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13 Nov 2003 : Column 428W—continued
HEALTH
Commission for Social Care Inspection
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the four shadow commissioners, and the shadow chief inspector, of the Commission for Social Care Inspection are based in the South East of England; and for what reason no shadow commissioners have been appointed from other regions. [135663]
Dr. Ladyman: The appointments of the shadow chair and commissioners of Commissioner for Social Care Inspection were made by the independent NHS Appointments Commission, not by Ministers. The shadow chair and commissioners appointed the shadow chief inspector.
These appointments have been made on the basis of ensuring that the best available people are appointed. It was important to ensure that the commissioners together were able not only to provide an appropriate range of experience and skill, but also diversity of background. Geographical origin was one of a number of factors considered. The fifth commissioner, who was appointed after the first four, is based in Sheffield and the shadow chair comes from Cheshire.
The appointment of the shadow chief inspector, as for any chief executive appointment, took no account of geographical origin as this was not regarded as relevant. As it happens, the chief inspector is from the North of England where he has spent much of his career.
Correspondence
David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the letter of 1 October from the hon. Member for Walsall, North regarding a constituent, ref: PO103700. [138381]
Miss Melanie Johnson: A reply was sent to my hon. Friend on 12 November 2003.
13 Nov 2003 : Column 429W
Delayed Discharge
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients over 65 remain in an NHS hospital as a result of delayed discharge. [137450]
Dr. Ladyman: 4,170 adult patients remained in an acute hospital bed on any one day as a result of delayed discharge in June 2003. 3,150 of these patients were aged 75 or over.
PRIME MINISTER
Departmental Costs
Mr. Flight: To ask the Prime Minister what the cost was to his Department for (a) ministerial cars and drivers, (b) taxis, (c) train travel, (d) the use of helicopters, (e) airline tickets and (f) chartered aeroplanes in each year since 1997. [123072]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Alexander) gave him today, at column 397–98W.
House of Lords
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister if the Secretary of State will make it his policy to require the House of Lords Appointments Commission to give applicants for a people's peerage reasons for their rejection. [138512]
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister how many applications for a people's peerage received since 1 January were rejected in the first sift; and what proportion of the total this represents. [138523]
The Prime Minister: None. All nominations received since 1 January 2003 are still being considered by the Commission.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister how many civil servants are involved in the preliminary sift of applications for a people's peerage; at what grade; and if he will make a statement. [138524]
The Prime Minister: The House of Lords Appointments Commission is supported by a secretariat headed by a Senior Civil Servant.
The sifting process is set out in Section 2 of the House of Lords Appointments Commission Report on the First Term 2000–2003, a copy of which is available in the House Library.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister what role recruitment consultants PWC play in the selection of people's peers. [138525]
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister how much time was spent in each of the last 12 months by (a) the chair and (b) other Members of the House of Lords Appointments Commission on its work. [138510]
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The Prime Minister: The full House of Lords Appointments Commission has met five times in the last 12 months. During the same period, sub-groups of Commission members have met as necessary to carry out Commission business.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister if he will require people's peers to publish (a) in the annual report and (b) on the website of the House of Lords Appointments Commission their assessments of their contribution to the work of the second chamber over the preceding year. [138513]
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister if he will issue guidance to the House of Lords Appointments Commission to permit it to select a proportion of applicants for a people's peerage by lot. [138516]
The Prime Minister: I wrote to the House of Lords Appointments Commission in July reaffirming that its remit is to recommend individuals based on their merit and ability to contribute effectively to the work of the House. Copies of this letter are available in the House Library.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister if he will require the House of Lords Appointments Commission to seek an undertaking from successful applicants for a people's peerage to participate fully in the work of the second chamber. [138517]
The Prime Minister: It is for every peer to decide for themselves how they attend the House. The House of Lords Appointments Commission has made clear both in its criteria and in discussion with appointees that wherever possible they should contribute when matters relating to their area of expertise arise. The Commission's information pack also makes it clear that this does not necessarily mean the same time commitment expected of "working peers".
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister how many roadshows the House of Lords Appointments Commission (a) has embarked on since its creation and (b) plans to undertake. [138518]
The Prime Minister: In autumn 2000, the House of Lords Appointments Commission held four meetings in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Manchester to share its approach and to encourage people to think about putting themselves forward. There are no immediate plans to hold more, although the issue is being kept under consideration.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister what his reasons were for re-appointing Lord Stevenson as chair of the House of Lords Appointments Commission; and whether an open competition was held for the post. [138522]
The Prime Minister: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 17 July 2003, Official Report, column 444W.
An open competition was not held for the re-appointment of any of the Commission members. This is in line with the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
13 Nov 2003 : Column 431W
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister if he will restrict to two terms of three years the maximum length of service on the House of Lords Appointments Commission. [138660]
The Prime Minister: The House of Lords Appointments Commission comes within the remit of the Commissioner of Public Appointments and appointments to the Commission are made in accordance with the Code of Practice.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister if he will limit the term of appointment of people's peers; and if he will make re-appointment conditional on a record of active participation in the work of the House of Lords. [138695]
The Prime Minister: No. Membership of the House of Lords is currently for life.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister how many applications from aspiring people's peers have been received in each month since the last group of successful applications was announced. [138509]
The Prime Minister: Applications from members of the public for peerages are given in the table.
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | — | 16 | 2 |
| February | — | 11 | 9 |
| March | — | 11 | 2 |
| April | 5 | 20 | 3 |
| May | 24 | 7 | 3 |
| June | 38 | 6 | 3 |
| July | 27 | 5 | 7 |
| August | 11 | 4 | 2 |
| September | 15 | 2 | 8 |
| October | 16 | 10 | 9 |
| November | 23 | 5 | (1)2 |
| December | 8 | 4 | — |
(1) As from 10 November.
DEFENCE
Accounting Methods
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what accounting methods are used to value assets in his Department; and if he will make a statement. [137913]
Mr. Ingram: As mandated by HM Treasury and in accordance with Government Accounting regulations, the Ministry of Defence applies the Modified Historic Cost Accounting convention to asset valuations. This requires assets to be valued at their actual or estimated current value to the Department. A mixture of regular professional valuations and the application of appropriate indices between formal valuations are used to meet the requirement. During 2002–03, some 95.4 per cent. of the eligible asset base was professionally revalued as reported in the Annual Report and Accounts published on 30 October.
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