| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
CABINET OFFICE
Correspondence
7. Mr. Ian Bruce: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when her Department will publish statistics on the time it takes Ministers in each Government Department to answer hon. Members' letters; and if she will make a statement. [116390]
Marjorie Mowlam: The Government are committed to reducing the time taken to reply to correspondence from hon. Members.
Clearly this is an important matter for Members on all sides of the House, and for their constituents, and we must continue to aim for higher standards.
I intend to publish information on the time taken by individual Departments and agencies to reply to hon. Members very shortly, and before the Easter recess, which will be earlier than previous years.
8. Mr. Nicholas Winterton:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps she has taken to reduce the number of regulations issued by Government Departments. [116391]
Mr. Stringer:
Any regulatory proposal likely to have an impact on business, charities or the voluntary sector is subject to assessment. These assessments, which are placed in the Libraries of the House, are designed to test the need for every proposed regulation. In addition the Ministerial Panel, which the Prime Minister asked my right hon. Friend to establish last December, has now begun its programme of departmental reviews. In the first of these reviews, DTI and DETR agreed to a package of specific regulatory reforms.
9. Mr. Blunt:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate she has made of the total salary bill for special advisers in the financial year 2000-01. [116392]
Marjorie Mowlam:
It is estimated that the total salary bill for Special Advisers in the year 2000-01 will be £4.3 million.
5 Apr 2000 : Column: 523W
10. Mr. Loughton:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when she last met the Commissioner for Public Appointments to discuss the political balance of councillors being appointed to local health authorities and NHS trusts. [116393]
12. Mr. Grieve:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what meetings she has had with the Commissioner for Public Appointments to discuss her report entitled, "Public Appointments to NHS Trusts and Health Authorities". [116395]
19. Mrs. Virginia Bottomley:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when she last met the Commissioner for Public Appointments to discuss appointments to public bodies. [116407]
Mr. Stringer:
I met the Commissioner for Public Appointments on 15 March 2000. My right hon. Friend and I meet the Commissioner from time to time.
14. Dr. Tony Wright:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proposals she has to amend the system of public appointments. [116397]
Mr. Stringer:
The Government have no immediate plans to alter the system of public appointments.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what her policy is in respect of the appointment of local councillors to non-departmental public bodies. [116401]
Mr. Stringer:
The Government believe that appointments should be made on merit and we agree with the Commissioner for Public Appointments that political activity should not be a bar on taking up a public appointment.
11. Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps she is taking to encourage disability awareness within the civil service. [116394]
Marjorie Mowlam:
This is something we take extremely seriously: all managers in the Civil Service will be trained in diversity awareness (including disability issues) within two years; all managers will have diversity objectives in their personal plans; and we have recently produced a video for use in Departments to raise awareness.
13. Mr. Edwards:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will make a statement about the role of the social exclusion unit. [116396]
Marjorie Mowlam:
The Social Exclusion Unit was established in December 1997. Since then it has produced five reports and action plans on subjects as diverse as rough sleeping and teenage pregnancy.
5 Apr 2000 : Column: 524W
The role of the unit is to help Government action to reduce social exclusion by producing joined-up solutions to joined-up problems.
15. Mr. Healey:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will make a statement on the role of digital television in helping Government meet its targets for the electronic delivery of public services. [116400]
Mr. Ian McCartney:
There is scope for digital television (DTV) to play an important role in delivering Government services electronically. The Central Information Technology Unit (CITU) published initial guidelines on DTV last December.
16. Mr. Pike:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what changes she proposes to make in the system for appointing magistrates in the Duchy of Lancaster area. [116402]
Marjorie Mowlam:
I refer to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) on 28 January 2000, Official Report, column 163W.
17. Mr. Fabricant:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when her officials last met analysts from the United States International Trade Commission to discuss the current US Senate Finance Committee inquiry into possible UK membership of NAFTA; and if she will make a statement. [116404]
Mr. Stringer:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer he received from the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 3 April 2000, Official Report, column 285W.
18. Fiona Mactaggart:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what her objectives are for the Civil Service in the modernising government programme. [116405]
Mr. Stringer:
The Government objective is to create a modern, diverse Civil Service, which has the skills and competences to meet the challenges it will face in the 21st century. Sir Richard Wilson published his report to the Prime Minister on Civil Service Reform in December last year.
21. Mr. White:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment she has made of progress towards the Government targets for Internet access set out in the Modernising Government White Paper. [116409]
Mr. Ian McCartney:
There was no specific internet access target in the Modernising Government White Paper. However, on 7 March, the Prime Minister announced that the UK would aim for universal access to
5 Apr 2000 : Column: 525W
the Internet by 2005. The e-Minister and e-Envoy will be reporting on progress towards this target in their first annual report in July.
22. Mr. Ben Chapman:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what discussions she has had with (a) trade union representatives and (b) others on the modernising government programme. [116410]
23. Mr. Neil Turner:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what discussions she has had with trade union representatives and (b) others on the modernising government programme. [116411]
Mr. Ian McCartney:
The Head of the Home Civil Service, the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office, and I met the unions on 30 March for the official signing of the National Partnership Agreement. The Agreement sets out how the Cabinet Office and the unions will work together on matters that require corporate leadership. It outlines a shared commitment to strive for improvement and efficiency in the Civil Service.
I have regular meetings with the unions at which developments in modernising government are discussed, among other topics.
I have many other meetings and modernisation usually features positively.
20. Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what measures she is taking to tackle the under-representation of ethnic minorities in the civil service. [116408]
Marjorie Mowlam:
The Government are committed to redressing under-representation and we are actively working to recruit and retain ethnic minorities at all levels in the civil service. Some key measures include the recent appointment of the Senior Adviser to help drive forward our efforts to tackle the under-representation of ethnic minorities particularly at senior levels of the civil service, and the recently launched new video of successful ethnic minority civil servants showing how fulfilling a career in the civil service can be to potential recruits.
24. Mrs. Gilroy:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what her Department is doing to promote the delivery of Government services through information and other new communication technologies. [116413]
Mr. Ian McCartney:
I refer to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Mr. Coaker) on 3 April 2000, Official Report, column 360W.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |