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15 Dec 2005 : Column 2223W—continued
Departmental Estate
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost was of relocating the Home Office. [31796]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The relocation of the Home Office was carried out through a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project the capital costs of which were met by Annes Gate Property plc. My Department pays a combined charge for the accommodation, facilities and other services provided under the PFI contract. For the financial year 2005–06 the amount is expected to be £32.7 million. In addition £12.6 million was spent between January 2002-April 2005 on technical assurance for the project, clearing the surplus buildings, relocating ICT equipment and associated activities.
Departmental Guidance (Evidence/Documentary Access)
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is with regard to (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department giving evidence to the (i) Scottish Parliament, (ii) National Assembly for Wales and (iii) Northern Ireland Assembly committees; and to what categories of document he gives (A) full access, (B) restricted access and (C) no access to the (1) Scottish Parliament, (2)National Assembly for Wales, (3) Northern Ireland Assembly and (4) House of Commons select committees. [37382]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Requests for the attendance of Ministers or officials to give evidence to the devolved legislatures and for the provision of information to the assemblies, will be considered on a case-by-case basis. This consideration will reflect: the principles set out in
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the Cabinet Office guidance Departmental Evidence and Responses to Select Committees" (July 2005); the policy outlined in the Department for Constitutional Affairs Devolution guidance note No. 12 Attendance of UK Ministers and Officials at Committees of the devolved legislatures"; and the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act. The principles underlying the provision of information to House of Commons Select Committees are set out in the Departmental Evidence and Response to Select Committees", particularly section 4B and 4C.
Departmental Publications
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many publications were issued by his Department in each of the last five years. [33645]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The number of publications issued each year by the Home Office Communication Directorate and the Research, Development and Statistics Directorate, which is now part of the Communications and Development Unit, since 2001 are listed as follows:
| Financial year (1 April to 31 March) | Total number of publications issued by CD and RDS |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | (12)417 |
| 2002–03 | 584 |
| 2003–04 | 656 |
| 2004–05 | (13)841 |
| 2004-To date (30 November 2005) | 404 |
(12)No figure available from RDS for this year.
(13)The number increases during 2004–05 mainly as a result of a new working structure introduced in November 2004. At this time, to improve efficiency, the Home Office set up a new system of working with the Central Office of Information.
Notes:
Figures are provided for the period from 1 April 2001. All figures include Command Papers produced through Parliamentary Section.
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This new system was publicised around the Home Office and many areas that had previously made their own arrangements for publications started to use the COI. This led to an increase in the number of recorded publications. Before this time, it would only be possible to identify all Home Office publications at a disproportionate cost.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the Director of Performance and Finance is in his Department; what specialist finance qualifications he or she holds; and what the details are of his or her career to date. [26311]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The position of director of performance and finance in the Home Office is currently filled on a temporary basis, pending appointment of a permanent successor to the previous director, who left in October. This post reports to the director-general, financial and commercial, Helen Kilpatrick, who is CCAB qualified and has more than 20 years experience of financial management.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in his Department have been relocated into London and the South East in each of the last five years for which records are available. [31744]
Mr. Charles Clarke: There is no policy of inward relocation into London and the South East, and insofar as centralised records can be checked, no such relocation has in fact taken place over the past five years. Of the moves involving 10 or more staff, for HO Core and Immigration and Nationality Staff from 1 January 2000 to 2004 the majority are moves within the same city or area.
Aside from the move to the new headquarters building at Marsham Street which involved staff already in the London area there have been no major moves in 2005 within the core Home Office. Figures for relocations are not available for HMPS or the United Kingdom Passport Service.
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were employed by non-departmental public bodies and agencies for which he has responsibility in 2004–05 in (a) total and (b) each (i) nation and (ii) region of the UK and (c) London. [35946]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The latest available centrally-held information is: Total Executive NDPB staff numbers by Department as at 31 March 2005 are recorded in Table two of Public Bodies 2005, a copy of which is in the House Libraries, and which is available online at: http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/the_future_ of_the_civil_service/agencies_and_public_bodies/publications/pdf/public-bodies/publicbodies2005.pdf. The number of staff in individual executive agencies as at 1 April 2004, including a regional analysis, is available in Civil Service Statistics 2004 which was published in February 2005, a copy of which is in House Libraries. It is also available online at:http://
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www.civilservice.gov.uk/management_of_the_civil_ service/statistics/contents_for_civil_service_statistics_ 2004_report/number_of_civil_servants/index.asp. However the NDPB data is not detailed by region and this could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Underspending
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department's underspend was in 2004–05 (a) in cash terms and (b) as a percentage of departmental budget. [19249]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The following table provides the information requested. Please note that (a) provisional outturn has been used as final accounts have not been completed and (b) near cash excludes non cash costs but makes no adjustment for timing differences.
Driving (Drugs)
Mr. David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in England and Wales have been convicted of driving under the influence of drugs in 2005. [35040]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 5 December 2005]: Court statistics for 2005 will be available autumn 2006.
Environmental Sustainability
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what he has identified as the most significant sustainable development impacts in relation to the operation of his Department's estate pursuant to the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. [16195]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The Department's sustainable development impacts vary according to the nature of the business carried out by its constituent areas. The key impacts in relation to the main Home Office and its agencies have been identified as follows: energy consumption; water consumption; waste generation; vehicle emissions as a result of commuting (sites outside London only); procurement of goods and services; employment of staff; estates management and construction. Additionally, biodiversity is an impact for the National Offender Management Service estate and Immigration Removal Centres.
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