---

20 Jan 2005 : Column 1059W—continued

Portugal

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what plans he has for disposal of the assets comprising the British consulate in Oporto when the post is closed; [209884]

(2) what use will be made of funds raised from the disposal of the property and land occupied by the British consulate in Oporto when the post is closed; [209885]

(3) if he will publish the disposition attachment of the will of the late Evelyn Teage pertaining to the closure of the British consulate in Oporto; [209886]

(4) what legal advice he has taken on the status of the property and land occupied by the British consulate in Oporto after closure of the post; [209887]

(5) what sales have previously been made of land occupied by the British consulate in Oporto; and what happened to the proceeds under the terms of the Evelyn Teage Will Trust. [209888]

Mr. Rammell: Following the announcement of the closure of the Consulate in Oporto in December 2004, the Trustees are considering, with legal advice, the future of the property and the fund against the background of the intentions of Evelyn Teage's bequest.

In 1994, the Trustees sold part of the land attached to the consulate. The proceeds were used to renovate the house; to pay off debts to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office who had been paying maintenance of the property; to construct new offices and to provide a long-term fund to maintain the remaining property.

SCOTLAND

Conferences

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many conferences were (a) attended by officials from his Department, (b) cancelled by and (c) facilitated by his Department in each year since 1997; and what the (i) cost to the Department and (ii) location was in each case. [205757]

Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Information in the form requested is not held centrally.

Departmental Properties

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many properties are held by the Department; what total floor space these properties provide; how many properties are vacant; and how much floor space vacant properties comprise. [206487]

Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office leases two buildings, which are shared with the Office of the Advocate-General for Scotland. In addition, some staff are accommodated in buildings owned or leased by the Scottish Executive. The total floor space of accommodation occupied by the Scotland Office and the Office of the Advocate-General is 2,760 sq m. There are no vacant properties.
 
20 Jan 2005 : Column 1060W
 

E-mails

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his Department's policy regarding the retention of e-mails in electronic form (a) after and (b) up to 1 January 2005; and what instructions have been given regarding the deletion of e-mails prior to 1 January 2005. [206952]

Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office continues to implement well established policies and procedures for the review and disposal of files in accordance with its administrative needs and the Public Records Act. E-mail messages that form part of the official record are saved for as long as business needs require and stored corporately in accordance with departmental record management procedures. Further e-mail guidance is available on the National Archives website at:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/electronicrecords/advice/pdf/managing_emails.pdf.

No instructions were given to staff about the deletion of e-mails prior to 1 January 2005.

G8 Summit (Gleneagles)

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the costs of security for the G8 summit at Gleneagles. [209397]

Mrs. McGuire: It is not customary to disclose the security costs for such events. Discussions on the overall arrangements, including resource matters, are continuing between relevant Government Departments.

IT (Disciplinary Procedures)

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff in his Department have (a) received official warnings and (b) faced disciplinary procedures following breaches of IT policy in each year since 1997. [205808]

Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Since, April 2000, when records began, three members of staff have received warnings following minor breaches of IT policy.

Ministerial Engagements

Mr. Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the ministerial engagements (a) out of London and (b) in London that he has cancelled since 1 January 2004. [209219]

Mrs. McGuire: My right hon. Friend and I carry out frequent engagements both in and outside London and it is occasionally necessary to cancel such engagements for parliamentary or other ministerial business. No record is kept of cancelled engagements.

Press Officers

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many press officers are employed in the Department. [206528]

Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office currently has two press officers, one of whom is part-time, and there is also one vacant post.
 
20 Jan 2005 : Column 1061W
 

Skye Toll Bridge

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the estimates were of the cost of building the Skye Toll Bridge when the private finance initiative agreement to build it was agreed in 1986. [209633]

Mrs. McGuire: Responsibility and documentation relating to the construction and financing of the Skye Bridge are devolved matters for the Scottish Executive. The Scotland Office has no continuing responsibility and does not hold information about the Skye Bridge.

Stolen Property

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many civil servants from his Department have (a) faced disciplinary proceedings as a result of allegations of theft, (b) been charged with theft and (c) been dismissed following theft allegations in each year since 1997. [206397]

Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Since then, no staff have faced disciplinary proceedings, charges or faced dismissal as a result of theft allegations.

Telephone Numbers

Mr. Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many non-geographic 0870 telephone numbers are in use by his Department; and what services can be accessed by calling each of them. [205832]

Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office has no 0870 telephone numbers in use.

Mr. Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much revenue his Department has received from the use of non-geographic 0870 telephone numbers for the period 1 October 2003 to 30 September 2004. [205842]

Mrs. McGuire: As the Scotland Office has no 0870 telephone numbers in use, there is no revenue.

WORK AND PENSIONS

CSA

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Child Support Agency cases are on the (a) new and (b) old systems. [207782]

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. John Mann dated 20 January 2005:

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, how many Child Support Agency cases are on the (a) new and (b) old systems. There are around 1.36 million cases currently being dealt with by the Child Support Agency. Of these cases over 587,000 have been registered on the new system; approximately 360,000 of
 

20 Jan 2005 : Column 1062W
 

these cases are being dealt with under the new legislation and 227,000 under the old legislation. In addition around 770,000 are currently old scheme cases on the old computer system.

---