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Disability
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make it his policy to adopt a social model of disability in framing all future and amending previous relevant legislation and guidance; and if he will make a statement. [1658]
Dr. David Clark: Our manifesto commits us to establishing
"comprehensive, enforceable civil rights for disabled people against discrimination in society or at work, developed in partnership with all interested parties".
Departmental Publications
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by what means his Department makes available its publications in (a) Braille, (d) audio tape and (c) large print; and how this is publicised. [1657]
Dr. David Clark:
The Cabinet Office (OPS) and its agencies has five publications available in either braille, audio tape or large print.
2 Jun 1997 : Column: 17
| Name of publication | Availability | Publicity |
|---|---|---|
| Know Where You Stand | Braille and audio tape | Press Release and also distributed to: MP's, Racial Equality Councils, NACAB, Libraries, Federation of Independent Advice Centres, Community Health Councils, Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation. |
| Citizen's Charter Complaint's Task Force: Putting Things Right Executive Summary | Braille, audio tape and large print | Not published. |
| Explaining the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information | Braille, audio tape and large print | Distributed to Government Departments, Citizens Advice Bureau and libraries. |
| The equal opportunities magazine--JIGSAW | Braille and large print | Equal Opportunities Practitioners, Disabled Civil Servants and the Internet. |
| Benchmarking Human Resource Activities--Consortium Project | Audio tape | Publicised at the launch of the report on 14 March 1997 and subsequently in a letter to all the OPS Board, CCSU, PEFOs, training contacts in Departments and Agencies. |
Benevolent Fund
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the donations given by the Duchy of Lancaster Benevolent Fund to persons and organisations in Pendle for each year since 1992. [1200]
Mr. David Clark: I would point out to my hon. Friend that I am not a trustee of the Duchy Benevolent Fund. Audited accounts of the fund are forwarded to the Charity Commissioners each year. I understand that it is the policy of the trustees not to give details of individual recipients who receive grants from the Duchy Benevolent Fund although the trustees have no objection to recipients giving this information. In order to help my hon. Friend, the secretary of the fund has provided details of total amounts paid to organisations and individuals in the Pendle area from the Benevolent Fund for the past four years:
1993: £250
1994: £1,400
1995: £1,500
1996: £5,170.
Departmental Computer Systems
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans he has for the reprogramming of computers and technical equipment in Government departments to address the year 2000 problem. [1449]
2 Jun 1997 : Column: 18
Mr. Kilfoyle:
This is essentially the responsibility of individual departments. However my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has recently written to all ministerial heads of Department to ensure that they are aware of the arrangements which exist for dealing with the year 2000 date change problem.
From within the Cabinet Office (OPS) departments are supported by the Central Information Technology Unit (CITU) and the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA). As part of that support CITU and CCTA have identified a programme of action to ensure that the Government's response to the year 2000 problem is co-ordinated and coherent. This involves each department in producing a detailed and costed action plan by October to ensure that all their systems are modified and tested by January 1999.
The recent National Audit Office report, "Managing the Millennium Threat", demonstrated that the public sector was doing as well as the private sector in tackling the problem, however, there is no room for complacency.
Mr. Nigel Jones:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans he has to ensure that civil servants take all steps necessary to ensure that Government computer systems are millennium compliant; and if he will make a statement. [1232]
Mr. Kilfoyle:
It is the responsibility of individual departments to ensure that their computer systems are millennium compliant. Departments are satisfied that they have sufficiently skilled staff to tackle the problem.
Departments are supported from the Cabinet Office (OPS) by the Central Information Technology Unit (CITU) and the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA). As part of that support CITU and CCTA have identified a programme of action to ensure that Government's response to the year 2000 problem is co-ordinated and coherent and that all systems are modified and tested by January 1999.
The CCTA has also produced a six volume set of guides covering every aspect of starting, managing and successfully implementing a full year 2000 compliance programme. The set, called "Tackling the Year 2000", forms the most detailed impartial guidance available to date.
The recent report by the National Audit Office, "Managing the Millennium Threat", shows that the public sector had work well underway to deal with the millennium date change.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list those charters where non-compliance with charter standards trigger financial compensation, indicating the specific relevant targets.[1107]
2 Jun 1997 : Column: 19
| Charter | Details |
|---|---|
| London Underground's Customer Charter | If a customer is delayed for more than 15 minutes because of London Underground's failure, they will give the customer a refund voucher to the value of the delayed journey; |
| Northern Ireland Railways Passenger's Charter | Allows compensation in the form of discounts on season tickets if Northern Ireland Railways fail by more than a small margin to meet their punctuality and reliability standards. For people not eligible for season ticket discounts, it allows compensation if a train is seriously delayed or cancelled, or if a seat reservation is not honoured. For all qualifying claims, a minimum discount of £1 is offered; |
| 25 franchise-specific charters for the rail industry in Great Britain | Each must have terms as least as favourable to passengers as those under British Rail's old Passenger's Charter, which ceased to exist on 1 April 1997, when franchise arrangements for the rail industry came into full effect. It allowed compensation in the form of discounts on season tickets if British Rail failed by more than a small margin to meet their punctuality and reliability standards. For people not eligible for season ticket discounts, it allowed compensation if a train was seriously delayed or cancelled, or if a seat or sleeper reservation was not honoured. |
There are also departmental payments made under special circumstances which are not directly linked to charters, for example, the Inland Revenue's compensation for "serious error" as defined in the "Code of Practice Mistakes by the Inland Revenue". Other departments with special payment schemes are HM Customs & Excise, the Benefits Agency, the Contributions Agency, and the Northern Ireland Social Security Agency.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Business Links
Liz Blackman: To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what proposals she has to reform the Business Links network to make it more responsive to the needs of small and medium size businesses; [1533]
- (2) what assessment she has made of the current effectiveness of the Business Links network in supporting small and medium size businesses. [1532]
Mrs. Roche:
Improving the Business Link service to small and medium sized businesses is one of my key priorities. I am committed to ensuring that all Business Links deliver a service which is of the highest quality. Many are already doing so, and I am discussing with
2 Jun 1997 : Column: 20
officials and with the national Business Link partners how we can ensure that all Business Links are brought up to the standard of the best.
Liz Blackman:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals she has to reform the loan guarantee scheme to encourage the development of the small and medium-sized business sector. [1562]
Mrs. Roche:
As a priority I will be examining ways in which the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme can do more to help small and medium sized high technology businesses.
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