Written Answers
Tuesday, 27 January 2004.
Special European Union Programmes Body: Resignation Of Chief Executive
asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the total cost of the package awarded to the chief executive of the Special European Union Programmes Body on his resignation, including
ex gratia payments, pension contributions, car provision and advance salary payments. [HL456]
The chief executive of the Special EU Programmes Body resigned with effect from Wednesday 10 December 2003. On his resignation he was, in addition to his earnings to that date, entitled to seven weeks' pay in lieu of notice equivalent to £12,569 (which includes compensation for loss of pension). He also received a one-off ex-gratia payment of £20,000, and solicitors' costs of £2,500. The SEUPB terminated its leasing arrangements for Mr McKinney's car with the lessor with effect from 6 pm on Tuesday 9 December 2003.In terms of pension payments, Mr McKinney is entitled to payments equivalent to what is payable under the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (Northern Ireland) pending the introduction of the North/South scheme. Mr McKinney's entitlements are based mainly on his previous employment in the local government sector in Northern Ireland, plus amounts in respect of his employment with the SEUPB. The amounts payable to him are a lump sum of £84,824 and an annual pension payment of £28,275. These amounts are based on his final salary in SEUPB, pension benefits of 26 years 306 days which he had accrued in respect of his previous employment in local government and which will be transferred to the North/South scheme when it comes into effect; and two years 312 days reckonable service in the SEUPB. These payments will be made by the SEUPB until the North/South pension scheme commences, after which the North/South scheme will reimburse the SEUPB for any payments made and assume responsibility for all future payments.
Northern Ireland: Voting Patterns
asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the projections for the numbers of Members of Parliament elected to each part in Northern Ireland at the next general election if the votes are cast in the same way as the first preference votes at the Assembly elections in November 2003. [HL634]
It is not government policy to speculate on future election results.
North/South Implementation Bodies: Funding
asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 8 September 2003 (
WA 5), concerning the proportionality of the budget of the Language Implementation Body, what information was taken into consideration which allowed no change to be made to the proportionality of the 2003 budget; who supplied the information and when. [HL652]
I have nothing further to add to my answers of 17 November (WA 235) and 15 December 2003. (WA 91).
Northern Ireland Civil Service: Pay
asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the rate of the most recent pay increase per grade in the Northern Ireland Civil Service; what percentage difference the increase represents over the previous settlement; and, if there are differentials in the increase by grades, why. [HL653]
There are three separate groups for pay purposes within the 11 departments of the Northern Ireland Administration: non-industrial staff up to and including Grade 6, the Senior Civil Service (SCS) and industrial staff.For non-industrial staff up to and including Grade 6 the 2003 pay award was worth 3.67 per cent overall. The amount received by an individual depends on his or her current position on the pay scale, but the majority of individuals are receiving increases of between 2 per cent and 6 per cent. For these grades pay negotiations are carried out between the Department of Finance and Personnel, on behalf of all 11 departments of the Northern Ireland Administration, and the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA). The 2002 pay increase for grades up to and including Grade 6 was worth 5.5 per cent overall and was therefore 1.83 per cent more than the 2003 increase.The 2003 increase for the SCS was worth 5.37 per cent. The amount received by an individual depended on performance ranking and position in the payband. A separate pay system exists for the SCS with increases made on the basis of recommendations made by the independent Senior Salaries Review Body. Unlike the other staff groups the SCS pay award process does not involve negotiations with trade unions. The 2002 pay increase for the SCS was worth 4.38 per cent and was therefore 0.99 per cent less than the 2003 increase.For industrial staff, departments have responsibility for carrying out their own pay negotiations and these have yet to be concluded for the 2003 pay round.
Statutes: Consolidated Versions
asked the Leader of the House:Whether she will ensure that government departments make available in the Printed Paper Office consolidated current statutes when such statutes are subject to extensive amendment by a Bill, as is the case with the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill and the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. [HL800]
On first printing of an Act 10 copies are delivered to the Printed Paper Office for supply to Members on request. The Printed Paper Office can of course obtain further copies when required. It holds copies of Acts back to 1951.It is good practice for departments with a Bill going through the House to make available to Members in all the usual ways papers necessary to understand the Bill. This might well include related legislation. My office will contact all departments to remind them of this.The Government are committed to delivering a fully revised and updated statute book to users and hopes that the statute law database will be completed and made available to the public by the end of 2004.
European Bank For Reconstruction And Development: Investment In South-Eastern Europe
asked Her Majesty's Government:What investments in south-east Europe have been approved by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; and whether they will give the totals for future investment in each country, with examples of specific major projects. [HL917]
In 2002, the last year for which full figures are available, the EBRD invested 1.2 billion euros in 36 projects in south-eastern Europe. This brought the bank's cumulative investment in the region to 5.1 billion euros in 210 projects. These projects included support for privatisation, restructuring, small and medium-sized enterprises, and critical infrastructure projects such as road building. Details of all projects on a country by country basis are available on the bank's website at www.ebrd.com. The full 2003 figures will be available later this year.In the future, the bank aims to expand investment in the region and to continue its leading role under the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe in implementing private sector initiatives and in developing regional co-operation in infrastructure. Given that the EBRD's business is largely in the private sector and is therefore demand-driven, it is not possible to provide firm figures for future spend. However, the EBRD's individual country strategies for south-eastern Europe state the main areas of focus for the bank, and the majority of the strategies give an indication of the size of the project pipeline at the time of strategy approval (country strategies are available on EBRD's website). The bank also publishes project summary documents with information on upcoming projects on its website, for example a regional road development programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Supreme Court
asked Her Majesty's Government:What consideration has been given to the security implications of creating a Supreme Court housed separately from Parliament; and what is the current estimate of the costs of installing appropriate security in an existing building and the revenue costs of maintaining security for any Supreme Court building. [HL764]
The cost of installing and maintaining security systems within the Supreme Court can only be established once the Supreme Court building has been selected.As part of the consideration being given to the security requirements of the Supreme Court, DCA officials have met with the Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod and the chief superintendent responsible for policing Parliament.
asked Her Majesty's Government:How many sites the Lord Chancellor or the Department for Constitutional Affairs have discussed with the Lord Chief Justice or the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary or any representative of the senior judiciary as potential sites for a Supreme Court; and whether they will list those sites. [HL840]
Eight building options have been discussed with representatives of the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary. An evaluation is currently being conducted to identify the preferred building option. Until this process has been completed, it could be prejudicial to our commercial position to disclose details.
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Lord Chancellor or the Department for Constitutional Affairs have been consulted at any stage on the commissioning or specification of works being carried out at Somerset House on the offices of the Inland Revenue; if so what was the purpose of this consultation; and whether the Department for Constitutional Affairs has made any requests as to specification, nature or timing of this work. [HL839]
Neither I nor my department have been consulted with regard to works commissioned by the Inland Revenue at Somerset House.
asked Her Majesty's Government:What discussions or contacts the Lord Chancellor or officials of the Department for Constitutional Affairs have had with representatives of English Heritage to discuss the possible adaptation of any part of Somerset House, or any other site, for use as a potential Supreme Court; and when those contacts were first made. [HL842]
Representatives of English Heritage have been consulted on one of the options currently under consideration for the Supreme Court.Contact was first made during November 2003.
European Union Select Committee
asked the Chairman of Committees:When the European Union Select Committee last conducted inquiries into fraud and mismanagement in the European Union; and when it intends to update the findings of those enquiries. [HL926]
The information requested is better obtained directly from the chairman of the relevant committee. I have therefore passed this question to the chairman of the European Union Select Committee, Lord Grenfell, who will reply to the noble Lord.
Defence Stores Management Solution
asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the total amount of public funds (a) expended on, and (b) written off with regard to, the Defence Stores Management Solution; and what they hoped to achieve. [HL788]
The total amount expended on the Defence Stores Management Solution (DSMS) was £148 million and the total amount written off was £118 million. The original objectives of the DSMS were to build a single system to replace the existing Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force Systems, and to provide a deployed inventory management capability. Estimated net savings of £650 million were anticipated over a 10-year period from its implementation.The MoD believes it has learnt valuable lessons from the work undertaken on DSMS, which will help to inform our decisions on any future solution to the requirement.
asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the value of hardware procured for the Defence Stores Management Solution; what it consists of; where it is held; and what is its future. [HL789]
£10.811 million of hardware was procured in support of the Defence Stores Management Solution.The hardware comprised the following: IBM mainframe computers, storage servers, firewalls, MIS servers, training and development servers, backup systems and network equipment and infrastructure to support staff and the model office environment.The hardware is currently held in the following locations: Glasgow, Bicester, Boscombe Down, Warminster and Bath.Of the £10.811 million of equipment, £8.776 million has been redeployed to support other business units within the Ministry of Defence.
Management Of Materiel In Transit
asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the status, purpose and budget of the Ministry of Defence's DLO requirement for unit materiel management information system project. [HL790]
I assume the noble Lord is referring to the Management of Materiel in Transit Project (MMiT).MMiT has been established to identify and implement a means of giving better visibility of consignments in the defence supply chain. This will enable the supply chain to be managed with increased effectiveness and efficiency and improve the quality of information on forecast arrival dates provided to headquarters and units awaiting the delivery of stores. MMiT will not replace the existing consignment tracking systems but will exploit the data they already contain, converting them into more useful management information and making them more widely and easily available within the supply chain.MMiT has been allocated £5.866 million to complete the assessment phase of the project. It is estimated that the provision of a suitable system is likely to cost in the region of a further £10 million but this figure will be refined once the optimum solution has been identified and any contracts have been negotiated.
A400m
asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the status of the engine development programme for the A400M transport aircraft; and what government funds, if any, are being invested in it. [HL791]
The prime contractor for the A400M transport aircraft, Airbus Military, selected Europrop International (EPI) on 6 May 2003 to supply the engine to power the A400M. The engine development programme is proceeding to plan.
With regard to investment of government funds, I refer the noble Earl to the answer given by my right honourable friend the Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Ms Smith) on 24 June ( Official Report, cols. 678–679W) in another place to the honourable member for Twickenham (Dr Cable).
Armed Forces: Ministerial Responsibility For Supply Of Equipment
asked Her Majesty's Government:Which Minister has responsibility, as a matter of constitutional convention, for the supply and any failure to supply sufficient equipment to members of Her Majesty's Armed Forces to protect them against the risk of death or bodily injury in the event of war or armed conflict; and what such responsibility entails. [HL918]
Section 1 of the Ministerial Code makes clear that Ministers are accountable to Parliament for the policies, decisions and actions of their departments. Individual Ministers' responsibilities are set out in the Cabinet Office publication List of Ministerial Responsibilities which is available in the Library of the House.
Universities: Fees
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the variable fees which they are planning for universities are to be variable only between institutions, or also between different subjects in the same institution. [HL801]
The Higher Education Bill, published on 8 January, enables higher education institutions to set their own fees, up to a maximum of £3,000 a year, with effect from 2006; individual institutions would be able, if they wished, to charge different fees for different courses. Institutions that wished to charge above the present standard fee (£1,125 in 2003–04) would only be able to do so if they had in place an access plan approved by the Director of Fair Access. The access plan will include details of the action the institution will take to safeguard access, including offering financial support (including bursaries) and running outreach activities.
Higher Education: Entry Figures
asked Her Majesty's Government:What percentage of people in each standard statistical region and nation of the United Kingdom had entered higher education by the age of 30, in the most recent year for which figures are available. [HL813]
Regional higher education entry figures are not available. The latest figure for initial entry to higher education (for 2001–02) is 43.5 per cent. This is the initial entry rate (IER). Comparable entry rates for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also not available.Initial participation in higher education is measured by the HE initial participation rate (HEIPR). The latest HEIPR is 43.9 per cent for 2001–02. Again, comparable initial participation figures for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not available.A recent National Statistics quality review of the IER recommended
1 we replace the IER with the HEIPR as the way in which we measure progress toward the 50 per cent target. The reason for the change from IER to HEIPR is to correct for certain weaknesses in the IER. We expect to publish the latest HEIPR figures in spring 2004 (as soon as information becomes available).
Higher education participation in Great Britain by those aged under 21 years is measured by the age participation index (API). The API for 2001–02 is 35 per cent. The most recent figures for the four constituent countries are given in the table.
1 Review of the Initial Entry Rate into Higher Education, DfES, 2003 [A copy has been placed in the House of Commons Library]
Age Participation Index by country1. 2000–01
| |
| Percentages | |
| England | 32 |
| Scotland | 45 |
| Wales | 28 |
| N Ireland | 45 |
| GB | 33 |
1 These figures may differ from the individual countries' own APIs, which are calculated upon a slightly different basis. | |
Fathers
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have any plans to implement a programme to encourage young men to be responsible fathers. [HL827]
The Government fully recognise the important role that fathers play in raising their children and are working hard to support all fathers in fulfilling their responsibilities. We want parents, especially fathers, to see asking for help and support as a positive step, taken by a responsible parent for the good of their family, not as a sign of weakness or an admission of failure. The Teenage Pregnancy Unit (TPU) has supported the publication of a booklet and set of posters highlighting the support needs of young fathers. The resources draw on research with teenage fathers and aim to raise awareness of health and other support professionals.
The teenage pregnancy strategy is supporting two projects funded under the Department of Health's Section 64 scheme to assist voluntary organisations. Fathers Direct is developing an antenatal intervention to engage young black fathers. The project, based in King's College Hospital, is linked to the local teenage pregnancy strategy and Sure Start Plus pilot. The results of the project will be available in early 2005. The other project, run by ContinYou, is working with young fathers to develop an intervention to support young dads before and after the birth. We expect organisations to share good practice by disseminating their outcomes nationally. The TPU is working with relevant organisations including the Trust for the Study of Adolescence (TSA) further to develop work with young fathers within local teenage pregnancy strategies.
The department established an Advisory Group on Fathers, to help to shape its policies on involving parents in children's education. This was the first working group specifically on fathers and their importance to children's learning ever to have been set up by government. The outcomes from the group will feed into advice for schools on how best to involve fathers in children's learning and education.
In 2001, the Home Secretary announced funding of £300,000 for a young fathers project led by TSA. TSA is working with five local organisations to work up a model that will demonstrate effective ways of involving and encouraging young men to bond with their children and improve their parenting skills, and this project has been subject to independent research.
School Sport
asked Her Majesty's Government:Which school playgrounds are covered by the Sporting Playgrounds programme: and what funding each has received during 2003–04. [HL854]
The Sporting Playgrounds programme is supporting £10 million of capital investment, between April 2003 and March 2005. This will enhance primary school playgrounds to increase physical/sporting activities and improve behaviour. The programme has been targeted at 27 local education authority areas which have high levels of deprivation, high levels of youth crime and are developing a school sports infrastructure.The table below sets out the 27 local education authorities, their funding allocation and the number of projects this is supporting. Each local education authority is responsible for deciding which of its schools will benefit from the programme.
| LEA | Funding Allocation | Number of projects |
| Barking and Dagenham | £300,000 | 18 |
| Birmingham | £500,000 | 25 |
| Blackburn | £300,000 | 53 |
| Bradford | £400,000 | 22 |
| Brent | £300,000 | 15 |
LEA
| Funding Allocation
| Number of projects
|
| Bristol | £400,000 | 20 |
| Greenwich | £300,000 | 31 |
| Hackney | £300,000 | 17 |
| Islington | £300,000 | 15 |
| Knowsley | £300.000 | 15 |
| Lambeth | £300,000 | 15 |
| Leeds | £500,000 | 25 |
| Lewisham | £300,000 | 19 |
| Liverpool | £400,000 | 20 |
| Manchester | £400,000 | 22 |
| Newham | £300,000 | 18 |
| Nottingham | £400,000 | 40 |
| Oxfordshire | £500.000 | 30 |
| Rochdale | £300,000 | 21 |
| Salford | £300,000 | 15 |
| Sheffield | £400,000 | 28 |
| Slough | £300,000 | 17 |
| Southwark | £300,000 | 15 |
| St Helens | £300,000 | 21 |
| Tower Hamlets | £300,000 | 19 |
| Wirral | £400.000 | 20 |
| Wolverhampton | £300,000 | 15 |
The figures for this table are based on the latest information received from the 27 local education authorities in the programme. A small contingency fund (£600,000) has been set aside.
asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answers by the Minister for Sport on 6 January (HC Deb, 138W) that the Government aim to deliver "an ambitious public service agreement target to increase the percentage of school children who spend a minimum of two hours a week on high-quality physical education and school sport within and beyond the curriculum to 75 per cent by 2006", how they will judge the success or otherwise of their programme if the "information on participation rates is unavailable and could be provided only at disproportionale cost". [HL851]
As my right honourable friend the Minister for Sport and Tourism (Richard Caborn) indicated in his answer on 5 January 2004, Official Report, col. 138 W, data are now being collected for the first time—for publication in April—on the number of pupils who choose to take up the entitlement to two hours of high-quality PE and school sport each week within and beyond the curriculum. This exercise will be repeated in future years so that performance against the PSA target can be assessed.
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will provide a breakdown of the £1 billion they are investing to transform physical education and school sport into specified programmes; and what proportion of the £1 billion comes from (a) lottery and (b) Exchequer funding. [HL852]
A breakdown of the investment is set out in the following table (£ million):
| Exchequer | Lottery | ||
| National strategy for PE, school sport and club links | |||
| Specialist Sports College programme | DfES | 115·00 | |
| School Sport Partnership (formerly School Sport Co-ordinator programme; PE and School Sport Professional Development programme; PE and Sport Gifted and Talented programme; QCA PE and school sport investigation; Swimming strategy | DfES/DCMS | 224·00 | |
| Step into Sport programme | DCMS/HO | 12·00 | |
| Club Links programme | DCMS | 10·00 | |
| Related work | |||
| Community Club Development programme | DCMS | 60·00 | |
| Coaching project | DCMS | 28·00 | |
| Sporting Playgrounds programme | DfES | 10·00 | |
| Facilities | |||
| New Opportunities for PE and Sport programme (England) (NOF) | 556·25 | ||
| Space for Sport and Arts programme (NOF) | CMF | 75·00 | 155·00 |
| Total | 534·00 | 611·25 | |
| Net Total | 534·00 | 586·25 | |
| 1 Includes £25 million from the New Opportunities for PE and Sport programme (England). | |||
asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the current constraints facing schools that fail to deliver a minimum of two hours each week of high-quality physical education and school sport within and beyond the curriculum. [HL853]
The main constraints involve the availability and training of teachers and coaches and the availability of suitable facilities.
| Higher Education Student Numbers 1 in English institutions, 2000–01/2004–05 | |||||
| Academic Year | 2000–01 actual | 2001–02 provisional | 2002–03 projected | 2003–04 projected | 2004–05 projected |
| Home domiciled students (thousands) | 1,512 | 1,549 | 1,569 | 1,588 | 1,612 |
| Full-time and sandwich students | 852 | 877 | 895 | 911 | 928 |
| Part-time students | 661 | 672 | 673 | 677 | 684 |
| 1 Higher education in higher and further education institutions. | |||||
| Totals may not equal the sum of the component parts due to rounding. | |||||
The Government are redressing the availability and training of teachers and coaches through the national strategy for PE, school sport and club links and the implementation of the key recommendations of the Coaching Task Force. Within the former: (i) the School Sport Partnerships programme will pay for 2,400 school sport co-ordinators in secondary schools and 13,500 link teachers in primary and special schools to be released from timetable to develop high-quality PE and sport in their own and partner schools by September 2005; and (ii) the professional development programme will ensure that teachers have the tools and expertise that they need to ensure high-quality PE and school sport. Within the latter: (i) the Community Sports Coach scheme will create 3,000 full and part-time community sports coaches, who will work in partnership at local level with schools, clubs and other local or regional organisations supporting sport by 2006; and (ii) the introduction of the national coaching certificate will raise standards in coach education and give coaches a nationally recognised and transferable professional qualification for the first time.
The Government are redressing the availability of suitable facilities in England via an unprecedented investment of £581 million through the New Opportunities for PE and Sport programme, £130 million through the Space for Sport and Arts programme and £10 million through the Sporting Playgrounds programme.
Student Numbers
asked Her Majesty's Government:What projections they have made of the numbers of full-time and part-time students in England for the years 2005–10; and on what assumptions these estimates are based. [HL856]
The latest published projections of full-time and part-time headcount student numbers in English institutions, as set out on the department annual report (DAR) 2003, are as follows:
The planned number of student places is set during spending reviews in the light of the Government's target of increasing participation in higher education towards 50 per cent of those aged 17–30 by the end of the decade. Planned student numbers for 2005–06
to 2007–08 will be set as part of the current spending review, which will conclude next summer.
Gender Recognition Bill
asked Her Majesty's Government:(a) how many national governing bodies of sport and recreation were directly consulted about the impact of the Gender Recognition Bill on sport and recreation; (b) which national governing bodies responded to the consultation; (c) on what date the consultation letters were sent out; (d) what was the closing date on which submissions had to be submitted; and (e) when and how they will announce the results of the consultation exercise; and [HL849]Whether they will provide a breakdown of the responses they received to their consultation on the impact the Gender Recognition Bill would have on competitive sport. [HL850]
Of the 300 governing bodies (a) directly consulted last year about the impact of the Gender Recognition Bill, the following replied to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (b):
- the Amateur Swimming Federation of Great Britain
- the British Cycling Federation
- the British Disabled Fencing Association
- the British Equestrian Federation
- the British Gymnastics
- the British Judo Association
- the British Weightlifters Association
- the Cycling Time Trials
- the English Bowling Association
- the English Ladies Golf Association
- the Eton Fives Association
- the Federation of Inline Speed Skating
- the Football Association
- the Hovercraft Club of Great Britain
- the Ladies' Golf Union
- the Lawn Tennis Association
- the Royal Yachting Association
- the Wales Mountain Leader Training Board.
The consultation letters were sent out on 4 February 2003 (c), and the closing date for responses was 28 March 2003 (d).
Governing bodies responded to the consultation on the understanding that their responses would not be published. The Government will not, therefore, be publishing the results, either in full or in summary (e). This is in accordance with exemption 14 of part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Game Licences
asked Her Majesty's Government:Why they have not replied to Lord Marlesford's Question for Written Answer about game licences (HL201), which was tabled on 2 December 2003; and when they expect to be able to provide an answer. [HL819]
I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given on 20 January, (Official Report, col. WA 134).
Bse
asked Her Majesty's Government:What has been the total cost to public funds of BSE in each of the last 10 years. [HL822]
The cost to public funds in each of the last 10 years has been:
| Year | Amount(£million) |
| 1993–94 | 66 |
| 1994–95 | 42 |
| 1995–96 | 31 |
| 1996–97 | 1,548 |
| 1997–98 | 1.017 |
| 1998–99 | 555 |
| 1999–2000 | 412 |
| 2000–01 | 364 |
| 2001–02 | 398 |
| 2002–03 | 479 |
| Total | 4,912 |