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25 Jan 2006 : Column 2186W—continued
Child Protection
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which (a) NHS services, (b) social service departments and (c) children's services departments are legally obliged to check their employees against her Department's list of individuals who are considered unsuitable to work with children. [44481]
Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.
Section 7(1) of the Protection of Children Act requires an organisation which is concerned with the provision of accommodation, social services or health care services to children or the supervision of children and whose activities are regulated, to check both the PoCA List and List 99 in every instance where they propose to offer an individual a child care position.
Therefore all NHS services, social service departments and children's services departments who employ staff in child care positions are legally obliged to check the PoCA List and List 99 before employing a person in such a position.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Buncefield Oil Depot
Peter Law: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment has been made in respect of the explosion at the fuel depot at Buncefield of (a) the possibility of terrorist sabotage causing the conflagration, (b) the contribution to United Kingdom carbon emissions of the fires created by the explosion and (c) the cost of cleaning up the land contaminated at and around the site. [41487]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The cause of the explosion at the fuel depot at Buncefield has yet to be established and is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency.
It is estimated that, in round terms, the fires at Buncefield will have contributed between 0.025 per cent. and 0.05 per cent. of UK carbon dioxide emissions in 2005.
The Environment Agency is working with, and advising, the oil companies' scientific advisers to establish a strategy to quantify the extent and scope of contamination both on and off site, including both land and water resources. Gathering such evidence should enable overall remediation costs to be quantified.
Cabinet Committees (Policy Clearance)
Mr. Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the occasions on which he has sought policy clearance for (a) legislation and (b) amendments to Government Bills from the Cabinet Committee on (i) Domestic Affairs and (ii) Economic Affairs during the current session. [41022]
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees is generally not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
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Council Tax
Geraldine Smith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average cost of collecting council tax was in each of the last five years. [44650]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 23 January 2006]: The average cost of collecting council tax in England in each of the last five years is tabled as follows.
| £ actual | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 14.65 |
| 2001–02 | 14.55 |
| 2002–03 | 14.92 |
| 2003–04 | 15.87 |
| 2004–05 | 15.92 |
Notes:
The average is calculated by dividing the total net council tax collection costs in England by the total number of chargeable dwellings for council tax purposes.
Total net council tax collection costs are defined as local authority gross expenditure net of any income relating to the collection of council tax. Gross expenditure on council tax collection includes the cost of sending out bills and pursuing late payers.
The related income is mainly made up of recovered court costs.
Source:
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) Revenue Outturn (RO) returns—RO6 data.
ODPM Council Tax Base (CTB1) returns.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of spending by Hammersmith and Fulham council he expects to be financed from council tax in (a) 2006–07 and (b) 2007–08. [45261]
Mr. Woolas: The information requested is not yet available. Local authorities as yet have not set council taxes or budgets for 2006–07 or 2007–08.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of spending by Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council was financed from council tax in each financial year since 1996–97. [45275]
Mr. Woolas: The percentage of revenue expenditure by Hammersmith and Fulham borough council that has been financed from council tax in each financial year since 1996–97 is tabled as follows.
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 24.3 |
| 1997–98 | 26.6 |
| 1998–99 | 24.9 |
| 1999–2000 | 23.8 |
| 2000–01 | 23.9 |
| 2001–02 | 22.8 |
| 2002–03 | 23.2 |
| 2003–04 | 22.1 |
| 2004–05 | 22.9 |
| 2005–06 | 22.9 |
The data are as reported by local authorities and are taken from Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) Revenue Summary (RS) returns for 1996–97 to 2004–05, and ODPM Revenue Account (RA) Budget returns for 2005–06.
25 Jan 2006 : Column 2188W
The definition of council expenditure used here is that expenditure funded from Aggregate External Finance (AEF), council tax and authorities' reserves.
Comparisons across years may not be valid due to changes in responsibilities and the method of reporting the information. In particular, the outturn data for 1996–97 to 2002–03 and the budget data for 2005–06 have been calculated on a non-FRS (Financial Reporting Standard) 17 basis while the outturn data for 2003–04 to 2004–05 have been calculated on an FRS 17 basis. Hence, figures for different years may not be directly comparable.
Councillors (Pensions/Income)
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 14 December 2005, Official Report, columns 1964–5W, on councillors (pensions/incomes), what estimate the Government have made of the cost resulting from the changes to rules relating to allowances and pensions. [42661]
Mr. Woolas: The Government hold no information on the cost resulting from changes to rules relating to allowances and pensions. Decisions about the levels of allowances paid in any case are for the local authority concerned.
Departmental Computer Services
Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many working hours have been lost in his Department due to the loss of computer services in each of the last three years. [40678]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created in May 2002. Since that date there have been no instances when the loss of computer services resulted in lost working hours.
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Weir: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what expenditure on (a) buildings and (b) insurance of buildings and staff was of (i) his Department and (ii) each (A) non-departmental public body, (B) executive agency and (C) other public body for which his Department is responsible in (1) Scotland, (2) Wales, (3) each English region and (4) Northern Ireland in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06 in each case. [40106]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Expenditure on buildings and insurance of buildings managed by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and its Agencies, all of which are situated in England, is as follows:
25 Jan 2006 : Column 2189W
Mr. Francois: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been spent in each year since 1997 by his Department on salaries paid to civil servants. [41577]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) was created following the Machinery of Government changes on 29 May 2002. Salaries paid to civil servants within ODPM were as follows:
Figures include costs for ODPM (Central), Government Offices for the Regions, the Planning Inspectorate, the Rent Service (for 2002–03 and 2003–04 only), Advisory bodies and Tribunals. The Rent Service transferred to the Department of Works and Pensions with effect from 1 April 2004.
For the Departmental Expenditure Limit, the figures include both ODPM Main Programmes DEL and Local Government Programmes DEL.
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