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DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Fair Trade

Mr. Weir: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 26 November 2001, Official Report, column 703W, on fair trade goods, if he will review during Fair Trade Fortnight the amount of fairly traded goods used in his Department. [35456]

Mr. Leslie: My Department's purchasing policy is based on value for money principles and purchases are considered on the basis of fitness for purpose and whole life cost. Where these considerations are equal the choice of goods is then influenced by ethical and environmental factors and fair trade goods will be considered in that context.

My officials will consider with the new service provider for the Department's London offices the availability of fair trade goods in its refreshment facilities. Our contracted catering providers have assured us that wherever commercially practicable and viable they trade with companies who have their own ethical or fair trading initiatives.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether fair trade products are sold in his Department. [39828]

Mr. Leslie: Yes; our contracted catering providers have assured us that wherever commercially practicable and viable they trade with companies who have their own ethical or fair trading initiatives.

As I mentioned in my reply to the hon. Member for Angus (Mr. Weir) on 26 November 2001, Official Report, column 703W, the Cabinet Office will consider with the new service provider for the Department's London offices the availability of fair trade goods in its refreshment facilities.

Civil Servants

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what was the (a) percentage and number of rail journeys undertaken on first class tickets, (b) average cost of a first class journey by rail and (c) total cost of rail travel in each of the past four years broken down by grade of civil servant. [37504]

Mr. Leslie: Section 8 of the Civil Service Management Code, paragraph 8.2.1, requires Departments and agencies to ensure that staff use the most efficient and economic means of travel in the circumstances, taking into account any management benefit or the needs of staff with disabilities.

The information requested is not held centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.

Sponsorship

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 25 February 2002, Official Report, ref 32799, on which date the Cabinet Office guidelines on sponsorship took effect; and if he will make a statement. [39729]

Mr. Leslie: The Cabinet Office document "Guidance to Departments on Sponsorship of Government Activities" was published in July 2000 as part of the Government's

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response to the Sixth Report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life (Cmnd 4817). These guidelines updated the previous internal sponsorship guidelines that had been circulated to Departments in March 1999.

Radio Advertising

Ms Abbott: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the Central Office of Information spent on radio advertising on behalf of other Government Department agencies and NDPBs in the last year; what percentage of this was spent on black minority media advertising; and what the five main campaigns that the Central Office of Information financed that involved radio advertising were. [41341]

Mr. Leslie: For the year 2000–01 the total spend on radio advertising was £16 million, with 1.25 per cent. spent on black minority stations.

The top five campaigns, by value which featured radio advertising were:


Women and Equality Unit

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many staff are employed in the Women and Equality Unit of the Cabinet Office. [43112]

Mrs. Roche: The Women's Unit was created in 1998. Its staff for the first financial year of its existence (1998–99) was 45. The unit was renamed the Women and Equality Unit following last year's general election in order to recognise its new policy responsibilities across the United Kingdom for gender equality, co-ordination of sexual orientation policy and its sponsorship of the Equal Opportunities Commission. Its current staffing level stands at 68.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the findings were of the joint benchmarking study of the Women and Equality Unit of the Cabinet Office and the Swedish Government. [43111]

Mrs. Roche: The publication "Women as Entrepreneurs in Sweden and the UK: Different Perspectives" built upon a bilateral initiative between Sweden and the UK on women's entrepreneurship.

The publication identified the sharing of good practice and supporting joint projects between the two countries, as effective tools to encourage female entrepreneurship.

The study showed that, in the UK, the reasons for starting a business, the type of business run and the chosen method of accessing finance were markedly different between men and women. The reasons for these differences need to be reflected in the support provided.

Employers' Forum on Disability

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which Government Departments are members of the Employers' Forum on Disability. [44266]

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Mr. Leslie: The following civil service Departments and agencies are all members of the Employers' Forum on Disability:


Sickness Absence

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what was the overall level of sickness absence in the civil service in 2000. [45327]

Mr. Leslie: The report "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service 2000" prepared for my Department by Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BioSS) shows that by applying the same methodology as in previous years the average level of sickness absence was 9.9 days per staff year. This represents a small decrease over the equivalent figure of 10.1 days set out in the report for 1999. The report contains a comprehensive analysis of the 2000 figures.

Calculated on the basis of absence per person, the figure for the civil service was 8.5 days. According to the CBI survey for 2000, this compares favourably with a figure of 10.2 days for the public sector as a whole and is only slightly more than the average rate of 7.8 days for all sectors.

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Departments have published Service Delivery Agreements which contain their individual targets for reducing sickness absence. Overall the civil service has been targeted to reduce sickness absence by 30 per cent. (to 7.2 days per staff year) by 2003 against the 1998 baseline. My Department is continuing to work with other Departments and agencies as they take forward their plans to reduce sickness absence.

I have placed copies of the BioSS report in the Libraries of the House.

HEALTH

Unlicensed Medicines

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what joint strategies have been agreed between the Medicines Control Agency and the United States Government Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigation to combat the online sale of licensed and unlicensed medicines; and if he will publish them. [39018]

Ms Blears: The Enforcement Group currently has no specific joint strategies with the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations. However, it does maintain close informal contact, on a case by case basis, shares intelligence, conducts joint investigations including visits where appropriate.

Anti-TB Vaccinations

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the level of supply of anti-TB vaccinations to the NHS is. [38681]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 28 February 2002]: Current central stock holding (as at 12 March 2002):

Number
BCG2,126,550
Tuberculin PPD201,920


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