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28 Jan 2003 : Column 735W—continued
Water Poverty
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment
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she has made of the number of people affected by water poverty in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands and (c) North Staffordshire. [89676]
Mr. Morley: The Government do not have a quantitative definition for the term 'water poverty', and so no assessment has been made.
Table A, which has been placed in the Library, is drawn from the DSS Family Resources Survey. This is the most recent available compiled information showing the relationship between water and sewerage bills and household incomes in England, and covers the years 1994–95 to 1998–99. The survey does not break the results down by region.
The housing statistics division of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister have used these data to compile figures on 'water affordability' as one of the Government's Sustainable Development Indicators. For illustrative purposes, this exercise used 3 per cent. as the affordability threshold for proportion of income spent on water charges. A chart of these figures covers the years 1994–95 to 1997–98.
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SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Job Sharing
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on the extent of job sharing in her Department. [90875]
The Solicitor-General [holding answer 20 January 2003]: Personnel records for the Crown Prosecution Service show that across the Service on 31 December 2002 there were a total of 1439 staff (approximately 20 per cent. of the workforce) working on a part-time basis. The Crown Prosecution Service does not record job share details separately. However, a number of those working part-time are working on a job-share basis.
The Serious Fraud Office offers its staff a range of flexible working practices to assist them in achieving a satisfactory work/life balance. However it does not, at present, have any staff that have opted to work under a job share arrangement nor has it received any job applications from individuals who wish to work in this way.
Five job sharing arrangements were in place in the Treasury Solicitor's Department on 31 December 2002. All jobs in the Treasury Solicitor's Department are advertised on the basis that they are open to applicants who wish to work flexibly, unless this is expressly excluded due to the nature of the work.
My own Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate currently have no job sharers.
Legal Action
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Solicitor General what action she has taken to bring criminal charges against persons whose names have been communicated to her following the quashing of a conviction. [88512]
The Solicitor-General [holding answer 8 January]: On the basis of the information provided to me by the hon. Member, I am unable to identify the matter to which he refers.
Police Officers (Bribery)
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Solicitor General what criteria she uses to decide whether to proceed with a prosecution of a police officer for bribery in cases involving release of information to the press. [93034]
The Solicitor-General [holding answer 27 January]: cases involving allegations against police officers are reviewed in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors as are all cases. It is important for the maintenance of public and police confidence that the same standard is applied to all accused, whoever they may be. The Code recognises that a public interest factor in favour of a prosecution includes where the defendant
"was in a position of authority or trust" (paragraph 6.4.d). Prosecutors will therefore have regard to the fact that police officers occupy positions of authority and trust in society.
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confidence in administrative and judicial affairs. In all such cases where there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of a conviction, a prosecution will normally take place unless the public interest factors against proceeding with a case clearly outweigh those in favour.
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Arts Expenditure (Somerset)
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money has been spent on the arts in Somerset in each financial year since 1999–2000. [93130]
Dr. Howells: The following figures supplied by the Arts Council of England relate to the local authority and administrative area of Somerset county and therefore do not include north Somerset, Bath and north-east Somerset.
| Year | Expenditure |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 324,757 |
| 2000–01 | 214,263 |
| 2001–02 | 246,322 |
| Year | Expenditure |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 875,740 |
| 2000–01 | 784,095 |
| 2001–02 | 590,162 |
Civil Servants
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many civil servants have been employed by (a) her Department and (b) each of its agencies and non-departmental bodies in each year from 1994–95 to 2002–03; and if she will make a statement. [92394]
Dr. Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office on 22 January 2003, Official Report, columns 333–34W.
Free Television Licences
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will take steps to provide free television licences for all pensioners. [93700]
Dr. Howells: No. The Government have introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over, because older pensioners are more likely to be reliant on television as their window on the world. Older pensioners are also more likely to be on low incomes. We have no plans to extend free television licences to pensioners below the age of 75.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Businesses (Regional Variations)
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the regional variations in the number of (a) new businesses registering, (b) businesses trading on-line and (c) businesses with internet access in the United Kingdom. [98210]
Nigel Griffiths [holding answer 27 January 2003]: The information requested is set out in the tables
| Thousands | Number per 10,000 resident adults | |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 175.5 | 37 |
| North East | 4.1 | 20 |
| North West | 17.6 | 32 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 11.7 | 29 |
| East Midlands | 11.6 | 34 |
| West Midlands | 14.2 | 33 |
| East of England | 17.4 | 40 |
| London | 34.9 | 59 |
| South East | 28.4 | 44 |
| South West | 14.5 | 36 |
| England | 154.3 | 39 |
| Wales | 6.0 | 26 |
| Scotland | 11.5 | 28 |
| Northern Ireland | 3.6 | 28 |
Source:
Small Business Service
| Greater London | 36 |
| East of England | 32 |
| Scotland | 29 |
| North West | 26 |
| West Midlands | 26 |
| Wales | 22 |
| Northern Ireland | 21 |
| South East | 20 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 20 |
| East Midlands | 19 |
| South West | 18 |
| North East | 15 |
Source:
DTI International Benchmarking Study 2002
Source:
DTI International Benchmarking Study 2002
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We have a number of programmes to improve the record in all regions.
Citizens Advice Scotland
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the representations her Department made regarding the refusal of the application by Citizens Advice Scotland to the Treasury's Capital Modernisation Fund in 2001 for funding of an electronic case recording system. [91457]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department recognises the importance of ensuring that the integrity of a UK-wide Citizens Advice Service is maintained and that the Service in Scotland is on a par with the Service in England and Wales. We have therefore allocated additional one-off project funding of £1 million from within DTI's existing budgets to enable CAS to undertake this work.
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