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Special Advisers
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the number and expected cost to his Department of special advisers in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03. [43276]
The Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State: At 21 March, there are two full time and two part time Special Advisers in my office.
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On cost, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 20 March 2002, Official Report, Hansard, column 324W.
Departmental Contracts
Dr. Cable: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the 30 largest contracts awarded by his Department from (a) May 1997 to April 1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999, (c) May 1999 to April 2000, (d) May 2000 to April 2001 and (e) May 2001 to the latest date for which figures are available, stating in each case the values of the contracts and the companies with which the contracts were placed. [43673]
Mr. Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I have given today to the hon. Member for North Tayside, (Pete Wishart).
PFI/PPPs
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the (a) private finance initiative and (b) public private partnership projects which have been delayed. [44878]
Mr. Leslie: The Sunningdale Park Property Project is this Department's only PFI project. It was originally envisaged that the contract would be awarded in 1999. Various complications mean that we are now working towards a start date next month.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the difference was between the price offered in reaching preferred bidder stage and the final contract price for the five largest PFI contracts let by his Department in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement. [45594]
Mr. Leslie: The Sunningdale Park Project is this Department's only current PFI project and has not yet reached final contract stage. My Department has had no other PFI projects in the last four years.
Creche Facilities
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what creche facilities are provided by his Department; and at what cost. [44864]
Mr. Leslie: The Cabinet Office provides creche facilities for staff at the Civil Service College in Sunningdale, which is run in partnership with the Edith Rose Day Nursery. This service is also available to parents on residential courses at the college.
Staff in London have access to the Westminster Holiday Playscheme, which is available during the school holidays.
Eligible staff in all locations are able to apply for childcare vouchers. These support parents to make their own choices about where and what type of childcare they want for their child. Vouchers are payable over 48 weeks per annum and are for #21 a week for staff who work full time and either have a partner who works full
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time or are single parents; or pro-rata for staff who work or who have partners who work part-time. Staff using a subsidised nursery place at Sunningdale are not eligible for childcare vouchers.
The Department is conducting a review of childcare and will be taking account of the recommendations in due course.
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The Regional Co-ordination Unit and the Government Offices for the Regions have not been included as the information is not held centrally, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
A table showing the type of childcare provision in my department; the number of parents who used it; the cost to the department; and the cost per head is below:
| Cabinet Office | Type of childcare provision | Number of parents using childcare | Cost to the Department | Cost per head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nursery | 8 | #9,732.97 | #134 per week. Subsidy of #41.50 per week for people earning less than #19,000 and #26 per week for people earning less than #24,001. | |
| Westminster Holiday Playscheme | 49 | #4,291.59 | #17.67 a day up until 30 September 2001. #26 a day from 1 October 2001. Subsidy of 50%. | |
| Childcare Vouchers | 85 | #63,384.02 | #21 a week for full-time, pro-rata for part-time. | |
| Central Office of Information | Westminster Holiday Playscheme | 4 | #237 | #17.67 a day up until 30 September 2001. #26 a day from 1 October 2001. Subsidy of 50%. |
Unpaid Advisers
Mr. Beith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the names of the unpaid advisers appointed by him since June 1997, stating in each case (a) the date of their appointment, (b) the duration of their appointment and (c) the project or projects on which they have been engaged. [43374]
Mr. Leslie: No unpaid advisers have been appointed by the Deputy Prime Minister under the terms of paragraph 51 of the Ministerial Code.
For details of unpaid appointments made by this Department to task forces, review groups and other ad hoc advisory groups, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda on 16 November 2001, Official Report, column 958W.
Access to Information
Tony Wright: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the administrative manuals and internal guidance which his Department has made public as required by Part 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information; and which of these were first made available after May 1997. [45338]
The Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State: The Cabinet Office's internet website contains numerous examples of guidance that have been made public. However, no central record is maintained of what has been made public by the Cabinet Office under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Open Government
Llew Smith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what requests have been received by the Cabinet Secretary for the release of documents assessing progress on the release of historic official files under the Open Government Initiative. [46200]
The Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State: No requests have been received personally by the Cabinet Secretary for the release of documents assessing progress on the release of historic files under the Open Government Initiative. There have, however, been a number of requests since 1997 to the Cabinet Office openness contact.
Saville Inquiry
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what costs have been incurred since 28 January by his Department in connection with the Saville Inquiry; and what his estimate is of the final cost to his Department. [46026]
The Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State: Cabinet Office does not employ staff full-time on Bloody Sunday Inquiry work. Since 28 January a few staff have spent a small amount of time dealing with issues relating to the Inquiry, but they absorb this task into their normal duties, so staff time costs are not separately calculated. It is not possible to forecast the final cost to the Cabinet Office because of the uncertainties.
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Departmental Publications
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many publications were issued by her Department between 8 June and 26 October. [11837]
Mr. Morley: Our records show that we issued 130 publications, excluded are any reprints of previously published items, posters, official forms and stationery. We have also recorded 33 consultation documents as posted on the DEFRA Website during the period. Publication activity, not centrally managed has not been included, as recovery of this information would be at a disproportionate cost.
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Newspaper Advertising
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what has been the expenditure of her (a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies on newspaper advertising by title for each year sine 1997. [26993]
Mr. Morley: Please find a list of the titles used for advertising DEFRA campaigns in national and regional printed media by DEFRA Communications Directorate as from 8 June 2001. The target audience and the information to be conveyed influences the choice of media used. The information for the period prior to 8 June 2001 for the merged bodies within DEFRA, as with the expenditure for the agencies and non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could only be supplied at disproportionate cost.
| Publication | Spend (#) |
|---|---|
| Daily Express | 3,226.00 |
| Daily Mail | 8,885.00 |
| Guardian | 9,677.00 |
| Times | 6,241.00 |
| The Scotsman | 7,136.00 |
| Birmingham Post | 1,866.00 |
| Yorkshire Post | 1,484.00 |
| Manchester Evening News | 20,595.00 |
| Newcastle Journal | 9,045.00 |
| Birmingham Evening Mail | 5,308.00 |
| Bradford Telegraph & Argus | 7,869.00 |
| Brighton Evening News | 1,469.00 |
| Bristol Evening Post | 8,335.00 |
| Bristol Western Daily Press | 6,185.00 |
| Darlington Northern Echo | 4,336.00 |
| Eastern Daily Press | 3,901.00 |
| Hull Daily Mail | 1,471.00 |
| Lancs Evening Telegraph | 5,273.00 |
| Leeds Yorkshire Evening Post | 20,019.00 |
| Leicester Mercury | 9,332.00 |
| Liverpool Daily Post | 5,865.00 |
| Nottingham Evening Post | 10,979.00 |
| Oxford Mail | 1,048.00 |
| Western Morning News | 912.00 |
| Sheffield Star | 11,167.00 |
| Stoke-on-Trent Evening Sentinel | 7,107.00 |
| London Standard | 4,790.00 |
| Western Mail | 8,199.00 |
| Wolverhampton Express & Star | 22,892.00 |
| Carlisle Evening News & Star | 679.00 |
| Birmingham Evening Mail | 10,616.00 |
| Southern Daily Echo | 1,122.00 |
| Chester Mail | 634.00 |
| Craven Herald & Pioneer | 414.00 |
| Harrogate Advertiser Series | 2,315.00 |
| Kent Messenger | 1,546.00 |
| Farmers Weekly | 22,508.00 |
| Farmers News | 17,790.00 |
| New Scientist | 6,613.00 |
| Farmers Guardian | 5,040.00 |
| Scottish Farmer | 475.00 |
| Commercial Motor | 3,240.00 |
| Motor Transport | 3,881.00 |
| Freight Magazine | 1,066.00 |
| Angling Times | 1,449.00 |
| Anglers Mail | 1,882.00 |
| Beef Farmer | 1,987.00 |
| South West Farmer | 1,890.00 |
| Total | 299,759.00 |
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