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20 Oct 2004 : Column 717W—continued

Operation Fresco Zulu 2

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on Operation Fresco Zulu 2. [191660]

Mr. Ingram: The armed forces began the implementation of Operation Fresco Zulu 2, the provision of national emergency fire cover, on 4 August 2004. Some 3,800 personnel from across the three Services had begun preparatory activities when the local authority employers and the Fire Brigades Union reached an agreement that ended their dispute. The armed forces were stood-down on 27 August.

Regimental Amalgamations

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Government takes account of a regiment's history when deciding which regiments to amalgamate. [189762]

Mr. Ingram: The infantry is to restructure as part of the wider plans to transform the armed forces as announced by my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary on 21 July 2004, Official Report, column 343. This transformation reflects the need to ensure that the armed forces are structured, equipped and trained in order to meet the challenges of the 21st century. History and tradition are, of course important to the ethos and culture of the Army, and as such are being taken into account as part of the restructuring process.

Service Personnel (Asbestos-related Disease)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many current or former Service personnel
 
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have (a) been diagnosed with and (b) died from asbestos-related diseases related to their Service in the armed forces in each of the last five years. [190967]

Mr. Caplin: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) lists four main diseases associated with the inhalation of asbestos fibres. These are: asbestosis, mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer and diffuse pleural thickening.

Between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2003, centrally held records in the Ministry of Defence indicate that no serving Service personnel have been diagnosed with, or died from, these diseases as a direct result of exposure to asbestos.

With the exception of ongoing MOD health studies being undertaken upon veterans of the 1990–91 Gulf Conflict by the Ministry of Defence, there is no health data routinely collected on former Service personnel. It is not possible therefore to provide a comprehensive answer on whether former Service personnel have subsequently been diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases.

SCOTLAND

Priority Homelessness

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the level of priority homelessness in Scotland was in each year from 1993 to the establishment of the Scottish Parliament. [190613]

Mrs. McGuire: The level of priority homelessness in Scotland in each year from 1993 to 1999 was as shown in the following table:

Period	All applications	Assessed as homeless and as in priority need	As percentage of all applications
1992–93	42,822	19,800	46
1993–94	43,038	18,200	42
1994–95	41,495	17,500	42
1995–96	40,936	16,900	41
1996–97	40,989	16,800	41
1997–98	43,135	17,600	41
1998–99	45,723	18,400	40

Ministerial Expenses

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much the Department spent on (a) maintenance, (b) renovation, (c) council tax and (d) running costs of residential properties used by Ministers and officials in each year since 1997. [191397]

Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office was established in July 1999.

The Office has no residential properties used by Ministers or officials.

Wind Farms

Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many wind farms have received planning consent in Scotland in 2004. [190277]

 
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Mrs. McGuire: My right hon. Friend will be aware that consents for wind farms in Scotland are a devolved function of Scottish Ministers and local planning authorities.

However, I understand that during 2004, three new wind farms have been approved by Scottish Ministers under the Electricity Act 1989. These wind farms have a generating capacity of about 355MW.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Service Pensions/Sick Pay

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will make a statement on (a) the implementation of the Government's proposal to raise the pension age in the civil service and (b) proposals for the future of sick pay in the civil service. [191356]

Ruth Kelly: The Government's Green Paper, "Simplicity, security and choice: working and saving for retirement" (Cm 5677), issued in December 2002, proposed that the rules of public service schemes should be changed to make an unreduced pension payable from age 65 rather than 60. Our intention to proceed with the proposal through reviews of public service schemes in consultation with employers and employee representatives was confirmed in our Action Plan, "Action on occupational pensions" (Cm 5835), issued in June 2003.

Notices were issued to all civil servants to inform them of the Government's intentions. These said that a pension age of 65 would apply to new entrants to the civil service by the end of 2006, and gave commitments that those existing staff aged over 50 at the time of the announcements would only be minimally affected.

More detailed proposals for the implementation of the increase in pension age are being worked up, and we expect further information to be provided to existing staff later this year.

Departments and agencies have delegated authority to determine the terms and conditions for payments to staff related to sickness absence. This is subject to the conditions set out in the Civil Service Management Code.

Access to sick pay during absence forms part of the agenda of the reviews of sickness absence in the civil service announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Spending Review. Both reviews are due to report back later in the autumn.

Consultants

Mr. Maples: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will list the contracts awarded by her Department to consultants in each of the last five years, stating in each case (a) the name of the consulting company, (b) the value of the contract and (c) the purpose for which the contract was awarded; and if she will make a statement. [191726]

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 10 March 2004, Official Report, columns 562–63W.
 
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The Cabinet Office and the Central Office of Communication have spent £16,328,478 during 2003–04 on consultancy.

Expenditure on consultancy during that period included improvements in the Information Technology (IT) and financial IT structures of the Cabinet Office, accommodation upgrade at the Emergency Planning College, restructuring of Management Units, procurement advice, business continuity plans, IT security certification and implementing an electronic documentation handling system.

Cabinet Office typically uses consultants to provide particular skills or expertise that are required to progress an initiative or project but are not available (or required long-term) within the Department.

Engagements

Mr. Garnier: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list his official engagements since his appointment to his present Cabinet post. [191037]

Mr. Milburn: Since my appointment as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, I have had a range of official meetings including meetings with Cabinet colleagues relating to my cross-Government role in the co-ordination of Government policy; my responsibilities for the work of the Strategy Unit and the Policy Directorate; my Duchy of Lancaster role; and my membership of Cabinet.

Strategy and Delivery Units

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office who the members of (a) the Strategy Unit were for each year since June 2002 and (b) the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit were for each year since June 2001; what their (i) titles and (ii) salaries were in each case; and what the overall costs of each were in each year. [189988]

Mr. Milburn: Details of the Senior Management teams of both the Strategy Unit and the Delivery Unit are set out in the Civil Service Year Book. A copy of which is available in the Library.

Information about salaries of individual civil servants is not disclosed in order to protect their privacy under exemption 12 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

For information on the costs of both units I refer the hon. Member to the replies given by my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley, South (Mr. Alexander) on 1 April 2004, Official Report, column 1558W and 14 July 2004, Official Report, column 1196W.

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will publish an executive summary of the output of (a) the Strategy Unit for each year since June 2002 and (b) the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit for each year since 2001. [189991]

 
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Mr. Milburn: The work of the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit and that of the Strategy Unit are outlined in the Cabinet Office departmental report 2004.

Further information on the Strategy Unit and the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit can be found at www.strategy.gov.uk and via Professor Michael Barber's presentations to the Prime Minister's Press Conferences: http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page6153.asp.

Departmental progress against the Government's Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets is available on the HM Treasury website: http://www.hm-treasury. gov.uk/performance/.

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