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PRIME MINISTER

Iran (Nuclear Programme)

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on Iran's nuclear programme. [44628]

The Prime Minister: I last met the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon on 22 December 2004 during my trip to the Middle East. We discussed a wide range of issues, including Iran's nuclear programme.

Iraq

Mike Penning: To ask the Prime Minister what reports he has received of countries which apply rules of extra-territoriality in judicial matters that they are reviewing his role in Iraq with a view to future prosecution. [43418]

The Prime Minister: I have received no such reports.
 
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Orams Case (Cyprus)

Mike Penning: To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has received from foreign governments on the involvement of his wife as counsel in the Orams case in Cyprus; whether he has discussed the matter with the Foreign Secretary; and if he will make a statement. [43425]

The Prime Minister: Mrs. Blair is acting in a private capacity.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION

Comptroller and Auditor General Report

Mr. Newmark: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, when the Speaker's Committee will publish the Comptroller and Auditor General's statutory value for money report on the Electoral Commission for 2003–04. [46458]

Peter Viggers: At its meeting on 13 December 2005, the Speaker's Committee agreed to publish this report, which deals with the Commission's expenditure on training electoral staff for the European Parliamentary Elections held in June 2004, as an Appendix to its Third Report 2005. This report was laid before the House on 20 December 2005 as House of Commons Paper No 783. Copies have been placed in the Library and are available in the Vote Office.

WALES

List 99

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education and Skills about the operation of List 99 in schools in Wales; and what the date was of the last such discussions. [45411]

Mr. Hain: The Department for Education and Skills is responsible for barring and restricting teachers in both England and Wales.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills briefed me and other Cabinet colleagues on issues arising from the operation of List 99 shortly before her statement to the House on 19 January 2006, Official Report, columns 966–70. I, as the rest of Government, wholeheartedly support her in the actions she described to tighten the vetting and barring system.

National Offender Management Service

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has made to the Home Secretary concerning the implementation of the National Offender Management Service in Wales; and when those representations were made. [45410]

 
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Mr. Hain: I have regular discussions with my right hon. Friend about matters concerning Wales. My right hon. Friend has also discussed the implementation of the National Offender Management Service in Wales with the Assembly Government's Minister for Social Justice.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Administrative Costs

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the total administration costs for her core Department are; and whether these are regarded as (a) identifiable and (b) non-identifiable for the purposes of public expenditure statistical analyses. [39841]

Bridget Prentice: The information is as follows.

(a) The total (net) administration budget for the core departments of Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) as per audited Resource Accounts for the financial year ended 31 March 2005 was £915 million, ie:

	£ million
DCA Headquarters and Associated Offices	352
Court Service (CS)	547
Public Guardian Office (PGO)	16

(b) For the purposes of 'Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2005' (PESA) published as National Statistics annually by the HM Treasury, the administration budget of DCA HQ and Associated Offices (£352 million) and PGO (£16 million), totalling £370 million were regarded as identifiable. While the CS spending on 'collective services' was regarded as non-identifiable, ie:

	£ million
Identifiable costs	370
Non-identifiable	547

The administration expenditure reflects the costs of running the Department. Net administration budget includes administrative staff salaries, accommodation charges, depreciation and associated operating income.

Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the administrative costs were of each agency for which she has responsibility in the last year for which figures are available; what the total of such costs was in that year; and whether the costs are regarded for the purposes of public expenditure statistical analyses as (a) identifiable and (b) non-identifiable. [39859]

Bridget Prentice: The information is as follows.
 
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(a) The total (net) administration budget for each of the two Executive agencies of Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) for which she has responsibility as per audited Resource Accounts for the financial year ended 31 March 2005 were:

	£ million
Court Service	547
Public Guardian Office	16

(b) For the purposes of 'Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2005' (PESA) published as National Statistics annually by the HM Treasury, the administration budget of the Public Guardian Office was regarded as identifiable and the Court Service spending on collective services as non-identifiable respectively.

The administration expenditure reflects the costs of running the Department. Net administration costs include administrative staff salaries, accommodation charges, depreciation and associated operating income.

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the administrative costs were of each non-departmental public body for which she has responsibility in the last year for which figures are available; what the total of such costs was in that year; and whether the costs are regarded for the purposes of public expenditure statistical analyses as (a) identifiable and (b) non-identifiable. [40054]

Bridget Prentice: The information is as follows.

(a) The DCA has two NDPBs, Legal Services Commission (LSC) and the Information Commissioner's (IC). In accordance with Government Accounting guidelines, these bodies are classified as outside the administration budget regime.

(b) For the purposes of 'Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2005', PES (2004) 20 (Annex D (Classification of Spending as 'Identifiable' or 'Non-identifiable')), the LSC spending and IC spending were regarded as identifiable and non-identifiable respectively.

Data-Sharing

Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list the documents her Department has published on data-sharing between public sector organisations since 2001. [43539]

Ms Harman: In November 2003 DCA published authoritative legal guidance on data-sharing called Public Sector Data Sharing Guidance on the Law". A public sector toolkit on data-sharing has also been published by DCA. The public service guarantee was published in October 2004. These documents can be found at:

http://www.dca.gov.uk/foi/sharing/index.htm
 
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Departmental Expenditure

Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many (a) laptops and (b) mobile phones her Department bought in each year since 1997; and what the cost of each category of equipment was in each year. [41261]

Ms Harman: Details of the number of laptops bought by my Department since 1999, and their cost, are listed in the following table. We do not hold information for the earlier years.

	Number	Cost (£)
1999	399	438,900
2000	383	494,623
2001	239	311,520
2002	131	183,205
2003	382	507,293
2004	190	233,598
2005	2,926	3,475,150

The Department's mobile phones are provided through the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) contracts with Vodafone and Orange. The contracts provide a package of services including a phone, SIM card and network access. The package also provides the purchaser with a £50 credit, which is designed to cover either the cost of the phone or as an airtime credit. It is therefore not possible to separately identify the cost of a phone.

Any purchases made solely for a phone, outside of these contracts, would have been placed locally, for which records are not held centrally. That information could only now be obtained at disproportionate cost.

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