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Farming
24. Mrs. Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met the First Secretary and the Agriculture Secretary of the National Assembly to discuss farming in Wales. [108935]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I meet the First Secretary on a weekly basis and we discuss farming in Wales and the whole spectrum of Welsh agriculture. My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Wales met the Agriculture Secretary of the National Assembly to discuss farming in Wales in late January.
Advertising Budget
Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his Department's advertising budget for (a) 1999-2000 and (b) 2000-01. [110254]
Mr. Paul Murphy: My Department had no advertising budget at its inception on 1 July 1999 and it has no advertising budget proposed for 2000-01.
Block Grant
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the size of the block grant for Wales for the next financial year. [108910]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The total Welsh Budget for the National Assembly in 2000-01 is £7,927 million. This is a current figure which may be subject to some small changes reflecting transfers to and from other Government Departments.
Health (Cynon Valley)
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will discuss with the First Secretary health issues in the Cynon Valley. [108918]
Mr. Hanson: My right hon. Friend has regular meetings with the First Secretary to discuss issues affecting Wales, including health. I meet regularly with Jane Hutt, the Assembly Health and Social Services Secretary. Both my right hon. Friend and I would be happy to discuss any issues raised with us during these meetings.
Funding
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to maximise funding for Wales from abroad. [108920]
Mr. Paul Murphy: As part of the partnership between the National Assembly and central Government I do all I can to secure inward funding.
I am particularly pleased to note that in the period 1 May 1997 to 31 December 1999, the Welsh Development Agency has recorded 284 inward investment projects promising a total of 22,522 new jobs, 9,925 safeguarded jobs and capital investment of £1.9 billion.
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Paper and Timber Products
Mr. Reed: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) if she will ensure that paper and timber products purchased by her Department are independently certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as coming from a sustainable source; [110195]
(2) what steps she has taken to ensure that paper and timber products purchased by her Department come from a sustainable source. [110194]
Mr. Ian McCartney: The Cabinet Office purchases paper and timber products which come from sustainably managed sources, in line with environmental guidance prepared by HM Treasury and the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) label is accepted by buyers as demonstrating that timber and timber products have come from sustainably managed sources. However, it is not practicable to require that all paper and timber products purchased by the Cabinet Office are independently certified by the FSC because this might discriminate against any equally valid schemes and therefore be against public procurement. Specifying just the FSC label might also result in us failing to meet all our requirements as currently only a small percentage of timber products are currently FSC certified.
"Better Government for Older People"
Mrs. Brinton: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans she has to increase the number of Better Government for Older People pilot programmes; and if she will establish a pilot programme in Peterborough. [109989]
Mr. Ian McCartney: The Better Government for Older People programme was launched in June 1998 with 28 local authority led pilots spread throughout the UK. The pilot phase ends in March. The evaluation and application phase will continue until the end of the year.
The Better Government for Older People Programme (BGOP) aims to improve service delivery; give older people more say; celebrate older people as achievers; and encourage improved partnerships. It is a key part of our modernising Government initiative. BGOP will provide a substantial amount of evidence on what works best in involving older people and better designing services to meet their needs. We aim to spread the lessons emerging from the programme as widely and as quickly as possible through the BGOP Network, which is open to all local authorities. Network events are being held throughout the UK, with the closest one to Peterborough being the Cambridge event on 9 March.
Research Contracts
Dr. Harris:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to her answer of 21 December 1999, Official Report, column 573W, on departmental research contracts, if she will (a) state total expenditure on research let by her
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Department since May 1997 and (b) list the titles of all research contracts let by her Department during 1999 and costing £20,000 or more, stating what is the value of each contract, and in each case whether the contract included (i) departmental veto over publication of the research results, (ii) departmental control over the date of publication of the research and (iii) a requirement that
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the final research results incorporate departmental amendments; and if she will place a copy of the standard research contract currently in use by her Department in the Library. [107093]
Mr. Ian McCartney:
Details of my Department's expenditure on research contracts let during 1999 and costing £20,000 or more are as follows:
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| Title | Value (£) | Right of Veto | Date control | Departmental amendments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performance Management Working Group Report | 24,555 | Yes | Internal use only | Yes |
| People Survey | 25,000 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Equality Proofing Research | 27,436 | No | Yes | Yes |
| PCSPS 2000 Attitude Survey | 28,000 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Women's Incomes Over Lifetime Research | 32,415 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IT Infrastructure Library Redevelopment | 36,500 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Governance in the Digital Economy | 36.806 | No | No | Yes |
| Demand for 24 hour Public Service Delivery | 54,200 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Research for Information System Management Guides | 60,000 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Peoples' Panel Ethnic Minority Booster Research | 61,500 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
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Information for earlier years can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. A copy of the standard Cabinet Office terms and conditions has been placed in the Library.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Winter Fuel Payment
Mr. Prior: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of those entitled to the £100 winter fuel payment to pensioners have received it. [110341]
Angela Eagle: The administration of benefits is a matter for Peter Mathison, Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. David Prior, dated 15 February 2000:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent parliamentary question asking what proportion of those pensioners entitled to a £100 Winter Fuel Payment have now received it.
I can now advise that of the 5,313,477 customers across all benefits identified as entitled to a £100 Winter Fuel Payment, 98% have now received their entitlement. The remaining 2% are those payments which have not been collected from the Post Office and which have been returned to the Benefit Agency (BA). They are returned for security reasons so that BA can investigate why it has not been collected by the intended recipient and determine whether any payment should be made.
I hope this is helpful.
Remploy
Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what Remploy products his Department has purchased in the last three years. [109929]
Angela Eagle:
Over the past three years the Department has purchased bespoke office furniture from Remploy which has been manufactured by its network of sites. The Department continues to buy furniture from Remploy. Over the last three years orders amounting to £169,000 in 1997-98, £230,000 in 1998-99 and £178,000 in the current year have been placed.
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