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Information Technology

Mr. Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's (a) total managed expenditure, (b) total spending on Information Technology and (c) spending on Information Technology as a proportion of its total managed expenditure has been in each financial year since 1997. [107093]

Ruth Kelly: The contribution by HM Treasury to Total Managed Expenditure can be measured by the total of spending under resource and capital budgets, less non-cash items in AME. Data for 1989–99 to 2001–02 were published in the 2002 Departmental Report. New estimates will be published in the same table in the 2003 Departmental Report, in May 2003.

Spending in each year on Information Technology is set out in the table below, showing separately administration costs (including licences, software maintenance, repairs, and hire of IT equipment) and capital costs (including purchases and the capitalisation if IT consultancy costs).

Year	IT administration costs (£m)	IT capital costs (£m)
1997–98	1.74	1.77
1998–99	2.07	2.63
1999–2000	1.24	2.95
2000–01	1.58	2.79
2001–02	1.30	3.66
2002–03	2.31	3.09

Mortgage Market

Linda Perham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to reduce floating-rate debt in the UK mortgage market. [113114]

Ruth Kelly: The Chancellor announced in the Budget that he has commissioned Professor David Miles to undertake a review of the supply and demand factors limiting the development of the fixed-rate mortgage market in the UK.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on plans to change the level of duty on liquefied petroleum gas fuel. [112718]

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John Healey: Duty rates for all fuels, including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), are reviewed annually as part of the Budget process. In Budget 2001 the Government announced that duty on all road fuel gases would be frozen in real terms until at least 2004.

Budget 2003 has announced that duty on all road fuel gases, including LPG, has been frozen at 9 pence per kilogramme, and that the Government will consult stakeholders on how best to ensure that future support for road fuel gases continues to reflect its environmental and other policy objectives. This consultation will be carried out in the next few months jointly by HM Treasury, HM Customs and Excise and the Department for Transport.

PFI Contracts

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to insert a fair wages clause into contracts, including PFI contracts between government and private companies entitling agency staff to the same pay and conditions as directly employed public sector employees. [112808]

Mr. Boateng: All staff transferring from the public to the private sector are protected by the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employees) Act. This requires that all staff contracts, with the new employer, contain identical terms and conditions to those in the original public sector contracts, with the sole exception of terms relating to membership of occupational pension schemes. The Local Authority Best Value code of practice and the Scottish Executive protocol, entitle new joiners to outsourced work forces to be offered "fair and reasonable" terms and conditions that are "overall, no less favourable" than those available to transferees.

Treasury Solicitor's Department

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who the chief executive officer of the Treasury Solicitor's Department is. [112709]

The Solicitor-General: I have been asked to reply.

The Chief Executive of the Treasury Solicitor's Department is Juliet Wheldon CB QC, HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Antibiotics (Animals)

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has placed a copy of the most recently published annual report into the sale of antibiotics for use in animals in the UK in the Library; and what period that report covered. [112406]

Mr. Morley: On 10 April 2003 the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) published the fourth in a series of reports designed to provide information about the sales of veterinary antimicrobial products in the UK. This covered sales of these products in the calendar year 2001. This report, entitled "Sales of Antimicrobial Products Authorised for Use as Veterinary Medicines, Growth Promoters, Coccidiostats and Antiprotozoals

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in the UK in 2001" is available on the VMD's website (www.vmd.qov.uk). Copies of this report were place in the Library of the House on 1 May 2003.

Animal By-products

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations and discussions she has had with (a) small abattoirs, (b) slaughterhouses and (c) independent butchers regarding the Animal By-Products Regulation. [111111]

Mr. Morley: The Department has undertaken extensive consultation during the negotiations on the Animal By-Products Regulation. This has included discussions with representatives of the abattoir and butchery industries.

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she is taking to (a) maintain and (b) encourage the development of new (i) small abattoirs, (ii) slaughterhouses and (iii) butchers under the Animal By-Products Regulation. [111119]

Mr. Morley: The purpose of the Animal By-Products Regulation is to ensure that animal by-products are used or disposed of safely. The Department has, however, taken steps where possible to minimise the impact on these industries. We are encouraging our regional partners to deploy the schemes within the England Rural Development Programme to support the network of small and medium abattoirs where a regional need is identified.

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2003, Official Report, column 22W, on Animal By-Products Regulations, for what reason remainders of wild animal carcases which have been used to produce game trophies are not exempt from the scope of the regulation. [111395]

Mr. Morley: These controls are in place to maintain existing controls on the trade and import of game trophies under the Balai Directive (92/118/EEC).

Cetacean By-catch

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the level of cetacean by-catch within the UK 200-mile limit in the last 12 months. [112496]

Mr. Morley: Since 2000 the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), under contract to Defra, has carried out a number of surveys to estimate the level of by-catch in UK fisheries. These surveys recorded for the offshore bass fishery 53 common dolphins caught in 116 hauls in 2001 and eight common dolphins caught in 66 hauls in 2002. However, by-catch information from other member states whose vessels operate in this fishery and elsewhere in UK waters is not available so it is not possible to produce reliable estimates of dolphin by-catch deaths in within the UK 200-mile limit. It is for this reason that I have been pressing the Commission for urgent action to widen observer coverage of EU fisheries and to bring forward proposals for positive action to reduce by-catch.

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Civil Servants

Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what performance incentive schemes exist for civil servants in her Department. [112452]

Alun Michael: Currently three schemes operate within Defra.

i) In February this year a Special Bonus Scheme, applicable to individuals and teams, was introduced to recognise special achievement and contributions beyond normal job requirements. Payments are one-off and not consolidated.


ii) Staff who, in their appraisal for the period 2003–04, are recognised as consistently exceeding performance requirements will receive one off non-consolidated bonuses in 2004.


iii) In accordance with senior Civil Service pay arrangements which are not delegated to Departments, all Senior Civil service pay in Defra is performance related including the rate of progression through the pay range.Under these centralised arrangements, Defra is also able to award non-consolidated performance bonuses for delivery of key priorities.

Departmental Expenditure

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her estimate is of the expenditure of her Department on newspapers, magazines and periodicals in 2002. [106297]

Alun Michael: The Department's expenditure on newspapers, periodicals and magazines in the financial year 2002—2003 was £91,095. This figure covers central purchasing through Defra's library services. This excludes the cost of newspapers, periodicals and magazines purchased in Defra local offices and in the Department's Executive Agencies. These figures could only be compiled at disproportionate cost.

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