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Departmental Travel
Mr. Brake: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many kilometres have been travelled on his Department's business in each of the last three years broken down by (a) foot, (b) bike, (c) bus, (d) train, (e) tram, (f) light-rail, (g) plane, (h) motorbike, (i) car, (j) taxi, (k) river-taxi and (l) other modes of transport; what plans and targets his Department has to reduce the kilometres travelled by private transport by his Department's employees; and if he will make a statement. [91022]
Mr. Vaz: The information on business travel is not collected in the form requested and therefore cannot be provided. The Government have set a target that all Government Department headquarters buildings and main buildings occupied by Executive Agencies should have green transport plans by March 1999 and all other key buildings by March 2000.
We have completed green transport plans covering all our headquarters and main buildings and are developing plans for all other key buildings in line with targets set out in the 1998 Integrated Transport White Paper. The plans include measures to reduce single-occupancy car use by employees for commuting and business travel.
Employment Tribunals
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what role the Community Legal Service will have in relation to representation at employment tribunals. [90193]
Mr. Vaz:
Under the Access to Justice Bill, civil legal aid will be replaced by the Community Legal Service fund. For proceedings before the employment tribunals all help short of advocacy will continue to be available. Meanwhile, the Government are conducting a review of all tribunals to assess the extent to which current procedures and other arrangements, including
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representation, comply with our ECHR and EU obligations, and to identify the options for ensuring compliance in the future. The Government believe that it would be premature to make any decisions on extending publicly funded representation to tribunal proceedings until the review has been completed. The wider Community Legal Service, through Community Legal Service Partnerships (CLSPs), will provide the framework for comprehensive local networks of good quality legal and advice services supported by co-ordinated funding, based on the needs of local people. The CLSPs will base their planning and funding decisions on an assessment of local needs, which will include the need for help with employment disputes.
Special Advisers
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment on what dates Special Advisers from his Department have travelled abroad on official business since 2 May 1997; which countries were visited on each occasion; and what were the names of the special advisers who travelled abroad on each occasion. [88436]
Mr. Blunkett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Chichester (Mr. Tyrie) on 29 April 1999, Official Report, column 238.
Out-of-school Clubs
Mr. Lock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations he has received from out-of-school clubs concerning the basis upon which local education authorities have sought to charge out-of-school clubs operating out of premises owned by local education authorities for their use of the premises and associated facilities; and what response his Department has made. [88958]
Mr. Charles Clarke [holding answer 29 June 1999]: Since July 1997, the Department has received no representations from out-of-school clubs concerning charges for the use of local education authority maintained school premises, although in February 1998 we did liaise with the Department of Health on correspondence received by them from The Guide Association about changes made by one Metropolitan Borough Council.
New Deal Conference
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the cost of the New Deal Conference held in Birmingham on 21 and 22 June; and if he will make a statement. [89369]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
The cost of the conference was £257,336, including the hire of the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, all costs of production, stage, set, equipment, personnel, facilities, facilitators for syndicate sessions and catering. The conference was attended by 670 delegates, 54 speakers and 34 journalists. In addition to the plenary sessions there were 37 syndicate sessions covering 19 different subjects.
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Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will state the total budget announced since May 1997 for (a) local recruitment measures, (b) family numeracy, (c) summer numeracy schools, (d) numeracy at Key Stage 3, (e) literacy at Key Stage 3, (f) summer literacy schools, (g) special educational needs, (h) work-related learning, (i) Social Inclusion-Pupil Support, (j) National Grid for Learning, (k) Education for Travellers and Displaced Persons, (l) Expanding Local Authority Music Services and (m) New Deal for Schools Phase 3 stating 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. [89471]
Ms Estelle Morris
[holding answer 2 July 1999]: A reply to this question could be supplied only at 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 Reports, copies of which are held in the Library.
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 19 April 1999, Official Report, column 435, on action zones, 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 and publicity, (e) opinion polling, (f) web sites, (g) hospitality, (h) central administration costs and (i) external consultants and advisers in relation (1) to local recruitment measures, (2) literacy at Key Stage 3, (3) numeracy at Key Stage 3, (4) summer numeracy schools, (5) family numeracy, (6) work-related learning, (7) social inclusion-pupil support, (8) education of travellers and displaced persons and (9) expanding local authority music services. [89622]
Ms Estelle Morris
[holding answer 2 July 1999]: Expenditure is as follows:
| 1998 | 1999-2000 | 1999-2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actual | Actual to date | Planned | |
| (a) Market Research | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| (b) Conferences | 254,735 | 11,359 | 27,000 |
| (c) Direct Mail | 3,496 | 0 | 0 |
| (d) Advertising and Publicity | 124,825 | 0 | 0 |
| (e) Opinion Polling | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| (f) Website | 0 | 0 | 10,000 |
| (g) Hospitality | 1,220 | 638 | 2,550 |
| (h) Central Administration Costs | 539,693 | 123,555 | 459,664 |
| (i) External Consultants and Advisers | 219,202 | 36,900 | 176,593 |
No details are available prior to the financial year 1998-99--the first zones started work in September 1998. We cannot provide a further breakdown of the figures into
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categories 1-9 above because this information is not held by the department and/or identifying it would incur disproportionate cost.
Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what (a) consultation he has had with the Better Regulation Task Force and (b) assessment he has made of its initiatives in assessing the administrative burdens on employers of involvement in the New Deal. [89421]
Mr. Andrew Smith
[holding answer 2 July 1999]: The design implementation, marketing and evaluation of the New Deal takes account of the advice of the New Deal Task Force, which has a substantial proportion of its membership drawn from business, including the noble Lord Haskins, who is also the chair of the Better Regulation Task Force.
Mr. Kemp:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proportion of young people in the New Deal programme are in jobs without Government subsidy in the city of Sunderland. [90277]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
A young person participating on New Deal who finds a job that does not qualify for the government subsidy through the New Deal Employment Option actually leaves the programme. In the period April 1998 to April 1999, 516 young people have left New Deal to go into unsubsidised employment in the City of Sunderland Unit of Delivery.
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