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PFI/PPPs

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the (a) private finance initiative and (b) public private partnership projects which have been delayed. [44876]

Mr. MacShane: PFI contracts to build a new Embassy in Berlin and to establish the FCO telecommunications network were both delayed by nine months against our original timetables.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total external spending by his Department was on public private partnership consultants in each of the last four years; how many full-time equivalent consultants were employed over this period; how many billed consultancy days there were per year; what the implied average cost of each PPP consultant was; how many consultancy firms were used by his Department over this period; and if he will make a statement. [43192]

Mr. MacShane: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 31 January 2002, Official Report, column 493W.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the difference was between the price offered in reaching preferred bidder stage and the final contract price for PPP contracts let by his Department in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement. [45607]

Mr. MacShane [holding answer 25 March 2002]: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not entered into any PPP deals during the past four years.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the difference was between the price offered in reaching preferred bidder

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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. [45592]

Mr. MacShane [holding answer 25 March 2002]: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has let two PFI Contracts during the last four years:

A contract to build a new Embassy in Berlin was let in June 1998. After selection of the preferred bidder the contract cost did not change.

A contract for the FCO Telecommunications Network (FTN) was let in May 2000. After selection of the preferred bidder the contract cost decreased from £111 million to £106 million (Net Present Value).

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to improve the response time to parliamentary questions. [47707]

Mr. Straw: Yes.

Property Protection

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what new measures his Department took in 2001–02 to protect its property from theft or damage. [47412]

Mr. MacShane: In 2001–02 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office extended the use of close-circuit television cameras within its office buildings. In addition all Departments were asked to encourage their staff to ensure that valuable and accountable items were secured appropriately when not in use, particularly outside normal working hours.

SCOTLAND

Public Service Agreements

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will list the public service agreement targets which have been revised and those which have been introduced since the publication of the 2001 departmental report. [43259]

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which public service agreement targets scheduled to be met in 2002 will not be achieved by the due date. [44813]

Mrs. Liddell: The Scotland Office does not have public service agreement targets.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what new initiatives her Department has taken in 2001–02 to assist in achieving its public service agreement targets. [47197]

Mrs. Liddell: The Scotland Office does not have public service agreement targets.

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Underspend

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the (a) capital and (b) revenue underspend in her Department is expected to be in the financial year 2001–02. [47805]

Mrs. Liddell: Estimated outturn figures for 2001–02 will be published in the Budget report on 17 April.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will take steps to improve the response time to parliamentary questions. [47714]

Mrs. Liddell: In its response to the Public Administration Select Committee's second report of Session 2000–01 on Ministerial Accountability and Parliamentary Questions, the Government made clear its commitment to providing prompt and accurate answers to parliamentary questions. This continues to be the Government's position.

Part-time Employees

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many and what proportion of the staff of her Department are part-time employees. [47174]

Mrs. Liddell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State, Cabinet Office.

Tobacco Smuggling

Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment she has made of the retail value of tobacco smuggled into Scotland without payment of the relevant duty. [46272]

Mr. Boateng: I have been asked to reply.

No estimate is available. However estimates of total tax revenue lost to the Exchequer through smuggling of tobacco products into the UK can be found in "Measuring Indirect Tax Fraud", published by Customs and Excise at the time of the November 2001 pre-Budget report.

ADVOCATE-GENERAL

Underspend

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Advocate-General what the (a) capital and (b) revenue underspend in her Department is expected to be in the financial year 2001–02. [47807]

The Advocate-General: Estimated outturn figures for 2001–02 will be published in the Budget report on 17 April.

Public Service Agreements

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Advocate-General which public service agreement targets scheduled to be met in 2002 will not be achieved by the due date. [44811]

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Advocate-General what new initiatives her Department has taken in 2001–02 to assist in achieving its Public Service Agreement targets. [47198]

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The Advocate-General: My Department does not have public service agreement targets.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Advocate-General if she will take steps to improve the response time to parliamentary questions. [47715]

The Advocate-General: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.

PRIVY COUNCIL

Entertainment Costs

Mr. Burns: To ask the President of the Council how much was spent by departmental special advisers on food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks for official entertainment purposes in each of the last five years. [46835]

Mr. Robin Cook: This information requested is not available. However, I do not foresee circumstances in which my special advisers would entertain from departmental funds.

Mr. Burns: To ask the President of the Council if he will list for each of the last five years the total amount of money spent by Ministers in his Department on food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks for entertainment purposes. [47206]

Mr. Robin Cook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 25 February 2002, Official Report, column 701W.

Press Office

Mr. Burns: To ask the President of the Council how many press officers there were in his Department on (a) 1 May 1997 and (b) the latest available date. [46888]

Mr. Robin Cook: On 1 May 1997 my Department had one press officer. On 2 April 2002 it had two.

Mr. Burns: To ask the President of the Council what the total cost of running the Department's press office was in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available. [46812]

Mr. Robin Cook: My Department does not incur salary costs for its press officers, both of whom are on the payroll of the Cabinet Office. The other information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Special Advisers

Mr. Burns: To ask the President of the Council how many special advisers there were in his Department; and what their salaries were in each of the last five years. [46941]

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Mr. Robin Cook: The number of Special Advisers in my Department is as follows:

Date	Number of Special Advisers
1997–98	1
1998–99	2
1999–2000	2
2000–01	2
2001–01	(8)2

⁽⁸⁾ A third special adviser to me is not in receipt of a public salary

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Prime Minister, Wednesday 10 April.

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