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6 Jun 2006 : Column 569W—continued
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for amnesties for handing in (a) bladed and (b) blunt weapons in Northern Ireland. [74679]
Mr. Hanson: The campaign to tackle knife crime in Northern Ireland, including the introduction of a three week amnesty was launched on Wednesday 24 May. This received significant attention from all the main media outlets in Northern Ireland. A list of the amenity sites where bins for collection of knives are situated was provided to the media and the police have established a helpline to provide information to anyone who wishes to surrender a knife. While the amnesty will run for a period of three weeks initially, this can be extended if it is successful, and it can be re-introduced.
I would urge anyone who does not have a legitimate reason for having a knife, to take this opportunity to surrender it.
I have no plans to hold an amnesty for blunt weapons but am open to consideration.
Wales
A5
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the likely effects on road traffic between England and Ireland of the proposed closure of the A5 between Ty Nant and Dinmael; and what discussions he has had with Welsh Assembly Ministers on this matter. [74504]
Mr. Hain: I have made no such assessment. Andrew Davies, the Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks has explained that measures are being urgently considered to minimize the impact of the closure, including the possibility of re-opening the old A5 to restricted traffic.
Bonuses
David Simpson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many non-pensionable bonuses were
awarded to members of his staff in each of the last three years; and at what total cost. [73054]
Mr. Hain: This information is not held centrally and obtaining it could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.
Eid-Ul-Adha
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many staff from his Department attended the Civil Service Islamic Society Eid-Ul-Adha event in London in 2005; and what the total cost was to his Department of their attendance. [73050]
Mr. Hain: My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster will write to the hon. Member with details of the Civil Service Islamic Society Eid-UI-Adha event. Copies of her letter will be placed in the Library.
Pensions
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what percentage of staff in his Department are making additional voluntary contributions to their pension. [73053]
Mr. Hain: Members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) can pay additional contributions to top up their pension either through the Civil Service Additional Voluntary Contributions Scheme (CSAVCS), a money purchase arrangement, or by buying added years of service in the PCSPS. As an alternative to membership of the PCSPS recruits from 1 October 2002 have been able to join a stakeholder arrangement, the partnership pension account.
The number and percentage of staff in the department who are making additional voluntary contributions to their pension as at 31 May are shown in the following table.
| Number | Percentage | |
Promotion Boards
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what promotion boards have been held in his Department in each of the last five years. [72895]
Mr. Hain: The Wales Office does not hold promotion boards.
Staff are recruited to the Wales Office in line with the policy set out at paragraph 5.6 of the departmental annual report 2006 Cm 6835 (also available on our website at www.walesoffice.gov.uk).
Sickness Absence
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many staff in his Department have had (a) five or more, (b) four, (c) three and (d) two periods of sick leave of less than five days in each of the last three years. [73049]
Mr. Hain: The Wales Office does not collect this information in this way, and obtaining this information could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.
Staff Surveys
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many staff surveys have been conducted in his Department in each of the last three years. [72897]
Mr. Hain: The Wales Office is a small Department and its staff are entitled to take part in staff surveys conducted by the DCA.
Further to the DCA staff survey, the Wales Office conducted its own staff survey for the first time earlier this year.
Vehicle Sharing
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what incentives his Department offers to encourage staff to share vehicles when travelling to work. [73052]
Mr. Hain: The Wales Office has no incentive schemes to encourage staff to share vehicles to travel to work.
Around three-quarters of staff do not use their own vehicles to travel to work, travelling instead by alternative methods, including public transport and bicycle.
Constitutional Affairs
Bankruptcies
Mr. Spring: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many people have been declared bankrupt in Suffolk in each year since 1997. [69814]
Ms Harman: A bankruptcy order is made on the petition of the debtor or one of his creditors when the court is satisfied that there is no prospect of the debt being paid. The following table shows the number of bankruptcy orders made at either Bury St. Edmunds or Ipswich county courts since 1998, the earliest year for which statistics are available. Bury St. Edmunds and Ipswich are the only two county courts in Suffolk which deal with insolvency matters.
Bankruptcy petitions should be presented in the court that deals with the area where the debtor has lived or traded for the longest period in the previous six months. However, the insolvency jurisdictions of particular county courts are not directly comparable with standard geographies such as counties or parliamentary
constituencies. For these reasons, figures shown in the table will not be an exact measure of bankruptcies in Suffolk.
| Number of bankruptcy orders made at Bury St. Edmunds or Ipswich county courts, 1998-2005 | |||
| Number of bankruptcy orders made in Bury St. Edmunds county court | Number of bankruptcy orders made in Ipswich county court | Total for Bury St. Edmunds and Ipswich county courts | |
| Source: Insolvency Service | |||
Coroner Reform Programme
Mr. Walter: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what progress has been made regarding the time scale for the coroner reform programme; and when she expects the Family Charter to be available. [74284]
Ms Harman: A draft Bill on reform of the coroner system will be published very shortly. A draft of the Charter for Bereaved People (as it is now known) will be published alongside the draft Bill, and will be similarly subject to scrutiny and consultation. A Bill will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.
Equal Pay
Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many (a) women and (b) men are employed in the Department; what the average pay was for (i) women and (ii) men in the Department in (1) 1997 and (2) 2006; what women's average pay is as a percentage of men's average pay; and how many (A) women and (B) men the Department employed in each of the last five years, broken down by grade. [67790]
Bridget Prentice: In March 2006 there were (a) 9,121 women and (b) 4,908 men employed in the DCA, excluding the magistrates courts service (MCS). Following the implementation of the 2005 pay award the average full-time equivalent salary for (i) women was £19,142 and for (ii) men was £21,276. Furthermore in March 2006 there were (a) 8,974 women and (b) 3,621 men employed by the MCS in England and Wales. The MCS became part of the DCA in April 2005 and are employed on a wide variety of terms and conditions. The average full-time equivalent salary for (i) women was £20,202 and for (ii) men was £23,689 in the MCS.
On this basis, in March 2006, the average female full-time equivalent salary represents 89 per cent. of the average male salary for staff on DCA terms and
conditions and 85 per cent. of the average male salary for staff in the magistrates courts service. These figures are for all grades below SCS. Comparative figures from 1997 could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.
The details for (1) Women and (2) men employed by the DCA (excluding the MCS) in each of the last five years broken down by grade is contained in the table shown at Appendix A. Only full-time equivalent details are available for 2001 and 2002.
The equivalent information from the magistrates courts service which became part of the DCA in April 2005 is not maintained in a format which enables this data to be easily extracted and the information requested can therefore only be provided at a disproportionate cost for years prior to 2005. The information for 2005 is contained in the table at Appendix B and is broken down according to £5000 pay bands as there is no comparable grading system.
| Appendix A: DCA, (former court service, PGO and Wales Office) 1 April 2005 | |||||||||
| Headcount | |||||||||
| Full-time staff | Part-time staff | Full-time equivalent | |||||||
| Responsibility level | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total |
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