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30 Jun 2004 : Column 297W—continued
New Buildings (Regulations)
Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what minimum depth is specified under Building Regulations for foundations of new buildings of (a) one storey and (b) two storeys. [181754]
Phil Hope: The current edition of Approved Document A, "Structure", advising on how to meet the requirements of the Building Regulations does not give any guidance on the minimum depth for foundations, but a revised document published on 29 June 2004 on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website does give some guidance on these. This will come into force on 1 December 2004.
The guidance recommends that strip foundations to dwellings up to three storeys in height should be founded at a minimum depth of 450mm to avoid the action of frost on the ground, increasing to 750mm minimum in the case of clay soils. For such buildings the number of storeys will have little influence on the depth of foundation, but may affect their width. The guidance also recommends that consideration should also be taken of anticipated ground movement caused by the presence of nearby trees and vegetation on the stability of the building.
Regional Assemblies
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total cost to public funds is to date of surveying, assessing and analysing levels of support for and opposition to elected regional assemblies in the (a) North East, (b) North West and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber region. [180948]
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Mr. Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has sponsored a module of questions within the British Social Attitudes (BSA) Survey in 2002 and 2003 at a cost of £15,000 and £16,800 respectively. The module has asked questions across England about public attitudes to regional issues, including: awareness of existing institutions, and perceptions of, and attitudes towards, regional devolution and regional assemblies. The results for 2002 were published in November 2003 but results for 2003 are not yet publicly available; they are scheduled to be published in November 2004 in accord with the usual BSA reporting timetable.
WOMEN
Gender Pay Gap
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Minister for Women what the difference in pay was between (a) full-time and (b) part-time male and female workers in each year since 1997 in (i) the UK and (ii) each region. [181041]
Ms Hewitt [holding answer 28 June 2004]: The following table shows (a) the full-time hourly pay gap and (b) the part-time hourly pay gap (measured as the difference in hourly pay between women working part-time and men working full-time) in the United Kingdom since 1997:
| Full-time pay gap | Part-time pay gap | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | Median | Mean | |
| 1997 | 19.8 | 16.3 | 41.0 |
| 1998 | 20.0 | 16.2 | 40.7 |
| 1999 | 19.1 | 15.2 | 40.0 |
| 2000 | 18.9 | 14.9 | 40.1 |
| 2001 | 18.5 | 14.1 | 41.2 |
| 2002 | 18.8 | 14.1 | 40.9 |
| 2003 | 18.0 | 12.7 | 39.4 |
The following table shows the full-time mean hourly pay gap by region in since 1997:
| Region | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | 17.1 | 19.3 | 17.0 | 15.1 | 15.9 | 15.4 | 12.7 |
| North West | 20.1 | 21.4 | 20.6 | 20.4 | 17.6 | 17.3 | 15.9 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 17.3 | 17.4 | 16.3 | 16.1 | 14.3 | 14.2 | 14.3 |
| East Midlands | 20.9 | 20.7 | 20.1 | 18.6 | 17.4 | 18.5 | 16.4 |
| West Midlands | 20.1 | 21.4 | 20.3 | 19.2 | 19.8 | 17.2 | 16.5 |
| South West | 21.0 | 19.6 | 19.0 | 19.0 | 19.5 | 17.1 | 17.9 |
| East | 17.8 | 17.7 | 18.6 | 19.6 | 19.2 | 19.1 | 21.1 |
| London | 23.4 | 23.3 | 22.7 | 22.7 | 22.8 | 24.2 | 23.5 |
| South East | 21.6 | 22.6 | 21.6 | 21.7 | 21.9 | 23.1 | 20.2 |
| England | 19.8 | 20.1 | 19.4 | 19.1 | 18.7 | 19.0 | 18.4 |
| Wales | 17.4 | 16.3 | 14.0 | 13.4 | 12.1 | 13.4 | 12.5 |
| Scotland | 19.8 | 21.3 | 18.9 | 19.4 | 16.8 | 18.6 | 15.6 |
| United Kingdom | 19.8 | 20.0 | 19.1 | 18.9 | 18.5 | 18.8 | 18.0 |
The following table shows the part-time mean hourly pay gap by region since 1997:
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CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
Access to Justice
Nick Harvey: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs in which (a) local authority areas, (b) Legal Services Commission bid zones and (c) Community Legal Service partnerships areas no firms have yet bid for Legal Services Commission contracts; and what plans he has for improving access to justice in civil law disputes for the socially excluded in such areas. [181142]
Mr. Lammy: The Legal Service Commission's (LSC) framework for contract award evaluation is based on the needs and priorities for funding identified in Regional Legal Services Committee reports. Contracts have been let in all Community Legal Service Partnership areas and in 409 of 411 bid zones—the exceptions being two very small localities, (Rutland & Oadby and Wigston) both of which have contracted suppliers providing services within a reasonable travelling distance. The LSC Regional office is also currently investigating how supply in Rutland can be improved through suppliers from Leicester undertaking outreach work.
Contracts do not cover all categories of law in each bid zone; the demand for services in many areas, particularly more rural or affluent areas, would not justify that. The lack of a contracted supplier offering legal services in any category of law in a bid zone, does not necessarily constitute unmet need or prevent access to justice as there may be other, more suitable ways of dealing with problems that arise such as outreach, telephone or website advice.
Community Legal Service
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many applications for public funding relating to environmental matters were submitted to the Community Legal Service in each year between 1997 to 2003; how many and what proportion were in receipt of public funding; and what the average proportion of total costs covered by the Funding Certificate was. [181513]
Mr. Lammy:
The Legal Services Commission is unable to answer the question. "Environmental matters" is not recognised as a specific category of law under which Funding Certificates are granted, therefore, there is no way of recording which cases seeking or receiving public funding involve environmental issues.
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However, a range of environmental cases are funded under the legal aid scheme, many of which receive public funding on public interest grounds.
Departmental Staff
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the total amount paid by his Department to employment agencies for the supply of temporary staff was in financial year 2003–04. [178912]
Mr. Lammy: My Department has a national contract for the provision of agency workers.
Information relating to workers employed through other agencies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Information regarding the national contract for this financial year 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 is provided in the table.
My Department uses agency workers to meet short-term requirements and in areas where it is difficult to recruit and retain staff.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Department for Constitutional Affairs and Associated Offices | 1,326,000 |
| Court Service—including the Immigration Appellate Authority | 3,923,000 |
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