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Middle East
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures she is taking to ensure that Palestinians are able to access essential medical care and treatment during the current crisis. [49728]
Clare Short: We have made clear to Israel at the highest level that we expect them to ensure that medical and humanitarian organisations and consular staff have
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uninterrupted access to those in need. The Foreign Secretary has stressed these concerns to Israeli Foreign Minister Peres on several occasions.
Performance Targets
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the target has been in each of the last five years for efficiency savings as a percentage of total running costs for each of the non- departmental public bodies for which she is responsible; and if the target was met. [49643]
Clare Short: My Department is responsible for three non-departmental public bodies. They incur no substantial running costs other than reimbursement of the travel expenses of members attending meeting which are essentially fixed costs. Targets for efficiency savings are therefore unnecessary.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Justices of the Peace
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many members of staff at his Department are justices of the peace; and if he has a strategy for his Department to encourage members of staff to become justices of the peace. [44556]
Mr. Wills: There are currently 16 members of staff in my Department who are Justices of the Peace. My Department fully supports those who are appointed as magistrates. All members of staff are entitled to 18 days special leave to undertake their duties as a magistrate, if they are appointed. The National Strategy for recruitment of magistrates will seek in part to encourage employers generally to be supportive of employees who wish to be magistrates.
Performance Targets
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the target has been in each of the last five years for efficiency savings as a percentage of total running costs for each of the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible; and if the target was met. [49642]
Mr. Wills: Of the non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) for which the Department is responsible, the majority are Advisory or Tribunal NDPBs which we support directly, not through a grant or grant in aid. Targets for efficiency savings specifically for these NDPBs would therefore not be possible as their staff are not distinct from the main Department and cannot therefore be targeted separately.
The Department is responsible for three Executive NDPBs: the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS), the Legal Services Commission (LSC) and the Office of the Information Commissioner.
CAFCASS was established only in April 2001, and it would therefore not yet be appropriate to set targets for efficiency savings. It is planned that CAFCASS will have a performance measure from 2003–04.
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Information about the performance of the LSC can be found it its most recent annual report, which is available in the House Library.
The Information Commissioner does not set targets for efficiency savings in relation to savings as a percentage of total running costs. She sets a target for efficiency savings in three areas of the work of her office:
- The number of weighted notification transactions processed per officer day;
The number of assessments completed and complaints closed per officer day; and
The number of telephone calls received per line hour.
| Actual | Target | Target met/missed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weighted notification transactions processed per officer day | ||||
| 1996–97 | 49.37 | 46.26 | Met | |
| 1997–98 | 51.32 | 46.71 | Met | |
| 1998–99 | 48.74 | 50.88 | Missed | |
| 1999–2000 | 47.02 | 55.64 | Missed | |
| 2000–01 | 52.48 | 50.76 | Met | |
| Assessments completed and complaints closed per officer day | ||||
| 1996–97 | 0.82 | 0.81 | Met | |
| 1997–98 | 0.81 | 0.82 | Missed | |
| 1998–99 | 0.79 | 0.86 | Missed | |
| 1999–2000 | 0.74 | 0.92 | Missed | |
| 2000–01 | 0.87 | 0.92 | Missed | |
| Number of telephone calls received per line hour | ||||
| 1996–97 | 11.75 | 11.75 | Met | |
| 1997–98 | 11.77 | 11.81 | Missed | |
| 1998–99 | 8.80 | 12.25 | Missed | |
| 1999–2000 | 8.72 | 8.80 | Missed | |
| 2000–01 | 9.06 | 8.82 | Met | |
Note:
These figures are drawn from the annual reports of the Information Commissioner (previously the Data Protection Commissioner and Data Protection Registrar), which are available in the Library of the House.
1901 Census
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what trigger points exist in the contract for the 1901 Census website for the Public Record Office to end the contract with QinetiQ for failure to meet their contractual obligations. [51563]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Officials in the PRO are in very frequent contact with their contractors QinetiQ Ltd, with a view to relaunching the online service as soon as this is practicable. There are a number of trigger points contained in the contract, but at the present time the PRO is concentrating its efforts on monitoring and evaluating the enhancement and testing work being carried out by QinetiQ on the census website. The PRO's top priority is to ensure that the relaunched service provides a consistently good service to users.
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Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what estimate the Department has for the date for the re-launch of the 1901 Census website. [51561]
Ms Rosie Winterton: QinetiQ Ltd is continuing to work on the technical enhancements, which are intended to make the site sufficiently robust to permit general Internet access and are being conducted with a sense of urgency. Once configuring of the technical enhancements is complete, rigorous testing will be undertaken on all aspects of the system. However, the most important consideration is to ensure that the service is re-launched successfully. The system will again be made available to designated service centres as part of the general re-introduction of the site. General on-line searches will be available as soon as practicable following testing and availability at the service centres.
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the availability of the 1901 Census online. [53604]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I have given on several occasions, and most recently to the hon. Member for Slough on the 12 April 2002, Official Report, column 647W.
King Edward VIII
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to release the remaining records relating to King Edward VIII. [53334]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Any papers relating to King Edward VIII, which have not yet been released, will need to be re-reviewed by departments. It is hoped that the results of the review will be known and put into effect by the end of the year.
Ministerial Training
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much has been spent by her Department on training in leadership skills for Ministers and officials in each of the last five years. [52710]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Lord Chancellor's Department has spent the following amounts on training in leadership skills for officials in each of the last five years:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 451,491 |
| 2000–01 | 351,703 |
| 1999–2000 | 157,740 |
| 1998–99 | (35)165,000 |
| 1997–98 | Nil |
(35) This is the total amount spent on training consultancy during 1998–99, which includes some expenditure on leadership skills training.
During the period 2000–02, the Lord Chancellor's Department utilised £250,000 from the Invest to Modernise Fund, established by the Cabinet Office to support training in leadership skills as part of the civil service reform programme. This amount is included in the above figures.
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National Insurance
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what her estimate is of the cost in the next 12 months of the Budget changes to employers' national insurance contributions to (a) her Department, (b) agencies of her Department and (c) local government carrying out functions within the responsibility of her Department. [52077]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This answer covers the headquarters of the Lord Chancellor's Department (including associated offices), the Court Service and Public Guardianship Office.
It is estimated that the changes to employers' national insurance contributions announced in the Budget will increase pay costs on average by 0.7 per cent. next year.
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