| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Working Time Directive
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment has been made of the effect of the working time directive on his Department's employees; how many employees are working in excess of 48 hours per week; what steps he is taking to reduce this number; and if he will make a statement. [35883]
Ruth Kelly: Working hours are monitored in the Treasury. I am arranging to place in the Library of the House an update of the table which accompanied the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell (Matthew Taylor) on 14 November 2001, Official Report, columns 773–74W.
25 Feb 2002 : Column 1046W
Sufficient staff have been recruited to fill all complemented posts in the Treasury, and the Department has a number of alternative working policies in place such as flexible working hours, part-time working and compressed hours, as well as working at home. These are available to all staff by agreement with their line managers.
Departmental Assets
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the value of the outstanding leases on (a) Allington Towers SW1, (b) Cheapside House EC2V and (c) Fleetbank House EC4Y; and if he will make a statement. [35972]
25 Feb 2002 : Column 1047W
Ruth Kelly: The Treasury terminated its lease on Cheapside House earlier this year, and has leased Eastcheap Court since March 2001.
The Department occupies each of these premises under an operating lease, held under normal commercial terms with regular rent reviews which do not give rise to any significant value for the Department's interests.
Capita Group
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review computer security at Capita- administered Government schemes or projects. [36080]
Mr. Andrew Smith: Each Department is responsible for specifying security requirements when letting contracts and ensuring that suppliers comply. The Office of the e-Envoy recommends technical security standards such as use of smartcards or digital signatures.
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations the Government have received from the Capita Group since 24 October 2001. [36079]
Mr. Andrew Smith: This information is not held centrally.
Wanless Report
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to publish the next stage of the Wanless report. [36112]
Mr. Andrew Smith: The Terms of Reference for Derek Wanless' review ask him to report to the Chancellor of the Exchequer by April 2002.
Princess Diana Memorial Committee
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason there is no specific provision in the 2001 accounts of the Royal Mint for sums to be paid to projects recommended by the Princess Diana Memorial Committee. [36114]
Ruth Kelly: The Royal Mint accounts for 2000–01 included a provision for the royalties due in respect of Princess Diana collector coin sales. In accordance with generally accepted accounting practice in the UK this provision was included within trade creditors in the published accounts.
West Bank and Gaza Strip (Imports)
Richard Burden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are being taken by HM Customs to identify and monitor imports from the illegal settlements of the West Bank and Gaza Strip; and what action is taken where relevant authorities fail to co-operate in post- clearance verification inquiries. [36084]
Mr. Boateng: Customs are identifying imports declared to be of Israeli origin but which seem likely to have been produced in the settlements and are sending verification requests to Israel. As this is an EU wide issue, Customs intend to co-ordinate action with the European Commission and other member states in the event of failure to co-operate by the relevant authorities.
25 Feb 2002 : Column 1048W
Richard Burden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how exporters of goods based in the illegal settlements of the West Bank and Gaza Strip will be alerted to the steps being taken by HM Customs in respect of the EC-wide exercise to ensure that origins of imports are properly declared. [36085]
Mr. Boateng: In their recent publicity HM Customs strongly advise importers that they should check with their Israeli suppliers that the products they are importing have not originated in the settlements. The Israeli authorities are also well aware of the position.
Richard Burden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what advice is given by Customs and Excise to importers to ensure that origins of imports are properly declared on all goods which originated in the illegal settlements of the West Bank and Gaza Strip; and in which trade magazines and on what website the advice will appear. [36083]
Mr. Boateng: Customs and Excise strongly advise importers to check with their Israeli suppliers that the products they are declaring as of Israeli origin have not originated in the settlements. This advice has been published as Joint Customs Consultative Committee Information Paper (01) 55, which has been placed on the Customs website, http://www.hmce.gov.uk (under Forms and publications, Information papers). Articles have been provided to International Trade Today and Croners.
Industrial Action
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many days have been lost owing to industrial action by staff in his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each of the last four years. [36186]
Ruth Kelly: No working days were lost as a result of industrial action by staff in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Department, agencies and non-governmental bodies in each of the last four years.
Ministerial Boxes
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what means ministerial boxes are conveyed from private offices in his Department to (a) himself and (b) his Ministers; how frequently and at what expense private courier firms are employed for such a task; and which courier firms have been used for such duties. [36283]
Ruth Kelly: Ministerial boxes originating from the Treasury are transported to Ministers' homes either by Government car or by a service provided by the Royal Mail.
Conference Sponsorship
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 11 February 2002, Official Report, column 116W, on the "Creating knowledge: Creating Wealth" conference, how many companies bid for the right to sponsor the conference; and if he will make a statement. [37050]
Ruth Kelly: This seminar was one of a series that followed publication of guidance on "Selling Government Services into Wider Markets", published by the Treasury
25 Feb 2002 : Column 1049W
in 1998. There were discussions with at least six different firms about whether they were interested in sponsoring one or more of these seminars.
Government Investment
(Research and Development)
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide a breakdown, for each nation and region of the UK, of Government investment in research and development since 1995. [36412]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Alex Salmond, dated 25 February 2002:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question on Government investment in research and development since 1995. (36412)
- The Office for National Statistics (ONS) conducts an annual survey of UK Government Department's research and development (R&D) expenditure, from which the amount of R&D performed within Government establishments is available at Government Office Region (GOR) level. Figures for 1995 to 1999, by nation and GOR, can be found in the ONS publication Regional Trends, Chapter 13.9 as follows:
- 1995 Regional Trends 32, 1997
- 1996 Regional Trends 33, 1998
- 1997 Regional Trends 34, 1999
- 1998 Regional Trends 35, 2000
- 1999 Regional Trends 36, 2001.
- This information can also be found at the following web address: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme—compendia/regiona ltrends—2001/rt36.pdf.
- Government funding into business enterprise R&D expenditure at GOR level is available from the annual survey of UK Business Enterprise R&D survey. Figures for the years 1995 to 2000 are shown in the attached table. Data for Government investment in other sectors of the economy (Higher Education and the Private Non-Profit sectors) are not available at a regional level.
- Total UK Government funding of R&D can be found in the ONS Gross Domestic Expenditure on Research and Development First Release published in March every year. The latest available data relates to 1999, however no regional breakdown is available. This publication can be found at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/press—release/Archive.asp.
| 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 866 | 765 | 844 | 1,004 | 1,081 | 939 |
| North East | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| North West | 77 | 78 | 61 | 87 | 102 | 94 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 21 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 4 |
| East Midlands | 68 | 82 | 85 | 143 | 131 | 65 |
| West Midlands | 16 | 15 | 18 | 25 | 41 | 38 |
| Eastern | 174 | 146 | 214 | 239 | 256 | 330 |
| London | 59 | 60 | 85 | 91 | 97 | 111 |
| South East | 273 | 233 | 237 | 238 | 266 | 176 |
| South West | 173 | 129 | 129 | 170 | 177 | 119 |
| Northern Ireland | 12 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| Scotland | 71 | 66 | 58 | 78 | 58 | 59 |
| Wales | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 7 |
| United Kingdom | 953 | 842 | 915 | 1,094 | 1,157 | 1,011 |
Source:
Survey of UK Business Enterprise Research & Development, ONS
25 Feb 2002 : Column 1050W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |