Most previous games have had a domestic commercial provider of beer and wine, including Beijing in 2008.
Currently, LOCOG has no commercial partners for the provision of alcoholic drinks. I am unable to disclose any estimates for this sponsorship category as this would be commercially sensitive.
Olympic Games 2012: Cycling
[holding answer 9 September 2009]: I have not had direct discussions with the International Olympic Committee. However, the Minister for Sport and I have had discussions with the British Olympic Association and UK Sport. I have also spoken to British Cycling on this matter. The International Cycling Federation recently submitted a request to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for new cycling events to be included in the 2012 Olympic programme. The IOC Executive Board indicated that this could happen, especially if the new events increase the participation of women at the games and on condition that they replace events already on the programme. Current events can be replaced with new ones only if the total number of athletes is maintained. A final decision will be made at the IOC congress in October.
Olympic Games 2012: Employment
(2) what criteria are used to classify construction workers wishing to obtain employment at the Olympic Park as local residents.
Only workers who give a permanent address in one of the five host boroughs are counted as local. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has adopted the definition used by HM Revenue and Customs and other public authorities which deems a person to be resident in an area from the day they move to a permanent and specific address. As there is no minimum period of residence required for a person to be classified as being a resident, the ODA does not report on this information.
Each worker on the Olympic Park must provide a recognised permanent address. As part of this process UK Border Agency (UKBA) staff work on site with the ODA and contractors to ensure that people employed on the Olympic Park are legally entitled to do so. UKBA have been on the site performing this role since April 2008.
The Government and the ODA are committed to creating a jobs and skills legacy for London and the UK from the London 2012 games. A whole range of measures has been put in place to ensure local people are well placed to benefit from employment and training on the Olympic site including being given 48 hours exclusive access to job vacancies through local brokerage services.
Olympic Games 2012: Hertfordshire
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Broxbourne (Mr. Walker) on 1 September 2009, Official Report, columns 162W and 163W.
Olympic Games 2012: Paralympic Games 2012
[holding answer 6 July 2009]: Of the public sector budget of £9.325 billion:
£8.099 billion, including contingency of up to £1.972 billion, is available to the Olympic Delivery Authority for the venues and infrastructure construction programme;
£290 million has been invested in maximising the benefit to elite and community sport of hosting the 2012 games;
£66 million is the Government's planned contribution to the cost of hosting the Paralympic games;
£32 million has been allocated to the Look programme;
£838 million, including £238m contingency, has been allocated to Security.
I refer the hon. Member to the January 2008 and January 2009 Annual Reports on the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games and to the Quarterly Economic Reports on the Games published in May and July 2009, all of which contain more detailed information.
Olympic Games 2012: Plants
All contracts for the supply of plants are let in accordance with the Olympic Delivery Authority’s (ODA) Sustainability Strategy which, among other things, sets standards for minimising energy, waste and water use, and includes transport miles.
As many of the trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants and seeds as possible are specified in contract documents to be of British origin for ecological reasons. This is in order to meet the Olympic Biodiversity Action Plan targets for Games and Transformation as well as reducing transport and energy input. Peat-free composts are also specified in all the ODA’s contracts for plant supply.
The ODA is also installing an irrigation system to ensure the establishment of all planting. It will use a non-potable water supply, designed to reduce water demand.
Advanced plant procurement has secured approximately 2,000 semi mature trees from a UK nursery. The contract has also been let for the advanced procurement of approximately 240,000 wetland plants from a UK supplier. Current work is ongoing to secure advanced growing of herbaceous plants for 2012 Gardens. Clauses included in the plant procurement contracts require certain environmental standards to be met for nursery stock production and supply of stock.
House of Commons Commission
Drinking Water
The cost of the report “A carbon comparison of water provision options for the House of Commons committee rooms” was £7,000.
East of England Regional Grand Committee
The identifiable expenditure incurred in respect of the East of England Regional Grand Committee meeting of 8 September 2009 is expected to amount to around £1,600. The budgetary headings are travel and subsistence expenses for staff from the Department of Chamber and Committee Services (clerks, doorkeepers, Hansard sub-editors) and the provision of sound equipment by the House’s contractors Ubiqus UK Ltd. (Westminster Sound Systems).
Internet: Registration
No guidance on using computer facilities within the House of Commons to register domain names has been issued.
Members: Email
The cost of the software per user is £63 excluding VAT.
Members: Parking
There are currently 329 hon. Members with valid parking permits.
Outreach Officers: Manpower
The Parliamentary Outreach service currently employs eight outreach staff, six of whom are regional outreach officers. The regional outreach officers work mainly with community and voluntary groups and in the museums, libraries and archives sector. They also support select committees.
Parliament’s Education Service employs four educational outreach officers, who work in schools and train and support teachers in the delivery of the political literacy element of the citizenship curriculum and the politics curriculum.
Both these services are bicameral, the House of Lords paying for 30 per cent. of the costs. Current annual staff costs, including pension and national insurance contributions, as at July 2009, are as follows:
£ Total cost House of Commons share Parliamentary Outreach 351,557 246,089 Educational outreach 182,702 127,891 Total 533,259 373,980
Parliamentary Network: Computer Viruses
PICT frequently reviews and updates systems, in line with industry standards and practices, to manage the risk of computer infections.
Leader of the House
Departmental Training
Training courses are just one aspect of the development opportunities open to civil servants in the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons, and every member of staff discusses their personal development as part of their appraisal process.
Information on courses attended is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, during the past 12 months members of staff participated in training provided by external training organisations and internal training courses which are provided by the Cabinet Office free of charge.
Empty Dwelling Management Orders: Legal Costs
The Leader of the House does not issue guidance on the rules relating to the use of allowances.
Hon. Members may seek advice on allowances from the Department of Resources.
Impact Assessments
The Draft Legislative Programme set out the broad content of 11 bills which the Government are proposing to take through Parliament in the 2009-10 parliamentary session. Three of those bills have recently been introduced (Equality, Child Poverty and Constitutional Reform and Governance) and a further two have been published in draft (Bribery and Flood and Water Management). Each of those five bills is accompanied by full impact assessments. The remaining six bills are new proposals for consultation and, if they are introduced, they will also be accompanied by full impact assessments.
Electoral Commission Committee
Electoral Commission: Publicity
The Electoral Commission informs me that it ran public information campaigns for both elections. Each campaign comprised two phases, the first to provide information on registration, the second on voting.
Expenditure on buying advertising for the 2005 general election campaign was as follows (figures rounded to the nearest thousand):
Registration phase Voting phase Television 1,361,000 1,915,000 Radio 21,000 811,000 Posters 0 25,000
The Commission spent a further £496,000 on producing advertising for this campaign.
The Commission’s expenditure on buying advertising for the 2009 elections to the European Parliament was as follows (figures rounded to the nearest thousand):
Registration phase Voting phase Television 1,249,000 16,000 Radio 395,000 164,000 Posters 84,000 0
The Commission spent a further £533,000 on producing advertising for this campaign.
The Electoral Commission informs me that it currently plans to spend approximately £2.2 million on advertising for its campaign in advance of the next general election. It is not yet possible to break down this expenditure in the way requested as this will depend on when an election takes place and on the amount of notice given of an election.
Voting Behaviour
The Electoral Commission informs me that it considers voter turnout and the take up of postal voting at elections as part of its annual election reports. However, it makes no assessment of voter intentions or behaviour in terms of support for political parties.
The Commission will publish its reports on the 2009 European parliamentary elections and local elections in England in October 2009. Reports on previous elections are available on the Commission’s website:
www.electoralcommission.org.uk
Northern Ireland
Ambulance Services: Crimes of Violence
(2) when he last met with senior Ambulance Service officials to discuss attacks on their staff whilst on duty in Northern Ireland.
The PSNI is committed to bringing to justice those who carry out these abhorrent attacks. I have not met with senior officials or representatives from Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and Northern Ireland Ambulance Service recently. However, the Health Minister for Northern Ireland is aware of my continued concern for the well-being of emergency services staff
Arrests: Civil Disorder
As this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Gentleman, and will arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
Aviation: Meetings
I have had no requests from Northern Ireland Executive Ministers for such a meeting. Civil aviation is a reserved matter and is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport.
Bomb Disposal
Over the past (a) six and (b) 12 months Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel (EOD) have defused 23 and 56 live bomb devices respectively.
Departmental Advertising
The finance system of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) does not break down advertising expenditure in the detail requested; therefore these figures could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Recycling
Complete data on what proportion of waste was recycled are not available. However, all buildings are involved in recycling. A cross-departmental recycling scheme on the Stormont estate, which covers a large proportion of Northern Ireland Office staff, shows an average recycling rate from June 2008 to May 2009 of 45 per cent.
We are constantly looking at ways to improve recycling rates, for example by providing recycling bins in each office, and new contracts are being put in place to extend the scope of recycling.
The latest assessment of Government's performance against these targets was published by the Sustainable Development Commission on 12 December 2008:
http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/sdig2008/
Departmental Responsibility
My right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Northern Ireland (Paul Goggins) has been assigned responsibility for overseeing the delivery of value for money in the Northern Ireland Office.
The Northern Ireland Office is committed to reforming public services to improve services for the citizen and the Department has established a Business Performance Review Team (BPRT) to implement reforms. BPRT is working closely with colleagues in the centre of Government on this important agenda.
Those public bodies and their status which will be retained by the NIO at the point of devolution are as set out in the following table. While it is anticipated that parading will not devolve immediately, its future will be determined by the outcome of the Strategic Review of Parades chaired by Lord Ashdown.
Body Status Crown Solicitor’s Office Legal Office Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Executive NDPB Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland Advisory NDPB Sentence Review Commissioners Independent Office Holders Remission of Sentences Act Commissioners Independent Office Holders The Chief Electoral Officer Independent Office Holder The Civil Service Commissioners Independent Office Holder Independent Monitoring Commission International Body Independent International Commission on Decommissioning International Body Bloody Sunday Inquiry Inquiry Hamill Inquiry Inquiry Wright Inquiry Inquiry Nelson Inquiry Inquiry Office of the Surveillance Commissioner Misc Parades Commission Executive NDPB Reviewer of police and military powers under the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007 Independent Office Holder (NB Not yet appointed) Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains International Body
Departmental Training
The following table details external training courses attended by staff in the Northern Ireland Office in the last 12 months; and the associated cost for each course:
External course Cost (£) Accelerated SQL Server 2005 439 Acrobat Introduction 185 Advanced SAP System Monitoring—ADM106 1,800 Advanced Writing 775 Advocacy Course 1,100 AEP Net Technical Training 5,200 Analysis and Use of Evidence for Senior Managers 895 Anti Money Laundering 70 Basic Consultation Processes 305 Business Case Appraisal 900 CCTV User Group Seminar (x2 Staff) 938 CIPD 119 Civil Contingencies 411 Civil Procedure in the County Court 70 Communications and Marketing 500 CommVault v7 Training 2,373 Concepts in Accreditation 1,800 Contentious Costs 823 Contracts of Employment 20 Conveyance Workshop 70 CPD Technical Update 60 CPD Training 1,694 Crypto Custodian Course 395 Crystal Reports XI Level 1 439 Current Developments in Administrative Law 374 Customer Service Excellence 59 Data Protection Certificate 2,330 Deaf Awareness Training 500 Dealing with Conflict in the Workplace 1,512 Dealing with Negative Attitudes 228 Deaths in Hospitals 80 Delivering Project Excellence Seminar 80 Dell San Course Combo 8,000 Developing Applications using Visual Basic 396 Developing Future Managers 1,200 Disability Discrimination 20 Dods Parliamentary Communications 454 Drafting Statutory Instruments 865 Effective Briefing 1,365 Effective Manager 1 1,725 Effective Ministerial Correspondence 755 Effective Presentations for Senior Managers 1,620 Effective Speech Writing 1,350 Effective Writing 1,550 Effectively Tackle Reoffending 811 Employment Law in NI 70 Equality Law Update 907 Essential Media Skills 825 Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing 1,680 Executive PA Conference 2,026 Finance for Non-Financial Managers 1,414 First Aid Course 190 Gateway Review Team Member to Leader Workshop 400 Health and Safety 200 Helpdesk phone system course 550 High Court Litigation Seminar 60 How can we most effectively tackle reoffending 276 How Parliament Works 530 IFRS Prepare the shadow accounts 1,840 Immigration Law in Northern Ireland 375 Impact Assessment—Equality/Diversity in Policy Making and Service Delivery 440 Implementing the Taylor Reforms 734 Industrial Tribunal Case Law 40 Institute of Internal Auditors—MIIA Advanced Case Study Paper 4 1,069 Institute of Internal Auditors—MIIA revision workshop 588 Introduction to Audit 450 Introduction to Central Gov Finance 475 Introduction to Civil Protection 1,137 Introduction to Infosec 2,725 Introduction to Project Management 430 ISEB Foundation Certificate in Software Testing 1,752 IT Training 382 ITIL Foundation Course 1,590 ITIL Practitioner in Service Level Management 1,100 Land Law Reform Project 65 Lateral Thinking 156 Leadership and Team Building 293 Leadership Challenges for Women in Middle Management 1,145 Leadership Presence 1,395 Legal Professional Training 494 Legal Research On-Line Workshop 140 Libel and Defamation 70 M2261 Course 1,191 M2261 Win XP Ops System 857 M2262 Course 891 M2262 Win XP Ops System 569 M2273 Managing and Maintaining MS Windows Server 876 M2279 Planning, Implementing and Maintaining MS Server Active Directory 876 M2543 Core Web App Tech with M/S Visual Studio 876 M2547 Adv Windows Forms with MS Visual Studio 796 M2667 Intro to Programming 597 M2780 Maintaining MS SQL Server 2005 DB 3,104 M5047 Implementing and Managing MS Exchange 2007 1,752 Major Trauma and Drug Abuse 20 Management of Risk 1,940 Managing Operational Contracts 695 Managing Successful Programmes Foundation 960 Managing the passage of legislation 430 Managing time 410 Manual Handling Instructors’ and Assessors’ 1,029 Mental Health Law 315 Mental Health Law and Offender Patients 210 Microsoft Word 100 MIIA Distance learning study course 368 Mind Mapping 1,366 Minute Taking Course 1,330 Mortgage Fraud 90 Mortgage Repossessions 70 MS Access 592 MS Excel 200 MS Excel Intermediate 200 MS Project introduction 412 MS Word 100 MSE2K7 Exchange 2007 Accelerated Workshop 876 New Standards New Challenges 95 ORACLE database 10g administration workshop 2 2,321 Overview of Legislation 315 Parliament Government and the Civil Service 2,500 Parliamentary Questions 430 Personal Development for Disabled People 3,510 Personal Injury Litigation 90 PFI on-depth 224 Piloting your Bill through Parliament 240 Policing, Partnership and Accountability 1,102 Policy, Management and Research in the Historic House Sector 51 Political Intelligence 450 Practice and Procedure in the County Court 70 Preparing Business Cases 1,550 Preparing for an Industrial Tribunal 394 Pre-retirement Course 430 Presentation and Communication Skills 1,200 Presentation Skills 300 Presuming to Interpret 110 Preventing Violent Extremism 217 PRINCE2 755 PRINCE2 Foundation 3,475 Prince2 Managing Successful Projects 1,095 PRINCE2 Practitioner 2,740 PRINCE2 Re-Accreditation 1,657 Programme Management for Fast Stream 795 Programme Management Overview 905 Project Leadership 454 Project Management Survival Guide 2,611 Records Management Diploma 3,768 Resource Budgeting 518 Resource Budgeting Estimates to Accounts 900 Risk Management 834 SCS Base camp 2,000 SDI Service Desk Analyst Course 5,391 Shared experience from triggers 1 and 2 173 Sign Language Taster 150 Six Thinking Hats 902 Special Investigators Group 61 Stakeholder Engagement 1,720 Stress Recognition and Management 65 Sustainable development for decision makers 398 Tackling Difficult HR Issues 403 Thinking On Your Feet 385 Time Management 1,175 Transforming NI 398 Understanding NI Assembly 890 Visio 390 Visual Basic VB.Net Course 2,250 VM Ware Install and Configure Course 9,464 Workshop on Civil Recovery Orders 344 Writing Dynamics 6,776
Departmental Travel
The following table shows how much the Northern Ireland Office, including the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland, and excluding its agencies and NDPBs has spent on (a) car hire, (b) air travel (c) hotels and (d) restaurant meals for (i) Ministers and (ii) staff in his Department in each of the last five years.
All spending on official entertainment is made in accordance with HM Treasury’s “Managing Public Money”.
2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Car Hire1 Ministers 0 10 8 7 3 NIO Staff 70 63 42 67 70 Air Travel2 Ministers 573 562 637 535 751 NIO Staff 1,047 1,073 1,107 977 750 Hotels3 Ministers 4— 4— 4— 2 6 NIO Staff 4— 4— 4— 201 199 Restaurant meals5 Ministers 6— 6— 6— 6— 6— NIO Staff 6— 6— 6— 6— 6— 1 There may also be car hire costs within other expenditure codes including general travel. To extract these costs, and verify that they are related to car hire, would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold of £750. 2 Travel by Ministers and civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code respectively. 3 Up until 2006-07, hotel expenditure was included within night subsistence costs. To extract only hotel costs in these years would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold of £750. 4 Figures not available prior to 2007-08. 5 Expenditure on restaurant meals is included within subsistence or hospitality expenditure. To extract only restaurant meal costs would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold of £750. 6 Figures not available.
Devolution
The Government favours early devolution of responsibility for policing and justice, in line with the process set out by the First and Deputy First Minister in November 2008. It welcomes the introduction in the Northern Ireland Assembly of a Bill to establish a new Department of Justice, and looks forward to the Assembly approving a resolution seeking a transfer of powers, as set out in section 4 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. It is making intensive efforts to clear the remaining obstacles.
Drugs: Sentencing
In 2007-08 there were 736 persons and in 2008-09 there were 772 persons arrested for drug-dealing offences in Northern Ireland.
Conviction data for 2007 and 2008 are not available. In 2005 there were 149 persons and in 2006 there were 159 persons sentenced for drug-dealing offences in Northern Ireland.
Data for arrests relate to the offence for which a person is initially charged while data for convictions relate to the offence for which a person is tried. Not all persons arrested for drug-dealing are tried for this particular offence; for instance, if there is insufficient evidence persons may be tried for a lesser offence, such as drug possession.
Both data for arrests and convictions are collated on the principal offence rule; only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.
Economic Situation
A discussion on the economy formed part of the recent meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee, attended by the Northern Ireland First and deputy First Ministers, the Prime Minister, the Chief Secretary and myself. I have not recently discussed this issue with the Northern Ireland Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Arlene Foster MLA), but she met the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills during his visit to Belfast earlier in the year.
Orange Halls
As this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Gentleman, and will arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
Police Service of Northern Ireland
That is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Police Service of Northern Ireland: Army
As this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Gentleman, and will arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
Police: Injuries
As this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Gentleman, and will arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
As this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Gentleman, and will arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
Police: Vehicles
That is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
As this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Gentleman, and will arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
Prisoners: Maghaberry Prison
On 22 July, the number of prisoners recorded as being affiliated to dissident republican groups held in Maghaberry prison was 46; there were 112 loyalist prisoners on a similar basis.
Prisoners: Magilligan Prison
On 22 July, there were 11 prisoners affiliated to dissident republican groupings held at Magilligan prison.
Relocation
As this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Gentleman, and will arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
Security
The Secretary of State meets the First Minister regularly to discuss a range of issues, including the security situation.
Terrorism
As this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Gentleman, and will arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
Weapons: Licensing
(2) have been revoked in each of the last three years.
That is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Young People: Missing Persons
That is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Prime Minister
Afghanistan
I have regular meetings and discussions with ministerial colleagues and others including the Chief of the Defence staff on a wide range of subjects. The Chief of the Defence staff accompanied me on my visit to Afghanistan in August.
Cabinet Committees: Data Protection
The details of the proposed changes to legislation as set out in Building Britain’s Future (Cm7654) will be included in the Government’s response to the Review of the 30-Year Rule. The Government response will be published in due course.
Defence: Procurement
I refer the hon. Member to the answer to the right hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) on 15 July 2009, Official Report, column 286.
Domestic Visits
I have visited members of the armed forces both in the United Kingdom and abroad, and have met injured personnel, in Selly Oak and other places, on these occasions. Visits to injured personnel and to hospitals are undertaken privately.
Legislation
(2) which of the proposals announced during his speech to the 2009 Labour Party Conference have previously been announced by the Government (a) in full and (b) in part, giving the date in each case; and if he will make a statement.
The Government will set out its proposals for legislation in the next session in the Queen’s speech. The speech is a matter of public record.
Libya: Northern Ireland
I refer my hon. Friend to the press briefing given by my spokesman on 7 September. A transcript of this is available on the No. 10 website
http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page20542
and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
Lockerbie: Bombings
A copy of the letter has been placed in the Libraries of the House. The letter covered a range of African policy issues which were appropriate and relevant in the light of Colonel Gaddafi’s election as chair of the African Union. It did not cover the issue of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi’s release. I did not meet Colonel Gaddafi at the UN General Assembly meeting.
Official Gifts
I refer the hon. Member to the annual list of gifts received by Ministers in an official capacity valued at more than £140 which has been published since 2001. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House.
Social Care Green Paper
“The case for change—why England needs a new care and support system”, published in May 2008, set out the Government’s intention to reform care and support services and was followed by a six-month period of public engagement to help raise awareness of care and support issues and to gather opinions on the best way to proceed with the reform agenda.
This year’s Green Paper, “Shaping the Future of Care Together”, published in July, is the response to that period of public engagement. It sets out specific options and proposals for a National Care Service, on which debate shall now ensue.
UN
A record of the discussions and videos of the speeches given can be found at:
http://www.un.org/webcast/sc.html
A copy of my speech has been placed in the Library of the House.
USA
The interview was conducted for the BBC Simon Mayo show broadcast on Radio 5 live, and can be heard on its website.
Scotland
Departmental Advertising
The Scotland Office incurred no costs advertising in newspapers during 2008-09.
Departmental Billing
The Scotland Office paid 97.9 per cent. of invoices within 10 days of receipt in June 2009.
Departmental Manpower
The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Therefore, there was no predecessor in 1997.
The latest staffing levels for the Scotland Office are published in the Office’s Annual Report for 2009, a copy of which is available on the Scotland Office website. To view this Report please see the following link:
http://www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/scotlandoffice/files/SO%202009.pdf
A correction to Annex 9 is also available via the following link:
http://www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/scotlandoffice/files/SO%202009%20ERRATUM%203.pdf
Departmental Recycling
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Reading, East (Mr. Wilson) on 31 March 2009, Official Report, column 1029W.
Departmental Responsibilities
The functions of the Scotland Office are set out fully in its annual report for 2009 which is published on the Scotland Office website at:
http://www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/scotlandoffice/10797.135.html
The principal role of the Scotland Office is to oversee the devolution settlement and make it work effectively for the people of Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom.
Economic Situation
No. There is no plan to close the Hebrides Range; and fuel duty is a matter for the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Glasgow
I visited Glasgow on official business during the summer adjournment.
Wales
Business: Government Assistance
The UK Government have launched a number of initiatives designed to help UK businesses during the current economic downturn. These include the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme, Capital for Enterprise Fund and the highly successful HMRC Time to Pay, which are all supporting Welsh businesses. So far, HMRC has reached over 6,780 agreements with businesses in Wales, to spread more than £100 million in businesses taxes. More information on these schemes can be obtained from the BIS, Wales Office and Welsh Assembly Government websites.
The European Investment Bank has also approved nearly £475 million of loans to small and medium sized enterprises across the UK.
Departmental Advertising
Departmental Billing
In June 2009 my Department paid 87 per cent. of invoices within 10 days of receipt.
Departmental Manpower
The Wales Office was established in May 1999. My office currently employs 58 members of staff.
Departmental Motor Vehicles
In the last five financial years, my Department’s expenditure for car hire is broken down as:
Ministers Staff 2004-05 77,153.00 126.00 2005-06 92,866.68 277.37 2006-07 106,707.39 41.02 2007-08 135,649.52 0 2008-09 217,129.45 143.44
The increase in car hire for Ministers in 2008-09 came about because in previous years the Secretary of State’s car was provided by the Northern Ireland Office and then the Department of Work and Pensions when he held dual responsibilities.
Departmental Postal Services
In the last two years my Department has spent the following using the services of Royal Mail:
£ 2007-08 1,711 2008-09 2,531
Departmental Procurement
To provide the information the hon. Lady has requested would incur disproportionate cost.
Departmental Public Expenditure
I have asked the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to take on the role as the Wales Office's Value for Money Minister. Both he and I take an active role in ensuring that the Wales Office delivers value for money in all its expenditure. We are not a service delivery Department however and thus do not have a public sector reform team.
Departmental Recycling
The last period for which figures are available covers January to March 2009. During this period, the Wales Office recycled 84 per cent. of its waste.
Departmental Travel
In the last five financial years, my Department’s expenditure for car hire, train travel and air travel is broken down as:
2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Car hire Ministers 77,153.00 92,866.68 106,707.39 135,649.52 217,129.45 Staff 126.00 277.37 41.02 0 143.44 Train tickets Ministers 11,011.50 7,124.00 6,270.70 11,601.44 14,549.50 Staff 69,951.60 102,599.83 90,371.00 113,758.51 155,685.00 Air fare Ministers 4,959.28 0 169.43 676.88 1,156.53 Staff 15,108.30 211.67 9,577.03 1,491.29 2,792.56
The increase in car hire for Ministers in part of 2007-08 and 2008-09 came about because in previous years the Secretary of State’s car was provided by the Northern Ireland Office and then the Department of Work and Pensions when he held dual responsibilities. Restaurant meals and hotel costs are not kept separately and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
Legislative Competence: Wales
Legislative Competence Orders will be treated in the same way as any other form of legislation passing through the Palace of Westminster following the dissolution of Parliament.
Women and Equality
Budget April 2009
The Government Equalities Office has not purchased any copies of the Budget 2009 report
Departmental Conditions of Employment
The Government Equalities Office (GEO) operates a flexible working policy which is available to all staff. The GEO currently does not have any staff on job share contracts. Staff are allowed to work from home, subject to line management agreement based on business need, however central records on the amount of time worked from home are not held.
Equality and Human Rights Commission
Permission to use the resources and offices of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) would not normally be granted for activities relating to private sector organisations.
Exceptionally the EHRC approved the use of their offices for a private sector organisation; however this was without the approval of the Government Equalities Office. The use of the EHRC offices for private sector organisation meetings has since ceased.
Equality and Human Rights Commission: Finance
The following tables contain a full list of Traveller-related work, totalling £344,734, funded under the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Interim Grants Programme, which ran from 1 April 2008-31 March 2009.
Organisation Outcome Region/country Amount (£) Friends, Families and Travellers To develop an environment where Gypsies and Travellers in West Sussex and east Hampshire have the confidence to participate actively in the life of the community. South East 39,817 Gypsy/Travel Education and Information Project North East (GTEIP) To support Gypsy/Traveller women and Gypsies/Travellers with disabilities to address barriers which prevent them accessing services and their capacity to live free and equal lives. (This will take the form of Action Research; both recording issues and experiences while supporting action on the issues.) Scotland 21,000 London Gypsy and Traveller Unit Improved and informed policy development and public profile of Gypsies and Travellers; to include their views and be based on fair and accurate information. London 39,927 S.P.A.R.C To improve Gypsies and Travellers access to health care provision and related services in Tees Valley, and reduce the significant health inequalities experienced by older people, children, women and those with mental health issues within these communities. North East 35,000 One Voice 4 Travellers Ltd. To provide support and advocacy for roadside Traveller women and children in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire by means of an outreach volunteering strategy. East Midlands 20,000
Organisation Outcome Region/country Amount (£) Bradford Community and Voluntary Service (BCVS) To enable Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers to have equal access to services and to represent their own needs and concerns in order to participate in civic life in the District. Yorkshire and Humber 35,000 Pakistan Community Association and Multicultural Advice Centre Provide a study support service which allows young Roma people to achieve their full potential and integrate with other ethnic minorities in the area. Yorkshire and Humber 20,060 Save the Children UK To improve understanding of prejudice and diversity by marginalised young people(especially young Gypsy/Travellers) by holding workshops to promote and develop key skills. Scotland 39,930 The Race Equality Council for Gloucestershire 1. To facilitate access to public services for Migrant Workers informing them of services. South West 35,000 2. To improve access to public services including creation of permanent sites for caravans for Travelling Community and better access to education for their children: improved relationship between travelling and settled community. 3. To create opportunities for people of different cultures to meet and learn about each other by experiencing art, culture and music of different traditions: promote an appreciation of benefits of cultural diversity especially in Cheltenham area. The Rural Media Company To work with local authority Planning and Diversity officers, and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller groups (GRT) (including women, children and the elderly) in the West Midlands bringing them together to develop a DVD Resource to address the racial discrimination issues in local communities around Traveller homelessness and lack of stopping sites. West Midlands 35,000 Black Training and Enterprise Group (BTEG) To develop the capacity of Gypsy and Traveller communities by providing training in project management and equality and Human Rights legislation to ensure these communities are able to participate more effectively in planning and other decision making contexts which effect their lives. — 14,000
The accounts were laid on Monday 20 July. The preparation of the first set of accounts for the Commission was a major undertaking, bringing together the assets and liabilities of the legacy commissions and establishing common standards for measurement and evaluation which needed to be agreed with NAO.
Accounts for the Disability Rights Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality were only laid in May and June 2009 respectively. Information from those accounts has had to be consolidated with the Equality and Human Rights Commission's own figures and this has taken time.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has made the following payments totalling £19,075 to the IPPR:
Date Purpose Payment (£) 29 October 2008 IPPR corporate subscription includes reports, publications and email alerts. November 2008 to October 2009. 150 1 April 2008 Receipt of interim report on social housing allocation and immigrant communities. 10,000 1 April 2008 Receipt of draft final report on social housing allocation and immigrant communities 8,925
The Commission has commissioned research to examine the allocation of social housing in England. The study is set in the context of increased international immigration to the UK and a reduction in social housing stock.
The Commission currently has no plans to undertake further work with the IPPR.
Equality and Human Rights Commission: Industrial Disputes
To date, 15 employment disputes involving staff of the Equality and Human Rights Commission have been taken to an employment tribunal.
Equality and Human Rights Commission: Manpower
72 Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) staff received redundancy payments via the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme. The CRE may have made direct payments to staff over retirement age. The Equality and Human Rights Commission subsequently re-engaged seven former employees of the CRE on short-term consultancy contracts. More information about the re-engaged staff can be found in the EHRC annual report and accounts 2006-08.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has approval to appoint 525 posts for full-time equivalent staff. There are no vacancies at present.
Government Equalities Office: Flags
The Government Equalities Office does not own or maintain any flags.
Government Equalities Office: Flowers
Since its creation on the 12 October 2007, the Government Equalities Office has not spent any money on flowers.
Government Equalities Office: Manpower
The Government Equalities Office employs 102 staff of which 68 are female (67 per cent.) and 34 are male (33 per cent.). 20 (19 per cent.) staff are from an ethnic minority.
Housing: Finance
The Minister for Women has attended one official function for Building Britain's Future which took place on 27 July 2009 in Hull.
Immigrants: Housing
The Equality and Human Rights Commission recently undertook a research project on allocation of social housing. This project did not undertake any assessment of current social housing allocation policies.
International Women’s Day
The GEO has not finalised the plans for promoting International Women's Day 2010 as yet, therefore, we cannot provide a figure.
Members: Correspondence
My hon. Friend the Solicitor-General (Vera Baird) wrote to the right hon. Member on the 16 July 2009.
Public Sector: Procurement
There are no plans to amend procurement legislation. The Equality Bill contains a Regulation making power to introduce specific duties via secondary legislation, which will require contracting authorities to use public procurement to promote equality wherever possible. The specific duties will be formulated in a way that is compatible with procurement legislation, so there should be no need to amend either the Public Contract Regulations 2006, or the Utilities Contract Regulations 2006.
The Government Equality Office is working closely with both the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Office of Government Commerce with regard to procurement related guidance. The EHRC are assessing the requirements for guidance in relation to the Equality Bill and the Office of Government Commerce are also considering what may be required in relation to procurement, including the provision of a new non-legislative toolkit.
Refuges: Domestic Violence
The Minster for Women and Equality visited The Poppy Project, part of Eaves, a London-based charity that provides housing and support to trafficked women, in September 2008. In April 2009 she visited a Domestic Violence Victims Support Unit in Ghana.
No other visits have been made in the last 12 months.
Travelling People
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has undertaken the following research:
(i) A review of the inequalities experienced by Gypsy and Traveller communities across the Commission’s mandate and public services, building on the race focus of Common Ground published in 2006 by the Commission for Racial Equality.
(ii) An assessment of local authorities’ progress in meeting the accommodation needs of Gypsy and Traveller communities in England.
Both pieces of research were published in March 2009 alongside the Commission’s report, “Gypsies and Travellers: Simple solutions for living together”, which highlights and promotes best practice.
Similar research for Scotland will follow in the autumn.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan
I refer the hon. Member to the response given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development on 14 September 2009, Official Report, columns 2108-09W.
Afghanistan: Detainees
We have sought the release and return of Shaker Aamer, a Saudi national formerly lawfully resident in the UK, from Guantanamo Bay since August 2007. The US has not so far agreed to his release and return to the UK in the light of security concerns in his case.
We have made clear to both the current and previous US Administrations that our request for Mr. Aamer’s release and return to the UK stands. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has reiterated this position to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Other Ministers and senior officials across Government have raised Mr. Aamer’s case with their counterparts in the US State Department, the Department of Defence, the Department of Justice and the National Security Council.
Afghanistan: Elections
Over the past two years, the UK has been working alongside Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC), the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the wider donor community to prepare the 2009-10 Afghan elections. This includes preparations for the Provincial Council elections, which will be held at the same time as the presidential elections on 20 August 2009.
The Afghan Government, with the support of the international community, has a vital role to play in both ensuring adequate security for the elections and that the IEC is a functioning body, capable of ensuring effective organisation. The 2009 elections will be the first Afghan-led elections since the 1970s.
UNAMA, through the UNDP, is co-ordinating international support through the ELECT project, to which the UK has given £16.5 million. ELECT aims to build up the capacity of the IEC to run the elections and to create a more cohesive and informed electoral process with as wide participation as possible. We work closely with the UN in Afghanistan and New York on preparations and have frequently played the lead role in raising and resolving issues of concern with the UN, the Afghan Government and international donors.
International funding, both through ELECT and other projects, is supporting media exposure for candidates and civic education for voters, to explain the electoral process and to encourage them to vote. We are following the UN and IEC preparations closely, holding UNDP to account against the project’s agreed outputs and pressing for additional action where necessary.
More details on the ELECT project can be found at:
http://www.undp.org.af/WhoWeAre/UNDPinAfghanistan/Projects/dcse/prj_elect.htm
Algeria: Asylum
The Director of Middle East and North Africa at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has no plans to visit the Saharawi refugee camp in Algeria. However, officials from our embassy in Algiers do make periodic visits to Tindouf, with the last such visit in March of this year.
Bangladesh: Human Rights
The Government support the work of the Chittagong Hill Tract Commission in promoting respect for democracy, land rights and development in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. Officials from our high commission in Dhaka met with the deputy commissioner in Rangamati in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in March 2009 to stress the importance of both implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord and respect for the human rights of the communities in the region. In August 2009, our high commissioner met members of the Chittagong Hill Tract Commission when they visited Bangladesh. Our high commission has offered funding in support of the commission’s important work to address the rights of the indigenous peoples.
British Nationality: Torture
Ensuring the welfare of British nationals detained abroad is one of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)'s highest priorities. Consular staff are given training and guidance in how to deal with distressed British nationals overseas, including in cases where allegations of mistreatment have been made. Consular staff are specifically trained on what action to take in response to any allegation of mistreatment. They can also draw on professional support, including from specialist legal and human rights advisers in the FCO.
However, this training and guidance is continually evolving and improving. Guidance is now clearer on the paramount importance and urgency of these cases, on who in London and overseas needs to be informed of allegations of mistreatment when these are made to a consular official, and on the actions to be taken to follow up such allegations.
Our current guidance includes the identification of possible signs of torture and mistreatment, as well as the procedures to be adopted in such circumstances. The first step when a British national is detained overseas is to seek and secure access by our consular staff. Our staff are instructed to ask our nationals whether they have suffered abuse or mistreatment, and to look out for signs of mistreatment even where an individual does not raise it. They are required to follow up all reports of mistreatment whether they come from the individual themselves, from their friends, family or representatives, or from other sources. What form this follow up action will take will depend on the individual circumstances of the case. Most obviously, we can raise our concerns with the relevant authorities. Whatever action we take however, the objective remains the same: to end the mistreatment, and have the incident investigated and the perpetrators of any abuse brought to justice.
In many countries we also raise more general concerns around the mistreatment and abuse of detainees as part of our wider human rights dialogue.
China: Falun Gong
We last raised our concerns about Falun Gong practitioners at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue on 12-13 January 2009. We asked how many re-education through labour (RTL) detainees there were and what proportion were Falun Gong. The Chinese responded saying that reforms of the system of RTL were taking place. We will continue to raise this at every appropriate opportunity.
China: Human Rights
The EU Presidency issued a Declaration on 26 June 2009 expressing the EU’s deep concern about the detention of Liu Xiaobo. The EU called for the end of the prosecution of Liu Xiaobo and his immediate release, referring to the Chinese Constitution’s guarantee on the right of freedom of expression and in accordance with provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which China signed in 1998 (but has yet to ratify).
We raised the case of Liu Xiaobo at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue on 12-13 January 2009. The Chinese Delegation responded by saying his case was being dealt with by the Chinese courts. We also worked closely with our European partners to ensure this case was raised at the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue held on 14 May 2009 in Prague.
We will continue to raise this issue at every appropriate opportunity.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Conflict
The Congolese and Rwandan authorities have stated that they are still in discussions on how to deal with Laurent Nkunda. We understand that Nkunda remains under house arrest in Rwanda.