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PFI/PPPs

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will list the (a) private finance initiative and (b) public private partnership projects which have been delayed. [44890]

The Solicitor-General [holding answer 25 March 2002]: My own Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, the Treasury Solicitor's Department and the Serious Fraud Office have not entered into any public-private partnerships or private finance initiatives.

No private finance initiatives or public-private partnership projects entered into by the Crown Prosecution Service have been delayed. The CPS's private finance initiative IT project, 'Compass', has been managed well and is on track. A new PFI contract was agreed with Logica plc in December 2001.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General what the difference was between the price offered in reaching referred bidder stage and the final contract price for the five largest PFI contracts let by her Department in each of the last four years; and if she will make a statement. [45680]

The Solicitor-General [holding answer 25 March 2002]: My own Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, the Treasury Solicitor's Department and the Serious Fraud Office have not entered into any public-private partnerships in each of the last four years.

The Compass project, which is a private finance initiative, is the only relevant contract let by the Crown Prosecution Service in the last four years. The price for the Compass project at preferred bidder stage and the final contract price were identical. There is an allowance of 1 per cent. built into the contract price to take into account any findings arising from a further period of due diligence. The actual contract price is subject to commercial confidentiality.

Treasury Solicitor's Department

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General what the percentage level of income recovery was in 2001–02 from clients of the Treasury Solicitor's Department within 30 days of their receipt of a validated invoice. [47889]

17 Apr 2002 : Column 961W

The Solicitor-General [holding answer 9 April 2002]: Information about progress on PSA targets will be published in the Department's 2002 Departmental Report.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Press and Public Relations

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the annual budget for communications activities, including press, public relations, marketing and internal communications, was for her Department for each financial year from 1997–98 to 2001–02. [39919]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The figures for staff, administration and related costs are as follows:

	£000
1997–98	(6)2,540
1998–99	(6)2,891
1999–2000	3,386
2000–01	3,971
2001–02	3,945

⁽⁶⁾ Prior to 1999–2000 the internal communication function was subsumed within other parts of the Department, and costs cannot be identified separately.

Expenditure from the Department's central advertising and publicity budget is as follows.

	£000
1997–98	10,879
1998–99	13,426
1999–2000	9,902
2000–01	14,595
2001–02	11,688

In addition to expenditure from this central budget, expenditure from budgets allocated to individual programmes will also include spend on publicity related activity. It is not possible, except at disproportionate cost, to separately identify all such publicity related expenditure. It is possible to identify expenditure on advertising and on public relations drawn from all budgets and this is as follows:

£000

	Advertising	Public Relations
1997–98	9,992	0
1998–99	15,673	549
1999–2000	11,900	88
2000–01	29,066	794
2001–02	17,665	655

Special Advisers

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many special advisers were employed by her (a) between 1 May and 31 December 1997 and (b) in each year from 1998 to 2001 inclusive; and what the total amount spent on special advisers by the Department was for each of those years. [41259]

17 Apr 2002 : Column 962W

Estelle Morris: From May 1997 to June 2001, up to three full-time equivalent special advisers have been in post at any one time; from September 2001 this dropped to two.

In relation to special adviser costs I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 10 April 2002, Official Report, column 11W.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the number and expected cost to her Department of special advisers in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03. [43266]

Estelle Morris: My Department has two special advisers in post as at 13 March 2002.

In relation to special adviser costs I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 10 April 2002, Official Report, column 11W.

Departmental Contracts

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the 30 largest contracts awarded by her 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. [43675]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: This information could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Creche Facilities

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what creche facilities are provided by her Department; and at what cost. [44854]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for Education and Skills is committed to promoting equality of opportunity for its staff and supports a range of child care provision, which helps staff balance family and working life.

100 full-time work place nursery places are available to staff working in Sheffield and Runcorn; 112 full-time playscheme places, operating during the school holidays for children in full-time education aged up to 12, are available to staff working on all DfES sites. In 2001–02 these arrangements were provided at a cost of £230,000.

IT Contracts

Valerie Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many contracts her Department has with ICT suppliers; how many ICT suppliers have contracts with her Department, and what the names of these ICT suppliers are. [49930]

Mr. Ivan Lewis:

(a) The Department has 60 contracts with ICT suppliers;

(b) 47 ICT suppliers have contracts with the Department;

(c) The names of the Department's ICT suppliers are shown in the following table.

17 Apr 2002 : Column 963W

No.	Supplier	Number of contracts
1	4S Systems Ltd.	1
2	Advanced Data Services Ltd.	1
3	AXIOS Systems Ltd.	2
4	Baltimore	2
5	British Telecom	1
6	Cap Gemini Ernst and Young	1
7	COLT Ltd.	1
8	Custom Communication Consultants	1
9	DE TE WE	1
10	Epixtech	1
11	Forvus	2
12	Graphical Data capture	1
13	Hi Tech (Laboratories) Ltd.	1
14	Information 1st	1
15	Initial Electronic Security Systems Ltd.	1
16	Integrated Environmental Solutions	1
17	ISIS Ltd.	1
18	Knightridder	1
19	Leake and Spencer	1
20	LOTUS (IBM)	1
21	Mattel Interactive	1
22	MFT Computer Systems	1
23	Microsystems Software	1
24	MIKROFAX	1
25	Network Associates	1
26	Network Designers	1
27	Network Unlimited Network Products Ltd.	1
28	NICO MAK Computing	1
29	NISS	1
30	Northern Realisations Ltd.	1
31	Novell	1
32	Dell(7)	1
33	Vodafone(8)	1
34	Global Crossing(9)	1
35	Oracle	4
36	Peoplesoft	1
37	Progressions Ltd.	1
38	QAS Systems Ltd.	1
39	Quality Forum	1
40	Raxco Software	1
41	Research Group	1
42	Sanderson MSL Ltd.	1
43	SPSS	8
44	Surf Control plc	1
45	Trustmarque Solutions	1
46	Videoconferencing Worldwide	1
47	Xansa plc	1
	Total number of contracts	60

⁽⁷⁾ via Office of Government Commerce GCAT 2 Catalogue

⁽⁸⁾ via Office of Government Commerce GTM Catalogue

⁽⁹⁾ via Office of Government Commerce MTS telecoms service

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