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2 Apr 1996 : Column: 85

Written Answers to Questions

Tuesday 2 April 1996

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Regulations

Mr. Steen: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which of the 1,000 regulations identified for repeal or amendment by the Prime Minister are the responsibility of his Department; of those which (a) have been repealed or amended and (b) are planned to have been repealed or amended by the end of the 1995-96 parliamentary Session; and if he will list those whose repeal has saved business more than £1 million per annum. [23645]

Mr. Freeman: I am arranging for a list of regulations which have been repealed or amended to date to be compiled and placed in the House Libraries. This will also include examples of the savings to business. Details of regulations still to be amended or repealed will be announced as and when consultations are completed.

EDS Computer System

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what out-sourcing contracts his agencies have with the EDS software computer system; what is the current cost; when the contract ends; what are the penalties involved should he seek early termination of the contract; and if he will make a statement. [23728]

Mr. Willetts: There are none.

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what savings to date have been made by his Department as a result of out-sourcing arrangements made with the EDS computer system; what assessment he has made of the equivalent costs for carrying out this work in-house; and if he will make a statement. [24233]

Mr. Willetts: The Cabinet Office and its agencies have not entered into any out-sourcing arrangements with the EDS computer system.

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what savings to date have been made by his Department as a result of out-sourcing arrangements made with the EDS computer system; what assessment he has made of the equivalent costs for carrying out this work in-house; and if he will make a statement. [24236]

The Deputy Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service.

Official Hospitality

Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 14 December 1995, Official Report, column 750, if he will give a breakdown of the figure of £30,100 for official hospitality by his ministerial office and related agencies. [24445]

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Mr. Willetts: The figure of £30,100 given in my answer of 14 December represented expenditure on official hospitality by the Cabinet Office, including the Office of Public Service, and its executive agencies--excluding HMSO--for the period 1 April 1995 to the end of November 1995. It was made up of £14,800 expenditure by the Cabinet Office--excluding the Prime Minister's Office--£4,000 by OPS agencies and £11,300 by the Central Office of Information.

Mr. Banks: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to the answer of 25 March, Official Report, column 693, for whom the two dinners at Lancaster house were held; how many people attended; and what was the cost in each case. [24428]

Mr. Willetts: The Deputy Prime Minister hosted the dinners in question in order to discuss a range of competitiveness issues with a mix of senior public and private sector representatives. Seventeen people attended the first dinner, at a cost of £1,118.36. Eighteen attended the second, at a cost of £1,163.41.

The Deputy Prime Minister has also hosted one other lunch at Lancaster house, and a dinner at another venue, for a total of 22 people, from a similar range of backgrounds and to discuss other issues relating to national competitiveness, at a total cost of £1,204.53.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Deputy Prime Minster to what extent (a) he and (b) his office has a role in the co-ordination of answers from Ministers to parliamentary questions tabled by hon. and right hon. Members. [23778]

The Deputy Prime Minister: As Chairman of the Ministerial Committee on the Co-ordination and Presentation of Government Policy, I have in place procedures for co-ordinating the handling of linked parliamentary questions put to a number of departmental Ministers and parliamentary questions put to one Government Department where the subject matter is of wider interest to the Government as a whole. In each case, it is for the departmental Minister to take responsibility for the answer. The co-ordinating procedures are designed to secure consistency and efficient handling of those questions which extend beyond the field of responsibility of individual departmental Ministers.

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what is his role in the framing of answers to parliamentary questions to other Government Departments. [23719]

The Deputy Prime Minister: My role is confined to those cases where the subject matter of a question put to another Government Department cuts across the responsibilities of several Departments including my own, or has been brought to the attention of the Ministerial Committee on the Co-ordination and Presentation of Government Policy, which I chair, as a matter of wider interest to Government as a whole. In such cases, the lead Department would liaise with the Committee, and with other interested Departments, over the terms of the answer. In each case, it is the departmental Minister who has responsibility for the final answer.

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LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

Civil Enforcement Agents Review

Mr. Merchant: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the progress of the review of civil enforcement agents. [24699]

Mr. Jonathan Evans: The discussions referred to in my written answer of 29 June 1995, Official Report, column 741, have now concluded. Following careful consideration of the proposals which emerged from these discussions, I believe that the best way of achieving a proper and professional service for creditors and debtors lies in a package of initiatives specifically focused on the areas of concern identified in the course of the review.

I therefore intend to implement a range of measures that will increase creditors' access to enforcement by the sheriffs while increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the county court bailiff service for those who continue to use it. At the same time, my Department will be working with other Government Departments and relevant bodies to modify and strengthen the certification procedure for other bailiffs and to ensure that redress is both available and accessible for those aggrieved by the actions of private bailiffs.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

EU Council

Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on forthcoming business in the Council of the European Union. [24012]

Mr. David Davis: The answer is as follows:


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