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Night Flights
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what discussions she has had with
19 Dec 2001 : Column: 370W
representatives of the airline industry regarding the noise of night flights arriving at or departing from Scottish airports; [22966]
- (2) what complaints the Government have received about the noise of night flights from people living under the flight path or close to (a) Edinburgh Airport, (b) Glasgow Airport and (c) Aberdeen Airport. [22967]
Mrs. Liddell: The control and regulation of noise generated by the use of airports in Scotland is a devolved responsibility and is therefore a matter for the Scottish Executive.
Tourism
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment she has made of the impact on Scottish tourism of the additional costs imposed on flights to and from Scotland since 11 September. [22968]
Mrs. Liddell: Sponsorship of the tourism industry in Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Executive and Visit Scotland.
Boundary Commissions
Mr. Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to ensure the publication of alternative proposals made by electoral boundaries commissions to the Boundary Commissioners, at the same time as the commissioners publish their proposals for boundary changes. [23494]
Mrs. Liddell: The publication of provisional recommendations for parliamentary constituencies is a matter solely for the Boundary Commission for Scotland in accordance with the provisions of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, as amended.
Older People
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will set out for each of the conclusions in section 6.4 of the Performance and Innovation Unit report, 'Winning the Generation Game', (a) what progress her Department has made and (b) what future plans her Department has for acting on them; and if she will set out against each of the conclusions the targets and deadlines that have been set. [24194]
Mrs. Liddell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by my hon. Friend the Minster of State, Cabinet Office, at column 335.
WALES
EU Structural Funds
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the reason for the projected change in the level of receipts from the EU from 2001–02 to 2002–03. [24836]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The projected level of receipts from the EU shows a progressive increase between 2001–02 and 2002–03 to reflect the expected build-up of spend in the Structural Fund programmes. The management of EU Structural Funds is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.
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Government Accounts
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the financial implications of the participation by his Department in the whole of Government Accounts project. [24729]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I expect any net additional costs to be minimal.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the reason for the change in the cost of depreciation from 1999 to 2001 to 2001 to 2004. [24733]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The implementation of Resource Accounting and Budgeting has altered the way that depreciation is reflected in Government accounts. Depreciation factors reflect best accounting practice and may vary depending on the nature of the asset involved.
Learning and Skills Act
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the costs to public funds of the implementation in Wales of the Learning and Skills Act 2000. [24760]
Mr. Touhig: This is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.
Business Plan
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what cost savings have been identified by his Department's preparation of an annual business plan. [24731]
Mr. Paul Murphy: My Department's financial provision for capital expenditure and for paybill and general administrative expenditure is constant in cash terms over the period 2001–02 to 2003–04. This provides an automatic mechanism for delivering cost savings at least equal to the rate of inflation each year.
Welsh Assembly
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the funding settlement for the Welsh Assembly for 2001 to 2004. [24762]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the statement I made to the Welsh Grand Committee on 19 July 2000.
Departmental Operating Costs
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the reasons for the change in the operating costs of his Department from (a) 1999–2000 to 2000–2001 and (b) 2000–01 to 2001–02. [24735]
Mr. Paul Murphy: My Department came into being on 1 July 1999 and so was operational for only three- quarters of the financial year 1999–2000.
Annexe 3 of the Departmental Report 2001 shows an estimated outturn on "paybill and general administrative expenditure" of £2.259 million in 2000–01 and projected expenditure of £2.279 million in 2001–02. This is a change of less than 1 per cent.
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Departmental Payments
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will make a statement on progress with his Department's target for making payments in accordance with the applicable timetable where a contract applies; [24757]
- (2) if he will make a statement on progress with the target of paying accounts within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice. [24756]
Mr. Paul Murphy: Over the last three months, my Department has on average paid 88 per cent. of its bills on time each month.
Capital Charges
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the reason for the change in the cost of capital charges from 1999–01 to 2001–04. [24730]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The treatment of capital charges has altered during this period with the introduction of Resource Accounting and Budgeting.
For my Department, the cost of capital arises essentially from the headquarters building (Gwydyr House) and its contents. Gwydyr House was professionally valued on 31 March 2000 and under current accounting policies is due to have professional revaluations every five years.
The cost of capital charge is applied to average net assets of a department over a financial year and is charged at 6 per cent. which is the Treasury's discounted rate.
Children's Commissioner for Wales
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the cost to public funds of the Children's Commissioner for Wales. [24761]
Mr. Paul Murphy: This is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.
Departmental Expenditure Limit
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the reason for the change in the capital departmental expenditure limit from (a) 1999–2000 to 2000–01 and (b) 2000–01 to 2001–02. [24734]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The capital Departmental Expenditure Limit attributable to my Department meets those administrative costs which are of a capital nature—primarily the need to maintain, refurbish, and improve access to, Gwydyr House, Changes in provision are agreed in the light of expected pressures.
Information Systems
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on changes resulting from his Department's development of its financial and management information systems. [24732]
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Mr. Paul Murphy: My Department's financial and management information systems are being further upgraded; the changes which may result are not yet known.
Brynglas Tunnels
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the First Secretary of the Welsh Assembly on the effects on the future economy of Wales of traffic congestion at the Brynglas Tunnels. [24393]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I meet regularly with the First Minister when we discuss a range of matters, including the economy and the transport infrastructure in Wales.
The new Southern Distributor Road recently announced by Newport county borough should greatly improve the road network in the Newport area and help provide a boost to economic development prospects.
The National Assembly is considering other options to alleviate congestion around Newport.
Job Losses (Nantgarw)
Mr. David: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what co-operation he has had with the National Assembly in developing a response to the job losses at G.E. Aircraft Engine Services at Nantgarw in South Wales. [23399]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I regret the decision taken by General Electric to shed around 350 jobs at its plant in Nantgarw and the effect this decision will have on those who will lose their jobs and the effects on their families and the community.
The First Minister met representatives of GE in September of this year. I know that Assembly officials have been in regular contact with GE and will offer and provide whatever support they can.
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