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Working Conditions and Practices

Dr. Cable: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people are employed in his Department on a job share contract; and what percentage of vacant positions was advertised on this basis in the last 12 months. [35355]

Mr. Leslie: The Cabinet Office currently employs 12 members of staff on a job share contract.

The Cabinet Office is committed to supporting part-time working, job sharing and other forms of alternative working patterns. The flexibility of the pattern is decided in conjunction with local management to suit an individual's need and the needs of their work.

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Information on the percentage of vacant positions opened up to job shares is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, since September 2001 it has been my Department's policy that all vacant posts will normally be open to any alternative working pattern, including part-timers and job sharers. The majority of posts advertised in this period will, therefore, have been open to job sharers.

Public Appointments

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list those employees, executives and directors of (a) Tesco, (b) J. Sainsbury, (c) Safeway, (d) Asda and (e) other food retailers who have been appointed to advisory and other roles on bodies in receipt of public funds since May 1997; and if he will list the terms of each such appointment. [39997]

Mr. Leslie: Information on the career history of people appointed to non-departmental public bodies, task forces, ad hoc advisory groups and reviews is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

However, the names of the chairs of public bodies are listed in the annual Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies".

The names of the chairs of task forces, ad hoc advisory groups and reviews are listed in the "Report on Task Forces, Ad Hoc Advisory Groups and Reviews". Four of these reports have so far been published in January 2000, July 2000, December 2000 and October 2001. The report published in January 2000 provided information and details between May 1997 and October 1999.

Copies of "Public Bodies" and of the "Reports on Task Forces, Ad Hoc Advisory Groups and Reviews" have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Car Licences

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cars there were with current licences in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997. [39850]

Dr. John Reid: Responsibility for this subject has been devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly and is therefore no longer a matter for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Ministerial Boxes

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland by what means ministerial boxes are conveyed from private offices in his Department to (a) himself and (b) his fellow 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. [36277]

Dr. John Reid: Ministerial boxes originating from the NIO are transported to the Secretary of State's and Ministers' homes either by Government car or by a service provided by the Royal Mail.

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Occasionally, these boxes are transported to the Secretary of State and Ministers' constituencies by a private courier firm using competitive rates. For security reasons, it would not be appropriate to disclose the name of the private courier firm.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Sport England

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will publish the notes taken by her officials at the meeting on 14 June 2001 between the chairman of Sport England and the Minister for Sport. [39798]

Tessa Jowell [holding answer 4 March 2002]: It is not my Department's practice to publish internal records of meetings. In compiling its report on the Sport England accounts, the National Audit Office has had full access to my Department's papers on this matter.

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) on what date the Minister for Sport was informed of Mr. Derek Casey's resignation as chief executive of Sport England; [39797]

(2) on what dates she was informed (a) that Mr. Derek Casey had resigned as chief executive of Sport England and (b) of the value of the severance package. [39802]

Tessa Jowell [holding answer 4 March 2002]: My right hon. Friend the Minister for Sport and I were informed on 14 June that Derek Casey agreed to resign. We were informed of the value of the severance package agreed by Sport England on 3 August.

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will publish the (a) date and (b) subject of (i) meetings and (ii) telephone calls between the Minister for Sport and (A) the chief executive of Sport England and (B) the chairman of Sport England, between 1 June and 14 June 2001. [39793]

Tessa Jowell [holding answer 4 March 2002]: The only meeting which the Minister for Sport held with either the chief executive of Sport England or the chairman was on 14 June. The Minister set out his draft plans for a new strategic body for sport. At that meeting, Mr. Casey

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announced that he felt it important for a new person to take on the long-term task of building the new structures, and offered his resignation from his position as chief executive of Sport England.

There is no record of any telephone calls between the Minister and the chairman or chief executive of Sport England between 1 June and 14 June 2001.

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will publish the date of the events, other than meetings, at which the Minister for Sport and the chief executive of Sport England, were both in attendance, between 1 June and 14 June 2001. [39796]

Tessa Jowell [holding answer 4 March 2002]: There were none.

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) if she will publish the correspondence between the Minister for Sport and the chairman of Sport England in which the resignation of Mr. Derek Casey as chief executive of Sport England was referred to; [39795]

(2) if she will publish correspondence between the Minister for Sport and the chief executive of Sport England between 1 June and 14 June 2001; [39794]

(3) if she will publish the correspondence between the Minister for Sport and (a) Mr. Derek Casey and (b) Mr. Trevor Brooking regarding the resignation of Mr. Casey from his position as chief executive of Sport England, including Mr. Casey's resignation letter. [39799]

Tessa Jowell [holding answer 4 March 2002]: There has been no correspondence between myself, the Minister of State, the chairman and the former chief executive of Sport England on the subject of Derek Casey's resignation.

Official Visits

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the official visits to (a) Paris and (b) Brussels made by each Minister in her Department in 2001 and the mode of travel used; and what guidance is provided to Ministers in her Department on the choice of mode of travel for such visits. [38143]

Mr. Caborn: The information you requested is shown in the following table.

Date	Minister	City	Mode of transport	Purpose
25–26 January 2001	Minister for the Arts	Paris	Rail	Opening of John Soane exhibition "La Reve de L'Architecte"
1–2 July 2001	Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting	Brussels	Rail	EU Presidency Tourism Summit
30–31 October 2001	Minister of State for the Arts	Paris	Air	UNESCO World Heritage Committee elections
5 November 2001	Minister of State for the Arts	Brussels	Air-out Rail-return	EU Council of Ministers meeting on Culture and Audiovisual matters
12 November 2001	Minister of State for Sport	Brussels	Air	EU Ministerial Conference on Sport

All travel is made in line with the guidance set out in Chapter 7 of the Ministerial Code and the accompanying guidance document "Travel by Ministers" using the most efficient and cost effective mode of transport and bearing in mind security considerations.

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the official visits within the UK outside London made by each Minister in her Department in 2001, giving for each (a) the origin and destination and (b) the mode of travel used; and what guidance is provided to Ministers in her Department on choice of mode of travel for official visits. [38179]

Mr. Caborn: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

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Ministers regularly travel throughout the UK in the course of their duties and all travel is made in line with the guidance set out in Chapter 7 of the Ministerial Code and the accompanying guidance document Travel by Ministers using the most efficient and cost effective mode of transport and bearing in mind security considerations.

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