27 Jul 1999 : Column: 155
Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 27 July 1999
CABINET OFFICE
European Communities Working Groups
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the (a) purpose and (b) activities over the past 12 months of the (i) Horizontal Questions Working Group, (ii) General Affairs Working Group and (iii) Quality of Legislation Working Group, meeting at European Communities level. [91877]
Mr. Kilfoyle: The Horizontal Questions Working Group reports to the Internal Market Council, and deals with cross-cutting issues concerning the internal market. Cabinet Office interest in the Working Group is confined to discussions on better regulation and simplification of legislation at the European level.
The General Affairs Working Group reports primarily to the General Affairs Council (i.e. Foreign Ministers) and deals with a very wide range of general EU internal (co-ordination, institutions, etc.) and external (foreign relations) matters. Cabinet Office interest is via the Civil Service Corporate Management (CSCM) in discussing terms and conditions of employment of European civil servants (i.e. those employed in the Commission, Council Secretariat, European Parliament Secretariat, etc.) and in terms and conditions for MEPs.
The Quality of Legislation Working Group, a time-limited group is working on the negotiation of an Inter-Institutional Agreement (i.e. between the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council) on the quality of drafting of Community legislation. Cabinet
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Office interest is via the Cabinet Office Legal Advisors (COLA), the Regulatory Impact Unit (RIU) and its legal advisers.
My right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office will not be making a statement at this stage.
Joan Ruddock:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many appointments to public bodies were made by his Department in (a) 1997-98 and (b) 1998-99, broken down by (i) gender and (ii) ethnicity; and if he will list the chairmen appointed to those bodies in those years, similarly broken down. [92518]
Mr. Kilfoyle:
For the purposes of this answer it includes appointments made by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and those made by the Prime Minister to public bodies for which the Cabinet Office is responsible.
The public bodies for which my right hon. Friend is responsible as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster are: the Advisory Committee on Advertising; the Advisory Committee on Justices of the Peace in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside; the Better Regulation Task Force; the Civil Service Appeal Board and the People's Panel Advisory Group.
The Prime Minister appoints members to: the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments; the Committee on Standards in Public Life; the Security Commission and Security Vetting Appeals Panel; the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee; the British Government Panel on Sustainable Development and the Senior Salaries Review Body. There are no ministerial appointments to positions in the Women's National Commission.
The details of appointments made are given in the table. However, while appointments have been made to women and members of ethnic minority groups I am unable, with the exception of gender information for the Advisory Committee on JPs, to disclose the numbers as to do so would risk identifying individuals without their consent.
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| April 1997 to March 1998 | April 1998 to March 1999 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Members | Chair | Members | Chair | |
| Advisory Committee on Business Appointments | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Advisory Committee on Advertising | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Advisory Committee on JPs | 18 Male 19 Female | 0 | 10 Male 7 Female | 0 |
| Better Regulation Task Force | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Civil Service Appeal Board | 9 | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| Committee on Standards in Public Life | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Security Commission | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Security Vetting Appeals Panel | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Political Honours Scrutiny Committee | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| British Government Panel on Sustainable Development | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Senior Salaries Review Body | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| People's Panel Advisory Group | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
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The Government have made some progress in increasing representation of women, members of ethnic minority groups and of people with disabilities. Full departmental plans on equal opportunities were published by the
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Government on 25 May 1999 and deposited in the Libraries of both Houses. The plans set objectives and targets for improving representation of women, people from ethnic minority groups and from people with disabilities.
27 Jul 1999 : Column: 157
Mr. Field:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what funding programmes local drug rehabilitation and prevention organisations can apply for under the Government's anti-drugs strategy. [93202]
Dr. Jack Cunningham:
Local drug service providers can bid to provide services under the prison service drugs strategy programme and the health and social services programmes and for contracts to provide services for the probation service.
It is the role of Drug Action Teams and local commissioning agencies to ensure that individual services work coherently within a local strategic framework. Local service providers may seek guidance from the Drug Action Team on making bids for funding. Bids should be made to the relevant statutory agencies.
Jackie Ballard:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he has established a baseline for policy appraisal against which to measure progress on equal treatment. [93464]
Mr. Kilfoyle:
As part of the Government's commitment to ensuring that their policies are relevant to the lives that people live today my Department is working with the Women's Unit, Home Office, and DfEE to develop good practices for ensuring that our policies meet the changing needs of all members of society.
"Policy Appraisal for Equal Treatment", published by the Cabinet Office, Home Office, DfEE and the Women's Unit in November 1998, has been circulated to staff within my Department to ensure that the effects of any policy changes on all sections of the population are considered at the earliest stage of policy development.
As part of the Modernising Government White Paper, we have made a commitment to increasing the number of female senior civil servants from 18 per cent. to 35 per cent. and those from ethnic minorities from 1.6 per cent. to 3.2 per cent. by 2004-05. We will be setting targets for people with disabilities later in the year.
Mr. Browne:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he will publish the milestones for meeting the commitments set out in the Modernising Government White Paper. [93279]
Dr. Jack Cunningham:
The Modernising Government White Paper was published on 30 March 1999 (CM3981). It set out key policies and principles underpinning the Government's long-term programme of reform to modernise public service. The programme involves everyone working in public services and everyone who uses them.
I have today published a document setting out the milestones that need to be reached in order to meet the commitments we made in the White Paper. As we make clear in the document, our approach to ensuring that these commitments are taken forward means identifying key strategic drivers for change as well as the achievement of
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specific targets. We will be doing more work to develop measurable outcomes and will include them within the work on the next round of public service agreements.
The document describes progress to date in Modernising Government and work that will lead to further changes over coming months. The table of milestones names officials able to provide more detail on specific aspects. It is also being published electronically on the Cabinet Office website which we intend updating regularly to show progress. Copies of the document will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Mr. McWalter:
To ask the President of the Council, pursuant to her oral answer of 26 July 1999, Official Report, column 15, to the hon. Member for South Staffordshire (Sir P. Cormack) when the July monthly Statement on millennium compliance in the public sector will be made. [93807]
Mrs. Beckett:
The Statement was made by way of written question on 23 July 1999, Official Report, column 665.
Mr. Brady:
To ask the President of the Council how many parliamentary questions have been tabled to her Department for written answer on a named day since 15 April; and what percentage of them received a substantive response on that day. [87316]
Mrs. Beckett:
Of the 13 written questions tabled to my Department for a named day since 15 April, 85 per cent. (11) received an answer on that day.
Mr. Brady:
To ask the President of the Council how many parliamentary questions were tabled to his Department for written answer on a named day between May 1997 and 14 April 1999; and what percentage of them received a substantive response on that named day. [91062]
Mrs. Beckett:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 15 April 1999, Official Report, column 302.
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