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26 Jan 2006 : Column 2384W—continued
National Mediation Helpline
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much was spent on the National Mediation Helpline during the last 12 months. [41747]
Ms Harman: In the last 12 months the Department has spent £75,197.00 on the National Mediation Helpline. The breakdown is as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Running costs | 33,468.80 |
| Publicity/launch | 18,628.20 |
| Independent evaluation | 23,100.00 |
Supreme Court
Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when the Secretary of State last met Lord Bingham of Cornhill to discuss the new headquarters for the proposed Supreme Court. [45445]
Ms Harman: The Secretary of State has had regular meetings with Lord Bingham to discuss plans for the new headquarters of the Supreme Court.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on progress towards housing the proposed new Supreme Court. [45446]
Ms Harman: The DCA is continuing to develop detailed designs for the refurbishment of Middlesex Guildhall in consultation with the Law Lords. The intention is that these designs will be submitted for the relevant planning permissions in March. Subject to these approvals, it is planned that the Supreme Court will be open for business in October 2008.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Correspondence
Tony Lloyd: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2006, Official Report, column 959W, on correspondence, what guidelines he has given to his officials on the timescale for replying to correspondence from hon. Members. [45831]
Jim Fitzpatrick:
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) attaches great importance to the prompt handling of correspondence. The Office target is that 80 percent. of MPs' and peers' correspondence is
26 Jan 2006 : Column 2385W
answered within 15 working days. Cabinet Office produce an annual report to Parliament monitoring the performance of departments and agencies for handling correspondence from Members of both Houses and their report for 2005 will be published in due course.
Guidance for officials on the handling of correspondence is available on the intranet site of the ODPM.
Departmental Effectiveness
Mr. Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1)what evaluation his Department has undertaken of the findings of the MORI survey of perceptions of the effectiveness of his Department held by board members and unit heads within the Department; and if he will make a statement; [46577]
(2) if he will make a statement on the findings of the recent MORI poll on perceptions of the effectiveness of his Department held by external stakeholders of the Department. [46578]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Permanent Secretary is responsible for the effective leadership and management of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's 2,000 staff and for the Government office network. As part of its work, the Permanent Secretary's management board commissions surveys to ascertain the views of staff on their working environment attitudes to their work in the Department, and the leadership provided by the senior civil service in the Office.
Peter Housden was appointed as Permanent Secretary of the ODPM in October 2005 and gave evidence to the Select Committee for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in November in which he described the purpose of the surveys. In its recent report the Committee welcomed ODPM's commitment to consulting its personnel on their experience of work and congratulated it on its success in encouraging participation in the staff survey undertaken in May 2005.
The Permanent Secretary has subsequently said:
It is clear that the Office has achieved a huge amount since it was created in 2002. But we are not complacent. We have taken very seriously the views expressed in our stakeholder and staff surveys and put in place robust measures to address these concerns. We can demonstrate considerable strides forward over the past four years, but we all recognise we have more to do."
Responses to the 2005 survey showed that 65 per cent. of staff were satisfied overall with their experience of working in ODPM. This is in line with experience across Government. In responses to the statement
ODPM is in the second quartile of central Government organisations (and slightly above the central Government benchmark) according to the company that undertook the survey. In response to the statement
ODPM is close to the top quartile of central Government organisations, also slightly above the central Government benchmark.
26 Jan 2006 : Column 2386W
In relation to bullying, responses in ODPM were in line with experience elsewhere in Government and in the second quartile of central Government organisations. Nonetheless the Permanent Secretary and Board take the issue extremely seriously and have instituted a wide range of activity to address the issues directly. The Permanent Secretary has confirmed:
The ODPM does not tolerate bullying or discrimination. A programme of skills and awareness training is being put in place for all senior and middle managers, to ensure the organisation creates a positive climate for all staff and has the right procedures in place to deal with cases where staff are not treated with dignity and respect."
Departmental Equipment
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) laptops and (b) mobile phones his Department bought in each year since 1997; and what the cost of each category of equipment was in each year. [41270]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Up until November 2004 phones were purchased jointly with the Department for Transport and laptops until April 2003. Information since then held by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is as follows:
| Number | Cost (£000) | |
|---|---|---|
| November 2004 to November 2005 | ||
| Mobile phones | 191 | 22.4 |
| April 2005 to January 2006 | ||
| Laptops | 159 | 174 |
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Wills: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what target he has set for improving the energy efficiency of residential accommodation by 2010. [44870]
Yvette Cooper: The Sustainable Energy Act 2003 requires the Government to set an aim to improve energy efficiency in the residential sector in England. This obligation was fulfilled in our 2004 Energy Efficiency Action Plan, which included an aim to save 3.5 million tonnes of carbon per year by 2010.
Section 217 of the Housing Act 2004 requires the Government to take reasonable steps to ensure that, by 2010, the general level of energy efficiency of residential accommodation in England has increased by at least 20 per cent. compared with the general level of such energy efficiency in 2000. Such an increase would be broadly in line with the aim published in the Energy Efficiency Action Plan.
Gypsy Sites
Mark Williams: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he intends to publish the replacement for planningcircular 01–94, regarding Gypsy sites and planning. [44055]
Yvette Cooper:
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expects to publish the new planning circular for Gypsies and Travellers, to replace DOE circular 1/94 Gypsy Sites and Planning", shortly.
26 Jan 2006 : Column 2387W
Local Government Structure (Lancashire)
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether Ministers from his Department plan to visit Lancashire as part of the review of the structure of local government. [44977]
Mr. Woolas: While the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not currently reviewing local government structures the ODPM is engaging in a wide debate about local governance, including the future of two-tier arrangements in the shire areas. Our aim is that, as part of this debate, council leaders in all shire areas will have had the opportunity to put their views to Ministers.
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