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Contracts

Mrs. Roche: To ask the Attorney-General if he will list (a) the average value of contracts awarded by his Department, (b) the value of (i) the smallest and (ii) the largest contract awarded, (c) the number of contracts with value of (1) £0 to £999, (2) £1,000 to £9,999, (3) £10,000 to £49,999, (4) £50,000 to £99,999, (5) £100,000 to

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£499,999 (6) £500,000 to £999,999 and (7) above £1,000,000 and (d) the total number of contracts awarded in 1995-96. [34129]

The Attorney-General: Information for the Departments and agencies for which I am responsible is provided on the basis of such information as is readily available and is as follows:

Information on contracts of less than £10,000 is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Details of contracts of £10,000 and above are as follows ¹ :

Question
Crown Prosecution Services
(a)	£122,227
(b) (i)	£10,312
(b) (ii)	£2,862,589
(c) (3)	77
(c) (4)	20
(c) (5)	10
(c) (6)	4
(c) (7)	4
(d)	115
Treasury Solicitor's Department(2)
(a)	£41,122
(b) (i)	£230
(b) (ii)	£560,000
(c) (1)	2
(c) (2)	14
(c) (3)	13
(c) (4)	2
(c) (5)	2
(c) (6)	1
(c) (7)	0
(d)	34

Serious Fraud Office: The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

(1) Estimated values are given where the total value of a contract was not known at the time the contract was awarded.

(2) Does not include service level agreements with other Crown bodies.

TREASURY

Recruitment

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent in recruiting staff to his Department and its executive agencies during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 financial years; and how many staff were recruited in each of these years. [31390]

Mrs. Angela Knight: Details of the costs and numbers of staff recruited by the Chancellor's Departments and executive agencies are given in the following table:

Recruitment expenses by Chancellor's Departments and their Executive Agencies

	Number of staff	Recruitment
Department	recruited	costs (£)
1994-95 financial year
HM Treasury	13	64,625
HM Customs and Excise	455+34 fixed term appointments	283,000
HM Inland Revenue	1,310	444,037
Office for National Statistics	68	202,388
Department for National Savings	35 including 8 short term appointments	39,961 including 2,931 short term appointments
Royal Mint	55	14,750
PAYMASTER	6	58,648
1995-96 financial year
HM Treasury	19	263,978
HM Customs and Excise	625+154 fixed term appointments	199,000
HM Inland Revenue	2,428	420,367
Office for National Statistics	79	82,274
Department for National Savings	16	12,481
Royal Mint	57	18,892
PAYMASTER	7	10,420

1. The figures for HM Inland Revenue include the Valuation Office Agency.

2. The large difference in the recruitment costs between one year and the next for HM Treasury is a result of payments for staff recruited in 1994-95 being paid in 1995-96.

3. Recruitment costs include direct payments for services, recruitment advertising and administrative costs.

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Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what use his Department and its executive agencies have made of executive search agencies or employment companies in filling vacancies within his Department or executive agencies administered by his Department during the financial years 1994-95 and 1995-96; what agencies were employed; what was the cost in each case; how many staff were recruited in each case; and what was the total cost in each financial year of these contracts. [31405]

Mrs. Knight: The information requested for the Chancellor's departments and agencies is given in the table:

Use of Executive Search agencies and employment companies by Chancellor's Departments and their Executive Agencies

		Number of	Costs
Department	Agency	recruits	(£)
1994-95
HM Treasury	RAS	13	64,625
HM Customs and Excise	Paul Goodman	6	23,000
	RAS scheme 1	3	9,282
	RAS scheme 2	1	13,159
HM Inland Revenue	MSL International Ltd.	2	30,000
Office for National Statistics	RAS	12	100,503
Department for National Savings	BNA	1	1,550
Royal Mint	nil	nil	nil
PAYMASTER	RAS scheme 1	1	26,293
	RAS scheme 2	2	28,697
1995-96
HM Treasury	RAS	19	263,978
HM Customs and Excise	Paul Goodman	7	24,000
	RAS scheme 1	2	4,844
	RAS scheme 2	24+1 fixed term appointment	2,468
HM Inland Revenue	nil	nil	nil
Office for National Statistics	RAS, GSS Korn Ferry International	23	53,484
Department for National Savings	BNA	nil	436
Royal Mint	nil	nil	nil
PAYMASTER	nil	nil	nil

Inland Revenue includes the Valuation Office Agency. The £436 for the Department for National Savings is for a six week extension to a 1994-95 contract.

RAS: Recruitment and Assessment Services.

GSS: the Government Statistical Service.

BNA: British Nurses Association.

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Health and Safety

Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the cost in each of the past five years of (a) sick pay and (b) compensation paid to employees of his department or their families, or members of the public, as a result of (i) minor, (ii) major and (iii) fatal injuries related to the work of his Department, detailing incidents involving information technology and those involving expenditure of more than £5,000. [33454]

Mrs. Knight: Costs incurred by the Treasury over each of the past five years for compensation paid to employees or their families, or members of the public as a result of minor injuries related to the work of the Department are as follows:

1991: £3,270
1992: Nil
1993: £1,500
1994: Nil
1995: Nil

No major or fatal injuries occurred during this period. Sick pay costs are deducted from the compensation awarded; therefore, no sick pay costs were incurred.

No compensation claims involved information technology or expenditure of more than £5,000.

Mr. McCartney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the cost in each of the past five years of rectifying working conditions that were the responsibility of his Department and its agencies, to bring them up to acceptable health and safety standards, detailing incidents involving information technology and those involving expenditure of more than £5,000. [33455]

Mrs. Knight: The information requested is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, significant sums have been spent maintaining buildings, furniture and equipment to acceptable standards, including measures to meet health and safety requirements. Expenditure in the Treasury has included the removal of asbestos; the provision of new furniture and replacement lighting to comply with the

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Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992; and the installation of fire detection equipment to meet current fire standards.

Mr. McCartney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) minor, (b) major and (c) fatal injuries have been suffered by staff in his Department and its agencies in work-related incidents in each of the past five years, showing in each year how many were related to information technology and giving details of all incidents involving fatalities. [33453]

Mrs. Knight: The table gives the number of injuries suffered by staff in the Treasury, HM Customs and Excise, the Office for National Statistics, Paymaster, the Valuation Office and the Royal Mint in each of the past five years.

	1991(3)	1992	1993	1994	1995(3)
Minor injuries	697	1,376	1,293	(4)1460	579
Major injuries	3	6	5	2	4
Fatal injuries	(5)1	--	(6)1	--	(7)1
Of the minor injuries the following were IT related:
	3	5	2	1	nil

(3) Data for Customs and Excise for 1991 and 1995 are unavailable.

(4) Two injuries involved electric shocks from computer equipment in Customs and Excise.

(5) A maintenance fitter working for the Royal Mint suffered head injuries whilst carrying out work on factory plant.

(6) Customs Officer fell into the hold of a ship whilst undertaking a search of the vessel.

(7) A transport operator working for the Royal Mint was killed when his fork-lift truck overturned.

The Inland Revenue does not maintain comparable information. However, records of claims for compensation for upper limb disorder (RSI) injuries directly related to information technology are as follows:

1991: 20
1992: 24
1993: 41
1994: 43
1995: 47

The Inland Revenue also had one fatality over this five-year period; a member of staff working in the Saphire Plaza building in Reading contracted Legionnaires' disease. The Health and Safety Executive was involved in an investigation.

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