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English Heritage Sites (Cleaning Contracts)
Mr. Sheerman:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) how many British companies tendered for the contract to clean British Heritage sites; [15891]
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(3) what is her Department's policy in respect of awarding contracts to foreign companies; [15894]
(4) to what extent the decision to award the contract to clean British Heritage sites to a French company was based on price considerations. [15890]
Mr. Sproat:
The hon. Member's questions appear to refer to the sale by English Heritage of its direct labour conservation and maintenance organisation, Historic Property Restoration--HPR. The proposal to privatise HPR was set out in the forward strategy published by English Heritage in 1992. This proposal to privatise was prompted by changes in the geographic pattern of HPR's workload. Direct employment cannot provide the required flexibility. In accordance with our obligations as a member of the European Union, the sale of HPR was advertised in the Official Journal of the European Communities. Five shortlisted companies were invited to tender. Only two did so--one British owned, one French owned. The tender submitted by the British-owned company was significantly less financially favourable than the tender from the French-owned company.
HPR has a work force skilled in building conservation which, in the private sector, will be able to bid for work from which it is statutorily excluded as a part of English Heritage. This will give the work force improved employment prospects. It is the intention to transfer staff under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 provisions.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list the officials in her Department who have declared a current interest; what
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requirements are placed on officials to declare relevant interests; in what form records of such declarations are kept; and if she will establish a central register of officials' interests. [16893]
Mr. Sproat:
Officials in this Department faced with a conflict of interest must declare their interest to senior management so that senior management can determine how best to proceed. This requirement is set out in departmental rules. Staff who disclose relevant interests do so on the understanding that the declaration, like all employment matters, is confidential between them and the Department. There are currently no plans to establish a central register of officials' interests for this Department.
Mr. Raynsford:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will publish figures for planned public expenditure on (a) all the royal parks and (b) Greenwich park for the years 1995-96 to 1998-99 on the same basis as those published in (i) table 1 on page 60 and (ii) table 2 on page 61 of the report of the royal parks review group on Greenwich park, presented in March 1995. [16391]
Mr. Sproat:
Responsibility for the subject of this question has been delegated to the Royal Parks under its chief executive, Mr. David Welch. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from David Welch to Mr. Nick Raynsford, dated 29 February 1996:
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Mr. Campbell-Savours:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the present location of original documents held by the British library concerning (a) Rathbone and Burges' patent AD 1617 No. 1, (b) Jeremy Buck's patent of 1651 for the smelting of iron with coal, (c) Il Codice Atlantico by Leonardo da Vinci and (d) Aeronautica Illustrata by C. J. Norman. [17157]
Mr. Sproat:
A copy of Rathbone and Burges' patent AD 1617 No. 1 is held by the British library and may be consulted at the science reference and information service's reading room at 25 Southampton buildings, London WC2A 1AW. The library does not hold a copy of Jeremy Buck's patent of 1651 for the smelting of iron with coal. I understand that official copies of most letters patent were enrolled on the Chancery patent rolls which are held by the Public Record Office. Information about such copies can be obtained from the Keeper of Public Records at the Public Record Office, Chancery lane, London WC2A 1LR. I understand that the Codex Atlanticus is held by the Ambrosian library in Milan. A copy of the Aeronautica Illustrata by C. J. Norman is held by the British library's science reference and information service and may be consulted at the library's reading room at 9 Kean street, London WC2B 4AT.
Ms Jowell:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what steps her Department is taking to collect statistics broken down by gender where relevant. [17694]
Mr. Sproat:
Statistics concerning staff employed in my Department are normally based on pay and personnel records which include information on gender. Statistical information about personnel can therefore usually be broken down by gender.
Sir Teddy Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement on the current rules which permit political parties to have an entitlement to broadcasting time on television on the basis of the numbers of candidates fielded; what plans he has to review the procedures; and what parliamentary procedures would be needed to implement these proposals. [17094]
Mr. Sproat
[holding answer 26 February 1996]: Decisions about the provision of airtime for party election broadcasts are matters for the BBC, the Independent Television Commission and the Radio Authority. By convention, proposals are put to the major political parties represented at Westminster with a view to reaching consensus.
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13. Sir Teddy Taylor:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will raise at the next meeting of the Agriculture Council the size of the CAP budget for 1996. [16109]
Mr. Baldry:
The CAP budget situation forms part of the Council's current considerations of the 1996-97 price fixing proposals.
15. Mr. David Shaw:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress is being made on making the operation of the common agricultural policy more effective and more efficient.[16111]
Mr. Baldry:
The European Commission has now accepted our view that the CAP must change. But neither it nor the majority of member states are yet convinced of the need for the fundamental reform for which we are pressing.
14. Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent representations he has received concerning the transport of live animals; and if he will make a statement. [16110]
Mrs. Browning:
We are conducting an extensive consultation on implementation of the EU rules on the welfare of animals in transit. The first stage of that is complete--we have had a high level of positive and proactive responses. We will be consulting widely again before any final decisions are taken.
27. Mr. Nigel Griffiths:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the welfare of animals during export. [16124]
Mr. Hall:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the welfare of farm animals during export. [16120]
Mrs. Browning:
We are consulting extensively on implementation of the EU rules on the welfare of animals in transit. The first stage is complete--we are grateful for the positive and proactive responses of those affected. We shall consult further before putting forward any proposals for legislation.
Mr. Gale:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has (a) to introduce new and (b) to revise existing regulations governing the transport of domestic animals to (i) EU and (ii) other overseas destinations. [17042]
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Mrs. Browning:
We are currently consulting extensively on implementation in this country of new EU rules on the transport of animals. The details of these provisions are aimed primarily at farmed livestock but the general principles of safeguarding the welfare of animals in transit cover other animals as well. As part of the exercise we intend, as set out in our October 1995 consultation document, to consolidate existing legislation on animal welfare in transport into one instrument. Further consultation will take place before proposals for legislation are put forward.
(2) what criteria were used in deciding which company should be awarded the contract for cleaning British Heritage sites; [15892]
I have been asked by Iain Sproat, Minister of State for National Heritage, to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State to publish figures for planned expenditure on all the Royal Parks and on Greenwich Park because these are the areas for which I am responsible.
I attach tables showing planned total expenditure in all the Royal Parks and in Greenwich until 1998/99. These figures are based on the Agency's 1995 Corporate Plan as we have not finalised our Plan for the period 1996-99.
1991-92 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99
Capital 3.72 2.29 3.85 5.31 5.42 2.65 1.76 1.69
Grounds Maintenance 4.92 6.83 7.14 6.75 7.25 6.73 6.75 6.44
Works Maintenance 6.26 5.58 4.85 3.97 4.69 4.08 4.48 4.84
Other Operating Costs 3.09 2.11 2.32 2.31 2.26 2.52 2.48 3.32
Running Costs 2.62 2.68 2.89 3.11 3.26 2.97 2.87 3.01
Redundancy Costs 2.78 0.57 0.12 0.10 0.10 0.07 0.05 0.03
Total 23.39 20.07 21.17 21.56 22.98 19.02 18.39 19.34
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