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Offender Management

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the private sector will be allowed to bid for work with sex offenders under the National Offender Management Service structure. [159812]

Paul Goggins: The Government want the most effective custodial and community sentences possible for all offenders, including sex offenders, no matter who delivers them. It is keen to encourage partnerships between public and private sector providers and the voluntary and community sectors. The team tasked with implementing the National Offender Management Service will consider the specific details of the application of contestability with regard to sex offenders as part of its wider remit.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there has been an assessment of whether the probation areas will be able to deal with the reorganisation needed to establish the National Offender Management Service. [159815]

Paul Goggins: The National Offender Management Service implementation team intend to run regional pathfinders in order to test the proposed changes in preparation for a national roll-out.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

International Women's Day

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for Women what activities she has planned in recognition of International Women's Day. [159425]

Ms Hewitt [holding answer 10 March 2004]: To mark International Women's Day, I took part in the annual International Women's Day debate "Women, Equality
 
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and Human Rights" in the House of Commons on 4 March 2004. I attended and made the keynote speech at the "LeicestHERday" Annual Conference "Women, Moving Forward" (3 to 5 March 2004) which included discussion groups, seminars and workshops for women in business and the community. I also spoke at the International Women's Day reception at the Trade Union Council on 8 March 2004 and lent my support to the "Funny Women" comedy event held at Café de Paris on 8 March 2004.

In addition, the House of Lords marked International Women's Day on 9 March 2004 debating the question from Baroness Gould of Potternewton "What progress has been made on the status of women in the UK?".

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Housing

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on how (a) the Starter Homes Initiative and (b) the Abandoned Homes Initiative have affected the residents of Crosby. [160568]

Keith Hill: Since September 2001, the Starter Home Initiative (SHI) has been helping key workers into home ownership in areas where the high cost of housing serves to undermine recruitment and retention of skilled staff in our key public services. The SHI has been available in London and the South East region and in some housing hotspots in the East, South West and West Midlands regions. It has not been available to key workers in the North West region.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not aware of an Abandoned Homes Initiative. However, our Market Renewal Pathfinders are a comprehensive programme to tackle low demand and abandonment in nine English areas, including Merseyside. The boundaries of the Merseyside scheme, which covers the southern part of the Sefton council district, but not Crosby, were drawn up following an analysis of local housing markets to identify those areas most acutely affected by low demand and abandonment. The integrated approach to spatial and economic issues being adopted by the pathfinders should bring substantial benefits to the wider sub-region.

Ministerial Travel

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he last used a train in connection with his ministerial duties. [154699]

Yvette Cooper: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister travels by train regularly on official business. He last travelled by train on official business from Letchworth to London on Tuesday 9 March 2004.

All travel by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the "Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers", copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
 
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Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 8 March 2004, Official Report, column 1231W, on the South East England Development Authority, why the answer was delivered to the hon. Member without the table to which it refers; when the table was placed in the Library; and what arrangements he makes to ensure answers are delivered to the Official Report on the day they are given. [161191]

Yvette Cooper: The answer to which the hon. Member refers was answered on the 23 February 2004. It only appeared on the 8 March 2004 due to circumstances at the Official Report but did not include the table. The Answer and associated table will be printed in full in the bound copy of the Official Report for the 23 February 2004. The table referred to was not intended for the Library of the House as it was due to appear in the Official Report. All answers are issued to the Official Report when they are made available to hon. Members.

Publicity Costs

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the Government Office for the South East spent on producing and distributing the leaflet "What the Pre-Budget Report means for the South East". [161052]

Mr. Raynsford: The cost of producing the leaflet "What the Pre-Budget Report means for the South East" was £175.00 to the Government Office for the South East. Distribution costs were £111.00.

Regional Government

Ann Winterton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the Government's Financial Guarantee would amount to in each year from 2007 to 2013 for the (a) North West, (b) North East and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber Region; and where the funding would come from. [160738]

Mr. Raynsford: If the UK proposals for an EU Framework for Devolved Regional Policy were agreed, the Government have committed that it would guarantee that by increasing UK Government spending on regional policy, UK nations and regions receive a level of resources which ensure they do not lose out from the UK's proposals on Structural Funds reform.

It is not possible to say now exactly what the domestic institutional arrangements will be in 2007, and therefore exactly how increased domestic funding would be distributed. However the principles of distribution are detailed in a written statement by my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, West (Ms Hewitt) on 11 December 2003, Official Report, columns 95–98WS. Equally it is not possible to put a figure on the Guarantee at this stage, without the GDP data that would be used in 2006.

Ann Winterton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the proposed regional assemblies grant in respect of fire and rescue responsibilities will match the total grant of the existing fire and rescue services in the individual regions. [160741]

 
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Mr. Raynsford: No region's fire and rescue service will be financially disadvantaged because it reports to an elected regional assembly.

The Fire White Paper, Our Fire and Rescue Service announced that Regional Fire and Rescue Authorities,

"where there are elected regional assemblies, fire and rescue authorities will be regional bodies constituted on similar lines to the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority" (paragraph 4.15).

The Regions White Paper, Your Region, Your Choice Revitalising the English Regions, announced,

"fairness and consistency of treatment between the English regions can be most simply demonstrated if the level of resources for the region(s) with an elected assembly is determined on broadly the same basis as for other English regions" (paragraph 5.4).

Ann Winterton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the national public bodies with regional or local offices in the (a) North West Region and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber Region. [160753]

Mr. Raynsford: The Cabinet Office publication, Public Bodies 2003, lists all the national public bodies in the United Kingdom. However, it does not break down the public bodies by region. Copies have been made available in the Library of the House.

Ann Winterton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what aspects of EU Regional Policy will be devolved to the English regions. [160754]

Mr. Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has overall responsibility for the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), one of the key Structural Funds—which deliver EU regional policy. Under the current round of programmes (until the end of 2006), the responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Structural Funds is delegated to the Government Offices in the regions.

The Government's 2002 White Paper Your Region, Your Choice: Revitalising the English Regions (Cm.5511) set out our proposal that where elected regional assemblies are established they would take over the role currently performed by Government Offices for any Structural Fund expenditure for future programming periods.

It is not possible at this stage to say which regions will have elected assemblies in 2007, nor what the outcome of Structural Fund reform will be. But as the White Paper made clear, the general approach for England—regional delivery within a clear national framework—will continue. This means that the management of replacement programmes, whether they involve European or domestic funds, will be devolved to regional or local level.

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