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11 Apr 2003 : Column 430W—continued
Local Government Ombudsmen
Diana Organ: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether additional local government ombudsmen have been appointed to deal with their new remit of covering internal drainage boards. [107698]
Mr. Morley: I have been asked to reply.
As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State announced on 12 March, we believe that there would be advantage in bringing internal drainage boards under the jurisdiction of the local government ombudsman. We will be discussing this with the ombudsman's office and making further announcements about this in due course.
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which Ministers in his Department visited Essex in 2002; and what subjects were discussed. [106820]
Mr. Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created in May 2002. Since then my right hon. Friend the Member for Greenwich and Woolwich visited Thames Chase in Upminister for the opening of the Harold Wood Community Woodland on 18 September 2002. My hon. Friend, the Lord Rooker visited Colchester to view housing projects, on 10 September 2002, and visited Basildon and Southend on 23 September 2002 as part of a Thames Gateway regions visit.
Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many clauses were (a) debated fully, (b) partially debated and (c) not debated during the Committee Stage of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill. [108289]
Mr. McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Spelthorne (Mr. Wilshire) on 5 February 2003, Official Report, column 348W.
Projects Support (Wycombe)
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) projects and (b) organisations have been
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supported in the Wycombe constituency by (c) the New Deal for Communities, (d) Strategic Partnerships and (e) Neighbourhood Renewal. [108804]
Mrs. Roche: Wycombe is not one of the four Neighbourhood Renewal areas in the south-east. It therefore receives neither the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund nor New Deal for Communities funding. Wycombe Local Strategic Partnership is a non-funded LSP that incorporates a wide spectrum of statutory, non-statutory and voluntary bodies.
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
Mr. Laws: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what his estimate is of the (a) annual running costs and (b) net annual cost to the Exchequer of the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in each year from 1990–91 to 2005–06 (planned); and if he will make a statement; [101707]
- (2) what his estimate is of the current market valuation of the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre; what plans he has to privatise this facility; and if he will make a statement; [101706]
(3) what assessment has been made of the value for money of the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre; and if he will make a statement. [101581]
Mr. Leslie: The annual running costs and annual net financial results for The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre from 1990–91 to 2001–02 were published in its annual report and accounts, copies of which were placed in the Libraries of the House. The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre operates in a competitive market place and for reasons of commercial sensitivity its corporate and financial plans are not made publicly available.
The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre was independently valued at £20 million as at 1 April 1999. This was confirmed by a further valuation as at 1 April 2002. Following a review the Government announced on 15 October 2001 that The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre would retain its public sector role and status. The review did not recommend contracting out or privatisation, which it considered could be difficult to implement, and would be poor value for money. It also concluded that any market interest in the site would be likely to relate to development for uses other than a conference centre. The Centre was seen as an important London facility, attracting considerable business tourism. A summary of the review findings was placed in the Libraries of the House.
Urban Summit
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the inter-departmental ministerial team set up to deliver cross-Government working on liveability after the Urban summit. [107986]
Mrs. Roche: The Inter-departmental Ministerial Group, which I chair, will provide a forum for Ministers with portfolios that impact upon 'liveability' issues to discuss and co-ordinate action to progress the programme of work set out in "Living Places: Cleaner, Safer, Greener".
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EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Adult Numeracy and Literacy
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many adults there were with less than acceptable levels of numeracy and literacy in each local education authority in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002; and what proportion of the adult population this represented in each case. [107921]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 9 April]: We do not have data on the number of adults with less than acceptable levels of literacy and numeracy in each local education authority for either 2001 or 2002. The Department has commissioned a new representative sample survey of working age adults in England to provide an up-to-date assessment of the scale of literacy and numeracy need. These estimates will be mapped to the new national basic skills standards and will be published in summer 2003. It is hoped that the data will be robust enough for regional estimates of adult literacy and numeracy to be produced.
Investors in People
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which companies located in the Buckingham constituency received Investors in People awards in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03. [107779]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not collected on a constituency basis.
Organisations which received recognition as Investors in People in the town of Buckingham are as follows:
| Year | Organisation |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | Maids Moreton CE School |
| 2002–03 | Swan Pool and Leisure Centre |
National Insurance
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost will be to public funds in 2003–04 of the rise in national insurance contributions on the salary bill of his Department. [107895]
Mr. Charles Clarke: It is estimated that the changes to employers' national insurance contributions announced in the 2002 Budget will increase pay costs on average by 0.7 per cent. in 2003–04.
Skills (Prisons)
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action he is taking to encourage the acquisition of skills by (a) prison officers and (b) prisoners. [107716]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We are providing substantial additional investment to improve the quality and quantity of prison education. Funding of £77 million in 02–03 increases to £97 million in 03–04, £122 million in 04–05 and £137 million in 05–06, including in each year £12 million for vocational training which is transferring
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from the Home Office to the Department for Education and Skills. This additional investment will support prisons in exceeding the record numbers of around £37,000 basic skills qualifications and 80,000 work skills qualifications achieved in 02–03. It will support increases in core provision and also target funding to support developments in infrastructure and quality improvement.
The Prison Service is part of the Governments 'Skills for Life' strategy which includes national projects for developing basic skills for staff and prisoners who are able to use new national curriculum tests that look to improve their basic skills.
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Bass Stocks
Ms Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions her Department has held with representatives of angling groups and charter skippers since January 2001 to consider further conservation measures to protect bass stocks in UK waters; what the latest estimate is of bass stocks in UK waters; and what further discussions her Department has had with the European Commission to consider conservation measures at Community level. [107557]
Mr. Morley: Since January 2001, officials have met representatives of sea angling associations and charter boat owners on an annual basis to consider a number of issues of interest to them, including the conservation of bass stocks. In addition to formal annual meetings, anglers are always consulted on fisheries management when their interests are likely to be affected.
The International Council for the Exploration of the Seas' Advisory Committee for Fisheries Management reported last year to the European Commission on the status of sea bass in European waters. The report concluded that the fishing mortality was sustainable but that, given uncertainties in the assessment and the possible influences of an unfavourable change in environmental conditions on recruitment, fishing effort should not be allowed to increase. The Commission has yet to come forward with any proposals in response to this report which might aid the sustainability of bass stocks.
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