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Civil Servants (Relocation)

Bob Russell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many civil servants he expects will be relocated from London as a result of the assessment by Sir Michael Lyons; from which Government departments relocation of staff is being considered; when he expects the first staff to move from London; and if he will make a statement. [154701]

Mr. Boateng: The Independent Review of Public Sector Relocation led by Sir Michael Lyons will report its findings and recommendations in March 2004. It would be inappropriate to pre-empt his final report. Sir Michael's interim report is available on the Treasury website at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk.

Bob Russell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which towns and cities have been assessed by Sir Michael Lyons for possible relocation of civil servants from London; which have been short-listed; how many locations will be selected; when he expects to make an announcement; and if he will make a statement. [154702]

Mr. Boateng: Sir Michael Lyons retained King Sturge Property Consultants to conduct an analysis of over 100 locations to better understand local property and labour markets. This information is available on the Treasury website www.hm-treasury.gov.uk and will inform Sir Michael's final report which will be published in March 2004.

Defence Capabilities

Mr. Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2004, Official Report, column 1170W, on provision for defence capability, on which page of the Ministry of Defence's Report and Accounts 2002–03 the net cash requirement for Request for Resources 1: Provision for Defence Capability for financial years 2001–02 to 2002–03 can be found. [155205]

Mr. Boateng: Net Cash Requirement (NCR) covers the consequences of all requests for resources (RfR) together with other cash implications and, as such, is not recorded on an individual RfR basis.

The total NCR outturn figures for 2001–02 and 2002–03 can be found on page 88 of MOD's Report and Accounts 2002–03.

Gulf War

Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was received by the Government from overseas governments in respect of costs incurred during

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the Gulf War, (a) in total and (b) from (i) Germany, (ii) Japan, (iii) Saudi Arabia, (iv) Kuwait and (v) other Gulf states. [154954]

Mr. Boateng: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the National Audit Office Report on MOD: Of the Costs and Receipts Arising from the Gulf Conflict (2 December 1992).

Penrose Inquiry

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any (a) Minister and (b) official of (i) HM Treasury and (ii) the Treasury Solicitor's Department has (A) held discussions with, (B) written to and (C) provided any part of the Penrose report into Equitable Life to anyone in the office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration; and if he will make a statement. [155067]

Ruth Kelly: Treasury officials have had contact with the office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration on a range of matters, but no part of the Penrose report into Equitable Life has been provided to that office.

Property Ownership

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the number of people who work abroad and own property in the UK; [155235]

(2) if he will estimate how many people resident overseas own property in the UK but do not pay income tax. [155236]

Ruth Kelly: It is not possible to estimate the number of people who work or are otherwise resident abroad and own property in the UK, or the number of those who do not pay UK income tax. However there are currently around 100,000 individuals who are resident outside the UK and have notified the Inland Revenue that they are letting out UK property. All of them are subject to UK income tax on any profits they make from such letting out.

Ministerial Travel

Bob Russell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last used a train in connection with his ministerial duties. [154697]

Mr. Gordon Brown: On 18 November 2003.

I travelled from Euston to Birmingham by train to speak at the CBI Conference, returning on the same day.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Civil Servants

Dr. Cable: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many civil servants, broken down by grade, there are in the Department and the agencies for which the Department is responsible; and what the figures were in January 1997. [150262]

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Mr. Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office, on 10 February 2004, Official Report, column 1294W.

Department Branding

Mr. Laws: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much the Department and its predecessors spent on branding the Department between 1997–98 and 2003–04, broken down by (a) consultancy fees, (b) design and orders for new stationery, (c) website design and (d) other material featuring new logos. [154063]

Mr. Lammy: The information is provided in the following table. To date, my Department has not spent anything on rebranding for the Department for Constitutional Affairs. Our executive agency, the Public Guardianship Office, has spent £56,695 on new branding to reflect its change of name from the Public Trust Office. A contract for £25,000 has recently been let to provide a style re-design for DCA HQ stationery and publications.

Hutton Report

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs who authorised, and for what purpose, members of the Intelligence and Security Committee to be given access to the contents of the Hutton Inquiry Report on the morning of 28 January in advance of its publication. [152520]

Mr. Leslie: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer provided on 3 February 2004, Official Report, column 758W, by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, to the hon. Member for Southend West (Mr. Amess).

Mr. Amess: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs who in his office saw an embargoed copy of the Hutton Report. [152675]

Mr. Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided, by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 3 February 2004, Official Report, column 758W.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what his estimate is of the total amount of staff hours spent in support of Lord Hutton's Inquiry; what the budget allocated to it was; and if he will make a statement. [153384]

Mr. Leslie: A precise cost for the inquiry, which will include four members from the Department of Constitutional Affairs seconded to the inquiry team, is not yet available. We will publish the figure once it is available.

Hours spent by other staff in support of the inquiry or in general will have been part of their normal duties and at no cost to the inquiry. Records of hours spent on the inquiry are not maintained centrally.

Laganside Courts Complex

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what monthly payments have been made to date to Consul Services Ltd. for the Laganside courts Private Finance Initiative scheme; what abatements have been applied; and what the reasons were for each abatement. [152911]

Mr. Leslie: The average monthly payment is £350,000 and, to date, 22 monthly payments totalling £7,682,926.57 have been made to Consul Services Ltd. 11 abatements totalling £4,226.84 have been applied and all were in respect of water ingress.

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Legal Aid

Nick Harvey: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the average annual percentage salary rise awarded to those employed in dealing with or administering criminal legal aid was between 1 January 1996 and 30 November 2003; and if he will make a statement. [154289]

Mr. Lammy: The Commission is unable to answer the question in the format requested as neither the Legal Services Commission nor the former Legal Aid Board make a distinction between staff administering civil and criminal work.

The Commission is able to provide figures on the average annual percentage salary rise—awarded with effect from 1 April—for each year since 1997, but cannot provide a figure for 1996. The figures are as follows:

	Percentage
1997	4
1998	3.5
1999	4
2000	(1)4
2>0.5
2001	(1)4.3
(2)0.9
2002	(1)4.3
(2)1.1
2003	(1)3.6
(2)1.1

⁽¹⁾ Consolidated

⁽²⁾ Non-consolidated

All annual salary increases are subject to a pay remit, which must be approved by the Department for Constitutional Affairs. Prior to 2003 remits also required approval of HM Treasury.

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