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16 Nov 2004 : Column 1274W—continued
SCOTLAND
Asylum Seekers
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list local authority net current expenditure on asylum seekers for each local authority in Scotland in each year since 1991–92; [197230]
(2) if he will make a statement on how local authorities in Scotland have been compensated for expenditure on asylum since 1998. [197231]
Mr. Browne: I have been asked to reply.
The information is not available in the format requested. The Home Office took responsibility for payment of grants to local authorities supporting asylum seekers on 1 April 1999. Local authorities are able to claim grant from the Home Office within specified criteria to meet their costs of supporting asylum seekers.
Consultants
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much expenditure his Department has incurred in each year since 2002 on employing external consultants to deal with the press and public relations of his Department; and if he will make a statement. [195457]
Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office has not employed any external consultants to deal with the press and public relations in the Scotland Office since 2002.
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent in each year since 2002 on employing (a) external management consultants and (b) external human resources consultants; and if he will make a statement. [195761]
Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office has not employed any external management or external human resources consultants since 2002. However, one company was employed in 2003–04 to organise a Senior Civil Service Assessment Centre, at a cost of £10,044.
Departmental Contracts
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the 30 largest contracts awarded by his Department from (a) May 2001 to April 2002, (b) May 2002 to April 2003, (c) May 2003 to April 2004 and (d) May 2004 to the latest date for which information is available, indicating in each case (i) the values of the contracts and (ii) the companies with which the contracts were placed. [196950]
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Mrs. McGuire: The following contracts have been awarded by the Scotland Office:
| Company | Function | |
|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | Serco | Cleaning |
| 2002–03 | Tradition | Cleaning |
| 2003–04 | Group 4 | Security |
The value of these contracts is commercially confidential. No new contracts have been awarded in the current financial year.
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which non-accounting and non-information technology external organisations which previously held contracts with his Department won new contracts (a) at the culmination of the existing contracts and (b) after a period of inactivity with his Department in each of the past four years. [196951]
Mrs. McGuire: Two organisations were awarded new contracts at the culmination of their existing contract:
No new contracts have been awarded to organisations after a period of inactivity.
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which non-accounting and non-information technology external organisations have won new contracts with his Department in each of the past three years. [196952]
Mrs. McGuire: The following new contracts have been awarded in each of the past three years:
| Company | Function | |
|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | Nil | — |
| 2002–03 | Tradition | Cleaning |
| 2003–04 | Nil | — |
No new contracts have been awarded in the current financial year.
Departmental IT
Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of the Department's (a) implemented and (b) planned computer systems use open source software; and what plans are in place to raise this level. [195664]
Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office has no Open Source Software (OSS) systems in operation at present.
The procurement of software solutions follows the 'level playing field' Government OSS Policy. This does not require the raising of levels of OSS usage in Government, rather that Government considers OSS solutions alongside proprietary ones in IT procurements; and that contracts should be awarded on a value for money, case-by-case basis. Version 2 of this policy was published on 28 October 2004 and can be viewed at www.govtalk.gov.uk
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WALES
Asylum Seekers
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list local authority net current expenditure on asylum seekers for each local authority in Wales in each year since 1991–92; [197228]
(2) if he will make a statement on how local authorities in Wales are compensated for expenditure on asylum. [197229]
Mr. Browne: I have been asked to reply.
The information is not available in the format requested. The Home Office took responsibility for payment of grants to local authorities supporting asylum seekers on 1 April 1999. Local authorities are able to claim grant from the Home Office within specified criteria to meet their costs of supporting asylum seekers.
Call Centres
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the effects on the Welsh economy of companies moving call centres from Wales; and what discussions he has had on this with Ministers in the Welsh Assembly. [197812]
Mr. Touhig: The Welsh economy remains in a healthy state with the employment rate at an historically high level and unemployment at its lowest for a generation. Around 24,000 people are employed in call centres in Wales, representing one of the largest employment groups in Wales. To help improve the competitive position of this important sector, the Wales Contact Centre Forum has been established with Assembly funding.
Departmental Contracts
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the 30 largest contracts awarded by his Department between (a) May 2001 and April 2002, (b) May 2002 and April 2003, (c) May 2003 and April 2004, (d) May 2004, and the latest date for which figures are available, indicating in each case (i) the values of the contracts and (ii) the companies with which the contracts were placed. [196937]
Mr. Touhig: The Wales Office has no executive functions. The National Assembly for Wales provided support service functions to the Wales Office until 31 March 2004, and DCA has provided these services since then. Accordingly, up to 31 March 2004 the Assembly awarded any required contracts on behalf of the Wales Office, and since then, DCA has done so. These contracts have been for works such as office cleaning, maintenance and minor building works.
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which non-accounting and non-information technology external organisations which previously held contracts with his Department (a) won new contracts at the culmination of the existing contracts and (b) won new contracts after a period of inactivity with his Department in each of the past four years. [196938]
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Mr. Touhig: The Wales Office has no executive functions. The National Assembly for Wales provided support service functions to the Wales Office until 31 March 2004, and DCA has provided these services since then. Accordingly, up to 31 March 2004 the Assembly awarded any required contracts on behalf of the Wales Office, and since, the DCA has done so. These contracts have been for work such as office cleaning, maintenance and minor building works.
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which non-accounting and non-information technology external organisations have won new contracts with his Department in each of the past three years. [196939]
Mr. Touhig: The Wales Office has no executive functions. The National Assembly for Wales provided support service functions to the Wales Office until 31 March 2004, and DCA has provided these services since then. Accordingly, up to 31 March 2004 the Assembly awarded any required contracts on behalf of the Wales Office, and since the, DCA has done so. These contracts have been for work such as office cleaning, maintenance and minor building works.
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