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12 May 2003 : Column 98W—continued

Winter Fuel Allowance

Mr. Rendel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of men in their sixties who have been denied the winter fuel allowance because of missing the deadline for claims, in each year for which figures are available. [90855]

Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 16 January 2003]: The information is not held in the format requested. However, there have been around 13,800 late claims made in respect of the 2000–01 winter and around 5,100 in respect of the 2001–02 winter. For winters prior to 2000–01 claims for winter fuel payments are not time-limited.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

Lewes Crown Court

Norman Baker: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many days Lewes Crown Court sat in the last year for which figures are available. [109632]

Yvette Cooper: During the financial year ending March 2003, 1,865 judicial days were sat at Lewes Crown Court.

Consultancies

Brian Cotter: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will list, by project, the consultancies his Department and its non-departmental public bodies have used on e-government projects since 1 January 2001. [112837]

Yvette Cooper: I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Judges' Lodgings, Telscombe

Norman Baker: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what income was derived from renting out the judges' lodgings in Telscombe in each year since 1997. [109633]

Yvette Cooper: The judges' lodgings in Telscombe is owned by the National Trust and has not been rented out since 1997.

12 May 2003 : Column 99W

Norman Baker: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much has been spent on the judges' lodgings in Telscombe, broken down by (a) maintenance, (b) renovations, (c) staff costs and (d) other expenses, in each year since 1997. [109635]

12 May 2003 : Column 100W

Yvette Cooper: The spend on the judges' lodgings at Telscombe Manor in each year since 1997 is summarised in the table. It should be noted that the accounts draw no distinction between maintenance and renovation.

£

	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
Property maintenance costs	30,837.00	15,643.18	22,478.00	46.295.06	29,776.00
Staffing Costs	84,464.89	76,667.74	61,731.86	61,147.72	60,577.05
Other expenses	91,497.64	77,156.35	58,702.35	70,884.33	69,128.18
Total spend	206,799.53	169,467.27	142,912.21	178,327.11	159,481.23

Norman Baker: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what leisure services are provided for judges at the Telscombe lodgings; and how much these services cost. [109628]

Yvette Cooper: No leisure services are provided at the Telscombe lodgings.

Norman Baker: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many chauffeured cars are available for use by judges at Telscombe; what costs were incurred for providing chauffered cars in each of the last five years; and how many miles were travelled in chauffeured cars by judges residing at Telscombe in each of the last five years. [109629]

Yvette Cooper: One chauffeured car is available for the use of the judiciary when staying at the Lodgings at Telscombe and while sitting at the Crown Courts at Lewes and Hove. The cost of providing the service between 1997 and 2002 was:

	£
1997–98	13,417
1998–99	21,360
1999–2000	12,037
2000–01	13,090
2001–02	14,924

No data is available on the number of miles travelled in chauffeured cars by members of the judiciary while residing at the Lodgings at Telscombe.

Norman Baker: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many nights judges' lodgings at Telscombe were occupied in each year since 1997. [109630]

Yvette Cooper: Occupation rates for the judges' lodging at Telscombe between 1997 and 2002 are contained in the table. The lodging was not able to be used in 2002–03 for health and safety reasons. Alternative accommodation for the judiciary at Lewes is being considered.

	Judge nights
1997–98	170
1998–99	155
1999–2000	120
2000–01	125
2001–02	60

Norman Baker: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the total cost was for judges' lodgings at Telscombe in each year since 1997. [109631]

Yvette Cooper: The total cost of running the Judges' Lodgings at Telscombe between 1997 and 2002 was:

£

	Cost
1997–98	206,799.53
1998–99	169,467.27
1999–2000	142,912.21
2000–01	178,327.11
2001–02	159,481.23

Norman Baker: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many (a) formal lunch parties and (b) dinner parties were held at the judges' lodgings in Telscombe in each year since 1997; what the cost of these events was; and how many guests in total were invited. [109634]

Yvette Cooper: This information is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Postal Voting

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans the Lord Chancellor has to develop the use of postal voting in general elections; what criteria he will use to determine pilot constituencies; and if he will make a statement. [112368]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 12 May 2003]: Postal voting on demand is available at all elections in Great Britain. Electoral pilot projects (including all postal voting pilots) can currently only be run at local elections. We are considering the results of this year's local election pilots and the implications for the future. The independent Electoral Commission is currently evaluating all the electoral pilot projects which took place on 1 May. We will consider carefully their assessment and any recommendations they may make.

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will introduce all-posting voting at general elections. [112369]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 12 May 2003]: All postal voting is currently possible only in local elections. The independent Electoral Commission is currently evaluating all the electoral pilot projects which took place on 1 May, including the all-postal voting pilots. We will consider carefully their assessment and any recommendations they may make.

12 May 2003 : Column 101W

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Services

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information about ambulance waits at accident and emergency departments has been collected since 1 January; where this information is kept; and what actions have been taken as a result of the collection of this information. [111084]

Mr. Lammy: The Department has asked ambulance trusts to provide information on the number of delays of 15 minutes or more between the time of arrival of an ambulance at accident and emergency (A&E) and the hand-over of the patient to the care of the A&E staff.

This information is fast track internal management information only and is not validated and of poor quality. Coverage is not complete and interpretation of the definition is inconsistent and it is therefore not appropriate for publication under exemption 11 of the code of practice on access to Government information.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health where the additional accident and emergency funding announced on 25 January 2001 has been spent; and what changes the additional spending has made to the performance of the accident and emergency departments involved. [110176]

Mr. Lammy: A total of £150 million was invested in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Modernisation Programme in three waves. On 25 January 2001, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced the final wave of funding totalling £35 million.

12 May 2003 : Column 102W

The modernisation has improved the patient experience in A&E. This is a result of improved capacity and patient flows, improved environment for patients and staff and a reduction in clinical times lost between facilities.

The A&E Modernisation Programme has enabled 180 A&E departments to be modernised. Work at 175, 97 per cent., of these has been completed.

Information on the funding allocation to NHS trusts under the A&E Modernisation Programme has been placed in the Library.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to use career grade doctors to cover emergency 24 hour access to medical and surgical care. [110946]

Mr. Lammy: At present, career grade doctors operate an on-call rota to cover emergency 24-hour access to medical and surgical care.

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