| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Correspondence
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of mail received in the last 12 months for which figures are available from right hon. and hon. Members was replied to by him within, (a) up to 20 days, (b) 21 to 30 days, (c) 31 to 40 days and (d) over 40 days. [90155]
Dr. Reid: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) on 11 June 1999, Official Report, columns 403-06, which sets out departmental performance against the targets set for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members in the 1998 calendar year.
The percentage of mail received in the last 12 months from right hon. and hon. Members which are replied to within the time scales specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Correspondence
Mr. Burns: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what percentage of mail received in the last 12 months for which figures are available from right hon. and hon. Members was replied to by him within (a) up to 20 days, (b) 21 to 30 days, (c) 31 to 40 days and (d) over 40 days. [90162]
Mr. Vaz: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) on 11 June 1999, Official Report, columns 403-06, which sets out departmental performance against the targets set for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members, in the 1998 calendar year.
The percentage of mail received in the last 12 months from right hon. and hon. Members which are replied to within the time scales specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Public Records
Mr. John M. Taylor:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will take steps to encourage communications between members of the public who make use of the facilities provided by
12 Jul 1999 : Column: 48
the Public Record Office and individual members of the Advisory Council on Public Records about those facilities. [90169]
Mr. Vaz:
For some years the Council has published information about itself and a list of members, with an invitation to communicate with the secretary, on notice boards at the Public Record Office in Kew and the Family Records Centre in Islington and on the Advisory Council's pages on the Public Record Office website.
Some members of the public who are users of the Public Record Office facilities have communicated with members in order to bring matters of concern to them to the attention of the Council.
Mr. John M. Taylor:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what guidance the Lord Chancellor has issued since May 1997 to members of the Advisory Council on Public Records on the provisions of (i) Instrument No. 12 (Access to Public Records) of 1966, and (ii) the Census (Confidentiality) Act 1991. [90170]
Mr. Hawkins:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what further safeguards the Lord Chancellor plans to introduce to prevent political influence over matters which are properly the province of the judiciary. [90538]
Mr. Vaz:
None. The judiciary are not subject to political influence. Their independence is already fully protected by long-standing laws and convention and by the office of Lord Chancellor.
Lorna Fitzsimons:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps his Department takes to monitor the extent to which cases before the courts are adjourned; what statistics he collects on the subject; and what plans he has to limit the use of adjournments or to monitor more closely how adjournments are used. [90311]
Mr. Vaz:
Information on the number of ineffective Crown Court trials is kept, but no central reports on adjournments is collected for civil cases. Applications for cases to be adjourned are varied and adjournments in both civil and criminal cases are judicial decisions in which I cannot intervene. However, since 26 April 1999, there are systems in the civil courts, which monitor adjournments of cases listed for trial and the reasons for adjournment. The whole ethos of the Civil Procedure Rules is that defended cases are managed by the court and adjournments are the exception.
Mr. Healey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 11 June 1999, Official Report, column 437, on local authority funding, if he will place in the Library tables in paper and machine-readable form which exclude the
12 Jul 1999 : Column: 49
contributions of local authorities from the amounts set out in his previous answer but are otherwise consistent with that answer. [90449]
Ms Estelle Morris:
Details of the revenue grants within aggregate external finance other than revenue support grant for 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000, for each local education authority, each class of local authority and for England as a whole are given in tables that have been placed in the Library in paper and machine-readable form. The figures shown in the tables exclude contributions made by local education authorities.
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what is the total budget announced since May 1997 for (a) lifelong learning development plans, (b) qualifications, (c) drug prevention, (d) youth service, (e) school security and (f) ethnic minority pupil achievement; and what amount and what percentage of that budget in each financial year is to be (i) spent within his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies and (ii) allocated in grants; [90558]
(3) if he will list actual and planned expenditure in each of the last three financial years by his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies on (a) market research, (b) conferences, (c) direct mail, (d) advertising, publicity and publications, (e) opinion polling, (f) web sites, (g) hospitality, (h) central administration costs and (i) external consultants and advisers in relation to (1) infant class size reduction, (2) Phases 1 and 2 of the New Deal for Schools, (3) removal of outside toilets, (4) energy management and (5) asset management plans; [90550]
(4) what is the total budget announced since May 1997 for (a) reduction in infant class sizes, (b) Phases 1 and 2 of the New Deal for Schools, (c) removal of outside toilets, (d) energy management and (e) asset management plans; and what amount and what percentage of that budget in each financial year is to be (i) spent within his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies and (ii) allocated in grants; [90549]
(5) if he will list actual and planned expenditure in each of the last three financial years by his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies on (a) market research, (b) conferences, (c) direct mail, (d) advertising, publicity and publications, (e) opinion polling, (f) web sites, (g) hospitality, (h) central administration costs and (i) external consultants and advisers in relation to (1) school effectiveness and improvement, (ii) specialist schools, (iii) beacon schools, (iv) school leadership, (v) advanced skills teachers and (vi) numeracy consultants and leading maths teachers; [90552]
12 Jul 1999 : Column: 50
(6) if he will list actual and planned expenditure in each of the last three financial years by his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies on (a) market research, (b) conferences, (c) direct mail, (d) advertising, publicity and publications, (e) opinion polling, (f) web sites, (g) hospitality, (h) central administration costs and (i) external consultants and advisers in relation to (1) health education partnerships, (2) Year 6 booster classes, (3) books for schools and (4) the children's parliament; [90554]
(7) what is the total budget announced since May 1997 for (a) school effectiveness/improvement, (b) specialist schools, (c) beacon schools, (d) school leadership, (e) advanced skills teachers, (f) numeracy consultants and leading maths teachers; and what amount and what percentage of that budget in each financial year is to be (i) spent within his Department, agencies and non- departmental public bodies and (ii) allocated in grants; [90555]
(8) what is the total budget announced since May 1997 for (a) health education partnerships, (b) Year 6 booster classes, (c) books for schools and (d) children's parliament; and what amount and what percentage of that budget in each financial year is to be (i) spent within his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies and (ii) allocated in grants; [90557]
(9) what is the total budget announced since May 1997 for (a) early years training and development for three and four year olds, (b) early excellence centres, (c) national literacy strategy in primary schools, (d) national numeracy strategy in primary schools, (e) nursery education grant and (f) family literacy; and what amount and what percentage of that budget in each financial year is to be (i) spent within his Department, agencies and non- departmental public bodies and (ii) allocated in grants; [90556]
(10) if he will list actual and planned expenditure in each of the last three financial years by his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies on (a) market research, (b) conferences, (c) direct mail, (d) advertising, publicity and publications, (e) opinion polling, (f) web sites, (g) hospitality, (h) central administration costs and (i) external consultants and advisers in relation to (i) early years training and development for three and four year olds, (ii) early excellence centres, (iii) national literacy strategy in primary schools, (iv) national numeracy strategy in primary schools, (v) nursery education grant and (vi) family literacy. [90553]
Ms Estelle Morris:
A reply to these questions would involve disproportionate cost. General information on expenditure by the Department for Education and Employment, agencies and non-departmental public bodies is given in the annual Departmental Records, copies of which are held in the Library.
(2) if he will list actual and planned expenditure in each of the last three financial years by his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies on (a) market research, (b) conferences, (c) direct mail, (d) advertising, publicity and publications, (e) opinion polling, (f) web sites, (g) hospitality, (h) central administration costs and (i) external consultants and advisers in relation to (1) lifelong learning development plans, (2) qualifications, (3) drug prevention, (4) youth service, (5) school security and (6) ethnic minority pupil achievement; [90551]
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |