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11 Nov 2004 : Column 856W—continued
CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
Commonwealth Citizens (Voting Rights)
Dame Marion Roe: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many Commonwealth citizens voted (a) at the UK general election in 2001, (b) at the Birmingham, Hodge Hill by-election in 2004 and (c) at the Leicester, South by-election in 2004. [196397]
Mr. Leslie: No record is kept of the country of origin or nationality of voters participating in UK elections.
Dame Marion Roe: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs under which legislation Commonwealth citizens are entitled to vote in (a) general elections and (b) European parliamentary elections in the UK; what the eligibility criteria are in each case; and whether all Commonwealth citizens are entitled to vote in referenda in the UK. [196447]
Mr. Leslie: Entitlement to vote in UK parliamentary elections is set out at section 1 of the Representation of the People Act 1983, and in European parliamentary elections at section 8 of the European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002. These statutory provisions provide for Commonwealth citizens to vote in UK and European parliamentary elections. Only those persons who are included on the electoral register are entitled to vote and eligibility to register is set out at section 4 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (persons who are registered for UK parliamentary election are also eligible to vote in European parliamentary elections). Section 4 of the Act entitles 'qualifying' Commonwealth citizens to register to vote and they are defined as Commonwealth citizens who do not require leave under the Immigration Act 1971 to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or such persons who for the time being have any description of such leave. The franchise for referendums is determined on an individual basis and is set out explicitly in the relevant dedicated enabling legislation.
Dame Marion Roe: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether his Department is planning to review the entitlement of Commonwealth citizens to vote in UK elections for which his Department is responsible in countries in which British citizens are not entitled to vote in elections. [196877]
Mr. Leslie: My Department has no plans at present to carry out such a review.
Consultants
Mr. Maples: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will list the contracts awarded by his 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 he will make a statement. [191727]
Mr. Lammy:
Information on the value of individual consultancy contracts and the purposes for which they were awarded is not held centrally by my Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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The Department does however collect details of expenditure with consultants on an annual basis. The Department's expenditure over the last five financial years is as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 1.9 |
| 2000–01 | 2.6 |
| 2001–02 | 6.5 |
| 2002–03 | 5.7 |
| 2003–04 | 9.0 |
The Department uses consultants for the provision of expert professional advice and support on specific, time-limited tasks, usually in connection with projects, but sometimes in support of the ongoing operation of the Department. Services performed include customer and market surveys, risk assessments, provision of technical advice (e.g. IT Security, Health and Safety), undertaking specific studies and reviews and supporting the implementation of major projects and programmes.
The recent increase reflects the wide-ranging and fast-paced programme to modernise the Department's work, to increase efficiency, provide better customer service, and value for money for the taxpayer.
Delivering such a programme, in the most effective and efficient way, has necessitated the use of external expertise and skills to supplement the Department's own resources.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what percentage of the staff of the Department in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003 were people with disabilities. [196127]
Mr. Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 9 November 2004, Official Report, column 619W.
District Judges' Salaries
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the total expenditure was on district judges' salaries and expenses in each of the last 10 years. [192687]
Mr. Leslie
[pursuant to the reply, 20 October 2004, Official Report, c. 772W]: The figures provided in my previous answer also included expenditure on other judicial office holders not paid from the consolidated fund. These include masters and registrars in the High Court, tribunal adjudicators and chairman. The following table sets out the net salary costs for county court district judges over the last six years, as well as the total expenditure by the Court Service departmentally paid judicial salaries including employers national insurance and superannuation contributions.
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Norman Baker: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Romford (Mr. Rosindell) of 20 October 2004, Official Report, column 772W, on district judges' salaries, what factors underlie the size of the annual increases from 1998–99 to 2003–04; and what the projected figure for 2004–05 is. [196827]
Mr. Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to the pursuant answer I gave today to the hon. Member for Romford (Mr. Rosindell).
The annual increases from 1998–99 to 2003–04 on district judges' salaries are largely due to the increase in the number of district judges (these have increased from 385 in 1998–99 to 436 in 2003–04), annual pay increases, as recommended by the SSRB and increases in superannuation and national insurance.
The projected district judge salaries figure for 2004–05 (net of national insurance and superannuation) is £40,208,534.
CABINET OFFICE
Buying British
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the Cabinet Office policy is on buying British goods. [195953]
Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for South, West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) by my predecessor my hon. Friend for Paisley, South (Mr. Alexander) on 20 April 2004, Official Report, column 154.
Civil Service
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many UK civil service jobs are located in Scotland, broken down by (a) constituency and (b) local authority area; and what percentage of the total number of civil service jobs those located in Scotland represent. [196954]
Ruth Kelly [holding answer 9 November 2004]: The number of civil service jobs is not available centrally at constituency level. The number of civil service jobs at local authority area is also not available centrally.
The number of jobs as at 1 April 2003, in Scotland is shown in Table D of Civil Service Statistics 2003, which is available on the internet at http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management_information/statistical_information/statistics/index.asp. and in the Library. These figures are updated annually.
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Commencement of Legislation
Brian White: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what pieces of legislation passed in the last 30 years that the Department is responsible for remain to be brought into force, broken down by year of enactment. [195613]
Ruth Kelly: There is no legislation passed in the last 30 years for which the Cabinet Office is responsible which has yet to be brought into force.
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