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Press Office
Mr. Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what are the total running costs of his Department's Press Office, including staff salaries, for the year 1999-2000; and what is the estimated cost for the next two years; [115761]
- (2) how many press officers, at what civil service grades, are employed in his Department's Press Office; [115762]
(3) how many of his Department's press officers have been replaced in each of the last three years. [115763]
Ms Beverley Hughes [holding answer 21 March 2000]: The running costs are:
| Year | £ million |
|---|---|
| 1999-2000 | (1)3.1 |
| 2000-01 | (2)3.3 |
| 2001-02 | (3)3.3 |
(1) Forecast outturn
(2) Provision
(3) Estimate provision
These include the staff salaries, overtime, travel and subsistence, training and other administrative costs including regional media activity and press cuttings.
The number of press officers (full-time equivalent) currently employed by DETR(C) grade is:
| Press officers | Number |
|---|---|
| Senior Civil Service | 1 |
| Band 7 | (4)0.8 |
| Band 6 | 5 |
| Band 5 | 11 |
| Band 4 | 18 |
| Band 3 | 5 |
(4) Part-time
The number of press officers who have joined or left the Media Centre since April 1999 is:
Mr. Wigley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to introduce a marine environment Bill to protect the United Kingdom's marine environment from oil spills. [115784]
Mr. Mullin:
None at present. Shipping is an internationally regulated business and accordingly my Department is in discussion with counterparts in the International Maritime Organisation and with the European Union to determine practical measures for enhanced protection against maritime pollution.
On 10 February my Department also published a consultants' report as the first stage in a consultative process which could lead to the setting up of Marine
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Environmental High Risk Areas (MEHRAs) to help protect sensitive marine and coastal environments at particular risk from pollution from shipping.
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list for the financial year 1998-99 the number and total value of contracts let by his Department with external consultants and advisers that (a) have been put out to competitive tender, (b) have not been put out to competitive tender and (c) have been let on a non-commercial basis, stating in each case the names of the individuals or organisations that have carried out the work. [115809]
Ms Beverley Hughes
[holding answer 22 March 2000]: The information that has been requested as parts (a) and (b) of the question is not held centrally and cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. All contracts are awarded using competition unless there are compelling reasons for using single tender action.
As for part (c), it is a requirement that all my Department's contracts are awarded on a commercial basis in accordance with Government Accounting, Departmental Procurement Guidance, and the UK and EU Regulatory Framework.
Mr. Jack:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions for what reasons the Local Government Bill [Lords] is not compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights; and if he will make a statement. [115655]
Ms Armstrong:
There are considerable doubts whether section 2A of the Local Government Act 1986 is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Clause 91 of the Local Government Bill amends, but also reaffirms, the provisions of section 2A. It is for this reason that it is doubtful whether the Bill is compatible with the ECHR.
This Government have already said that they intend to remove clause 91 of the Bill and, in its place, provide for the repeal of section 2A of the 1986 Act. The Bill will then be compatible with the ECHR.
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Mr. Rendel:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what change there was in the number of second homes owned between January 1995 and January 2000; and if he will make a statement; [115940]
Mr. Mullin:
The following table shows estimates from the DETR Survey of English Housing of the number of second homes in England. Like all estimates from sample surveys, they are subject to a certain amount of random variation and are not precise to the level of detail shown. The change between one year and the next should not be regarded as a reliable estimate of longer term trends. Statistics on the number of second homes in Wales are incomplete. No projections of the number of second homes are made.
Left--14
Joined--17.
Figures are not available in this format for earlier years.
(2) what estimate he has made of the change in the prevalence of second home ownership England and Wales over the next (a) five and (b) 10 years. [115939]
| Thousand | |
|---|---|
| 1994-95 | 215 |
| 1995-96 | 185 |
| 1996-97 | 203 |
| 1997-98 | 224 |
| 1998-99 | 248 |
Note:
The table shows second homes in England owned or rented by households with their main residence also in England. It excludes second homes which are the main residence of another household, and those which the owners are intending to sell. Second homes may be either owned or rented.
Source:
1994-95 onwards--DETR Survey of English Housing
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Millennium Dome
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the design consultants contracted to undertake work on each of the zones in the dome. [109722]
Janet Anderson
[holding answer 11 February 2000]: The companies involved in the design and content of each exhibit zone are set out as follows. The contractual terms of each vary, reflecting the different nature and type of exhibit--both in terms of structure and content.
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