Supplementary memorandum by the Office
of the Deputy Prime Minister (ANN 01(a))
REQUEST FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION
Further to your letter of 14 October detailing
the additional information Mavis and her Officials undertook to
provide, the information is attached. For ease of reference each
response is numbered in accordance with your original letter.
1. With reference to the efficiency savings
and reductions of 400 posts, please provide the Committee with
the numbers of staff (if any) who will be cut from the Planning
Inspectorate
Answer:
The Planning Inspectorate is currently reviewing
its staffing requirements as part of a Restructuring and Cultural
Change programme, and in the light of current and predicted workload
increases. Our efficiency saving implies an average 10% reduction
in staff by 2007-08 across the ODPM and Non Departmental Public
Bodies and agencies. Within this some units will decrease by more
than 10% and others by less and some with increases in workloads
may increase.
2. The Department makes a considerable number
of appointments to executive and non-departmental public bodies.
Please provide details of the initiatives you are developing to
meet your targets on recruiting women, ethnic minorities and disabled
people
Answer:
We are continuing to implement our action plan
aimed at increasing appointments held by under-represented groups
to Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs). For example; since
the Annual Report was published the central appointments team
(based in our Equality and Diversity Unit), have made contact
with additional special interest groups who now receive all ODPM
vacancies to circulate amongst their members. These are The European
Federation of Black Women Business Owners, Society of Asian Lawyers
and African Caribbean Diversity organisation. Copies of our vacancies
already go to the Disability Rights Commission, the Ethnic Minority
Foundation, the Women's National Commission and the TUC. Sponsor
teams who carry out the appointments process are encouraged to
attract a diverse pool of applicants as possible by contacting
professional bodies in the particular field covered by the NDPB.
Additionally, ODPM is one of the departments
who volunteered to support the Cabinet Office in piloting a shadowing
and mentoring scheme for disabled people who might be interested
in serving on a public body operating at national level. The scheme
is being launched on the 27 October and will run until March 2005.
ODPM NDPBs who have volunteered to take part include:
Advisory Panel on Beacon Councils
The Audit Commission
Housing Corporation
Valuation Tribunal Service
English Partnerships
Finally, a number of our senior officials involved
in the public appointments process, are attending Cabinet Office
pilot briefing sessions on public appointments taking place during
October to January 2005. The sessions are designed to provide
an overview of the public appointments process and enable participates
to undertake a fair appointments process fully compliant with
the Commissioner for Public Appointment's Code of Practice and
equality legislation.
Implementation of the Action Plan is ongoing
and we continue to monitor progress towards diversity targets.
3. Please provide the Committee with precise
figures on agency costs of employing temporary staff
Answer:
The average costs for Agency and Permanent ODPM
staff are:
— Agency rate per hour in London: £13.90
— Agency rate per hour in the regions:
£11.69
— ODPM rate per hour in London: £13.05
— ODPM rate per hour in the regions:
£11.45
— ODPM rate with on costs in London
£16.64
— ODPM rate with on costs in the regions
£14.60
These costs are aggregated from the three agencies
used by ODPM and across the grades AO to SEO in order to protect
information which is commercial in confidence.
These figures show that ODPM staff rates are
slightly lower than agency rates on an hourly basis although this
is no longer the case when taking into account the on-costs of
pensions and National Insurance contributions. Agency staff are,
however, not as familiar with the Department's business and thus
need more supervision and management time. ODPM has therefore
adopted the policy of using permanent employees whenever possible
whilst using Agency staff to fill short-term needs and to provide
flexibility as necessary.
4. Please inform the Committee on the number
of copies of the Annual Report that have been purchased and how
many have been distributed in total
Answer:
In common with other House papers, the ODPM
Annual Report is printed and published by The Stationery Office
Ltd. The number of copies they printed and sold is commercial
in confidence and hence the Office does not know these details
however the Office did take 500 copies for distribution to senior
managers within the department and its stakeholders.
5. In liaison with the Office of National
Statistics, please inform the Committee of the timetable in place
to develop comprehensive neighbourhood statistics
Answer:
The timetable has three stages.
The website was launched in February 2001 and
now contains around 150 datasets, including data from the 2001
census, the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004, and data related
to housing and receipt of benefits. Some datasets are available
at Output Area level (blocks of 125 households and 250 people),
and some are still only available at ward level and above, but
the main building block for Neighbourhood Statistics is Super
Output Area level (around 1,000 households and 1-3,000 people).
The roll out of SOAs earlier this year completed the first stage.
The second development stage runs to March 2006.
During this stage the range, timeliness and consistency of the
data will be substantially improved, and data related to progress
on neighbourhood renewal floor targets such as educational performance
and crime reduction will be available at SOA level. Users will
be able to analyse, compare and contrast local level statistics
consistently and over time, and so measure success in improving
outcomes at neighbourhood level.
From 2006 to 2008 and beyond the system will
continue to be enhanced with further improvements to the range
of statistics plus the provision of additional analytical tools
and user support mechanisms which will make the system more easily
used by a wide range of customers at national and local level.
6. Please provide the Committee with a timetable
for the revision of the PPG3
Answer:
ODPM consulted on proposed updates to Planning
Policy Guidance Note 3: Housing (PPG3) last year entitled "Influencing
the Size, Type and Affordability of Housing", and "Supporting
the Delivery of New Housing". The intention is to publish
the PPG3 updates by the end of the year. A further PPG3 update
is planned for 2005 to take forward the recommendations in the
Barker Review of Housing Supply.
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