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3 Feb 2005 : Column 1078W—continued
Correspondence
David Winnick: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when his Department will reply to the letter of 21 December 2004 from the hon. Member for Walsall, North transferred from the Department of Trade and Industry, concerning a constituent. [213490]
Yvette Cooper: The Under-Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Corby (Phil Hope), replied to my hon. Friend's letter on 2 February 2005.
Council Tax
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average band D council tax has been in each Government office region in each year since 1997–98. [211976]
Mr. Raynsford:
The information requested is given in Table 2.2f of Local Government Financial Statistics, England, No. 15 2004", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. The table can also be found at http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/stats/lgfs/lgfsl5/tables/lgfsl5–2-2f.xls.
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Departmental Contracts
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many contracts in his Department have been granted to (a) EDS, (b) Fujitsu and (c) EDS and Fujitsu jointly in each of the last two years; whether they were open to competition; for what they were granted; for how much, and over what period of time; and if he will make a statement. [211608]
Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, on behalf of the Government offices for the regions, has granted two contracts to Fujitsu in the last two years. These were for Managed IT Services to the Government Offices for the Regions, and were annual extensions of an existing contract pending recompetition. The contracts were each worth £1.75 million, and were procured through the Office of Government Commerce GCAT catalogue.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has granted no contract to EDS or jointly EDS and Fujitsu in either of the last two years.
Departmental Policies (Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Mrs. Lawrence: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Preseli Pembrokeshire constituency, the effects on Preseli Pembrokeshire of his Department's policies and actions since it was established. [211325]
Yvette Cooper: Along with other Government Departments, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is committed to improving the lives of people across the whole of the United Kingdom, including South Wales.
However, the services for which the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is directly responsible in England are mostly devolved and therefore a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government.
The Neighbourhood Statistics Service provides a wide range of statistical information at parliamentary constituency level, taken from the 2001 Census and other sources. This service is available on the National Statistics website at http://neighbourhood.statistics. gov.uk./.
Departmental Television Subscriptions
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which television channels comprise the cheapest available business cable and satellite package that his Department subscribes to. [211170]
Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister no longer subscribes to any cable or satellite television packages, other than those provided to Ministers and designated officials via the Parliamentary Video network. These are part of the House of Commons VIP account, which is delivered to all MPs and ministerial offices free of charge. All other television channels provided to officials are now via free to air services.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether private ministerial offices had access to the Sky Sports 1 television channel prior to November 2003. [211235]
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Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established in May 2002. Since then its ministerial offices have been served with television via the Parliamentary Video network. This is part of the House of Commons VIP account, which is delivered to all MPs free of charge rather than being a subscription service. The service is administered by Initial Communications for the House Commons and is also made available free of charge to the offices of those MPs that hold ministerial posts. The package includes 24 channels, division bells and annunciator. Sky Sports 1, 2 and 3 are also included.
Disabled Facilities Grant
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) how much Swale borough council has paid in disabled facilities grant in each year since 1997; [211789]
(2) how much Swale borough council has allocated to disabled facilities as a percentage of its housing allocation since 1997; [211790]
(3) how many disabled people in Sittingbourne and Sheppey applied for a disabled facilities grant in each year since 1997; and how many received an award; [211791]
(4) how much has been allocated to (a) Kent county council and (b) Swale borough council for the disabled facilities grant in each year since 1997; [211792]
(5) what estimate has been made of the number of disabled people waiting for disabled facilities grant to be paid in Swale. [211793]
Keith Hill: The following table shows Swale borough council's expenditure on disabled facilities grant (DFG) as a proportion of their total Housing Investment Programme (HIP) allocation. Column one shows the annual allocation to Swale from the Government's ring-fenced grant to support local authorities' DFG programmes. This grant covers 60 per cent. of each authority's total DFG expenditure. Swale's total DFG expenditure is shown in column two. Column four gives this amount as a proportion of the authority's total HIP allocation shown in column three.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not collect information on how many disabled people in particular areas within local authorities have applied for DFG, or the number of people waiting for DFG, and
3 Feb 2005 : Column 1081W
could provide it only at disproportionate costs. County councils are not responsible for administering DFG and therefore receive no specific funding for it.
Domestic Rates
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average domestic rates bill per household in England was in each year from 1975 to its abolition. [211921]
Mr. Raynsford: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 19 January 2005, Official Report, column 1002W.
Fire Cover
Mr. Dobson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether his Department was consulted on the proposed reduction in fire cover for the King's Cross/St. Pancras transport interchange. [213758]
Mr. Raynsford: Yes. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was one of the consultees to all the draft Integrated Risk Management Plans (IRMP), including the London Fire Safety Plan. The draft plan for the financial year 2005–06 was issued on 28 October with a three-month consultation which commenced on 8 November. The IRMP is about deploying resources to respond to today's risks and needs rather than replicating historic patterns of deployment. The authority has identified that the current location of appliances does not relate to today's risks. The proposals contained in the draft London Fire Safety Plan are subject to extensive consultation.
Mr. Dobson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether his Department was consulted on the possible impact on the response to a terrorist incident in central London of the proposed reductions in fire cover in central London. [213759]
Mr. Raynsford: Yes. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was one of the consultees to all the draft Integrated Risk Management Plans (IRMP), including the London Safety Plan. The IRMP is about making changes to respond to today's changing needs—which include the risk of terrorist attack. The authority has been closely involved in London's planning (under the leadership of London Resilience Forum) for the protection of Londoners from the consequences of a terrorist attack, working closely with government, and other partners to improve its ability to respond to and deal with such incidents.
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