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Housing Debt
Mrs. Fyfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total is of housing debt owned by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. [123016]
Mr. George Howarth: The Northern Ireland Housing Executive's outstanding loan debt at 31 March 2000 is £1,654,277,867 (£1.654 billion).
DVLNI
Mr. Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what performance targets have been set for Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland in 2000-01. [123784]
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Mr. George Howarth: For 2000-01, the following key performance targets have been set for the Agency:
Output:
1. To dispatch 96 per cent. of registration books for new vehicles in 16 working days from receipt.
2. To dispatch 96 per cent. of refunds of vehicle excise duty in 10 working days from receipt.
3. To dispatch 96 per cent. of vehicle excise licences in five working days from receipt of postal application.
4. To dispatch 96 per cent. of duplicate vehicle registration books in six working days from receipt of applications.
5. To dispatch 93 per cent. of all driving licences in nine working days from receipt of applications.
6. To dispatch substantive replies to 98 per cent. of written inquiries for information from the drivers and vehicles registers in three working days from receipt.
Waiting Times at Local Vehicle Licensing Offices:
7. To limit maximum waiting time at Local Vehicle Licensing Offices so that 96 per cent. of customers are attended to within 22 minutes during peak periods (the first eight and the last two working days of each month) and within 10 minutes at other periods.
Financial:
8. To meet an overall efficiency gain of 2.5 per cent.
9. To reduce the unit cost per vehicle excise enforcement case by 0.5 per cent. in real terms compared to 1999-2000.
Quality:
10. To limit the error rate (errors on any item sent out by the Agency) to a maximum of 0.5 per cent. of total Agency output.
HEALTH
Penalty Clauses
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the contracts entered into with private sector companies for the provision of goods or services since May 1997 where penalty clauses were triggered for non-performance; and if he will make a statement. [122016]
Ms Stuart: National Health Service bodies with contracts for goods or services with private sector companies where penalty clauses have been triggered for failure to perform to time or to standard were:
(1) No known private sector contracts where penalty clauses have been triggered
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Neurology Services
Mrs. Brinton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what consultations he has had with (a) medical (b) patient and (c) other organisations as part of the review of the funding of specialised neurology services; [122579]
(2) what representations he has received from (a) medical, (b) patient and (c) other organisations as part of the review into the funding of specialised neurology services. [122580]
Mr. Denham: We are currently considering how best to undertake an independent review of the evidence for the use of neurostimulator implants in the treatment of severe Parkinson's Disease and we are not in a position at the moment to undertake consultations. Once we have established the best mechanism for taking this work forward we will then consult with the relevant bodies.
Since February 2000 we have responded to 35 representations in the form of ministerial correspondence regarding specialised neurology treatments. These representations are categorised as follows:
(a) Medical: 6
(b) Patients: 1
(c) Other organisations: 25 (generally the Parkinson's Disease Society and its local branches)
(d) Hon. Members' constituents: 3 (whether clinician or patient is unknown)
In addition, we have responded to three pieces of ministerial correspondence about the use of out of area treatments to fund specialised treatments in general.
Officials regularly meet with representatives from a range of the relevant voluntary and patient organisations.
Mrs. Brinton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in implementing service agreements for neurosurgery and specialist neurology in the Eastern region. [122578]
Mr. Denham: The Eastern Region Specialised Services Commissioning Group is reviewing the arrangements for specialised neurosciences in the light of the two recent national reports on standards and models of care.
In the meantime, health authorities in the Eastern region have no plans to change existing commissioning arrangements.
Secondments
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list (a) the commercial companies which have paid staff on secondment to his Department and (b) the projects on which each secondee is working. [122909]
Ms Stuart: Interchange is a key component of the reform agenda. The Modernising Government White Paper committed us to increasing interchange, in particular by bringing in more people on secondment and sending more people out. Secondments and attachments are part of the Interchange Initiative which promotes the exchange of people and good practice between the Civil Service and other organisations. All sectors of the economy are involved: voluntary, education, health, public and private.
Central records are held on five secondments from the private sector.
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| Company | Project |
|---|---|
| British Airways | Organisational Development |
| Deloitte and Touche | Private Finance Initiative |
| Taylor Woodrow Construction Ltd. | Private Finance Initiative |
| Herbert Smith | Private Finance Initiative |
| Macfarlanes | Private Finance Initiative |
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Department of Health employees are on secondment to commercial companies; and if he will list the companies concerned. [122907]
Ms Stuart: Interchange is a key component of the reform agenda. The Modernising Government White Paper committed us to increasing interchange, in particular by bringing in more people on secondment and sending more people out. Secondments and attachments are part of the interchange initiative which promotes the exchange of people and good practice between the civil service and other organisations. All sectors of the economy are involved: voluntary, education, health, public and private.
Central records are held on two secondments to the private sector:
- Company: Sema Group
- Company: Federal Mogul.
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