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20 Oct 2004 : Column 803W—continued
Voluntary Hospices (VAT Relief)
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the outcome was of the report from HM Customs and Excise to his Department regarding relief from VAT for all voluntary hospices. [192344]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 19 October 2004]: The discussions between officials from the Department and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in 2002 regarding value added tax addressed concerns raised by Macmillan Cancer Relief about the VAT payable on some of their capital building projects for the national health service.
The Government were able to give a commitment that the NHS will meet the VAT consequentials of projects that are deemed to be priorities by cancer networks. The national partnership group for palliative care—which set the criteria for the use of the additional £50 million for specialist palliative care provided under the NHS cancer plan from 2003–04—agreed to recommend the approach already proposed by several cancer networks that Macmillan's VAT costs should be met from the first year slippage from the relevant network's allocation from the £50 million. This special arrangement for Macmillan was a transitional arrangement for 2003–04 only.
HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION
Parliamentary Estate (Heating)
Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission what the total cost of heating the buildings on the parliamentary estate has been for each year since 1990. [192249]
Sir Archy Kirkwood:
The following table gives the total cost of heating buildings on the parliamentary estate, including House of Lords buildings, since
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1996–97 which is as far back as invoices are retained. For comparison purposes, costs have been adjusted to 2004 prices.
| Yearly heating cost (£) | |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 241,761 |
| 1997–98 | 184,604 |
| 1998–99 | 239,855 |
| 1999–2000 | 259,715 |
| 2000–01 | 266,852 |
| 2001–02 | 248,060 |
| 2002–03 | 255,118 |
| 2003–04 | 248,324 |
Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission what steps the House has taken to cut heat loss in buildings on the parliamentary estate; and if he will make a statement. [192250]
Sir Archy Kirkwood: The House is committed to continuous improvement in its efficient use of energy. Much has already been achieved and the work will continue. The current energy conservation strategy includes investing in energy saving schemes, such as insulation and draught-proofing, offering pay-back periods of up to seven years; sub-metering to give better information on where energy is consumed; improved efficiency of plant and encouraging nominated 'energy savers' in the departments of the House to make savings.
Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission what the estimated amount of heat lost in each building on the parliamentary estate was in each year since 1990. [192251]
Sir Archy Kirkwood: The following table gives the figures for total energy consumption attributable to heating for House of Commons buildings and for the Palace of Westminster, which is shared with the House of Lords. Portcullis House was designed to be an exceptionally energy efficient building; the Palace of Westminster is intrinsically less so.
| POW | 2 The Abbey Garden | 1 Canon Row | Norman Shaw South (42) | 7 Millbank | Portcullis House | 3 Deans Yard | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995–96 | (43)— | 10,249,599 | 75,045,883 | 209,078,091 | (43)— | (43)— | 45,098,872 |
| 1996–97 | 1,793,327,589 | 10,147,868 | 168,719,359 | 200,592,673 | 13,246,183 | (43)— | 52,065,939 |
| 1997–98 | 1,136,811,232 | 7,778,347 | 155,617,488 | 159,291,878 | 216,945,944 | (43)— | 353,58,374 |
| 1998–99 | 1,692,250,382 | 8,726,155 | 133,947,431 | 1,612,519,131 | 190,410,713 | (43)— | 36,748,611 |
| 1999–2000 | 1,827,963,510 | 9,326,434 | 182,497,332 | 166,775,791 | 186,379,132 | (43)— | 35,886,664 |
| 2000–01 | 1,778,739,375 | 10,684,959 | 227,331,825 | 1,850,441,911 | 226,742,144 | 29,113,661 | 42,063,953 |
| 2001–02 | 1,912,482,770 | 11,569,580 | 17,035,717 | 127,308,496 | 189,499,505 | 32,797,255 | 8,329,284 |
| 2002–03 | 1,833,131,114 | 11,616,971 | 20,738,046 | 272,729,226 | 181,705,679 | 32,117,989 | (43)— |
| 2003–04 | 1,750,246,800 | 10,868,202 | (44)— | 308,645,742 | 182,873,633 | 33,787,043 | (43)— |
(42) Norman Shaw North is serviced by the Norman Shaw South boiler house and therefore does not appear separately in this list.
(43) Indicate that there was no data for that year or that the building was not part of the estate.
(44) The heating system for 1 Canon Row was removed in 2002 which is why no data appears after this date. Heating for 1 Canon Row is now serviced by the Norman Shaw South boiler house.
Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission what steps he takes to ensure that buildings on the parliamentary estate are heated according to occupancy and climatic conditions rather than a standard date and time. [192252]
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Sir Archy Kirkwood: Each building on the estate has a computerised building energy management system with controls to ensure that the optimum start of the heating system is calculated on the basis of the need for heating rather than on a standard time and date basis. This follows normal good practice in the industry.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Benefit Processing Centres (Wales)
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends to consult the PCS union in Wales on the proposed closure of benefit processing centres in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [192208]
Jane Kennedy: Following national consultation with the Jobcentre Plus Trade Unions in July and September 2004, the Director for Jobcentre Plus Wales, Sheelagh Keyse, met with PCS (Wales) on 29 September 2004. During the consultation, PCS were informed of the reasons for and the full impact of the Jobcentre Plus Rollout Programme and the centralisation of benefit processing in Wales.
Child Support Agency
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent changes have been made in the protocol for the Child Support Agency in dealing with calls from hon. Members' offices. [190827]
Mr. Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 20 October 2004:
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent changes have been made in the protocol for the Child Support Agency in dealing with calls from honourable Members' offices.
There have been no changes in the protocol for the Child Support Agency in dealing with calls from honourable members offices. Members of Parliament and their staff can phone the Agency's "MP Hotlines" which have been established covering each of the Agency's main business units.
If you have had experience of a call being incorrectly dealt with and can provide me with the details I will be pleased to have one of my senior managers investigate further and reply to you as soon as possible.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the timescale is for the phasing in of old Child Support Agency cases migrating from the old to the new system; and what proportion of the migrating cases will be dealt with under the (a) old and (b) new criteria. [190828]
Mr. Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 20 October 2004:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will outline the timescale for the phasing in of old Child Support Agency cases migrating from the old to the new system; and what proportion of the migrating cases will be dealt with under the (a) old and (b) new criteria.
We have not yet finalised with EDS the timetable for migrating cases from the old to the new system. Our intention is that when cases are migrated between the systems, those appropriate for conversion to the new arrangements will do so as soon as possible.
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