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Ordnance Survey
Dr. Whitehead: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the Quinquennial Review of Ordnance Survey. [72983]
Mr. McNulty: I am pleased to announce today the outcome of the second and final stage of the Quinquennial Review of Ordnance Survey.
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On 19 December 2001 it was announced that the Government were minded to accept the recommendation from stage 1 of the Review of Ordnance Survey, that it should move to become a Government-owned public limited company (GOplc). Ordnance Survey is a Government Department and Executive Agency operating within a trading fund regime. The stage 1 review considered that it needed additional freedoms and flexibilities to enable it to use its full potential to develop the geographic information and e-business marketplace, and concluded that a change in status could offer such freedoms.
Subsequently, a Steering Group chaired by this Department, including representatives from Ordnance Survey, HM Treasury, Cabinet Office and two external members from the Association for Geographic Information, and the London borough of Lewisham, undertook further work based on the stage 1 findings consulting external advisers. As with the stage 1 review, consultation took place with a wide range of stakeholders and customers in the geographic information business in Great Britain.
Following work on stage 2 of the Quinquennial Review, I am now of the opinion that there is no clear evidence to support the view that Ordnance Survey would benefit from a change of status to GOplc.
The stage 2 review has drawn attention to three issues:
- first, there is a need to reach agreement on enhanced financial freedoms and flexibilities that should be made available to Ordnance Survey;
secondly, the provision and location of policy advice to Government on geographic information, currently provided by Ordnance Survey alongside its data supply role, will be reviewed;
and thirdly, in the context of a review of Ordnance Survey's Framework Document, we will consider issues surrounding Ordnance Survey's relationship with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
I am satisfied that sustaining Ordnance Survey as a trading fund with some extended freedoms will enable it to continue to develop—and continue to progress its impressive programme of cultural change—to the benefit of all who use its geographic data. Ordnance Survey must be given the right operating framework to enable it to respond to the demands of the geographic information marketplace, which is dependent on the quality, consistency and availability of Ordnance Survey geographic data.
Ordnance Survey must also, quite crucially, be able to play a full part in ensuring geographic information firmly underpins the e-government agenda, and informs policy formulation and delivery of information and services.
I have asked my officials to take forward work as a matter of urgency on the three issues I have referred to, and ensure that the decisions reached are reflected in a
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new published framework document for Ordnance Survey as soon as possible after the House reconvenes in October, but certainly no later than December 2002.
Press Office
Dr. Cable: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) full-time equivalents were employed by his press office and (b) secondees were placed in his press office in the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [70544]
Mr. Leslie: Detailed information on the numbers of permanent press officers employed in departmental press offices during the financial years 1997–98 were provided in a memorandum dated 16 June 1998 to the Select Committee on Public Administration and published in its report on The Government Information and Communication Service (HC 770) in July 1998. A copy is in the Library of the House.
The number of full-time equivalent press officers employed in the relevant departmental press office on 1 January for subsequent years were:
| Full-time equivalents | ||
|---|---|---|
| Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (Central) | ||
| 1999 | 34.3 | |
| 2000 | 40.8 | |
| 2001 | 38.0 | |
| Cabinet Office | ||
| 2002 | 18.0 | |
Secondees to the press office during the full calendar years for which information is available were:
| Number of secondees | |
|---|---|
| 1999 | Nil |
| 2000 | 1 |
| 2001 | 1 |
Housing Benefit
Mr. Challen: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people claimed housing benefit as a percentage of the total population in (a) Leeds, (b) Yorkshire and Humber region and (c) the London region, in the period 1998 to 2002. [69940]
Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
The information is in the table.
Notes:
1. The data refer to households claiming housing benefit which may be a single person, a couple or a family. More than one benefit household can live in one property, for example, two or more adults in a flat or house share arrangement.
2. Figures exclude any housing benefit extended payment cases.
3. figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated.
Sources:
Housing Benefit Management Information System quarterly 100 per cent. counts taken in February of each year.
Office for National Statistics mid-year population estimates for 1998, 1999 and 2000.
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Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people claimed housing benefit as a percentage of the total population in (a) the Colchester constituency and (b) Essex between 1998 and 2002. [71472]
Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
The available information is in the table:
| Colchester borough council area(27) | Essex | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 6.9 | 7.1 |
| 1999 | 6.7 | 6.6 |
| 2000 | 6.3 | 6.5 |
| 2001 | 3.1 | 6.1 |
| 2002 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
Notes:
1. Housing benefit data for the parliamentary constituency of Colchester are not available; figures are only available by local authority area.
2. Essex figures refer to the local authorities of Basildon, Braintree, Brentwood, Castle Point, Chelmsford, Colchester, Epping Forest, Harlow, Maldon, Rochford, Tendring and Uttlesford.
3. The data refer to households claiming housing benefit which may be a single person, a couple of a family. More than one benefit household can live in one property, for example two or more adults in a flat or house share arrangement.
4. Figures exclude any housing benefit extended payment cases.
5. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated.
Sources:
Housing Benefit Management Information System quarterly 100 per cent. counts taken in February of each year.
Office for National Statistics mid-year population estimates for 1998, 1999 and 2000.
Fire Service
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 13 March 2002, Official Report, column 1088W, on the fire service, how much money his Department has provided for rescues by the fire service that did not involve a fire in the last three years. [70767]
Mr. Leslie: Fire service funding is supported through the standard spending assessment arrangements. Over the period in question, the funding distribution formula has included a factor based on the number of fires, false
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alarms and calls to road traffic accidents, rail and air incidents, and leaks and spills attended by each brigade. Responses to other types of calls are not counted. Responsibility for setting budgets and the allocation of funds received through these arrangements are a matter for individual fire authorities.
Urban Regeneration Company
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will introduce an urban regeneration company to Gloucester. [70844]
Mr. McNulty: Urban regeneration companies (URCs) are established by the relevant local authority, Regional Development Agency, English Partnerships (if appropriate), the private sector and other key partners. It will be for the South West Regional Development Agency and its local partners to decide whether, and when, to bring forward a proposal to central Government for an urban regeneration company in Gloucester.
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