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16 Oct 2003 : Column 331W—continued
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Asbestos
Dr. Cable: To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to her answer of 17 July 2003, Official Report, column 589W, on asbestos, how many Crown Prosecution Service buildings have been identified as containing asbestos; if she will place copies of the asbestos registers for each building in the Library; and what steps she has taken to compile a central register. [130942]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service have approved the appointment of an asbestos inspector via an Office of Government Commerce call off contract. A programme of inspection surveys has been agreed. The inspections and all the written survey reports are to be returned to the Crown Prosecution Service prior to the 21 May 2004 in compliance with Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulation 2002.
A central asbestos register on the surveys will be held and managed by the Crown Prosecution Service and the asbestos register will be placed in the Library.
Departmental Hospitality
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Solicitor-General how much was spent on food by the Department and by each agency for which it is responsible in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03; what proportion of that food by value was produced in the United Kingdom; what guidance she has issued to encourage the procurement of home-grown food; and if she will make a statement. [129385]
The Solicitor-General: Expenditure on food in the Crown Prosecution Service is generally limited to official hospitality provided by the Crown Prosecution Service and a canteen subsidy. Records of spend on food provided at some external conferences and like events are not kept centrally and so cannot be included.
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In 2001–02 the Crown Prosecution Service recorded expenditure of £23,000 on hospitality and £110,000 on a canteen subsidy. The figures for 2002–03 were £20,000 and £83,000 respectively.
Information made available by the canteen service providers indicates that on average 30 per cent. of the food they procure is produced in the United Kingdom. It is not possible to assume a monetary value of UK food supplied to the Crown Prosecution Service indirectly through the subsidy because the subsidy contributes to items other than food.
Expenditure on food by HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate is generally limited to official hospitality and meeting refreshments. HMCPSI does not provide any canteen facilities.
HMCPSI did not purchase any unprepared food supplies during 2001–02 or 2002–03. Expenditure on meeting refreshments and meals, supplied by external caterers, was £1,600 in 2001–02 and £1,700 in 2002–03. There was additional relevant expenditure in financial year 2002–03 attributable to a reception to launch the HMCPSI Annual Report and two seminars hosted by the Inspectorate.
HMCPSI does not record what proportion of its food supplies are UK produced.
Expenditure on food by the Serious Fraud Office is generally limited to official hospitality and meeting refreshments. The SFO does not provide any canteen facilities. Total expenditure within these categories for each of the two years was £19,000 in 2001–02 and £20,000 in 2002–03. The further breakdown to amounts spent on food and its place of production is not available.
Expenditure on food in the Treasury Solicitor's Department and the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers is limited solely to hospitality. There is no staff canteen. There is, therefore, no regular purchase of food.
The amounts spent in 2001–02 and 2002–03 on hospitality were less than £10,000 in both years.
Microsoft (Licensing Fees)
Norman Lamb: To ask the Solicitor-General how much was paid to Microsoft in licensing fees by the Law Officer's Department and its agencies in each of the last three years; and how much has been budgeted for (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05. [130673]
The Solicitor-General: CPS Headquarters spent the following on Microsoft licences (approximately):
- 2000–01—£2.5 million
2001–02—£1.2 million
2002–03—nil
Since 2002, all IT services have been outsourced to LogicaCMG who purchase and manage Microsoft licences on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service.
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There may have been some expenditure on Microsoft licences by the Crown Prosecution Service locally, however figures could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Although HMCPSI is not a part of the CPS, it benefits from being part of the CPS IT network. Information relating to payments to Microsoft for licensing fees in that context is subsumed in that relating to the CPS return.
HMCPSI also has a very small number of its own PCs. Expenditure on Microsoft fees for these machines in the last three years is as follows:
- 2000–01—nil
2001–02—nil
2002–03—£773
The Serious Fraud Office spend on Microsoft licenses is as follows:
- 2000–01—£3,000
2001–02—£16,000
2002–03—£20,000
2003–04—£250,000 est.
- 2000–01—£36,000
2001–02—£37,000
2002–03—£71,000
2003–04—£113,000 (Forecast outturn)
2004–05—£52,000 (Budget).
The accounts kept by the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers do not provide separate costs for the purchase of Microsoft licences. However, LSLO usually acquires licences through the purchase of new computers with software already installed and licensed.
Roger Sylvester Case
Harry Cohen: To ask the Solicitor-General when she expects the judicial review of the Crown Prosecution Service's decision not to prosecute officers involved in the Roger Sylvester case to be concluded; and if she will make a statement. [131789]
The Solicitor-General: The judicial review into the Crown Prosecution Service's decision was adjourned on 21 May 2001 at the direction of Lord Chief Justice Woolf so that the inquest could proceed. The inquest concluded on 3 October 2003 and the jury returned a verdict that Mr. Sylvester was unlawfully killed. The Crown Prosecution Service will now conduct a further review of all the available evidence, including the evidence given at the inquest.
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EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Child Care (Redcar)
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what budgetary provision has been made for children's centres in the Borough of Redcar and Cleveland. [132422]
Margaret Hodge: The indicative funding allocations from April 2004 to March 2006 to develop children's centres in the local authority area of Redcar and Cleveland are: Revenue £623,253 which includes £192,213 for rural wards, and Capital £2,258,185 which includes £700,000 for rural wards. The monies are to create 231 new full day care places and give 3,457 pre-school children access to integrated services in the area. This is building on their four Sure Start local programmes, 14 Neighbourhood Nursery projects, maintained nursery schools, and other existing early years provision.
Child Employment
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the review of Child Employment Procedures carried out in response to the Private Member's Bill proposed by the hon. Member for Gravesham in February 1998. [129055]
Margaret Hodge: The report of the Review of Child Employment Law was completed in 1999. Since that time we have taken action to address issues raised by the Review and in the light of these changes, and with the passage of time, it would no longer be appropriate to publish the report. However, the Better Regulation Task Force has announced that it is to undertake a study into the regulation of the employment of children and their findings will be published on completion. The Task Force hopes to make recommendations on the regulation of the employment of children that will:
- help to protect children from exploitation;
assist employers to meet their obligations; and
encourage proportionate enforcement.
Consultancy Contracts
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many consultancies were commissioned by his Department in the last two years for which figures are available; and what the cost of those contracts was. [130896]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: This information could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
OECD Indicators
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the Education at a Glance 2003: OECD Indicators finding that (a) the calculated high rates of return to tertiary education in the United Kingdom are to an important extent due to relatively short standard university studies and (b) tertiary graduation rates are higher in the
16 Oct 2003 : Column 335W
United Kingdom that in France and Germany; and what implications these findings will have on reform of the 14 to 19 curriculum. [131955]
Alan Johnson: Relatively short duration university studies represent good value for money. Shorter tertiary courses reduce both the direct and indirect costs of the course because, other things being equal, the individual will need to spend less on tuition and their foregone earnings will be lower. Individuals enter the labour market sooner and so have more time to recoup the costs of their investment through higher earnings.
Alongside course duration, the other main cause of high rates of return is the higher graduate premium, ie the high (relative to other countries) pre-tax earnings of UK graduates.
Question addresses two separate OECD indicators, in both of which the UK position is encouraging:
- Concerning the ratio of graduates to the population at the typical age of graduation, the UK is towards the upper end at 37.4 per cent. (well above the OECD average of 30.1 per cent.).
Concerning the proportion of UK students who complete their tertiary course, at 83 per cent. the UK has one of the best completion rates among OECD countries.
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