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Commission for Racial Equality
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Government's policy is on directors of a company in liquidation holding office on the Commission for Racial Equality. [112710]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Government policy on public appointments is set out under Nolan guidelines by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. There is no specific reference to directors of a company in liquidation.
Matters relating to the appointment of Commissioners are considered on a case-by-case basis.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Mr. Hugh Harris was appointed Acting Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, and by whom. [112713]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary appointed Hugh Harris to take on the role of Acting Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality on Monday 7 February, following Sir Herman Ouseley's retirement.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many limited companies currently
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trading have been set up by (a) the Commission for Racial Equality and (b) other non-departmental public bodies; and if he will make a statement. [112727]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
One. Five other Home Office Executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies have limited companies currently trading.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date a review of strip search procedures was undertaken; if the report was completed; when he will publish and respond to its recommendations; if he will make a statement concerning the management of this review indicating how many staff were allocated to its completion and at what level supervision was undertaken; what consultation took place with non-Governmental organisations; and how many communications he has received on the issue. [111948]
Mr. Boateng:
I am pleased to announce that I received the Prison Service's report on searches of the person last week. Copies have been placed in the Library and are available on the Prison Service website at www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk.
The report makes 16 recommendations, all of which have been accepted by the Prison Service.
The review was co-ordinated by one senior executive officer in the Prison Service's security group who consulted and involved many staff of a variety of grades both in the Prison Service headquarters and in prison establishments. As this was an internal review, non-governmental organisations were not consulted, but publications on the subject by several such organisations were taken into account.
Five Parliamentary Questions have been received from my hon. Friend, and one from hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Dr. Jones). In addition, a letter was received from my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak.
The emerging findings were then subjected to rigorous competitive analysis by other staff across the Service, including senior managers. This process has taken a long time, and other priority tasks prevented the earlier completion of the report. But I am satisfied that the Prison Service took the completion of this report very seriously.
Miss Widdecombe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the cost to public funds of his plans to expand his Department's Press Office; and if he will make a statement. [112527]
Mr. Straw:
Individual salaries differ but our estimate is that the cost of extra staff for the Home Office Press Office will be up to £400,000 in a full year.
Miss Widdecombe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost is to public funds of the relocation of his Department's Press Office to Queen Anne's Gate; and if he will make a statement. [112523]
Mr. Straw:
An independent consultant's report, produced by Clear Communications Ltd. in 1999, recommended a major restructuring of the Home Office
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Press Office. The Home Office Press Office is now being restructured and a number of additional posts have been created. It is not possible to fit it into its existing accommodation in Queen Anne's Gate, which in any case is considerably substandard. It is therefore proposed to move it and some other parts of Communication Directorate to another floor in the same building some time in May. Detailed costings are dependent on a number of factors and are not yet available.
Miss Widdecombe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to modernise his Department's Press Office IT system; what is the cost to public funds; and if he will make a statement. [112525]
Mr. Straw:
In the short term, the Home Office Press Office is taking part in the pilot running of a Briefing and Reference Database (BARD). This combines published information such as news releases, speeches, Parliamentary business and basic facts and figures about Home Office business so that press officers can answer quickly and accurately media inquiries. In the long term the Communication Directorate, along with the rest of the Home Office, will benefit from new working practices and Information Technology (IT) systems under a proposed Private Finance Initiative project called IT 2000. No detailed costs are available.
Miss Widdecombe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many press officers are employed by his Department's Press Office; how many are to be recruited to the news team as part of the current restructuring process; and if he will make a statement. [112544]
Mr. Straw:
At present there are 14 press officers (including three trainees and one Chief Immigration Officer on secondment) employed in the main Home Office Press Office, with three unfilled vacancies. The restructuring of the Press Office could involve the appointment of up to 10 further press officers.
Miss Widdecombe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the (a) minimum and (b) maximum starting salary for recruits to his Department's new Press Office news team; and if he will make a statement. [112524]
Mr. Straw:
The new Press Office news team will largely be recruited at Information Officer grade, for which the pay band is £15,902 to £27,709 p.a.
Miss Widdecombe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the functions of his Department's new Press Office news team. [112522]
Mr. Straw:
The planned restructuring of the Home Office Press Office will enable it to separate the functions of dealing with breaking news from those of more medium to long-term communications planning. The plan involves the setting up of a team of press officers who would operate from roughly 6 am to about 10 pm on weekdays in order to deal with the growing 24-hour demands of the media. This team would deal with today's stories in the media, handle media bids for interviews with Ministers and urgent media statements when these are needed.
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Miss Widdecombe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many press officers are to be recruited to his Department's new Press Office news team; and if he will make a statement. [112526]
Mr. Straw:
An independent consultant's report, produced by Clear Communications Ltd. in 1999, recommended a major restructuring of the Home Office Press Office and an increase in staff resources of up to 10 press officers. This restructuring will enable the unit to deal better with the growing number of media calls it is receiving and be reactive and proactive to the growing number of continuous 24-hour news operations. An advertisement recently appeared in the trade press and the plan is to recruit up to 10 additional staff.
Miss Widdecombe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many press officers were employed in his Department on (a) 1 May 1997, (b) 1 January 1998, (c) 1 January 1999 and (d) 1 January 2000; at what grades they were employed; and what was the cost to public funds of their employment. [112397]
Mr. Straw
[holding answer 1 March 2000]: Records of staff numbers are of necessity a snapshot of a particular month and do not take into account staff arrivals and departures which are happening constantly. The press office has for instance seen a turnover of staff of nearly 200 per cent. since January 1997.
The relevant staff numbers and staff costs (which include Superannuation and National Insurance) are:
May 1997--total of 15 Press Officers at approximate cost of £370,000. The grades were: three Senior Information Officers, ten Information Officers, two part-time, one Assistant Information Officer and a Higher Executive Officer on secondment;
January 1998--total of 14 Press Officers at approximate cost of £330,000. The grades were: three Senior Information Officers and 11 Information Officers, two part-time;
January 1999--a total of 14 Press Officers at approximate cost of £330,000. The grades were: two Senior Information Officers, eight Information Officers, two part time, three Assistant Information Officers and a Higher Executive Officer on secondment; and
January 2000--a total of 13 Press Officers at approximate cost of £345,000. The grades were: three Senior Information Officers, six Information Officers, three Assistant Information Officers and a Higher Executive Officer.
In addition, at various times throughout this period Chief Immigration Officers were on six-month attachment to the press office. It should also be noted that the grades referred to are substantive grades and that at various times press officers may have been on temporary promotion to a higher grade.
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