Government Departments: Property

Mr. Maude
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2008, Official Report, column 332W, on government departments: property, in what methodological or statistical ways the data in the table placed in the Library differs from the data provided in the answer of 6 January 2008, Official Report, column 630W, on the same subject.

Angela Eagle
The data in the table placed in the Library in the answer of 7 January 2008, Official Report, column 332W, gives the total figures for vacant space recorded on e-PIMS as either actual, future or potential.

The data provided in the answer of 6 January 2008, Official Report, column 630W, is for vacant space recorded on e-PIMS only as actual, as that is how the question was interpreted.

The data provided for HM Courts Service, Home Office and Treasury Group is different for the following reasons:

HM Courts Service

e-PIMS is a working database and the latest information available is used in PQ responses. The data provided in the table placed in the Library were the vacant space recorded as at 10 December. The data provided in the subsequent response was the vacant space recorded as at 17 December. On 11 December HM Courts Service entered a total of 7579m2 vacant space records onto e-PIMS, accounting for the increase in the figure given on 20 December, even though only vacant space marked as actual was included.

Home Office

The data provided in the table placed in the Library gave separate vacant space figures for the Home Office and the national probation directorate, whereas the subsequent response provided the Home Office vacant space inclusive of the national probation directorate.

Treasury Group

Similarly, the table placed in the Library gave separate vacant space figures for HM Treasury and National Savings and Investments whereas the subsequent response combines these in a single figure for the Treasury Group.

Other small variances are accounted for by the different dates on which information is recorded.