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23 Mar 2004 : Column 707W—continued
US Ships
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by when she expects the seasonal weather to be appropriate to allow the return of the four ghost ships from Hartlepool to the United States. [158914]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 5 March 2004]: Clearly it is difficult to predict when the weather will be appropriate to allow for the possible return of the ships, but it is expected that the weather window could open in May. Before any such journey could be made, the vessels would need to be inspected, surveyed and appropriately certified for seaworthiness.
Wildlife Habitats
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information she has on the variables which affect the carrying capacity of a habitat in respect of its ability to support a particular wildlife species. [158005]
Mr. Bradshaw: Competition between individuals within a species (intraspecific competition) limits the maximum number of individuals that can be supported by an environment (the environmental carrying capacity). This is influenced by the quantity of resources that are under competition. These may include food resources, nesting sites and mates.
Further information on this topic may be obtained from any elementary ecology text book, such as Begon, M., Harper, J. L. & Townsend, C. R. (1996) Ecology. 3rd Edition. Blackwell Science, Oxford.
CABINET OFFICE
Departmental Communications
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what the total expenditure on communications for the Office has been in 2003–04, broken down by expenditure on (a) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (b) other staff, broken down by (i) press officers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) others; [158158]
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- (2) how many staff are employed in the Office to work in the communications field, broken down by (a) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (b) other staff, broken down by (i) press officers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) others. [158172]
Mr. Alexander: Communication is embedded in Government policy development and delivery and not simply an end function of departmental press officers.
Within the Cabinet Office there are two specific units who deal with communications and are largely staffed by GICS members—the Communications Group (CG) and the GICS Centre.
CG provides advice and services on press and media relations, the internet and other electronic communication; internal communication; marketing and publications; and editorial. CG currently employs 41 staff, 7.5 of whom work in the press office supporting five Ministers. CG budget for this year is £3,615,100. This breaks down to £1,736,746 staff, £917,554 running costs and £960,800 departmental communication activity.
The GICS Centre is responsible for cross-departmental and emergency communications and activity including the Government News Network (GNN) , and the News Co-ordination Unit (NCC) and the Media Monitoring Unit (MMU). It is also responsible for GICS corporate and HR policy matters. The budget for the GICS centre for 2003–04 was £2.458 million. The GICS Centre currently has 170 staff of whom 130 are part of the GNN, which has offices in London and also regionally across the UK. The GNN operates on a repayment basis charging Departments for the services it provides.
Communications staff across Whitehall on short-term secondment operate the NCC on an ad hoc basis when it is activated. The MMU currently has 15 full time staff. The MMU is self-financing operating on a subscription charge to the Government Departments that it serves.
There is one special adviser appointed to the Minister without Portfolio (MWP). The special adviser does not work as part of the Cabinet Office CG but may in the course of his duties as set out in the Special Adviser's Code of Conduct, advice the MWP on communications issues.
Official Opposition (Officials)
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many officials, and of what grade, are allocated to the Official Opposition; how they were selected; where they are based; and what the total cost is. [161819]
Mr. Alexander: Four civil servants—one HEO equivalent, one EO and two administrative officers—are allocated to the Official Opposition Whips Office in the House of Commons. All were appointed following Cabinet Office recruitment and selection procedures. The total cost in the current financial year will be approximately £128,000.
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CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
National Lottery
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many applications for Lottery money have been made since the introduction of the online facility; and how many of these were made online. [162812]
Estelle Morris: This Department does not collect comprehensive information on the number of applications for Lottery grants made to the distributing bodies. I will write to the hon. Member with details of the number of applications made online once these have been ascertained.
New Opportunities Fund
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money from the New Opportunities Fund was allocated to (a) the West Suffolk constituency and (b) the county of Suffolk, in each year since its inception. [163033]
Estelle Morris: In each financial year, the New Opportunities Fund allocated to:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 88,848 |
| 2000–01 | 149,362 |
| 2001–02 | 25,703 |
| 2002–03 | 76,398 |
| 2003 to current date | 326,378 |
| Total | 666,689 |
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 2,921,208 |
| 2000–01 | 1,828,195 |
| 2001–02 | 4,250,369 |
| 2002–03 | 3,271,150 |
| 2003 to current date | 2,255,738 |
| Total | 14,526,660 |
These numbers are derived from the Department's database of Lottery awards, which is based on information supplied by New Opportunities Fund (and the other distributing bodies).
Police Transfers
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the transfer arrangements for the pensions of officers in the Royal Parks Constabulary when they join the Metropolitan Police will ensure that no officer receives a lower level of (a) pension and (b) lump sum than they would have received had they remained in the RPC under the current arrangements until retirement age. [160348]
Mr. Caborn: Officers in the Royal Parks Constabulary are covered by the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme; officers in the Metropolitan Police Service are covered by the Police Pension Scheme. While the PCSPS provides a pension and lump sum payment on retirement, the PPS provides a pension at retirement
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with an option to commute up to a quarter for a lump sum. How much pension and lump sum officers in the PPS receive therefore depends on their own decisions. The Government Actuary's Department has confirmed that the PPS is generally more valuable for members than the PCSPS. Officers in the RPC will have the option of transferring their accrued pension rights from the PCSPS on special terms so that they will have a package of benefits which is overall at least as valuable as that they would have received from the RPC.
Television Signal
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to improve the television signal in mid-Sussex. [163042]
Estelle Morris [holding answer 22 March 2004]: Broadcasters, through contracts with transmission operators, are responsible for maintaining the terrestrial television network. The Broadcasters are no longer seeking to improve analogue coverage in the UK as this is expected to be switched off in favour of digital TV.
While much of mid-Sussex already receives digital terrestrial TV, the broadcasters are aware that coverage is not universal and are keen to improve this. Unfortunately, due to International planning constraints this cannot happen before switchover.
TRANSPORT
Bus Services
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice he offers to local authorities on their subsidy regime for bus services; and what discussions he has had with the Department for Education and Skills on school transport policies. [162826]
Mr. McNulty: It is for local authorities to determine their policies and procedures for the subsidy of bus services in their area, within the framework set by the Transport Acts 1985 and 2000. We have however provided a guide to good practice on the procurement of local bus and community transport services, including school transport services. This guide is currently being revised and up-dated.
Ministers and officials of this Department and the Department for Education and Skills have frequent discussions on school transport issues. In September 2003, the two Departments jointly published "Travelling to School: an action plan", setting out measures to reduce car dependency and increase the proportion of children walking, cycling and taking the bus to school. We are working closely together on the implementation of the action plan and-the School Transport Bill.
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