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15 May 2003 : Column 361W—continued
PRIME MINISTER
Iraq
Mr. Cash: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the personal statement of 12 May 2003, Official Report, column 36 to the right hon. Member for Birmingham,
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Ladywood (Clare Short), if he will publish the advice of the Attorney General on the question of the post-war situation in Iraq to which she referred. [113489]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr. Duncan Smith) at Prime Minister's questions on 14 May 2003, Official Report, column 310.
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PRIVY COUNCIL
Appointments Commission
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the President of the Council (1) how many times the House of Lords Appointments Commission has met in the last 12 months; [113590]
- (2) what the annual cost is of running the House of Lords Appointments Commission. [113591]
Dr. John Reid: The House of Lords Appointments Commission has met twice in the past year.
The estimated cost in the financial year 2002–03 was approximately £120,000.
Departmental Report
Mr. Bercow: To ask the President of the Council what the cost was of the publication of the 2001 Departmental Report. [112821]
Dr. John Reid: The Privy Council Office 2001 Departmental Report was not published as a separate volume, but was included in the same volume as the Cabinet Office Departmental Report. No publishing costs were charged to the Department.
Honours
Mr. Pope: To ask the President of the Council how many officials in his Department have received honours; and how many honours are held by his officials, broken down by category of honour. [111492]
ADVOCATE-GENERAL
Departmental Events
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Advocate General if she will list the (a) conferences, (b) seminars, (c) workshops, (d) exhibitions and (e) press conferences which have been sponsored by her Department and which took place on non-departmental premises in the last 12 months, broken down by title, purpose, date and cost. [104283]
The Advocate-General for Scotland: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by my right. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Advocate General what progress has been made with the pay review in her Department, with particular reference to the gender pay gap; and if she will make a statement. [106746]
The Advocate-General for Scotland: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.
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SCOTLAND
Advertising
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much the Department spent on advertising in Scotland in each year since 1999 on (a) television, (b) newspapers, (c) radio, (d) magazines, (e) billboards and (f) sporting events. [102332]
Mrs. Liddell: The Scotland Office was established in its present form on 1 July 1999.
Since that date, expenditure on advertising and publicity has been as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 26,861 |
| 2000–01 | 270,494 |
| 2001–02 | 186,564 |
| 2002–031 | 10,390 |
(10) Estimated
Most of the expenditure related to electoral registration information. The breakdown of costs relating to television, newspapers, radio and magazines is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Department did not use billboard advertising or advertising at sporting events.
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his Department's total spending was on advertising and promotional campaigns between April 2002 and March 2003; and what the cost of each campaign was, broken down by costs relating to (a) television, (b) radio and (c) print media. [106436]
Mrs. Liddell: There has been no expenditure by my Department on advertising and promotional campaigns in 2002–03.
Age Discrimination
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps her Department is taking to address the issue of age discrimination. [109451]
Mrs. Liddell: My Department has taken steps to integrate age into its equal opportunity policies and remains committed to ensuring there is no unfair discrimination on the basis of age. Action on diversity has and will continue to tackle any negative attitudes towards older staff particularly through the training and development of managers and through the monitoring of recruitment, selection and appraisal statistics. Staff over 60 can remain in employment on a year to year basis, subject to certain criteria.
Commemorative Plaques
Sir Brian Mawhinney: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what the average cost was of erecting a blue commemorative plaque in the last 12 months; [111621]
- (2) who (a) sets the criteria of selection and (b) is responsible for the erection of blue commemorative plaques; [111627]
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(3) how many blue commemorative plaques were erected in each of the last five years; and, for each year, what the cost was to public funds; [111624]
(4) what the policy and criteria are for the erection of blue plaques to commemorate distinguished citizens in their native localities. [111630]
Mrs. Liddell: This is a devolved matter. There is no national scheme for erecting blue commemorative plaques in Scotland.
Departmental Establishment
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will provide a breakdown by formal job description of the total establishment at the Scotland Office. [104605]
Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 24 March 2003]: My Department has 121 staff in post, of which 35 are in the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland.
The job descriptions for staff in the Office of the Secretary of State cover the provision of advice to Ministers on the implementation and operation of the Scotland Act 1998 and a wide range of policy matters in reserved areas, under the broad headings of Economy, Industry, Home and Social Affairs and Parliamentary and Constitutional policy. A number of staff provide finance, personnel and administrative services across the Department as a whole.
Staff in the Office of the Advocate General provide legal advice in relation to Scots Law; instructing United Kingdom legislation applying to Scotland, representing departments in litigation in the Scottish Courts and supporting the Advocate General in her role as a Law Officer and under the Scotland Act. They act in Scotland for most Whitehall Departments in any aspect of Scots Law within their particular responsibilities.
Departmental Events
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will list the (a) conferences, (b) seminars, (c) workshops, (d) exhibitions and (e) press conferences which have been sponsored by her Department and which took place on non-departmental premises in the last 12 months, broken down by title, purpose, date and cost. [104284]
Mrs. Liddell: The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress has been made with the pay review in her Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which she is responsible, with particular reference to the gender pay gap; and if she will make a statement. [106747]
Mrs. Liddell: An equal pay review covering staff of the Scotland Office is expected to be completed shortly.
Departmental Report
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the 2002 annual report of the Department will be published. [107874]
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Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Scotland Office Departmental Report will be published. [104019]
Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 20 March 2003]: I expect the Scotland Office Departmental Report to be published on 16 May.
Departmental Website
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will make a statement on the (a) cost of and (b) number of visitors to each website operated by her Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which her Department is responsible in each year since its establishment. [107630]
Mrs. Liddell: The Scotland Office website is www.scottishsecretary.gov.uk, which was set up in 1999 by departmental staff. Operating costs for the site are estimated at £300 per year. The numbers of page impressions recorded for the site in each year are as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 26,092 |
| 2000–01 | 194,981 |
| 2000–02 | 356,122 |
| 2000–03 | (11)454,482 |
(11) Figures to end February
My Department is also responsible for the Friends of Scotland website (www.friendsofscotland.gov.uk), which was established in July 2002. The cost of developing the website was £95,804. Details of annual operating costs are not yet available but the network support and development costs to date are £12,435. The number of page impressions recorded between July 2002 and March 2003 was 479,242.
The only non-departmental body for which my Department is responsible is the Boundary Commission. The Commission's website was established in June 2001 and came fully into operation in February 2002. Since that time the site has recorded approximately 10,000 page impressions. The cost of developing and maintaining the site was £5,125.
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