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24 Feb 2005 : Column 790W—continued
Regional Assistance
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has received about mismanagement of EU regional development grants; and if he will make a statement. [217277]
Mrs. McGuire: Neither the Secretary of State nor I has received any such representations.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what procedures are in place in his Department to ensure that EU regional development grants are used in accordance with European Commission rules. [217281]
Mrs. McGuire: European Structural Funds programmes are required to operate in accordance with European Commission Regulations. The Scotland Office does not have oversight of any such programmes.
Freedom of Information
Dr. Julian Lewis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his policy is in respect of the publication (a) on the departmental website and (b) by placing
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copies in the Library of (i) all or (ii) a selection of the information disclosed in response to Freedom of Information requests since January. [215221]
Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office will place copies of information released under Freedom of Information, where considered appropriate in terms of the wider public interest, on the departmental website where this is believed to be the most suitable method for publication. In some instances, it may be necessary to direct interested individuals to other locations providing reasonable access to published material.
This corresponds with earlier guidance on publication schemes, issued by the Department for Constitutional Affairs in July 2002, which recommended that where information is disclosed to an individual in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act, Departments and NDPBs should consider whether the information disclosed is of general interest and include released information in the publication scheme where appropriate.
G8 Summit (Gleneagles)
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to be able to estimate the cost to public funds of the G8 summit at Gleneagles in July. [217454]
Mrs. McGuire: Discussions on the detailed arrangements for the summit, including resource matters, are continuing between the relevant authorities. However, as I indicated in my reply of 20 January 2005, Official Report, column 1060W, it is not customary to disclose the security costs for such events.
Mobile Phones
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the cost of staff mobile phone bills was in each year since 1997. [214901]
Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Details on the cost of mobile phones used by staff are not recorded separately.
Targets
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many targets have been set in each year since 1997 by the Department; and, of these, which have been (a) met, (b) nearly met, (c) not met, (d) changed and (e) dropped. [215834]
Mrs. McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to the recent answer given by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 75W.
CABINET OFFICE
Catering Costs
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much has been spent on (a) entertainment lunches involving civil servants and guests and (b) working lunches, in each year since 1997. [215045]
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Mr. Miliband: Information breaking down the expenditure by the categories requested cannot be readily retrieved without incurring disproportionate cost.
For details of the Cabinet Office spend on entertainment in each year since 1997, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 10 January 2005, Official Report, column 88W.
"Delivering on the Promise"
Michael Fabricant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the total cost was of the "Delivering on the Promise" technology programme. [217521]
Mr. Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. Allan) on 16 November 2004, Official Report, column 1237W.
Michael Fabricant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the discontinuation of the DotP technology programme and the decision to switch to a commercially available off-the-shelf system. [217525]
Mr. Miliband: The DotP application is a content management software product. Since the original development of DotP the software market has matured and there may now be commercial-off-the-shelf products to which DotP could transition, so that it continues to deliver the strategic benefit and best value for money always envisaged by the DotP Programme. This is being considered and Government are still retaining all of their options.
Equal Pay Review
Mr. Gill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether the most recent equal pay review conducted by his Department included comparisons of (a) ethnic groups, (b) disabled and able-bodied employees and (c) part-time and full-time employees. [217496]
Mr. Miliband: The Cabinet Office (CO), Central Office of Information (COI) and Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) all operate their own delegated pay systems and therefore completed individual equal pay audits in 2003. Copies of the reviews are available in the Library of the House.
The approach and level of detail varied reflecting the size of the organisation and the issues they needed to address. The CO review covered gender, ethnicity, staff with disabilities and working patterns. COI covered gender, ethnicity and working patterns and the GCDA review focused on gender.
Sickness Absence
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what initiatives his Department is taking to reduce the numbers of sick days taken by staff in the Department. [216630]
Mr. Miliband:
The Cabinet Office is committed to managing sick absence effectively, having implemented all recommendations of the 1998 report "Working Well Together". These are supported by robust monitoring procedures and in-house guidance and training for
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managers and individuals. In support of the 2004 report "Managing Sick Absence in the Public Sector", the Cabinet Office will ensure that managers proactively monitor sick absence and that they have the tools and training to do so.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Community Interest Companies
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress she is making in defining the structure of proposed community interest companies; and if she will make a statement. [216101]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 21 February 2005]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 1 February 2005, Official Report, columns 798–99W.
Employment Rights
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on changes in employment rights since 1997. [217463]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Since 1997, we have introduced a foundation of decent minimum standards in the workplace. People at work in Britain have benefited from:
a right to request flexible working with an obligation on employers to treat the request seriously (for parents of children up to six)
Maternity leave increased from 16 weeks' paid leave at £60 in 1997 to 26 weeks paid at £100 or more.
In addition, from April 2005 employees will gain new rights to request information and consultation.
The improvements we have made to employment rights have not adversely affected the labour market, which is performing well. We have proved that regulation, providing it is well designed and well implemented, is not an obstacle to high employment or running businesses successfully.
The Government are committed to ensuring that employment rights are effectively implemented in all workplaces, so that they benefit all workers, including the most vulnerable.
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In the 2004 pre-Budget report, we pledged improvements to the arrangements for parents to take paid leave after the birth of a child and to extend rights to work flexibly. We are committed to consulting with employers and other interested parties early this year.
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